Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I can't even begin to describe how amazing it's been to receive your continued support, reviewers. Thank you so much! I never thought my story would be this well-liked, but I'm thrilled that you're all enjoying the plot so far. However, with that said, I wanted to let everyone know that this chapter marks the beginning of Caspian's love triangle and quest to choose who will become his future bride. So hold onto your hats and get ready for a bumpy ride!

Happy reading!

Chapter Three: Dual Affections

It felt like an entire lifetime passed by before either Susan or Caspian could speak again. Barely able to breathe, their middle of the night reunion was filled with so much tension a dull knife could cut right through it. They were actually in the same room again, something neither thought would happen after the Gentle Queen returned to her own world three years earlier. Yet here they were, standing in her bedchambers, breathing in the same space, as they attempted to find the right words to make this reality seem possible.

"Is it really you, my love?" Caspian finally spoke out, still staring at her with shock and uncertainty. "Or am I dreaming again?"

"I…I don't know," Susan replied softly, noticing the change in his accent while wishing she had her robe on to cover up her thin – and rather revealing – satin nightgown. "I've been asking myself the same thing since I woke up in the library."

"Then if it is a dream…" he said, stepping further into the room until he stood right in front of her, so close now that their bodies were almost pressed up against one another. "…I hope I never wake up this time."

Not giving it another thought, the handsome king cupped the back of her neck, dipped his head low, and caught Susan's lips in a searing kiss. She was surprised by his sudden, bold move, but only at first. Seconds later, she found herself giving in and kissing him with just as much passion. His hands soon traveled to the small of her back and ran up and down her sides, almost as if he was trying to mold their bodies together…make them as physically close as possible. She quickly responded by wrapping her slender arms around his neck and standing on her tiptoes. But as kisses became more intense, more fervent with every passing second, it took every ounce of Caspian's inner strength not to give into his most primitive desires and take the Gentle Queen on her bed until neither one of them had a single breath left in them. He wouldn't, though – not until he was absolutely positive it was something she wanted too.

When Susan somehow managed to moan out his name between kisses, he thought for sure that would be his undoing. And as her hands found their way to Caspian's dark tresses and began raking her fingers through it, he dipped his head even lower to shower her neck and shoulders with soft kisses. Susan tilted her head back to give him more access, which delighted him, encouraged him to take things further. Even though his short beard tickled her, the feel of his lips still started fires everywhere they came in contact with her porcelain skin, driving her mad with desire. Not realizing it, he soon had her backside pressed against the wall next to her side table, thereby trapping her in one place. The cobblestones felt cool against Susan's skin, making her gasp out in surprise, but Caspian quickly silenced her cries by capturing her lips in another breathtaking kiss. He grabbed a fistful of the soft material from her long nightgown, hiked it up until the hem was about mid-thigh, then firmly gripped onto her hips, and within seconds, he lifted her up so that she was now eye level with him and her long legs were firmly wrapped around his waist. While his calloused hands began grazing up her silky smooth legs, sinking him further down into the point of no return, Susan used her shaky fingers to undo the buttons to his white nightshirt. Once finished, she slowly removed the article clothing from his body and carelessly let it drop to the floor beside them. When lack of air finally forced them to part, Susan took a moment to gaze upon his shirtless form in the moonlight. With a well-made chest and muscles rippling, Caspian was more handsome than her dreams could have ever imagined.

Breath ragged, eyes smoldering with lust, he whispered just cementers away from her lips, "You have no idea…how many nights I've dreamt…to have you back in my arms again."

As a chill ran down her spine, it took the Gentle Queen a moment to catch her breath before she could speak. "It almost doesn't seem real, though. I keep feeling like this is a dream and any minute now I'm going to wake up and be back in my home world."

"No, I promise you this is real, my love."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because what I feel for you is the most real thing I've ever known."

Believing him, she smiled, "Caspian…"

"You are so beautiful, Susan…" he whispered softly, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

Just when he was about to kiss her sweet lips once more and pick up where they left off, the word 'beautiful' struck a chord. Reality hitting him like a rock, his eyes widened with shock and he instantly remembered—

"Lilliandil!"

When the guards reported that they couldn't find a shining blue Star in the sky, he decided to send a small search party east, the opposite way he and Susan mutually agreed to go and search for Lilliandil together, for he knew she couldn't be too far. And while the young king rode his faithful horse Destrier, the Gentle Queen rode Orion, a brown steed who immediately reminded her of Phillip, Edmund's old horse from their Golden Age—without the excessive talking, of course. The pair was armed with their bows, now dressed in warm clothing for their midnight expedition. Once they were fully prepared to leave the castle, they headed into the forest and began their exploration.

Still hoping to find Lilliandil in the night's sky with the rest of the Stars, Caspian gazed upon the vast space as they rode through the woods, but his prayers were in vain when he could not locate her anywhere. What plagued Susan's mind most during their scavenger hunt, though, was Caspian's concern over the female Star. It was the type of concern a man would have over his wife. But just like she would with Peter if he were in Narnia, she respected his wishes and wanted to do what she could to help him locate her.

More than two hours of searching went by before the brunette suddenly stopped Orion, which forced Caspian to halt Destrier as well.

"What's wrong?" he wondered.

"Nothing. I just have a feeling that maybe Lilliandil isn't in this—"

"Lilliandil!" Caspian yelled out in concern after he spotted her a few dozen yards away.

