Hey everyone! Here is the final chapter to this story and I want to give everyone a huge thank you for reading! I had an idea for this story ages ago but it never came to fruition until now. I wasn't even sure I was going to post more than the first chapter, leaving it just a one shot. But readers were so kind and interested in more that I sat down to finish it. So thank you for caring enough to read as each new chapter came!

Please review and tell me what you all think, it means a lot and is helpful to me as a writer. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this epilogue!

In response to Bob: Ahh! You are too kind! Those dream sequences were very difficult to write and I was worried it would be confusing - so thank you for putting me at ease! And thanks for continually reviewing and reading, and for being so gracious and kind! It means so much to me!

It was dim inside the tent as the sun had yet to rise, though many more torches were lit outside, providing just enough light to let Lucy be sure that she was staring at Illnath. She had been right, though she didn't realize to what extent. But with Illnath gone, all of his magic went too, quickly throwing her and her family out his illusion.

Shouts and voices could be heard outside, but she paid them no attention. Lucy's mind was reeling, still trying to catch up from the vision and events she was just dropped out of. Her siblings seemed to be having a much harder time, still catching their own breaths as they had not the experience with magic and mind games that Lucy did. They looked all around, eyes having a difficult time adjusting. But Lucy could see clearly and looked only straight ahead.

Illnath was lying on his back, unmoving. Blood was pooling from his wound, staining his clothes crimson. His neck was bent at an awkward angle. He was so still, except for Lucy's dagger slipping out of his curled fingers, hanging limp.

All four Pevensie's let out a breath they didn't know they were holding, but the eldest three sucked it back in again as Lucy suddenly shot forward.

She quickly kicked Illnath's hand, sending the dagger flying out of reach, then landed on her knees as her siblings ran towards her. Lucy's cold fingers felt Illnath's even colder skin on his neck. There was no pulse. There was no breath, no heartbeat to be found. Her tormentor was truly dead.

Lucy didn't wait to find out if this was just another allusion or vision, she wouldn't allow herself to think like that. She shot up, turning around just as her siblings reached her, and fell straight into Susan. Lucy curled herself into her older sister and released a few tears she hadn't realized had started to blur her eyes. Some were sad tears, more were happy. She was free now, able to start working at moving forward. Allowed to truly learn and remember – to know – what was real. The relief was tangible, but the uncertainty that still tripped her heartbeat stayed, even if in small doses. And while still clinging to her sister, Lucy prayed with all her heart that it would go away.

All that happened after this was a blur. Her family gathered around her, Peter and Edmund clearly a little wary that Illnath wouldn't suddenly spring back to life through magic. But still he laid. Guards ran in then, swords at the ready, huffing about a strong force around the tent that had been keeping them from running in earlier to help, zapping them if they even tried. They talked loudly with Peter, trying to understand what had gone on. Everyone was a little confused, but accepted what information they were given once seeing that their leaders needed them to just accept their words. Illnath's body was then carried out. Lucy barely heard or noticed any of this happening around her. Even hardly taking notice of Ridgecrest working the cuff off of her wrist (though she quickly became fully aware of her chaffed and raw skin exposed once it was fully removed). Camp was loud and full of movement before the sun rose, and even when it had, Lucy barely moved. Her family stayed with her and the four of them just sat together, all working hard at clearing their mind of the left-over confusion that was leaving them just as Illnath had, their thoughts clearing.

Eventually they were all warm again and felt able to nibble at some food. Then their appetites grew and they ate more, and before long they scarfed down as much as was given them, feeling much hungrier than they remember feeling in a long while.

By late morning all four were moving about, taking charge to calm the ruffled and ready to fight Narnian's as word of their leader's entrapment quickly reached everyone. By the afternoon Peter received a message from the leader of one of their scout groups. Something strange had happened in the woods overnight. So, the Pevensie's saddled up and rode out to investigate. What they found was a fairly large home, planted right in the middle of the wood. What was peculiar about that was that the house hadn't been there yesterday. In fact, many soldiers and search parties – even King Edmund himself – had passed right by there in days past before Lucy had escaped. At that time this area looked like nothing but a tangled heap of overgrown trees and gnarled branches. Now it was a very different sight. It was quickly understood that this appearing house was in fact Illnath's Keep.

Lucy stared hard at it upon finding it. Before she even knew of what it truly was, it somehow felt familiar and foreboding, though she had never actually seen the outside of the Keep before. In fact, it was probably a good thing she hadn't, for the outside didn't at all appear as menacing and evil as the inside did.

The house was big, but altogether uneventful. It was a dark gray color and had drooping windows. The front door was wide but fading in color, with an ornate, but rusty knocker and handle. The glass and seals of windows were a little dirty. The whole thing looked like it was being left to slowly fall apart. It was rather sad feeling, actually. A shadow fell over it as the sun was hidden behind a cloud and suddenly it looked like a large, gaping hole in the otherwise cozy forest.

