Reunited At Last

[King Caspian X]

"For what are you sorry?" Caspian asked her, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "You don't have to be sorry." He patted her back softly, letting his hand fall to her belly where their child grew. He knew the name he wanted know for his son, but decided to comfort his wife first before he announced it. "Susan," he said her name quietly in her ear, the way he had on their wedding night. "Why are you crying?"

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"You shouldn't have had to go through that." she told him, "If I could protect myself you wouldn't be hurting like you are. Lamont's hard, but he should be just a boy and I should be able to protect myself from him. instead I'm watching you get hurt and die." she rested her head against his chest listening to his heart beat. would it stop again because of her?

[King Caspian X]

"No." he said, and wiped her tears again. "I am not hurting. I'm alive, I'm not dying. And from now on, you will be able to protect yourself from him. And I will protect you too." he said. "Don't be sad, my love." Caspian whispered, and offered her a little smile. "Don't cry. Everything is alright now." He pressed his lips to her forehead softly for a moment or two before placing his head on top of hers.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"But I don't want you to protect me all the time. The problem isn't just what happened, even if that's a big part of it, but what will happen too. You died Caspian and only because Aslan's weird the way he is are you even here now. What if you didn't come back? What if I had to raise Galen and our son by myself while running Narnia alone? Lucy is dead, Peter and Edmund are missing, there are demons running around and spreading chaos like wildfire, and I am left alone. And where is the talmerian king when all this is happening? He died because his wife let him, because he put her over his country, because she couldn't protect herself."

[King Caspian X]

"No." Caspian said again, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tighter. "I died because I had to. Not just for you, but for our family. I am your husband, Susan, I will protect you till the day I die, and after. I think I've proved that much. I knew I would be back. I knew what I was doing. Aslan told you that. I am telling you that. You just need to believe it. We are fine now." He lifted her chin gently so that she had to look at him. "Don't be so sad." he said. "Things will get better. They are better."

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"For now, maybe." She told him, "What about tomorrow? What about the day after when Lamonot finds out you're alive? What about when Cotnar sees that Lamont failed and he leads an attack even larger than the one that lead to your death? what about when the Narnians loose hope in their king because he protects his wife and his family before their lives and they start a revolution because they think they are the only ones that can protect ourselves?" she sighed, "Caspian, as much as I hate it now, you are king and I am queen. You simply are not allowed to just . . . die. You're allowed to fall in battle, surrounded by narnian warriors who fought beside you. But you are never allowed to die, certainly not in a man to man fight. I'm not allowed to die either, for Narnia's sake if not our children's."

[King Caspian X]

"I told you." he said, forcing his anger away. He was allowed to die. He did come back, after all. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. There is a magic, Susan. What I did sealed it. What I've done lies deep in your skin, Dear. In your very blood. You are protected now. All of you are. You are safe. There will be no revolution when they see what we can do now. When they see that Aslan is for us and I am back from the dead." He looked down at her, deciding to turn things around. "If you don't like us being King and Queen so much, let's just give Lamont the throne. Let's just let the demons take over Narnia. Let's just doom ourselves before we even find our fates. Hm? How would that be?" Caspian sighed. "My love, don't be so afraid of things before they happen. I just came back, Sweetheart. We are alone together. Please, spare me for just a minute of all the Hell in the world. Can we just have peace? For now?" He kissed her again and patted her belly. "How's the baby?"

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"What magic?" She almost demanded, "Aslan never told me of any all-powerful protecting magic and I don't know of any that Lamont or Cotnar probably wouldn't be able to counter. And I am staying queen because of Lamont and for no other reason. If I had come back and we would have gotten married the normal way instead of rushing into because I was afraid of what my father would say if he found out about Galen, I would have stepped down. I would have hoped you would follow. I would have wanted to leave the castle and go somewhere where none of the politics and worries about rulling a country would bother us. But now, because of Lamont, I'm still here. Because of him I spend my days afraid. How can you tell me not to be afraid after everything we've gone through. they stole Lucy and made it look like Aslan, stole your strength and skill, raped me, pretended to be your father, gave Lucy back to us only so she could be killed, killed two of his own three children, kept me as his prisioner, kept your sister as his prisioner, killed you in ways I wouldn't have even thought of, and you want me to not be afraid?" She stopped. her hands shook as she wrapped them around their child. Why couldn't she just let go for just a minute. she was so happy just a minute ago. Again that hatred for Lamont for ruining her life crept in. Somehow she would make him pay, maybe send him off with his uncle the same way he tried to kill Caspian.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian frowned. "I am your husband." he said again. "And you think more about him than you think about me. You trust what he says over what I say." He shook his head. "I've been gone a month, and you just think about all the horrible things he's done. I say you're safe, and he says you'll suffer. And you believe him. I kiss you and hold you and you don't even respond. Do you see what he's doing to you? I can protect you physically, Susan, but you've got to meet me half way. Stop thinking about him. You're hurting yourself." He wiped away her tears yet again and kissed the damp lashes of her eyes. "I love you." he told her. "Everything will be okay. War is hell, and sometimes you don't think you can get out of it. But we will. All things will come in time." He offered her a smile again, this time a little more hopeful of getting one in return.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She hesitated. He was right. He was always right. "I'm sorry," She told him, "It's just so hard now. Everything just gets worse no matter what we do. I've thought about giving up more than once, but you and the baby keep me sane. I don't want to keep doing this to myself, and doing it to you. I don't mean too, honest. It's just . . . I keep remembering. I can remember what he did to me, what he did to our children. Part of me wishes you understood what it was like, the other part thinks no one should have to share this pain. And that's how the mind and the body are, they notice pain more than anything else and they fear pain. I'm sorry. I'll try to stop." She leaned against him, her thoughts traveling to where she didn't want to. He said War was hell, but here there was no hell, only Alan's country and the Firefields. did those who could not live with Aslan go there to become demons. and if they did, could they return just like Cotnar was doing now? She remembered seeing Miraz before Caspian died after she had finished giving Galen a bath. Could he have come back. Stop it! What did you just finish telling him? "The baby's getting big," She told him changing the subject, "I'm sure he can hear and feel you. You should sing to him to remind him that you're his daddy since you've been gone so long."

