The High Seas [ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ]

XIII.

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     IT WAS ABSOLUTE TORTURE. Rani stood outside Caspian's door with her hands rung together and her feet could hardly stay still.  All she could think was that she wanted Caspian to know that she couldn't live without him, she didn't care if he thought she was selfish or stubborn or unkept. She could live with him never forgiving her; she could not live with him not thinking that she hated him.

It had taken her all but ten minutes to throw on her armour, grab a sword and braid her hair back from her face. She had thought of nothing else but resolving whatever was between her and Caspian, so much so that Jacob had had to stop her from running out by pointing out that she had, in fact, put her whole Cuirass on the wrong way round. She had also tucked in the small book into her left boot with a strange feeling that it needed to be there.

The thunder rolling from above did little to ease her nerves and she felt her lips begin to sore from where she had bitten them so. With a deep, shaky breath, she placed her hand against the door and moved to push it open.

Only, she paused at the sound of a voice. It was muffled but distinctively Edmunds and it was in that moment that Rani almost lost her nerve. 

No, she all but told herself. Don't be a coward. Her feet stilled and she felt her hand curl into a fist as she steeled her nerves and pushed open the cabin door.

A scream almost left her throat as Edmunds face was but a mere hands length away from her and Rani felt herself jump backwards. The young Kings face was a mirror image of her own. He had obviously not expected her to be on the other side of the door.

"Rani!" Said Edmund in a strangely high voice, before clearing his throat as a blush worked up his neck. He smiled slightly as the the panic left his eyes.

"I'm so sorry!" She rushed to apologise, "If I had known –" Rani stopped mid-sentence as she realised she had, in fact, known Edmund was there.

She resorted to biting her tongue to stop anymore words from making it past her lips. Both her and Edmund stood like that for a second longer, before Rani coughed and looked to Edmund. Her mother would've had a field day if she had caught Rani eavesdropping let alone getting caught in the act.

Though Edmund was not much taller than her, his shoulders were far broader, and for all her luck, she could not see round him. Caspian was in the room, of that she was certain but he hadn't made a single move to interject at all. He was there, so why wasn't he saying anything?

"I'll just go, I didn't mean to intrude." She managed a smile as she turned to go, the tips of her ears burning terribly. Pausing for a hopeful second, she turned to look back at Edmund, hoping to see the Prince she so desperately wanted to talk to appear. But he did not.

The message was obvious.

Putting all focus into getting her two legs to move away from Edmund and the door, Rani hurried down the corridor, shoulders hunched in defeat. She refused to play over how Edmunds eyes had held a sad sort of understanding in them as she had turned to look back.