Caspian was grateful that Sophie wasn't angry at him for hiding the truth from her. In his defense, the absence of having never felt the way he felt towards her before changed the way he reacted. But he knew one important detail. Sophie was the only one that he wanted to spend his life with. He had meant that.

Before boarding the ship to leave that morning, Caspian stopped by her room. He had not wanted to startle her or invade her private chambers. All he wanted was to leave behind a note. It was as simple as that. Walking into the room, he noticed that she had taken to decorating it to her liking. She had changed the curtains to a light white shade, a colour that he loved to see her wear. Her belongings lay outside the cupboard in the bag that she always separated from her life in Narnia. She had told him that it was the only reminder she had for a life that she would never go back to.

Placing the blue chryssalius flower from the garden over the letter on the bedside table, he braced himself to look at Sophie. She looked so peaceful while sleeping that he wondered why she worried about showing who she was to him. She was beautiful no matter what. Maybe that was the feeling that he was feeling - the unconditional acceptance of someone that you want to keep safe and protected. 

But maybe it was too early to name it.

He placed a quick kiss on her forehead, knowing that another goodbye from her would break his heart. He stole another glance at her before closing the door and heading down to the port.

Sophie woke up late that morning, staring at the ceiling for a while, unsure of the numbness that she was feeling. She was letting her emotions control her body like Chad had pointed out. And so, she forced herself to get up. She held her forehead and yawned once when her gaze fell upon the letter and the flower.

Frantically, she reached for the letter. Caspian's handwriting was as beautiful as him. It was obsidian italics over ebony paper. It was a simply letter of saying that he would return to her and how she was to rule in his stead. The letter automatically made its way to be pressed against her chest. 

Maybe she was being melodramatic. Maybe she wasn't. But the absence of him was everywhere she looked. The thought of the branch that he promised to bring back to her was the day she would be looking forward to.

Getting ready for that day's lessons, she realised that Trumpkin was the only one who continued to treat her the same way he had before the prophecy was deciphered, which made her grateful to him. Sometimes she wondered whether her life in the Other World was a dream after all, but losing in combat and hearing the dwarf's criticisms kept her sane.

That week, Sophie visited the tower and tried to stay there for as long as possible. To get over the strange emotions she was undergoing, she made a decision to visit the Narnians more often. Everyone was thrilled by this decision of hers because to them, Sophie was the only connection that they had to the original Narnia. The dryads wished her with a crown made of flowers while Thunderride introduced her to everyone. The dryads also taught her how to braid her hair upon her request, which was a tick in the bucket list that she had.

Narnians were different than the people of the kingdom. That was what Sophie felt because once Claire found out that she was the Lost Legacy, the elderly woman had immediately knelt in front of her. 

Sophie hadn't known what to do except sitting on the ground before her and telling her that she was still herself. It was going to take a long time for her to adjust to this particular change but Narnians, on the other hand, were always respectful of people, which didn't make Sophie feel any different than she really was.

But there was one particular change that shocked everyone. 

"I miss Reepicheep," stated Trufflehunter.

"Oh really?" Sophie teased.

"I do! I never thought that I would say so though. He always gets on my nerves but there is no true friend like him. I hope he comes back soon because I can't deal with grumpy old Trumpkin any more than you can."

"Will you two please hurry up?" Pattertwig the squirrel asked, annoyed that his friends were chatting up rather than helping him collect nuts because of the early winter that was coming their way.

"Do you think it will snow?" Sophie asked them, praying that she could experience the first snowfall of the year with Caspian, who should be back before then.

"Oh, it always snows," stated Pattertwig.

"I just hope that we are warm enough during that time," said Trufflehunter. 

"I wish I could spend more time with all of you. But the guards were very particular about me returning as soon as possible." 

Now that Caspian wasn't in Telmar, it only made the guards much more restrictive of Sophie's actions. They had accompanied her even to the lawns but were keeping the distance that they would give the royal that Sophie was slowly becoming. It seemed as they were the ones that she was seeing everywhere she looked. 

One of them was none other than Mr. Zahair's grandson, Sahil Bennett, who was sent with Sophie to take care of Thomas' afternoon medicine. 

After they got the supplies that they needed, they went back to the Dancing Lawn where everyone split the resources among them. It was a sight that moved Sophie because Narnians proved that democracy was the best way of living. No one was superior or inferior in the name of the Narnian law. Suncloud was very mature for his age and was very kind to help out.

Once that was done, Sophie felt someone poke her twice, making her turn around. She almost fell down in the impact, but seeing who it was, she had a smile on her face. "Hello, Wimbleweather!" 

The giant had been wondering how to approach the future Queen of Narnia. Everyone called her a princess but he had always considered her the Queen. She was magic in herself. He could see colours around her and sparks surrounding her. He brought out the lily from the river at the end of the treeline and handed it to her. "For you."

