AN: So honestly I have no excuses for why this took so long. But just know that I am terribly sorry and I hope this chapter makes up for it... If anyone is still reading it. I want to thank DustLight126 for being wonderful and not only betaing this chapter but also writing the conversation between Susan and Arianna. I also don't know when the next chapter will be ready, because I honestly am not sure what I want to do with it yet, so I'm going to apologize in advance. Thanks go out to Mighty-Ducks18, princess emma of narnia, and DustLight126 for the feedback on the last chapter! It means ALOT! Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own characters and plot lines, the lyrics are Miley Cyrus' and from the movie The Last Song. Okay on with the chapter!

P.S. PLEASE REVIEW

When the waves are flooding the shore
And I can't find my way home any more
That's when I, I
I look at you

When I look at you
I see forgiveness
I see the truth
You love me for who I am
Like the stars hold the moon
Right there where they belong
And I know I'm not alone

Yeah when my world is falling apart
When there's no light
To break up the dark
That's when I, I
I look at you

When the waves are flooding the shore
And I can't find my way home any more
That's when I, I
I look at you

Miley Cyrus- When I Look At You

"You are so insufferable! Why do you constantly bring this up? How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not in love with Devlyn?" Arianna asked with increasing frustration as she and Peter stood in the garden. The day had started out well enough, but sadly was coming to a very unsettling close.

"Until I actually believe it." Peter retorted angrily. Arianna shook her head and took a threatening step towards the High King. "No, you know that I don't have any such feelings for him, but when you-" she jabbed at his chest forcefully "-are frustrated over any little thing, you like to throw it at me just because you know it will cause an argument! I'm tired of it Peter! This has been going on for months and I don't know what it is that you want me to do! But what I want from you, though, is for you to stop lashing out at me, because I've done nothing wrong!" Peter opened his mouth to reply, but Arianna continued before he could speak.

"And I swear to Aslan, if you say one word about what you perceive to be my apparent refusal to fix things with your sister, I will walk away right now and be done with you. It's not my fault she is still upset and it is not my fault she still refuses to talk to me. I have done all I can to reconcile with her, the rest is up to Susan. Now, I am going to go talk with the rest of the League to see if there have been any sightings or other developments reported to them. After that I am going to bed. Tomorrow, if you are in a better mood, feel free to come and find me, but if you are still going to behave like this, then don't bother." Arianna told him firmly. The elf leaned up and placed a quick kiss against his lips before walking away.

Peter stared after her retreating form, and began to mentally reprimand himself. Everything she had said was true and he hadn't meant to lash out, it had simply just happened. Truthfully, he was just tired. So much had happened these last few months, or at least it seemed it had. Devlyn's absence had taken it's toll on everyone in the castle. It had even affected Peter, who had never been particularly close to the older elf. Though most of all, he was frustrated with himself.

Walking over to a wooden bench, the High King sat and reached into the pocket of his trousers. Bringing his fist and the velvet box enclosed in it up to his face, Peter opened it and looked at the small circle inside. He'd been carrying the ring around since before Devlyn left, but had just never plucked up the courage to ask her; always slightly worried that Arianna would say no. The morning he had taken her to the cliff to watch the sunrise had originally been when he was going to ask, but like many of the other moments that would have been appropriate to ask, the Magnificent King had chickened out. Peter shook his head at himself. As a King, Peter prided himself on being quite courageous, never seeking out a fight with an enemy, but never walking away either. Never worried about getting hurt, he himself sparred with the soldiers during training, trying to better himself and them...Yet when faced with the prospect of proposing to the purple eyed fire wielding elf, Peter could not summon the courage to carry out his plan. So he took his frustrations out on his beloved, and he knew how annoyed she was becoming with him. He honestly couldn't believe that she had put up with it for as long as she had, that wasn't something she would normally do.

'It's because she truly loves you. Quit being such a coward and propose already.' A voice whispered in his head. Peter shook his head again to disperse the thoughts and looked to the fading sun.

"What am I to do?" The high king asked aloud. "Maybe I should just walk up and ask her. Just finally spit it out." He mumbled. Contemplating the idea for a moment, Peter decided that's what he would do. So the High King stood and set out to find his beloved.

Approximately twenty paces and a door was all that stood between Peter and Arianna when his sister rounded the corner and bumped into him. Susan lost her grip on the papers in her hand and they fell to the floor in a crumpled mess.

"I'm sorry, Su." Peter said softly, bending down to help her pick them up. Susan just shook her head and smiled at him. "It's alright. Where are you headed? You have that look on your face." The Gentle Queen told him. Peter quirked an eyebrow. "What look?"

"The frustrated one that you wear when something that should have been done long ago is about to be done, yet you aren't sure if it's going to go right." Susan replied smartly. Peter stared at her dumbfounded for a moment. Was he really that easy to read? "So, are you going to tell me what it is you were about to do then?"

"To propose to Arianna." Peter mumbled. Susan's eyes widened and her mouth broke out into a cheek splitting grin. "Oh Peter, that's wonderful! Congratulations! How are you going to ask her? Do you have something really romantic planned out?" Susan exclaimed excitedly. Peter stared at her for a moment, his countenance a picture of pure confusion.

