A/N: After watching Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, I was intrigued by the faint outline of a romantic story presented for Caspian and Susan (however far from the books it was). This story is my attempt at taking what the movies started - and continue spinning the wheel of that. This story takes place three years after Prince Caspian (Narnian time) and thus "replaces"Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I've read the Narnia books as a child - over 10 years ago, and can't say I remember much. So there are few nods to the written stories in this, though I'm attempting to do my research. If this doesn't follow book details that fans are expecting, I simply want to point out that it is not my intention to degrade the wonderful works of Lewis at all. This is merely my version of something that could have been in the movies.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to Disney, Warner Brothers, C S Lewis and/or anyone else affiliated with the amazing works.

Story: After the events of Prince Caspian, the four Pevensie siblings return to Narnia - without any explanation. With Caspian's aid, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy must realize the reason of their return before the mystery consumes them. This turns out to be a harder challenge than their previous turns to Narnia as they battle their emotions, new foes and each other. Caspian/Susan.

EDIT: Will be editing/rewriting parts of this story as of Sept 2013.

Also, for this story the ages of the Pevensies are as follows: Peter 19, Susan 18, Edmund 16, Lucy 14.

Chronicles of Narnia: Mist and Mystery at Calormen's Grove

1. A moment of interrupted peace

The gentle breeze of the cool, playful wind swept past the open landscape, making the grass on the field dance back and forth in slow concord. It was almost like a soft waltz, yet with playful twists and turns, taking the grass every which way by gentle, steering puffs of fresh air.

Susan Pevensie tilted her head to the side as she watched the green field dance to the unsung tunes only the wind could hear. For a second she allowed herself to indulge in memories of Narnia, the wonderful, magical land she'd left behind little over a year ago. Almost as soon as the happy memories of her past as Queen of Narnia had entered her mind, as soon did she attempt to repress them once more. Thinking about that past would only hurt for she was well aware that she would never see the land again. Aslan, the might lion, had said so himself during her last visit. Neither Susan nor her elder brother Peter would ever return but had instead been forced to say their final farewell to the land that had been their home.

Susan's future was in the real world. The sooner she could forget about those joyous and adventurous days in the far-off fairy tale land, the better.

Their last adventure, which had taken place many years after the Pevensie siblings Golden Age in Narnian time, had been because of one young man's call for aid. The young Prince Caspian had required assistance in gaining his rightful throne and in the end had succeeded with the help of the Pevensie siblings, making Susan and Peter's goodbye to Narnia possible.

Susan could still remember dark, piercing eyes scrutinizing her both curiously and timidly at the same time. A handsome, thin face that still needed to grow a bit before it would mature into the face of a strong king, but with the determined chin to make it all the way. Caspian had expressed worry at the time that he had not been ready for the task ahead, but Aslan had seen what everyone else, too, had realized existed in the prince's heart – due to his honest doubts and caring hand, Caspian would be the right man for the throne of Narnia.

The Pevensie girl wondered how much time had passed in Narnia since that adventure and if the young king perhaps had turned old and grey already. Compared to English time, Narnian time seemed to gallop by so swiftly. Susan and her siblings had been back in England for three years before Caspian had called them back, while 1300 years had passed in Narnia. Now when another year had passed in England, it was highly possible that the reign of the Telmarine king had ended long ago. The solemn thought did little to pull Susan's mind from her memories.

"When will we be there?" Lucy's voice pulled the elder girl back to reality.

Susan found herself once more in the passenger seat of their parents' old car alongside her siblings and realized they had passed the green field minutes ago. On either side of the car she could but see the thick forest of the country side and smell the spruces faintly through the open window.

"Impatient, are we, sis?" Peter asked from behind the wheel. There was a twinkle to his pale eyes as he glanced at his youngest sister in the back seat where she sat next to the dark haired Edmund.

"Not at all, brother," the young girl retorted without missing a beat as she tugged on the sleeve of her knitted cardigan. "You are just the slowest driver in England, is all."

Susan saw Edmund conceal a chuckle by turning his head to look out the window, acting as innocent as they all knew he wasn't. The eldest boy noticed this, too, but refrained from making a remark as he shot Susan a tired eye roll and kept on driving on the narrow, gravel road.

They'd left the city hours ago, heading for their uncle's country side house for the last remains of summer. The purpose of this visit was not, however, to spend time with the relative, but rather to spend quality time with each other. For all they knew, this could be their very last time together in a long time. In one week's time, their parents would fly off to travel around America and had asked Susan to accompany them. Not long after, Peter would leave for college across the country, which would surely keep him occupied and unable to visit his younger siblings.

