7. Cair Paravel

Peter and Edmund raised their eyes when Caspian's worried voice flared their own acknowledgement of their sister's absence. Everyone had been so occupied with worrying about the people in danger that there hadn't been much time for missing people.

"Susan!" her older brother cried and looked frantically about the deck without finding the person whom his eyes desperately sought.

"She didn't…?" the other Pevensie boy began and his voice faded for he wasn't willing to voice the thought of his other sister being lost to the monstrous mist out loud. From his right, Lucy squeezed his hand with her small one and Edmund squeezed back just as tightly.

"Your majesty!" Reepicheep called. The Telmarine king and the Pevensies turned to the stern of the ship where the mouse stood upon the railing by the steering wheel, pointing down at something out of sight. Caspian didn't need to be called on twice as he jumped from the wet deck, slipped once and then rushed towards the steps.

"Susan!" he breathed as he glimpsed a still hand on the floor at the top of the steps. With his long legs he took the steps in two strides and slid over to the queen on the wet floor. Susan lay on her side, with her back to the large wheel and one arm stretched out below her head on the floor. Her bow and quiver lay discarded by her side in a puddle of water and Caspian pushed them aside to get better access to the fallen queen. The wet mass of her long hair obscured the lady's face and for a second the king dared not breathe as he noted how she remained still even upon his arrival.

"Su!" Peter breathed as he slid down onto the deck beside the king. The Telmarine shifted somewhat to let the younger, worried man come closer. "Can you hear me, Su?"

The young woman stirred as her brother's hand shook her lean shoulder. Caspian stopped the man with a firm hand, "Careful, her back could be severely injured."

The Pevensie boy nodded and moved his hand to caress his sister's cheek instead as she slowly regained consciousness. With some effort she opened her eyes and blinked repeatedly as her eyes cleared. Strong as she was, she managed a weak smile at the two young men that towered over her.

"I'm fine," Susan managed in a worn voice as her brother brushed the wet hair from her face. "I-I just got the air knocked out of me."

As if to prove her statement she moved to sit up on the hard, wooden floor. She moaned and her face twisted somewhat in agony but before she could strain herself, Caspian placed a tender hand on her back to help her up the last part.

"Are you sure you're not injured?" he asked gently and searched her face for the truth.

There was a flash of something in her eyes as she met his gaze and a slight pause before she admitted, "Bruised? Yes. Injured? No. Never mind me. Lucy?"

"She's fine, she's just fine. Wet, scared – but fine," Peter assured and visibly relaxed as realization hit him that they were once more out of the woods. "Come, we must get both her and Lucy dry."

The Telmarine nodded in agreement and then leaned over Susan before the young queen could protest. He guided her right arm around his neck and then scooped her up into his strong arms. She didn't weigh that much but it was still a load to the man's worn body. Still, he would have carried her to the End of the world and back in that moment if it would have meant keeping her alive and well.

"You're safe now," he whispered assuredly loud enough for only her ears as he followed Peter Pevensie down the steps once more. He felt her hand grab a dove-like hold of the shoulder of his shirt as she nodded against his chest.

Susan tiredly felt her eyes drift close on their own accord once more, though this time to the safe lull of Caspian's steps and the faint scent of his presence. "Thank you."

Next time the young woman came to, she awoke in the comfortable, grand bed in Caspian's cabin. The white linen below her and the white cover along with the bright blue sky outside the painted window made the dark and threatening mist seem like something out of an October nightmare. As she shifted about she was soon brought back to reality for her back fiercely burned from where she had struck the steering wheel. She hissed. That would certainly leave a nasty bruise.

The covers beside her rustled and she turned her head to look down at a young girl with messy, brown hair, who was watching her in turn with wide, blue eyes filled with something akin to fear. The two sisters looked at each other wordlessly for a few seconds until Lucy suddenly dove forwards and wrapped one arm around Susan's stomach and laid her head upon her sister's chest. The older girl wrapped her own arms around her baby sister and held her as tight as she could, grateful to have Lucy back in her arm at all.

"Are you alright?" Susan asked with a quiver to her otherwise strong tone.

"I'm fine," the young girl's voice was somewhat muffled against her sister's stomach. "I wasn't injured – well, except for a small cut when I was dragged over the railing. I'm just a bit exhausted after the dive. You?"

