With Courage [King Caspian X OC]

Chapter 36

If Amber had to choose which nights she deemed the worst for sleep to evade her, the one before her wedding was reasonably high on the list.

She knew it wasn't just Caspian she was marrying; it was Narnia itself. They would, following their vows, travel across the land, wading through revellers long into the evening before they would have a chance to settle. Ever since he proposed the planning had been overwhelming in scale, despite him keeping the worst of it from her, having sensed her stress before it had a chance to peak.

Tomorrow would be a long day. One she had waited for, yet never truly expected to happen. Pressure built in her limbs – the expectation of change, a whirlwind of activity, like a storm she had to brace herself for – until she kicked away her duvet and stood. She would not be settling anytime soon. And so, some air would do.

She wrapped herself in a robe and opened the balcony doors quietly, settling against the balustrade with a knuckle in her eye to remove the single, stubborn twitch of sleep. The sea was a balm against the flutter underneath her skin, soothing her with its rhythm. Her eyes closed as she focused on its hush, shaking out her hands to divert her excess nerves.

A cough sounded from her left. "Fancy seeing you here." She leapt a mile in the air and spun, finding Caspian leaning against his own railing with a small smile. Underneath her palm, pressed to her chest in surprise, she could feel her heart pounding.

When it returned to normal, she found the space to appreciate the coincidence. How tied they were to find themselves seeking comfort from the ocean that night, this shared current running through their blood. She wondered for a moment if he shared her fears and felt her smile flicker briefly before she buried the thought.

"What are the chances," She moved to mirror his position and settled her arms against the beam facing him. "Do you come here often?" She joked.

He saw through it immediately. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course." She huffed nervously.

Before she could process what was happening, he hoisted himself on top of the balcony and then down onto the thin ledge that separated their rooms. "Caspian! What are you – are you insane?" His hands found whatever purchase they could against the elaborate stonework or the trailing ivy, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, the gardens dangerously far away below him.

Amber grabbed for him the second he was in reach, helping him throw a leg over her balcony until he was standing safely in front of her. "Now, what's wrong?" He asked, smoothing his hands over her arms.

"What's wrong?" She fumed, throwing a hand towards the ledge he had just crossed, barely the width of his foot. "You could've fallen, you could've hurt yourself!"

"Yes, but what was bothering you before that?"

"That was reckless." She hissed.

Well this is a first, he thought idly. She had never been mad at him before – sure, there were times he made her adorably frustrated, but all those times had ended with a kiss and that breathless laugh only he could draw from her. This would not be too different, he decided. Besides, her anger was preferrable to whatever unfocused sadness he had first found her dwelling in.

"I learnt from the best." He teased with a knowing eye, shrugging indifferently.

"I would never–"

His hands slid down to wrap around her own. "Do you want to see the itemised list I keep of every time you endangered yourself on the Dawn Treader?"

"I never jumped off a balcony!"