Disclaimer: not mine.

Horse and His Boy pt 2

Scene ends with twins going up to bed, and a conversation about who becomes king, ending in a threat on the part of Corin to knock Cor down.

"What happened after that?" The youngest child asked, laughing at the twins banter.

"They probably fought until the end of their days, like Dylan and I do." Dylan's sister remarked as she stuck her tongue out at her brother, who stuck his back out at her.

"Did they fight for the kingdom?"

"No, they fought, of course, like brothers and sisters always do, and Cor got knocked down quite a lot. He was brilliant with a sword, but Corin was the reigning boxer of all the North Countries. He became known as Corin Thunder-Fist, and boxed the Lapsed Bear of Stormness for thirty three rounds without a time keeper. The bear couldn't see out of its eyes at the end and became a reformed character."

"Did Bree and Hwin get married?" the littlest asked.

"Yes, but not to each other, from what the stories tell me," Susan said sadly, thinking of the stories she'd surely missed. "But they did come visit their friends in Archenland fairly often."

"Do Aravis and Cor get along at the end?"

"Not at all," Susan said, keeping up her sad face, and all the girls sighed a little.

"So they keep fighting?" the littlest asked. "Did she have to go back to Calormen?"

"They kept fighting, yes. They fought and made up so often that finally they got so used to it that they decided to get married, so as to go on doing it more conveniently. Cor and Aravis made a good King and Queen of Archenland after King Lune's death, and the most famous of all the kings of Archenland was their son, Ram the Great."

"So it's a happily ever after?" one of the boys scowled in disgust.

"Except that neither Cor nor Corin got to marry the fair Queen Susan," Dylan reminded him, "as Susan told us they wanted to."

"Queen Susan couldn't get married in Narnia," the littlest argued, "because she had to mar-" two girls lunged at the little one, clamping their hands over her mouth while another girl screamed to bring Susan's attention to her.

"Mary, whatever is wrong?" she gasped, turning to the girl.

Mary glanced over at the littlest, who was blushing deeply, having heard what the older two hissed in her ear. "It was a bee, I thought it stung me, but it was just a piece of grass," Mary answered quickly, grinning at Susan's confused face.

"I see," she murmured, clearly not seeing, but then she looked to the sky. "It's getting late, you all will be expected home for supper. I know I need to get back, Alberta was all in a tizzy this morning about me making sure I come home on time tonight."

The children exchanged glances.

"I'll escort you home," Dylan said quickly, over the soft giggles of the girls. He helped Susan to her feet and led her away from the gaggle of children, who fell to whispering and laughing as they watched the couple walk off.

"You know, I feel rather inferior, knowing you had kings and princes vying for your heart," Dylan mentioned lightly.

"For my hand, more like. I didn't love any of them near as much as I love you," she admitted, bumping his arm lightly with her shoulder, blushing.

"Even though I'm no prince, with no kingdom for you to rule?"

"I think I like you better for it. As you've heard, my experiences with princes didn't end so well."

"Then perhaps you'll accept my claim to your hand?" Dylan murmured, sinking down to one knee. Susan's eyes went wide at the sight of him kneeling before her. He pulled out the ring, an exact replica of her crown, set with a diamond.

"Oh Dylan, it's beautiful!" she whispered, tears overtaking her.

"Susan Pevensie, Queen of Narnia and my heart, will you marry me?" He asked, laughing with her.

"I will," she laughed, drawing him to his feet and hugging him tightly. He picked her up, whirled her around, both of them laughing with joy, as the neighborhood watched in wonder.

