Chapter Three. Summer Romance
 
  On a warm afternoon in early May, Caspian was in the schoolroom with his children and his old teacher, Doctor Cornelius, when he saw Sadira through the window walking toward the gardens alone.
 "Where's your mother going?" he asked
 “Does she have a book with her?” asked Rilian.
 “I think so, but I’m not sure.”
 “She’s probably going out into the gardens to read. She usually does that after her lunch. She goes there for about on hour to read and be alone.”
 “Mamma doesn’t get to be alone a lot,” put in Castellya. Caspian smiled and ran his fingers through his daughter’s hair.
  “You both are doing very well in school,” he said proudly.
  “They are very good students” Dr. Cornelius said, “Much like you were.”
  “Well, then I better leave you to the teaching,” said Caspian as he headed toward the door.
  “Good-bye, children and be good.”
  “We will. Good-bye, Father,” they called back and then turned back to their teacher.

  Caspian walked out of the palace and headed toward the gardens, looking for his wife. He found her in ‘Casi’s Garden’ sitting on a bench underneath Castellya’s swinging tree. She looked so beautiful sitting there, reading. A gentle breeze blew her golden hair around her face. When she reached up to pull her hair back, she glanced up to see Caspian coming toward her.
 “I’m sorry,” said Caspian, “I didn’t mean to interrupt your reading.”
 “That’s alright, I’m done with this chapter anyway,” she said closing her book. “What are you doing out here?” she asked, rather abruptly.
  “Taking a walk. A king has a right to do that,” came Caspian's retort.
  “Sorry, maybe I should have rephrased that. What are you doing out here alone?”
  “I came out for a walk looking for you.”
  “Why?”
  “Well, I wanted to know if you wanted to have a picnic with me.”
  “You mean, just you and me?” questioned Sadira.
  “Not counting the seagulls,” said Caspian.
  Sadira had to laugh.“Yes, I would like that very much.”

                                       ***

   About an hour later, Caspian and Sadira were on a grassy green ledge that overlooked the Great Estern Sea.
 "This is so strange, you not having anything to do today," said Sadira.
 "It's not that I don't have anything to do, it's just deciding when I do them," Caspian said handing her her wine.
 "The palace allows you to make your own decisions. That's progress," she said as she took her wine and handed him a plate of food."
 "Actually I make a lot of my own decisions!" Said Caspian defensively.
 "Caspian, relax. I'm joking," Sadira smiled, "You're a wonderful ruler and a good negotiator."
 "All part of that frightening concept called being a king," admitted Caspian.
 "You've been ruling Narnia for ten years and yet still being king will frighten you?" said Sadira sitting down next to him.
 "Of course! You have no idea what it's like having so many expectations on you. It's overwhelming sometimes," Caspian said as he reclined onto the grass.
 "You'd be surprise at what I have to go through when you're not here," Sadira said.
 Caspian gave her a surprised look. "What do you mean?"
 "Well, think about it. I'm not Narnian, nor am I from the other existing countries. I don't think the palace approved of your, well let's say, whirlwind marriage to a complete stranger that nobody had heard of."
 "I was going to be married off to a stranger anyway if I didn't marry you. The one thing I would not let the palace decide was my future wife and I don't care how much they complain about it," Caspian said firmly.
 Sadira smiled at him kindly. She didn't know he felt that way. There were a lot of things about him that she didn't know.
 "You know," said Caspian after a few minutes, "I always liked the idea of being in control of my country, but sometimes I feel that the country controls me."
 "Then think about your family, instead. I'm sure that must give you some hope when you feel that everything else is out of control," Sadira consoled, running her fingers through his dark hair.
 "You have no idea how much it does," said Caspian, "This is the first summer in almost five years where I don't have to be anywhere, but here." He took her fingers and kissed them gently, "More than anything, I want to remember this summer romance with you."
 "The real question is, will this summer romance carry on through the rest of the year and the years to come?"
 "Yes, I believe so," he said looking into her deep blue eyes.
  Sadira laid her head against Caspian's chest as he laid down in the grass. The summer sun beat down on them and for that small period of time, there seemed to be no one else in the world but them.

Chapter One. Thoughts about Marriage

 Six Years Later

"The king is returning! The king is returning!"

  Sadira opened up her weary eyes to the loud voice that was proclaiming the return of her husband; her husband of six years. Caspian had just returned from three long months of tough negotiation in Calormen and Narnia was glad to see their king again and also to celebrate his ten year jubilee of his ascension to the throne that would be in July. To Sadira though, it would only be a matter of time before he left her again.

  "Your Majesty! You must rise!" came the voice of Sadira's lady in waiting, Adelina, as she threw open the curtains to her bed.

. "Your husband has just returned from Calormen!"

  "So I hear," said Sadira sleepily as she slowly sat up in bed. She rubbed her tired eyes and watched as Adelina poured water in a basin for her to wash her face. From her opened window she could hear the people from far away beginning to cheer. Caspian was coming closer.

 "Wash up," said Adelina as she took a wet cloth and washed Sadira's neck and face. After that they went into her wardrobe and chose a beautiful blue (Caspian's favorite color) gown. Sadira tried to stand still as her lady in waiting and several other maids helped her into her gown. She could hear the cheers coming closer and closer to home.

                                                 ***

  After she got dressed, she went outside to get some breakfast when she almost had a collision with her five year old son, Prince Rilian.

