WAR OF HEARTS ━ prince caspian x

seventeen

˗ˏˋCHAPTER SEVENTEENˊˎ-

***

THEY HAD HIT the two week mark. Even Wren was starting to lose hope—as much as she tried to fight off those negative thoughts—they still came. It wasn't making her feel any better that Caspian still had yet to acknowledge her existence. Because if he wasn't avoiding her before, he most definitely was now.

Miraculously, she still found herself in the Captain's quarters to discuss the plans of what to do next. She stood by the desk next to Drinian, while Edmund leaned against one of the posts, and Caspian sat on the couch. He still refused to even look up at her, even though she'd been shamelessly staring at him for the past five minutes in attempt to get some sort of reaction.

But her fiancé wasn't nothing if he wasn't stubborn. It was the part she loved most about him—even if she was hating that trait of him right now, because he still did not meet her eyes.

"So, we're stuck here," Drinian stated, putting a chip on the map, marking their current location. "At half rations, with food and water for two more weeks, maximum. This is your last chance to turn your back, Your Majesties."

Wren definitely did not consider herself in charge of the decision making. She knew her input made some of an impact whenever Caspian asked for it, and he usually always went with what she suggested, but that didn't mean that she thought she was the leader. She wasn't fit to be one—she was too headstrong, and made rash decisions rather than thinking them out—and most importantly, she thought with her heart instead of her head. Drinian, for some reason, still insisted on having her in the meetings, and the crew always questioned her for her opinion on things.

For the first time in five days, Caspian's gaze flicked over to her for a split second, and she hated how excited she felt for it. But he glanced away to look at Edmund almost immediately as if he'd caught himself. She felt a scowl form on her lips, and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"There's no guarantee we'll spot the Blue Star anytime soon," Drinian went on. "Not in this storm. Needle in a haystack, trying to find this Ramandu place. We could sail right past it and off the edge of the world."

Wren rolled her eyes. "The world is round."

"Or get eaten by a sea serpent," Edmund chimed in. Caspian glanced between the two of them, gaze hard and unamused. Edmund snickered regardless, and Wren smirked to herself, too.

"I'm just saying, the men are getting nervous," Drinian said. "These are strange seas we're sailing, the likes of which I've never seen before."

Caspian angrily stood up. "Then perhaps, Captain, you would like to be the one to explain to Mr. Rhince that we're abandoning the search for his family."

Drinian seemed to pale at the sharp tone of the King's voice, and bowed his head. "I'll get back to it." His eyes darted between the couple, who were both now standing right next to each other, though Wren had decided to play Caspian's petty game, too, and was no longer looking at him, either. "Just a word of warning," Drinian said from the doorway. "The sea can play nasty tricks on a crew's mind. Very nasty."

And with the flick of his hood, he disappeared behind the door. Wren kept her chin raised, and followed after him without sparing a glance back to either of the two men still standing there in silence.

***

Wren woke up with a start, and clutched her racing heart as she attempted to calm her breathing. She turned her head to see both Lucy and Gael still sleeping, and relaxed. She tried her best to drift off once more, but the sight of her mother from that reoccurring nightmare of hers kept popping up in her head.

You killed your father. You took him away from us. From me. This is your fault.

Her shrill voice was still ringing in her ears, and Wren didn't even know that she'd kicked off the covers until her bare feet had touched the cold floor.

She threw on a coat, and slipped on a pair of shoes before rushing out of the room. It didn't matter to her anymore. How mad he was—how annoyed she was for his anger. None of it. She wanted to be in the comfort of his embrace and forget that any of this was even going on.

The room Caspian had switched into temporarily only had two cots—and the other bed was occupied by Edmund, who was sleeping, too, fortunately for her. Wren's footsteps were silent as always as she hesitated before the asleep king. He must've somehow sensed her, because he cracked his dark eyes open almost instantly. She could see his jaw clench, and she felt almost childlike standing there before him.

He sat up a little. "Did something happen?"

"No..."

A moment passed, before his solemn tone made her suppress a shiver. She loved when he used that voice. "Wren."

"I had a nightmare." Now she definitely felt like a child, her voice was small and she was staring down at the floor. There was a barely audible sigh that came from him, before some rustling that made her look back up. He'd moved over as much as he could, making room for her to climb in. She didn't hesitate.

There was still some wariness on his end, she could tell he was still angry from the way he refrained from wrapping his arms securely around her like he always did. She felt him swallow.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I want to talk about why you're not talking to me." His shoulders tensed. "Seriously, come on I don't even know what I did."

"Did you really have a nightmare?" He asked suddenly.

She blinked. "Yeah. Why would I lie about that?"

"Thought it was like a scheme of yours to sneak in here and get me to talk."

"That's smart, but no," she scowled. "I'll leave if you want me to-"

"No." He snaked an arm around her now as she went to climb from the cot. "No. It's okay."

"You're giving me whiplash."

"I'm mad at you," he stated. "Well not at you I just-I don't know. But I don't want you to think I don't...Love you. Because I do."

"I know," she whispered, tucking a strand of his long hair out of his face. "I don't understand why you're mad."

He made a noise in the back of his throat, and when she looked up, she saw that his eyes were closed again. She inwardly sighed, but laid her head right between the space of where his shoulder and neck met, and fell asleep.

It wasn't a peaceful slumber, Caspian kept murmuring something under his breath, and she continued to wake up, until finally she heard Edmund jerk awake, and the sound of Lucy's voice. She slowly lifted her head up. Edmund raised his eyebrows as if he hadn't seen her there before.

Caspian, too, shot upright, and then ran a hand over his face. Wren refrained from grabbing him in a comforting manner.

"Let me guess," Edmund mused, a knowing glint in his eye. "Bad dreams? So either we're either all going mad...or something's playing with our minds."

authors note

edmund the wise🙏🏼