A/N: As always, some of the characters are owned by C.S. Lewis and Disney. Now onward and upward…

CHAPTER 10

Christmastime in Narnia is my absolute favorite time of the year. The castle is normally so dark because it's made of such dark stone, but it transforms in early December every year when the servants get together and decorate the inside with greenery and bright red Poinsettias. It makes the castle seem much more charming, especially when the Christmas trees are brought in and decorated too. It has become an annual tradition to help Molly with her decorating, and she always helps me decorate my room.

"So did you hear?" She asks me as we push a cart filled with plants and decorations up to my room.

"Hear what?"

"Apparently, there's going to be a pre-coronation ball thrown for Caspian soon. Like in a couple of weeks."

"No, I didn't hear about it. Does he know about it?"

"I think so. I mean, he might not yet, but it's not supposed to be a surprise or anything. Anyway, I was talking to Dr. Cornelius this morning, and he wants to bring in a dance instructor to teach a bunch of us contra dancing."

Great. Dancing. "Wait, I have to do it?"

"Well, I think you need to. They want you and Caspian to dance together with everyone. Contra is usually with a bunch of people, so it's a lot of fun."

"Yah, for you maybe! Caspian and I are both horrible at dancing."

"Oh, I've seen both of you, so I know that's true. But contra is more about learning the steps more than having lots of technique. You'll be fine. Trust me, if I can learn it, you can learn it."

"Well, I don't really want to do it, but it sounds like I don't have too much choice in the matter."

"That ah girl!"

We get to my room and spend the morning decorating it and by the end, it looks perfect just like it does every year. Molly has a wonderful eye for decorating it just right. I look at the cart, seeing that we have a lot left. "What are you doing with all these?"

"They're for Caspian's room. We'll go there next."

Caspian's room is just a little ways away from mine. We knock to make sure it's ok to enter. Thankfully, it's silent and empty. Even though he's not in here, I love being in his room. It reminds me of all the hours that we've spent in here throughout our childhood. I find a shirt lying on his bed, and it must be the one that he slept in. I pick it up and smell the neck of it. I think about stealing it because it smells so good. I look over at Molly, who's staring at me.

"Don't be gross."

I throw my head back and laugh. "I know, I'm sorry. I can't help it."

"You two couldn't be more perfect for each other. That's the only reason that all of us put up with you."

I grin and can't hide my embarrassment. We probably should be more careful at times during our more passionate encounters. Sometimes, we can't seem to help ourselves. We've been together for over six months now, so it's getting harder and harder to control our urges. Every time we're together, we just want more, although I'm still waiting for him to propose. Since he wants us to get married before his, or I guess our, coronation, that doesn't leave a ton of time left. At least it will be a quick engagement. Then there will be nothing from stopping us from….

Molly clears her throat, snapping me instantly out of my thoughts. I realize that I've been biting on my lower lip. I put Caspian's shirt back on the bed, then go to help Molly with her decorating. We get about halfway through when Caspian comes through the door.

"Hey Princey," says Molly.

"Hey Molly Mayhem."

"Ugh. Will you ever let that go?"

"Nope. Especially when you call me Princey. It's only fair," he tells her then comes and gives me a kiss. "It looks good in here," he continues. "Do you need any help?"

"No, we're fine. But thanks," I say.

He smiles and lies on his bed, watching me. I smile at him then go back to my work. "So did you hear about the dancing lessons?" I ask him.

"Ugh. Yes," he says, sounding very annoyed with the idea. "I tried to talk the Professor out of it, but he won't budge. The council wants us to do it too. I don't think we have much of a choice, even though you know how I feel about dancing."

"Hey, let's not forget how awful I am too. We'll be bad together."

"We already are bad together," says Caspian, winking at me.

"Eewwwwww. Seriously?" says Molly, horrified.

Caspian and I laugh at her, and I decide to gross her out even more because she's so easy to mess with. I drop what I'm doing and go over to the bed quickly and climb in. He realizes what I want to do, so he sits up, and we start kissing like crazy. It gets even better when he makes exaggerated moaning sounds. It's hard for me to keep kissing him when I'm trying not to laugh. Our little scheme does the trick because the next thing we hear is Molly screaming, running out of the room.

"Do you think she'll ever come back?" he asks.

