Chapter Four
(Caspian's POV)
I stood in my ship quarters, my hands clasped behind my back, eyes on the wide moon through the window. The crew and everyone else were celebrating the Pevenises' arrival on deck, but I decided to hide myself from the festivities. My heart was heavy, for I missed my beloved wife and adoring children back in Telmar. It had been months now since I had seen them, and I felt as if something wrong has occurred. There was an awful pit in my stomach, gnawing at my very being. Something was deathly wrong, but I was too far away to know what.
"Caspian, aren't you going to join us?" A voice behind me said as my bedroom door squeaked open. I heard footsteps approach me, then stop a few feet behind me. I sighed, my eyes closing with homesickness. I missed Antonio, Demetria, and my precious Madeline. I needed them, and I was beginning to regret ever going on this quest.
"No, not tonight, Lucy." I said, not looking back at her. "I apologize, I'm not usually this depressed. It's just that I-"
"Miss your family." Lucy continued for me. I opened my eyes and turned to face he, a small smile on my face. Of course out of all the Pevensies, the youngest would be the one to understand my dilemma. I remembered Lucy as a young girl the first time I had met her, but now she looked all grown up. Especially in the moonlight. She smiled back at me.
"Maybe all you need is a little celebration. I bet everything is fine back at the kingdom, you're just worrying. Don't fret, that's something all fathers and husbands do when they're away from loved ones. They just need to get their minds off of it. And by 'they', I mean you." Lucy told me with a sensitive grin. I knew she meant well.
"Alright, I guess a little dancing and celebrating wouldn't do me any harm." I finally gave in. She grinned even wider and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of my room and onto the deck.
The crew was out of control.
There was dancing and festive music playing, many people had mugs in their hands and were singing merry tunes. Edmund and Susan were dancing together, laughing gleefully. The stars were shining brightly tonight, adding to the jolliness of it all. I smiled as I stood beside Lucy, watching all of it occur. Everyone seemed so happy. I knew the Pevensies were, they were obviously overjoyed to be back in Narnia. I was happy for them as well I just wasn't in the dancing mood.
"About time you came out here." A voice beside me said.
Peter.
"Well, I couldn't miss out on all the fun." I stated simply, my arms folded, gaze on the king and Queen dancing before the crew. Lucy was clapping to the rhythm, giggling gleefully. She obviously hadn't noticed that Peter had snuck over to our side of the deck. I leaned my back against the wooden railing, trying to keep my fake smile on my face.
"Yes, celebrations are always enjoyable, are they not?" Peter said to me.
"Indeed, they are quite the catch." I replied.
"Of course the celebrations back home are twice as fun as the ones here." Peter stated. I let his small insult roll over me as if he hadn't even said those words at all. But Lucy had apparently heard him.
"What do you mean, Peter? Narnia has always been more fun then our other home." Lucy said, her arms crossed in a strict manner. She was now facing him, her back to the party. I couldn't help but smirk, wanting to hear Peter get told off by his younger sibling. Especially in front of the entire crew.
"Of course, of course. It's just that the parties in America were way more enjoyable than this. You wouldn't know, little sister, since you've never been there." Peter stated. I stood up straight, my hands balled up into fists at my sides.
"And what makes you think that, King Peter?" I asked him, spitting the last words as if they were poisonous. Peter smiled, obviously enjoying the fact that he was getting underneath my skin. He began to pace back and forth before Lucy and I, his hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, the food is better, the location is quite more enjoyable, and the company is more attractive." He stated.
"Peter, it's not like they have a five-star kitchen below deck. Can't you just be grateful that we're here?" Edmund asked his older brother. I looked past Peter, realizing that the crew had stopped their festivities and were now watching us. Susan stood by Edmund's side, obviously mad that Peter had been trying to pick a fight.
"Well, I would be grateful, it's just that Narnia isn't as amazing as you think it is. When we were younger, we were more naive. Littler things tended to excite more than they do now-"
"Get to the point, Peter." Susan growled.
"What I'm trying to say is that maybe Narnia isn't as fun as we once thought it was." Peter said with an evil smirk on his face. I glared at him, taking a step towards him.
"You're only saying this because I have won Madeline's heart. Just because you couldn't treat her right, doesn't mean you can take you your bitterness on your family." I snarled at him.
"And what would you know about family? You left yours to come on some noble quest!" Peter shouted at me.
"I had to! I'm doing this for the good of Narnia!" I shouted back at him. I took a step back, trying to keep my wits about me as everyone watched us silently. "Madeline is fully capable of watching over the kingdom. Telmar is on good terms with the other neighboring kingdoms, which means Telmar is safe." I paused for a moment. "Madeline is safe. And so is my family." I stated.
"Peter, what has come over you?" Lucy asked him, shocked by the way he was acting.
"I don't know. Maybe being back here as caused me to be more hostile than usual." Peter growled, not taking his eyes off of me.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have come back." I said.
"It's not like we had any choice, Caspian." He told me.
"I wish you did. Maybe you being here is more of a curse than an answer of prayers." I told him, then turned around to leave.
"Caspian-" Edmund started, but was interrupted.
"Are you going to go hide again, high and mighty king Caspian?" Peter asked in a mocking voice. I stopped in my tracks, my anger growing inside me. Slowly, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword. Threateningly, I pulled it out of it's scabbard, holding it in my hand. I turned around, glaring at the boy before me.
Everything was silent.
"You shouldn't have said that, Peter." I said to him, an evil smirk on my face. I looked over at Reepicheep, who nodded and tossed Peter a sword. The boy caught it effortlessly and pointed the tip at me.
"You know what, I was right. You are jealous, high and mighty King Peter." I said as we began to circle the deck, waiting for the other to strike. Everyone around us was quiet, not wanting to miss the action. "You're jealous that I have a kingdom to rule, while you have to live in America." Peter growled and attacked. I blocked his blade and parried with a blow to his back with the hilt of my sword. He cried out in pain, but didn't lose his wits.
"Both of you, stop it!" Lucy shouted in vain.
"You envy the fact that I am a ruler, that I have a title. While in your world, you are nothing but a peasant." I hissed. Peter shouted and lunged again, swinging his sword at my feet. I jumped up, dodging his blade. Lashing out at him, the tip of my sword just barely nicked his arm. I was surprised he didn't shout in agony, but I figured his adrenaline must've been flowing rapidly, masking the pain. I watched the blood flow down his arm as we began to circle again.
"Admit it, Peter. You're a failure in that other world, and now you can't handle the fact that I've stolen your thunder. Your royalty. Your very authority. You can't handle the fact that you're not only a nothing in America, you're a second-class citizen in this world as well." I definitely hit a nerve when I said that. Peter lunged once again, his face screwed up in anger. He swung his sword at my neck, and I barely had enough time to block his strike. Our blades smashed together, the sound of metal banging against metal echoed through the night air.
"Caspian! Peter! Stop it!" Susan shouted. I swung my foot beneath Peter, kicking his right leg out from underneath him. He fell to the ground, landing on one knee. I slammed the hilt of my sword against his face, smashing in his nose. Peter cried out as he held one hand on his bleeding nose, the other on his sword. I kicked the blade from his grasp, it flew out of his hand and slid across the deck. I smirked, holding my sword against his throat.
"This game has been won, Peter. And I'm not sorry to say that you've lost." I said quietly. We looked at each other for a moment, hatred brewing inside Peter's eyes. I pulled my sword away from his throat and returned back into my scabbard. And with that, I left the party.