And here it is – the epilogue. The end. Finally. After so many years. The end.

Wow.

Just give me a moment.

The end.

Please enjoy.

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Across the Worlds

Epilogue: In dreams

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Zaru took a slow, long look around.

"Where am I?" he asked, "What is this place?!"

His voice came out strong and hale and the leopard blinked, realising that his senses were suddenly razor sharp again.

"What?"

He looked down at himself and saw golden fur, saw claws whole and sharp like they had been many years before.

"What – "

"Hello, Zaru."

He whirled, eyes widening at the familiar voice.

"Reepicheep?" he asked incredulously.

The long-dead mouse knight merely bowed courteously, straightening as Zaru tried desperately to make sense of what was going on.

"What?! How?!"

He had gone to sleep in his familiar chambers in Cair Paravel, his rheumatic joints aching and his breathing wheezing like they had been for many long years now. A great exhaustion had come over him and when he had opened his eyes, the leopard was suddenly in this place, standing amongst an emerald field with a golden sun hot and bright above.

"Where am I?"

"Home," Reepicheep said with another flourishing bow, "Welcome home."

"Home?"
Zaru tested the word and knew it was true, could feel it to his core. The feeling was bright and warm and it made him happier than he had ever thought possible.

"Come," Reepicheep beckoned, "There are many people who are waiting for you."

Zaru suddenly knew where he was and he began to wept, knowing who he was about to see again after so many years apart.

"Is she here?" he asked desperately, "Is she…"

"Zaru!"

Zaru's head snapped up at the beloved, desperately missed voice and joy suffused him. With a fierce roar, he bounded forwards to meet the one person he loved above all else.

He was home.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"RUN!" Jason roared, ruach burning around him wildly.

"But – but- "

Jak wavered, cringing as a dull explosion roared out

"Look you, idiot boy," Jason barked, "They need you!"

The Seeker pointed over his ward's shoulder, at the cluster of terrified children that clung to each other and wept.

"If you stay behind you'll be killed as well and then they will be recaptured!" the man snarled, "And we would have come out all this way for nothing!"
Jak was torn, his eyes drawn against to the terrible wound in Jason's side, blanching as more blood spilled out.

"Jason… Jason…"

The Seeker forced a smile.

"I'll be fine," he rasped, "Do you honestly think one measly ten-headed dragon could kill me?"

Flames surged down the narrow tunnel but Jason thrust it aside with a cry, his ruach flying towards like a brilliant spear.

"You have to save them," the Seeker gritted out, clutching at the walls for support, "Jak… they need you. You have to get them out of here."

Jak took in a deep shuddering breath and steeled himself.

"I'll get them out of these caves but I'll be back," the young man said, his eyes flashing, "So you better hold out until then!"

Jason barked with laughter.

"That's the spirit!"

He reached for the sheaths at his side.

"Here."

Jak blinked as the Seeker thrust his daggers at him, hilt first.

"You'll need these," Jason said flatly, "For protection. You might need them to get through the caves."

Jak's eyes watered, every instinct in him telling him to stay but the man he loved like a father had given him a task and Jak would be damned if he failed the Seeker now.

"Of course," he took the daggers, the weights heavy and unfamiliar in his hands, "I will see you later?"

Jason grunted and waved for him to go. With the decision made, it was easy, Jak rounding up the frightened children and leading them away, the young man refusing to even cast one last look behind.

The Seeker watched him go, a satisfied smile on his face. The beast behind him roared again, dragging itself out of the deepest recesses of its mine and Jason turned, his grin becoming vicious.

"Alright…"

Ruach burned in his hands.

"… let's see who dies first!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Mother…"

Inara rolled her eyes and pushed her daughter's hand away.

"I'm dying, not having a fever," she said waspishly as she peeled the damp cloth away from her forehead.

With her blonde hair and blue eyes, Susannah was an uncanny copy of her father but she was still her mother's daughter, as acerbic and acidic as Queen Inara's legendary sharp tongue.

"You are not dying!"

Inara smiled beatifically at her eldest child, as lovingly obstinate as ever.

"I am old," she told Susannah, "And it's been five years since your father died. I am old and I am dying and I am ready."

"Good," Susannah said briskly, "Then you can do so quietly whilst your loving daughter lovingly tenders to your every wish!"

She tucked the sheets around her mother, hesitating slightly as she realised just how thin Inara had become. But despite how lined and bent the half-Naga had become, there was no stifling the fire that still burned within.

