Author's note: I do not own Narnia, sadly. If you like it, let me know! I love feedback!

"What's wrong?"

"Let me go, I have to go!" I cried, feeling the tears beginning to fall.

"Your majesty, please hold her still. She needs stitches and she refuses to have them," I heard the woman say. I twisted and flailed in Caspian's grip, throwing my arms around his neck and dragging myself closer to him, burying my face in his warm chest.

"Please Caspian, please! No, stitches. Please I'll do anything, I'm begging you, no stitches."

My voice was muffled, but I knew he could hear me. He remained frozen in his place for a moment, surprised by my sudden contact, but he hesitantly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, almost like he was protecting me.

"Can you not see how frightened this girl is? Please, there has to be some other treatment."

I tightened my arms around his neck, a silent thank you for defending me. From behind me, the woman sighed. "There is another way, much less efficient, and it will take much longer to heal, but it does not require any needles."

Now that the major problem was solved, I had time to notice just how awkward of a position Caspian and I were in at the moment.

My arms were fastened tightly around his neck, and his secured around my waist. Our bodies were pressed against one another, his chest against my face and my chest against his abdomen. My cheek was nuzzled against his chest, where I could feel the warmth of his skin beneath the thin shirt he was wearing.

I could feel his cool breath on the top of my head, and I could hear his heartbeat, which was going much slower than mine was. I wanted to let go, to step away and apologize for invading his personal space.

But I couldn't.

I could not possibly fathom the idea of letting him go when his embrace was so warm and comforting and….perfect. But then I recalled the image of him, riding his horse onto the battlefield, with perfect Susan right behind him, her arms tight around his waist.

My heart stung. Of course, he and Susan were in love.

Reluctantly, I released Caspian from my hold and took a step back, looking down at my feet with a bright red blush on my cheeks. The nurse asked me to lie down again while she bustled around the room.

"You may go now, your majesty." The woman dismissed him.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away, scared to watch Caspian walk away, not even caring if I was treated alright or anything. But I never heard the door close.

"If neither of you mind, I would prefer to stay here and make sure Lady Christina's injury is well attended to, not that I doubt your skills Madame," he flashed a charming smile at the nurse while she busied herself with finding stuff to heal my cut with.

Caspian pulled up a wooden stool beside me and sat down.

I wanted to turn over and hold his hand and hug him again, but I didn't.

I simply turned my head slightly to look up at the ceiling but to really look at him in my peripheral vision. He looked unhappy. I was going to apologize for hugging him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Instead I settled for "what's wrong? You look mad."

"I am, as you say, mad." He answered quietly, staring at me.

I turned over, careful not to cause anymore pain to my stomach and propped myself up on my elbow, looking at him. "Why're you mad?" He looked me in the eyes, his brown ones filled with unnamed emotions. I looked away quickly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"What?"

I looked back up at him, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. Of all the Things he could have possibly said to explain his anger he said that? I stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You are a good person. I know I haven't known you for very long, but you are, you are a wonderful person. And knowing that I was one of the people that put you into harm's way and knowing that you got hurt, I can't stand myself."

WHAT?

He must be delusional or something. All the stress from running an army must have finally gotten to him. He just needs to sleep, that's all. Sleep will make him sane again.

"Caspian, this isn't your fault. I agreed to fight and I was the one that got myself hurt. Besides, I'm not even hurt that bad. A couple of weeks from now and I'll be as good as new. So don't feel bad and don't, especially don't blame yourself. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but the nurse lady came back just then.

She was holding what looked to be lotion of some sort, bandages, and a small glass bottle. She set them down next to my feet and smiled at me. "You may want to lie on your back; it would be easier to reach your wound that way."

I did as she said, and smiled at Caspian, who was looking up in the air, so as not to invade my privacy by looking at my exposed skin when my dress was pulled up.

The woman opened the glass bottle and poured a bit of it on a bandage and looked at me for a second before pressing it against my skin. I yelped and reached out, grabbing Caspian's hand. Fire shot through my veins and I squirmed, digging my nails into Caspian's palm.

He didn't seem to mind. He was more surprised when my hand had darted out and grabbed his. Now he was staring at my wound. It must've been bad, because he squeezed my hand back tightly.

"Alright, now that we have that cleaned, I'm going to put the healing lotion on the bandages and wrap you up," the nurse stated, spreading the lotion-y stuff on the bandages before pressing them against my gut.

Once she had a thin layer of lotion-y bandages covering me she told me to sit up and hold my dress up. I did so, not looking at Caspian and him not looking at me, and watched her as she grabbed some more bandages and patted Caspian on the shoulder.

"You're going to have to help me wrap this around her."

I blushed.

Caspian nodded and stood up, letting go of my hand. The nurse pressed one end of the roll of wrapping on my abdomen; a small burst of pain appeared at the pressure. Then gave the roll to Caspian, telling him to wrap it all around my body tightly, but not tight enough to cut off my blood flow.

He did this very lightly, his fingers brushing my exposed abdomen every once and a while.

