That night, I worked on some sketches to give to Claire. She was impressed with my other sketches and told me that she was going to use those designs. I was more than delighted when she told me that, because it meant that it was good.

I also worked on my painting on the deal that I made with Caspian. It was almost midnight and I was about to go meet him when there was a knock on my door. I frowned. "Who could that be?" I wondered. I know this will be embarrassing but I danced to the door and opened it. "Caspian!

"I am deeply sorry for coming here at this hour." He was standing outside with a lamp in his hand.

"Is everything okay? I was just about to come."

"Here." He handed me a card.

"What is it?" I asked as I took it from him.

"It's....the first invitation to the ball." 

I was thankful for the night time. I really did not want him to see my blush. "You didn't have to that." I smiled as I took it from him and admired the fonts. I walked into my room and rested the card on the vase that stood on my bedside table. It looked so aesthetic when the moonlight beamed off of it.

I walked back to the door when Caspian spoke. "I need you to come with me." It looked like he was in a hurry. There was a certain determination in his voice.

"Are you okay? You look a little tensed, I guess?"

"Time is running out, Sophie." 

"Oh okay." He held out his arm and I looked at it questioningly, but his eyes spoke for him. Trust me, they spoke. 

I put my hand in his and he started to walk out, leading me through the way. He started walking hurriedly down the staircase as I followed him. "Where are we going?" 

"Ssh." He said as he continued running down the stairs.

"If we're going somewhere important, I should have changed for it." I was wearing sweatpants and my favourite black hoodie. From the way he was acting, it looked like it was something important to him.

"You're perfect." 

Somehow, I blushed. He wasn't dressed like we were going somewhere important either. He was wearing a loose tunic and pants. But the determination in his eyes....it will be alright, Sophie. You could trust him.

We reached the castle doors. He let go of my hand and that was when I realised that he had held onto it for so long. He opened the castle doors and walked out. I followed him into the empty courtyard. There was a fountain in the centre.

"What are we doing here?"

"Any minute now." He said, looking up at the endless sky.

"Caspian." I held onto his arms as he started to worry. "What are we doing here?"

"Do you trust me?" He asked as he held my arms as well. I was suddenly quite aware of the fact that we were completely alone and that we were standing very close to each other, closer than I usually let people be around me.

"What?"

"Please answer it. Do you trust me?" 

I didn't need to think about it. "I do. But what are we...." A drop of water fell on my nose and he smiled. The small drop of water soon turned into a heavy pour of rain. "What!" 

He started to move backwards to let me enjoy the moment. "You can take this off your wish list then."

I couldn't believe that I was getting wet in the rain. My clothes and hair were getting wet in the pitter patter drops of the rain. I savoured that moment for some time before I moved forward and hugged Caspian. It was the first time I did it, and yes, I did feel safe. "Thank you. So much." 

He put his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder. "You're welcome." He said and we let each other go, smiling at each other as we devoured the moment.

He bowed down to me and put his hand forward. I smirked and gave him my hand. And there we were, dancing in the rain but that time, I didn't look at the ground at all. I was lost in the moment and in his eyes.

We didn't need music either. The sound of the raindrops falling on the ground was more than enough. The last step ended and we stood close to each other in front of the fountain. We stood there for what felt like a million years but thunder struck and broke us apart.

"I don't know what to say." I said as he let me go. I walked backward and sat on the edge of the fountain. I definitely needed time to process what had happened.

"You don't have to say anything." 

As he tried to sit down next to me, his slipped and fell inside the fountain. He splashed water all around and I started laughing but he pulled me in as well. "How's that?" He asked.

I threw water at him and we had a water fight right there. He fell down once again and he pulled me in as well. I threw water at him but both of us calmed down. We were calming our laughter down. "We should not wake anyone up." 

"Shall we head back?" He asked me.

"We shall."

We didn't talk to each other as we made our way back. We brushed our wet hair and smiled whenever we shared a small glance. We also walked at a distance from each other. I definitely needed time to process what had happened. I danced in the rain....with the King of Narnia.

"Good night, Sophie." He said as we reached my room.

"Thank you so much, Caspian." He started to walk away when I stopped him. I walked into my room and picked two towels up. "Hey, wait!" When he turned around, I threw one of the towels at him, which he caught very gracefully. "It's the least I could do." I shrugged.

He nodded. "Goodnight."

The next morning, Caspian didn't show up for breakfast and neither did the Professor. When I walked into the kitchen, everyone was busy with work and I found Evelyn boiling water. "Good morning, Evelyn." I wished her. "Where is everyone?" I asked, wondering what was happened.

"The King has fallen sick, Sophie. I'm making him an ointment right now. He is down with a bad throat pain." 

"What?" My heart stopped for a second. Oh no. I ran out of there immediately and made my way to Caspian's room. Oh Saints. My heart was beating out of my chest. Caspian had fallen sick....and it was because of me.

Nina walked out just as I was about to knock on the door. "Oh, Sophie!" She hadn't been expecting me there.

"Is he okay? I heard that he had fallen sick."

"He's down with throat pain. But he is so stubborn!" She complained. "He's not letting anyone help him."

"Where's the Professor?"

"The Professor has gone out. Did he not tell you?"

"What? He didn't." I answered after my bewildered reply. I couldn't believe that he had left without telling me but I knew that it must have been important and that he must have had his reasons for it.

"I'll just bring some hot water for the poor boy." She said before hurrying off down the stairs.

I wasn't sure what to do but I went with my instincts. I opened the door and tip-toed inside, finding Caspian lying on his bed with a wet cloth on his forehead. "Nina?" He called out in a weak voice.

"It's Sophie." I said as I walked closer to him. I pulled a chair from his study table and sat next to him. "So. You caught a cold."

He looked miserable. His upright hair was now all droopy and he was pale. He had the quilt wrapped around him. I had a feeling that he was going through shivers as well. "I did." He tried laughing, but he ended up coughing.

"Why did you come down with me?"

"Your wish...." 

"Don't talk." I touched his forehead with the back of my head. "Woah! You're burning up a little bit." 

"I'm....not...."

"Ssh. My wish was not more important than your health, Caspian." 

"It was. It is." He whispered and both of us looked at each other, silent for a few seconds. We didn't know what to say. "Go." He ordered after sometime.

"Not a chance."

"I don't want you to fall sick as well!" He coughed.

That was when Nina entered the room and practically pushed me out. "Sophie, we'll take care of him." She closed the door behind her as she let me out of the room.

"I can't leave him alone!" 

"Don't worry about him. You go down for your practice."

"With Trumpkin?" I confirmed with her and then went down to the stables.

I felt so guilty. Caspian was lying sick in bed because of me and with the ball coming up, I couldn't stop the guilt from eating me up. "Sophie, hey!" Trumpkin clicked his fingers in front of my eyes. "I said let's have a duel." He said once again.

"Sorry." I stood up from the floor. I needed to focus. I couldn't have Trumpkin make fun of me.

He brushed his blades against each other as I felt him stare at me while I picked my sword up. "Are you okay?" 

"I am." I nodded. "Let's have the duel." I said but Trumpkin started attacking me before itself.

"En guard!" He picked his sword up and started his attack.