I own nothing… Sadly. ;)

---

"Not coming back."

Caspian stared in shock at the intertwined trees through which the old kings and queens of Narnia had just walked. What had Aslan meant when he'd said that?

"They're not coming back."

It couldn't be…it just couldn't. They were his companions, his friends! Skies above, one of them was his LOVER for Narnia's sake! How could they just not return to him?

Quickly, Caspian's shock turned to anguish. How could they leave him? How could Aslan just take them from him?! It wasn't fair. It was beyond unfair, it was cruel.

"Your people await you, King Caspian," Aslan murmured to the shocked Telmarine. Caspian met the lion's unwavering gaze, and wondered if Alsan had known about his strong attachments the monarchs of old. He furrowed his brow at the lion, before schooling his features as best he could and turning to his new subjects.

"Are there any others who would choose to leave Narnia?" He asked, surprising himself with the strength in his voice. On the inside, Caspian could feel himself breaking. He was sure that, given the choice, he would have jumped at chance to follow the Pevensies through the gate.

None responded to his query, and so with a few more words of goodwill and a promise to build a better, more unified Narnia, Caspian dismissed the crowd and moved as quickly as propriety would allow back to the castle. Once inside, Caspian broke into a run, making a beeline to his chambers. He was vaguely relieved that he didn't encounter a single soul on his run. Heedless of the tears, which had been threatening to fall and were now streaming down his face, he burst into his chambers with enough force to bounce the heavy doors off the wall before he could catch them and slam them shut.

Turning from the doors to face his sitting room, Caspian was momentarily frozen, hoping beyond hope to hear a familiar voice from one of the other rooms in the chamber. He had been subconsciously hoping that it had all been a hoax, and that any minute Lucy, of Susan, or Pet…Edmund would come laughing out of the study or the bed…bathroom and smile at his look of worry, laughing at his gullibility.

Nothing.

Not a single sound reached his ears but for his own heart pounding in his chest. He held his breath for a few more agonizing moments, before letting loose a howl of anguish and rage.

Gone!

The rage overtook Caspian and his vision became a tunnel, zeroing in on everything in his line of sight that reminded him of the Pevensies…of his friends, his lover. He dropped P…the high king's sword to the ground as his body began to shake.

In a blind rage, Caspian charged to the low table in front of the settee, sweeping his arm across the surface and sending the tea set, with which he and Lucy had shared many afternoon teas over the past few days, crashing to the ground. He turned to a table between two straight-backed chairs, where he and Edmund had set up a chess set, and lifted it off the ground before throwing it across the room, the small ivory chess pieces scattering and shattering on the marble floor. His beloved crossbow, which he had used in his competition with Susan, was the next to go. Caspian used it to bash apart all of the flower vases and fragile statues in the room, before smashing it into a thousand pieces against a landscape portrait of Narnia which happened to be hanging on the wall. Heedless of his own screams, Caspian destroyed almost every trinket and piece of furniture in the room that wasn't too heavy for him to lift. He then moved to the bathroom, and repeated the process.

Storming out of the second bathroom door, covered in powders, soaps, and expensive oils, Caspian came face to face with his bedroom. His rage climbed higher than he had ever thought possible, fuelled by his sorrow upon seeing a room that had once held so many happy memories. Caspian drew his own sword and laid into every drape, book, and surface. After destroying the perimeter, he finally turned to the bed in the center of the room. Raising his sword above his head with a manic look in his eyes, he prepared to hack the bed to pieces and be done with every thought of the Pevensies, Narnia, and even Aslan.

He took a deep breath, planning to let out a final battle cry, when he suddenly faltered. Flashing before his vision he saw his lover. Lying naked in the middle of the bed asleep and content, they rested with a beautiful smile on their face and the sheets pooled at their feet. Caspian stumbled forward, falling to his knees at the edge of the bed. His sword clattered to the floor as he leaned against the side of the bed, sobs ripping their way out of his throat. He gripped the sheets in both hands and brought them to his face, still able to smell the last vestiges of his lover in their folds.

"Caspian," An ancient voice murmured behind the fallen king.

Caspian lifted his head, and slowly turned to find Aslan standing in the doorway to the bedroom. His expression changed to one of outraged grief, and he raised his right arm to point at the lion.

"You," Caspian growled. "You took them from me! How could you!? You took him from me!"

Caspian lunged at the lion, spewing profanities and beating his fists against Aslan's chest, which seemed to be much higher than he remembered. Aslan bore Caspian's blows silently, holding his head up above Caspian's reach and letting what little was left of Caspian's anger drain out of the young man's body. The blows slowly subsided, until Caspian simply gripped the lion's mane as he sank to the floor before the ultimate authority of Narnia.

"Why?" Caspian sobbed into the mane. Aslan sat and wrapped one of his paws around Caspian's waist, pulling the young man into a gentle embrace. "Why did you take them?"