"Aw." Sophie placed a hand over her collarbone, overwhelmed by emotions. "Thank you so much! I'm sorry but I don't have anything to give you. But if you ever do need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Sophie." Glenstorm called for her.

Walking towards a nearby tree out of everyone's earshots, they started talking. "Something is coming our way," she said.

He crossed his arms across his chest, curious how she had the gift of stealing words right out of his mouth. "What makes you think so?"

"There is something in the air. I can't really explain it though. It is very eerie. What do the stars tell you?" He looked hesitant to tell her the truth because she was already going through a big change in her life. How would he be helping her? "Come on. What can you possibly tell me that could make my situation any worse?"

Glenstorm understood her need to lighten the mood. "For the past few nights, the stars have been closer than they usually do. There are very few occurrences like these that have taken place in the past."

"What times were they?" 

If Sophie was being honest with herself, she already knew what the answer was.

"War."

She gasped silently. Only after hearing it from his mouth did she feel the reality of the situation. A chill went down her spine and she blamed it on the changing weather. She couldn't be scared if she was to be a good ruler for Narnia. 

"But there were some stars that meant about peace-"

"Peace is certainly seen but the War is stronger and dominating the pivotal stars."

Sophie thought about how she would tell everyone about this, especially Caspian. They had to be prepared for any kind of attack possible. "Do we know how long?"

"It is closer than we think."

Right then, Pattertwig came along and told her that some Narnians wanted to talk, breaking her away from the conversation with Glenstorm. He wished that he could see her future but that was the most uncertain event that he had ever seen foretold by the stars, which only made him want to keep her safe. He wished he could tell her about it but he was bound to the laws of Starverse to not reveal what was not necessary.

Some of the younger centaurs and nymphs wanted to meet Sophie because they had never met a human girl before. After hearing that she was going to be their queen, their curiosity only increased.

Sophie noticed that they were quite shy around her, which made her kneel down to their eye level and talk to them. "Hello! My name is Sophie."

"Is it true that you are the princess we've been waiting for?" The youngest centaur asked her.

Oh man, she thought. She should have seen that question coming from far off. "Yes, I am." 

As much as the title hurt her, she couldn't blame people for using it. After all, it was her identity in a way.

"Are you our queen, then?" Stormhoof asked her.

"I don't know about that-"

"My father told me that you are the rightful heir to ruling Narnia," stated Mistdrop.

"How do I explain this to you?" They were just kids. How was she supposed to tell them how she felt when she herself was trying to adjust to the entire situation?

Thunderride, who had been cautioned by her uncle Glenstorm about Sophie's fate, overheard the little ambush that the princess was facing and decided to come to her rescue. Sophie could never find out what her role really was because as far as she believe it to be, she and Thunderride were friends. And they were.

But the reality would come out one day.

"King Caspian is our leader, dears," stated Thunderride as she stood by Stormhoof.

"Are you going to get married to him then?" The youngest centaur asked Sophie.

Sophie was taken aback. Her mouth fell open as she fumbled for words. She didn't know what to tell her, being only eighteen-years old, nineteen in a few weeks. She had never thought about marriage at all. Sharing that bond with someone was more a fairytale to her than being in Narnia. She never thought that anyone would want to spend their life with her. It wasn't something that she could see herself do. 

But Narnia changed that. Caspian and Sophie had never talked about it. They had never even told each other that they loved each other, and although it wasn't supposed to be a big deal, Sophie wondered if she could ever say it out loud and make it real. 

Could my life get any more complicated? The answer is yes. A big smack-it-on-your-face 'yes'.

Sophie woke up shivering, feeling very cold even though she had Caspian's quilt wrapped around her. It wasn't the eerie cold that she had been suspecting to come any time, but it was something. Air came out of her mouth when she breathed out as it had in the dream.

She walked towards the window. A clear sunshine met her eyes but when she looked over at the courtyard, her heart giddied up as the little child in her woke up. She hopped in the same place as she struggled to control her excitement while getting ready.

Instead of heading to the kitchen for breakfast, she ran towards the courtyard, jumping up and down. The cold started to make sense. She tried not to trip over her gown or hit anyone on the way as she hurried to open the front door. It took her some time to come to a conclusion that she wasn't dreaming when she walked into the courtyard filled with white. 

"Wow!" 

Snow was really all around her. The water in the fountain was seeming to freeze at every moment. Her feet sunk into the snow beneath her. She bent down and took some in her hand and did not care that she wasn't wearing gloves. She was finally seeing snow.

It was the second time since she had come to Narnia that she wish was fulfilled.

And coincidentally, it was the same courtyard where the first one was fulfilled as well.

Sophie missed Caspian and only wanted him to come back soon. It was very upsetting that he had missed the first snowfall of the year. Right as she was thinking that, a small bark came from nearby, breaking her train of thought. She looked up from the snow and saw a dog came running towards her. She caught the Spaniel as she reached her and started to pet her. "Hey, where did you come from?" 

