Y'all should listen to 'Wanna be Yours' by Arctic Monkeys during the smut ;).
Alessandra wanted to ask him what happened, why he didn't stick to the plan that was so carefully thought out. But he was still riled up from what happened outside with Peter, riled up and perhaps a bit hurt. She knew deep down that he still felt like an outsider amoung the Narnians, and that he was afraid of becoming like his uncle, so Peter's word cut deeper than he let on.
At first it seemed like he was leading them with no real destination in mind, until he paused outside of what was serving as the council room, where Aslan's mural resided.
He turned to her and his hand flexed inside of hers for a moment, "My Light, I," he paused he words becoming difficult to get out, he didn't want to push her away but he needed a moment to himself, "I want- I need-"
She was always so good at reading his mind, "Some time for yourself."
He deflated in relief, "Yes."
"I understand," she rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek, "Come find me when you're ready."
"Thank you." he said, raising her hand to kiss the back of it.
Almost the second she left Caspian regretted sending her away, things already felt colder and duller without her. Before he could turn to find her and take her back into his arms a voice stopped him.
"You so proud of that magic horn now, boy?" He looked down around knee height and was unsurprised to see Nikabrik as the culprit, the dwarf had never quite warmed up to him, "Your kings and queens have failed us. Your army's half dead. And those that aren't will be soon enough."
"What do you want?" Caspian snapped halfheartedly, it was all the energy he had left, "Congratulations?"
"You want your uncle's blood?" Nikabrik's voice took on a darker tone that had Caspian looking at him in confusion, "So do we. You want his throne? We can get it for you." The boy still wasn't convinced, but Nikabrik knew just what would do the trick, "You want to protect your woman don't you?"
For a moment Alessandra wasn't sure where to go after leaving Caspian, she was certain that the healer's grotto would probably be the most logical, but she wanted to check on Peter. Things had gotten quite heated outside and admittedly she'd been avoiding him since they arrived.
His space wasn't hard to find, however it was suspiciously absent of his presence, "Peter?" she called out into the seemingly empty room.
"Yes?" The High King in question responded curiously coming out from behind another wall she hadn't noticed before, and he was in the process of donning a new shirt.
"Oh," why was she blushing Alessandra wondered to herself as she turned her head, she'd seen Caspian in far worse states of undress.
"Did you want me?" he asked with laughter in his voice.
"I wanted to return this to you," she said, offering him his cloak back.
"Right," Peter said, taking the fabric in his hands, "Suppose there's not much need for it down here."
"Suppose not," She shrugged, joining him as he sat on one of the dirt packed slabs, "I also wanted to check on you."
"Thank you," he said with a bashful smile, "I suppose we haven't really seen that much of each other since we got here."
"You've had Kingly duties to attend to."
He huffed a laugh, "I guess. It's not an excuse though."
"It's fine Peter, I know how much the Narnians expected of you." That made him deflate a little as he looked down and she remembered how downtrodden he looked when they returned from the castle raid, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, things can't always go as planned."
Desperate to change the subject, "I don't think I've thanked you enough." He looked at her in confusion, "For saving me at the river."
"Right, it was nothing."
"It was something. I don't want to think about what could have happened if you all hadn't found me."
"I'm happy we found you too," his tone changed as he leaned closer, "You're not like anyone I've ever met."
Her face pinched, "Peter-" She could say nothing else before his lips touched hers ever so gently, his hand cupped her cheek as he applied the slightest bit more pressure before she pulled away taking his hand.
"I," she could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke "I thought you wanted me to."
"I know you did. And I'm sorry If I made you feel like there could be something between us. But," She looked at him and like she expected his eyes were filled with confusion, "it's Caspian, it's always going to be him."
He was disappointed, "I understand,"
"I still want to be your friend, but, " she paused when a chill ran up her back, so much so that goosebumps rose up on her arms and her hand went to her necklace, gripping the gem, "Caspian."
"What is it?"
"Something's wrong."
He stood immediately and grabbed his sword, "Where is he?"
"At the Stone Table."
"Find the others."
He took off out of the alcove and she was behind him, he went one direction and she went in the other. Thankfully they weren't far and they were all together in the dining hall.
She didn't waste time with formalities or pretence grabbing onto Edmund's arm the second he was within reach, "Peter and Caspian need you."
"What?"
"At the Stone Table, something's happened."
Thankfully he picked this moment not to pick a fight with her and took off much in the same way Peter had a second later, Trumpkin and Lucy followed.
If she could describe the scene she ran into it would be chaos. Peter was sword fighting with what looked to be a rotting half-bird woman, an angry growl sounded that showed Edmund holding his own up against a werewolf. All that paled in comparison to the massive block of ice that eclipsed the room, a hauntingly beautiful woman in the middle of it with a single hand outstretched towards. . . "Caspian!"
A pair of arms wrapped around her and she turned to see Susan shaking her head as she held her back, Caspian's head turned though, she caught the glazed look in his eye a second before he disappeared from view as Peter pushed him out of the way.
