15

I stared at the brush on the vanity, just staring and staring, mentally debating whether or not I should brush my hair with it again. That would have made 7 times in the past thirty minutes, and there's not a whole lot of hair to brush! I sighed to myself in aggravation, knowing I was only doing this because I was bored. What I should be doing, is going out the door, finding Caspian, and tell him what's going to happen. If I did that, though, I would have to see his face, and watch as every part of it turns into a face of sorrow, or depression, or heartbreak.

…

I picked up the brush and started brushing my hair, yet again. I felt complete relief when there was a knock at my door. I put the brush down and turned to the door.

"Door's open." I said, I smiled when I saw Susan and Lucy coming in, "Hi guys."

"Hi, Queen Maxine." Lucy said with an excited smile.

"I'm not queen yet." I said.

"No, but you will be." Susan said, "Are you excited?"

"More like nervous." I said, "I've done nothing but brush my hair for the past half hour."

"Have you done anything else with it?" Susan asked, I shook my head.

"I wasn't exactly planning on it." I said, "I mean," I fingered one of my short locks of hair, "What is there to do with it? It's too short for anything." Susan scoffed.

"Clearly, you've never been to a proper stylist." She said, she walked over to the vanity and began rummaging through it, pulling out various things. Some hair clips, some oddly shaped brushes, even a metal rod and a thick-looking glove; and I was surprised when she reached into her pocket and took out some bobby pins. She put away the metal rod and the glove, "We only have an hour before your coronation, so we don't have any time to curl your hair." That stuff was for curling hair? I'd hate to see what they'd use to straighten it. She made me sit still as she combed some of my bangs back, and made it stay there with the bobby pins, "You're lucky I decided to hang onto these when I changed out of my other clothes. You never know when they come in handy."

"Apparently." I said with a smile as she kept working on my hair.

"So, Max…" Lucy said, hopping up on the vanity, "Who do you plan to dance with?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"For your coronation ball." Susan explained, "You need to share the first dance with someone. It's what's expected of you."

"Oh, joy." I muttered, "That would have been nice to know an hour ago!" Lucy laughed when Susan put her hands on my head, telling me not to move, "That way I could have been more prepared to dance with some stranger."

"You can dance with anyone you want." Susan said, as she began fluffing up the hair on the back of my head.

"Like Caspian." Lucy said slyly.

"Be quiet." I said, the two girls laughed, "Maybe I don't want to have the first dance with Caspian, okay?"

"Well, who else would you dance with?" Lucy asked, I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said, "What about your brothers? What about Edmund?"

"Edmund has two left feet." Susan said, pinning my hair out of my eyes so it rest stylishly to the side of my face.

"Peter, then." I said.

"Peter's a pretty decent dancer." Susan said, she smiled and stepped back from me, "There. Now you're ready to be queen." I was pleased to see that she had pinned back my bangs to a point where it was comfortable, and I didn't have to move my hair out of my face just to see. I smiled up at her.

"Thanks." I said, she smiled back and I got up from my chair, "Got any methods on how to cure nervousness?"

"Oh, don't worry, Max." Susan said, "The ceremony will be over before you know it."

Susan was right. The ceremony was a lot faster than I thought it would be. It was basically just me and Caspian walking down an aisle and kneeling down while Aslan gave a small speech, then he had Glenstorm put Caspian's crown on his head, and Tristae put a silver, smaller crown that looked more like a tiara on my head. We stood up and Aslan presented us for the first time as "King Caspian X and Queen Maxine the Strong." The crowd applauded and cheered, and then the music started up. It was time for dancing and fun stuff. Before Caspian could ask me to dance, Peter came up to me (Because Susan had pushed him up) and asked me to dance. I said yes and followed him out onto the floor. The dancing wasn't quite as informal as the dance around the bonfire, but it was still nice.

"So, Your Highness," Peter said with a smile, "What's the first thing you plan on doing as Queen?"

"I have absolutely no idea." I said with a laugh. As we went around the dance floor, I saw Caspian waltzing with Lucy, and smiled gently at the sight. Peter laughed with me and he twirled me around.

"Well, why don't you start with working on your kingdom's problems," Peter said, "And see what happens from there?"

