Speckled Sky | Weekly Drabble Challenge
Title: Speckled Sky
Author: Kitoky
Fandom: Narnia
Characters/Pairings: Susan/Caspian
Rating: K+
Summary: Susan often found comfort in the night for it was the only time in her daily life she found similar to Narnia.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Narnia belongs to CS Lewis and Walden Media.
Author's Note: Submitted in response to the weekly drabble challenge prompt #18: beauty @ susancaspian. This was originally written as a separate project but I felt that it's never going to get done and I couldn't push it as far as I wanted it to go so I figured this is a good opportunity for it to see the light of day. This is not the entire piece, but shaved off to better fit the prompt and make it feel like a one-shot.
.speckled sky.
..........
“It’s beautiful here,” Susan eased out of the silence. “It wasn’t something I noticed during the raid being too busy sneaking around and all.”
Caspian chuckled and nodded his head, responding to her attempt of a normal conversation. He knew, however, that nothing would really ever be normal when it came to them. “This courtyard was built in my father’s memory. The flowers never fully bloomed until Aslan’s return.”
“Aslan’s return?” Susan inquired, and Caspian may have heard a drop of bitterness. “Maybe it wasn’t Aslan at all. Maybe it was because Narnia’s true king has returned.”
“High King Peter may not need to hear that theory.”
Susan dipped her head and smiled, appreciating the light moment. The folds of her gown billowed as she gently drifted closer to the edge, the new King in tow. Caspian looked out beyond the courtyard, to the green, lavish hills of Narnia. The sun had long since set below the horizon and the skies were colored in a pink and purple hue, the stars peeking out from the shadows.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Kings and Queens of Old. Now, Narnia will live onto a new Age, greater than the first with all its Kings and Queens here.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her falter in her step. She came to a stop, and Caspian feared that she would draw blood by the way she was biting her lip. “Your Majesty?”
He turned to her then and noticed that she was avoiding his gaze; her eyes slightly glistened as they jumped from his right shoulder, to his collarbone, down to the embroidery of his dress. It wasn’t until he risked a touch of her shoulder that her eyes then averted to his whose chocolate orbs had nothing but a look of concern pouring out of them.
Susan took a shaky breath, glancing down at her feet, and then back up to him. “We--- we’ll be leaving Narnia soon. You’ll have to rule Narnia on your own, I’m afraid.” A wry smile was set on her face and Caspian saw from the sad glint of her eyes it was only truth that spilled from her lips.
His thoughts were scattered, wandering, as he grasped at the end of strings, “Ho--? When?” Caspian managed to get out, trying to stay calm in light of the three-ton anchor that dropped to the bottom of his stomach.
Her eyes were down to his tunic again, brows furrowed in a fight of wills.
“This morning,” she started. “Aslan told us, Peter and I, that we aren’t allowed back. Well, Lu and Ed, they’ll probably return but--- not us.” Susan gave a nervous, nonchalant shrug. “He said we’ve learned all we can from Narnia. It’s time for us to move on.”
Caspian kept his gaze on her and noticed how she held herself. Her back was straight, but her shoulders slouched slightly---a sign that he was quite familiar with when it came to the Pevensies. She stood high and proud as the Queen of a land long forgotten by those who did not live to remember the age of purity.
“It’s funny,” she continued with a slight quiver in her voice. “I’ve started thinking that maybe he’s right. Aslan’s always been right, of course, but I really think I understand it this time.” At Caspian inquiring look, she sighed. “It’s just… I’ve known Narnia for so long. I’ve seen it grow from despair to its highest peak. I’ve learned so much: how to care for those lesser, how to deal in politics, wars, how to hope, and… I’ve even learned to love. I’ve come to love this world, this land, these people---all of them, Narnians and Telmarines alike--- and, I’ve come to…” she paused and he heard the bittersweet lilt in her tone, “love you, too.”
