Artemis and Caspian: The Awakening

Chapter Twenty Six

Caspian twitched in his sleep, grumbling groggily as the early morning light hit the bridge of his nose. Stirring slightly, he mumbled something about having a splitting headache and opened his eyes. It was day three of his journey with Artemis to the falls. He looked around for the sleeping witch. His breath hitched in his throat when he saw her.

He'd been too busy waking up to notice Artemis curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest, contently sleeping in. Caspian felt a sudden calm rush over him and noticed his hands around her shoulders. Falling into a sleepy trance, he absentmindedly drew small circles over her skin. After she stirred slightly, he tried his best not to wake her up, awkwardly disassembling himself from her and laying the witch gently across the ground. Pacing a few steps away, he opened his canteen and washed his face. Pieces of the night before came back to his memory.

They'd spent the whole day trudging through the forest with Caspian's occasional crass jokes earning him an eye roll from Artemis. After wearing themselves out, they'd decided to make camp. Settled in, they spent the majority of the evening filling each other in on their lives before magic. He learned that Artemis's life although harsh was also full of love, a love he saw reflected in her spirit when she talked about her father in the dim light of the dying fire. He shrugged, guess they had fallen asleep like that. Not that he was complaining. He chuckled at the thought and pulled his shirt over his head, delicately moving his head to smell himself. After three days of wandering around the forest, he was afraid he was beginning to smell like his father after a week of farming. He jumped when he heard Artemis's voice.

"What are you doing?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. Caspian stood there dumbfounded, trying to come up with something, anything that wouldn't make him sound like a total moron.

"Scratching an itch?" he answered in a voice that sounded more like a question than an answer. Artemis placed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing before noticing his shirtless form. She looked away quite embarrassed, the color creeping into her cheeks. Caspian cleared his throat uncomfortably, quickly pulled a shirt on and offered her his hand.

"Come on," he said with a reassuring smile. "We're almost there."

...

"And that's why I hate planting dragon's swallow," Caspian finished, heaving a dramatic sigh. Artemis laughed out loud.

"Yes your life's very hard I can't even begin to imagine.." she began, her retort cut short when Caspian stopped abruptly in front of her which caused her to crash into his backside.

"Hey!" she yelled, rubbing her head. "Why'd you.."

"Shh," Caspian shushed, bringing her forward so she could stand next to him. "Look."

Before them stood a waterfall, cascading over a large rocky cliff and falling into a clear blue pool below. Above them was a canopy of green letting in soft light that illuminated the pool below. Other than a few passing birds, the clearing was calm and quiet, with only the sounds of water and bird songs echoing through the air. Artemis had never seen anything more beautiful in her whole life.

"Woah." she breathed, it seemed like speechlessness was becoming a common theme for her lately.

Caspian looked at her with the wonder of a child before he made his way down. Artemis cautiously followed him, afraid that her gawky footsteps would somehow disrupt the serene oasis. Caspian set his things down on the bank of the pool and took a deep breath, inhaling the cool, clean air. He exhaled on a whoop and danced wildly around the edge of the pool.

"I love it here!" he screamed giddily pumping his fist and taking a lap around the water. Watching him almost tempted Artemis to do the same, but she decided she had more sense than that and instead opted to take out her sketchbook to draw the beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, she wasn't left alone for very long.

"Come on.." Caspian huffed inpatient, ripping her charcoal pen away from her and grabbing her by the hand. "We didn't walk all this way to draw the scenery."

"Maybe you didn't," Artemis grumbled reluctantly as she let Caspian help her up and pull her along. Ignoring the comment, Cas charged forward, dragging her all the way up to the top of a cliff. Artemis tentatively grabbed his hand as he led her to the edge.

"You can't be serious," she mused, eyes wide with fear. Caspian couldn't help cracking a wide smile.

"Oh but I am," he grinned cockily. His grip tightened around hers and she reluctantly peered over the ledge. It was a drop too far down for her liking. Caspian's eyes glistened with a mischievous streak and he let go of her hand, pulling his shirt over his head.

"C'mon." he beckoned, nodding to the clear blue pool below. Artemis followed suit and unclipped her cloak, letting it fall on the rocks.

"Alright hot shot," she smiled devilishly, lacing her fingers with his. "Lead the way." Caspian sucked in a breath of air and jumped.

"Wait...no... Caspian I change my mind!" he heard Artemis yell as her feet skittered across the rocks. She let out a small squeal and lost her footing, tumbling in after him. The two fell into the pool below, their screams drowned out by the spray of the waterfall. Caspian landed first with a splash and surfaced seconds later, running his hands across his face. Artemis landed shortly after, ungracefully, with her limbs tangled in a scattered position when she hit the water. She too surfaced sputtering water and glared maliciously at Caspian.

"I said stop."

Caspian gave her a hearty laugh as he lay on his back, floating across the water.

"Sorry," he called nonchalantly, reveling in Artemis's sour reaction. "Couldn't hear you over all the fun I was having." Expecting a witty comeback, Caspian was caught off guard when she splashed him, laughing while she did so.

"See, now we're both having fun!" she giggled. Caspian lost his balance and tumbled back beneath the water, surfacing near Artemis and pulling her close.

"Come here you," he laughed trying to pull her in range to return the favor.

"No Caspian...no Caspian don't!" she cried, trying in vain to get away from him. She let out a hearty laugh when he caught her from behind. He laced his arms around her stomach as she squealed, turning her around in a circle.

"Nope, sorry. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

Breathless, Artemis pounded against his arms, trying in vain to hide how much fun she was having.

"Cas..." she panted, trying to wiggle free. She managed to loosen his grip slightly and turned herself around, trying to escape.

"Ok..Ok" he chuckled softly, letting go. Artemis stopped struggling and looked up at the warlock who was now pressed against her. He had stopped talking and was looking at her intently. She never noticed before how deep his eyes were. In them, she could see the windows to his soul. The more she focused, the more the world around them seemed to disappear. Under her hands, pressed against his chest, she could feel his heart beat faster and felt her own heart respond.

Pulled by a desire so strong, it almost felt magnetic, Caspian leaned in, his warm breath brushing against Artemis's chin. She could feel his heart beneath her hands beat faster as he leaned in further. When he was inches away from her, she softly closed her eyes, unable to stop herself from closing the gap between them. Cas wrapped her securely in his embrace and Artemis did the same, tangling her hands into his hair, home at last.