A/N: Ugh, I hate this chapter, because I find it extraordinarily difficult to write Capsian, and I hate writing Eustace, I never feel as though I'm writing them well enough. Anyhow, I promise more things will start to happen in the next few chapters, I'm just trying to lay out some groundwork for possible adorable/angsty Caspeter moments ;)

It had been three years. Three years since Caspian had last seen Peter, and three years since the night he'd timidly pressed his lips to the other boy's in the forest.
Three years. That should have been time enough. So why did his heart still skip a beat when the thought of Peter's last night in Narnia cross his mind? Why, whenever somebody was presented to him as a possible bride, (or, occasionally, groom) did he feel as though he was betraying Peter by so much as considering it?

It hadn't been as though the two were in love, that was what Caspian would tell himself. There hadn't been time for that, not among the fighting and the battles and everything else., is what he'd say whenever the 'l' word so much as made an appearance in his thoughts.
There had been something, something real and strong and beautiful and in the end, altogether tragic.
Something that kept Caspian stuck in the past, that made him keep Rhindon by his side come hell or high water.
Something that brought the High King to his dreams every night, and thoughts of 'what if' to his mind during the day.
That wasn't love, was it?
Of course, deep down, he knew it was. He knew that the beautiful boy with blue eyes and a knowing half-smile had stolen his heart and taken it back to England with him.
Caspian's thoughts of Peter were rudely interrupted, by the sound of someone entering the throne room. Caspian looked up to see Trumpkin entering the room.

"Sire, you have a rather... Enthusiastic visitor."

Caspian sighed, making no effort whatsoever to hide his exasperation from the dwarf. It wasn't as though Caspian didn't love being King, however, endless days of Lords and council meetings and alliances were incredibly tiring, and honestly, he simply wasn't in the mood that night.

"Trumpkin, please, not tonight. Unless it is a matter of urgency, please tell them I will see them in the morning. "

Caspian could have sworn he saw Trumpkin smirk, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"I do believe you're going to want to see this one, Your Majesty."

The dwarf said nothing more, but signalled for the guards to bring in the so called 'enthusiastic visitor'.
Caspian forced a phoney smile onto his face, prepared to face yet another Lord or Duke. What he hadn't prepared himself for, however, was the familiar face of Eustace Scrubb to walk into the throne room. His fake smile was quickly replaced with a real one, as he walked towards his dear friend and enveloped him in a hug.

"Eustace! However did you get here?"

The younger boy pulled away from the hug, chuckling.

"Honestly, I have no clue. One moment I was fiddling with a blasted paper bag outside a grocery shop in Cambridge and the next... Well, the next I'm right outside your castle."
Caspian smiled,
"However it happened, I'm just glad you're here. Come, I'll show you to one of the guest rooms."

Caspian took Eustace down the hall and up more flights of stairs than poor Eustace had been expecting, (not that he would ever admit to having been defeated by stairs) and pushed open the door to one of the many rooms on the floor.

"We do have a lot to talk about, but unfortunately it's incredibly late, so I'll come up and speak with you in the morning. But, in the meantime, if there's anything at all that you need, don't hesitate to let me know."

Eustace nodded, with a small smile.

"Caspian, before you go, I just have to ask. Why is it that you think I'm here? I mean... From what I've been told, my cousins never came Narnia unless something was wrong."

Caspian sighed, the thought had crossed his mind. Eustace being in Narnia... It had to mean something was going on. He didn't want to dwell on the thought, though. For tonight, he would simply be happy that his friend had returned. Reality could be faced tomorrow.

"I don't know. Nothing seems to be the matter here. But... I'm just not sure. Well, goodnight."

Caspian turned away from Eustace's room, and headed down to his own chambers.
Meanwhile, Eustace sat on his bed, thinking everything over.
Yes, it was wonderful to be back in Narnia, except for one thing. He'd noticed it while he was on the Dawn Treader, and he was still noticing it now. Something was wrong with Caspian. He just couldn't quite figure out what it was.
Well, whatever it was would just have to wait until the morning.

The next morning, Caspian took Eustace on a tour of the castle, and showed him the grounds and even some of the surrounding woods and forests. The two managed to skirt around any serious or uncomfortable topics for quite a few hours, neither one wanting to be the one to put a dampener on the mood, but, as they made their way back to the castle in the early afternoon, they knew there was no sense in avoiding the unpleasant conversation any longer.

"Something is wrong here, Caspian. You're not an idiot, you must have realised that Aslan only ever brings someone here when it's really necessary."
Caspian sighed, and went to open his mouth, when Eustace continued speaking, effectively cutting him off.

"And don't go pretending like nothing's going on. As much as I hate to admit it, you and I both know this isn't a social visit." Eustace stated, rather matter-of-factly, and Caspian shrugged.

"I know. I do wish it weren't so complicated, but that's just the way Aslan works, I suppose. But anyhow, I wish I could tell you why you've been brought here, but from what I understand, there is nothing wrong. Nobody has attempted to harm me or Narnia in any way since… Well, since your last visit. There is peace throughout the land. So, perhaps you aren't here to fight after all?"
Eustace 'hmm'ed', but remained unconvinced. He decided to drop the topic, as the conversation was clearly going nowhere.

Clearly, Caspian was following the same train of thought.
"How are they? Your cousins, I mean."

Eustace sighed, that was a bit of a difficult question. His cousins hadn't been in the best shape recently, and he didn't particularly want to be the bearer of bad news, but he also didn't want to lie to Caspian.

"Well, I've only seen them once since I last was here, but it was only a short while ago, and Lucy's doing fine, but it's clear that she misses this place. Edmund is probably doing the best out of all of them. He seems to be adapting to England rather well again. Then, there's Peter."

Caspian's breath hitched at the sound of Peter's name. It had been such a long time since he spoke of him outside of his own mind, and he did so long to know how the other boy - possibly man, now, was doing.

"He's not… Coping. Not very well, anyway. I think he's taken leaving Narnia the hardest. Feel sorry for the poor chap, he rarely ever leaves his dorm room. Barely talks to anyone, aside from Ed. I reckon Edmund knows something else, but he won't say." Eustace paused and shrugged, before continuing on.

"Susan, well, I don't really know what to say there. Depending on your definition of the word fine, she is either doing absolutely fine in England, or she's not fine at all."
Caspian furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Eustace paused to try and figure out a way to properly phrase what he was about to say.

"She's changing. She's not really the Susan you knew, not the Susan any of us knew, I suppose. She's much more interested in boys and makeup and invitations and dates than she is Narnia."

Caspian should have been surprised to hear that, and yet, he just wasn't. Susan was a beautiful girl, of course she would find herself enjoying the attentions of men.
Of course the news that Susan was beginning to lose herself upset him, how could it not? She had been a dear friend, after all.
But he was far more interested (and concerned) by what he was hearing of Peter.

Of course, to Eustace, it was only leaving Narnia that was causing Peter upset, but Caspian knew better. He knew the truth, and the thought that Peter was hurting, that he couldn't move on? It hurt Caspian to think of Peter being so pained, and he did feel a twinge of guilt for being just a little glad that the other boy was still holding their time together close, that he missed Caspian as much as he missed him.

"Caspian? Are you alright? You've been awful silent for quite a while."

As the two approached the castle, Caspian shot Eustace a rather unconvincing smile.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Eustace stopped walking and narrowed his eyes at Caspian. So far, being completely unconvinced seemed to be a running theme.