"Get away from him!"
"Peter dear," the White Witch cooed, "I've missed you."
There was a grunt and she looked to see Trumpkin pulling his dagger out of Nikabrik's back as Lucy watched in shock and gratitude, Susan's grip loosened slightly out of concern for her brother and Alessandra was able to slip through and run to Caspian, he looked dazed when she reached him and helped him sit up, but recognition dawned on him soon enough, followed by guilt.
"Just one drop," the encapsulated woman's voice was so hypnotic that even Alessandra looked up, "You know you can't do this alone."
Peter looked like he was seriously considering it, whether out of desperation or the witch's magic he started to lower his sword. Before she could open her mouth to shout for him a sword pierced through the centre of the woman's visage, Caspian leaned up enough to cover her head seconds before the ice shattered, when she peeked up from the cradle of Caspian's arms it was to see Edmund lowering his sword from behind where the Witch once was.
"I know," The dark haired King all but scoffed, "You had it sorted."
Then Edmund sheathed his sword and took his leave, Caspian helped her to her feet and for a moment he and Peter looked at one another in shock, then he turned to Alessandra and reached up to cup her cheek only to stop short at the blood on his palm. She took his hand and turned it over.
"Don't," she said firmly when she glanced up and saw the guilt in his eyes, "Let's go get you cleaned up." She took his uninjured hand and led him from the room, past Susan who was levelling Peter with an accusatory stare. She'd finally learned her way around the How and they thankfully didn't run into any more Narnians on their way to Caspian's alcove.
Without a word Caspian dropped heavily onto his cloak which covered the shallow dips in the ground where they'd been sleeping, she grabbed his bag before joining him.
There was a tense silence between them as she cleaned the cut on his hand, much in the same way he'd once done for her. When she was finished she knotted the bandage as she thought about what to say to him.
"Now we match," a morose smile crept across her face as she flexed her own scarred hand next to his.
The corner of his mouth barely lifted in a grin but his brow hardened again, "I've disappointed you." As he stared at their hands.
"What were you thinking?" She asked with a heavy sigh.
"That I wanted you keep you safe," he responded instantly, "Alive." He added looking up into her eyes, "Nikabrik knew that I would do anything to keep you out of harm's way, but I never expected him to," he cut himself off with a sigh and clenched his teeth, "You want to know the worst part?"
"Worse than you almost bringing another hundred year winter to Narnia?" she tried to jest but she could tell that it was in vain.
"Yes," he responded seriously, "That then, and even now, I would do it, if it meant keeping you safe. I'd freeze Narnia a thousand times over so long as you were kept warm."
"Caspian," she cupped the side of his neck, her thumbs rubbing behind his ear, "There's going to come a time, where the needs of Narnia are going to have to come before me. If you're going to be their King," she shrugged, "They have to come first."
He took her hand in his and kissed her scarred palm before turning it over and caressing her fingers, "After my uncle had my first nurse killed, I knew that I was next. That one day he would try to kill me like he did my father," he explained, running the tips of his fingers up and down the backs of hers, "For a long time I've had to live with that knowledge." When he looked up and met her eyes, she was shocked at the intensity she saw burning in them, "I accepted the fact that I was doomed long ago, but from the moment I met you, I had a reason to live again. And no one, nothing is going to change that."
To say she was stunned at his declaration would be an understatement, tears welled in her eyes and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. Rather than respond she leaned forward and caught his lips with hers.
He responded instantly, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her closer, from her kneeled position beside him it was easy to toss her thigh over his legs and pull her into his lap. His mouth opened beneath hers as her hand worked to tug his shirt free from between them, pulling it up until they were forced to separate long enough to get rid of it. His lips are back on hers in the next breath as he takes her waist and tips her to the side. He moved with her intending to roll her onto her back but her legs held firm around his hips keeping them both in place.
His hands instead busy themselves with trying to free her from her borrowed dress the ties on the back are stubborn and in a lusty haze he has no patience to work at them so for the moment he gives up on trying to undo them, he tugs on the front twice to no avail before he squeezes her breast over the fabric as he turns his attention to her neck. Her hands freely roam up and down, groping his bare back and shoulders trying to pull him even closer if that were possible.
She felt his teeth latch onto the side of her neck momentarily before his tongue soothed over the bite, he normally tried to exercise some level of restraint when it came to marking her, but here in the How and away from the suspicious and dangerous eyes of the castle they had nothing to hide. What they had was out in the open with no consequences.
His lips sucked a bruise on her neck while his hands finally managed to loosen her ties enough to pull the top down, she only managed to free one arm, the other trapped beneath them but that was enough for now. She had to stifle her whimpers when his hands roughly groped her chest before his mouth descended. Though they were free of any fatal judgement, they still had to be quiet.
Sound travelled and echoed all too easily through the hallowed walls of the How, the necessary quieting of their actions still drove Caspian mad but he knew for certain now that things would soon change. Her hands in his hair pulled and tugged his mouth back to hers, where he went all too willingly.