The trip had been entirely Lucy's idea and the others had found it marvelous. It was a brilliant way to sort of say farewell to each other, at least for the time being. Who knew where they would all be next time they were reunited after this summer.

As far as Lucy's remark on her brother's driving, well, it was rather warranted. Peter Pevensie had only gotten his driver's license a month earlier and drove quite carefully along the twisting country roads, at least when his siblings were in the car with him.

"You never answered my question, Peter," the youngest girl pressed on with a sigh as she leaned forward to have a better look at her brother's focused profile.

"I'd say about another hour's drive, Lu." Which meant it was probably closer to two.

"Well, if it's going to be such a long time anyway, why not stop and take a break?"

"I thought you wanted to get there quickly?" Susan asked in amusement and smiled at her baby sister.

"Lucy's right," Edmund interjected from his side of the car. "I'm bored of this long, long, loooong drive" – he emphasized the word as Peter harrumphed indignantly – "and there is that nice pond up ahead. We could take the picnic Su packed us, eat and swim. We'd just be a little while later than expected."

Susan pondered his suggestion and had to agree the idea sounded charmingly delightful. The sun was shining bright on the skies up ahead and they were all getting stiff from the car ride. A quick glance at her elder brother told her that the handsome, young man was thinking as she was. The two of them exchanged a glance and eventually Peter nodded once.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I wouldn't mind a swim."

"Do you have to eat it all in one bite, Edmund? It looks disgusting."

The boy looked up from his tuna sandwich at his elder sister with wide, pale eyes. With cheeks sticking out like a hamsters because of the amount of food there, he merely managed, "How fo, Fufan?"

Susan rolled her eyes and gave her brother a scolding look as she handed him a napkin. "Swallow first, talk after, Edmund."

"Wha'? I'm hungry!" the boy whined back and swallowed the last of his sandwich. With an unsubtle movement, he glanced behind at the picnic basket and then back up at his sister. "Got anymore?"

Without waiting for a reply, Edmund leaned over the basket and searched through its contents roughly. His features positively beamed as he pulled out an apple and proceeded to munch on it as Susan sighed exasperatedly.

"How can you still be hungry? You've already eaten both of your sandwiches and one of mine. Is there no end to your stomach?"

"I'm a growing man, Su. I have to eat."

"Growing more stupid, that is," Peter joked and the younger brother turned a playful scowl in his direction, the apple in his hand soon forgotten.

"You'll pay for that, you know," Edmund threatened, the threat itself loosing its edge as his eyes twinkled under the ashen sunlight. In one swift move, the boy stood from the ground and threw himself at the eldest Pevensie. The two boys wrestled and though Edmund had grown almost to Peter's size, he was still not quite a match for the elder brother as far as strength went.

They rolled towards the pond while the girls called out warnings to them. Thankfully the siblings were all already wearing their underpants in prepartion for a swim, as Peter pushed his brother into the pond and cheered victoriously up on dry land. After a few seconds, Edmund resurfaced with a giant gasp, splashing water all around him.

"It's colder than I expected!" he gasped as his sisters laughed from their seats.

With an amused smirk, Peter reached out a hand to help his brother out of the pond, but in the very last second pulled his hand away having seen the mischievous look in the younger man's eyes.

"You thought you could pull me in, did you, brother? I'm too clever to fall for that trick!" the elder teased as Lucy silently crawled towards him from behind. With a swift leap, the young girl threw herself at her brother and dragged them both into the depths of the pond. Edmund roared with laughter as a spluttering Peter broke the surface a few seconds later, Lucy in tow.

"It's definitely deeper than I thought! I didn't even touch bottom," the eldest Pevensie gulped and then turned his eyes towards Lucy. He pushed the soaked hair from his eyes before he pointed a threatening finger in her direction. "I'll get even for that some day, you know!"

Edmund swiftly stopped his brother from getting his revenge by a hand to the shoulder and a whispered word into Peter's ear. Suddenly, both of the boys turned their attention to the only dry sibling still up on the grassy slope. As the eldest boy swam to the shore and pulled himself onto the ground, Susan's smile immediately vanished from her full lips.

"Peter, don't…" she warned and raised a hand in her soaked brother's direction as he came towards her. She knew her pleas were useless as determine shone bright on his features, mixed a little bit of devilry on the corner of his mouth. "Don't you dare! Peter!"

She squealed as he grabbed for her and ducked out of reach just in time, rolled onto her knees and swiftly shot up to her feet.