"Nah, I'm too lazy to do that right away." I said, "First, we finish having fun, then we get down to brass tacks."

"Agreed." Peter said, twirling me again, "By the way, Max," I looked up at him, "I've been meaning to ask you about how you came up with that brilliant plan to cave in the ground on the battlefield."

"Wasn't that hard to come up with." I said with a shrug, "I mean, we used the land to our advantage against you guys back in 1776. I figured someone must've come up the idea to cave in the ground below the English's feet." Peter looked at me confusedly.

"Max, what are you talking about?" He asked.

"The war for independence back in the 1770's!" I said, "You know, Americans versus English?"

"Wait, Max," Peter said, "Are you from our world?" Oh, right. I guess that topic never really came up in conversation.

"Yeah, I'm American." I said. Peter smiled.

"That's fantastic! All this time, we thought you were from Narnia, but you're really an American!" He said, "That means we can contact you when all this is over! Do you still live in America?"

"Yeah, I'm betting you live somewhere in England." I said, "We can't exactly visit each other, Pete. We could call each other, though. What's your phone number?"

"Oh, well, actually," Peter said, "We were being sent off to boarding school before we came to Narnia, and the phones are for teacher use only, unless it's an emergency."

"Oh." I said, "Well, what about your e-mail address? They let you use laptops at your school, right?"

"What?" Peter said, wrinkling his nose in confusion, "Laptops? What are you talking about?"

"Laptops! You know, computers?" I said with a grin. Peter still looked confused.

"Max, I have no idea what you're talking about." Peter said, I frowned.

"What, were you raised Amish style or something?" I asked, Peter shook his head.

"No, we were raised like any other Londoner." Peter said, "Or, well, we haven't always been in London. There was that time we had to stay at Professor Kirke's to avoid the war." England was at war?

"What war?" I asked, Peter laughed.

"You know very well what war." He said, "The blitz was just last year." Blitz? Wait… He couldn't be talking about what I think he's talking about, could he?

"Peter," I began, "What year is it where you're from?"

"1941." Peter said, his tone suggesting that it was obvious, "Why?"

I stopped dancing, looking up at Peter in shock, "Peter, that's freaking World War II! That was over seventy years ago!"

"What are you talking about?" Peter said, he stopped, and the comprehension began to dawn on him when he saw my face, "What year is where you're from?"

"2011." I said. Peter gaped at me.

"Two thousand what?" He exclaimed, "How is that possible?"

"I don't know!" I said. What kind of time schedule was Narnia on? Peter couldn't be any older than me, but according to the facts, he should have been old enough to be grandfather! Yet, here he is, standing in front of me, a weirded out, unwrinkled, healthy teenage boy.

"Is something wrong?" Edmund asked, coming up to us when he saw that we had stopped dancing.

"She's from the future!" Peter said, pointing at me.

"You're from the past!" I countered.

"What are you talking about?" Edmund asked.

"You're from 1941, right?" I said, Edmund nodded, "I'm from the year 2011!"

"You mean you're not from Narnia?" Edmund asked. I slapped my head in my hand.

"No, you moron, focus!" I said, "Doesn't this freak you out?"

"Well, yes, a little bit." Edmund said, "But how is that possible?"

"We've been trying to figure that out!" Peter said.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, coming up beside me.

"She's from the future!" Both boys said, pointing at me.

"Again, you're from the past." I said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"You guys are from 1941, and I'm from 2011." I explained.

"Oh." Lucy said, blinking, "Then why are you all freaking out about it?"

"Because she's… from the future!" Edmund spluttered out.

"So?" Lucy asked, "You know that Narnian time doesn't work the same as our time. It's a completely different flow. It just happens that it's the same time in Narnia for all of us, that's all. I mean, you could have stepped out of Narnia, and then stepped back in, and a hundred years could have passed. So why can't someone from our future be here at the same time we are?" I am never going to get over how smart this kid is.

"It does make sense, I suppose." Peter said.

"Yeah," I held up my hand to Lucy, "Very nicely said, Lucy." She smiled and gave me a high-five. It was right then I realized she wasn't dancing with Caspian, and any minute now, he might want to dance with me. "Um, Ed! Since we got all that future-past stuff out of the way, do you wanna dance?"

