The Two of Us

Danger

Right after Alice had explained everything to Peter, he had made sure Caspian left the castle immediately. Strangely, he had already left early that morning.

"Well, now we know he's gone for sure. It would have caused so much trouble if we had to personally ask him to leave." Edmund muttered, fixing his golden chess pieces.

"What did he do anyway?" Lucy asked innocently, looking around the room for answers. No one had seemed to want to answer her, so she tried to change the subject to fill in for the silence. "Where's Susan?"

"Don't know. Probably with King Phillip, still." Edmund replied, barely looking at her. Alice and Peter sat beside each other silently, drinking warm tea. The door slammed open with an excited Susan entering the room. "Alice! Come quick! I have good news!"

Confused, Alice followed Susan outside of the library where another King had been waiting. It was the King that Susan had been endlessly talking about with Alice and Lucy. "Phillip, this is Queen Alice of Valhalla, the good friend I was speaking about."

"Pleasure to meet you, Queen Alice."

"Pleasure is all mine. Please, just call me Alice."

"Alice, you see; Phillip is the King of Kanara, a land you might have heard of. It's only a couple of hours away from your country, Valhalla. Cair Paravel could not provide you immediate help, but...Kanara can." Susan reports, with a beaming smile.

Phillip nodded, looking at Alice. "I can send men to help immediately."

Alice was so grateful, she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes. "You could do that? I-I...I don't know what to say... Thank you, so much, King Phillip... But will that jeopardize Valhalla's relationship with Cair Paravel?"

Susan and Phillip shook their heads in unison. "Um, Alice... Didn't I tell you? Phillip and I are getting married.." Alice's smile widened, tackling Susan into a tight hug.

"What's going on in here?" Peter entered the hallway, slightly chuckling. "Did Susan finally tell you the news?" Alice nodded her head in absolute excitement. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why are you so excited for?" Peter let out a soft laugh, messing her hair playfully.

Susan interuppted their conversation, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder teasingly. "And when do you plan on wedding Alice, hm? Time is ticking, and there are so many other Kings lining up to marry her."

"Well, I do find it strange my younger sister is wedding before me..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Alice was lying down on her bed when Susan had barged in. "Can I get your opinion with wedding dresses, Alice?" Alice pushed herself up, and nodded. "But this late at night? I'd love to help, but-"

"It'll only take a short while, don't worry too much." Susan pulled out different materials and set it all on the bed alongside each other. "Which material would be best for the torso? Then the sleeves? Then the skirt? Also, which jewellery do you think would match it best?"

Alice thought for a while, and quickly sketched her opinion of the wedding dress design. "I think if you make the dress this way... The dress would look lovely."

Susan smiled, looking at the sketches, "Thank you so much, Alice.. You're right. I made no mistake coming to you! Alright, sleep well, then!" Susan left the room after a minute, blowing out the candle by the door. She knew Alice couldn't sleep with any lights on.

The next morning, Alice woke up with a yawn. She was surpirsed to find out that her personal servant had not shaken her awake that morning. She rolled to her side, and let out a scream.

There was blood all over the wall and the dead body of her servant had been lying there, stabbed by multiple swords. As Alice screamed, guards came rushing in to her bedroom. "Are you alright, Your Highness?!"

On the wall had been written the words: 'Aren't you glad the lights were off? YOU'RE NEXT.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Alice, are you alright?"

Alice was standing at the balcony, back facing Peter. She had been standing there for a while, just thinking to herself. She definitely needed time to herself.

"I'm fine. I... I just..."

Peter stood beside her, looking down. "I don't know how the guards outside your door did not see them come inside, but..." he let out a frustrated sigh, "I don't want you getting hurt."

Alice just nodded. She was far to stressed out to respond.

"Alice, I'm going to war. I'm helping Phillip's country invade Pennsylvania alongside with a number of men. Our country needs it's leader out there. I'm putting you in charge, so please take care of the country in my absence."

"What?" Alice was shocked at the sudden announcement. "How long will you be gone for?"

"One week minimum. It will be a while, depending on how things unfold." Peter noticed Alice's disappointed behavior. "Hey, Alice." Alice slightly frowned, looking up at him.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself while I'm gone. I'll make sure you have a large number of guards taking care of you throughout your days."

Alice nodded, as Peter tucked strands of hair behind her ear gently before kissing her forehead. "I love you, Alice."

Still quite shocked and disappointed with the sudden news, she just nodded and responded with a simple: "Mm."

Peter and his men left that afternoon with King Phillip, leaving Alice and Edmund in charge of Cair Paravel. It had originally been Susan supposedly in charge of the country as the second eldest, but she had been far too busy with her wedding preparations.

It had only been two hours since Peter had left, and Alice had already begun feeling the bitter loneliness. There were always guards following her around for safety and protection, but it was not the same as having Peter around.

Alice was sitting in the library, reorganizing the books over and over again. There was not many things to do, since many of the Cair Paravel royals were already doing anything that needed to be done. Susan entered the room, startling Alice. "You've been doing the same thing over and over again, Alice. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... It's just thatㅡ"

"It's Peter, isn't it?" Susan half smiled, half smirked. Alice could not tell if her tone was apologetic or teasing.

Alice just shook her head, "It's not just about him, it'sㅡ"

"That's right. I didn't hear about what happened between you and Caspian the other night. Exactly what did happen?"

Alice looked down, not wanting to answer her friend. "Many things had happened, Susan. Things....that I just wished had never even happened."

"Like what?"

"C-Caspian....did more than just kiss me and Iㅡ" Alice forced herself to hold back her tears, but yet again failed. "I..I just... I feel so dirty, Susan and Iㅡ" She covered her face with her hands as Susan hugged her to console her.

"Shh, it's alright. Alice... Caspian may have done dirty things with you, but if you did not kiss back, it means nothing. Don't worry too much about it, Alice. Bad things happen andㅡ"

"It was my first kiss, Susan! A-And it was not with Peter! I..." Alice sighed, wiping away her tears. "I've been quite cruel to Peter lately and I have so many things to say to him but-- He's not here."

"Oh, Alice." Susan smiled a little, rubbing the back of her friend. "He'll be back. And then you can talk things over. I bet Peter would be upset to hear about you crying over him like this."

Alice gave Susan a warm smile before tucking her own hair behind her ear. "You're right, Susan. It hasn't even been a day and I already miss him."