Caspian knew that, as abnormal, as complicated, as confusing as they were, he could never pass up this chance. There weren’t many things he trusted, but his gut feeling had never steered him wrong. It was his gut feeling that made him blow the horn that day, and it’s his gut feeling that’s telling him to never let her go. “You could stay? You could always just stay.”
He saw her smile. It was the kind of smile that gave him the feeling that he was being humored, thus making him feel silly--- childish, and he cursed his gut feeling. “Things are never that simple, Caspian.”
He knew it was futile, but he could still hope--- that was what their entire adventure together was all about: hope.
“It doesn’t seem fair,” he stated plainly. “It was not but a short while ago that you came to me, and now you have no choice but to go so far.”
“I don’t have to,” she spoke up suddenly to Caspian’s surprise. His eyebrows rose and she retreated back. “Well… I mean, physically yes, I have to leave but… I won’t be lost to you. As long as you remember me--- I mean, if you want---”
“Yes,” Caspian quelled her doubts. “I want to. I want to forever.”
She smiled---the first real smile Caspian saw since that morning---and looked away shyly. Susan looked up to the horizon and Caspian noticed that her eyes twinkled. “That star.” Caspian paused, turning in the direction of her gaze to see it. Susan laughed when he couldn’t spot it right away. His breathing became shallow as she grasped his arm and leaned into him, while pointing her finger towards the sky. “There.”
He saw it then, a flickering but shining dot in the sky. He often gazed at the stars with his professor as a young child, but never had he ever seen a spectacle such as this. It was surprising that he had never noticed it before, as the star seemed to outshine all others and it seemed as though it had placed in the sky just for them.
“As long as you still see this star, I will always be here. That’s my promise to you,” said Susan. She hoped she could keep it, as she wasn’t even sure if the same sky displayed over her world as it did over this one.
It took all his will not to lean in and kiss the Gentle Queen. Caspian had never truly expressed what he felt for her, because although he felt it, words did not come easily for him. Especially those about his feelings. He soon discovered that his will power was not enough as his lips brushed over hers, sealing the promise---and that spoke volumes.
.........
King Caspian X of Narnia cherished his wife. Really, he did. Everyone in the farthest reaches of the world knew that he cared and worshiped her, as she was his queen. Fourteen years had passed since their young King had returned from his journey to World’s End, bearing their new queen. All inhabitants of Narnia, from Animal to Telmarine, were all besotted with her for she held an astounding beauty that could have rivaled that of the Gentle Queen.
She was a daughter of a star.
“A star!” the servants of the castle shared hushed whispers. “No one could be a better match for our King!”
Caspian turned a deaf ear to these musings.
He cherished his wife. Really, he did.
He spent much of his time in the courtyard, now centered inside a dome built to preserve the memory of the tree that Aslan raised that day. Statues of the Kings and Queens of the Old flanked the tree, each facing in the direction of their respected titles.
King Edmund the Just leaned towards the west, both hands resting calmly on his sword set in front of him. To the northern skies, High King Peter stood tall with a hand grasping his sword to his left, and the other holding an ornate crown. The sculpture was nothing short of Magnificent. The Valiant Queen, Lucy, faced the east with an uncapped cordial in her left hand as her right held the cork.
Caspian stood grounded in front of the most familiar piece of art, its edges chiseled in an expert way that captured a truly beautiful maiden. His eyes traced the fine curve of the bow set upon her back, and the slenderness of her stone fingers cradling the intricate horn as if offering it out to him. Her hair flowed across her shoulders, and he begged for it to be able to blow in the wind, and shine under the southern sun. Caspian knew, despite the praise of his subjects to his wife, that Susan the Gentle would always be the most beautiful in all of Narnia; forever to go unchallenged.
The light of the setting sun radiated through the stained glass of the windows, setting a gentle orange glow upon the smooth stone of her fingers. Caspian reached out, caressing the marble with the back of his hand, and gazed at the details of her facial features. Set eyebrows, a round nose, and plump lips all played upon her serene expression.