His hand slid up her side intending to cup face however, she broke away with a flinch when his fingers grazed her shoulder. Caspian had just about forgotten of his uncle's act of violence but her flinch hurled it to the front of his mind and he immediately pulled back.
Alessandra saw the fire building, burning in his eyes the longer he looked at her shoulder so she gripped his hair again and brought his mouth back to hers, begging him in between rolling kisses, "Please Cas, please let us have this for now."
Hapless when faced with her pleading he relented, taking her lips again while his hands groped at her behind pulling and diving beneath layers of fabric to try and find her skin. Convinced he was distracted enough, she reached for the front of his pants, undoing the ties to reach in and stroke him to full hardness.
He grunted when she touched him and his head bowed back towards her shoulder, unfortunately the fire she was stroking within him couldn't quite quell the anger that was simmering within him, his anger combined with his lust turned out to be a deadly combination, "I want to kill him," he confessed, her hands slowed but didn't stop as he raised his head to look her in the eye making sure she knew he wasn't jesting, "For what he did to you, to us," his fingers dug into her hips as his words registered, "Do you want me to kill him?" If she said yes, he'd march out of the How, half dressed, and murder his uncle with his bare hands.
Alessandra paused to think, this wasn't exactly the kind of conversation she wished to be having with her hands down his pants, But still, did she want Miraz to die, the answer was unequivocally yes. Not just for herself, but for Caspian and the years he spent ruling Narnia with an iron fist headless of the way people suffered because of it. Yet she couldn't force the words out.
She pulled her hands free and used them to tilt his head up, his eyes were brimming with tears, not just of anger but a deep sadness as well, "I want you," she said slowly, "To be the kind of King that your father would be proud of," that seemed to be the right thing to say as the tears spilled over his lashes, "Because no matter what happens next, I already am."
He kissed her again then, urgency renewed and the fire her mere presence stoked within him raging like never before. His hands dove between them and all but ripped off her undercloth before hiking her leg up over his hip, she barely got the chance to free him from his pants before he settled his length between her legs, coating himself in her wetness and stroking to full hardness.
Her gasp was muffled into his mouth and he drank it down greedily, as he did with each breathy sound she made as he stroked up and down her folds, bumping into her most sensitive button on each pass. He pulled back to catch her eye when he notched at her entrance to start pushing himself in. She was tighter this time, whether because of the angle or because he didn't have the time to prep her like he usually would, he hitched her leg up higher and continued to push inch by agonising inch, stopping only to thrust shallowly as he could with the limited amount of room.
When he finally bottomed out they both let out sighs of relief as his hips flushed to hers before he began to move. Slow, shallow movements, since sound carried so easily through the How, he was careful not to thrust too urgently but what he lacked in speed he made up for in deep sensual rolls of his hips into hers. Her nails dug into his back, the slower pace building up her peak in a maddening climb, she may have broken skin but Caspian couldn't find it in him to care. In fact a small part of him hoped that she did, so he could carry the scratches with him tomorrow. Come what may, he'd have her with him no matter what.
The air between them grew hot, the cavernous walls of the How not leaving much room for air to flow, her dress gathered and bunched between them was a combination that was almost stifling, yet they barely separated to breathe, nevermind think about cooling between them for a second. Blunt nails dug into her thigh and he wished he could stay between them forever, alas he felt the familiar sensation travelling across his lower stomach.
"My love," he warned, burying his face back into her shoulder, resisting the urge to bite, for the moment, "I'm close." the way she tightened around him indicated that she was too, "Where? Can I?"
"Inside," she gasped, her arms looping around his neck pulling him even closer if that were possible as if the idea of separating frightened her, "Please Cas."
It was risky, and the exact opposite of what she'd told him all those moons ago, but just like then he couldn't deny her anything she asked for. A few more shallow thrusts and she tightened around him, her leg locking around his hip as she shuddered, a hushed groan escaping her throat. He was a second behind his teeth biting down on her neck to muffle noises as he spilled deep inside her, his hips pumped on their own accord a few more times before he stilled.
He breathed deep and so did she for a long time. They should sleep, mistakes were made today and confessions revealed, yet they still had to face another day.
She sighed and loosened her grip on him enough to pull back and catch his eye, she looked as exhausted as he felt, yet he'd never seen anything so beautiful in all his years.
"I love you." he told her, the words whispered between them like secrets.
"I love you too." she responded without hesitation like she always did, he kissed her again the movement jostling his softening length inside of her, he relished in her soft laughter. "I should get cleaned up." She told him in that hushed tone, it was something she hadn't considered in the moment but now she wondered just how she was going to make it to the washing alcove with Caspian's spend dripping out of her.
He nodded and began to unwind his arms from around her, he didn't go far though to her confusion. When he pulled out he rolled her onto her back and pressed another kiss to her lips before making quick work of the journey down her body, he lifted her skirts enough to disappear beneath them before he set his mouth to her and began cleaning her up in his own way.
Does anyone have any faceclaims for Alessandra? I'd love to hear who you guys have been picturing.