•King Caspian: A New Dawn•

Chapter Eight

Low, distant rolls of thunder rumbled through the clouds and rain pattered against the glass windows as Caspian sat in his study, lost in thought.

"You're a million miles away my boy."

Caspian met Professor Cornelius's probing gaze and sighed.

"Not quite a million miles, Professor...though I feel much farther away than that."

"Ah, makes perfect sense." The round man chuckled.

Caspian stood and walked to the window, watching the raindrops trickle down like tears.

"I'm just restless I suppose."

"Hhmmm...I've seen this look in your eyes before my king, it is not the face of restlessness you make but one of lostness. War is a sobering thing lad; I don't have to tell you that. It will pass, just as all things do with time."

"It's not the war that affects my mood Professor. I should be in revels over our victory..."

"So, what IS the cause of this melancholy?" Professor Cornelius asked, taking a seat opposite Caspian's vacant chair.

Caspian, spinning around from his stance at the window, rushed back to the table and with excitement in his eyes, replied in a hushed voice, "I didn't think I'd ever find someone to compare with Queen Susan...quite frankly I didn't know that I'd ever find love in my life. But Professor I met a girl..."

"The one who nursed you back to health, I read the reports...what about her?"

"I don't know, Professor, that's just it! I don't know what it is about her or why I've been unable to keep my mind off of her. I thought this would pass when I returned home. I thought, perhaps my infatuation was simply some form of attachment I developed because of her kindness and care. Yet a month has gone by and these thoughts still fill my every waking hour."

"Have you considered writing to her?" Professor Cornelius suggested.

"I've tried, Professor. Every time I sit down with a pen and paper, its like all the words I think I want to say disappear."

Professor Cornelius folded his hands across his chest and sat back; a smile hiding under his long beard.

"Well...what are you going to do about it?"

Caspian pondered this question for a moment, indecision passing over his features.

Finally, sighing defeatedly, Caspian replied, "I want to go back to Archenland to see her, but I can't just show up to her homestead without reason."

"What if you took with you gifts - a reward of sorts for saving the king of Narnia's life."

A smile slowly lit up Caspian's entire face.

"Professor...you're a genius!"

Without giving Cornelius a chance to reply, Caspian rushed out of the study, calling any servants in earshot to help him prepare for a trip to Archenland.

~

The Winding Arrow River rushed through the woods, the rapids seeming to carry the smells and sounds of the forest. Melioralee walked along the bank, picking a bouquet of flowers and humming to herself as she went.

As she was approaching the tree clearing, Aloysius's voice reached her ears, calling her name.

Gathering up her skirts, Melioralee bounded up the hill.

Reaching the top, she slowed her pace to a walk, eventually making her way around the front of the barn.

"I was picking flowers for Esta, what was so important that you needed-" Melioralee stopped dead in her tracks as she looked up and met Aloysius's gaze.