Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.

Just when the world of fanfiction thought I dropped off the face of the earth (and did I, for a while...), I have returned! :) The updates on this story will not be as scheduled as my last work was. Quite frankly, my schedule is too busy to allow consistent updates, but I shall try to be as faithful as possible. I will also respond to reviews in private messages as soon as I am able to, and for those of you who may review anonymously, I shall try to respond to you in future updates.

I am mainly using the books as my background, but I incorporate certain elements of the movies, such as the castle raid in Prince Caspian and the description of the treasure chambers (though in my story, the chamber is not nearly as brightly lit). But there will be no such references to Caspian/Susan. They are merely friends in my story and they never kissed. And there is no slash or incest in this story.

I am quite excited about this work and I hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 1: A Bit of History

As soon as Caspian saw the dismal ruins of Cair Paravel for the first time, he realized he had quite a task before him. The destruction that the catapults had wrecked on the once beautiful castle was catastrophic. Ivy, grass, and weeds now grew over what remained of the walls and floors.

But the view from on top of one of the cliffs was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out in front of him as far as he could see, dotted here and there by the formations of land that used to be connected to each other. If Caspian didn't personally know how superstitious the Telmarines were, he would wonder why they would take such great lengths to avoid such a spectacular place.

"I bet it was magnificent when it stood," a voice close to his feet broke into his thoughts.

Caspian smiled down at Trufflehunter. "I'm sure it was. It is a shame that the Telmarines destroyed it, instead of merely fixing whatever damage had been done so that they could live in it."

Trufflehunter scrunched up his nose as much as he was able to. "I think it was better off being left in ruins. No offense intended, Your Majesty."

Caspian laughed. "None taken, I understand what you mean. If my uncle's taste in furniture and decor was any indication, Cair Paravel would have been turned into a dismal place indeed. Either way, we'd have had to start over and why not start from scratch?"

The newly crowned king and the badger turned away from the beautiful panorama, facing the more daunting sight of the crumbling walls of Cair Paravel. Several Narnians were already hard at work: removing weeds here, loading up smaller rubble pieces into wagons there, and chipping the larger ruins down to a more portable size. Some of the more intact areas were going to be reinforced with newer materials so that not all of the castle would be entirely new, and hence, part of Narnia's history would be preserved. Since they had no idea what the castle looked like before it was attacked, they would make do with what they could see and build something magnificent out of the ruins once more.

"Hammer and tongs!" A mildly irritated voice rose over the general clamor. Trumpkin's red head bobbed and weaved its' way towards Caspian. He came to a halt right in front of the new king and mopped at his forehead with the back of his hand before puffing, "I've been wondering where you two wandered off to. The moles and I have found something that we think will interest you."

"What is it?" asked Caspian.

Trumpkin opened his mouth to explain, but then shook his head and gestured for them to follow him. "It's easier to show than to describe."

Thoroughly intrigued now, Caspian and Trufflehunter followed the dwarf at a brisk pace, taking care to not get in anyone else's way. They passed several crumbling walls and structures before they came to a halt before one of the few intact areas of the castle: a large wall built up against the earth. It was one of the few that Caspian had planned to leave intact...only now there appeared to be a crack running from the top to the bottom of the wall and it was here where they found the moles sniffing cautiously at the crack.

"Ahem!" Trumpkin grunted to attract their attention.

The moles, five in all, jumped and spun around. Giving hasty bows to the king, the lead mole announced, "Sire! I am glad you have come! We think there is some sort of passageway down here. Or at least, this appears to be a false door of some kind."

Caspian glanced at them all with an unspoken question of Why haven't you opened it yet? lingering in his eyes.

Trumpkin harrumphed again. "We thought it best to consult you first before proceeding...or, rather, give you the chance to make the discovery first."

Caspian grinned. "Well thank you, my good subjects. I should very much like to see what is behind this wall."

The moles and Trumpkin moved out of his way as he stepped over to the crack. Placing his fingers against the edge of the section that looked like it would move, he gave a gentle tug.

Nothing happened.

Trumpkin let out something that sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. "Might I suggest putting a little more effort into it? The wall is old, but I don't think you'll do much harm to it by pulling on it more forcefully."

Caspian shot a withering glare at him, but did not respond. Bracing himself against the ancient flagstones under his feet, he grabbed hold of the ledge again and yanked backwards.