"Uh—"

"Great!" I said, taking his hands and began dancing with him. I didn't want to give Caspian the chance to ask me to dance. We would start talking, and it might lead to me explaining that I won't be sticking around tomorrow.

"What was that all about?" Edmund asked.

"It's complicated." I said.

"I suppose that's another way of saying, 'Don't ask?'" I nodded my head, "Fine then, I won't ask about that. I have so many questions about the future, though!" Susan was totally wrong about her brother, if Edmund was leading, he didn't have two left feet.

"I'm not going to tell you any answers." I said.

"Why not?" Edmund asked.

"Because, there's this theory called the butterfly effect," I began, "It basically says that doing something in the past that's not supposed to happen, causes the future to be drastically altered."

"Well, then I only have one question, then," Edmund said, "Do the Germans win the war?" I snorted.

"Please, do I look like a Nazi-loving, non-Aryan hating bitch?" I asked with a smirk. Edmund smiled.

"I suppose not." He said.

As the night wore on, I danced with a few others. Some satyrs, some fauns, a minotaur, I even danced with Corrin when I found his head sticking out from the crowd. When I was all danced out, but I still didn't want Caspian to find me, I slipped out of the ballroom and outside onto the balcony. I saw some stairs leading down into the courtyard, and I took them. There were some flowers poking out here and there, but not quite as many as the gardens. I found the stone bench I had sat on earlier that day, and I sat on it again, looking up at the starry sky, still full of constellations I didn't recognize. I remembered that day with Caspian, and sighed sadly. That seemed like such a long time ago, when in actuality, it was only about a week and a half. I rested my head in my hands and looked down at the ground. How was I going to tell Caspian that I was leaving? It wasn't exactly good news, so neither of us would be happy about it, but I didn't want to see his face when I told it to him either.

"Maxine?" His voice came so softly that it didn't surprise me. I looked up and saw Caspian standing a few feet away from me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I said, sitting up straight, "I'm fine." Caspian came over next to me and sat down. I felt my heartbeat pick up in just the slightest.

"You know, if I didn't know any better," Caspian said, "I would think you have been avoiding me."

"Now why would I do something like that?" I asked carefully. Caspian didn't say anything, and all we could hear for a moment was the sound of muffled music from inside. "You're not wearing your crown." I wasn't wearing mine either, but I thought I'd just make some conversation.

"It's inconvenient when dancing." Caspian said, his hand going to his head. He looked at me for a moment, gently putting his hand over mine, "I have not had a single dance with you all evening."

"Is that so?" I asked, "I could have sworn I danced with you." Caspian's hand tightened around mine.

"…Have… Have I been too forward?" Caspian asked me, "I apologize, it's just—"

"Oh, no!" I said quickly, "No, it's okay. You haven't been too forward, you're fine."

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Caspian trailed off, looking away from me, "I have made my own feelings known, but because of everything that's happened… I just thought that… you might want to take back what you said." I looked at him in shock.

"Caspian, look at me." When he didn't, I reached up and turned his face so it would look at me, "I would never take back what I said. I love you, Caspian, I really do." Caspian smiled gently at me and I put my hand down. "I just haven't danced with you because… I don't really feel like dancing."

"Like before?" Caspian asked me with a smile. I turned away from him.

"I don't want to dance, Caspian." I said, Caspian stood up, taking my hands and pulling me up with him. He pulled me into his arms, two hands on my waist, and my hands on his shoulders, "I thought you said you were going to ask from now on."

"I said I would ask you if you wanted to enjoy yourself," Caspian said, "I never said anything about dancing." Why that dirty cheater! I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed. I never asked him to stop dancing with me. I rested my head against his shoulder as we danced to the sounds of muffled music from inside the castle. Soon, our slow spins and twirls became a gentle sway, and I was happy like this. Being in Caspian's arms was such a wonderful feeling, I could probably live here. But I couldn't, because I was leaving tomorrow. "Maxine," He murmured after a moment, "I want you to know that I… I've never really felt like this before… And so, in accordance with that, I've… never really done anything like this before…" My heart fluttered at his nervous innocence, "Well, what I'm trying to say is that… I'm sorry… If I'm not very good at it."

