His Majesty, Her Grace - Sequel to A Prince Caspian Love Story

Chapter 16 - Nightmares

"I'll stay inside until the storm is over. I don't want to but I can't have someone with me day and night with everyone being needed on deck, not to mention my hands so I wouldn't be much use up there anyway. Whoever this person is can't be very bold otherwise they would've tried to kill me before now." I say. I already feel useless enough without my navigation skills and now being confined to the lower decks but I can't risk going out there again.

"They may not be bold now, but could resort to other methods if they grow desperate enough," Caspian says. I can feel the worry pouring off him in waves as he gently grabs my wrist.

"Then we'll deal with those problems when they arise, but for now we have to consider everyone else on this vessel. Anyone could've been attached to that line and easily could've fallen to their death just as much as me or Edmund. Setting a trap would put them in harm's way. Waiting it out is the best option we have."

He looks at me thoughtfully and nods in agreement.

"She can stay with me and Gael. We hardly ever leave our room because of the storm and I doubt he would try anything in there." Lucy says to Caspian.

"I suppose that could work. Ed, I need you to check on them periodically. I will too, just to be safe."

"Alright." Ed agrees but I can tell he's itching to do more than just babysitting me.

We're all thinking the same thing, I'm the only one who says it."This will be easier to concentrate on once the storm has passed."

By the time we're done with our meeting, it's early morning. We all squeeze in a few more hours of sleep before the crew stirs awake. Caspian passes out when his head hits the pillow. I'm relieved that he seems to feel better about everything, at least enough to sleep soundly. I find it impossible to sleep not just for that night, but the nights and days that follow. I spend all my time with either Lucy and Gael or Caspian. It's almost been two weeks of nothing but motion sickness and damp clothes. My hands are better in no time just like I predicted but my back is still sore when I twist a certain way. The crew is restless and I often hear several of them wake up in the night, breathing heavily from nightmares.

Caspian sighs in his sleep and rolls over so that he's laying on his back. His face is hardened like he's in pain.

"Father..." He mutters. He talks about his father often and it's always in a loving, yet sad way. I rest a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him from whatever memory is replaying in his head.

"Father." He says louder and jerks his head away from me.

"Caspian," I whisper. "Caspian wake up. It's only a dream." I move my hand to his hair. "Caspian, it's okay."

He suddenly jerks awake. He sits up fast and instinctually grabs my arms. His grip is rough and almost hurts but I know he still isn't fully awake yet. He looks terrified and beads of sweat have gathered on his brow.

"It was just a dream," I say softly and he blinks a few times to make sure what he's seeing is real.

He swallows hard and his eyes begin to water. I frown and wrap him tightly in my arms. He buries his face in my chest, hiding his pain from me like I'm not supposed to see it.

"It wasn't real. It's not real Caspian." I rub his back and smooth out his ruffled hair.

We stay latched onto one another for what feels like hours but is probably only a few minutes before he pulls away. His dark eyes are glazed with sadness. They're dry, the only evidence that he'd been crying is the small patch of wet tears on my shirt.

"What happened?"

He's quiet at first, so I absentmindedly draw circles on his palm and wait until he's ready.

"I was a child again. At least, I felt like I was. I felt weak and trapped. All I could hear was his voice..." He speaks so quietly that I almost don't hear him.

"What was he saying?"

"That he was disappointed in me."

He closes his eyes tightly. He's ashamed to be telling me, but I don't know why.

I hold his face in my hands. "Caspian, you are not a disappointment to anyone, especially your father. His pride in you and what you've done for your kingdom is unmeasurable... Do you remember what I told you the first night I spent at the castle?"

He finally looks at me again.

"I told you that I was proud of you and that was before you accomplished what you have. Your father will always be proud of you because he loves you."

A single tear rolls down his cheek. I wipe it away and plant a quick, assuring kiss where it had been only a few seconds ago. Our moment is promptly ruined when Edmund sits up violently in the hammock next to us and unsheathes his sword, pointing it at empty air. Lucy is next to him trying to get his attention.

"Edmund!" She says and he snaps out of it. "I can't sleep."

"Let me guess. Bad dreams?" Ed asks, and we all nod. "So either we're all going mad or somethings playing with our minds."

The four of us feel restless for the remainder of the night, hoping and praying that the sun will return. Edmund seems to doze off every few minutes but Caspian and I opt for staying up until morning, talking about anything that comes to mind, just whispering back and forth for hours. At around what I assume to be morning, the rocking of the boat calms down out of nowhere. A millisecond after I notice, sunlight peaks through the window, real sunlight.

"Caspian, look!" I point at the window. We both jump out of the hammock and sprint up to the deck. The storm is behind us, finally letting the sun shine and bathe us in warmth. We're both laughing like little kids, ecstatic. But now that the storm has passed, we have a lot of work to do.

~

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