He galloped straight towards her and jumped off to help her as soon as Destrier reached her side. Taking her into his arms, he immediately noticed how cold she was. The shining blue light from her magical form was gone; she was human, and only Aslan knew long how she had been out in this cold weather.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm f-f-fine, Your Majesty," she stuttered, shivering.

"No, you're not. You're freezing," he gently argued, rubbing her arms with his hands for warmth.

The platinum blonde snuggled closer to the handsome king while he continued to try and warm her up. Meanwhile, Susan watched the pair on her horse for a few moments before climbing down. She noticed the look in Caspian's eye – that same kind of wistful look he had given her just before she and her siblings returned to England the last time she was in Narnia. The eldest Queen of Old had no idea how long or how well they knew each other, but she could tell there was something between them. A connection. The feeling pierced her heart, but Susan knew she couldn't hold any sort of animosity towards this young woman, especially when she knew nothing about her. Instead, she would do what was right and try to be helpful in her time of need.

"Here, take this," she said gently, offering her a large wool blanket that she packed in her knapsack.

She wrapped it around Lilliandil's shoulders and the Star gave her a small smile in appreciation.

"Thank y-you for your kind-kindness, my lady."

"You're welcome."

After making sure Lilliandil had taken a hot bath, was given something hot to eat and drink, and was in bed with a fire to help keep her warm throughout the rest of the night, Susan decided to see Caspian once more before retiring to bed. Not to her surprise, she found him still awake in his private bedchambers, standing in front of the fireplace with his right hand holding onto the wooden mantle while his forehead was pressed against his hand. She could tell by his facial expression that he was deep in thought, possibly even troubled by everything that had happened in the last few hours.

"Lilliandil is resting now," the Gentle Queen softly announced upon entering the room, which immediately caused Caspian to look up at her. "She should be fine by morning."

"Thank you," he replied in gratitude. "After everything she's been through tonight, I'm sure Lilliandil will be just as appreciative for your help as I am when she wakes up tomorrow."

Susan nodded, "She seems like a very sweet girl."

"I agree."

A moment of silence passed between them before he stepped away from the fireplace, realizing that she probably came into his bedchambers for a specific reason. "Oh, forgive me. Did you need something before going to bed?"

Exhaling, she did her best not to let her jealous emotions get the best of her. "You say that like you don't remember what happened between us the last time we were alone in the same room together."

Caspian bowed his head in shame for compromising her honor and taking the pleasurable moment away so abruptly. He wanted nothing more than to show her how much he missed her, how much he still loved her, how much he still longed to hold her in his arms, but remembering that Lilliandil was still yet to be found stopped him from doing so. It was immature and completely selfish on his part to put Susan in that position, no matter how much she seemed to reciprocate his feelings.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I never should have put you in that position, especially so soon after you arrived."

"What we were doing before isn't what's troubling me, Caspian. It's what you realized right before we were about to…"

Unable to finish the sentence, Susan looked away from him, afraid of what she might do upon locking eyes with the handsome king.

He wasn't surprised by her upset. If anything, Caspian was almost expecting it. And in a small way he was pleased him to hear her say the words because they confirmed what he already believed to be true. She wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. Such news had never once filled his heart with more joy or brought more agony upon it. Her confession was both wonderful and painful, both uplifting and torturing, for now he was facing one of the most important decisions he'll ever have to make as a man and a king. Choosing between Susan and Lilliandil was going to be the hardest choice he'd ever have to make, but it was a decision he ultimately brought upon himself. Aslan may have been the one who brought them to him, but it was his affections towards both women that put him in this exact position.

"It's not that I'm upset we went looking for Lilliandil," Susan continued, wanting to make her point clear. "What upsets me is you already knew we needed to find her. Somehow you knew she was out there all alone by herself, and yet you still came running to me first."

As if he was expecting her….

That's when the truth suddenly dawned on her.

"You knew I was coming back to Narnia, didn't you?"

"Yes," he admitted quietly.

"How long have you known?"

"Only for a few hours," he spoke up in a firmer tone this time, doing his best to defend himself. "Aslan came to me earlier tonight—"

"And he brought me back. He brought both of us to your doorstep."

"My love, I swear I didn't know. I had no idea Aslan would do something like this."

"Would do something like what? What has he done? Why has he brought us here?"

Caspian didn't make a sound; he suddenly couldn't bring himself to say the truth after disappointing Susan so much already.

Sensing his unease, the Gentle Queen stepped forward and cupped his cheek. He pressed her hand to his face to hold it there and finally met her gaze. Yet instead of finding anger and resentment in her crystal blue eyes, they were filled with love and tenderness. And just by looking into her eyes, he could see how much she regretted acting so livid with him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Taking her hand into his own, he planted a featherlight kiss on her knuckles. "It is I who should be apologizing to you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my weakness."

"May I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"When Peter, Edmund, Lucy and I began our reign over Narnia in the Golden Age, we made a promise to never keep secrets from one another. We would tell each other everything so that no matter what adversity we faced as rulers, the one thing we could always count on would be each other's trust."

"And now you're asking me to abide by the same code."

"Well, if I ask you a question, will you give me an honest answer?"

"Yes."

"Do you also have feelings for Lilliandil?"

A/N: So what's in store for the next chapter? Let's see!

While Caspian contemplates telling Susan and Lilliandil the truth about why Aslan sent them his way, the girls find themselves bonding as they share their past experiences in Narnia with one another.

Please review! And remember to keep voting for who should end up with Caspian!