Hey everybody! And I am baaaackkkk! =D Seriously, how can I resist writing when I have such amazing readers? So, here is it - the third (and final) installment of the Destiny Trilogy.

NOTE:

To the old readers, welcome back! :D
To the new readers: This is the final installment of a series of 3 stories. If you wish to understand this better, please read 'Fate Or Destiny?' and 'Definitely Destiny' first.

THE MOST IMPORTANT NOTE:

This story does not belong to me alone. I will be co-writing it with CrazyKitCat. Cat, thank you soooo much for agreeing to write this with me and thank you for the interesting contributions in this chapter. I hope we have a blast giving our readers an amazing story! :D

Disclaimer: Narnia does not belong to us!

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Desires and Destiny

Chapter 1

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With a sigh, the Lord of Daelhr lay on his back and stared at the dark sky. A few stars twinkled here and there, but clouds dominated. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the exhaustion. His body ached and he was tired. Perhaps it was not smart to tour the city, work, pack and then leave for Cair all in one day.

But it didn't matter. Not anymore. Cair was just about two hours ride away and he just wanted to jump on his horse and gallop away until the palace came into sight.

Of course, his guards thought that the party should wait till dawn. He had tried to argue with them, but Kayla – who hated riding – had silenced him with one glare.

Well, he thought to himself, It has been months. I guess I can wait a few more hours.

And he smiled as he pictured the Valiant Queen in his mind. Beautiful, smart, caring – probably dressed in one of her pink gowns, with her hair hanging loose and her brown eyes twinkling with excitement.

Oh Aslan, He thought, Please let it be dawn soon!

"My lord."

"Philip," Chad acknowledged without even opening his eyes.

"Dinner is ready."

"I'm not hungry."

"But –"

"I'm fine, Philip," Chad opened his eyes to see a tall, broad shouldered man, in his late twenties looming over him. (A/N: Link to the picture in profile) "You can eat."

"Chad," Kayla said from somewhere behind Philip. "Join us for the meal and stop mooning about your girlfriend."

"I'm not mooning over anyone," Chad snapped, getting up and walking over to the campfire where a couple of the guards had prepared a soup. He turned to them. "You all should eat too. We can self-serve."

They bowed their heads in respect and sat down in a circle nearby.

"Sure, sure," Kayla smiled, picking up an empty bowl.

"Now, now Lady Kayla," Philip smiled, "You should not tease your brother."

"Exactly," Chad nodded.

"Besides, a little bit of daydreaming does no harm at all," Philip said, chuckling.

Grunting, Chad walked past the two of them, to the other side of the campfire.

"May I sit with you?" he asked the woman before him.

Alianna, Philip's younger sister, who had been staring blankly at the ground, looked up, startled. Slowly she nodded and scooted away to give him space to sit.

He did, glaring at his sister and friend who were sitting across from him.

"I don't see why you're getting so angry," Philip commented, tossing a piece of bread into his mouth. "You have nothing to be angry about, unless you really were thinking of her and we caught you red-handed."

"Shut up, Philip."

"Did I say something wrong?" the boy asked, a cocky smile on his face as he turned to Kayla.

"Not at all," she replied.

"Philip," Lord Demetrius, Chad's counselor, glared at his son. "Stop it."

"But father –"

"Stop it," He turned to Chad. "Forgive him, milord. He doesn't know when to stop."

Chad smiled, shaking his head. "It's alright. It has become a habit of him to team up with my sister and annoy me."

Just then a bowl filled with steaming stew entered his vision. He blinked and turned to see Alianna holding it out to him. He took it, politely thanking her.

"You're welcome, milord," she spoke in a soft, low voice before picking up a bowl for herself.

"See, Philip," Chad said, pointing towards Alianna, "I like her. Unlike you, she is well-mannered."

Philip chuckled. "That is because you've not heard her speak."

"Philip!" Alianna looked up.

"What?" Philip shrugged. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all," she got up. "Excuse me, but I think I will eat my dinner in my tent. Good night."

And she walked away.

"Apparently, you did say the wrong thing," Chad commented.

Philip groaned. "Women!"

"Go apologize to her," Demetrius told him.

"But father –"

"Philip," Demetrius said. "Listen to me and stop being mean to your sister."