[King Caspian X]

"You could sing with me." he said hopefully. Caspian always loved to hear her sing. Slowly, he started to caress her belly, and then he started to sing.

Amazing grace, oh how sweet the sound
That saved a wreck like me
I once was lost, though now I'm found
I was blind, but now I see
When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Then when, when we first begun
Too many ages false and spent
I have already hung
This face and flock He saved us by
His endless grace will leave me whole
Amazing grace, oh how sweet the sound
To save a wreck like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found
I was blind, but now I see.


It was just a song from the church, but it was the first thing that came to his head, and he liked it enough. "Mommy's turn." he said.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"Do I have to?" She grumbled. She still hated her singing voice. She had let very few people hear her sing, and those who had (Caspian excluded apparaently) understood. "Can't you sing another song?" But she knew it wasn't about to happen and he never gave in whenever he asked her to embaras herself. With a sigh she dug down to find a peaceful song she had heard in England, the source of most of her songs it seemed

The wheels of life keep turning.
Spinning without control;
The wheels of the heart keep yearning.
For the sound of the singing soul.
And nights are full with weeping.
For sins of the past weve sown;
But, tomorrow is ours for the keeping,
Tomorrow the futures shown.

Lift your eyes and see the glory.
Where the circle of life is drawn;
See the never-ending story,
Come with me to the Gates of Dawn.

And whose is the hand who raises
The sun from the heaving sea?
The power that ever amazes
We look, but never will see?
Who scattered the seeds so life could be,
Who coloured the fields of corn?
Who formed the mould that made me me,
Before the world was born?

Lift your eyes and see the glory.
Where the circle of life is drawn;
See the never-ending story,
Come with me to the Gates of Dawn.

Lift your eyes and see the glory.
Where the circle of life is drawn;
See the never-ending story,
Come with me to the Gates of Dawn.

Lift your eyes and see the glory.
Where the circle of life is drawn;
See the never-ending story,
Come with me to the Gates of Dawn

"Happy now?" she grumbled turning to face away from him but leaning against his chest. She still wanted him to hold her and stroke her stomach. "Maybe now the baby will willingly go deaf."

[King Caspian X]

Caspian ran a hand over her belly. "No he won't." he said. He knew she wanted to lay there with her back pressed against him. She always did, and he always loved it. But he helped her to her feet now, and took Galen from her arms, kissing his cheek once before nestling him in the soft moss beside their tree. Then he returned to Susan and put one hand on her waist, the other taking her hand. He pulled her close to him, the hand on her waist finding it's way to the small of her back. He would sing another song, on the condition that he may have his dance with her.

Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so sight
Show me that you love me too.

Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won't you kiss me once, baby
Just a kiss good-night
Maybe you and I will fall in love.

Some people say that love's a game
A game you just can win.
If there's a way
I'll find it some day
And then this fool will rush in.

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my here, baby
Words I want to hear tell me,
Tell me that you love me too.

Some people say that love's a game
A game you just can win.
If there's a way
I find it some day
And then this full will rush in.

Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear baby
Put your head on my shoulder
Words I want to hear tell me,
Tell me that you love me too.
Put your head on my shoulder.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She let him carry her away in his little dance. She didn't understand why he liked dancing so much, Peter told her it was a girly thing more than once. But when he was dancing with her he was holding her close so she couldn't even hope to pull away. She smiled as his son twisted in his home, as if searching for a way out. He didn't move like Galen and his sisters did, always attacking and trying to break free. He was calm. "He moved," She told him remembering how happy when she told him about Galen the first time he moved.

[King Caspian X]

He smiled proudly, and in a swept her up into his arms. "Is he strong?" he asked, already knowing that the answer would be yes. Both of his boys were strong. Both would be great Kings one day. He already decided, when it came time to pass on the throne, that all of his children would rule together, the way the Pevensies did. It was already proven what role jealousy could play in siblings and royalty, as his father was killed by Miraz. He spun her around playfully, as he had so many times before. Caspian loved his wife. And his children. And he would dance with them when he wanted. Unlike customs in Susan's world, men were expected to know how to dance. Talmarines were descendants of Spanish pirates after all. Spain was a land of romance, as well as war. Even down to the accent, the Spanish could fill their language with love or hate. But for now, he stopped dancing, and thought for a moment about setting her back down on her feet. But he didn't want to, not just yet. So he didn't.