xxiv

Ophelia rushed into the castle, shutting the door to the garden behind her. She pressed a hand to her lower stomach and bent down slightly, closing her eyes and gulping in some air. Two guards were walking past when they noticed Ophelia.

"Are you alright, your highness?" They rushed over and made sure Ophelia was alright. She nodded and held up her hand. "Put two guards at every entrance of the castle. Please." Ophelia said, pushing off the door and rushing up the staircase into Abraxas' study, where Caspian was sitting behind the desk and was shuffling through some pages slowly.

"Yuki has a kitsune on her side." Ophelia announced, causing Caspian to jump. "What do you mean, Darling?" Caspian asked, turning and getting up from the chair. He walked around the desk and pulled Ophelia into a hug.

"She just came out of nowhere. She told me that Yuki had recruited her because I killed Perseus." Ophelia breathed out, nuzzling her face into Caspian's chest.

"What's her name?" Caspian asked, turning and moving to write the name down. "She said her name was Aisling." Ophelia answered, watching as Caspian scrawled the name onto a paper.

"I'll look into her. She's a demon so she should be somewhere in the books," Caspian walked around the desk once again and kissed Ophelia's forehead. "I'll keep you safe." Ophelia nodded, blinking slowly.

"Why can't we just get a break?" Ophelia whined, turning her back towards Caspian, running her hands through her hair. "We will one day. I promise." Caspian reaches over and grabs her elbow lightly.

"We will one day."

---

Sleep didn't come easily for Ophelia. She continued to toss and turn, sighing once she realized that nothing she was doing wasn't working.

"Are you kidding me?" Ophelia grunted and flung the duvet covers from her body. She got up from the bed and walked to her closet and grabbed her robe. She wrapped it around her body and walked towards her door and gripped the cool handle.

She turned it and pulled the door open, and stepped into the hallway. She immediately headed towards the library, knowing that Caspian would be there trying to figure out who Aisling was.

Ophelia passed multiple shadows, jumping at every slight noise, and any trick of her mind made her heart race. She heard a loud bang, causing her to release a scream and start running towards the library.

She reached for the handle of the library when someone wrapped their hands around her waist and spun her around.

"Ophelia, Darling, are you okay?" Caspian asked, face pinching in concern. Ophelia breathed in a deep breath and hugged him tightly.

"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to come help you figure more out about Aisling but... my mind's just playing tricks on me." Ophelia shook her head and rubbed her hands over her face.

Caspian grabbed her hands and brought them away from her face, bending down to become eye-level with her. "It happens, my love." Caspian kissed her nose and reached around her, twisting the handle on the door and pushed it open.

Ophelia turned around, adjusted her robe and stepped into the library, holding her head up. Caspian breathed out a chuckle, shaking his head before following her through the library.

"Sit there, I'll bring some books to look through." Caspian gestured to a chair near the front of the aisle. Ophelia turned and looked at the chair before shaking her head. "I'm coming with you."

Caspian shook his head and turned, walking down the aisle as Ophelia followed behind him. She held onto the back of his cape, not wanting to get too far from him.

Caspian stopped, causing Ophelia to bump into his back. He reached around and steadied her. "Are you okay, Darling?" Caspian asked, smiling to himself. "Yes." Ophelia answered, stepping back a little bit.

Caspian turned around and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Ophelia nodded. "I'm not some fragile little princess."

Caspian smirked and turned back, gazing through the multitude of different titles. "Here's one, darling." Caspian said, pulling a book off of the shelf, handing it to Ophelia. She turned the book and looked at the title. "Japanese mythology is a good way to go."

Ophelia smiled up at him, and gestured for Caspian to follow her back to the table. "Let's just start with this one. Okay?" Ophelia closed one eye and did the 'ok' symbol with her fingers.

Caspian nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He followed as Ophelia walked to the chair and waited for Caspian to sit down before taking her place on his lap. He chuckled and opened the book, flipping through some pages until he stopped on the page with a kitsune drawn in a seductive pose.

"This is going to be a long night." Caspian sighed, wrapping an arm around Ophelia.

---

It was well past 4 AM when Caspian was finally getting tired. Ophelia had fallen asleep a few hours before. His eyes were getting tired, hurting from the multitude of reading he had been doing.

Caspian closed the book and sat it on the side table to the right of the chair. He hooked an arm underneath Ophelia's legs and supported her back with the other and stood up, heading out of the library.

Caspian walked slowly through the hallways, careful not to move Ophelia too much to wake her up. He carefully walked up the stairs, going slower than his already-slow speed and walked around the few corners before using his elbow to open her door.

He backed into her room and turned, moving to walk to set Ophelia onto her bed. Caspian gently set Ophelia down onto her bed and turned to leave.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, slowly raising her eyelids to look at him.

"Stay with me?" Ophelia asked, gently tugging on his arm. Caspian sighed before moving to bend down and kiss her temple. "Are you sure you want me to?"

Ophelia nodded her head and closed her eyes again. "Please."

Caspian bit his lip before softly telling her to scoot over. He sat down on the side of her bed and unlaced his shoes and took off his cape before laying down onto the bed.

Ophelia immediately buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around Caspian's midsection tightly. Caspian hugged her closer and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest for a few hours.