•King Caspian: A New Dawn•

Chapter Seventeen

Caspian laid in bed, the sounds of the night floating in through his open windows, yet sleep would not come to him. His mind raced over and over the events that had transpired in his study just hours ago.

Not only had Melioralee proven herself both knowledgeable and calculated, she also demonstrated her ability to handle the intensity of political pressure. These realizations had opened a whole world of possibilities in his mind; his excitement growing with every passing minute.

Eventually Caspian gave up on getting any rest and throwing on his robe and slippers, began wandering the halls of Cair Paravel; lost in thought. About an hour passed before Caspian found himself approaching his study.

One of the double doors sat open, pulling Caspian out of his absent-mindedness.

"I swear I closed that earlier..." he muttered to himself.

Stepping through the door, Caspian's eyes swept the study but didn't see anything that had been disturbed.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Caspian jumped at the sound of Melioralee's voice, causing her to giggle from the dark corner in which she sat.

"We really have to stop meeting like that in here." Caspian murmured as Melioralee stepped into his embrace.

"Oh come on," she teased, smiling up at him, "I thought my entrance tonight was quite exciting!"

"I'm not sure that's the word my lords would use."

Melioralee simply hummed in reply, resting her head on Caspian's chest as they looked out the window together.

"I think we should leave first thing in the morning tomorrow." Caspian suggested, breaking their tranquil silence.

"We should leave? Since when were you joining us on the return trip to Archenland?"

"We were supposed to have the day together anyway."

"Oh, I'm not complaining! Just curious at your sudden change of plans."

"Truth be told, I just want to get away from the palace for a while."

"You wouldn't be using me to run away from your problems, would you?" Melioralee asked mischievously.

"That depends...would you be terribly angry if my answer was yes?"

Melioralee smiled and looked up into Caspian's eyes.

"Certainly not angry. If the answer was yes, I would understand...and then encourage you not to run away from hard things."

"Then I would ask you what would be so bad about running off on an adventure and leaving trouble behind."

"Then I would tell you that hard things are good and good things are hard. Therefore, you must face the good things and the hard things with equal courage for they often come hand in hand."

"So, I shouldn't come with you tomorrow?"

"What are you running from, Caspian?"

Caspian released a deep sigh as he trudged over to the window and leaned against its frame.

"I love this country; I love its people and I am beyond honored to be their king...and yet there are days I question."

"What do you question?"

"Myself."

The emotion in Caspian's voice was masked with a jesting tone, but Melioralee heard a pain that resided deep inside him.