randomosity | For Caspian: The King is Dead?

For Caspian: The King is Dead?

The messenger had been clear: The flagship of Caspian X, King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, had been sunk by the enemy.

There were no survivors.

Anne fell to pieces.

She barricaded herself in the library, knees tucked to her chest, fingers tearing at her dress. Anne had seen death before, God knows that in England death was a frequent visitor. But this place, this Narnia, it just seemed so surreal, like paradise. Death couldn't possibly have happened here, could it?

Evidently. Because the man she loved had drowned.

While the courtiers debated over who would take over stewardship of Narnia until a proper heir could be chosen, the kingdom prepared for a grieving ceremony. Anne attempted to get up a few times, but she just couldn't find the strength.

So she stayed in the library, buried her face against her knees and sobbed hysterically.

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"How did you become so wise, Anne?"

His voice was still slightly strained from the half-drowning. It was nevertheless beginning to be tinged with warm affection and genuine marveling.

"You seem always to know just what to say."

And it always settled into his heart so wonderfully. It always felt exactly right.

"Don't call me 'wise' it makes me sound old," Anne teased. "I know what to say because I'm a woman, we naturally know these things."

An attempt to lighten his mood, but it was also a little true. Anne looked down, smiling at Caspian, running her fingers through his hair.

"Any woman who says she loves a man has a duty to comfort him," Anne continued. "If he's hurt, it's her duty to heal him. If he's afraid, it's her duty to remind him of his courage. If he's angry, it's her duty to calm him, or make sure his anger is redirected productively. If he's happy, it's her duty to make certain he is happy for as long as possible."

Now, he could manage to lie properly down again. Now, his eyes could briefly drift shut with a comfortable sigh.

"Why are there so many rules for women?"

It was, after all, a less distinct problem in Narnia. Men and women had been working and serving the Kingdom side by side since the Golden Age. Seeing the world beyond the Eastern Sea--such as the land Anne had come from--had been a strange sort of adventure.

But it still sounded familiar. It still sounded like something his mother had spoken once in the haze of his earliest memories.

"Because there are just as many rules for men," Anne countered. "Men are meant to defend not just their king and country, but the women they love as well. Just to name one."

The fact that women were less subservient here in Narnia, that two of the greatest rulers in Narnian history had been women - women from England - gave Anne a great deal of comfort. Like she could do more here, and it would be acceptable, even encouraged.

"The rules required of men are often more perilous than those for women," Anne added softly.

Moving was still a difficulty. Since he couldn't lose himself to the kisses which had been burned so clearly into his mind, losing himself to the sound of her voice would have to suffice.

Besides, she was always as fascinating to listen to as she was soothing.

"What other rules are there, then? For men?"

Anne leaned down, nuzzled him softly, kept their foreheads close again.

"You realize these aren't laws set in stone, do you not?" Anne pointed out. "Just to be clear. I'm not sure if you have similar tales here, but in England we had tales of King Arthur and his knights - they're pretty much the standard to which all men are held."

Anne paused, trying to think of all of them and how to explain properly.

"The only rules that really matter are these: A man must protect the woman he loves from each and every threat. His first duty after that, if he claims to love her over all others, is to remain loyal to her - his heart and his body can only belong to her. But then, the same can be said of women in that regard," Anne pursed her lips. "It's...all a matter of opinion really."

She glanced down to him again.

"It's based upon what is important to you."

The shrug of his shoulder was slight. It didn't work well, with the ache in his entire body, but the emotion was the same. She had been so kind in her efforts to learn the ways of Narnia; how should he not wish to learn more about the ways of the land she had come from? The land of the Pevensies?

Easier was pressing his nose gently against hers. It was an innocent sort of affection, but it hopefully served.

"Protecting you is important." Not more than protecting the nation, no, but somewhere near it. "So is giving you my devotion and loyalty."

Anne was happy that he wanted to learn more about her land. In this particular topic though, there was just so much to cover. Minor things that etiquette demanded, like standing up when a lady passed by or left the table, was not something she felt merited discussion.

And she did not think it wise to bring up that most men were married when they first shared a bed with a woman. But then again, not everyone held true to that rule.

"I'm glad to hear it," Anne replied with a smile, reaching up and pushing a lock of his hair out of his face. "You're a good man, my king."

The marriage question would arise, he knew. It was as he had been raised, after all; but everything had been changing with Anne.

He had adored her despite the fact she was a married woman. He had pressed his lips to hers in a passion of lust before she'd left her husband's castle.

Her first husband, at any rate. It was still unclear to him where the world would stand on his desire to make Anne genuinely his own.

"I hope you've not doubted it."

Anne gave a crooked smile and leaned down to kiss him gently, carefully.

"Of course I haven't doubted," Anne replied. "How could I doubt anything about you?"

Her fingers pushed through his hair, down his jaw and neck to his chest.

"I love you, Caspian. Doubt has no place between us," Anne added. "Did you have any doubts about me after you left?"

The gentle kiss kept his own smile easy. The movement of her hand prompted his own fingers to shift, searching carefully to smooth up and down her spine as much as he could without tugging at his wounds.

