Please Read: Hi all! Sorry I haven't uploaded anything in FOREVER. My Neo office stopped working! And all good writers need inspiration, which I was lacking. No worries now though! Lots of ideas to go around. Hope you enjoy this next chapter
The next morning, Susan got dressed, and sat in front of her golden vanity. Scanning the table, she realized something. "Caspian!?" She shouted. " Yes?" he answered from the other room. "Where is my jewelry box?" He poked his head out of the closet, " How am I supposed to know?" Susan crossed her arms. " You've been pretty suspicious lately."
" So you hold me responsible for everything that goes wrong?" he walked out of the closet and over to a large dresser. " Yes." He rolled his eyes, " You wouldn't have happened to see the shirt I laid out last night, would you?" " Perhaps." The king looked at her for a minute. "Where is it?" " Where is my jewelry box?" she repeated. He put his hands on his hips. " Can't hide anything from you? Can I?" " Nope."
The young queen waited with her arms crossed. " Alright," he walked up to her, " Give me my shirt, and I'll give you your jewelry box." Susan eyed him before replying, " I don't know..... I kind of like it when you're shirtless." Caspian smirked. " Aren't you funny." She kept looking at him. " Fine!" he left the room for a minute.
When he came back, Susan didn't recognize what he was carrying. It was a jewelry box of some sort.... but it was fairly larger than the one she had before. " Here you are, you're highness," he handed it to her. Perplexed, she took it and lifted the lid. She gasped when she saw all the new pieces of sparkling jewelry. " Caspian!" She smiled and hugged him, " Thank you, they're lovely."
"You're very welcome.... Now where is my shirt?" She smiled and pointed to a new dresser in the room. He walked over and opened a drawer. " Wow!" he was amazed to see all the new clothes. " I figured you needed some new ones," Susan winked. The king nodded, then asked, " Which one should I wear?" She took a minute to decide, then announced, " That one." He smiled and put it on.
Later that day, Susan was walking through the palace, seeing if everything was in order, and greeting her servants. As she was passing, Clara stopped her and curtsied, " We have a new maid, your highness." The queen smiled. " Do we?" " Yes, she's quite a bit younger than I, and she's waiting to meet you." The two women walked through the enormous castle and entered Queen Susan's private parlor.
The young Queen was proud of the parlor, for it was just to her liking. The sofas were made of a sky blue satin, which matched the curtains exactly. Sparkling crystal vases were filled with pretty white roses, light streamed from the white french doors, and gave the room a bright and airy feel. She grinned as she entered the room and inhaled the rosy scent.
Standing in the middle of the room was a girl who appeared to be no more than 16. As soon as she noticed the queen was looking at her, she bent her knees into an awkward curtsy, and quickly spoke, " My lady." Susan nodded in return and asked, " What is your name?" "Elena, My Lady." The queen viewed the girl. She wasn't very hard to look at. She had pretty, light brown eyes, an olive complexion, and brown hair that fell slightly past her shoulders.
"What are your skills, Elena?" The maid pondered for a moment. " I'm very good with horses, my family used to own one. I can also clean dishes, make beds, and wipe windows." Susan smiled, " How very excellent. There are a lot of windows to be wiped in a castle," she added a wink for fun. Elena smiled, " Well I assume I should get to work then?" "Yes, Clara, you can start her with the window washing on the second floor."
It was now time for the mid-day meal. Susan was sitting at the grand table..... waiting for her new husband to arrive. After waiting for half an hour, the young queen figured Caspian must have gotten caught up in all the tasks of a new king. Getting hungry, she decided to travel to the throne room, where she found him intently gazing at a piece of paper in front of him.
She walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Dear?" Surprised by this sudden gesture, Caspian looked up and smiled. Then he realized, " Oh... am I late for something?" Susan laughed. " Yes, our lunch." He shrugged and took another look at the paper. "What is that?" she tried to swipe it from him. Caspian jumped up so she wouldn't take it. " I-I'd rather just tell you." "Okay," she crossed her arms and waited.
