Caspian awoke suddenly to a deep searing pain in his chest.

He looked around and was surprised to find out he was in his bedroom, lying in his bed. He tried to get up out of the bed, but instantly jerked back and cried out as the intensity of pain in his chest was much more than he could handle.

He tried to look down to see the cause of his misery, but to no avail.

He was shirtless, with a foot wide bounded cloth around his chest and upper torso, which had bled through.

Luckily, he heard the shuffling of feet and soon saw Trufflehunter walk through the entryway.

"Ah yes I see it is time to change your bandages." He said simply and wasted no time in unwrapping the cloth. As he exposed the skin, Caspian looked down in horror at the sight.

Clearly he had been shot with an arrow. As he looked at the hole in his chest he saw it was infected with a purple and green color around the edges of the hole, while bleeding heavily.

Trufflehunter began humming an old Narnian tune and began his routine of cleaning the wound of infection. Once the cloth he was holding to clean the wound touched Caspian's flesh, the King cried out in pain.

"Stop being such a babe, it was only an arrow." Trufflehunter said stubbornly as he once again pushed the cloth down on Caspian's flesh to retrieve the infection.

Caspian grunted. "Perhaps if you were shot with an arrow you wouldn't say the same thing you are telling me now." Caspian said with a painful smirk.

"I have been shot with an arrow boy. And instead of lying in a soft bed healing, I was thrown on your shoulder and treated like a stuffed animal the way you threw me around." He said seriously.

"My apologies Trufflehunter," Caspian chuckled. "But I must say you had it much better than I, because you had me as your healer." Caspian grinned at the badger.

"I think you need your head bandaged like I did when you were running away from your uncle." Trufflehunter threatened pretending to be serious.

"I-"

"Caspian your awake." Peter stated as he, Trumpkin, and Edmund entered Caspian's bedroom, with Rilian on Peters hip. And then it hit him.

Lucy.

It wasn't a dream.

He looked up at Peter and Edmund's concerned faces, and then exchanged thoughts with Peter as they thought the same thing.

Where was Lucy?

"Where's Lucy?" Trumpkin surprisingly asked first.

They all looked at Caspian.

"I don't know. I saw her in the stables before dawn yesterday morning-"

"Caspian you've been asleep for three days." Edmund stated.

"Why was she in the stables so early?" Peter asked making Caspian continue.

"She wanted to see the fauns grave. She said-"

"Mr. Tumnus." Peter corrected stubbornly.

"Yes, I told her it would not be safe if she went alone, but she wouldn't listen to reason." Caspian sighed painfully. "So I went with her."

"What happened?" Peter commanded.

"It happened at the Fords of Beruna. There were riders of thirty men. And they hit me before I thought to look at their armor because I was trying to look after your sister."

"Well you could have true harder-"

"Peter, calm yourself." Edmund interrupted flatly. "Now, I will take Drinian and Thatch with me as well as five centaurs and ten minotaurs as a search party. Peter stay with Caspian." Edmund bowed at Caspian and walked towards the door searching for the kings right hand men, leaving Caspian, Peter, Rilian, Trufflehunter, and Trumpkin.

The badger immediately took charge.

"Come my prince, I'm afraid your father and his highness need to talk. You too Trumpkin." Trufflehunter said and gently guided the two year old out of the bedroom after Peter put him down.

Trumpkin quickly followed after he felt the tension in the room and left without a word, leaving Caspian and Peter alone, who he at the moment looked like he wanted to kill Caspian.

There was a long pause, and Caspian could see the battle going on within Peter. Caspian knew he was trying to decide whether he should beat Caspian or apologize, so Caspian didn't give him the choice.

"I'm so sorry Peter." Caspian said honestly, making Peter let out a sigh.

"Me too. Shall we shake on it?" Peter said with a smile as reached his arm towards Caspian.

Caspian smiled in return, and they both shook, leaving the past behind them.

"Now, who do you suppose those men are?" Peter asked as he sat in a chair next to Caspian's bed.

