Hey, so I watched CoN; Prince Caspian finally, and I loved the whole SusanxCaspian thing at the end. I felt bad for Caspian though, poor guy is probably all confused, she kisses him and leaves. So that's when the idea for this fic was born. I just realized how much it reminds me of Cinderella and Princess Diaries: Royal Engagement...oh well. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.

"King Caspian, you are to choose a bride by the end of the month."

The news hit Caspian like he was a deer caught in the headlights. He let out his breath in a whoosh and slumped back against the hard stone of his throne. "And if I don't?"

"Why, if you do not choose a bride and produce an heir, the people will loose faith in you. They will be afraid that war will break out after your death and they will start to not respect you as their king."

"Oh, well…I know that I must marry, I just didn't think…it would be so…soon." Caspian's tone was of one who is resigned to no other choice. As he spoke, his gaze dropped to his lap, dark hair curtaining his face.

Caspian absentmindedly twisted the ring on his left hand. It was a thin silver band with tiny prongs that encased a small, diamond-shaped garnet. Whenever Caspian was feeling overwhelmed or stressed he stroked the ring and it seemed to calm him down; he felt as if he could think clearer. However, at this moment, the ring's calming power was failing him. He continued to stroke it as he recalled how it had come into his possession.

He met up with Aslan early on the day the Pevensies were to return to their world. Aslan silently nodded to him and Caspian placed a hand on his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of thick fur. He kept his grip on the lion as they continued on their way. After a few moments Aslan broke the silence. "There is something you wish to ask me."

Aslan's statement caught Caspian a little off guard. "Yes, well…do they have to leave so soon? Couldn't they stay a few days longer?" His tone was wistful and hopeful at the same time.

"No, I'm afraid not. It is time they got back to their own world, where they belong."

"But Aslan, why?! Why can't they stay?!" Caspian suddenly stopped walking and Aslan paused as well, turning to face Caspian.

Caspian could feel Aslan's gaze on him. It was piercing and searching. To Caspian it felt as if Aslan was seeing into his very soul. It gave him chills.

"You are in love with her." Aslan's sudden judgment startled Caspian greatly. He looked at the lordly lion with wide eyes.

"I am not certain…if it is love…yet…"

"Your Majesty, I have seen into your very core and what I found surprised me. You harbor intense feelings of love and devotion for her, you only wish her to be happy and safe, you would sacrifice your own life and happiness for her. That is true love. And now that she must leave, you are afraid of losing and forgetting her. Yet you have mentioned none of this to her. You don't want to upset her with your feelings just before she has to leave. You are truly noble. If you treat all of Narnia with this much care and respect, you will make a fine king."

Caspian was dumbstruck by the truth of Aslan's conclusion. "What am I supposed to do? You are right, I love her deeply. She is strong and fearless and caring and she is beautiful. And now she has to leave, never knowing how I truly feel. What am I to do?" Caspian's eyes welled up and threatened to overflow and he leaned down and buried his face in Aslan's soft fur, breathing deeply of his scent. When his tears had dried he stood back and patted Aslan's fur. "Thank you."

"My king, please, take this ring." Caspian looked at Aslan, confused, and was startled to find a tiny, silver band hooked on one of Aslan's lower teeth. He gingerly removed it from Aslan's mouth and examined the tiny trinket. The band was quite thin and elegant and tiny prongs held a perfectly diamond-shaped, burgundy stone.

"The stone is a garnet. It is said that when a garnet is given as a gift it symbolizes true and never-ending love and devotion. There is only one other ring like that one in Narnia. Those rings have also been said to create a bond between the wearers. Whether this is true and what power they have, I know not."

Caspian sensed that Aslan knew more than he was letting on, but he decided to pursue a different question. "Where is the other?"

Aslan was about to answer when they were interrupted by footsteps in the courtyard. They both looked up to see Susan walking toward them. Caspian heard Aslan chuckle softly beside him, "Fear not, you will see it soon. Now be off, I must speak with Susan."

"Yes Aslan, and thank you."

Caspian spent the remaining hours pondering what Aslan had told him. Never-ending love and devotion…given as a gift…he suddenly knew what Aslan had been hinting at, he was to give the ring to Susan. Caspian closed his fist over the ring and gripped it tight at his conviction.

Everyone was gathered and he'd watched as four Telmarines had stepped through the tree and vanished. Now it was the Pevensies' turn. He stood by silently as they said their goodbyes to their friends.

Susan walked up to him with an emotion on her face he couldn't quite place. "I wish we had more time together."

"It wouldn't have worked anyway."

Caspian was horror struck. "Why not?"

"After all, I am thirteen hundred years older than you."

Caspian understood, she was joking, trying to mask her sadness. She didn't want to leave him either. This gave him hope. He uncurled his fingers to show her the ring still in his fist. He had been gripping so tightly there was a perfect indentation of it in his palm.