My blush got darker and I looked away, embarrassed at the thought of how lovely his touch was and how warm his hands were. After about three cycles around my stomach the nurse decided that I was wrapped well enough and pinned the bandages together.

"Come back tomorrow and I'll clean the wound again and replace the wrappings," she told me.

I nodded and stood up, making sure my dress covered me again. Then Caspian and I both left the room, walking side by side, not saying a word. I followed him through hallways and stairwells. This place seemed to go on forever.

"Caspian, where are we going?"

He smiled at me and took my hand, sending shocks through my arm.

"I'm showing you to your sleeping quarters so you can wash up and have a nap, if you wish, before the feast."

"What feast?"

"The celebratory feast," he answered simply, like everyone knew what was going on.

I nodded, unsure of what to say. His smile grew wide when we reached a winding staircase. He looked back at me, a twinkle in his eyes, and pulled me along, looking very excited. I had to almost jog to keep up with his quick steps, and I ran into his back when he stopped outside a door in a small corridor.

"This is your chamber while you are here," he informed me, motioning at the door.

"This is Lucy's," he pointed at the door across the hall from mine, "This is Edmund's" he pointed at the door right next door to mine, "This is Susan's" he pointed at the door next to Lucy's, "This is Peter's" he pointed at the door next to Edmund's, "And this is mine," he walked down the length of the hall and tapped the door across from Peter's.

"Why am I here?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and walked back to where I was standing. "What do you mean?" He wondered, obviously confused. "Why is my room in this hall with all of you? You're royals and I'm not."

"That does not matter. You are a great friend to all of us." He smiled and opened the door to where I was supposed to be sleeping, successfully halting any arguments I might have had.

"Oh my God."

The room was huge, with high vaulted ceilings. A large, comfy looking bed with curtains and dark, mahogany wood sat against one wall. A wardrobe that was bigger than me was against another wall. It was made of the same dark wood and had intricate details and carvings on the front. There was a fireplace with a cozy looking chair and a small table in front of it. A door was next to the wardrobe and lead off to what I presumed was the bathroom.

But the most spectacular thing about the room was that it opened up onto a balcony.

Walking onto the balcony, I gasped. The view was perfect. I could see the rest of the castle and the courtyard in the center of the massive palace. I could also see the village outside the castle, and the rolling trees and hills beyond that. It was amazing.

"I hope this is suitable for you?"

I whirled around and smiled at Caspian.

"Suitable? Caspian, this is gorgeous, it's perfect….it is so much more than I deserve."

He flashed me a breathtaking smile and motioned back into the room. So I followed him as he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, revealing two long colorful rows of gorgeous gowns and dresses.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and took a step forward and reached out to the dresses, but didn't touch any of them, afraid that they would disappear.

"Queen Susan and Queen Lucy," was all he said. It was enough of an explanation.

"Thank you, for everything." I murmured, turning to look at him.

"You're most welcome. This is the washroom, if you would like to freshen up, feel free to sleep. I will send a servant up for you when it is time for the meal," he stated backing up, towards the door.

"Oh, ok. Alright, thank you," I called. He bowed his head a bit, as if saying 'you're welcome' then left.

I waited until I heard Caspian's footsteps fade down the hall, and then I grabbed handfuls of my skirt and ran to the balcony. I sat down right beside the banister, slipping my feet through and letting them dangle off the edge.

I leaned back on my elbows and basked in the sunlight, letting it warm me all the way to the core. I didn't think about anything. There were too many problems to think about, and all of them would ruin the moment.

What seemed like only minutes later there was a tentative knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened to reveal a girl a couple years older than me, still in her early twenties though. She had dark brown hair and eyes with tan skin. She was definitely a lot thinner than I was, and a lot prettier, but she looked very friendly.

She swept into a very graceful curtsy with a happy smile on her lips.

"My name is Arianna, but you may call me Ari. I will be your servant while you stay here."

I smiled and gave an awkward half bow half curtsy. "Hi, Ari. I'm Christina, you can call me Chris. And I don't really like the term servant, so how about you're my helpful friend while I stay here?"

She smiled and nodded her head.

"Well, Lady Chris, Prince Caspian sent me to tell you that the feast is due to begin soon, so it would be best if you prepared." I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at myself before looking back up at her.

"Am I not prepared now?"

"You've been wearing that dress all day, madam. It would be much easier if you changed dresses for the feast. The entire Telmarine court will be there, you know." Another smile appeared on her face as she went to my wardrobe and opened it, beginning to sort through the dresses.

"Here you go." She handed me a dress and showed me to a changing screen in the corner of the room. I got her to help untie the corset at the back of the dress I was currently wearing. Then I moved behind the screen and pulled the dress off, leaving it on the floor as I stepped into the other gown.

I held the front up as I stepped out and turned my back to Ari to have her tie the straps.

She yanked each and every one, jolting me forward and knocking the wind out of me every time she did so. "Ari," I gasped, "I think I'll need just a bit of room to breathe." She chuckled and continued her yanking. When she finished I ran a brush through my hair really quick. Then I gathered two fistfuls of my skirt and followed Ari out into the hallway, through different corridors and staircases, until we had come to the grand staircase in the grand hall.

