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"You are both right, we need to leave. Now." Caspian insisted urgently and turned to the rest of the Narnians. "Retrieve your belongings, we shall be departing shortly." He said in a commanding voice and everyone immediately obeyed, however, there wasn't much to retrieve. Vartan and his men only left their weapons and nothing else of value. But subconsciously, Edmund and Peter began to gather the abandoned weapons, and the other creatures and men followed suit. Caspian could not help but search for Lucy when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head and saw her auburn head disappear into the thick forest.

"That girl will be the death of me." He whispered with a chuckle to himself before asking Edmund to keep an eye on his son. Caspian then quickly began walking toward the tree line. It soon led him far into the woods.

Every so often he'd hear twigs snapping confirming he was walking in the right direction. He walked quickly intending to catch up with her, and Lucy kept pretty quiet making her trail somewhat difficult for Caspian to follow until he heard a lovely feminine voice singing an old familiar Narnian lullaby. He followed her voice and relished every lilt and hum, suddenly wishing she could sing for him, before telling himself how ridiculous he sounded.

While in deep thought, he did not realize there was a small opening of trees ahead and he suddenly walked into it, seeing the figure whom he was following standing in the moonlight. Lucy. And his magnificent black horse. Destrier..

She stood beside the horse touching his sleek black mane and whispering gentle words in his ears. She slowly reached up and grabbed the reins and began walking towards Caspian intending to walk back the way she came before stopping suddenly and gasping out loud when she saw that she was not alone.

"Caspian?" She whispered as she stared at him blankly.

He inclined his head with a slight smile. "Lucy." A long pause followed as each did not know what to say.

"I was only wanting to find Destrier." She said honestly.

A sudden surge of anger overtook Caspian. "These woods are no longer safe Lucy. Not like they once were. You were almost killed in these very woods, now pray tell me, what makes you believe you can be alone?" He commanded.

Lucy was taken aback at his sudden anger. "I just wanted to find Destrier, Vartan scared him off and he is your favorite horse. I'm deeply sorry Caspian. I did not intend to cause trouble." Lucy said softly as she lowered her head staring at the ground, suddenly feeling ashamed for causing trouble.

Caspian sighed heavily and suddenly pulled her close, making Lucy gasp in surprise, but it did not take long for her welcome the embrace. She suddenly felt small and safe as she leaned her cheek onto his chest. His strong arms wrapped around her, and for once she felt completely safe. He slowly and gently leaned his cheek on the top of her head and inhaled heavily.

"I truly thought he was going to kill you this time." Caspian shuddered in no more than a whisper. "And I would have never forgiven myself. I do not know what I would have done without you Lucy, I felt as if I could not breathe merely thinking of losing you. What were you thinking my love? Why would you not tell me Rilian was taken? Why would you not let me handle a problem instead of taking it on alone?" He said asking gently. Lucy moaned and sank her face deeper into his chest, suddenly wishing she could hide.

"I know, I know. You just seemed so focused on seeking to gain troops and which method of battle to use and I did not wish to cause any trouble." She paused. "And because I did not want anyone to think I was afraid, but the very truth is, I was. Until Aslan met me, and he made me feel like the valiant queen I once was. Or am." She said with a slight smile.

Caspian squeezed her tighter.

"But I almost lost you." He whispered tracing his fingertips up and down her back. "Next time there is a problem, never hesitate to tell me, I cannot risk losing you, do you understand?" He asked seriously, his dark brown eyes holding no humor as he searched her own.

"Oh very well." She smirked.

"Fantastic." He said with a chuckle before stealing a heated kiss. Lucy slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, and he responded by angling his head to deepen their kiss. All too soon, he pulled his lips from hers. His face lingered inches from hers and Lucy could not help but bite her lower lip as she felt his heated gaze.

"Lucy, I believe we should depart from this peaceful place before I do anything that may not be honorable to a lady." He said with no amount of humor and Lucy could not tell if he was serious. She blushed uncomfortably.

"You cannot be serious." She stated, but could not help but carry a questionable tone.

Caspian sighed. "Yes Lucy, I am a King of honorable beliefs and I am faithful to them, but I am also a man, and sweet temptation is a powerful thing especially when it lies in the purest of forms." He said with a sad smile and placed his thumb on her cheek and softly rubbed it, slowly tracing her cheekbone. She placed her hand on his that was rubbing her cheek and found herself slowly closing her eyes, mentally trying to enjoy the small moment she had with him before they had to return and fight a long foreseen battle. She dared not take long, and with a long shaky breath she opened her eyes. "Caspian, I think your right." She said sweetly, making his hand still on her face. She continued. "We need to return Rilian back safely to the Cair, and negotiate with Vartan, perhaps he can see reason and give up his ridiculous idea of revenge." She said seriously taking a small step back, completely ending the romantic moment they had just shared.

"Lucy, I have given him chances, and he has completely destroyed it. I cannot and will not let someone live who has attempted to kill the ones I love more than once. It simply is not who I am or what I believe in." He stated passionately, his eyes encompassed with desire for justice.

She reached up and placed her hand on his muscular shoulder and finally looked up into his eyes.

"Caspian, just give him one more chance, if not for yourself do it for his son. Apologize before you end his life, for your hand was the one who ended his sons life, parents should never have to bury their children. Though Vellum was not good, he still had so much life yet to live, Vartan knew that. So show mercy Caspian, once more, and finish this long miserable feud that should have ended long ago."

Caspian shook his head and clenched his jaw. "No. I have spared his life twice already, he does not deserve a third." He all but yelled angrily, his eyes leaking with rage.

"Then let me speak with him." She suggested. "Perhaps I can convince him that war will weaken both countries."

"Absolutely not." He commanded. "He has attempted to kill you twice and I will not give him another. The next time I meet him I will kill him and you and Rilian will be far away from him and his army." His voice rung with finality which annoyed Lucy.

"Hold on." She interrupted. "So your telling me your just going to send me back to the castle and wait around until all of this, chaos is finished?" She waited. Caspian sighed heavily.

"Lucy, I cannot think about any harm befalling you again." He told her sweetly, while gently placing his hand on her arm. She quickly shrugged it off and took a step back.

"Caspian you cannot be serious. I do not think you realize that during our reign, I was present in every battle during the Golden Age. That is who I am-"

"Lucy your not going to fight and that.Is. Final." Caspian interjected, ending the argument. But Lucy was not finished. She tried to stay calm, but it was very hard. Who did he think she was? An inferior being? No, she was a royal long before he was, and she could very well take care of herself.

"Caspian, I hope you realize that I don't need anyone looking after me." She said through gritted teeth. Caspian was just as frustrated.

"No I do not think you realize that you have almost been killed twice without me rescuing you-"

"But I never asked you to keep me from dying Caspian!" She finally yelled, and it felt good. She sucked in a deep breath trying to calm herself, and after exhaling felt more calm. "Not once." She stated calmly. "And you cannot forbid me from doing something I have been trained to do. It just is not right Caspian, and not what I believe in, I cannot lie around instead of fighting for what I believe in. You cannot forbid me from it. You cannot." She pleaded.

"As King of Narnia, I forbid you from fighting. And I will lock you up if I have to." Caspian said with a pointed finger, while his eyes bore no sign of humor.

Lucy scoffed. "We'll see about that." She said angrily, and without another word grabbed Destriers reins and in one swift motion leaped onto Caspian's and sped into the night leaving him completely isolated. Caspian clenched his jaw determined to keep his queen safe. Even if he did have to lock her up, at least she would be safer than a blade driving through her the moment he turned his back.

"We will see indeed." He said grimly before following her trail for the second time.

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