000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

Epilogue

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

Perfect timing really. I leave tomorrow for university.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed Chapter 52. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to reply like I have been these last several chapters...

I have loved every moment of writing. I don't know how to explain how honored and grateful I am to have you reading this. Thank you. Just... thank you.

REVIEW. Let's have Royal Findings go out with a HUGE bang! WOO!

If you read the books, you will understand this ending.

Now enjoy:

.

.

.

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

.

.

.

Four years.

Four whole years had passed since that day. Duke could believe how quickly time had flown by. It only seemed like yesterday he had held her in his arms. As pathetic as it may sound, he still could smell the scent of her hair... the soft touch of her skin... the sparks of passion in her eyes.

Duke sighed deeply as he knocked on the wooden door. He only had to wait a few seconds before a smiling woman opened the door and hugged him.

"It's good to see you," Mrs. Steen said shakily. She was always an emotional wreck on this day. Duke winced slightly when he felt the woman's body tremble slightly as she began to cry.

He gently rubbed her back. In a soft voice he murmured, "I miss her too."

Mrs. Steen stepped away and back into the hallway of her home. Sheepishly, she wiped at her eyes, "Oh! Look at me! Come on in, sorry dear, I didn't mean to cry on you."

"It's alright," Duke said sincerely. A lot had changed in the past fours years, including himself. He'd matured and grew... But this house hadn't changed he'd noticed. They walked down the hallway into the kitchen. Duke knew this house intimately and scanned the familiar family photos on the wall. On either side of him, pictures of her surrounded him. Her striking smile sent butterflies into his stomach and bright eyes made his stomach clench. Ignoring these feelings, he spoke cheerily, "I brought some milk over. Mr. Steen said you'd needed some when we talked yesterday."

"When will you call us by our first names?" Mr. Steen closed the refridgerator to hug the young man. "You're family Duke, you're like a son."

"Don't let Dopey hear that," Duke laughed. "I swear, that dog thinks I'm replacing him in your hearts or something."

"Look at him," Mrs. Steen elbowed her husband. "Duke! You're so handsome, when did you grow up?"

"Not sure," Duke replied, accustomed to their affection and comments. Opening the fridge, he placed the carton of milk inside. "Has Alyssa arrived?"

"She's waiting for Will at the airport and they'll catch a taxi together," Mr. Steen answered. "Honestly, she should have just had us pick them up! That stubborn woman!"

"She's probably just excited to see Will again," Duke spoke as the three of them moved into the living room. Falling onto his normal spot on the couch, Duke kicked off his shoes. "He had a business trip to Scotland again. She's missed him these past two weeks."

"Well, I'm sure law school keeps her busy," Mrs. Steen mused. "Have they set a wedding date?"

"Not yet."

A comfortable silence fell. Then, Mr. Steen motioned towards the laptop on the table. "I watched her videos this morning."

Duke nodded, not surprised by this. Ever since the Steens had learned that their youngest daughter wasn't coming home, they'd become obsessed with the laptop videos. For hours they could sit and watch their child speak, laugh, and cry as she relayed her adventures in Narnia. It had been a blessing that she had possessed the sense to record herself all those years ago.

"Have you had any word back from the detective?" Duke questioned the man whom he had grown to view as a second father.

Mr. Steen gave his wife an uneasy look, "Erm, yes. We heard back a few days ago, but wanted to wait until you were back in town for today to tell you. We wanted to tell you in person."

"He found her?" Duke blinked.

Mrs. Steen nodded and her voice cracked as she spoke, "Y-Yes... He found Kay."

Several months ago, Duke had grown tired of waiting for Kayla to visit and so suggested that they look for her. Everyone had waited eagerly for any word from her. She would be elderly and old by now, but they didn't care. No one cared about her age. But as the days turned into weeks... months... years it had become clear that Kay wasn't going to write or visit.

Which meant something was wrong. Kayla would have reached out, of this Duke was positive. She loved her family and friends. She knew that he loved her. She wouldn't keep quiet, not when they were only across the ocean! But they'd heard nothing. And so, the Steens had hired a detective, Mr. Henderson, to look for any records regarded a British citizen in the 40's named Makayla Pevensie.

"Well?" Duke clasped his hands anxiously, "What'd he find?"

"She..." Mrs. Steen took a deep breath to steady herself, "Died."

Duke's world came crashing down. "W-What?"

"In a train crash," Kayla's father spoke quietly. "It was a freak accident but... it's strange. They all died, many years ago."

"Who?" Duke's voice had gone hoarse and his head hurt. Dead? How could she be dead?

"Everyone," The elder man whispered. "They were all on the train. Kay, Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan, Vicern, and even their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie! They were in different compartments, Henderson found an old newspaper clip about it. The papers wrote it as a tragic accident and how it appeared that a group of relatives had died without knowing they were all on the same train."

"Some cousin named Eustace was with them," Mrs. Steen added dismally. "They all died."

"I-It..." Duke fumbled for words. "That has to mean something. There's no way they'd all end up on the train like that. Aslan! Aslan had something to do with it!"

"Duke," Mr. Steen stared at the young man. "There's something else."

"What?" Duke let his head fall, "What else could there possibly be?"

"Kay and Peter... had a child."