"I don't think so. That probably scarred her for life."

"Oh well. That was pretty fun…way more fun than our dancing lessons will be. The Professor is going to tell me later today when we will get started."

"You better not step on my feet," I caution him.

"Well, if I do, I'll kiss you to make up for it."

I think for a second. "I guess that would be okay."

The lessons start a few days later and we go to one of the large halls about every other day for three weeks. At first, it was tiring even for those of us who are in shape. But we've all seemed to have gotten the hang of it, especially this past week. Our instructor, Glenora, has been extremely patient and kind. She was worried about Caspian and me in the beginning. We really are that terrible. And as promised, I get quite a few kisses for having hurt feet over the course of our lessons. She was relieved when we finally started to show some improvement. When we finally get a hang of it, it really isn't so bad, plus I get to see a lot more of Caspian and Molly.

Today, it's finally the last day of practice, and I think Caspian is more excited for these dancing lessons to end than I am. He's been in a wonderful mood all day. Molly came by earlier and picked out a dress for me because she had some free time. It's a little more formal than I would have worn normally, but it'll be good to practice in a longer dress. I walk with her down to the dance floor and I'm astonished at the change overnight. I look around the room, which is now beautifully decorated for the ball tomorrow evening. They added some large Christmas trees in each corner of the room, all decorated with a different color scheme. There are also numerous lit candles scattered everywhere, giving the room an ethereal glow. I wish the castle was like this all year-round.

We're the last to arrive, and everyone else is already gathered in the middle of the room. I walk up and wrap my arm around Caspian's waist, and he kisses my forehead. Now that we're all here, Glenora says a few words. "I want to thank each of you for your effort that you've shown in these lessons. You have all improved greatly. So this will be one last fun lesson, and I have no doubt that you will do me proud tomorrow."

With that, we disperse for a few minutes. Chatter from various conversations fill the room as everyone begins their various preparations, like putting on the proper shoes. Caspian pulls me off to the side so it's just the two of us. He presses a quick but meaningful kiss against my lips. "You look stunning, my love."

"Thanks. Molly picked the dress out for me. We actually kinda match," I say, realizing that he's a little more formal as well. "You look great too!"

"So are you excited for the end of our lessons?"

"Well, for the dancing, yes. Although we have gotten a lot better. But it's been fun to do with you. You're my favorite dancing partner," I say, pulling him into a hug.

He kisses my forehead again, then everyone starts gathering back in the middle of the room to get ready to start. He leads me out into the middle of the circle. I look over at the musicians. The band has grown by a few, and now includes a few more fiddles and a tambourine. I guess they really do want us to be ready for tomorrow by giving us an immersive experience. Apparently word has gotten out in the castle, too, because many of the council members and some of the servants and guards start to show up to watch what we can do. Caspian must detect the slight the slight nervousness on my face. "Don't worry about them. Just concentrate on us and the steps. You'll be fine." I nod. It's just a little nerve-wracking to have to dance in front of others. Until now, it's only been our small group, and there have never been bystanders watching. The music starts and I look into Caspian's eyes. He's practically glowing with happiness.

We get into formation and stand in our lines. I stand a few feet in front of Caspian, and we hold hands in the middle to start. We hear the instructor give our quick countdown and we begin the dance. We do a few spins and twirls, and then we join with another group of two. We all hold hands and spin in one large circle to the left, then do the same to the right. Then we drop hands and do-si-do around with our new partner. Next, we join our new partners and swing around them in a circle. This cycle continues as I make my way down the line. Several cycles farther down the line brings me to Molly's group. We make crazy faces at each other, and we laugh as we have a wonderful time. It's much less stressful now that we know all the steps. I even forget about everyone watching us. I just concentrate on what I'm doing and occasionally catch glimpses of Caspian, laughing and clearly having fun with his group. Eventually, Caspian and I make it back together. I'm swinging around with one partner, and I know to go to the side to spin into his arms next. Only, when I go, he disappears. For a split second, I'm confused, but then I notice someone is on the ground. I look down in front of me and Caspian is down on one knee, holding up an open jewelry box with a beautiful diamond ring, and he has the most perfect smile on his face. My right hand flies up on instinct to cover my mouth, and he reaches out to hold my left hand with his free hand.