"You are my least favourite child," she muttered darkly.

"Yes, yes," Susannah took it all in her stride, crossing the chambers to fling the windows open.

A fresh breeze rolled into the stuffy room, Susannah expertly ignoring her mother's cries of – "Too cold! Too cold!"

Susannah had to remind herself why matricide was a terrible idea.

"I can get Edwin to come up here and look after you but trust me, his rough warrior's hands will not be as gentle as mine."

Inara raised a brow at her, casting an incredulous look at her daughter's own battle scarred hands.

"I keep them perfumed and soaked in milk each night," Susannah said sweetly.

"Bunch of nonsense, succumbing to society's patriarchal view of what a woman's hands should be like," Inara sniffed, "Where is Edwin anyway?"

"Your darling son is with my darling husband," Susannah worked at folding her mother's clothes, neatly replacing them into the wardrobes, "Raiders are starting to infringe on Calormen again."

Inara watched her daughter move, nodding with approval at the liquid grace that the woman easily possessed, knowing that despite her looks and clothing that a well-trained warrior resided within.

"Did I tell you how much you broke my heart by marrying the Calormene emperor and running away with him?"

Susannah snorted.

"Yes, to my face every time I see you and in ever letter. Blame Uncle Edmund, he was the one that introduced us."

"Bastard is going to outlive all of us," Inara noted idly.

Susannah had a fond smile for her favourite uncle, white-haired and short-sighted now but no less sharp and cunning.

For a moment there was blessed silence, Inara allowing her daughter to continue tidying up the room undisturbed.

"It would be good to see your father again."

Susannah froze, bent over as she tried to retrieve a sock. She straightened hurriedly, turning to her mother's bed.

"Mother? Mother?"

Inara did not stir.

"Mummy?"

Susannah was found an hour later, sitting at her mother's side, their hands clasped together. Edwin was the one to find her, tears falling as he realised what had happened at last.

But both were glad to know that Inara had gone with a soft smile on her well-worn face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He stepped out of the summer's heat and into the cool shade, hurrying down the entrance before coming to a second set of doors.

He paused, hands braced against the well-polished panels, he had been warned before and so he paused, not knowing what truly laid ahead.

Shaking himself free of his hesitation and silliness, he pushed the doors open, revealing the library at last.

"By the mane…"

His words tumbled from his lips in frantic cascade, his eyes wide as he tried to take in everything around him.

"This… this…"

There were books, not just hundreds or thousands but millions, filling shelves that towered above him to the high arched ceiling above. The rich wood of the fixtures gleamed like honey, well looked after and well-polished, bright beneath the great glass dome ceiling that was the pride of Narnia.

He somehow managed to stumble forwards, his eyes still drinking in the miraculous sight, each book calling to him with a siren's song, drawing him to open them and fill his mind.

"Hello."

He gave a surprised squeak and whipped around, blinking at the young girl who stood before him.

"Hello," she reached out with one hand, "I am Five."

He was startled and it showed. He had heard many tales of the legendary head librarian, the girl who was not a girl, the girl who never aged. But he had expected her to be twenty feet tall and possessing a hundred arms with eyes of fire and hair of lightning not this young creature who stood before.

Five cocked her head, studying him carefully.

"Welcome to the Great Library of Narnia," she said, "Our first rule is that there are no weapons allowed."

She moved before he could even react, neatly plucking the knife from his belt. He tried to protest but a glance from her was enough to silence him.

"Eight!"

Five called out a nearby man who instantly hurried over.

"Place this in the weapon storage area please," she handed the knife over to the man and he was gone, disappearing behind one immense shelf.

Five began to walk and he had no option but to stumble behind her, still amazed by the sheer volume of books all around. They came across a statue that stood as high as the shelves and he could not help but let out a cry of recognition.

Five stopped.

"Oh yes," she smiled up at the statue sadly, tracing the lines of its face, "That is Elias Denton, the creator of this great library. He has been gone for many years now."

"Years?" he breathed, "It's been almost two centuries!"

Five let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"Really? Time flies when you are constantly learning," she said with a trace of sadness in her voice, "Elias was a great man. He rebuilt me after the war and placed me here to look after his greatest dream and pride."

She studied the shelves, at books that had taken lifetimes to bring together. But they were where they rightfully belonged now, in this sanctuary of knowledge, in a place that was open to all with an open mind, a great school that had shaped this world and greatest minds that had ever lived in it.

"He would have been proud…"

Five took a deep breath and swung back around with a bright smile.

