•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚constellations˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙

dont leave.

She placed her frame opposite him on the windowsill, looking out at the merciless winds as they caused large waves to erupt like lava from a raging volcano, with the strength of Poseidon and anger of Zeus. Her gaze flickered to the boy in her company, and the distress plastered over his face had pulled at her heart as though she was a voodoo doll with a knife through the chest. She frantically sought to free him from the nagging of his mind, something she was all too familiar with.

"Have you ever braided your hair?" She asked, her voice struggling to carry over the thrashing of the ocean against the glass.
"I can't say I have, princess."
"Can I?" She gestured to the space on the floor before her. He smiled at her innocent eyes and could not find it in himself to resist. Deep down he would do anything just to be in her presence, and even more to have her holding him in any way. He lowered himself onto the wood in front of her legs and allowed her to intertwine her long fingers in his locks, sending a chill down his neck like a hug, and praying that she couldn't see the small bumps on his skin.

"What are you thinking?" The girl questioned when she saw a gentle smile grace his lips, something that she thought she could look at for the rest of time and never get bored of. Her heart could only hope that it wasn't the memory of Susan Pevensie that caused his stomach-fluttering grin. His eyes drooped lazily as sleep desperately pulled at them, he was unable to rest with the constant screaming of worry in his mind, yet the yells quietened as soon as the angel entered his room.

"I hate you because I think of you more often than I should, and I can't seem to stop." The words fell from his mouth before he could even process what he was saying, exhaustion evident in his husky voice.

"Well in that case, I must hate you too." She slowly responded as to conceal her dreamy grin. Her hands had reached the bottom of his hair and she tightened the braid, her touch lingering around his neck, not wanting to be separated of the contact.

"All done."
He lifted his body upon the windowsill, subtly leaning into the small frame beside him, and allowed his eyelids to flutter closed. She smiled down at him as though he was a novel, beautifully written and endlessly compelling, something she could reread a million times over and only grow to love more each time.

"You should know that in a lifetime of messes, you're the first thing to feel right."
His words were slurred and yet they were still the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

However, her mind had to restrain her leaping heart by reminding her that he was utterly exhausted and couldn't possibly realise what he was saying. He'd probably wake the next morning and entirely forget, or if he did happen to remember, there was no doubt in her mind that he would regret those fragile words.

"Come on. You should get to bed."
He hummed in objection, finding her side a much more comfortable mattress than the hammock in his shared quarters. She delicately lifted his head up and assisted him to a stand.
"Goodnight Stella."
"Goodnight Cas."
She watched his retreating body in heartache, she'd wanted to spend the night right there, enveloped in his embrace, yet her overly pessimistic and argumentative brain had convinced her that he wouldn't have wanted that too. Once she could be sure that he was gone, she dragged her feet back to her room and pulled off her dress. She wedged herself in between Gael and Lucy whom both slept like logs even in the beating of waves.

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"You're a disappointment Estelle Amore."
"You besmirched our name."
"We sacrificed our love and our lives for your own, and you've failed us."
"Mum? Dad?" she croaked through a weak voice and cracked eyelids.
"You do not deserve to call us that."
Her parents harsh words drove a stake through her heart, how could they possibly say that to her? She was still on the Dawn Treader, how were they even here? was she dead?
"What's going on?" her voice was rushed and panicked, it felt like thousands of needles were being thrusted into her skin every second.
"Edmund despises you."
"How could you ever believe that Caspian prefers you to his beloved Susan."
"You can't even keep your own friends around! What did we die for?"
"Stop. pl-please." the words tumbled out at a volume no louder than a whisper, the tears racing down her cheeks restricting her vocals. The couple began to float towards her, their heckles and insults endlessly penetrating her ears.
"No! Stop!"

A cool sweat dripped from her brow as her skin glistened. Her voice raw. Her head pounding. Her cheeks damp. But she was alive, and she was back in bed beside her friends. Well, one of them at least. Lucy had vanished from her place, but the static sensation coursing throughout her veins prevented her from questioning it too much. Luckily she hadn't woken the small child with her movement and therefore decided her best plan of action would be to try to fall back to sleep, although the likelihood of that happening now seemed slim. After not even a minute of trying, she swung her legs off the side of the bed where they were met with the ice cold wood, sending a chill up her limbs, combating the sweat. Her mind wasn't aware of where her legs were taking her until she stood before the entrance to the boy's shared quarters. There stood a shaking Lucy beside her brother's hammock, each Pevensie wearing a look of shock and fear.
"Lucy?"
"I couldn't sleep."
Caspian was muttering unintelligible words and throwing himself around in his hammock until he was jolted awake, eyes immediately falling upon the equally distressed girl in his doorway.
"Let me guess. Bad dreams-"
"-so either we're all going mad, or something is playing with our minds." Edmund said over the heavy breathing of his roommate. Estelle's feet quietly padded against the floor as she went to stand beside Caspian's 'bed', her hand pulling away small strands of hair that stuck flat to his face. His eyes were wide with panic but she didn't press, she knew that he would share his nightmare when he was ready.
"please, don't leave."
"I won't."
His tired limbs absentmindedly pulled her frame next to him, instinctively wrapping his arms around her. She didn't object and allowed him to embrace her, if it meant that he could sleep, she was more than happy to do so. She would deny it if asked, but Estelle also didn't mind it for her own reasons, her feelings towards the boy had become confusing after his earlier words, but she knew that he was more than just a friend and so falling asleep in his arms was okay with her.
Her and Caspian barely knew each other, yet he couldn't stop himself from falling for the girl. It wasn't something that words could accurately describe. She just felt different from the rest of the world, her spark was unmatched and he was in love with the way she thought, spoke, looked. This cruel world didn't deserve her mind.

☆.｡.:*.｡.:*☆

word count: 2024
A/N
i've officially written the ending scene and i am extremely excited to post it!
anyways this is just a bit of a soppy filler chapter to progress their relationship but either way i hope you like it <3