The ledge moved a couple of inches to the side, just enough to let out a faint musty smell. Everyone in the surrounding area exchanged excited, almost nervous, glances at this discovery.

Caspian bit his lip and pulled back on the ledge some more until it moved to create a space about the size of an average doorway. He moved up to the gap and squinted into the darkness. "There are stairs leading down." He glanced back at his subjects, who were eagerly awaiting his orders. "We'll need some torches."

"Right away, sire." Trufflehunter scrambled off to fetch some.

The musty smell was coming up strong now, mixed with a faint scent of spices and an almost magical feeling seemed to stir the hearts of everyone in the vicinity.

What was contained in this secret room? Did the Pevensies know about this room? Just thinking about the four ancient rulers and what they might have hidden in this area made Caspian's skin tingle. It was strange to think that these ruins were once the established dwelling place of the four young siblings he had met just a few months ago. It excited him to think of not only what he might find out about ancient Narnia, but also about his friends who had helped him to acquire his throne.

Trufflehunter came back at that moment, along with a couple of dwarves carrying some torches. Caspian took one for himself, as did Trumpkin. Trufflehunter and the moles were content to have none.

Caspian stepped to the edge of the doorway, but a small, rough paw stopped him in his tracks. The badger gazed up at him, "Perhaps, sire, for your own safety, one of us should go first."

As much as he hated to admit it, the king knew the creature was right and it would be best not to start an argument. "Very well then."

Trumpkin snorted. "Lucky Trufflehunter stepped in. I doubt that you would have followed that advice if it had come from me."

"Maybe...maybe not..." Caspian smirked as the red-headed dwarf brushed past him and stepped cautiously onto the first step that was visible through the doorway. He then extended one foot to test the next step, found it secure, and stepped down onto that. In this manner, the whole troop of dwarves, moles, badger, and king made their way down the small staircase into a passageway. They traversed this just as cautiously, but Trumpkin suddenly came to an abrupt halt, causing Caspian to bump into him.

"Beards and bedsteads! If I am not very much mistaken, I think we've stumbled upon the treasure room of the Pevensies!"

"How do you-" Caspian's question trailed off as he held his torch up and got his first glimpse of the room.

Gold and silver sparkled, gems shone, and armor twinkled all around the area. Massive figurines stood next to piles of silverware; tiny pieces of jewelry lay on top of lion-crested shields; and in four alcoves stood likenesses of the four rulers of Narnia, each with a chest at their feet.

Caspian didn't realize his mouth was open until Trufflehunter nudged him from behind, causing him to close it with a sharp click.

The badger spoke up, "Sire? Are we going to proceed?"

"Of...of course. Trumpkin, lead the way."

The dwarf grunted and directed them to some steps that led down to the main area of the treasure room. Using the same precautions as before, they descended into the chamber and began to set their torches into the rusted torch holders scattered throughout various parts of the room. As more and more light brightened the area, Caspian was astonished to discover all of the wealth accumulated down here.

But more than all of the riches, what really drew the king's attention were the figurines of the rulers during what must have been the height of their reign, for they were all much older looking than the children he had met only a short while ago. Peter looked like he had grown into a strong, confident king- he expected no less from him. Susan appeared to have lived up to the beauty her youthful face had promised even from a young age. Edmund was not as broad as his brother, but whoever had carved the figurines had done a careful job of capturing the keen, earnest expression of the younger king's face. And Lucy, though not quite as beautiful as her sister, had a charming attractiveness to her that made Caspian want to smile.

"Sire?"

Caspian came out of his reflections, only just now realizing that his subjects had been trying to get his attention for quite a while. "Yes?"

"Shall we begin bringing these treasures to the surface to be transported to your castle for safekeeping?" Trufflehunter's earnest face stared up at him.

"Yes, yes, of course! But be as gentle as possible, I highly doubt that many of these articles have been touched, let alone moved, in centuries." The very thought, even as he spoke it, made his head spin.

"Well I know that some things have been touched recently," Trumpkin interposed as he pointed a gnarly finger at one of the walls.

Caspian followed the direction he was pointing in until he saw two prongs sticking out of the wall. From the way the dust had settled around the prongs, he could see the shape of a sword that used to hang there. A smile came unbidden to his face. "So that's how Peter got Rhindon."

"And how Lucy got her cordial and Susan, her bow and arrows." The dwarf gestured to a couple more empty prongs on the wall.