Susan knew Lucy was trying to be brave and not let on just how worn and fragile she must have felt after being rescued and admired her baby sister just a little bit more, if possible. She squeezed Lucy closer and let one of her hands gently caress her sister's long curls as she leaned her chin against the top of her head.

"I lost my breath for a second, that was all. I'm going to have a nasty bruise on my back, but it'll heal in no time, I'm sure."

She felt Lucy nod against her chest and settle in more comfortably as Susan kept on caressing her hair. It didn't take long before the young girl soon felt heavier against her sister's stomach and Susan knew sleep was not far away for her sister.

"Not quite the return I had expected…" the young girl murmured tiredly after a few minutes of peaceful silence.

"No?" the older sister stopped her hand for a second before starting over with the soothing gesture. "It's quite the return I had expected, I'm afraid."

Susan glanced down then only to realize her sister had trailed off into the realm of sleep. With a sigh, the elder girl turned her head and gazed out the painted window as she let her thoughts wander off. The door to the cabin opened slowly and quietly and Susan gazed over as Edmund poked his head inside. She waved him inside but nodded down at their sleeping sister.

The dark-haired boy nodded as he walked soundlessly across the floor and set down beside his sister on the pale covers. "How are you doing, sis?"

The young woman grimaced. "I've been better, I suppose. But certainly worse, too. Tell me, has Drinian said anything of how much further before we reach Narnian soil?"

"The day after tomorrow, I believe," her younger brother smiled crookedly and glanced from the sleeping sister to the solemn one. He leaned closer and there was a familiar twinkle to his eyes as he spoke, "... But we're not going to Miraz's castle."

Susan frowned. "...No?"

"Caspian intended it to be a surprise, but Drinian accidentally slipped up earlier. Caspian only lived in the castle for a short while before he began the restoration of another palace."

"Oh...?" the young woman asked and felt a hope akin to a candle lit within her mind. "You don't mean...?"

"Cair Paravel ahead!"

Susan hurried out from Caspian's cabin upon hearing the joyous beckoning. Two days had passed since the Mist's attack, and so little over a week since they'd first reappeared in the middle of nowhere. At last, they would sail back into Narnia, and, more importantly, to their old home. When Edmund had told her, she'd barely thought it possible. Cair Paravel had been nothing but poor, forgotten ruins last she'd seen them, and yet Caspian had taken it upon him to restore it all to its glory days.

Edmund and Lucy suddenly rushed past her, laughing together, as they rushed towards the bow of the ship with enthusiasm that soon spread to the rest of the ship's crew. Susan turned her head as she saw Peter walk towards her. There was even a jovial spring to his steps and it was plain that, after the worries after the surprise attack, he had regained his own happiness of being back. The enthusiasm in his radiant eyes was outshone only by the peacefulness in them. "Home, Susan..." he said as they walked towards the bow. The king whispered to her, "I know that we weren't supposed to be back... but here we are. And Aslan hasn't stopped us yet. We'll be stepping into our home soon enough."

The young woman by his side smiled sadly but merely whispered as she followed him, "Please don't try and get my hopes up, Peter."

"It could do you some good, you know," he breathed as he led her up to join their siblings. "To simply believe."

With those words, Peter turned to his younger siblings and laughed as Edmund unsteadily climbed onto the railing, holding on to a strung rope as he did. The young boy turned to help pull the youngest Pevensie up beside him, but Susan's hand shot out to stop him.

"Watch her hand, Edmund," the dark-haired beauty said with one eye on the bandage on Lucy's right hand. The younger siblings merely shrugged as Lucy climbed the railing and together they gazed at the view ahead.

"Stop mothering me, Susan, for a moment, and look at that."

Lucy pointed her hand ahead and her two eldest siblings stepped up to the railing to gaze in the direction she had pointed. Far ahead they saw land stretch out. Narnia. Even from this distance they could see the outlines of the grand, white palace atop the hill.

"Cair Paravel..." Peter breathed and grasped Susan's hand in his own, as if he with pure determination would make her abandon reason and enjoy herself entirely. He knew that his youngest siblings felt what he, too, felt already, an emotion that had become increasingly clearer now that they at last saw Narnian land; that they had at last returned home. Regardless for how long, they were still there and that was all they needed.