"Do you mean them, or do you really mean something else?" Aslan asked in his gentle, leading way. "You know that Lucy and Edmund will return. Is that not enough for you?"

Caspian shook and sobbed, afraid of confessing what was truly in his heart. Would Aslan shun him if the lion knew the truth? Did he already know the truth, and was he just trying to get Caspian to say it out loud? And how cruel would that be to know what was in Caspian's heart, and take it from him anyway? Either way, Caspian was sick of hiding anything from the lion. He searched his heart, and then gathered the strength needed to answer.

"Him. I mean him. Why did you take him from me? Was I not good enough?" A new wave of sobs followed his last question, and Aslan gathered him tighter to his embrace.

"Oh, Caspian. It was never a matter of good or bad. Love is always good, no matter the form it comes in. No, it was a matter of timing. It was time for the Pevensies to return home, and for you to rightfully take over the rule of your people. The Narnians are part of your kingdom now, and you need to learn to rule them without the help of their former monarchs. When you are secure in your rule, Lucy and Edmund will join you once again."

"And Pe…Peter?" Caspian looked up longingly through his tear soaked lashes.

"Peter," Aslan said with a sigh, and Caspian's faint hope began to fade once again. "Peter will not return with Lucy, or with Edmund. He will never again return to Narnia."

Caspian gave a cry, and tried to struggle away from Aslan, but the ancient held fast to the struggling man and waited until the struggles had subsided before loosening his hold on the king. Caspian flopped to the floor, and Aslan stroked the hair out of his face with the back of his paw, before lying down beside the man and pressing their sides together, offering Caspian warmth and silent strength.

"I am sorry, Caspian."

"No you're not," Caspian breathed as he buried his face in Aslan's fur. "If you were sorry you'd give me back my heart."

"Would you like me to erase him from your memory? Would it really help if you gained your heart back by forgetting him? For that is the only way you'll get your heart back. I am truly sorry, but there is no way for you and Peter to be together here in Narnia."

"But you are law; surely you can give him back to me. Please Aslan, I'll do anything."

"Would you wish him dead?"

Caspian jolted at that. "Of course not!"

"The next time you see him, he will have died in his own world."

"No! Isn't there anything else? I'd travel to the ends of the earth for him."

The lion and the man sat in silence, their conversation hanging between them like a vast canyon. The only way across was a rickety old bridge, and it seemed that Caspian was the only one at the moment willing to cross it.

"Please. Send me to his world if he cannot come to mine. I'll find someone here to take my place and rule Narnia well. Aslan, I love him."

There were a few more moments of silence before Aslan finally spoke again.

"You really love him that much?" He asked, turning his great head to the young king lying in despair beside him. "You'd truly travel to the ends of the earth to be with him? Answer wisely, young king. This may very well affect you the rest of your life."

"My life has already been affected by what has happened these past few months. Yes, I would travel as far as I had to in order to get the high ki…to get Peter back."

Aslan sat up, and Caspian followed his lead, once again feeling a glimmer of hope. His body shook, but he held his tongue, waiting for the lion's verdict.

"Alright young Caspian, I will offer you a compromise. But you must hold up your end of the bargain, or you will never again see Peter in this lifetime." Caspian nodded vigorously, his eyes fixed with Aslan's. "I will give you a year's time to establish a good rule here in Narnia. If, at the end of the year, you have proven that you can rule Narnia well on your own, I will send you a ship.

The bow of the ship shall bare the name 'Dawn Treader', and it will be able to hold you, a crew of your choosing, enough provisions for a long trip, as well as the two youngest Pevensies and a cousin of theirs."

Caspian's face began to shine as he imagined having Lucy and Edmund with him again. He could spend time with them! And ask them how their brother faired. Aslan's expression became even sterner, and Caspian's attention became more intent.

"If the ship arrives, you are to take it and sail to the end of the world. You will find a gate there. If you have proven yourself worthy of the ship, and stayed true to the course set to you, the gate will give you one chance of pulling Peter and the other Pevensies back to you. One chance, King Caspian. If you fail in your quest, Peter will be lost to you until the end of days, and you shall return empty handed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Aslan! Thank you! Thank you," Caspian threw his arms around the lion's neck, and Aslan chuckled as he embraced the young man once again.

"I must leave you now. Do not worry about your chambers; they have been set to rights. I just want one more promise from you."

"Anything, Aslan," Caspian Promised as he rose to his feet.

"Try not to destroy anymore rooms while I'm away."

Caspian just laughed, tears of joy streaming down his face.

---

AN. Hello! Well, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. For those of you reading my other stories, I'm at a bit of a writer's block. I promise to return to them soon, but I've decided to stop trying to force the next chapters. I DO PLAN TO CONTINUE THEM, just not right now.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to write a bit on this story, and maybe actually finish a story for once. ;)

Please read and review!