"So seeker of knowledge, how may I help you?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There was a soft hiss and it was already too late.

Jason who have strangled her himself. But peacetime had made her complacent, her daggers and her sceptre just slightly out of reach. It had never even crossed her mind to be just that little bit careful because here in this field with her newly knighted son just within earshot, what did she have to fear?

Susan cursed her own stupidity.
She turned and the green serpent looked back at her with vicious triumph in its cold eyes.

"Aita!"

But this was not the witch of Charn, there was something subtly different about this monster, the shade of green just a little darker. This was the Aita of Narnia, a mirror of the witch Susan had helped slain many years ago and her killer.

The serpent lunged forwards and a bite was enough, the witch's poison coursing through her as Susan fell backwards, her breath frozen in her paralysed throat.

As she died, visions flashed before her and she saw her son captured and enchanted, enslaved against his will and pitted against his own people.

She saw her husband, heartbroken and dead before his time, unable to carry the grief of losing his wife so soon after everything else.

She saw a family that would tear Narnia apart in their hunt for her killer, too mad in their grief to care that innocent people fell too.

She saw and she dreamed as she died.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Susan shot up in bed, sweat cold upon her brown, her heart heaving in her chest. There was a flash of purple in the corner of her eyes and slowly the queen began to relax.

"Thank you Viola," she whispered to the goddess that had chosen to bless her one last time.

She touched her neck, to where Aita had sunken her fangs but the skin there was whole and unbroken.

Susan still felt cold, the fragments of her dreams slowly returning to her, her breath once against choking as she realised she had seen her own death, had seen her own family's death.

A soft cry broke the night and startled her out of her shock.

Beside her, Caspian groaned something and turned over, the man still exhausted from a hard day's ride from the latest disaster that had needed the King of Narnia's personal presence.

Susan touched her husband and drew from his warmth. Slowly her breathing and her heart evened and the queen found the strength to rise from her bed.

It was still dark and cold but this was a trek Susan had made many times before, easily navigating the distance between bed and bassinet.

"What's wrong Rillian? What's wrong dear heart?" she asked softly.

But her child was asleep for once, his pink lips working quietly.

"Causing trouble again?" Susan asked fondly

She remembered the visions she had of Rillian, of him being chained to the Silver Chair, tortured and broken until he was a shadow of the great man he would grow to become.

Anger held her fast and Susan crossed to her desk, her vision sharp and clear thanks to the Hunt Beast that still dwelled within her.

She unrolled her maps, carefully tracing the reshaped borders of her kingdom.

Peter was in the north where the giants had stirred, the High King willing to try diplomacy first with their old enemies but more than willing to unleash his Gifts on any who would disturb their hard won peace. Gaspar and the Magis had gone with him, following their Saviour no matter where he went.

Her eyes turned to Archenland to where Lucy had gone as she had promised, atoning for her mistakes and for the crimes she had gone against the royal family there.

"Lucy…"

But her sister was not alone for their father and Polly had followed, both using purpose to deal with their grief.

Susan closed her eyes, her whole body shaking as she saw her mother and Diggory fall again before her.

It wasn't fair.

She wanted to scream but she was not a child, knew that all the tears and screaming in the world would not bring them back. But she allowed herself to weep quietly, knew her tears was just one of the ways she could keep them alive.

When her sob finally stilled, Susan turned her eyes back to the map, shielding her pain before her newfound purpose.

She knew that Lucy would return when her penance was done, knew deep in her very bones that their family would be reunited someday soon. Because even with Caspian and Rillian with her, Susan could not help but feel a little vulnerable, bereft without the rest of her family and friends.

For Edmund was in Calormen with Ralf, helping Saladin to rebuild, to resurrect a new Tashbaan from the ashes of the old one. And though Tash would no doubt try to tempt and manipulate the pair, Susan had no doubt it would be utterly futile.

Her eyes skated to the east, to where their latest letters had placed Jason, Elias and Inara, the three travelling abroad to hunt down rumours of a rogue coven of hags. Susan was glad she had heard from them recently, sometimes it had been months between correspondence and she needed her old friends desperately now.

She gathered a cloak around her and silently slipped from the room.

"Susan?"

Zaru's eyes glittered in the gloom.

"What's wrong?" he asked muzzily, "Why are you up so late?"

"Get ready," Susan told her most faithful of companions, "We ride at dawn."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Caspian stared at her.

"What?!" he spluttered, "What?!"

