The King and the Girl

Chapter 12

You looked at yourself in the mirror as Amy ran downstairs to find Todd before you made your way downstairs to the ball. You had no idea how they had done it, but Amy and Todd managed to find a beautiful pink gown and jewelry that matched your crown. Even the jewels managed to match the dewdrops on your crown. Your dirty brown hair was in perfect, large ringlets over your shoulder with your crown sitting perfectly on top, and even you had to admit you had come a long way from the shy and scared girl that arrived in Narnia. You actually looked and felt like a queen.

You took a deep breath and you suddenly heard Reep's voice coming from near your feet.

"____, you look wonderful. Are you ready to go and dance with the people of your land?" You smiled and raised a branch platform as you had with him the other day so that he was even with your face.

"Thank you, Reep. You've been a true friend to me since I've arrived, and now look at me." You spun around one time in your beautiful dress. "I'm living my dream life."

He smiled at you as you lowered him back to the ground and followed him out the door. You reached the top of the staircase and waited for Reep to reach the bottom before you heard a voice you didn't know begin announcing you.

"Introducing, the guest of honor, ____ Queen of Nature!"

You reminded yourself to keep breathing as you took your time with each step, allowing your hand to glide down the banister the way that you had seen Amy do many times before. You felt every pair of eyes in the room fall on you and you began to feel a little nervous. About halfway down, you saw Caspian waiting for you at the bottom. You noticed he was wearing his own sort of fancy suit, with a crown of his own sitting just perfectly over his long, black hair. He was smiling, watching you walk down the stairs and when your eyes met, you couldn't help but smile too. The butterflies in your stomach were fluttering and you felt like you were going to burst. You continued to breathe as you made your way the rest of the way down the stairs and reached Caspian. He took your hand and kissed it formally, bowing slightly. You felt your eyes fall down as you gave him a curtsy while he did.

You linked arms and began walking further into the room when you heard everyone around you begin to whisper. Caspian whispered a little louder, but just enough for only you to hear. "You are very good at this, ____. I wouldn't even suggest this was your first ball." You felt a small giggle but quickly stopped it by pretending to rub your lip gloss together. You finally made it into the ballroom and Caspian turned to you, still smiling. You curtsied as he bowed and you heard the music begin to play as you took Caspian's hand. He pulled you close and placed one hand on the small of your back, holding your other hand out at your eye level. You couldn't help but smile as he expertly danced around the ballroom with you.

He leaned closer and whispered in your ear as the song came to an end. "Thank you for the dance, Your Grace." He smiled as he bowed and you curtsied, giggling, before walking off the dance floor with him.

"The pleasure was all mine, Your Highness." You smiled and turned to face him. "That was a lot of fun, Caspian."

Caspian smiled at you and started to say something, but then you felt a small tap on your shoulder, turning around to see a group of girls a little younger than you were standing next to Amy and a boy around her age.

"Queen ____." Amy greeted you as you turned to them. You felt Caspian move to stand beside you so that he could be included in the conversation as well. "King Caspian." The girls gave him a slight curtsy as the boy gave a small bow.

"Please, Amy, for goodness sakes, all this 'Queen ____' is still new to me. Just call me ____." you leaned forward and held a hand up to the side of your mouth and whispered "unless there are some officials involved." You gave them a wink and Caspian gave a small chuckle as the boy you now assumed to be Todd finally spoke.

"Amy, you interrupted their conversation. Again." The boy turned to you and bowed slightly. "I apologize. Amy is proud to be your lady and merely wanted to show her friends that you were indeed as beautiful as she has told us all." Amy smacked him on the arm and all of the girls, including you, began to giggle. Caspian smiled and stepped closer.

"If you will excuse us, there's something I must show to Queen ____." You politely apologized to the girls and promised to find them tomorrow if you didn't see them again tonight. You allowed Caspian to grab your hand, still holding just your fingertips and pull you to the room that adjoined the ball room. There weren't many people in this room, and soon you realized why. This was Caspian's throne room. Apparently his mother had liked to throw balls, but his father didn't like to dance so the rooms only had a large door to separate them. It was quite beautiful and you found yourself in awe of the details that continued to catch your eye. Caspian watched you slowly turning in the middle of the room soaking in every detail.

"Caspian... This room..."

"Is not what I wanted to show, well, not exactly anyway." You turned to look at him and he had his hands behind his back. He smiled, blushing slightly as he held his hand out to you again. You continued to watch him as he pulled you up to the platform where his throne was. He let you go and you felt yourself unable to resist reaching over and gliding your hands along the top of the smooth wood. Caspian waited patiently before you looked up to him.

"Your throne is quite beautiful, Caspian." He smiled and stepped closer, now holding out both of his hands for you to take.

"Do you trust me?" he asked cheekily, already knowing the answer. You put both of your hands over his. "Good. Now, close your eyes."

You raised an eye brow at him but then he gave you the most adorable puppy pout, so you obliged and shut your eyes giggling. You felt Caspian pull you forward after a moment and you weren't sure how far you had gone before he dropped your hands leaving you to stand there with your eyes closed.

"____, don't say anything, but open your eyes." You opened them to find you and Caspian standing on a private balcony, with a view of the entire kingdom. Caspian touched your chin and you looked up into his eyes waiting as he took a deep breath. "____, a week ago I was King of Narnia," he gestured to the view and you smiled at him, allowing him to continue his obviously practiced speech. "I was just that. King. I had no one by my side except for Reep, of course."

You giggled. "Of course." He smiled and looked down at his hands nervously.

"I went on a ride, needing to be completely alone to enjoy the nature of the land, when I found you. A beautiful girl who showed absolutely no fear by sleeping with her book almost falling out of your hands. I felt a connection to you somehow even though I had no idea who you were." You smiled as you watched him, feeling your insides begin to melt. "But now..." He smirked slightly continuing. "I know that Aslan said you wouldn't figure out everything right away, that you still have more to learn and explore. But you alone have brought a joy to my life that I never expected. You make me feel like just another person. You're beautiful, smart, kind, and you make me feel like I'm lucky to be alive for the first time." You touched his cheek lightly and made him look at you as he spoke. "____, I want to be there with you. Through the adventures, the formalities, the balls, everything. I know things work differently in your world, and if you need time, I'm alright with that, but... I want you to be by my side." 

He looked away from the balcony, smiling, into the castle, and you followed his gaze to find a magnificent, yet elegant throne sitting by itself. The throne was similar to Caspian's throne, but this one seemed more feminine than his did, there were also intricate details carved into the back and sides of it that appeared to be pictures of forests, flowers, a few wild animals, and other similar elements.

 Caspian softly grabbed your hand on his cheek and held it against his chest, causing your attention to turn back to him. "Will you stay here, with me?"