Hey to all my wonderful (and patient!) readers! I have my A Level exams looming above me, so this story had to take the backseat for a while. But all your feedback means the world to me.

After such a long journey, here we are, at the end of the line. There is much I have to say, but it can all wait till the end. For now, I give you the epilogue of Fate or Destiny. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Narnia is still not mine. This fanfic is.

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FATE OR DESTINY?

EPILOGUE – BEST BEGINNING EVER

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= 3 Years Later =

Peter Pevensie, the Magnificent High King of Narnia, stood before the mirror in his room and combed his hair. He was dressed in his finest attire; he only hoped it wouldn't show how tired he was after such a long journey.

"Everything is in order."

He turned at the sound of the voice and smiled. Isabel stood by the door, garbed in a fine red velvet gown. It had been years and still every time he saw her, he thought his heart would stop from the sheer joy of it. "Is it, now?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," She made her way to him. "Susan just keeps on getting better at organizing balls, I tell you."

He hummed and reached out to wrap his arm around her waist. "Where were you? I looked for you upon my return."

"Busy." She replied and allowed him to pull her close. "I had promised Susan to help her with the arrangements." A pause. "How was your trip to Archenland?"

"Long and tiring, but well." He replied, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I missed you terribly."

Isabel smiled at that. "What, were there no attractive women to distract you over there?"

"None of them worthy."

The answer pleased her, and she leaned forward to kiss him. "I missed this," he sighed against her lips, glad to finally be at home with his wife and his family. Pulling away after a few moments, he asked: "Where's–?"

"With Edmund." Isabel replied before he could even finish his query.

This did not surprise him, of course. After years of marriage, they had both somehow managed to gain the ability of being able to guess what the other was going to say. The ability was quite unpredictable, of course. Sometimes it worked to perfection; other times, it resulted either in hilarity or in petty little arguments. Still, he wasn't one to complain. It was a bliss of marriage, having a life with someone he loved.

"I believe I haven't wished you yet," Isabel said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "How rude of me."

"How rude, indeed."

"Well, let me make amends." She kissed him on the lips, on the cheek and lower on his throat. "Happy birthday, my love."

"Thank you, love." He smiled. "I might need a bit more of those kisses, though..."

"Oh?"

"My present, you see."

She did see. And she complied without complaint - not that she had anything to complain about. He knew that she had missed him over the last couple of months just as much as he had missed her, and to be together once again was exhilarating for the both of them. He would have dragged her to bed right there and then, and she would not have objected, if it were not for the party. Oh well, there would be tonight. And the morning after. And the night after that... He had plans. Oh, yes, he did.

They were still locked in a heated embrace, their lips moving together in unison when someone coughed.

"Caspian!" Peter growled when he pulled apart, glaring at the man standing in the doorway. "Would you stop walking in on me and my wife?"

Caspian looked as embarrassed as ever. "Sorry. I don't do it on purpose." He mumbled, then could not help but add defensively. "You two could always lock the door whenever you decide to canoodle."

"We weren't canoodling," Isabel said, her cheeks pink.

"Debatable," Peter told her. Returning his attention to Caspian, he asked: "Well? Why are you here, your Majesty?"

"I wanted to talk to you, but seeing that you're angry at me, this won't be the best time." Caspian replied.

Peter rolled his eyes. "You've ruined a perfectly good kiss. It would be horrible if it was all for nothing." He wasn't really angry, of course, merely mildly irritated, and that emotion was disappearing rapidly as well. He had meant his words to be nothing but a joke, but seeing as how pale and nervous Caspian looked, he realised that perhaps his friend truly thought that he had been offended. "I was only joking, Caspian," he explained lightly. "Come. Speak your mind."

Caspian stood quietly for a moment, then shuffled forward, hands clasped together tight. He stopped right before Peter, gulped, licked his lips, then said: "I love Susan with all my heart. You know that, don't you?"

Peter frowned. This was the last thing he had expected. "Yes," he replied slowly. "Why do you ask?"

Caspian cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was firm - the voice of a man who knew what he wanted. "Over these past years, I have watched you and Isabel face many hardships, but your love emerged victorious. As long as you are together, you are strong, you are happy and you are complete." He paused. "I want that. I want my soul to be bound with Susan's just like yours is with Isabel's. I want to marry your sister, Peter. Will you give me your blessing?"

Peter closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his fingers.

Caspian frowned. "You know that I would never hurt -"

"I know." Peter said. He opened his eyes and smiled almost sadly. "It just... feels like yesterday when Susan was this little girl who used to scold me for hiding her books in the house. And now my best friend is seeking my blessing to marry her." He paused. "You have it, of course. I can think of no better man for her, and there is no greater compliment than that for you. I can only wish you and her the be– Whoa!" Peter stumbled a bit as Caspian hugged him tightly.

"Thank you!" Caspian said. "Thank you so much, Peter!"

"You're welcome," Peter laughed. A pause. "Okay. Enough. Stop hugging me. Stop. Caspian!"

"Sorry," Caspian mumbled and stepped back, a huge smile on his face.