When the question was brought up to the Queen's and King's about what to do about the place, all eyes went to Lucy as the others felt they didn't really deserve a say in the matter.

Lucy didn't meet their gaze, only stared hard ahead towards the place of her misery. A sudden gust of wind shook through the trees violently, making the old wood of the house creak and sending a chill through her, along with a thin string of fear as memories of her time spent inside those walls were brought to the forefront of her mind.

"Burn it." She said quiet and solemnly."Burn it to the ground. There shouldn't be any evidence that such a place ever existed. That such a person ever existed. The master of that house loved allusions and presenting the false as fact. So burn it and let it be as if it were never real to begin with."

With her words the first match was struck and Lucy watched as the flames slowly licked at the old wood. Then another gust of wind came and carried the flames higher and wider, and soon they stretched across the whole of the house. The place now looked like a giant torch as the fire ate away hungrily at the planks, the siding, the door. Windows shattered from the heat and with their noise, Lucy swore she could hear her own screams as memories stuck to her mind. She breathed in a large gulp of air. The smoke burned her throat and nostrils but it was welcoming. It anchored her. She looked up to the blue sky, the sky she wasn't ever allowed to see while locked up, then looked to her family that stood closer to her than they had a moment ago. She had seen them while kept inside that place, but never as they truly were. Not really. Those were memories of the past and false vision produced from magic. They were lies. What was real was the flesh and bone of those beside her. What was real was Now, in that moment. She breathed deep again and pulled her shoudlers back, reminding herself that Illnath would not get the best of her. Thank you, Aslan. Lucy looked back to the burning house, and what she saw made a small smile pick up the side of her lips. The destruction of that vile place and all that happened there was becoming real as the fire burned. And it made Lucy feel free just watching it all come to an end.

The Pevensie's stuck close together for the rest of that day. And when night fell, they ate a warm supper while listening to the flutes and merriment of their people – all of them celebrating the return and safety of their Queen's and King's. And after, when the noise and revelry could no longer keep at bay their nervousness of the night or their heavy eyelids, the Pevensie's slunk back to their tent and tucked warmly and securely under their blankets, each saying a kind or comforting word to one another before closing their eyes.

That night as the camp lay asleep and guards kept a lookout, someone passed by unseen. Velveted paws padded softly and nearly unheard through the grass and past tent after tent. When he reached his destination, a shake of a mane sent a light breeze full of a comforting weight over the four sleeping monarchs. Then warm, life filled breath was breathed upon them.

It was a breath so soft, so healing, it was like they themselves were being released from stone. And though they did not know it, all four Pevensie's relaxed more into their cots and hammocks. Their lungs filled more easily with air that was now sweet and fuller than before. Rest came easy to them in a way they were starting to believe it would no longer.

Aslan's breath gave a peace that surpassed all of their understanding.

It was baffling really, but in a way they wouldn't mind once awake. It wouldn't feel pressing or frustrating to not understand. It just was, and the Pevensie's were okay with that.

As the Great Lion left them to doze, Lucy drifted into a heavier and more restful sleep than she had gotten in ages. Her dreams were sweet and without a single fear or shadow among them. They were all sunlight and warmth and as golden as Aslan's mane. She felt excitement rush through her and a reviving of her bones. When she would awake, she would find herself feeling the same happiness and love of life that she had had before Illnath. She would also find her nightmares long gone and all of her doubts and uncertainties about her family and safety as lost to her as the path back to Spare Oom. She was strengthened, as the fear fled.

This meant a great deal. It meant that Illnath truly had no power any more, because none of the hurt or suffering or pain that he brought upon Lucy or her family was viable any longer. It held no sway over them, caused no more anxiety or dismay or trouble. Lucy still had all of her memories of her time spent with Illnath, but they no longer haunted her. In fact, she rarely ever thought of them after Aslan brought her peace, and when she did, they held no weight. They felt distant and surmountable. The fear was gone and replaced with a peace and acceptance over what had passed, and it made those awful times not seem so awful now.

So much so, that they became forgettable as time went on, a mere speck on the horizon. Because though what she had gone through was real, it did not matter anymore. She was no longer a victim to it. She had overcome, because Aslan had overcome – and come to her. And what did matter, she had with her – her strength, her family, and Aslan. And all that was as honest as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. As meaningful as you and me. And as real as Aslan himself.

Well, there it is! Please review - I love chatting with you all and do my best to respond to everyone! Thanks again, this story means a lot to me and so does the fact that you all have taken the time to read it!

Much Love,

Scarlett