"None at all, Anne." And it felt wonderful to admit. It also felt important to say, in the light of the fact she'd left her husband and crown for him. "You have been nothing but constant in my heart."

Anne gave a soft little sound at the feeling of his fingers tracing along her back. Any little touch he gave her was pure heaven and made all her worries fade into nothingness.

"Good," she replied softly, leaning in to kiss his forehead, then kiss his lips once again. She pulled away slowly, settling in beside him again, leaning a little against his body, not putting pressure on him, just enough so that he knew she was there, right beside him.

And would remain there.

"Then are you happy, Majesty?" Anne asked. "Is there anything I can do to make you happier?"

"You've already promised to stay with me."

Which couldn't help but make him smile. It couldn't help but keep him breathing comfortably despite the bruising around his lungs.

"What more could I ask of you?"

For the moment, at any rate. For while he needed to lie here and recover.

"You can ask whatever you require of me," Anne replied. "I promised to stay with you, and I shall. But should you need anything more, you need only ask."

Her forehead pressed against his again as she settles.

"But you need not concern yourself with such things now," Anne whispered. "You still need to rest and recover your strength."

"My only concern is knowing you're here."

Which he did. Her warmth against him was a solid reminder of exactly that. As long as she rested here--carefully, the way she was--he would be able to breathe peacefully.

"I'm here love," Anne smiled.

Her arms drape carefully around him, leaning into his warmth. Her eyes close slowly, content and happy now that he's safe.

"Always will be, for as long as you would have me."

His laugh was soft, just a little strained as he closed his eyes again.

"I'll always have you. I swear it by the Lion, just as I swore I'd come back to you."

And he had. He had fought tooth and nail to be here, but he had made it back to her.

Anne smiled as she nuzzled his neck. Indeed he had come back to her. Not just now, but in England too when he had come back to France to take her with him. This proved to her that, no matter what risks, even if it meant falling overboard and defying death, he would come back to her.

"That you did, that you did," Anne nodded. "Then I shall always be by your side, Caspian."

It had always been a joy coming home. There was certainly even more of a joy, now that he was conscious of it, in coming home to her.

His head shifted, lips pressing firmly to the top of her head.

"I need only a small favour from you."

Anne smiled at the kiss but tipped her head in curiosity.

"A favor? Well of course! Anything," Anne replied.

She leaned in a bit, curious what he would ask of her.

"They said I'd be up again in the morning," he sighed, fingers smoothing contentedly at the base of her spine again. "But if I'm not, will you speak to the court for me?"

She wasn't his Queen in name, no, but surely her time here had associated her strongly with having the King's ear and attention. It could be the beginning, perhaps; the warming of the courtiers to the idea of a foreign queen.

The request had her look taken aback. She wasn't offended, just surprised. Shocked, even. Anne pressed her lips together, nervous.

"Of course, Majesty," she replied. "If you tell me what you want said, I shall convey the message to the court. But I must confess, I am not certain that they will enjoy listening to an outsider who claims to speak for the king."

She already had a defense prepared though. Anne came from England, the same island as their beloved Pevensies. What did they call Queen Susan and Queen Lucy...Daughters of Eve? Was Anne not the same?

It would have been better, he knew, to hold back from the devotion he had given her. It would have served their purpose more to crown her before the Narnians instead of simply taking her on the eve of battle as a wife in all but name.

"You speak as if the world conspires against you."

Which it did more than he had generally taken note of. He heard the brightness of his courtiers who were pleased to see the young king actually attentive to a woman the way men in love are; actually beginning to shoulder less of the kingdom with a worthy woman at his side. He didn't hear, although it was there, the lower murmur of the displeased women who had hoped to hold that role themselves.

"My right hand is still at war, Anne." And he would not, for anything in any realm of the world, have called Drinian back from the pursuit of their enemies. There was no one else he trusted to protect the kingdom half so much as his dearest friend. "Show them that you are my left."

She had been so used to the world doing precisely that. Women who wanted to be the wife of Henry VIII; men who wanted more of the king's favor than Anne would allow - they all conspired to be rid of her. Her brother had warned her before Caspian's arrival that there was talk of an assassination attempt.

Here in Narnia, that paranoia had settled a bit, though not completely. There were dirty looks shot at her for being an outsider and for being so close to the king. Whispers had made it to her ear that a select few wondered if she wasn't here to assassinate Caspian. Though she suspected (hoped) that such fears would be set aside after this night, given that his healers had trusted her enough to leave her alone with the king per his request.

Anne froze though, at Caspian's last comment. His left hand? That's what he thought of her? She blushed at that. Her dark eyes fluttered a bit as she looked down, then back up to him.

"I will do precisely that, Majesty," Anne replied, eyes alight with determination. "I will address the court if you are unable, I will show them that the center of the kingdom is still strong."

"Thank you, Anne."

The idea of her being anyone or anything but beside him seemed impossible. The idea that she might return to England, that she might marry another Lord in Narnia, that she might truly run off to be the wife of a fisherman, that she might never wish to be married again--all seemed beyond his comprehension.

And it would be good, he thought, for his court to begin to fully understand that.

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