For King and Country ⭒Caspian x Reader⭒

Chapter 20

"And where does trust begin again?" I said, stopping to smell a rose that seemed to reach out into the path with its paper-thin petals begging for praise. 

"You know, it's peculiar," Titus said, turning to me, "So many say trust is built with time, but I find trust to be another form of magic. Because it always sneaks up on you. It can't be predicted."

"Hopefully, the board of advisors will find some magic themselves," I tossed my hair over my shoulder, and continued down the path with Titus. 

"Oh, we'll show them magic," Titus said, a mischievous smile lighting up his face, "I consider myself to something of a magician." 

"Stop it," I said, bumping him with my elbow as a laugh spilled from my lips.

"Maybe they're right. You're so violent," Titus said, feigning injury, holding onto his arm. 

A servant came running down the path, the click of her shoes like the staccato beat of a drum. She was huffing, puffing, and muttering curses under her breath as the cobblestones caught her feet.

"My lady! Prince Titus! You must come to the courtyard. The King has summoned you,"  The girl said breathlessly, placing a hand over her chest as she caught her breath.

"Is everything alright?" I said, trying to catch her eyes. 

"I believe so. Just come quickly," She dipped into a quick curtsy and rushed off just as fast as she came. 

Titus and I rushed through the halls speculating what we were summoned for. Caspian wasn't prone to summoning us through a proxy. He had always said Why would I send someone to search you out when I have two good legs and just as much time in my day?

"My lady," Titus said, pushing one of the large entry doors open for me with a flourish of his hand. 

As I stepped onto the stone parapet, the jovial air Titus and I had beheld faded to shock.  Filling the courtyard were as many soldiers, Narnian soldiers, as could fit shoulder to shoulder. Banners were held high in front of each regiment, and in the first row stood lords and ladies I had not encountered before. 

Caspian's back was to me, but he turned upon hearing the sound of my footsteps, a sound he had grown used to, one he could have picked out amid a whole battalion marching. A small smile listed over his lips at the sight of me.

"What's this?" I said, trying to remember why these house crests seemed to hold a memory for me. 

Caspian's eyes twinkled, "Not everyone is against you," He whispered. 

"Who are they? More troops?" I said, a tone of impatience lining my words.

"Not just any troops. These are the houses that turned us away when we campaigned for their contribution months ago," Caspian always stared at my lips and along my jaw before he would place a kiss upon my lips, and that same look came over his face in front of the multitudes, "They have heard of your good faith. You have made them believe in our cause again."

Being spurned by those specific Narnian houses hadn't bothered me beyond the few moments past the initial rejection. Caspian made an effort to distract me after the envoys would meet us to turn us away, he didn't care to watch me feel like I was less than over the opinion of those who hadn't even laid eyes on me. But now, the faces of those who scorned me looked up at me, their minds comprehending that I was the woman from the tales the wind had carried over Narnian lands in my time there.

When Caspian's face turned back to face the crowd, it lost the touch of adoration that his eyes only held for me. His jaw became strong and his countenance pondering as he examined the crowds. The lords and the ladies looked up at him knowing they were at his mercy to be welcomed back into the fold.