"Fine," Philip picked up his bowl and excused himself, following his sister.

"Sorry about that," Demetrius smiled. "They are old enough to get married, but they just don't grow up."

Chad laughed. "It's alright."

"And Philip really irritates you."

"He's a friend," Chad shrugged.

"Indeed."

They ate in silence for a while.

"It was very kind of the Kings and Queens to invite me," Demetrius said.

"You would have accompanied me anyways," Chad shrugged. "You're my counselor."

"Yes, but they invited my family too," Demetrius said.

"They just like you all," Kayla said indifferently.

"They have just met us a few times," Philip said.

"They must like you all, then." Kayla repeated.

"They're very kind then," Demetrius bowed his head. "I didn't think they would trust me ever again."

Chad stiffened. "Past is past, Demetrius. Let us not talk about it."

"… Of course, milord." He paused. "I just hope we won't be much of a burden on them."

"I don't think you will be," Chad told him. "Susan loves guests."

[][][][][][][][]

Lucy looked up from the book she was reading when the horns sounded, announcing the arrival of the Lord of Daelhr. A smile lit up her face as she jumped off her bed and rushed to the window.

She saw a few horses came to stop in the courtyard. She could see the other monarchs waiting to greet the guests. The guards assisted the women in getting off and a few servants move to unload the lugguage.

But Lucy was not seeing that. Her eyes were fixed on the man who got off the brown mare. Petting the horse, he handed the reins to the stable boy nearby and turned to the monarchs, a smile on his face.

Just looking at him made her heart skip a beat.

Lucy turned and was about to rush out of the room when she noticed her reflection in the mirror. She was still wearing her nightgown – she had been too lazy to get dressed – and her hair was a mess – again, because of the laziness.

She groaned and stomped towards her wash chambers, clearly annoyed with her laziness and with the fact that the guests were early.

About fifteen minutes later, the Valiant Queen was walking down the hallway dressed in a simple floor length gown of pink and her hair tied into a braid.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said, walking into the Entrance Hall where the guests were standing along with the monarchs and took her place next to the High King.

Chad turned to look at her. "It's alright, my queen," he said, inclining his head in respect.

She smiled at him before turning to the others. "Kayla!" she exclaimed, hugging the girl. "I've missed you."

"And I you," Kayla hugged her back.

"Demetrius, Philip," Lucy smiled. "It's good to see you. And you too, Alianna."

"Likewise," Alianna smiled.

"Indeed," Philip took her hand and kissed it.

She couldn't help but grin. "Always the gentleman, Philip?"

"Always, my queen."

"Good."

"You all must be tired," Susan said. "How about you all go to your rooms and freshen up and then we can have breakfast together?"

"Sounds great," Chad said.

"Great, I can show you your rooms," Susan smiled. "Follow me please."

With that Susan left with all her guests trailing behind her, except Chad, who was busy looking at the Valiant Queen.

"Where is Isabel?" Lucy asked Caspian.

"She just left," the King explained. "Patrick was crying. The boy won't leave her alone for a minute!"

Lucy chuckled.

"Chad," Peter said. "Do you not wish to see your room?"

Chad smiled awkwardly. "Umm, I know which guest room is mine."

"Do you, now?"

"I've had the same room since five years."

"How do you know that a different room has not been prepared for you?"

Chad frowned. "Have you prepared a different room for me?"

"No."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Peter, don't you have work to do?"

"I do."

"Then you should leave."

"I will," Peter took a step towards Chad. "But behave."

With that, the High King turned on his heels and walked away.

"I'll never get tired of seeing your face after you talk to Pete," Edmund chuckled and wrapped his arm around Adeline's shoulders. "Let's go. He won't try anything."

Adeline rolled her eyes but agreed.

Caspian smiled sympathetically and patted Chad's shoulder. "I understand how you feel."

"You do," Chad nodded.

"It won't last forever."

"I hope so."

Caspian chuckled and walked away too.

"So…" Lucy said slowly.

"So?" Chad turned towards her.

"Do you want me to show you your room?"

He smiled. "That would be great."

As they walked down the hallway, Lucy slipped her hand in his. "I've missed you."

"Me too," he squeezed her hand. "More than you can imagine."

"I know." she sighed.

"But I'm here now. We're together."