"No, you're great at it." I said, "Don't worry about it."

"Oh." Caspian said, sounding pleased.

"And, uh, for the record," I began, "While I have been… close to… other guys before, it's—" I took a deep breath, "It's never been like this. It's never been like… My hand can fit perfectly to someone else's, and I fit perfectly in someone else's arms, and… It's never been like I can be with someone, and never worry about them hating me, because they love me already." I didn't know how else to put it. I had to tell him that much before I left, if I could ever work up the guts to tell him that I'm leaving.

"I know exactly what you mean." Caspian murmured. I was trying so hard just to breathe normally. I felt Caspian's nose trace the curve from under my ear to my neck to my shoulder, and I shivered at the feeling. I gripped on a little bit more tightly to him as he retraced his same path with his lips, stopping every moment or two to put a butterfly kiss on my skin. I began to tremble. His hands felt so hot on my body, but every part he wasn't touching felt so cold. I gently leaned over and placed a kiss in the pulse of his neck, just to remind me that this was real, and that this was actually happening. Caspian groaned slightly, and kissed me just a little bit harder on my neck, just underneath my jawline. Then he pulled away.

"Why did you stop?" I asked him.

"It's getting late, Maxine." Caspian said, "You should go and get your rest."

"But…" Caspian shushed me.

"I'll escort you back to your room." He said. As we walked, I noticed how quiet it was, and saw that the party must have ended. How long had we been out here?

Caspian didn't say anything as we walked, and I didn't mind. It was like we had our own little bubble together, and it was pretty nice. Every step towards my bedroom door seemed to take an eternity to get there, but when we reached it, it was over all too fast. Caspian leaned down and gave me a soft, gentle kiss.

"Goodnight, Maxine." He said, "I will see you tomorrow." He turned to walk away, but was stopped by my hand on his sleeve, keeping him with me. He looked back to see my blushing face, looking down at the ground.

"Don't leave just yet…" I said quietly. Caspian put his hand over mine and held it in both of his.

"Maxine, it is very late." He said, "You need to sleep."

"Then sleep with me." I said, looking up at him. Caspian looked at me with wide eyes, and I realized how that had just sounded, so I quickly rephrased it, looking down again, "I'm not asking you to do anything, just… to sleep beside me."

"Maxine…" Caspian began.

"Please." I begged, my voice just above a whisper. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I possibly could before I left. Caspian sighed.

"It's not proper." Caspian said.

"Who cares?" I said, looking back up at him, I felt my eyes welling up in tears, and Caspian looked at me in surprise, "Just for tonight, Caspian. I won't ask you ever again." Caspian sighed, seeming to mentally debate the idea. Finally, he shook his head.

"I will not ruin your reputation," He said, he leaned down and kissed my forehead, "I'm sorry, Maxine." I looked down sadly as he pulled away from me, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" I said, turning to the door and shutting it behind me.

It was too damn sunny that morning. I hated the sun. I wanted it to rain, heavily. I glared out the window of my room, wearing another dress. It was a beautiful dress with a long-sleeved peasant top, a purple corset, and a purple skirt. My hair was back to its normal state, and I held onto Susan's bobby pins to give to her later. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful, and I should have looked beautiful, but I didn't. My eyes were red from crying the night before, and I felt so tired because I had barely slept.

I turned when I heard someone knocking at the door. I walked over to it and wasn't very surprised to find Caspian on the other side, smiling at me.

"Good morning, Maxine." He said, "Did you sleep well?"

No. "Yeah." I said, smiling back at him. I combed my fingers through my hair as Caspian kept speaking.

"Aslan called for a meeting of the townspeople," He said, "And he wants us all there in attendance. I was about to go and tell him they had come, but I realized you were still in bed, so I came to wake you." I looked up at him, then back at the floor, I could feel my expression saddening. Was it time to leave already? I thought I would at least have another hour, "Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure." I said, stepping out of the room. I was caught off-guard when Caspian kissed my cheek. I looked at him in surprise.

"You look beautiful today." He said with a smile, I mustered up the best smile I could.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I said, Caspian's smile disappeared.