"It's a letter." "What does it say?" A rather hesitant look crossed his face. He sighed, " I'm leaving.... in three days." Susan suddenly looked interested. " What? Where? Why?" The questions kept churning in her head. "Well, I've been summoned by the governor of Archenland. It appears to be he has some important matters to discuss with me." Susan stared at him for a moment, " I'm going with you!"
He shook his head, " Absolutely not." She sighed, "Why ever not?" This is where he really didn't want to answer. "Susan....." he folded the letter and put it in his pocket. "It'd be safer if you stayed here." He isn't telling me something, she raised an eyebrow. " I'm a new king. You have to know that there are a few people trying to overthrow me." This is where she was positive that he wasn't telling her. "Caspian, what's going on?"
He bit his lip, knowing that she'd be concerned. " There have been a few robberies and murdering crimes down there lately." Susan straightened her back and stomped over to him, " You aren't going!" I knew this would happen, the young king sighed. " Susan, please, I need to go and straighten things out down there." "No!" she declared. " I don't want you to get hurt....."
Caspian smiled at her concern. He knew it was always the wife's job to worry. " Darling," he pulled her into his strong yet gentle embrace. " I know we've only been married for a few weeks now, and you worry more than ever. But being a king, I have certain tasks that have to be done and places to go, whether either of us like it or not. You should know that. I mean, you used to live with two kings." The queen laughed softly. " I promise you, I'll be fine. I know how to wield a sword," he laughed.
Susan took a deep breath, " I know...... I'm sorry. It's just, Archenland has never really been the most civilized or well governed country. The people there are not to be trusted." " Believe me," Caspian stared at her, " I know." They both laughed. Then Caspian stared into her sparkling blue eyes. Just when he was leaning in, Susan said, " Wait." He sighed, " Do you have to do this to me every time?"
She laughed, " Oh hush, it's for the better of us." He grunted. Then she continued, " I've just been wondering if we could take it easy for a little while." She stared at him, " Caspian. You better not ignore me this time." He pouted, " Awww." She playfully smacked him. " Oh come here you," and pulled him into a passionate kiss, of which Caspian took complete advantage of.
After lunch, Susan sent for Elena. The girl quickly ran to greet the queen, a wet cloth still in hand. " Elena," the queen started. " Clara tells me that you are a very dedicated worker." The brown eyed girl smiled at this compliment. " I try my best, your highness." " You may take your break now, if you'd like." She smiled, " Thank you!" and ran to put her rag away. Discretely, Elena changed and snuck out of castle for awhile.
Young king Caspian strode down the halls of the castle, admiring the artwork. He then saw the portrait of him when he was about ten years old. He looked closer and laughed. I can see where I lost my tooth. Just then, Barthemellow walked next to him. " Your Highness," he bowed. " Yes my friend?" " We started packing for the journey, as you wished." Caspian smiled then look liked he realized something. " I forgot! I have to go pack myself!" and he ran off to do so. Unfortunately for him, he ran into some more paper work instead.
Susan very quietly opened the door to her room. She looked at the clock, it was 8:30pm. Then she looked over to a dark blue chair in the corner of the room. There was Caspian. Staring at him, she guessed he had fallen asleep while reading all his papers. The young queen tip-toed over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Caspian…." she whispered, " You need to wake up." He gave a deep moan in response.
" Oh come on now dear, you're not an old man yet. You shouldn't need to take 75 naps a day!" He then responded, eyes still closed, " I see no reason to wake up." Susan laughed, " I don't want you asleep now, because that means you'll be up later. In bed." "So?" he sounded careless. She sighed. " With me. " Caspian then opened his eyes and spoke to her with a smirk on his face, " Maybe I do it purposely…" He doesn't do it because he wants to…. She stood straight up. " Caspian! You're terrible!" "I know." They both laughed. " I believe you're supposed to be packing though," she pointed to the dresser. He sighed. " Yeah. You're right." And he finally got too. The rest of the night was rather uneventful.