"You're here only for a couple of weeks." Lucy sighed. "And you'll go back again."

"I have to."

"I wish you could stay in Cair all the time."

Chad opened the door to the guest chambers. She stepped in first and he followed. "You know I can't. I have too much work, too many duties back in Daelhr and I –"

"I know, Chad," Lucy said. She paused to look into his green eyes. "I just hate being away from you."

He blinked in understanding and leaned forward, placing his lips on hers. He kissed her, deeply, and she responded, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I love you, Lucy," Chad said, pulling away as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too," she said, almost breathless.

The two remained silent for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's company. Then –

"You should rest," Lucy said.

"Okay."

"Breakfast will be served after two hours."

"Okay." He pulled her close.

"How about we take a stroll in the gardens after the breakfast?" Lucy suggested. "Just you and me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have a meeting with Peter and Caspian."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about it."

"How about the evening?" he asked.

"I can't," she replied. "Susan is having a ball next week and she will not let me breathe until I help her in choosing the decorations."

"Oh."

Her face lit up. "You can come with us."

"What?"

"Yes, I mean you can help me and Susan in deciding. That way, we'll be done sooner and then we can spend some time alone."

He made a face. "I'll pass."

"Don't be ridiculous. It won't be that bad."

"But –"

"Please," Lucy said, moving her face closer to his.

"Don't seduce me," he said, kissing her softly.

"Please?"

He sighed. "If it is boring, I'll kill you."

She laughed. "You won't."

"I won't," he admitted, "but I'll act like I want to."

"Deal."

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Later that afternoon, after having been tortured by the ball preparations, Chad found himself being dragged through the marketplace by Lucy. Their destination was the dress shop where Lucy was planning on picking up the gown she had ordered for the ball.

They weren't being accompanied by any guards, which Chad found weird, but Lucy assured him that it was alright since she had her dagger and he, his sword.

Just as they were leaving the dress shop, a tall young man ran up to them. "Milady!" he called, panting slightly, his hazel colored eyes on Lucy. (A/N: Link to the picture in profile)

Chad jumped to action and blocked the Valiant Queen from the strange man.

"Chad-" Lucy said, a smile on her lips, as she placed a calming hand on his shoulder, "It's alright. This is my private guard, Harry."

"Oh," Chad said, stepping forward to shake Harry's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Harry said, shaking the Lord's hand with a firm grip.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Lucy said, stepping forward and placing her hand on his arm to get his attention.

"Milady, all of your guards are looking for you," he said.

"But why? I told you that I would be walking down to the dress shop with Chad." Lucy asked, bewildered.

"Um…High King Peter was looking for you?" Harry answered, asking more of a question then answering one.

"Looking for me, or looking for Chad?" Lucy asked, smiling.

"Both," Harry said meekly.

Lucy rolled her eyes.

Harry chuckled. "You know your brother cannot leave you alone, Lucy."

Chad blinked when he heard the man address the Queen informally.

"At times I wish he weren't that overprotective."

"He cares." Harry shrugged. "I don't think he is wrong."

"Sure you don't," Lucy said. "You always agree with him."

Chad cleared his throat, trying to wash away the awkwardness of being left out of the conversation. "Well then let us go and see him. He must be waiting."

"Yes, let's," Lucy smiled, lacing her fingers with Chad's as she handed Harry her gown. "I'd like to talk to him about his obsession with 'protecting' me."

"What do I do with this, my queen?" Harry asked.

"You're supposed to wear it at the ball next week." Lucy replied, making a face.

Harry held the dress close to his body and looked down. "It will suit me," sarcasm dripped from his voice, "Purple has always been my color."

"Oh, Harry!" Lucy laughed, shoving him away. "Get this to the palace, will you?"

"Sure, milady"

"Shall we?"

"As you wish, milady."

Lucy turned to Chad and with a smile, she pulled him back towards the palace, leaving Harry to fumble with Lucy's dress robes.

There you go. The first chapter. The links to the pictures of Philip and Harry have been posted in my profile. The current ages of the characters are those of the epilogue - part 3 of Definitely Destiny but I'll post them here again soon.

Now, we'll post the next chapter as soon as we're done with it. But until then pleaseeeee do review and let us know what you think about it.

Until next time,

CrazyKitCat and Ennarre :)

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