"Maxine, are you not feeling well?" He asked, putting his head on my forehead, "Because, if not, you can go back and rest."

"No, no." I said, moving his hand away, "I'm just not a morning person." Caspian didn't look like he bought it, but he let the matter drop anyway, which I was very thankful for. He took my hand and we walked through the castle to the courtyard. We walked in silence, similar to the one last night, I think, I wasn't really paying attention. I was thinking more about how to break the news to Caspian. As we came into sunny courtyard, we saw Aslan talking with Peter and Susan. When we came into their line of sight, we caught their attention.

"Your majesty?" Aslan asked, glancing down at our joined hands for a moment.

"We are ready." Caspian said, "Everyone has assembled." Aslan nodded and the three of them followed us up the stairs and out of the castle into the village near a cliff, where, strangely enough, a tree was growing right on the very edge. With Aslan was Glenstorm, Professor Cornelius, Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, and Reepicheep, along with the Pevensies.

All the Telmarines in the city must have come, because the crowd was packed full of them. When we came up, I let go of Caspian's hand and stepped back, letting him speak to the people.

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it does to man," Caspian said to the crowd, "Any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to, but for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers." Murmurs and whispers went through the crowd at the mention of leaving.

"It's been generations since we left Telmar." A man in the front said.

"We're not referring to Telmar." Aslan said, "Your ancestors were sea-faring brigands. Pirates, run aground on an island. There, they found a cave, a rare chasm that brought them here from their world. The same world as our kings and queens." I looked at the lion in surprise, I didn't know that the Telmarines used to be pirates! And if they left Telmar generations ago, it must have been thousands of years before they ever came to Narnia. "It is to that island I can return you. It is a good place for any to make a new start." The crowd was silent, looking to see if anyone would leave Narnia to go to an island.

"I will go." A voice said, everyone looked to see it was a man, the same man who served under Miraz and brought me to his castle. At the party the other night, I found out that his name was General Glozelle, "I will accept the offer." He walked through the crowd, coming over to Aslan.

"So will we," A woman said, I recognized her as Caspian's aunt, Prunaprisma. She held her child in her arms as she and an older man followed Glozelle.

"Because you have spoken first," Aslan said to them, "Your future in that world shall be good." Then, he breathed softly on them. I heard a strange cracking sound behind me and I looked to see the tree that was on the edge of the cliff was slowly spinning, unraveling, almost, until there was a hole in it big enough for someone to walk through. The crowd looked at it in awe, shouting various things at it when they saw it moving. Aslan nodded to the people and they stepped up, walking over to the tree, and disappearing once they reached the hole. Cries of shock and suspicion came from the crowd.

"How do we know he is not leading us to our death?" A man shouted from the crowd.

"Sire," Reepicheep said, bowing to Aslan, "If my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay." Aslan looked over at the Pevensies with a small smile, and I saw Peter and Susan share a meaningful glance.

"We'll go." Peter said, stepping forward.

"We will?" Edmund said in confusion. Peter looked over at him.

"Come on, our times up." He turned around and started walking to Caspian, "After all, we're not really needed here anymore." He pulled his sword up from where it rested on his waist, sheath and all, and handed it to Caspian. He looked at the sword in surprise, and then took hold of it.

"I will look after it until you return." He promised him.

"I'm afraid that's just it." Susan said sadly, "We're not coming back."

"We're not?" Lucy asked.

"You two are." Peter said, looking at his youngest sister, then Edmund, "At least, I think he means you two."

"But why?" Lucy asked, turning to Aslan, "Did they do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, dear one," Aslan said, "But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned what they can from this world, now it's time for them to live in their own.

"It's alright, Lu." Peter said, coming over to her, "It's not how I thought it would be, but it's alright. One day, you'll see, too." He took her hand in his and they walked over to where I stood with the others to come and say goodbye. As Peter shook Glenstorm's hand, Lucy hugged Trumpkin tightly. I couldn't help but smile a little.

Once Peter was done with Glenstorm, he came over to me with a smile, "See you in seventy years?" He asked, keeping his voice low enough so that only I could hear him.