"Why are you so excited? You will barely look her way without breaking out in a scowl." Peter asked. Susan rolled her eyes. "I know I've been horrible to her these past few months and I've actually recently come to the conclusion that I've been taking the anger that I feel towards Devlyn out on Arianna, but none of that means that I don't want either of you to be happy. You're my brother, and she's the only person I could ever see you with, you're perfect for each other. Now, what's your plan of action, so to speak?"

"Well, I've been too scared to do it for so long, that I think I'm just going to walk up to her and ask before I back out again." Peter answered. Susan gasped, and started shaking her head wildly. The Gentle Queen was none to gentle when she then smacked her brother upside the head. "Peter Pevensie you can't just walk up to her and ask, especially while she's in a meeting with the League of Aslan. You have to do it somewhere private away from the castle. Honestly, what in Aslan's name were you thinking? Come on, we'll go to your study and get something planned out." Susan grabbed Peter's arm and started dragging him towards his study. "I hope you realize that if you had just walked in and asked her, she would have said no and insisted you did it properly and not in front of the whole League." Susan added knowingly. Thinking over it, Peter realized she was probably right.

Edmund awoke the next morning to a frantic pounding on his door. Standing quickly, worried that something might be wrong, the Just King rushed to the door and unlocked it before pulling it open. Coming face to face with his older siblings, neither of which gave off a distressed feeling, Edmund relaxed.

"Good morning. What is it that you need?" he asked, albeit somewhat sardonically. Peter and Susan exchanged looks before pushing their way into his room. "Yes, please come in." Edmund stated sarcastically. "What is it that you need this early in the morning?"

"We need you to distract Arianna for the day." Susan said, before she and Peter then continued to tell Edmund his part in their plans.

After waking, Arianna stood in front of her mirror debating on whether or not to go to breakfast. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, she just didn't really feel like talking to Peter at the moment. Arianna scowled at the memory of their argument last night. It was becoming increasingly harder for her to just ignore his seemingly endless bad moods, and grumpy mornings, that usually ended with the two getting into another fight.

Arianna was just confused. Things had been going great, almost perfect even, and then suddenly it had all started snowballing. At first it was little spats, tiny ones that were easily brushed off with a few words or a playful smile, but then they escalated to huge blowouts that Arianna was sure the whole castle could hear sometimes. That wasn't what confused her though. No, what confused her was that these arguments always, always happened after Peter had done something incredibly sweet, then after a little time it seemed as if a switch would flip in his head and he was pissed off at her. She just didn't understand.

Shaking the thoughts from her head Arianna decided she would just head out to the training field through the kitchen and grab something to eat on her way. Skirting through the servants as they rushed around preparing breakfast, the Protector snagged an apple from the counter before continuing out of the castle. Once outside she turned and headed towards the training field only to be stopped by the sound of a chuckle. Turning she saw Edmund leaning against the side of the castle watching her with a knowing smirk.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Arianna said trying to ignore his pointed look. "I was just on my way to the training field to prepare for the day."

"Or you were avoiding my brother. This is quite a sight, our fearless Protector avoiding the High King." Edmund chuckled. Arianna sighed and nodded, not really in the mood to come up with another excuse. "I don't know how much longer I can deal with this Ed. We've been fighting non-stop for weeks and it's hard to focus on anything else. I feel like it's affecting my duty and I just...Don't know. What if we're fighting so much because he has changed his mind about me? I, uh, I don't think I can handle that Ed." Arianna confessed in long, rambling sentences. Then thinking about the fact that Peter was Edmund's brother she shook her head in an apology to the Just King. "I'm sorry. Peter's your brother and you probably don't want to hear this. Would you like to accompany me to the field or are you headed to breakfast?" Edmund ignored the girls question and pulled her into a hug. Arianna returned it gently, a little surprised though secretly glad for the comfort it brought her.

"Arianna, Peter loves you with all of his heart, and he has in no way changed his mind about you. To tell you the truth I have a feeling things are going to start getting better today." Edmund told her. Arianna raised an eyebrow in response, but chose to say nothing as she released the young King. "So shall we head to the training field?" Arianna nodded and Edmund lead the way. The two stayed out of the way of the others in the castle most of the day, choosing to spend it sparring and laughing with one another instead. A few hours before dinner they decided it was time to go inside and clean up. Both had just eaten lunch outside, Arianna still not feeling ready to face Peter just yet.

After they parted ways Arianna went to her room to bathe and change before dinner. Once dressed she pulled her hair back and away from her face. Quickly, she decided that she had been a coward long enough, and began to make her way to the dining hall before her courage could evade her. Upon entering she noticed something different, but couldn't quite place it until she glanced to the High King's seat and realized he wasn't present. She took her usual seat in between Peter's now vacant space and Elyra's occupied one. Elyra sent her a smile to which Arianna just replied with a nod. Noticing that Peter was the only one missing, Arianna became curious.

"Where's Peter?" she asked the table, not exactly sure as to who would know the answer. The Protector was quite surprised when it was Susan who answered her.