Rillian let out a squeal of delight and grabbed at his father's hair, managing to snag a handful and pull with joyous abandon.

"Ow! Rillian! Let go!"

If their people could see their great king, frantically trying to rescue himself from his own son, they would never stop laughing. Even with visions of her own death roiling through her head, Susan could not help but laugh before darting forwards to save her husband.

Rillian clung to her next, chirping in his babbling language as Susan dropped a loving kiss upon his dark head.

"Susan."

Caspian's voice was quiet and serious.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly.

Susan's lies died on her tongue, the fanciful tale she had thought of spinning fading before his concern.

"I saw something," she said quietly, "I… there's something I need to do."

She loved Caspian, trusted him above all but this she held from him. She did not want him to worry, did not want him to fret but most of all she did not want him to do what she knew he would do.

Susan had no idea how far Aita's influence had spread, had no idea if the witch had spies amongst their people. If the green witch caught word that the queen was marching with an army, it would send the serpent into hiding and Susan would lose her chance to make sure that Aita would never hurt her or her son.

The queen braced herself and met her husband's eyes.

"Please," she said, "Trust me."
Caspian stared at her for the longest time and even Rillian was silent, somehow sensing his parent's disquiet.

The king's shoulders slumped and Susan knew she had won.

"I do," he said softly, "Just promise me…"

"I will be back," Susan vowed.

She kissed him and then kissed their son again.

"I will never leave you," she promised, red and purple and gold flashing in her eyes, "Never."

Then the queen turned and Zaru was by her side as she rode from the gates of Cair Paravel to where her friends and companions were waiting for her far to the east.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Zaru was the first to hear them, their voices loud to his sharps ears as they soared down the wide open road.

"I don't see why you couldn't just leave him alone."

"Did you see him ogling me?" Inara's outraged voice squawked, "If I didn't stop him, he would have grabbed my – "

"That isn't reason to start a war with the entire village!" Elias protested.

"It wasn't a war," Jason grunted, "It was over after the first few punches."

Elias's sigh was deep and suffering.

"We are trying to preserve peace not ruin it!"

"We taught a village of misogynistic men to respect women. I like to think we helped them."

Susan looked up as the trio came into view, the three of them atop of some of the finest horses Narnia had ever produced.

"Queenie!"

The queen laughed and waved, waiting for her friends to come to her at the crossroads she had chosen to meet them. It had been months since they had seen each other, a week since she had left Cair Paravel. And despite the nightmarish visions of her own death that still haunted her, Susan suddenly felt lighter than she had in a long time even before the dreams Viola had showed her.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked as soon as he had dismounted.

Elias looked worried as he cast his eyes over Susan but seeing that she was smiling and had no injuries, the scientist relaxed ever so slightly.

With Zaru pressed against her legs for support, Susan told them of the dream she had of Aita. She left out the other things she had seen, not knowing if there would ever be a time or a place for them to know of their own ends.

Jason growled, ruach sparking between his fingers. Elias looked grim as Inara's eyes glittered silver.

"Where is she?" Jason demanded.

"Oren and Shirona managed to find whispers of a witch rising near the ruins of the House of Harfang," Susan told them, "That's all I have to go on."

"Good," the Seeker said flatly, "The sooner we find her, the sooner we cut her head off."

"First come, first serve?" Inara asked with a vicious smile.

Elias threw up his hands in disgust.

"So Kitty, can you keep up with us or is your belly too big now?"

Zaru yawned, showing off his sharp teeth.

"Why don't you start running and we'll see just how slow I've become?" he asked, tail twitching.

Inara laughed as Susan looked between them, feeling for the first time since her dream that she was safe.

"Susan?" Elias asked quietly.

She smiled back at the worry in his eyes and rose.

"Come on," Susan said to her family, to her most loyal of friends and champions, "Let's go save the world!"

THE END

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Author's notes – I know a lot of you wanted some more Caspian/Susan moments in the epilogue but I really wanted to bring the epilogue full circle to where it all started, with Susan and her companions. And I wanted them to go off on another adventure to save the day because that's what they do!

I might write some one-shots one day and have a few ideas floating around but nothing concrete yet.

I will probably take some time off writing and then start walking on some original material – having tackled this beast of a fic and honed my skills, I am really excited about trying to get something published! Wish me luck!

Thank you to everyone who has ever read or reviewed this fic. Thank you for every kind word, every encouragement and every piece of criticism. It has been a long ride, one that has consumed almost a decade of my life but you readers have made every part of it worthwhile!