I smiled, "If you're not so crotchety and wrinkled up to survive a plane ride," I said, "Then yeah." Peter laughed and we shared a hug. As he pulled away, I kissed his cheek. Lucy was up next and, giving how short she was compared to me, she hugged my waist. I hugged her back with a small smile.

"I'm going to miss you." She said, her voice breaking slightly. I knelt down so I could be eye-level with her.

"I'll miss you, too." I said, smiling at her. She nodded, her eyes watering in tears. "Hey, come on." I kissed the top of her head, "It's not goodbye for good. We'll see each other again. Yeah?" She nodded again, "Now let me see a smile on that pretty face." She gave me a teary smile, and I smiled back, "That's better." I stood back up, patting her head. I looked over at Edmund.

"I think I'll get a good paying job," He said, "And get myself a ferry ticket to the U.S. That way, I'll be there before you're born." I smiled at him and hugged him.

"Good luck with that." I said, "And make sure you get a passport, too. Those security guards can be total buttholes if you don't have one." Edmund laughed as he pulled away. Susan came up next and she hugged me tight. I hugged her back.

"I'll miss you." She said.

"Me too," I said. She pulled back.

"Promise me you'll look me up when you get back home." She said quietly, I smiled and made an X across my heart with my finger.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." I said, Susan frowned.

"I always hated that saying." She said, "You should never hope to die." I looked at her oddly, remembering that statement from somewhere before.

"No, I guess not…" I said.

I watched as Peter led his siblings through the tree. Peter nodded at me one last time before he and his siblings walked through. Any smile I had on my face disappeared as I saw them disappear. I looked down at my hands during the quiet murmuring that followed. I knew it was coming, I just didn't want to face it.

"Your majesty?" Caspian and I both looked up at the sound of Aslan's voice; me, because I knew what he was going to say, and Caspian because he was so used to the title, "It's time." I nodded solemnly.

"Time?" Caspian repeated confusedly, "Time for what?" The crowd fell silent, and I looked at Caspian sadly, "What is he talking about?" I looked over at Aslan, hoping he would say it, but he didn't. Caspian stepped closer to me, "Maxine?"

"He's talking about me." I said, swallowing the lump in my throat, "I have to go home, Caspian."

"Home…?" Caspian repeated quietly.

"Back to my world," I said. Caspian came up to me, his hand was extended, like it wanted to take mine, but it didn't. "I… As much as I want to, I can't stay here."

"But why?" Caspian asked, taking a hold of both of my hands.

"Because… Because this isn't my world." I said, gesturing to the area around us, painfully aware of our audience, "I have to go back home. To my friends, and my family."

"But you were leaving them." Caspian said, "You said so yourself."

"I know I did, but…" I sighed, squeezing his hands, "Caspian, there are things I learned here, in Narnia, that I need to use back home." Caspian looked as if he might cry, I felt like I was about to, "I know it's a bad explanation, but that's just how it is. I need to talk to my friends, tell them that they are my friends, tell Marcus and Lisa thank you for everything they've done for me. Caspian, there are so many things back home that need to be fixed, and… I have to do it, because it'll be stupid if anyone else does it." My voice became more of a whimper at the end as my eyes welled up in tears.

"You can't…" Caspian murmured, reaching his hand up to brush away my falling tears with his thumb, "You can't leave…"

"I can't stay."

"You have to stay." Caspian begged, "Please, Maxine. I already lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."

"I want to stay." I told him, more tears falling, "You have no idea how badly I want to stay." I reached my hand out for him, but pulled back. If I did reach for him, I was afraid I'd just fall into his arms, and I'd never leave like I was supposed to, "Please, try to understand, I…" I took in a shaky breath, trying my hardest not to sob aloud, "This is breaking my heart." I reached up and carefully wiped away the single tear that had fallen from Caspian's eyes, "But… it's something I have to do." Caspian grabbed my hand before it pulled away.

"Please, you can't leave me." He begged. I squeezed his hand before pulling away from his grasp.

"I won't leave you." I said, I put my hand over his heart, "I'll always be here," I reached up and carefully moved away a lock of hair from his forehead, gently touching the middle of it, "And here. So long as you don't forget me."

"Please." Caspian begged one last time. I shook my head.