"Mind you, though," Peter could not help but say. "If you ever hurt my sister–"

"– then you'll have me cut into little pieces and feed them to the wild animals and then you'll probably burn my bones and use the fire to cook your meal," Caspian said dryly.

Peter blinked. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"That was creative," Isabel commented. She found this whole conversation quite amusing.

"Well, after spending a few years on the receiving end of such threats, one tends to learn the thought process that goes into making them." Caspian shrugged. Then, "Do you think Susan will say yes?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "After all these years of sucking your face in alcoves, I do hope so."

"When do you plan on asking her?" Isabel asked.

"I was thinking today," Caspian reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful gold ring with rubies embedded along its band. "I wanted to propose to her with this. It belonged to my mother."

"Caspian, it's beautiful!" Isabel exclaimed. "She will love it, just as she loves you."

Caspian smiled. "I hope so."

[][][][][][][][]

Peter and Isabel walked into the ballroom and were greeted by a hubbub of friends, all wishing him a happy birthday and welcoming him back from Archenland. He stood there and chatted with his guests for a while, but then his impatience took the better of him. He excused himself, motioning Isabel to do the same. Once they were alone, he asked: "Where is she?"

"There," she pointed.

Peter followed her gaze and smiled. On the table laden with a huge tiered cake sat a beautiful child with auburn hair and sharp blue eyes - his eyes. "Irene," He called out as he walked over to his fourteen-month-old daughter. "And how is my beautiful princess today?"

Princess Irene Pevensie looked up, and her face lit up when she saw her father. "Dada," she said and then scooped a handful of cake and began eating.

With a laugh, he took her in his arms. "You could have waited for me to cut the cake before you dug in," he said. "But I understand the urge."

The little princess of Narnia scooped some more cake in her fist, squished it tight in her chubby little fingers and offered it to her father, who had no choice but to take a small bite.

"Oh, Irene!" Isabel tutted as she wiped her daughter's hands and face with a handkerchief. "You sure do share your father's love for cakes."

Irene mumbled something in gibberish.

"Exactly," Peter agreed with a nod.

Isabel looked exasperated. "You don't even know what she said!"

"Nonsense," Peter scoffed. "I will have you know that I have mastered the language of children."

Isabel rolled her eyes, then quickly pulled Irene's hand away from the cake. "No, Irene. No more cake for now."

Irene looked from her mother to her father, eyes wide and lips curled into a pout.

As if Lucy's puppy dog face wasn't enough, Peter thought miserably. His daughter had him wrapped around her tiny finger and she knew it well. As expected, it took him less than five seconds to cave in. "I'll get you some cake as soon as your mommy goes away," he whispered to her under the pretense of kissing her cheek.

"I heard that," Isabel pointed out.

"We'll pretend that you didn't," Peter stated.

"At times like these, you make me feel like some sort of villain!" Isabel said, then looked at her daughter thoughtfully. "Darling, how did you end up at this table anyway? Weren't you with your Uncle Edmund?"

The princess looked around. "Eda," she said and then clapped her hands happily when she saw Edmund standing a few feet away, talking to the guests.

The Just King – now a young man with extraordinary handsome looks and an extraordinarily annoying personality, at least according to Peter, noticed the High King and walked over to them. "Peter!" He greeted him with a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Happy birthday, brother."

"Thank you," Peter replied. "You left my daughter alone on the table. What if she had fallen down?"

"I was keeping an eye on her," Edmund shrugged.

Unconvinced, Peter shook his head and turned back to his daughter. "I missed you so much, my angel." Irene blinked as if she understood each and every word, and then rested her head on her father's shoulder, suckling her thumb. Peter kissed her forehead lightly.

"She missed you a lot too," Isabel told him.

"And she wasn't the only one," Edmund smirked, his eyes fixed on Isabel, "Isabel missed you a lot too. So you better kiss her to make her feel better right now!"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Why are you obsessed with Peter and I kissing?"

"Because you two never do it."

"We do kiss." Peter said. "Among other things. Where do you think Irene came from?"

"Peter!" Isabel slapped his arm, her cheeks pink.

"What I meant was," Peter explained. "That there is this thing called public decency. Everyone knows Isabel and I love each other, but we are not comfortable with putting that on display."

"Are you indirectly calling Susan and Caspian indecent?" Edmund nodded across the hall, a grimace on his face.

Susan stood with a few of her friends, laughing at whatever conversation they were having. Next to her stood Caspian, his arm wrapped around her waist. Her fingers fiddled with the buttons of his coat as she said something to him, and he kissed her in reply.

"Maybe I am," Peter muttered. "And you need to find someone for yourself and stop poking your ugly nose into my business."

"My nose is not ugly," Edmund sniffed disdainfully. "Ask any woman in the country. They'll die for my nose."

[][][][][][][][]

"I love you," Caspian whispered in Susan's ear. It was late in the evening and the two of them were on the dance floor, swaying to the soft tunes that the band was playing.

"I love you too." Susan smiled at him. Her eyes were twinkling with joy, her cheeks rosy.