  "I'm sorry Mother," he said ,"but I wanted to tell you that Father is coming! Do you hear the people outside?!"

  "Yes, I hear them darling," she answered softly as she stroked his golden hair.

  "You are happy that he's back?" asked Rilian. His large blue eyes becoming full of concern when he saw that his mother didn't seem to have the same joy and happiness as he and the rest of the kindom did.

  "Of course I am," she answered quickly, "It's just......well.....nevermind. Is your sister up?"

  "Yes?"

  "Is she dressed?"

  "I don't know."

  "Well, go find out and when she is dressed bring her down into the kitchen and we'll have a quick supper and then we'll go and greet your father."

  "Alright," he said cheerily and he walked down the hallway to the nursery, oblivious to his mother's very personal feelings about the return of his father.

  "That's all he ever seems to be whenever he's home," Sadira thought. Not that Caspian was a bad husband, just the opposite. He was very loving and caring toward her, but was also so busy with everything and everybody that he seemed to forget about the one person who missed him the most and yet was forced to hide her feelings about it.

   A queen must never show her true feelings concerning her husband in public. That lesson had been drummed into her since she stepped into Narnia. Only in private do you express your feelings. And therein layed the problem. She and Caspian were never alone. He was always surrounded by lords, court and council members, servants, soldiers, and she was always with her maids, her children, and her ladies in waiting.

  She would have written about her concerns in her letters to him, but what good would that have done? It would probably trouble Caspian and he wouldn't be able to carry out his duties and once again she would get blamed for it. There were several members of the Narnian council that were always finding trouble with her. She believed that many of the Telamarine council members despised her, because she was not a Telemarine nor was she from Narnia or the surrounding countries.

  With the exception on her ladies in waiting, Trumpkin, the lord regent, was the only person who really excepted her for who she was. He didn't care that she wasn't a Narnian or a Telemarine. She was a good wife and mother, and a gracious queen and that was good enough for him. He seemed to understand her and her lonliness, but she insisted that this was between her and her husband and could be easily sorted out. Trumpkin was no fool, though. He knew that the marriage was beginning to deteriorate, because of Caspian's absence and the few council members that were making Sadira's life in Cair Paravel sheer misery at times. He was beginning to believe that both causes of the troubled marriage might possibly be hand in hand with one another. 

  The only joy Sadira seemed to have sometimes, were her children Rilian and Castellya*, who was four. They were both happy and bright children who turned the palace upside down with their antics. The one thing they loved more than anything though was their father. His homecomings were bigger than Christmas day to them. Caspian in returned adored his children. He played with them and usually came close to spoiling them. He did everything in his power to give his children the childhood that was so wrongly taken away from him by his uncle.

  Sadira loved her husband and she knew that he loved her; she was never in any doubt of that. She just so wished that he could spare some time to just be her husband. The price that one gets when she marries a king.

                                                  ***

  Rilian and Castellya hurridly gobbled up theit toast and milk at the breakfast table, while their mother hardly ate a thing.

  "Are you sick, Mother?" came Castellya's soft little voice that woke Sadira from her thoughts.

  "Oh no, Darling, I'm not sick. I'm just not hungry, that's all," Sadira said looking into her daughter's questioning brown eyes. That seemed to be enough for the little princess and she went back to eating.

  "She has so much of her father in her," Sadira thought. Which was true. Castellya was the exact image of Caspian. With her long dark hair that curled at the ends just like his, and large gentle brown eyes. Sometimes Sadira could see Caspian looking out at her in her daughter's eyes. Castellya was truly the apple of her father's eye. Her name was Telemarine for 'darling star' and that's exactly what she was. Caspian's sweet darling star.

  "Oh my darling, I hope you never marry and leave us," Sadira thought sadly.

  Suddenly she heard mighty shouts and cheers coming from outside the walls. Then Trumpkin came rushing into the kitchen.

   "What are all doing?? You have to get outside now! The king is on his way up to the palace. Move, move, move!

   "Father's coming! Father's coming!" chanted the children as they ran out of the kitchen. Sadira stood up and took a deep breath.

   "You'll be fine; don't worry about it," said Trumpkin.

   "Well, I hope you're right," Sadira said.

                                              ***

  "Father, you're home! You're finally home!" shouted Rilian as he ran down the front of the palace stairs and into Caspian's outstretched arms.

  "I have missed you so much," Caspian said as he held his son close. He picked him up and walked up the stairs. When he reached the top, Castellya let go of her mother's hand and ran to him. Caspian put his son down and picked her up as if if she was a glass doll. She didn't need to say anything; she said it all in the kiss that she gave him when she wrapped her arms around his neck and intertwined her fingers in his long dark hair. He held her for a few tender moments and then whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. He kissed her on her cheek and then set her down.

  Sadira, Trumpkin, the council members, and the servants all bowed when he approached them, but his gaze was fixed on only one person there. Sadira raised her eyes to him and, seeing his steady gaze on her, she softly said, "I'm glad you're finally home."

                                        Tell me what you think! I'll write more soon!

                                            Love from Ivy-<3-

 *(Kuh-stella)

 Hey , this Katelin and Ivy and you probably might know us from our personal website www.xanga.com/smileandcheer and http://www.xanga.com/anliese .

 We`re going to use this site to post Ivy`s upcoming Narnia story and our new Twilight story . I think having this site will also allow us to just write regular everyday posts on our personal site as well . We hope you like it !