The queen of the Horn - A suspian fanfic

Cair Paravel

I collapse onto the huge four poster bed with a deep sigh of content. We are back! I am back, back with him! But are we dead in our own world? Are we allowed to stay this time?
This was heaven all over again. I sit up and look at the big wardrobe in the corner of my room. And my wooden trunk at the end of my bed, my old golden age wooden trunk...

I let my feet hit the cold dark wooden floor and walk slowly towards the wardrobe. With utter soft movement I open one of the two doors. Dresses, made out of silk, lace cotton are welcoming me home. Embroidered with jewels, the most impossible patterns are begging me to fit them all. I quickly undress myself, letting my school uniform hit the floor and with that saying goodbye to my old life. No more pompous school teachers, snooty upperclassmen girls and no more rude boys following her around.

I choose a blue-ish floor-length dress embroidered with white lace flowers all over. I start latching up the corset. It was weird to wear this type of dress again. But with rebuilding Cair Paravel, Caspian had thought about everything. He had told us when we were walking up to the castle that in the trunk of my and my siblings were drawings. Drawings of the castle and its surroundings. It had helped Caspian to rebuild the castle of the golden age back to its former glory. The four trunks had kept some of my and Lucy's dresses and Caspian re-introduced the style to his court, wanting to break with the Telmarine fashion sense.

I cannot help but chuckle at the thought, Caspian picking out dresses but he managed.

A soft knock wakes me up from my daydream about Caspian.
'Su? May I come in?' Lucy's soft voice chirped. 'Yes! You can help me' I say between breaths as I pull at the laces of the corset. That is something I have to adjust to - again - in England we have brassieres but here it is just a slip dress and some panties, then your corset and a white petticoat and then your dress of choice.
I hear the oaken door open and Lucy giggles when she sees me. 'O dear, let me help!' She says as she rushes over to me. I look at her;dressed in a green and silver flowing dress trailing down to the floor. 'Lu' I want to say but Lucy pulls at the laces and I gasp for breath, letting Lucy laugh. 'That's enough!' I gasp and Lucy is finishing it up. She gets my dress and helps me get it on. When we are done, I look in the mirror; I remember loving wearing these types of dresses.
'You look beautiful Lucy' I say and can't help it but to hug her. Lucy embraces me back. 'You too' She says but I hear a hint of jealousy.
She told me about what happened when she and Edmund came to help Caspian. What she saw in the mirror and what Aslan said. I know she thinks she is not beautiful but she is, she is so more beautiful than I ever could be. Her kindness and the air she carries with her. Every room she enters, people look at her because of her kindness and beauty.

'I mean it' I say, trying to reassure her as I pull some drawers open. If Caspian saw the drawings of our royal painters and the diaries Lucy and I kept. Then he knows I had a drawer full of jewels. 'You seek this?' Lucy grins and pulls a drawer open; beautiful necklaces lay on built- in cushions waiting for me to wear.
'That is the drawer I was looking for' I giggle as I take a small golden necklace out; it has one white diamond, but I want to keep it simple for now.
When I am finished, Lucy offers her arm to me. 'Dinner?'
'Dinner it is'

We make our way down the long hallways towards the dining room, memories come back as I look at the paintings from a long time ago.

When giggling enter the lavish dining room and Edmund looks up while Peter and Caspian are in a - what seems to be - a funny conversation. 'What is so funny?' Ed says with his mouth full. 'We were just discussing your wonderful dancing skills as we saw the painting Tumnus has made of you' Lucy giggles as she sits down next to him. Ed blushes as he swallows and I laugh harder. Suddenly the sound of a chair move, makes me look up. Caspian has seen us and has stood up from his chair. 'Susan, Lucy. May I say you two look beautiful tonight' He says sincerely.
'Thank you Caspian, you look dashing yourself may I say so' Lucy says while taking a bite of her meat. I stare at her, but she just laughs and Edmund winks quite obviously. But I feel his gaze on me. Peter, who is sitting next to Caspian and watching this whole thing is laughing wholeheartedly.
'It is good to hear you laughing again, your Majesty' a familiar grumpy voice boomes. Lucy is the first one to spot him as I turn around. 'Trumpkin!' She squeals as she jumps from her chair and rushes towards him. 'My friend!' Edmund happily states as he also stands from his chair. But I look back at my smiling Caspian, his brown eyes burn into mine. But I shake him off and rush towards our DLF, hugging him as I fall down on my knees. 'It is so good to see you again!' I happily state as Trumpkin hugs me back with a sly grin on his face. 'My kings, my queens' an older voice rings into the dining room and I look up to see professor Cornelius standing in the doorway. 'Oh professor!' Lucy is the first to embrace the old man and as she steps back, he kisses her hand warmly. 'It is wonderful to see you all again, back where you belong' The professor says with a twinkle in his eyes.
'Come, the food is getting cold' Trumpkin grunts as he sits down next to Lucy and Edmund. I take my place between my older brother and Caspian, who is still looking at me. I feel my cheeks heat up but Peter notices my embarrassment. 'Caspian' He hisses under his breath. The black haired boy quickly looks away but our fingers brush against each other, leaving mine tingling the rest of the dinner.

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After dinner I needed some place to think and the once place I could think of was the beach I so loved 1300 years ago. So now I lay sprawled out on the beach, my bear feet into the cold water. This was a view I never have seen in England before and never will be. This view, how the sun was setting over the ocean was breathtaking. The sky was alive with colour and the stars who were appearing in the sky where blinding. I love the feeling of the wet sand between my toes and the sound of the waves hitting the beach.
Oh, how I have missed this!

I remember stargazing with Edmund, he telling me every consolation in the sky. Pointing them out for me and telling stories. I feel so much more alive now than I was before, when Aslan sent us back to England. I know it was a year, but it was three and a half years here. And maybe Caspian has forgotten his feelings about me.
'Su' His Telmarin accent lets me startle a bit, but I maintain myself so I still lay on the sand floor, waiting for him to come closer. 'May I join you?'
'Of course' I barely make the words out. My palms start to sweat when he sits down next to me. He awkwardly stretches himself out next to me, hands behind his head. I feel my heart beating faster but I don't say anything - yet -.

'My father used to take me out to watch the stars when I was a boy' He speaks quietly. 'He would wake me up in the middle of the night and carry me towards the stables. Together on his horse, we rode towards a clearing not so far from here' I turn my head to look at him. Now he looks so care-free, his hair dancing on the breeze of the sea-wind. 'He too, knew about Aslan and the emperor beyond the sea' He wipes some hair out his face and before I can think about it, I grab his hand and squeeze. He looks at our joined hands and a smile breaks out on his face. He looks back at the sky but I keep looking at him, my heart is so full. Already and I am just a couple of hours back. But the tension between us, we can't ignore it.

'You know, Edmund and I spend a lot of time here on the beach. Stargazing and telling each other stories'
'I can see you two doing that' Caspian softly says, now turning on his side. He loses his grip on my hand and it immediately feels empty without his. He wipes some hair out of my face and I sit up. My cheeks have to be bright red but he doesn't notice, or pretend he doesn't notice. He sits up as well and I lay my head on his shoulder. Without words we look towards the waves hitting the beach, but my eyes grow heavy and I hear Caspian's steady breathing.
'I love you' it sounds so far away, but I have heard it.

I love him too.