Narnia had steadily settled into a peaceful age, but Caspian had been steadily growing into a state of unrest since seventeen years prior. Nothing made him more at ease than to spend long hours in the dome, and nothing made him more melancholy.
Prior to meeting the star’s daughter, he thought of nothing but Susan. Three long years had kept him wondering if she still remembered what they had promised. For three long years, he had checked the skies each night and each night he spent reminiscing upon the star. Even the sudden appearance of the two youngest King and Queen of Old did nothing but remind him further of the agony of never being able to see, touch, or hear her voice again.
Footsteps awoke him from his reverie and he wasn’t sure if he had called for the intruder to enter.
“Your Majesty, supper was called a half hour ago. My lady, the queen, called for me to retrieve you.” Caspian gave a nod in acknowledgement and bid him to leave. When the man did not move because of hesitation (no doubt for fear that his king would not go to supper as he has done numerous times before and the queen would be cross with him and not Caspian himself), he barked the order.
“Leave!”
A third command was not needed, as the man gave a low bow and left the sanctuary. Caspian contemplated grimly, and knelt before the Gentle Queen. His glossy eyes stared up at the motherly face and rested his hand beneath a marble one, his other fisted against his heart.
“I want to.” Caspian said, low and thick. “And will forever.”
............
Susan often found comfort in the night for it was the only time in her daily life she found similar to Narnia. There was no bustling about, no distinct honking of street cars, or of adults chastising young children on the silliness of their playful nature. It was during the night that Susan looked up to the stars from her small window, the moon aiding their orientation in the sky. But Susan did not need the moon to find the brightest star; the one star she held so dear to her longing heart.
And how she still longed.
She could find it every night and spent hours, even whole nights, gazing at it --- sometimes not daring to look away or it would be lost to her forever. It is during one of those kinds of nights she found herself now intermittently glancing up to it while mending a worn, plaid skirt. A soft breeze drifts across her window and along her skin, sending a cold memory of Aslan’s words through her.
“You, King Peter, and you, Queen Susan, shall never return to Narnia once you leave…”
Susan looked up towards the bright beacon again as nostalgia seeped into her stomach and weakness infiltrated her arms. It had been a year since her return to England, and she didn’t know if she would ever forget the ache in her chest when she thought--- knew--- accepted that she could never go back. A small piece of her heart, the deepest, most unreachable part, was lost to her because it was still in Narnia --- and as her siblings all knew and pitied her for it --- still belonged to a young prince.
It was upon this star she promised him, she remembered, that her heart shall forever belong to Narnia, and to him should he always want it. Her pledge was heartfelt, and held true, as she had never felt the same contented happiness since returning.
She jerked, feeling a sharp pain, and glanced back down at her handiwork and noticed that she had clumsily stuck herself with the needle. Examining the finger, she saw the small inkling of blood slowly easing out of the insignificant wound and she felt the numbness in her fingertips.
Her stomach dropped, and instinctively peered up out of her window again. Ice blue eyes searched frantically to recapture the image of her beloved star. It was minutes after, and through cloudy vision that she thought--- knew--- accepted that her star was finally lost. Her mending was abandoned, thrown haphazardly on the floor, as she leaned so far onto the windowsill she might’ve taken a tumble. Susan’s mind was not on what held her to the Earth however; her eyes were glued firmly to the sky, one last, desperate search for something that had kept her hope from diminishing completely.
The star was gone; she had lost him. It was her last link to Narnia. She had depended on it keep her alive inside, to remind her of what would have been--- still could have been her life with Caspian. It represented all her dreams and hopes--- now, vanished.
Anguish filled her, and with a shaky breath, she fell against the floor. She was alone now, with nothing but old memories, and an incomprehensible anger in her. There was nothing for her now, and she knew the only way she could survive feeling so empty was to hollow out completely, and feel for, hope for, and believed nothing more.