"The wedding was beautiful," Susan Pevensie, hair gone grey, sitting proudly in a rocking chair in front of seven young children, told them. "My handsome groom looked so proud…"

The children watched in awe as their grandmother's words evoked the ghosts of that wedding, the filled church, the children who whispered 'the Queen' and 'Narnia' watching as Susan walked down the aisle, wearing a Narnian style wedding gown, walked down the aisle by her proud uncle, approached her future husband. For a moment, she stood alone, then she was joined by a lion, and her brothers and sister, as they all had been on their coronation day. They stepped forward, growing to the age they were in the world beyond the Shadowlands, walking with their sister, for their sister. The youngest two disappeared, leaving Peter the High King to give his sister away. Then he and the lion faded, returning Susan to her own world briefly. There, in the church, there were whispers among the adults, about the improper dress and the silly wedding vows, which spoke of lions and eternal youth, responsibilities of a king and queen to their kingdom and to each other. It was the oddest wedding, but the children knew. There was doubt on some of the faces of the elder girls and boys, but there was hope in the hearts of the youth. "… it was the most wonderful day of my life, even though I did not have my family there to share it with me. From that day, I was blessed with all of you. I was part of a family again." She smiled, closing her eyes and leaning back in the rocking chair.

"That was a lovely story, Grandmother," the youngest said with a smile.

"And true," an older woman remarked dryly, joining them to put a cup of tea at her mother's side. A shadow passed across the face of Susan Cross.

"They're all true, Helena, do lighten up," she scolded, too low for the children to hear.

"I miss granddad," the oldest grandchild, a boy named Dirk, said sadly.

"As do I," Susan smiled, "But I shall see him soon."

Another woman, who resembled Lucy greatly, called the children to come play with her. "We'll pretend we're in Narnia," she whispered to the kids, who jumped up to join her.

"You and Lucy shouldn't encourage them, Mother," Helena whispered. "They have to grow up soon. They can't play in your fantasy world any more."

"Aslan help you, child," Susan murmured, taking her tea and looking sadly at her daughter. "I fear I can do no more."

Helena sighed and placed a kiss on her mother's cheek before joining her sister and the children in the other room.

Dirk peaked into the room. "Grandmother?" he whispered. Susan looked over at him.

"Yes, Dirk?"

"Did you mean what you said, about seeing him soon?"

Susan smiled. "Not soon enough that I couldn't give you this. Come quickly, love."

The boy scampered over, looking surprised when she pressed a box into his hands. "Take your cousins, and take care of them, Dirk. My journey here is done."

She reached up to press her hand to his cheek, feeling the tears there. "Don't cry. You must be like Peter. You must protect that which is yours. May Aslan's blessing be on you, now and forever."

With that, Susan Cross closed her eyes forever.

She didn't want to open them, even when she felt summer's kiss on her cheeks, followed by the more firm kiss of her husband, brought to her again.

Corin Thunder-Fist flew slightly ahead of his elder brother on the back of Fledge, searching for the young woman he knew would be walking about the garden with her dearest friend, an old faun named Tumnus. When he saw her, he gave a great shout of excitement and directed Fledge to land by her side.

"Corin! Fledge!" Lucy laughed as they landed beside her and her friend. "What brings you here?"

"Cor sent me, my Lady. He and Aravis have gone for your brothers. He says he saw someone approaching the garden."

Lucy gasped in delight, her eyes wide. "That could only be…"

"I will fly your Highness to the gates," Fledge said, and Lucy didn't hesitate a moment to take the arm Corin held out to help her to the flying Horse's back. With one strong push, Fledge leapt into the air, flying. Below him, Aravis and Edmund came flying out of the forest on Hwin and Phillip, joined in the lane by Peter and Cor on Peter's steed and Bree, all headed for the gates. Fledge landed slightly in front of the others, allowing Lucy to tumble off into the grass. She leapt to her feet, grabbing up her skirts so she could rush to the gates, so she could see what she so desperately wanted to see.

The gates were opening, and Lucy, stopping at the threshold of the Garden, looked for one anxious moment out at an empty field, disappointment clear in her eyes and manner.

Then she saw them, the couple, their heads just coming into view, and she gave a great shout of joy. Across the field, Susan gasped, seeing at the gate the one person she had longed to see above all others. Dylan let go her hand as she began to run head long for her sister, who screamed "Susan!" and went pelting out to meet her long lost sister.

Peter and Edmund followed just behind their younger sister, racing towards their long awaited reunion as fast as they could. But joy and need had leant wings to Lucy's feet, so it was that Susan and Lucy met in the middle of the field, Lucy leaping into her sisters open arms, Susan pulling her sister around in a movement that had them both toppling on the ground, still holding tight to each other, tears and laughter consuming them. Edmund reached them, dropping to his knees beside his elder sister, pulling her into a sitting position so that he could crush her to him, holding on for all that he was worth to the only thing that had been missing in his life.