Susan gave him a look of surprise and she reached into her pocket…to pull out the ring's perfect match, her eyes never left his. Caspian slowly, gently reached down and took her left hand in his. He deftly slid the tiny ring onto her third finger, like a promise. She looked up into his eyes and he could see a single tear roll down her cheek. Before he knew what he was doing, Caspian had wiped away her tear with his hand. Susan covered his hand, still on her cheek, with her own and seemed to lean into it. Then she took that hand and slid the ring Aslan had given her onto his third finger, a promise.

Then Susan tore herself away, only to come running back. She threw her arms around Caspian and pressed her lips to his. Caspian was caught totally by surprise, he hadn't been expecting her sudden outburst of emotion, but he was glad for it. He kissed her back as sweetly and as passionately as possible and encircled her with his arms. They broke away and fell into an embrace. Susan whispered quietly in his ear, "No need to say goodbye, I'll come back when you call me…I love you." Caspian could hear the pain in her voice and he couldn't bear it. "And I, you."

All too soon Susan tore away and went to stand with her siblings. As they passed through the tree she did not glance back. It was for the best, because if she had seen Caspian's face she would not have been able to leave.

And now Caspian had to lead an entire kingdom, without her by his side.

"In order for you to choose a suitable bride we will host a ball. All the noble Telmarine boys and women will be invited and- Caspian! Are you listening to me?!"

Caspian was startled out of his reverie. "What, umm, yes. A ball."

"It will be held in three nights time, you'd best prepare for it."

The meeting was now over and Caspian sat on his throne as his advisors filed out of the room, all but one.

"Your Majesty."

"Trumpkin, please call me Caspian. We fought together as equals, there is need for this."

"Very well, Caspian. I know that you still love Queen Susan, but it's been three years since they left. It's high time you accepted that she's gone. She's never coming back. Move on, for your own good as much as for the kingdom."

"Leave me."

"Your Majesty, I meant you no disrespect, I jus-"

"LEAVE ME!"

Trumpkin could tell that Caspian wasn't really angry, he was just trying to cover up his sadness. He was confirmed when he heard the pain and sorrow in Caspian's voice. "Yes, Sire." Caspian put his face in his hands.

* * *

It was the night of the ball and Caspian was in a side room of the ballroom, waiting to greet his guests for the evening. He could hear the great hall filling up with giggling noble girls. All too soon a servant opened the doors and announced him, every face in the room swiveled to look up at him. He made his way down the grand staircase and was immediately assailed by snobbish telmarine girls. They were each trying to ask him to dance with her, for they all knew the reason for the ball.

He finally agreed to dance with one particularly pushy girl. She gloated in triumph as they strode out on the dance floor. He took her hand and she placed her hand on his shoulder, pushing her body as close to Caspian's as possible. He placed his other hand slightly above her waist, just to be safe.

At first all she wanted to do was talk about how rude everyone else was and how she felt sorry for His Majesty. Caspian resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the irony. The she started asking more personal questions about Caspian. He was extremely relieved when the song ended. He only had a moment's rest, however, before another girl asked him to dance and the cycle started again.

It was more than an hour before Caspian could get away without being assaulted by more girls. He silently slipped out of the ballroom and out onto the balcony, closing the doors behind him. He shivered a little in the chill night air. He walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned against the stone rail. He looked out over his vast kingdom and the firelight gave his face a warm healthy glow.

Just then the music flared briefly behind him and he heard the door click shut again. He turned to see who had joined him. It was a sleight girl; she was maybe a year or two younger than Caspian himself. Her dress was a pale blue and the sleeves fell on her arms, leaving her pale skin exposed. Half of her dark hair was piled on her head and the rest fell in ringlets to her shoulders. She turned from the door and Caspian was struck by her beauty. She had wide eyes that were the color of the sky on a clear day. Her small button nose was perfectly sculpted and her mouth was small (and shut, to Caspian's pleasure), but she had full, luscious lips. "Oh, Your Majesty, I'm very sorry I did not see you there. I will leave if you wish to be left alone."

Caspian took a moment to recover, in which she almost left. "It's not that I wish to be left alone, I'm just hiding from the nastier company."

The girl giggled sweetly. "I as well, they can all be so…"

"Tiring?" Caspian guessed at her answer.

"Infuriating."

"Yes, they are infuriating. And no, please don't go. I should be glad of some company."

"Thank you Your Majesty."

For a while they just stood in companionable silence, soaking up the peaceful night air. Caspian spoke, however, breaking the spell. "What is your name?"

The girl looked at him bewildered. "Your Majesty wishes to know my name?"

"Well, yes. Why do you think I would not?"

"It's just that…well, the other girls are far more pretty than I am and I am certain they would crave Your Majesty's attention."

"Well I do not crave their attention. Now, your name…please?"

"…Arabella."

He mulled her name over for a few moments. "It is a very fitting name." The muffled music from the ballroom rose up slightly in volume, reminding Caspian where he was. "Would you care to dance, my beautiful lion?"

