A/N: Here it is! Finished at last :) I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. Thank you very, very, very much for all the reviews. I truly love hearing from you. :P Till the next story!

Epilogue: Eternity

Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Chronicles of Narnia don't belong to me (sadly). Credit goes to those who do.

The high king went home late that day. He felt the change in the air. Lucy and Edmund had gone to Narnia and back without anyone on earth being the wiser. Though he had accepted that he was never going back and was coping quite well, that night he just didn't want to hear the stories yet. He could hide the hurt better in the morning.

Peter walked to his room slowly, passing by Lucy's room and listening through a small crack in the door for her even breathing. He paused at the door of the room beside it and wondered if he should open it. This was the one thing that could not wait till the next day, he had to know. With a deep breath, he opened the door to Susan's room and found it empty. He sighed with relief and closed the door behind him. The queen had succeeded.

He fell asleep quite easily, giving in to the dreams that would stay with him for the rest of his life. But before his eyes were shut he heard a familiar deep voice.

"I give you a glimpse, son of Adam, of the sister whose love has triumphed over fate at last. Peter, though I could not bring you there, at least let me show you that Susan is truly happy. Rest easy, dear one."

Peter watched the bright blue sky frame the Dawn Treader as the scene unfolded before him. Aslan stood before the small crowd and spoke to them of a love so epic that it seemed to be the beginnings of a legend. But it was as real as anything as the people who lived through it stood before them—face to face, hand in hand. Their vows were blessed and made enduring by Aslan's roar. In his mind, he gave away Susan the way he wanted to if he could be physically there. Peter entrusted his sister to the only man worthy of such a woman.

As dreams usually are, his vision shifted out of focus until he saw himself in the middle of the Great Hall in Cair Paravel, the sounds of childish giggles filled his ears. Two children crossed his path, a little girl and a boy not much older than the other.

"Rilian!" said someone who seemed to be the nanny in charge of chasing after the two.

The little boy with a mop of brown curls and chocolate eyes turned around and laughed before running towards the thrones at the head of the room. His sister was the one who paused, a look of playful mischievousness crossing her angelic face, her blue eyes bright from running around with her brother.

"Come on Helen! Faster! Nanny will catch us!" the young boy urged his sister.

Peter stood in awe of them. It was like seeing Susan as a child again and maybe this was what Caspian looked like when he was young. Without a doubt, these children were not lacking love and attention.

Their nanny placed a hand on a pillar to steady herself, panting in exhaustion. A hand touched her gently on the shoulder. Susan smiled at the nanny and waved her off.

"We can take it from here," she said as her husband was already crouched low; ready to surprise the unsuspecting children hiding behind the throne of their Uncle Peter.

Susan and Caspian exchanged looks as they carried out their simple plan.

"Children, where are you?" Susan said loudly pretending to look for them. This caused the two toddlers to giggle thinking they had succeeded in the little game they made up.

"Well, I guess I'll try the bedrooms," the queen said in a bored voice as she pretended to walk away. In the same moment, Caspian sprung on the children, grabbing one in each arm and spinning them around. A chorus of laughter erupted in the Great Hall, echoing in every corner of the room. Susan joined Caspian and took little Rilian from him.

"Mother, can you tell us the story again, the one about the magical horn and the return of the kings and queens of old?" Rilian pleaded, his sister nodded along even as her head rested on her father's shoulder.

"Only if you let nanny prepare you for bedtime, then your father and I will tell the story just the way you want it." Susan said touching the tip of his nose

More images and laughter filled Peter's mind just before he woke up to Lucy jumping on his bed excitedly, eager to tell him their adventures in Narnia. The moment his head left his pillow he forgot everything save for knowing with certainty that Susan was happily married. He listened to Lucy and Edmund's tales that morning, laughing when it was called for and looking grim when the story turned dark.

It wasn't long after, when he was listening again. Only this time Peter's ears were filled with the horrifying symphony of twisting metal and screams of terror. The train wasn't doing what it was supposed to. He waited for the pain that never came as he attempted to shield his family.

Peter opened his eyes to a brand new world noticing everything was sharply focused and bright. It was a world he had never seen before, complete with faces of the past that made him realize that this was not merely a visit but a return home. Aslan's country was filled with all the good things from Narnia and all of it he ignored as he searched for the faces in a dream long forgotten.

His eyesight followed Lucy as she sprinted towards a family not far away. Peter followed and saw a young man, an older version of an image returning in his mind from a dream long forgotten. Beside him was his sister, a magnificent young lady who smiled at him and curtseyed gracefully. Finally, the faces of the sister and brother he had not seen for so long. Caspian reached out and gave him a brotherly hug, followed by Susan who held on longer as she convinced herself it was real.

A horn sounded in the distance, calling one and all to a great assembly. People moved towards the hilltop where the great lion stood. Susan lagged behind a little as she savored the moment that finally her family was complete and would stay that way for an eternity to come. Lost in thought, she did not realize Caspian had stopped walking and faced her.

"Susan?" he asked

She smiled as he called her name and took his hand to walk with him. If her heart still needed to beat, it would still skip whenever he said it. For even with forever stretched out before them, her name on his lips still told her something more powerful than 'I love you'.

-fin