There were people milling about at the bottom of the staircase. A few of them looked up at me, among those that did were the Pevensies. I smiled at my friends and began to descend the stairs slowly, looking down to make sure I wouldn't fall.

"Christina, you look so pretty!" Lucy squealed, hugging me.

I hugged her back, smiling widely. I also flashed Susan a smile. "Thank you guys, for all the dresses. You really didn't need to do that," I said to them while Edmund hugged me. They both flashed me radiant smiles.

"Oh, But we did! If we hadn't stocked your wardrobe you'd be wearing trousers right now, and we just couldn't have that," Lucy teased, giggling quietly. "Oh, whatever," I sighed, laughing anyways.

"Your majesties?"

I turned to face Caspian, a blush creeping onto my cheeks.

He surveyed all of the Pevenies, his eyes stopping on Susan, Of Course, and then he glanced over and looked me up and down. My blush darkened and I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"The feast is ready, if it would please you to be seated now."

Lucy grinned, grabbing hold of my hand. "Sit next to me, Christina," she cheered, pulling me into what appeared to be the dining hall. There was a long table with many chairs and place settings along the length of the hall, with one large, elaborate chair at the end of the table. Lucy walked all the way down to the end of the table and sat on the left side of the big chair.

I sat next to her and Edmund sat next to me.

I slowly became more and more nervous as more and more people filed into the hall and took seats around the table. Susan was across from me and Peter next to her. Strangers took seats all around me and gave the Pevensies and myself strange looks. I blushed and looked down.

Then Caspian took his seat at the head of the table and the meal began.

I had no idea what food they were serving me, so I mostly just poked at my food and stayed quiet, listening to the conversations around me. A servant poured wine in my glass, even though I didn't want any. But I was so thirsty, so I sipped at it occasionally, making sure I didn't drink too much.

Finally, the meal was over, and Lucy excused both herself and me, and lead me through the castle.

"How do you know your way around already? I'm pretty sure if I tried to navigate my way to my room I'd get lost," I questioned her. "My hand maiden Ophelia gave me a tour," she informed me with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad you know your way around, now you can help me." I squeezed her hand.

She laughed her beautiful laugh that sounded like chiming bells and gave me a side hug, leading me through more hallways and staircases until we reached the hallway where our rooms were. I opened my door and motioned for her to go in first.

opened my door and motioned for her to go in first.

She did, and she plopped herself in front of the fireplace, which now held a roaring fire, which I assumed was started by Arianna. "so did you know there's going to be a ball?"

I flopped into the chair in front of the fire place and looked at the young girl sprawled out on the rug.

"What?"

She sat up and nodded her head furiously with a huge smile on her face. "Yes, in two days. It's a coronation ball for Caspian and a welcome back ball for us," she told me, a twinkle in her eye. Something told me that she liked wearing fancy dresses and dancing. That made one of us.

"I don't think I'll go."

"What? Why not? You have to go!"

"Lucy, I can't dance."

She gave me a skeptical look. "Everyone can dance, Christina," she stated. I shook my head. "No, I can't dance. Especially not slow dancing, like you people do. The best slow dance I can do is sway back and forth a bit."

"Well then, we'll just have to teach you how to dance."

"But I don't want to learn how to dance. I just want to stay in my room and sleep or read a book or something like that!" I wailed. "But you have to come! Everyone's going to be there. And you'll wear a beautiful dress and Caspian'll fall madly in love with you!"

"Lucy, SH! What if he had heard you?"

"Then he would finally have gotten a clue," she replied, a smug smile on her face.

I sighed and stood up, walking out to the balcony. "Do I really have any chance to argue with you?" I asked quietly, noticing that Lucy had followed me outside. "No, you don't," her smile widened.

"Fine, I'll take dancing lessons and I'll go to the ball. But I don't want you to try to use the dancing lessons as a way to get Caspian and I alone together or something, ok?"

As I said this, her face fell and she glared at me.

"Fine," she huffed. Suddenly her face brightened and a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. "But, Susan and I get to pick your dress! And you're not allowed to argue!" she looked very self-satisfied now.

"No, that's not fair!"

"is too. I'll get Edmund to give you dance lessons if you let us pick your dress. Otherwise, I'm sure Caspian will be more than happy to give you dance lessons."

"How can someone so sweet looking be so evil?"

"So it's settled then?"

"Yeah, but would you do something else for me?

She gave me a skeptical look, but nodded her head. I bit my lip, unsure of how to tell her that I didn't really know how to ride a horse when that was one of the main sources of transportation in Narnia.

"Would you teach me how to ride a horse?"

"What? You mean you don't know how to ride a horse?"

I shook my head slowly, looking down, embarrassed. "Yes, I'll give you horseback riding lessons tomorrow right after breakfast. Then you'll have dance lessons with Edmund right after lunch! I'll have it all worked out," she agreed, smiling.

I smiled and bid her goodnight, waving as she left the room.