Lucy enjoyed the salty breeze as she hung halfway over the railing. She felt the call of Narnia – her home - in her heart and couldn't wait to set foot on land again.

"We're almost there, Luce," Edmund breathed to his younger sister as his eyes sparkled joyously. "I can't wait to see Cair Paravel again!"

The girl laughed with her brother as he climbed higher onto the railing and pulled her higher up along with him as well.

The Dawn Treader sailed into the harbor barely two hours later and a happy crowd of soldiers, merchants and townspeople came to meet the ship upon its happy return. There were quite some cheers for king Caspian who waved to his loyal subjects and many surprised whispers as the crowd recognized the Pevensies. The cheers soon included the Pevensie royalties as well.

"It's good to be home," Lucy whispered in Edmund's ear. The latter nodded in agreement as they waved down at the people.

A gangplank was laid out from ship to harbor and almost simultaneously a few important looking figures rode up to the front of the crowd on land, the red dwarf Trumpkin at the very front upon a smaller horse than his company. He was dressed in fine clothes of brown silk, befitting a king's replacement, though no crown rested upon his reddish brow.

Caspian's smile was wide as he walked the wooden bridge down to his old friend and greeted the dwarf enthusiastically.

"I didn't expect you back for almost a month more, your majesty," Trumpkin whispered to the Telmarine king with his voice low enough not to be heard over the peoples' cheers. "What went wrong?"

Always straight to the point, Caspian mused to himself before he explained shortly, "Unexpected company."

He stood tall once more and turned around to point with his open palm at the Pevensie siblings descending the bridge in pairs, first Peter and Susan and behind them Edmund and Lucy. The Telmarine king took the elder queen's hand to aid her the final distance and led her and her brother over to the dwarf.

"I believe you remember our old friends?" the bearded king asked the red-dwarf with a humorous twinkle in his dark, happy eyes.

Trumpkin looked between the four siblings dressed in their seafarer attire as his eyes accessed the situation. "I'll call for a meeting with the private council as soon as possible."

After having filled the council in on the events of the past weeks since his departure from Cair Paravel, king Caspian went in search of an old friend. He wandered through the white corridors of the newly renovated palace. His soft shoes barely made a sound on the fine carpets as he hurried along the vast space. He took a left turn and walked towards the large, wooden door that now lay ahead of him. With a firm hand, for he knew the door would be heavy, he grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

The Telmarine king stepped inside the library, the scent of old books and paper filled his nostrils within seconds and he couldn't help but smile at fond childhood memories. The library wasn't as large as the other royal library, yet this was no small collection of antique and unusual books. Caspian had ordered this library to be built especially for his old tutor and now Lord Chancellor.

"Cornelius?" the man asked into the library and his question echoed between the shelves of books. Behind a pillar by a shelf he heard several small thumps followed by a string of low words Caspian couldn't make out, but was sure weren't pleasant.

"Knocked a few books to the floor, boy," came the familiar voice. "I'll be right there; I just have to take care of this. Have a seat!"

The young man looked at the open area in the centre of the library where a table stood, hidden somewhere under a huge pile of books, papers and other artifacts. The table was quite low for the tall king, since it had been designed after Cornelius height as part-dwarf. Caspian still moved a pile of scrolls from one stool and sat down somewhat awkwardly on the short seat, dumping the pile of scrolls on the floor next to him. Not a minute later, Cornelius appeared behind the bookshelf. It seemed no matter how much time passed, the old man would always look the same. His hair looked somewhat wild and with glasses askew, Caspian couldn't help but wander exactly how strenuous the work in a library could be.

"My king!" the elder man's face lit up at the sight of his former tutor and the old man moved over to the table. He tugged on his elaborate robes slightly to straighten them as he came gazed up at the king. "I hear you go by the name of Caspian the Seafarer now."

"I have not properly earned that name yet," the younger man dismissed with a dissatisfied smile. "My voyage upon the Dawn Treader was cut somewhat show, as I'm sure you must have heard."

"I had, as a matter of fact," Cornelius set about cleaning up the contents of the table as he replied. "I'm sorry for the mess; I was just trying to catalog all of this. I thought I'd be done before your return. Though, I am glad to hear about the return of our beloved Kings and Queens of Old."