"I'm so sorry." I said, I leaned over and gently kissed his cheek, "Please don't forget about me." I pulled away from him, walking over to Aslan, wiping my tears, "I'm ready." Aslan nodded at me and I walked towards the tree.

I was about to walk through it, when Caspian called, "Maxine!" I looked up at him and was incredibly surprised when he pulled me into his arms, his lips crashing onto mine. I reacted instantly, my hands going around his neck. This kiss was so different from all the other ones we'd shared. This kiss held every last emotion Caspian could put into it: Neediness, desperation, sadness, love. I kissed him back, moving my lips against his, putting every emotion I could into it: My sadness, my heartbreak, my happiness from being with him, and my love for him. He gave me one last peck before pulling away, "How could I ever forget someone like you?" I smiled at him. We embraced one last time, sharing one last, quick, chaste kiss, and I pulled away.

"I won't forget you, either." I said, smiling at him. Caspian gave me a sad smile back as I walked through the tree, leaving Narnia behind.

I stood back in the woods outside Lisa and Marcus's house. I looked behind me and saw the hollowed out tree I had sat in. I reached out, touching the bark on the tree sadly. I leaned against it sadly, and began to cry. I slid down to the ground, sobbing for the loss of the first man I had ever loved.

My handsome prince. My fairy tale love. My Caspian.

I sat on the steps outside the house, my backpack next to me, as I waited for Mrs. Farsend to pick me up to take me back to the orphanage. When I came back into the house, it was like only two seconds had passed since I left. I told Lisa and Marcus how grateful I was for them taking me in and treating me like their own child. I told Jeremy how much I appreciated him going out to kick some guy's butt for me, but I told him it was best if he stayed out of trouble.

I sighed as I heard a car engine, and saw a beat-up sedan coming down the road towards the house. I stood up, grabbing my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder as I walked towards the sedan. Mrs. Farsend smiled at me as I opened the trunk and threw my backpack inside.

"Hey, Mrs. F." I said, coming into the empty passenger seat.

"Hello, Max." She said in that same British accent, "Do you remember me?"

"Why do you always ask that when I—" I stopped, looking at her old face. I recognized the shape of her nose, and the color of her blue eyes, and the way her white hair curled up. It couldn't be. There's no way. "…Susan?"

"Oh, thank God!" She exclaimed happily, "You finally went to Narnia! I've been waiting for this day for so long!"

"Susan?!" I exclaimed again, a smile bursting out on my face, "Oh my God!" I reached over and hugged her, she hugged me back, "I don't believe this!" I pulled away, "This whole time? You were Mrs. Farsend?!"

"Yes, yes." Susan said, "Now, calm down and let me start the car." She put the key in the ignition and she turned the car around, going back the way she came.

"You knew?" I asked, that smile still on my face, "This whole time, you knew who I was, and what was going to happen?" Susan nodded.

"I met him when I first visited America with my parents." She explained, "A young Naval Lieutenant named Jacob Farsend. I knew that if I was with him long enough, I'd come to meet you. We fell in love, got married, and started an orphanage called Farsend."

"This is unbelievable." I said happily, "This is awesome! I just… can't believe it's real."

"Oh, it's real, alright." Susan said, "And when we get back, you can stay as long as you like. I'm not going to send you off again if you don't want to."

"Thanks, Susan." I said, turning my gaze out the car window. This was great. Things were finally starting the change for the better for me.

And with any luck, I'd be back in Narnia before I knew it.

"Oh yeah!" I said, reaching into my pocket, "I almost forgot." Susan looked at me as I pulled out her bobby pins, "I think these are yours." Susan laughed and took them from me.

"I've been waiting seventy years for these bobby pins!" She said with a laugh as she stuck them in her jacket pocket, "It's about time I got them back." I laughed with her as she kept driving down the street.

END

Okay, I want to thank all the people who reviewed and favorited my story, so here goes…

Thanks go to:

Elessar

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Yaoi Fan Girl 14thth

Thanks so much! You guys inspired me to continue writing every single day! And don't worry, there shall be a sequel! So don't freak out too much (But maybe you could spazz about the sequel a little bit, it would make me happy ^_^ )