"They had to be from the north, Narnia is allied with the southern countries, but none northern."

"Why not any north?" Peter asked.

Caspian sighed.

"Because my grandfather and the leaders of the north were in disagreement. The leaders wanted to merge Narnia, Ettinsmoor, and the Wild Lands into one empire. My grandfather disagreed because he being a telmarine, wanted power, but only for himself. The leaders were not happy with his choice, so they started building am army. My grandfather did the same thing, and soon a war had begun. It lasted for nearly two years and Narnia in the end, became victorious. But the northern countries never forgave even when my father and I tried to become allies with the countries." Caspian finished.

There was a long pause, but eventually Peter spoke.

"What do you think they've done with her?"

"They have not killed her Peter, but I'm afraid I can assure you no more." Caspian answered, with more grief than Peter could recognize.

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"There is not a trace of them. They're smart." Edmund said as he walked into Caspian's bedroom, one week later.

"And quick." Peter added solemnly as he walked into the entryway, right behind Edmund.

It had been more than a week later since Edmund left in search of his sister, and when he came back, he was surprised to see a hint of color coming back to Caspian's face.

When Caspian was first brought to Cair Paravel, from nearby centaurs who happened to go near the fords, the two sons of Adam thought there was no hope when they saw him. Deathly white, and large quantities of blood already lost from the whole in his chest. And though there was a giant ring of infection on his injury, Trufflehunter assured the kings there was still hope. But while happy he was for Caspian's progress, Edmund knew the king was getting worse in soul and mind because of the guilt written on his face. Edmund recognized it because he too knew what it felt to be guilty, and sometimes it still yet haunted him.

"You look better Caspian." Edmund said finally.

Caspian sighed.

"I suppose I am... But your sister certainly is not..." He trailed off trying to avoid telling them.

There was a long pause.

"Caspian, what aren't you telling us?" Peter asked curiously.

"I do not know if I should tell you, but it has been haunting my every moment." He said grievingly.

"We can handle it Caspian." Edmund said encouragingly.

"The northern countries are far more cruel than when you were last here. All they want is power and bloodshed, and since they have your sister, they will not hesitate in harming her." Caspian finished, with such grief filled eyes, Edmund felt himself about to burst from the news.

There was such a long pause, Caspian felt he needed to explain further.

"They will not kill her," Caspian assured. "merely use her as bait, but what they will do to her, is something so awful she shall wish she were dead." He said through gritted teeth.

"Then we have to find her, before it's too late." Peter said coldly. "Edmund, I want you to stay with Caspian, and I need you to find me fifty men, twenty five dwarves, twenty centaurs, and seventy five minotaurs-"

"I'm going too." Caspian interrupted. "It's my fault she is gone, so I shall be the one getting her bac-"

"Caspian! I swear by Aslan's mane I am not seething towards you, but if you dare to defy your orders of recovery by me, King Peter The Magnificent, high king of the Golden Age, and Knight of Narnia, then I swear by my very sword you shall be chained to this bed until your full recovery." Peter said passionately his deep voice sinking deep into Caspian's ears.

"Yes mum." Edmund said sarcastically.

"Got it?" Peter said looking straight into Caspian, not even hearing Edmund's sarcasm.

There was a long pause as Caspian battled within himself. He just wanted to get Lucy back so could undo the awful thing he had done. No one since his youth had ever been able to outsmart Caspian, and he thought if someone ever would, it would have been something complex, but instead when he wasn't looking someone hit him in the head and that was the end of it.

But, now that he was thinking about it, in that moment when he was standing in front of Lucy around the thirty riders, it suddenly came back to him that all of his thoughts were of harm befalling her. And then total blackness. Yes, he would get better so he could get revenge on those men and get Lucy back, who had suddenly began to haunt his dreams and every moment of his every hour.

"Very well Peter, I shall see you in one week." Caspian said with an edge to his voice, asking Peter to deny him that.

"One week, and there is one thing you need to do before you come Caspian." Peter said casually.

"And what is that?" He asked angrily.

"Start building an army."

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