"Yes. That's why I've come actually, old friend," Caspian said and pushed a few scrolls aside to lean over the table on his elbows. "I just informed my council of a serious event that has me perplexed. As the Dawn Treader was sailing home, we were attacked by the Mist."

Cornelius stopped cleaning up the papers and looked at the king with an unreadable look in his eyes. He corrected the glasses up to the ridge of his nose, wet his lips and then slowly said, "The Mist - as in 'all seafarers' nightmare'? And you are unharmed? How can that be? I thought the Mist left few survivors."

"We were all more or less unharmed."

"Then what did it rob the Dawn Treader of?"

"Nothing," the king sighed in exasperation. "This is the part I cannot make sense of. The mist itself, controlled by some sorcerer-"

"Oh, not some sorcerer, boy," the Lord Chancellor interjected and waved his hands for Caspian to continue. "But, go on, I want to hear this."

"It seemed it was after Queen Lucy."

"Just the queen?" Cornelius asked apprehensively. "None of the others aboard?"

The Telmarine pondered it before he shrugged. "It's possible it was, but Queen Susan shot the sorcerer before the young queen or any other could be seriously harmed. For this Queen Susan was herself thrown into the steering wheel, but was only mildly bruised. Some of the crew members were also thrown into the sea, too, but not harmed."

"Mighty strange, indeed…" Cornelius's eyes clouded deep in thought and for a long minute he said nothing. As if remembering himself, he inhaled deeply and returned his eyes to the king on the opposite side of the table. "You wish for me to look into this, do some searching in my books?"

"Could you?"

"Of course," the elderly man nodded and turned as if to get straight to work, but stopped himself. With more hesitance, he turned back around and continued, "It's quite the coincidence, though. That the Mist happens to attack, if I understand correctly, not long after the kings and queens of old return…"

Caspian felt his heart sink in his chest. It was a thought that had crossed his mind also and it disturbed him to hear it repeated as a suggestion now. He cleared his throat and instead asked, "What of the sorcerer? You said it was not just some sorcerer."

"Oh…" Cornelius fumbled with a few books as he searched for the proper words to explain himself. "The Mist, as it is, requires a steadfast master. Compare it to a wild stallion, if you will; only a powerful enough man can tame it and control its full powers. The sorcerer who controls that ship must be in control of very powerful magic, perhaps more powerful than any we have heard of thus far."

"He sailed out from the East, possibly from the end of the world," the king said. "Any guess to who it might be?"

There was a short pause in which the old man thought, but finally he shook his head, "Alas, no. I swear to research it in my little library, though. I will do my best."

The king ran a hand over his short beard and then smiled at his old tutor. If there was anyone he could place all of his intellectual trust in, it would forever be Cornelius. "As always, I know you will."

A twinkle appeared in the eyes of the Lord Chancellor then and as he sat down on a seat opposite the king there seemed to be another topic entirely that took precedent in his mind. "Speaking of other news, I hear you are betrothed."

Caspian stiffened in his chair and let out a weary sigh. "Do not tell me words of the promise has reached your ears, too, old friend…"

"A rumor travels faster than its bearer, as you are aware," the old man chuckled amiably. "So tell me, how did this happen? You wasted no time getting reacquainted, did you?"

The king frowned intensely and Cornelius's smile faltered. "It's been three years, I mean," the old man offered as an explanation as Caspian's eyes grew more and more confused. "A long time for feelings to cool off."

The young man shot out of his chair then, knocking over the pile of scrolls he'd moved earlier. "You are mistaken, Cornelius. I know not of what you speak. I am not betrothed yet, I thought you meant my given word to the private council. I assure you, however, there is nothing going on with anyone at the moment. Which has me reminded, I promised I would meet Greagoir to see how I could fulfill my given word. Farewell, friend! Call for me when you have news!"

With a short bow, the king turned on his heel and walked briskly to the door. "Caspian." The king stopped, with the door partially opened and glanced back at his old tutor.

"Living up to one's word is important," Cornelius continued slowly, "but under these circumstances, I would advise you not to take a bride unless positive she is the one for you. Do not let your obligations blind you from what your heart sees."

Caspian pondered this for a second then turned and walked out of the library, leaving his old friend alone with his books and a new task to complete.

To be continued.