The dog snuggled against her and kept rubbing her head against Sophie's face in reply.

"Sophie!"

Sophie's breath caught in her chest. She heard the one voice that she had wanted to hear, from the far end of the courtyard. A beautiful greek god, hair as dark as the deepest ocean, was climbing up the steps. The snow could have been playing with her thoughts but this was him. It really was him.

"Caspian!" She ran towards him without worrying about the fact that he might have been tired from the long journey.

"Oh!" He caught her in a deep hug and spun her around. His fingers brushed into her hair as he embraced her after a long month. "Goodness, I missed you!"

"It feels like years!" She said as they broke the hug and held onto each other. "Did you bring her?" She pointed to the dog playing in the snow.

"She's ours," he revealed, putting a loose hair behind her hair.

"I love her." She smiled, her cheeks reddening from the cold....and Caspian.

"I knew you would."

He knelt on the ground and opened the bag that he had brought with him. He started to rummage through it and Sophie knew that it was the perfect time for revenge. She picked a handful of snow up and threw it on his back. "Ha! That is for throwing water at me and for not telling me about you leaving!"

Caspian's mouth fell open in awe, but he threw snow at Sophie and continued the war that started a long time ago. The two started to fight with each other, careful not to throw the snow on each other's eyes. Surprisingly, it was exactly like how it had happened when they had danced in the rain. 

Once again, Sophie's wish got fulfilled.

Both of them fell down and let déjà vu take over. They were laughing as the snow started to wet their dresses. They looked at each other and let out deep breaths. The moment was beautiful, the silence sweet. But the dog barked and jumped on Caspian, snuggling against him. "Oh stop it, you," he said as he stood up, having been facing a lot of snuggling from the dog.

"Let's go in before you catch a cold again." 

"What do you want to name her?" He asked as they made their way to his chambers. "I was thinking that we could maybe merge both our names together."

"That's a great idea!" Sophie started to make some names up and one very beautiful and personal name came to her. "Cassie?" 

"I love it!" He handed the puppy to her and took his bag from her. "It will be like your friend is here with us."

Sophie looked at him, a small smile creeping on her face. She couldn't believe that he remembered Cassie Rajput. "That too." A wave of guilt washed over her, missing her friend more than ever then. Would Cassie and Melody approve of this? Would they even know that Sophie wasn't who she was thinking herself to be?

Caspian glimpsed at a certain sorrow that was clouding Sophie's eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the life that she had to leave to live in Narnia. Even if it had been her choice, leaving all that was known to her couldn't have been an easy choice to make. 

That's when he remembered a promise that he was yet to fulfill. "What if I finish my end of the deal today?"

That lifted Sophie's mood up. "Will you sing for me?"

"It's about time that I did so."

Caspian and Sophie both changed in their respective rooms and decided to meet each other in the Crafts room before lunch. While he took some rest for an hour, Sophie introduced Cassie to Mr. Zahair, Sahil and Thomas in the stables.

"I'll build a kettle for her here," suggested Sahil. "Now that Cassie seems to have grown attached to Thomas."

After leaving Cassie in Mr. Zahair's care, Sophie walked into the crafts room in the castle and found Caspian pacing the room with his hands behind his back. He saw her entering the room and all his worries left him. 

"Nervous?" She asked him.

"Terrified."

Sophie smiled. It was the same thing that she had told him before the Council meeting. "I'm sure you have no reason to." She sat down on one of the seats and rested her face on her hands.

Caspian sat before the piano, staring at the keys and then looked up to her looking at him with eager eyes. "It's going to be hard with you staring at me like that."

She scowled at him. "What about all the times you've stared at me!"

"You know about that." He looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"Of course I knew." She laughed. "You're not the only one who stole secret glances." He seemed to blush at that. Both of them did. "Okay, I'll close my eyes now."

And once she did, he started to sing. For Sophie, it was the most beautiful voice that she had ever heard. The Professor had undermined Caspian's talent when he said that he was good at singing, because it was like listening to angels themselves. Caspian sang one of the Narnian lullabies and Sophie secretly opened my eyes to watch him. He was enjoying it because he had his eyes closed, and it was hard for her to not admire him. From where she was sitting, she felt as though she was in an orchestra room or a music hall, filled with people who had assembled there only to hear one person sing.

After Caspian finished, Sophie started clapping as she stood up and hugged him from the behind. "That.....was brilliant!" She placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do! Are you kidding me? I've never heard anyone sing so beautifully before."

The weight on Caspian's chest released as he stood up before her. He looked down into her doe eyes and stroked her face with the back of his hand. How had he gotten so lucky? "I've completed my end of the deal."

It was the perfect day in a long time.