Before Duke could reply, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," He muttered, anxious to get away from the room. It seemed like that all bad or crazy news came in that room. In the hallway, Duke thumped his head against the wall in frustration.

She had been a mother.

His childish, fun friend had become a mother. She had transformed into a woman. She had grown up... without him. Forcing himself to calm down, Duke walked to the front door and opened it.

"Alyssa, you're not going to believe this..." Duke frowned at the young woman who stood on the front porch. "You're not Alyssa."

The stranger was beautiful. In the last moments of sunlight, her brown hair shined and light skin glowed. But it was the young woman's eyes that sealed his fate. The unmistakable blue eyes of Kayla stared at him.

Before he knew it, a smile had crept onto his face. The delusion that Kayla had returned came to him. But then, he realized, that couldn't be true. No, this was someone new... And suddenly, the charming and slick Duke felt nervous. His heart began to beat rapidly with anxiety.

"Erm, hello." The woman laughed awkwardly.

Alarmed at his unusual reaction- Duke didn't lose his cool to pretty girls- he snapped, "Who the hell are you?"

"Uh... I do apologize, but may I come in?"

She was British.

"Did Henderson hire you?" Duke growled. "Is this his idea of a joke? It's sick! Can't he leave the memory of dead girl alone? Does he find hiring a look-a-like funny?"

"Pardon me?" The girl frowned.

"Duke?" Mrs. Steen appeared at his side and gasped when she saw the young lady. "Oh! W-Who...?"

"Duke Steelings?" The stranger questioned, sounding excited.

"Yeah, who's asking?"

"I'm Amy Pevensie," The young woman replied, a bit more shyly now. "And I have a letter here, written by my grandmother back in the 50's. I found it up in the attic, it's addressed to you."

"Huh?" Duke said stupidly.

"Come in," Mrs. Steen shoved the stunned young man to the side and ushered the stranger inside. "Amy is it?"

"Yes, who are-"

"Mrs. Steen and this is my husband. Can we see this letter? Please?"

"Sure," Amy withdrew an old and wrinkled letter from her coat pocket. She held it out to the older woman, but Duke snatched it out of her hands.

"You said it's addressed to me right?" He muttered. "This is ridiculous, it has to be a joke."

Awkwardly, Amy sat down on the couch. "I know it sounds nuts... But I swear, I was cleaning out my mother's attic, she's not feeling too well at the moment, and I came across this box. It was a box full of pictures of my grandmother and grandfather. I even sound some baby pictures of dad, but then I found some letters. One was addressed to 'A living Pevensie descendant' and so I opened it."

Duke gave the foreigner a doubtful look before glancing at the envelope. He froze.

It was her handwriting.

Struck dumb, he could only listen to Amy ramble on, "And well... I know it's going to sound insane, but I'm telling you, the letter had instructions. Erm, I was given your address and told to deliver some letters to named people. It's bonkers isn't it? I mean, how could my grandmother know about you? She died decades ago! Before any of us were born!"

"Amy?" Mrs. Steen's voice quivered, "What was your grandmother's name?"

"Makayla Pevensie."

"Duke," Mr. Steen rapidly stood up and eyed the envelope. His voice was so full of hope. "It's from her, read it."

With trembling fingers, Duke opened the envelope and began to read...

To my dear friend Duke,

The most horrifying thing happened last night. I saw Tervian in my dreams last night, something that's rather normal... It appears that magic isn't limited to just the world of Narnia. Since I've kept my magic, even after leaving Narnia, I've remained connected to the dragons. I could feel their fires... I could always feel their life and power. Tervian visits me when I sleep, sometimes Redwens joins him. It has been wonderful to keep in touch with my friends, they tell me stories about Narnia. (You should know that Ed, Lucy, and their cousin Eustice went back into Narnia.)

Well, Tervian had a message from Aslan. Duke... I'm going to die. I don't know when exactly or how, but it will be soon. And so, I won't be able to meet you in person again, at least not in this life. Perhaps that is for the best, because I wouldn't want you to see me old and wrinkly anyways.

I don't have much time, I need to write my parents and sister too. Look, I'm hoping that this letter finds you. A family friend is going to raise my son, yes I'm a mother, and I'm going to leave instructions for them to deliver this to you in the future. Aslan, I hope this works.

Take care of my son and any children he may have. Tell them the truth... Tell them everything. About Narnia, about my family, about our school days. Let them know who Peter and I were. Don't let us be forgotten by our own blood.

I will see you, when your time comes. I will be waiting for you in Aslan's country... We'll all be waiting for you.

Love,

Kayla

Duke hadn't realized that he had been crying until Amy's hand gingerly touched his face. Her face was pale, taken aback by the words she'd just heard, but her eyes still held strength. "A-Are you okay?"

And when the touch of her fingers sent fire through his veins, Duke smiled. Kayla had been right. He would fall in love.

The End.

.

.

.

000000000000oooooooooooooo0000000000000000

.

.

.

Authors Note:

Right, I didn't make the train crash up. That's how the Narnian book series end. Everyone basically dies and they all go to heaven which turns out to be Aslan's country. Just wanted to clear that up. THANK YOU for reading my work! And I am so honored that you made it to the very end. Yes, I'm afraid this is the end. I have no plans to write another sequel, considering my main character is dead... haha. I hope you always remember Kay!