.........
Fin.
Author: Kitoky
Fandom: Narnia
Characters/Pairings: Susan/Caspian
Rating: K+
Summary: Susan often found comfort in the night for it was the only time in her daily life she found similar to Narnia.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Narnia belongs to CS Lewis and Walden Media.
Author's Note: Submitted in response to the weekly drabble challenge prompt #18: beauty @ susancaspian. This was originally written as a separate project but I felt that it's never going to get done and I couldn't push it as far as I wanted it to go so I figured this is a good opportunity for it to see the light of day. This is not the entire piece, but shaved off to better fit the prompt and make it feel like a one-shot.
.speckled sky.
..........
“It’s beautiful here,” Susan eased out of the silence. “It wasn’t something I noticed during the raid being too busy sneaking around and all.”
Caspian chuckled and nodded his head, responding to her attempt of a normal conversation. He knew, however, that nothing would really ever be normal when it came to them. “This courtyard was built in my father’s memory. The flowers never fully bloomed until Aslan’s return.”
“Aslan’s return?” Susan inquired, and Caspian may have heard a drop of bitterness. “Maybe it wasn’t Aslan at all. Maybe it was because Narnia’s true king has returned.”
“High King Peter may not need to hear that theory.”
Susan dipped her head and smiled, appreciating the light moment. The folds of her gown billowed as she gently drifted closer to the edge, the new King in tow. Caspian looked out beyond the courtyard, to the green, lavish hills of Narnia. The sun had long since set below the horizon and the skies were colored in a pink and purple hue, the stars peeking out from the shadows.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Kings and Queens of Old. Now, Narnia will live onto a new Age, greater than the first with all its Kings and Queens here.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her falter in her step. She came to a stop, and Caspian feared that she would draw blood by the way she was biting her lip. “Your Majesty?”
He turned to her then and noticed that she was avoiding his gaze; her eyes slightly glistened as they jumped from his right shoulder, to his collarbone, down to the embroidery of his dress. It wasn’t until he risked a touch of her shoulder that her eyes then averted to his whose chocolate orbs had nothing but a look of concern pouring out of them.
Susan took a shaky breath, glancing down at her feet, and then back up to him. “We--- we’ll be leaving Narnia soon. You’ll have to rule Narnia on your own, I’m afraid.” A wry smile was set on her face and Caspian saw from the sad glint of her eyes it was only truth that spilled from her lips.
His thoughts were scattered, wandering, as he grasped at the end of strings, “Ho--? When?” Caspian managed to get out, trying to stay calm in light of the three-ton anchor that dropped to the bottom of his stomach.
Her eyes were down to his tunic again, brows furrowed in a fight of wills.
“This morning,” she started. “Aslan told us, Peter and I, that we aren’t allowed back. Well, Lu and Ed, they’ll probably return but--- not us.” Susan gave a nervous, nonchalant shrug. “He said we’ve learned all we can from Narnia. It’s time for us to move on.”
Caspian kept his gaze on her and noticed how she held herself. Her back was straight, but her shoulders slouched slightly---a sign that he was quite familiar with when it came to the Pevensies. She stood high and proud as the Queen of a land long forgotten by those who did not live to remember the age of purity.
“It’s funny,” she continued with a slight quiver in her voice. “I’ve started thinking that maybe he’s right. Aslan’s always been right, of course, but I really think I understand it this time.” At Caspian inquiring look, she sighed. “It’s just… I’ve known Narnia for so long. I’ve seen it grow from despair to its highest peak. I’ve learned so much: how to care for those lesser, how to deal in politics, wars, how to hope, and… I’ve even learned to love. I’ve come to love this world, this land, these people---all of them, Narnians and Telmarines alike--- and, I’ve come to…” she paused and he heard the bittersweet lilt in her tone, “love you, too.”