"Get her, Peter!" Edmund howled as the eldest brother chased their sister across the grass.

The dark-haired beauty shrieked as Peter's soaked hands nearly caught her and in desperation, Susan steered closer to the pond. With no other route to escape, she was forced to jump in on her own accord. Peter cannon-balled into the dark water right next to her and soon pulled her into a water fight along with their younger siblings. For a brief moment all of their future worries where left to another time, and they reverted to four carefree children having a blast together in the summer heat.

Suddenly, Peter raised a hand in signal for the others to stop. Edmund splashed him with a final wave before he noticed the frown on his brother's face. As both boys calmed, the girls soon followed and noticed the tension shift in their small group.

"Do you see that?" the eldest boy breathed as he looked towards something at the bottom of the pond.

"Are you trying to fool us?" Edmund asked suspiciously and swam a foot further away from his brother, just in case he was up to something devilish.

"Would you just have a look?"

Susan, Edmund and Lucy did as their brother had asked and saw a warm light down at the bottom. It was nothing like mud or rocks even though it seemed so far below them. Instead it was as bright as the water close to a surface lit by a bright sun. The siblings watched the glow entranced and found they could not quite gaze anywhere else.

"What is that?" Susan asked distantly with a faint smile. She wasn't sure why, but the warmth of the light reminded her of something and it made her happy.

"I don't know…" her elder brother replied just as Edmund took a great gulp of air and dove under.

"Edmund!" the elder sister shouted and looked down into the water but she couldn't see her brother anywhere. Not in the murkier parts close to their bodies or anywhere closer to the bottom by the light. If he was playing them a trick, he'd have to be a magician to pull off such a disappearing act. "Where did he go? Did anyone see where Edmund went? Is he trying to scare us, you think? Edmund!"

"Calm down, Su," her brother said though his frown was as concerned as Susan's voice had been.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Lucy said and dove after her brother.

Both Susan and Peter called after the young girl, but she too soon disappeared in the water and was nowhere to be found. The elder siblings exchanged a glance and even though no words were spoken so much more was said between their eyes. At last, the elder boy shrugged his wet shoulders.

"You can't be serious, Peter!"

"We have to, don't we, Susan?"

The young woman wanted to debate with him, tell him that they ought to stay behind just in case Edmund and Lucy resurfaced, but something stopped her. She couldn't deny the pull the light at the bottom held for her also. There was something so unmistakably familiar and yet curiously amazing about it, that she couldn't deny wanting to follow her siblings down there. Exchanging a final glance, the two of them inhaled and dove into the pond.

All sounds from the world above vanished as they swam deeper and deeper into the lake; the sound of the wind rustling the trees was gone, as was the beautiful singing of a larch that had been perched on a branch not far from them. The water pressed into her ears as Susan dove further down, following her brother into the depths of the pond which never seemed to end.

Then, suddenly, it was as if they were no longer swimming down, but rather upwards. The young woman couldn't understand it but she could swear that the closer she got towards the bottom, the closer she seemed instead to come towards a surface. She could feel a warmer sun shine upon the waters than the one she'd just dove from in England, and this spurred her to swim faster.

Up by the "surface" Susan suddenly noticed Lucy and Edmund's floating forms and steered towards them. She broke the surface not long after Peter and breathlessly tried to calm her wildly beating heart as her ears rang from the pressure of the long dive. As the warm, huge sun blinded her, Susan squinted and gulped for air. She was surprised to recognize salty water on her tongue and coughed at the unexpected taste.

"Susan! Peter! You're here!" Lucy's voice was clearly surprised as she took notice of her elder siblings.

"Of course we're here," the eldest brother responded in an equally shocked voice as he floated closer to his youngest sibling to make sure she was alright. When she nodded in reassurance, Peter brushed the wet hair from his eyes and tried to gaze about him as he once more addressed his siblings, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because…" Edmund began from somewhere on Susan's right and his voice was almost hesitant as he explained, "We're not in England anymore. I think we're back in Narnia!"

Sure enough, they had left the small, cold pond and were now floating aimlessly in the middle of a vast, open ocean. Clearly, they were not in England anymore.

"How can that be?" Susan called in a shrill voice to Peter who floated on her left with an unreadable look upon his features. "Aslan said we would never return!"

"It doesn't matter right now," came the reply as her brother pointed up at something behind the others. "We're about to get company."

The siblings all turned around in the water and saw an impressive ship with large, dark sails approaching them with great speed.

To be continued.