Arabella responded by dipping her head and blushing. Caspian took her hand and lead her to the center of the wide balcony. They came together and twirled and spun with the music.

They danced together, song after song, and Caspian had no idea how long they had been at it until the music stopped. They broke apart from their dance and Arabella bid him farewell.

* * *

Over the next few weeks Caspian and Arabella spent a fair amount of time together. They went for long walks in the castle gardens, they stayed up late conversing by firelight, and they even went sailing for the first time in their lives. They got to know each other very well in those few weeks. Caspian loved Arabella, she was different; she was sweet and she really cared about people, not money and power. Caspian admired this about her. But his love for her did not compare to the love he still felt for Susan. But Caspian knew his duty, he knew it was time to propose, and when he did Arabella said yes, with tears in her eyes.

They spent the next month planning their wedding. It was to be a grand event; all of Narnia was invited. It was going to be held in the ruins of Cair Paravel; the place where the first Kings and Queens ruled, a holy place, as considered by some.

The preparations were now all complete and it was the night before the wedding. Caspian sat alone in his darkened bedchamber. He was playing with his ring again. All he could think about was his beloved Susan. Yes, he loved Arabella…but he was not in love with her. He was, however, still madly in love with Susan. He would never, in all his days, for get her kind face.

He glanced over at the desk in the corner of his room, eyes finding the white object sitting on top. He got up and hesitantly walked over. His fingers gently brushed the white object, a horn, Susan's horn. Before he knew what he was doing he had the horn up to lips and was blowing it with all the air in his lungs. It made a loud bellowing sound and Caspian waited for something, anything, to happen. Nothing did.

"I should have known." Caspian placed the horn back on the desk and sat down hard on his bed. He put his face in his hands. "You said you would come back if I called you. You said you would come back…you lied." Caspian could feel hot tears well up in his eyes, a result of false hope; he didn't care, he was too sad. He closed his eyes and the tears started rolling down his face. And they wouldn't stop. The only person who could have dried his tears that night was never coming back. Caspian cried himself to sleep.

They left before dawn the next morning. Caspian and his soon-to-be bride rode in a heavily ornamented carriage, behind several rows of soldiers on horseback. More soldiers and noble families followed them. Behind them, hordes of narnians and telmarines alike followed, waiting to see their king wed.

They travelled like that until they arrived in the ruins of Cair Paravel, just before sunset. The wedding ceremony was to be held in the ruins of the grand hall where the Kings and Queens once ruled from.

Caspian waited on the dais, dressed in his full kingly splendor, and watched as the rest of the hall filled up with expectant people. Then the music started up. Arabella appeared at the end of the grand hall, which was spectacularly illuminated by thousands of tiny twinkling lanterns. Her white dress trailed along the ground as she slowly made her way up the aisle toward her love.

Arabella made it to the dais and took her place beside Caspian. The priest started reciting the words of the ceremony, when out of nowhere there came a bright flash of white light, blinding everyone. Everything stopped. When Caspian recovered he looked to the far end of the ruined hall and he saw a girl there. She was wearing a pale blue dress that reached the floor and on her kind face was a look of pure disbelief. She took in her surroundings and her gaze fell upon the man at the front of the hall.

Caspian saw her kind, round face and he knew exactly who it was. He breathed her name in utter disbelief, "Susan." He heard muttering and whispering from the gathered people, but didn't care. He took a step closer to her and suddenly remembered where he was. He looked back to the girl at his side. "Arabella…"

"Go to her." Arabella hung her head so Caspian wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

"Arabella?"

"I know you do not love me. You are in love with her. Now go to her, be happy. That is all I wish."

Caspian gave her a gentle embrace before he made his way towards Susan once again. He tenderly took her hands in his and stroked her cheek; she still seemed very puzzled. Her light eyes found his dark ones and they gazed at each other in silence, not daring to even blink, for fear the spell would break and the other would disappear.

Finally Susan voiced a question. "How," she breathed, still not letting her gaze leave Caspian. "It's been three years in my world."

"The rings. They kept us connected; they helped to pull you here. You finally came back to me. How I missed you." Susan heard the pain her absence had caused in his voice, but there was also a great sense of relief.

"I told you I would." She reached her hands up to Caspian's head, trying to memorize the planes of his face. Then her hands were in his hair and his in hers and they were kissing; a sweet, passionate kiss to make up for all the ones they had missed.

When they finally broke away their hearts were both racing and they were out of breath. Yet Susan managed to whisper a few words. "I finally got it right this time. I'm home, and I'm never leaving." Then they were kissing again with all the emotion they could muster, tears of pure joy streaming down their faces.

They broke away again and Caspian was down on one knee holding his ring out to her. "Marry me. You'll never be alone again."

"Silly, you already gave me a ring. And I never took it off. Of course I'll marry you, you silly king. You didn't need to ask." She pulled Caspian to his feet and reached up to press her lips to his yet again in the sweetest kiss Caspian could have hoped for.

So, did it bring tears to your eyes? Just joking, but I hope you did like it!