The High Seas [ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ ᴄᴀsᴘɪᴀɴ]

Epilogue

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          THE SAND WAS SOFT BENEATH HER FEET AS SHE PADDED ALONG THE BEACH. The waves washed over her toes with a cool caress and the waning sun warmed her skin. The evening breeze had settled now and the lulling chirps of birds filled the air. All was peaceful, all was quiet. It had been some time since Rani had managed to have more than a moments peace to herself.

When they had arrived back in Cair Paravel, it was as though all of Narnia had rushed to meet them. Almost as though nothing had changed; people had been shouting, screaming, laughing,  and dancing the day away without a care in the world. The smell of ale had been strong in the air as seagulls had screeched overhead and children giggled as they weaved between legs. Everything had changed yet everything was the same. How strange it had been to return.

The whirlwind of life hadn't stopped there either. They had dined within the walls of Cair Paravel  that first night; eating and drinking, singing their worries away and awoken in the morning to the bustling of servants scurrying about the palace.

It was then that Rani had looked to Caspian and she realised that her new life started there. In the months that followed she had never seen so much splendour. The ladies wore the finest silks and the men the best velvet, the meals were rich and warm and had left her belly bursting by the end. She didn't see much of Caspian in those months, for court life swept them both away. Rani with her lessons in etiquette and dining, dancing and strangest of all, learning the art of the fan.

Diplomacy was what stole Caspian away from her. Relations between the other kingdoms and trading routes were surprisingly complicated, more so than Rani had ever imagined them to be. In those rare moments where Caspian would steal precious minutes with her away from prying eyes, she was able to catch a glimpse into his strange world of politics and secrets. He had always seemed so tired that all Rani had wanted to do was smuggle him away and soothe him until the dark circles under his eyes disappeared.

But throughout it all, he had always tried his hardest to make sure she felt like she belonged. And she had, in those pockets of time with him where they had wandered through the long grass or explored secret corridors. He had been most chivalrous and charming, making sure their courtship wasn't rushed and Caspian made sure that every important step was her decision.

One of the first things she had made sure to do when she arrived back was to steal Jayah away from Galma and give her a better life with her, away from that horrible man. The young girl had been on her mind for too long and Rani had known only one way to help her, so she had sent Rhian and Jacob on a mission to save her and any others who had been forced to abandon their innocence too soon and bring them back to Cair Paravel where they would be free of torment.

Only, to her delight she had found that the Duke of Galma's own daughter had usurped him and thrown him into a cell where he belonged. Nothing had been able to wipe the smile from Rani's face the day she found that out.