A Tale of a Lion, a Witch, and a Wardrobe

Disclaimer: I don't own. The thing that happens with Abigail in Hannah's dream is from 'Caspian's Wife' by Fierce Queen (profile link under my favorite authors) and the thing that happens with Mary in her dream is partly based on 'Born for This' by narniagirl11 (profile link under my favorite authors). Thank you two for letting me use these ideas!

Chapter 14: Back in our World

Later, I asked the girls, "How long was it between when you guys fell and when I fell out of the wardrobe?"

They looked at me strangely. "About 10 seconds, why?"

"I'll tell you later." I said. We all met in Lucy and Susan's room that night, and one of the first things Peter said was, "I wonder what's happening in Narnia right now."

"I bet Adrian's got it all under control." Lucy replied. I started crying. "No, Lu, he doesn't."

"How would you know?" she asked, astonished.

"I spent 10 extra years there."

They all looked at me, mouths agape, until Peter finally found his voice. "You got 10 extra years in Narnia?"

"No! I had 10 extra years in Narnia. There's a big difference."

"I don't see one." Susan said.

"I had 10 more years of wars, 10 more years of ruling, 10 more years of being mother to 8 kids, only 2 of which were mine, 2 more years trying to be both father and mother to them, and 10 more years of heartache. There's a big difference."

"Oh… Well, why were you trying to be father and mother to them? Weren't Adrian and Michael around?" Rose asked, puzzled.

"Most of the time, they were, at least, until 8 years after you guys left. Can you two be strong for me?" I asked, looking at Rose and Lucy, who nodded, though, I noticed, Lucy scooted a bit closer to Edmund. "Well, Adrian's father died at the beginning of the year, and his brother became king of Telmar. Later in the year, Adrian had to go to Telmar for something, I don't remember what, and Michael was one of the guards with him. They were attacked by Telmarine soldiers. No one survived that first attack but Adrian," Rose started sobbing and whimpering, "No. No. Not Michael. He can't be dead." Faith tried to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Rosie, but he is. Anyway, though Adrian survived, he had been mortally wounded, according to the Talking Hummingbird who had seen the attack. She followed them as the Telmarines took him back to Telmar as a prisoner. They arrived at the palace as Adrian's life was slipping out of him. Caspian came out, and when he saw his brother, he began weeping. The bird told me she had flown low enough to hear Caspian begging Adrian to forgive him. Adrian, according to her, had taken a deep breath and said, 'How can I not, dear brother? I… forgive… you with… all my… heart.' Then he died."

"He's dead?" Lucy asked. She, too, started sobbing. Edmund wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I'm sorry, Lu. I doubt it will make the two of you feel any better, but the men who attacked them were executed."

"It won't" Rose said. We sat in silence for a few more minutes, just letting the two of them grieve, but eventually Rose said, "What happened after that? Who's ruling now?"

"Mary and her husband are ruling now."

"Hold on. Mary got married?" Peter asked.

I giggled. "Do you realize what you just said?"

"Oh… Well, she did?"

"Yes. And don't worry, you would have approved of him. Adrian did."

"Good." I spent the rest of the evening telling them all what had happened when they were gone. When we finally went to bed that night, I had a dream:

I saw 3 years of Mary and Timothy's rule pass by. In the 1st year, they had a baby girl. But, their happiness didn't last. In the 3rd year, the Telmarines attacked. Timothy led the first force that tried to stop the Telmarine advance before they reached Cair Paravel. It didn't work, and, during the battle, Timothy was killed. Mary sent her daughter out of the Cair for protection while she rallied the remaining forces for a final defense. During the battle, Mark and Art were killed, but not before they hid Abby and Ephr in the treasure chamber, along with our things. Mary barely escaped with her life, not that she wanted to escape, but every Narnian on the battlefield begged her to, so she did, with Ben, Martha, and Rose not far behind. Later, after the battle, Telmarine soldiers were ransacking the Cair, and some found the treasure chamber. They immediately attacked, and Ephr tried to protect Abby, but was killed in the process. Before they could harm her, however, a mighty roar sounded through the chamber, and all the men fell dead. Aslan appeared, and Abby ran to Him, saying, "I'm so glad You've come, Aslan! Will You kill all of them and bring Mary back here?"

"I'm afraid not, dear one, for that is not in My plan. You must trust Me."

"OK, Aslan, but where will I go? I don't want to stay here!"

"No, dear one, you will not stay here. I will take you somewhere safe. Climb on My back, and I will take you there." She did, and suddenly, the world seemed to rush by. They arrived on an island. This is where Aslan left Abigail, saying, "You will be safe here, child." She nodded as He left, but she was soon found by an old man, who told her he was actually a star, and that Aslan had asked him to take care of her. Meanwhile, in Narnia, I could see Mary marrying (again, sounds weird, but bear with me here) King Caspian, who already had a son, something I am certain she didn't want to do. Yet, His purpose became clear when she, because of this marriage, saved her people from extinction. I then saw Caspian II, Caspian III, Caspian IV, Caspian V, Caspian, well, you get the idea. I saw them getting more and more evil until Caspian IX. He was good and feared Aslan. His brother, however, was more evil than any of his ancestors before him. I saw Caspian IX murdered by his brother, Miraz. I saw Caspian X grow into a young man. The last thing I saw was Prince Caspian X fleeing from his uncle, who wanted to kill him.

I sat up in bed, gasping. I realized that I had seen what was happening in Narnia while we were gone. I went to the window and while looking out it prayed, "Aslan, please give the Narnians strength to endure under pressure until we get there. I know they will need help."