Caspian

I wish she didn't have to leave, but she had to do what was right. When she left, my heart was torn. I struggled to keep that last image of her in my mind as I finished my speech and rushed to the castle. Then quickly, I went into my room, grabbed my secret painting pallet and got started. It took me two days to finish every little detail. When I showed my masterpiece to the staff, they demanded it was put on display. I disagreed. Instead, I put it in my royal chambers so when I woke up, I could see her. This way, I would never forget the flowing, curly, black hair, the pale, soft, skin and those magnificent blue eyes. I spent the next two weeks trapped in my chambers, not letting anyone in. But I had to return to my new duties as the king of Narnia. I came up with an idea, why not rebuild Cair Paravel? If Susan ever came back with her siblings, they would have their home to go back to! We started construction a few months later, for the basic outline of the building; it would take a year to finish. The only problem was we didn't know the location of anything else: the bedchambers, the treasure rooms, the kitchens…

One day, I was in my room, trying to figure out the plans with Trumpkin, the dwarf, and Professor Cornelius, my tutor. We were arguing over where the royal chambers ought to be and what they should look like. Then, a councilman, Drinian, walked in. he wanted to speak to me privately. So the Professor and Trumpkin left, bowing to me before doing so. Drinian started talking about a new ship or something, but I was lost in thought, staring at the picture behind him.

"Your Majesty, are you listening?" said Drinian, a bit of concern washed over his expression.

"Of course, Drinian." But my eyes were still lingering on the picture. Drinian turned around to see what I was looking at. His mouth fell open in awe.

"Who is this queen, this magnificent beauty?" asked Drinian, clearly astonished by my painting.

"That's Queen Susan." I answered, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"She's gorgeous! I don't know who she is, probably from a fairy-tale or something, but you must be dying to kiss those dreamy lips, eh?" And he winked at me.

"Excuse me, please." I said, hot tears streaming down my face. I ran and ran; no one stopped me, until I reached my secret garden. It was a miracle none of the gardeners had found it yet. It was an old courtyard, probably built in the Telemarine time. It was surrounded by trees and had a fountain in the middle. It was one of the only places where I could be in peace. The others were probably telling Drinian the story by now. I repeated his words in my mind. Drinian had no idea how much it had hurt me. I didn't blame him though. He hadn't been there the day she left; I don't even know if he knows she ever came back! Hopefully the others would take pity on him and not punish him for offending me, he was our best sailor.

After a few days, things had gone back to normal. I was again in my quarters, studying the palace maps with Trumpkin and the Professor. We were still arguing on where to put the bedrooms when a girl came in. She was beautiful beyond comprehension; as beautiful as Susan. She had long, curly, golden hair, soft, pale skin, and full lips. The only things not beautiful about her were her eyes. They were blue, but nothing like Susan's. These eyes were cold and full of hate for the world. They searched the room, and when she found me, she looked at me with a strange expression. It wasn't love at first sight, but something less, like she thought I was a toy she could play with.

"Oh, there you are!" she said with a melodic voice that yet seemed weak and flirtatious.

"Me?" I asked.

"No, silly! Him." She nodded towards my professor.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering where you were." I was still lost. "Caspian, this is our best archer, along with Trumpkin, Devon. She is a Veela that escaped her island to join the Amazons. There, she learned how to fight." If this girl is an Amazon, I am a princess. I thought. "She escaped the Amazons to pursue love and ended up here."

"Eww, who is this ugly girl on the wall?" She asked. I lounged to smite her across the face, but before I could, the Professor stopped me.

"Calm down my king, she did not mean to offend you; she doesn't know who she is." He shooed her out of my room and added: "You better get over her, my king."

"I will never get over her!" I yelled. "I will love her and wait for her for the rest of my days!" I could feel my face glowing red with anger, how dare he suggest that?! How dare Devon insult her like that!?

A few weeks after this, Drinian came into my room once more to tell me about the ship. I had promised Aslan that as soon as there was peace over all of Narnia, I would go looking for the seven lords of Telemar, my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters. Once my father died, Miraz sent them all on an impossible quest to get rid of them. I believe they are still out there. It was my duty to find out what happened to them and rescue them if they're alive. They had been sent to the Lone Islands, where no Narnians had ever come back from alive. My men were constructing a ship to serve this purpose. It would be filled with the bravest men of Narnia. And Devon, I remembered. Drinian would be the captain of the ship, even though I would be in charge. The ship was called the Dawn Treader. It's the finest ship in Narnia's navy. It was almost as big as the castle. It had a dragon figurehead that made it look more powerful. The whole ship was painted gold, so it glimmered in the sunlight. The masts were high and the decks were low. I would sleep in the lower deck, in a grand room with a view of the water. In that room, Peter's sword, Edmund's torch, Lucy's knife and healing cordial, and Susan's bow and arrows, were laid. I chose to leave her horn in the castle, in case anything happened to us at sea. Her horn is the thing I hold most dear, for it led me to meeting her. There were also bedrooms made especially for them, even though we all knew they weren't coming. The day I had to get on the ship, I thought of her. I wished she was there at my side, going on the ship with her siblings, but all those thoughts were washed away when Devon came.

"Caspian, it's time to go!"

Being on the ship was easy. There were no storms coming, no men falling overboard, no sign of mutiny. The ship held great views, Drinian was a great leader, Reepicheep was "guarding" the ship, and Devon was behaving. I'd seen her shoot. She was good, but Susan was far better. We still have not spotted land, as we expected for we were only a week into our journey. All of a sudden, I heard faint shouts. They were coming from the water! I looked down and there happened to be a couple of children swimming.

I jumped off the ship, men yelling at me. But I didn't care; I needed to save these kids. A few men followed my lead after seeing the children. One more came out of the water. This one was flapping his arms, yelling at the top of his lungs, whilst the others remained calm. When I got in the water, I searched for the kids. I saw a girl, not far away. She had reddish hair and seemed to be yelling at a dark-haired boy nearby, who looked as if he may be her brother. I grabbed hold of her and she looked up. Suddenly, I heard a little voice I recognized.

"Caspian!" She said.

"Lucy!"