Peter arrived last, having stopped to take in the sight that lay in front of him, the tangle that was Susan between her two younger siblings, already falling into the mothering position she'd always held, as she scanned their faces for signs of anything wrong, perhaps looking for scars of the death they'd endured to come here. But she could find nothing, could find nothing wrong with these beautiful, perfect youths who had waited for her, who had forgave her. Who still loved her, despite everything that had passed. Lucy had said, hadn't she, that she intended to live her life to the fullest, the day she had died. Hadn't Susan battled with herself all those years, knowing that she was living the life her sister had intended to live? But there was no accusation on Lucy's face, there was nothing but love there, and there was nothing but joy on the face of Edmund, whose body was stronger than she'd remembered it, taller than she'd ever remembered him being.

So she turned to Peter, met the eyes of her elder brother, her fellow parent to their younger siblings for all those years. Peter had never had a queen, because there was none that could compare to the sister he'd been given at one year of age. She was his equal and his opposite. They balanced each other perfectly. To have been so long without her was a little like constant carrying around a weight on one shoulder. Right now, he felt balanced. He felt whole. He moved forward to his sister, pulling her to her feet as Lucy and Edmund moved back.

"Hast returned to me at last, have you?" he said, torn between a laugh and sob of joy, as he pulled her in for a hug. She laughed aloud, embracing him with all her strength, laughing even more when he crushed her back, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around in his joy, intent on never letting go. But he had to, to address the man who had followed his sister at a far more decorous pace, and now watched the reunion with sad smiling eyes.

The man knelt to one knee before the High King in respect. "High King Peter, I bring you your sister, to join you again."

Peter reached down to pull Dylan to his feet. When they stood eye to eye, Peter pulled Dylan into a close embrace, filling Dylan with the spirit of Narnia. "You brought her here, and you saved her. I can never thank you enough, Dylan Cross. It is thanks to you that my sister has returned to where she belongs."

Dylan smiled, looking over at his wife, who raised an eye to remind him just exactly how he had saved Susan Pevensie from a life of a waking dream, of the arrow, and both laughed. They were joined by Susan's siblings, simply because it was a moment for laughing, for love.

The five turned to the Garden, where a Great Lion stood, waiting for his daughter to complete her journey to the place where she belonged. It was the beginning of the next chapter, the moment they'd all been waiting for, and it was Time.

Dirk Cross stared at the box in his hands, terrified and excited at the same time, desperate to know for certain if the world he'd grown to love existed. The carved box was a work of art, a jewelry box his grandfather had carved for the woman who sat so still in the chair before him. He knew, looking at her, that she had left him forever, but she'd left him this.

"Aunt Helena, Aunt Lucy?" he called, drawing the adults into the room. They knew, from his eyes, from the way their mother sat, that she was gone, and they called to their brothers as well.

In the confusion, Dirk slipped back into the room where his cousins stood, curiosity evident on every face. "She's gone to see Grandfather," Dirk whispered, and more than one tear appeared in the eyes of the children. "But look, she's left us this."

He showed them the box, and opened it. There, on red velvet, lay fourteen rings- seven yellow, seven green. All of them gasped, knowing exactly what these rings were, and exactly what they could do.

Six pairs of eyes looked to Dirk, whose lips were curling into a smile. There was a slightly desperate look in his eyes- this was the moment of truth, the answer to every question.

"Everyone take two rings," he said, "one yellow, one green." They did, holding them gingerly with handkerchiefs and sleeves, dropping them into pockets, as Digory and Polly had so many years ago. They remembered the story, knew what to do. But they looked to Dirk, whose rings lay in the box still. His breath was fast, his eyes were wide. "Hold hands," he instructed them, and they did, forming a long chain, with him at the end. He slipped the green into his pocket, and only one ring remained. He reached one hand out for that of his youngest cousin, completing the chain, and he reached for the last yellow ring.

The seven grandchildren of the last Queen of Narnia- the Children of the Last Queen, disappeared without a sound.