He stopped dancing and said loudly, "Can I have some silence please?" The music stopped and guests turned to look at them inquiringly.

"Caspian?" Susan frowned. "What is it?"

He looked at her. God, she was perfect... And she was his. Or at least, she would be, if she said yes. "Susan," he began, "Ever since I first laid my eyes on you, I knew you were special. Loving you has been a privilege, to have your love has been an honor. You have always been there for me whenever I needed you, and today I want to tell you that I need you by my side forever." Slowly, he went down on his knee and pulled out his mother's ring from his pocket. "Susan Pevensie. Will you take my hand in marriage?"

Susan's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Yes." She laughed. "Yes. I will."

Caspian's face broke into a huge smile. Taking her hand, he stood up and slid the ring on her finger. It was then when he realized how loudly everyone in the hall was cheering. He looked around, the grin fixed on his face and then looked back at Susan, who seemed to be glowing. "I am the happiest man alive!" he exclaimed.

She laughed and looked at the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful." He said and kissed her softly.

They parted a few moments later, and Susan's eyes fell on Peter, who was beaming at her. He winked at her, then handed Irene to Isabel and walked over to them. "Congratulations, Su," he said and hugged her. "I wish you both a life with love and joy."

"Thank you, Peter," She sniffed, feeling oddly emotional.

"There goes another poor bachelor!" Edmund joked, walking over to them. "Does this mean I get to handle all the lovesick women of Narnia?"

"You do." Caspian chuckled. "Good luck."

Lucy, who had grown up to be a beautiful young woman, came over to them and hugged them tightly. "That was so cute, Caspian!"

Caspian made a face. "Could you please not call me cute in front of everyone?"

"Caspian," Susan said loudly. "You're so cute!"

Caspian narrowed his eyes. "I want the ring back."

"I'm not giving this back to you now."

He kissed her brow. "You better not."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You two make no sense at all." She said. "And I must go back to my friends. But we will celebrate later, of course."

"By friends do you mean those beautiful young ladies?" Edmund asked, eyeing a small group of young women standing in one corner. "I'll come with you."

"You are not going to court my friends, Ed." Lucy told him.

"Shut up." Edmund straightened his coat. "Help your brother."

"And doom my friends to a life of misery with you? I don't think so." With that the Valiant Queen turned around and walked away.

"Lu!" Edmund whined and followed, adamant on the prospect of wooing one of his sister's friends.

"That is not going to end well for him." Peter commented.

"Not at all." Susan agreed.

[][][][][][][][]

Isabel smiled as Peter twirled her around and then pulled her close. "I am happy for Susan and Caspian," she said, eyeing the newly engaged couple who danced not far from them.

"So am I. Caspian is a good man," Peter said and then added after a pause, "Just don't tell him I said that."

"And why not?"

Peter narrowed his eyes. "If you tell anyone that, I'll tell everyone that you snore."

"I do not snore." Isabel said.

"You do not," Peter agreed. "But they don't know that. And seeing that I'm your husband, everyone will believe me."

"I'll sleep in front of a million people if I have to, but I will not let the others believe that I snore."

"You can't even sleep when I'm looking at you," Peter pointed out.

Isabel leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "That's because you never really just look at me when I'm sleeping."

"Hmm," He grinned. "I should let you know that I plan on not really just looking at you later tonight."

Her cheeks went red, but her eyes twinkled. "I am counting on it."

And then, much to the amazement of everyone in the hall – especially the Just King, the High King bent down and placed his lips atop his wife's, kissing her gently, lightly.

"What happened to not putting our love on public display?" Isabel asked when he pulled away.

"Couldn't help it," he replied sheepishly.

Isabel was about to reply when she felt something – or someone – tug at her dress. Looking down, she saw Irene staring at her, her arms wide open in a silent request to pick her up. Smiling, the queen picked up her daughter, and asked: "Would you like to dance with us, darling?"

"Yes!" Irene cheered.

Peter placed one of his hands on Isabel's waist and the other on her back in such a way that it encircled both his wife and daughter. Slowly, they started swaying to the music and the sound of Irene pointing out the food, the lights, 'Uncle Eda', 'Lu and Su' - and silently pointing at Caspian; she couldn't say his name yet.

"This is the best ending ever," Peter couldn't help but say.

"No." Isabel said softly. "This is the best beginning ever."

With a smile, Peter pulled his wife and daughter closer, his heart content and his life complete. The best beginning, indeed.

THE END.

There we have it. The end to Peter and Isabel's story. I hope you all liked it.

As of today, excluding this epilogue of course, Fate Or Destiny has 969 reviews and 61,997 hits. I am so humbled and utterly blown away by the reaction this story has received. When I posted the first chapter, I had no plan, I wasn't even confident that my writing was worth reading. All of you have encouraged me and supported me and this story by reading and reviewing and for that I cannot thank you enough.

And now, for the last time in Fate Or Destiny,
This is Ennarre, signing off!

Oh, and don't forget

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NOTE: This story does have a sequel. It's called "Definitely Destiny". I do hope that you will check it out. Link in my profile.