"How strange..." Caspian murmured.

"What?"

"To be in the centuries old treasure room of four royals that we met only a few short months ago."

"Don't think too much about it...you'll lose your mind," Trumpkin advised as he tromped over to the chest lying at the feet of Lucy's figurine. He gazed sadly at the figure for a moment. "I bet she was an extraordinary queen."

"I'm sure she was." Caspian himself moved over to Peter's chest and gingerly lifted up the lid. "What does a High King keep in his secret chest, I wonder?"

Much to his disappointment, the first few items that he carefully removed from the chest were clothes. All of them were finely crafted, to be sure, but he was hoping for something a little more exciting. Once the clothing was removed, he found a few vaguely interesting trinkets: a small, elaborately carved dagger, a couple of elegantly transcribed invitations, an embroidered sack of some sort. After these, he uncovered a few charcoal drawings signed by Lucy that he found to be particularly interesting.

The first drawing showed Susan sitting in a window, sewing. The next portrayed Edmund sprawled on the ground, reading a book. Another one pictured Peter sitting at a table, writing. The last drawing showed all four siblings sitting in front of a fire, enjoying some sort of beverage. All of them drawn when the Pevensies were young- probably during the first few years of their reign.

Caspian stared at these images for a while, studying the seemingly everyday activities of the Pevensie children, drawn by the skillful hand of the youngest sibling. Finally, he set these aside and peered into the bottom of the chest. Nothing more was to be found except for a thick stack of papers bound together with a deep red ribbon.

Curious, Caspian grasped the fragile bundle and pulled it out, setting it gently on the ground in front of him.

"What's that?" The sudden question made him jump as he glanced up at Trumpkin.

"I don't know."

The dwarf set down a few of the dresses he had been taking out of Lucy's trunk and chuckled, "The secret diary of the High King perhaps? I'd pay good money to read that."

Caspian's eyes narrowed. "If it is a journal of some kind, I'm sure Peter wanted to keep it private, otherwise he wouldn't have put it in a chest located in a secret treasure chamber."

Trumpkin shrugged. "But you forget, here in Narnia, he's been gone for centuries. I think we're entitled to some information about our ancient rulers."

"That doesn't really assure me. I can't help getting the feeling that Peter will suddenly appear to get vengeance on me as soon as I open this."

"And yet, you have yet to put it back..."

Caspian tried to think of a good retort, but, upon coming up dry, he merely shifted his gaze back to the papers. The red ribbon seemed to be encouraging him to take a peek inside. Finally, he grabbed it and gently untied it, trying to ignore the chuckles of the dwarf as he did so.

The first page was blank, a cover of some kind no doubt. The next page was filled with the strong, clean penmanship of Peter. Feeling incredibly guilty but far too curious to stop, Caspian read the first few lines: I've learned an important lesson this past month and by Aslan's grace, I'll never make this mistake again. It all started when the people north of Lantern Waste laid siege to one of our forts that was close to the borders of that land.

"Well? Is he confessing deep secrets?" Trumpkin's gruff, but playful voice interrupted him.

Caspian glanced back up at him as he began to tie the bundle up again. "It is a journal of some kind, but I highly doubt that it is as secretive as you make it out to be. But I imagine it was personal."

"So, what are you going to do with it?" Trumpkin asked as he watched his king pick up the bundle.

"I'm going to take it back to my castle. After all, as you said, it is an important piece of history. Besides-" Caspian added when he saw the teasing sparkle brighten in the dwarf's eyes, "-perhaps by reading the High King's records, I will discover the secret to what made the Pevensies' reign a Golden Era."

And before the dwarf could utter another word, Caspian left the room, carrying his precious cargo.

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Evening had fallen by the time Caspian and his followers returned to the former Telmarine castle. Caspian barely ate any supper, for the desire to read Peter's journal burned within him, filling him with impatient anticipation.

As he hurriedly changed into his nightclothes, he found himself wondering just what he was so excited about. Perhaps it was the prospect of getting to know one of Narnia's heroes better, getting to know what the High King was like when he didn't have to act like a king anymore. In any case, the thought of reading anything from Narnia's Golden Age caused him to rush through his evening preparations until he finally settled down in his bed with the covers pulled up and the bundle of papers beside him.

With an almost reverent air, Caspian picked up the first sheet of paper and began to read.

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Well, I hope I sparked your interest. Thanks for reading! :)