Caspian knew that, as abnormal, as complicated, as confusing as they were, he could never pass up this chance. There weren’t many things he trusted, but his gut feeling had never steered him wrong. It was his gut feeling that made him blow the horn that day, and it’s his gut feeling that’s telling him to never let her go. “You could stay? You could always just stay.”
He saw her smile. It was the kind of smile that gave him the feeling that he was being humored, thus making him feel silly--- childish, and he cursed his gut feeling. “Things are never that simple, Caspian.”
He knew it was futile, but he could still hope--- that was what their entire adventure together was all about: hope.
“It doesn’t seem fair,” he stated plainly. “It was not but a short while ago that you came to me, and now you have no choice but to go so far.”
“I don’t have to,” she spoke up suddenly to Caspian’s surprise. His eyebrows rose and she retreated back. “Well… I mean, physically yes, I have to leave but… I won’t be lost to you. As long as you remember me--- I mean, if you want---”
“Yes,” Caspian quelled her doubts. “I want to. I want to forever.”
She smiled---the first real smile Caspian saw since that morning---and looked away shyly. Susan looked up to the horizon and Caspian noticed that her eyes twinkled. “That star.” Caspian paused, turning in the direction of her gaze to see it. Susan laughed when he couldn’t spot it right away. His breathing became shallow as she grasped his arm and leaned into him, while pointing her finger towards the sky. “There.”
He saw it then, a flickering but shining dot in the sky. He often gazed at the stars with his professor as a young child, but never had he ever seen a spectacle such as this. It was surprising that he had never noticed it before, as the star seemed to outshine all others and it seemed as though it had placed in the sky just for them.
“As long as you still see this star, I will always be here. That’s my promise to you,” said Susan. She hoped she could keep it, as she wasn’t even sure if the same sky displayed over her world as it did over this one.
It took all his will not to lean in and kiss the Gentle Queen. Caspian had never truly expressed what he felt for her, because although he felt it, words did not come easily for him. Especially those about his feelings. He soon discovered that his will power was not enough as his lips brushed over hers, sealing the promise---and that spoke volumes.
.........
King Caspian X of Narnia cherished his wife. Really, he did. Everyone in the farthest reaches of the world knew that he cared and worshiped her, as she was his queen. Fourteen years had passed since their young King had returned from his journey to World’s End, bearing their new queen. All inhabitants of Narnia, from Animal to Telmarine, were all besotted with her for she held an astounding beauty that could have rivaled that of the Gentle Queen.
She was a daughter of a star.
“A star!” the servants of the castle shared hushed whispers. “No one could be a better match for our King!”
Caspian turned a deaf ear to these musings.
He cherished his wife. Really, he did.
He spent much of his time in the courtyard, now centered inside a dome built to preserve the memory of the tree that Aslan raised that day. Statues of the Kings and Queens of the Old flanked the tree, each facing in the direction of their respected titles.
King Edmund the Just leaned towards the west, both hands resting calmly on his sword set in front of him. To the northern skies, High King Peter stood tall with a hand grasping his sword to his left, and the other holding an ornate crown. The sculpture was nothing short of Magnificent. The Valiant Queen, Lucy, faced the east with an uncapped cordial in her left hand as her right held the cork.
Caspian stood grounded in front of the most familiar piece of art, its edges chiseled in an expert way that captured a truly beautiful maiden. His eyes traced the fine curve of the bow set upon her back, and the slenderness of her stone fingers cradling the intricate horn as if offering it out to him. Her hair flowed across her shoulders, and he begged for it to be able to blow in the wind, and shine under the southern sun. Caspian knew, despite the praise of his subjects to his wife, that Susan the Gentle would always be the most beautiful in all of Narnia; forever to go unchallenged.
The light of the setting sun radiated through the stained glass of the windows, setting a gentle orange glow upon the smooth stone of her fingers. Caspian reached out, caressing the marble with the back of his hand, and gazed at the details of her facial features. Set eyebrows, a round nose, and plump lips all played upon her serene expression.
