Chapter 13
Peter looked at the company and saw that all were curious to know. "I'm not really sure how it began," he said. "It may have been when you and Lucy put me on the train, Edmund. I didn't like the idea of being packed up and shipped off. Or it may have been later, when Polly came and she told me I didn't seem like a king at all, much less High King of Narnia. It may have been earlier too, when Lucy told me I was a king still, and when I saw her unshakeable faith in what had happened to us.
"Wherever it began, things began to reach their end after I tamed the horse. We went riding together, and it rained, and I prayed to Aslan. We went riding again, and this time the sun shone on me and I remembered that Aslan had told me—told us all—'Once a King or Queen in Narnia, always a King or Queen in Narnia,' but he also gave us the commandment to 'bear it well.' And Edmund had reminded me that I said I could bear it the last time I was in Narnia, that I could even bear leaving.
"But I haven't. I have been blessed enough to live twice, and I am making a muddle of a glorious second chance. Maybe I'm not called a king here, but that doesn't make this earth less beautiful. And I think that's what Aslan meant—to carry Narnia with you, and to never forget, but never forget to live this life either. Otherwise, what was the point of going at all? I have a feeling Narnia was meant to strengthen us, not reduce kings into petulant boys." Here he smiled at Polly, who winked back.
"Oh, Peter!" Lucy clapped her hands with delight. "That's just how I've always felt!"
"I know you have, Lu. And that's what helped me all along. I saw what would happen if I had faith. And so," here Peter stood, and raised his glass "A toast. To Narnia: a thanksgiving for the miracles Aslan has given us, and a prayer that we may keep them close to our hearts always. For we need Narnia, we need to keep it close to our hearts."
Everyone rose to their feet and cried "To Narnia!" and drank a long draught.
When they had settled in their seats again, the Professor spoke. "Come to that, I must tell you what I brought you here for. Narnia needs us just as well." Everyone grew solemn again waiting for him to speak. "I have had the strangest feeling that something's wrong. I told Peter to wire you all because I feel there must be something we can do. I don't know how—"
He broke off because Lucy, Jill, and Eustace had suddenly jumped to their feet. Jill gave a small cry of surprise. All three of them were staring at the corner of the room in such a way that made the others turn. What they saw made Polly gasp as if someone had thrown a bucked of cold water on her, and the Professor's hand shook so much he swept his glass off the table. The glass made a far-away tinkling sound as it hit the floor.
Peter was staring too, and when he heard the glass shatter he knew it couldn't be a dream because he didn't awaken and the phantom didn't disappear. He found himself staring at a young man, lean and athletic and a couple of years older than himself, who carried himself like a king and wore Narnian clothes. He would have been joyful had the king not looked so distraught and if he had not realize after a moment more that the king was bound. He realized his hand was clenched into a tight fist. Now was the hour he had been waiting for without knowing it.
Peter said in a clear and commanding voice, "Speak, if you're not a phantom or a dream. You have a Narnian look about you, and we are the seven friends of Narnia."
The others were now looking between Peter and the apparition, but Peter's eyes never left the strange king. He could see that this man was trying to get some message to them all, but could say nothing. A voice inside him that was not his own told Peter he knew what to do; he knew who he was and who everyone expected him to be. Peter looked right into his eyes and rose and said in a ringing voice "Shadow or spirit or whatever you are, if you are from Narnia, I charge you in the name of Aslan, speak to me. I am Peter the High King."
Yes, I realize I left everyone on a cliffhanger, but C.S. Lewis himself wrote the rest in "The Last Battle." I personally always find that book really hard to read (emotionally), but still, Peter's journey ends for me in this moment. Plus, his exile's about to end. :)
Incidentally, if anyone out there is thinking I'm trying to pawn C.S. Lewis' magnificent characters off as my own, to that I say "Shpffff." This is story is pure tribute to one of my all-time favorite series. I have actually done my best to keep all references to the books entirely canonical and draw all my characters from how they are portrayed in the books. To that end, I must say that Peter's last two spoken lines verbatim and the details of the very end are taken directly from The Last Battle, pp. 42-23, Collier Books Edition 1970.
To all my faithful readers: many many thanks for your reviews and for sticking with this story until the very end. It took a long time getting there! This story is about twice as long as I thought it would be, but all the encouragement made me very long winded. Just as a point of reference, this is a whopping 44 pages in Word if you put all the chapters together. I'm not exactly known for my brevity, but I am trying a one-shot next. Knowing me, it'll be more than one chapter, but at least it won't be 13. The reviews were all lovely and your kind words mean so much to me. Keep it coming!
- Francie