"He's in his study. There was an abundance of paper work today he had to sort through." Arianna nodded her understanding before looking back to her food and beginning to eat in silence, drowning out the chatter that was around her. Half way through dinner the Protector was surprised once again when Susan directly spoke to her.

"Arianna, would you mind accompanying me on a ride before it gets dark?" The Queen asked calmly. Arianna kept her expression neutral, hiding her shock, but nodded in response. Dinner finished shortly after and Susan directed Edmund to let Peter know that she and Arianna were going for a ride. Edmund nodded with an ill concealed mischievous smile before walking out of the dining hall and heading towards his brothers study.

Arianna and Susan headed towards the stables. Once there, Arianna observed Susan with thinly veiled suspicion as they saddled their horses.

The two rode in silence for a number of minutes before Arianna decided to be the one to break it. "Your Majesty, please don't take offense to this, but why did you ask me to accompany you? It's no secret that we haven't seen eye to eye these last few months." Susan sighed before turning to Arianna slightly and answering.

"No, it is not." Susan began quietly. "But Arianna, I have realized that the manner in which I have treated you was very wrong of me." Arianna opened her mouth to reply, but Susan cut her off by raising a hand and shaking her head, "I am ashamed to have to admit to it, but you did not receive the respect or fair treatment from me you deserve."

"To be honest though, I had wanted to blame you and only you for Devlyn's departure. And I have also come to realize that was never the case; Devlyn really is the only one who can be held accountable for his actions. It's him I'm angry at, you were just the unfortunate target of it." she finished resolutely, a sad expression on her face but her eyes begging, beseeching Arianna to forgive her for her stupidity.

Arianna considered the now contrite Queen before her, the woman who she could easily call one of her best friends. And she knew in her heart that she had already been forgiven.

"It's nice to have you back Susan." she said with a smile, which was easily returned by the Gentle Queen. "Thank you Arianna." she replied quietly.

The pair continued in a comfortable silence for another few minutes or so, before Susan stopped her horse and began to dismount. Arianna glanced at their surroundings, noting they were now at a small circular clearing surrounded by clusters of trees. One of these lead off to a gently sloping hill with a worn path running along the middle. Arianna too dismounted her horse as Susan made her way to the opening and gestured for her to enter. Although a little hesitantly, she complied and began to ascend the path.

Arianna continued to look around curiously as she walked up the path ahead of Susan. There was a feeling in her stomach that told her she knew where she was, but just couldn't place it yet. The trees started to become less dense the farther she continued to walk, and once she was out of the woods the realization of where she was hit her like a brick. She was at the cliff Peter had taken her to when she had told him she loved him for the second time. At the edge of the cliff stood Peter and Liam, and as Susan emerged from the woods Liam began to approach the Queen and Protector.

"I'll escort Queen Susan back to the castle." Liam told her. Arianna just looked with confusion between the two. Susan spoke before she could ask any questions though. "You and Peter need to talk. I'll see you back at the castle." Susan told her before leading Liam back through the woods, now leaving the High King and the Protector alone.

Arianna walked slowly towards the Peter. He gave her a nervous smile before extending his hand out towards her. Arianna took it gently and let him guide her to stand facing him. To her left was the water capped by the quickly setting sun and to her right the woods she had just emerged from.

"What's all this about?" Arianna asked curiously, and slightly nervous. Things tended to go badly whenever anything good happened. Peter looked out towards the water and began to speak.

"I've been...insufferable these last few weeks. I know. I also know that you are reaching your wits end with it. I just thought that maybe you would like to know what it is that's made me like this, before you make any decisions about us." Arianna drew in a deep breath. "Peter, I-"

"No, just listen. I need to say this all and then you can speak." Peter said firmly, looking back to her. "I haven't been completely honest with you. I know you aren't in love with Devlyn, that you don't have those kind of feelings for him. I've not been frustrated with you, but with myself. I've spent weeks questioning you. Asking questions that were ridiculous and pointless, when all I've wanted to do was ask you one question. A simple four word sentence that I haven't yet had the courage to ask." Arianna was quickly becoming more and more confused the longer that he spoke. It wasn't until he dropped down to one knee in front of her and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring that she realized what he was getting at. Her hands flew to her mouth in a silent gasp and tears filled her eyes.

"Arianna, I love you. With all my heart. With everything I have. At the end of the day, and in the midst of a crisis you are what keeps me grounded, what keeps me level headed enough to stay me and help make the decisions I need to. I've never felt this way about anyone and I honestly don't want to feel like this for anyone but you. You're the only person I can see when I picture what my future holds. The one person I imagine spending the rest of my life with. So now I kneel before you to finally ask; Arianna Rossi, will you marry me?" Arianna smiled at the High King and pulled her hands from her face to wipe away her tears. "Yes! Yes!" She exclaimed. The smile that appeared on Peter's face was one she had never seen before. It was a mixture of pure relief and pure joy.

The blond stood and placed the specially made ring on her left hand. He then pulled her to himself and placed his lips on hers in the most passionate kiss the couple had ever shared. One that expressed the complete and unadulterated love they had for one another that they knew would see them through any challenges they would face.