Narnia had steadily settled into a peaceful age, but Caspian had been steadily growing into a state of unrest since seventeen years prior. Nothing made him more at ease than to spend long hours in the dome, and nothing made him more melancholy.
Prior to meeting the star’s daughter, he thought of nothing but Susan. Three long years had kept him wondering if she still remembered what they had promised. For three long years, he had checked the skies each night and each night he spent reminiscing upon the star. Even the sudden appearance of the two youngest King and Queen of Old did nothing but remind him further of the agony of never being able to see, touch, or hear her voice again.
Footsteps awoke him from his reverie and he wasn’t sure if he had called for the intruder to enter.
“Your Majesty, supper was called a half hour ago. My lady, the queen, called for me to retrieve you.” Caspian gave a nod in acknowledgement and bid him to leave. When the man did not move because of hesitation (no doubt for fear that his king would not go to supper as he has done numerous times before and the queen would be cross with him and not Caspian himself), he barked the order.
“Leave!”
A third command was not needed, as the man gave a low bow and left the sanctuary. Caspian contemplated grimly, and knelt before the Gentle Queen. His glossy eyes stared up at the motherly face and rested his hand beneath a marble one, his other fisted against his heart.
“I want to.” Caspian said, low and thick. “And will forever.”
............
Susan often found comfort in the night for it was the only time in her daily life she found similar to Narnia. There was no bustling about, no distinct honking of street cars, or of adults chastising young children on the silliness of their playful nature. It was during the night that Susan looked up to the stars from her small window, the moon aiding their orientation in the sky. But Susan did not need the moon to find the brightest star; the one star she held so dear to her longing heart.
And how she still longed.
She could find it every night and spent hours, even whole nights, gazing at it --- sometimes not daring to look away or it would be lost to her forever. It is during one of those kinds of nights she found herself now intermittently glancing up to it while mending a worn, plaid skirt. A soft breeze drifts across her window and along her skin, sending a cold memory of Aslan’s words through her.
“You, King Peter, and you, Queen Susan, shall never return to Narnia once you leave…”
Susan looked up towards the bright beacon again as nostalgia seeped into her stomach and weakness infiltrated her arms. It had been a year since her return to England, and she didn’t know if she would ever forget the ache in her chest when she thought--- knew--- accepted that she could never go back. A small piece of her heart, the deepest, most unreachable part, was lost to her because it was still in Narnia --- and as her siblings all knew and pitied her for it --- still belonged to a young prince.
It was upon this star she promised him, she remembered, that her heart shall forever belong to Narnia, and to him should he always want it. Her pledge was heartfelt, and held true, as she had never felt the same contented happiness since returning.
She jerked, feeling a sharp pain, and glanced back down at her handiwork and noticed that she had clumsily stuck herself with the needle. Examining the finger, she saw the small inkling of blood slowly easing out of the insignificant wound and she felt the numbness in her fingertips.
Her stomach dropped, and instinctively peered up out of her window again. Ice blue eyes searched frantically to recapture the image of her beloved star. It was minutes after, and through cloudy vision that she thought--- knew--- accepted that her star was finally lost. Her mending was abandoned, thrown haphazardly on the floor, as she leaned so far onto the windowsill she might’ve taken a tumble. Susan’s mind was not on what held her to the Earth however; her eyes were glued firmly to the sky, one last, desperate search for something that had kept her hope from diminishing completely.
The star was gone; she had lost him. It was her last link to Narnia. She had depended on it keep her alive inside, to remind her of what would have been--- still could have been her life with Caspian. It represented all her dreams and hopes--- now, vanished.
Anguish filled her, and with a shaky breath, she fell against the floor. She was alone now, with nothing but old memories, and an incomprehensible anger in her. There was nothing for her now, and she knew the only way she could survive feeling so empty was to hollow out completely, and feel for, hope for, and believed nothing more.
.........
Fin.