(Untitled)

[kitchen_maid]

Amy comes in this evening, bent nearly double, inching forward.

It's a very odd way to walk, really.

Unless, of course, you're helping your daughter learn to walk.

Then it make perfect sense.

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[the_seafarer]

When Susan stops and looks up (and up, an up), it's because there's a familiar looking figure standing in front of her, eyes wide with something that's making them bright and joyful, and a smile on his face.

"You're almost there, Susan," Caspian says, encouragingly, bending down a little. "Don't give up!"

[kitchen_maid]

Susan gives him a look. She's just resting for a second, Uncle Caspian. Princesses of Ambergeldar do not "give up."

"Casp'an," she says, happily, and sets off again.

"Hello," adds Amy, looking up at her brother as well.

[the_seafarer]

"Hullo," he says, holding out his hands to Susan, who is taking determined if not exactly firm steps towards him. "By the Lion, Amy, she's getting so big."

[kitchen_maid]

"A year next month," says Amy. "I can't quite believe it."

Susan takes one, two, three, three and a half, three and three quarters, four more steps and reaches her Uncle.

"Casp'an!"

This is the part where she gets a hug, Uncle Caspian.

[the_seafarer]

Her uncle doesn't want to disappoint, and he's all ready for her with open arms and a smile that's just for her, his most beautiful, smartest, most clever niece.

"It seems impossible," he says, around Susan's head. Even with the miracles of time here, it would still seem too fast, too soon.

He looks with a grin to his little sister--not so little any longer, but who still smiles so that it crinkles up her eyes. "You'll have to be careful from now on, or you'll never be able to keep up with her."

[kitchen_maid]

She has a long way to go before she catches up to her brother. "Little" works just fine.

Amy laughs. "Caspian, I haven't been able to keep up with her since she started crawling. I have no idea what I'm going to do when she can run."

Susan wraps two chubby arms around her uncle's neck and kisses the side of his chin.

"Perry taught her that, but her aim tends to be a little off."

[the_seafarer]

Not that off, and Caspian's eyes soften. Straightening, he picks up Susan, who is beaming up into his face.

Very probably Perry taught Susan by demonstrating on Susan's mother, thus scandalizing the entire court.

After all, what sort of king kisses his wife in public?

"You'll run after her," he smiles. "Or let Perry try watching her for a little while."

[kitchen_maid]

The best sort of king. In Amy's opinion.

"Some days, it's hard to get Perry to do anything but watch her."

Talk about scandalizing the entire court! But not many days. Perry has a great many things to see to, most days.

Susan settles into her uncle's arms and tells him, very solemnly, "Fooooo oofa."

"And how are you, Caspian?"

[the_seafarer]

"Indeed," he agrees. "Very foo."

To Amy, who speaks actual English, he lifts his shoulders in a little shrug and smiles slightly. "All right, really. It's been very quiet, which is actually quite nice. And it's very fine to have spring truly on its way."

[kitchen_maid]

"Quiet is good, some times. Besides, I'm sure Kiseki isn't letting it get too quiet for you."

Amy makes something of a show of looking at her brother's hair for signs of nibbling.

[the_seafarer]

"Never," he laughs, and ducks to let his hair be examined.

It has, in fact, been nibbled at.

[kitchen_maid]

She can see that.

"Very trig, that horse of yours. Things are well, then, in the stables?"

Susan reaches up and grabs her uncle's hair. It's bright, like hers, not like Mama's and Daddy's.

[the_seafarer]

"Aye, very trig indeed."

Just like Kiseki's former mistress's namesake. "And aye, though I honestly have no idea where all my employees get to. I think I'll have to hire a handful more before the weather gets much warmer."

[kitchen_maid]

"Good heavens, Caspian," says Amy, trying to disentangle her daughter from her brother's hair. "You certainly do run through them. Did you have this much trouble keeping help in Narnia?"

[the_seafarer]

"Only during feasts," he admits, "but then, that was understandable. No one wanted to work then, and the work seemed much more like a game, anyway."

[kitchen_maid]

"Or perhaps it was because feasts require a ridiculous amount of lemon cakes."

Amy still has Opinions on lemon cakes. And on the amount of work feasts make for kitchen maids.