His Majesty, Her Grace - Sequel to A Prince Caspian Love Story

Chapter 9 - 4.2 Degrees

Althea's POV

"I'm going to get some sleep. Are you going to come?" Lucy asks, yawning. All I want to do is say yes, but I can't.

"Not yet. Drinian wants to see me." I explain.

"Why?"

"Star navigation."

"Since when did you do that?" She laughs.

"It's a new hobby. I'll explain later." She nods and walks off. I shake myself awake and climb the stairs to the upper deck where Drinian is already waiting, holding the wheel steady.

"Perfect timing. I want you to calculate our longitude and latitude." He hands me a piece of parchment and quill, but I don't need it. I memorized all the longitude and latitude lines ages ago so all I have to do is use the stars to pinpoint our exact location. I look up at the clear sky for a few seconds, double and triple-checking my calculations.

"You're a few degrees south." I'm about to explain that it's precisely 4.2 degrees but I decide against it, just in case I'm wrong.

He raises his eyebrows and doesn't say anything. I get the feeling he still doesn't think I know what I'm doing. I sigh and continue, "It's 4.2 degrees off. That star there, the one I assume you're aiming for, is shifted because of the time of year. If you steer just a little to the right, you'll be heading directly east."

He looks at me like I've suddenly become a minotaur or something. Deep laughter erupts from behind me followed by softer clapping. It's Caspian.

"I told you Drinian." He says, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"You certainly did your majesty. If she continues to make me look incompetent, I may just have to appoint her first mate." Drinian says complete straight-faced. He turns back to the wheel, subtly steering a few inches to the left.

"Come on." Caspian chuckles while grabbing my hand and starts to pull me down to the main deck. Thankfully there are only a couple of men still up, so I'm not worried about people staring.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"I don't know. I just want to spend time with you."

"Well, we can't go back to our room. Lucy is sleeping in there." I say and he frowns. I guess he forgot, Lucy and I have been sharing the room since she arrived, I would never let her sleep in the barracks with a bunch of sweaty men, not to mention she's a queen and shouldn't have to anyway.

"We could share my very roomy hammock." He suggests.

"With all the crew around? Definitely not." I scoff at him. That would be extremely embarrassing and in my nightclothes? Certainly not.

I lace my fingers through his and lead him to the front of the ship instead. We climb the stairs to the empty upper deck and sit against the ladder the leads to the dragon's head. I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh.

"What's the matter?" He asks, rubbing comforting circles on the back of my hand.

"Nothing, it was a sigh of content," I say and he nods slowly.

Aside from my missing aunt, everything is just the way I want it to be. Lucy and Edmund have returned, giving me friends to talk to again. Caspian has finished his goal of peace, at least he almost has, but more importantly, he doesn't have to leave anymore. His absence got harder and harder every time he left. I missed having someone who understands me. Someone who cares for me, not because of worldly reasons, but because of me, just me.

"Caspian?"

"Hm?" He hums.

"I—" I sit up straight as the words get stuck in my throat.