"Anna Grace Zarria, I love you with all that I am, and you are the only one for me. Will you do me the honor of taking my hand in marriage?"

Tears are in both of our eyes, and we have matching radiant smiles. I vigorously nod my head, and then muster up as much sound as I can with my voice. "Yes! Yes!" He quickly stands and crashes his lips against my own—our first kiss as fiancés. I hear that the music has stopped and everyone has erupted into clapping, whistling, and cheering. If we were alone, I know that we would have kept going for a while, but we have to at least try to keep it chaste, so Caspian pulls away. My cheeks start to hurt I'm smiling so much. He takes the ring out of the box and he shimmies it down onto my ring finger. I couldn't have picked out a better ring myself. It's yellow gold and has a large oval diamond in the center, and then it's surrounded by smaller diamonds around the edge of that and onto half of the band.

I look into his eyes, soaking up the moment as much as I can. I see the same joy and excitement in his eyes that are in my own. "I helped design that for you. I know how you love diamonds. Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's perfect," I tell him, meaning every word. It's one of the most gorgeous rings that I've ever seen.

He presses his lips against mine again, until I feel someone pull me away. "Alright, alright. Don't accost her in public." Molly. She turns me around and pulls me into a tight hug. "Congratulations Anna!" She lets go of me then continues, "So were you surprised? Princey worked really hard to make it special. He thought of the whole thing!"

"I had absolutely no idea. It was perfect, every detail. Wait, so you knew?"

"Well, who else could have talked you into those dance lessons besides him? He wanted it to look like he didn't have anything to do with it. Besides, I helped decorate this place, and it looks great."

I laugh at her. "Yes, it does. And thank you for helping."

"No problem. Now go back to your fiancé," she says with a wink, then goes off to talk to someone else.

Caspian swoops back over to me as soon as she leaves and we stay hand in hand the rest of the time as we accept congratulations and well wishes from all that attended. I've never felt more special. The crowd dwindles pretty quickly after that, so we decide to go back to his study where it's cozy and warm. He closes the door behind us and we head straight for the chaise lounge which is just wide enough to fit two people. He sits down first then I sit next to him, curling down under one of his arms and wrapping both arms around him tightly. I partially lay my legs over his as we stretch them out in front of us.

"It's going to be hard to calm down after all of that."

He chuckles. "That was pretty exciting. So many people came. I'm just glad it stayed a secret. It's been hard for me to not say anything. I feel like I've been lying to you."

I sit up a little so I can see his eyes. "This is the only time where lying is ok."

He laughs again. "Alright. Deal."

We sit and enjoy the silence for a few moments. "Sooooo. Can we get married tomorrow?" I playfully ask.

"Ha! I wish, my love. But I might have a slightly different plan."

"And what is that?"

"Well, I want to bring you to Cair Paravel. It's almost finished and I want to show you around. So that will take almost two weeks to get there and back. We will need to plan the wedding as well. Thankfully since I won't be king, it won't be frowned upon for me to not invite some of the other royals from across Narnia. Which is good because we won't have to wait for anyone to arrive. Besides, everyone we care about is already here. So we could probably plan for a few days, then leave for Cair Paravel. Then we can have the wedding a few days after we return."

"So about three weeks then?"

"Yah. I think that will work. I wish it was tomorrow, but I think this will be best."

"Ugh. This is going to be the longest three weeks of our lives."

"Agreed." He surprises me when he slips from my grasp and turns me a little so I'm on my back, and he comes and leans partly over me. "So, fiancé, you had a good time tonight?"

"Yes, it was perfect. Everyone that I'm friends with was there. Did you plan that part too?"

"Yes, I did. I knew that you wouldn't want do dance in front of all those people, but it's the only way that I could get it to work because I wanted them to be there for the actual moment when I proposed. The Professor and Molly helped me out a lot to plan the whole thing. Then all I had to do was carry out the plan."

"Well, thank you for doing all that for me. I think I'll keep you," I say, and then pause for a second. "And when I'm your wife in a few weeks, I'll find a way to properly thank you."

He perks right up. "Now I really, really wish we were getting married tomorrow," he says. Then we spend the rest of the evening talking and dreaming of our future together.

A/N: They're engaged! Yay! And I'll try to keep updating quickly, although I'm starting to have a lot on my plate. I'll do my best. As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to review/drop a note :)