Cousin Knight
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Rose, you go that way, Hannah will go that way, and I'll go this way," my brother said.
"That's not fair! You two'll just meet up and gang up on me!" I said as I ran back to my house.
"No, wait! Rose, we weren't going to leave you out!" Hannah called after me.
"Let her go. If she's going to jump to conclusions like that, she might as well go." I heard Art say as the door closed behind me.
"I don't expect anything different from you," I muttered. "But I thought Hannah wanted me around."
I glanced around. Where was I? It looked like a train station, but I knew for a fact that there were none around where I lived. I looked to my right. "Hannah?" I asked. On her other side stood Faith, who had seen her at the same time I had. She asked us what we were doing there, and Faith told her she didn't know and asked what she was doing there.
I then asked a very important question. "And where is here, anyway?" Hannah responded and said that she didn't know, either. We boarded the train, and Hannah suddenly said she thought we were in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I reminded her that Narnia doesn't exist.
After we got off the train, we were greeted by four siblings named Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie. We all almost fainted. But, Mrs. Macready arrived and took us to the professor's house.
Just when I felt like I couldn't run up another stair, Edmund dragged us into the wardrobe room. We all got in, and tried to get as far back as we could. Then, thud! Faith, Peter, Susan, and I fell into cold, wet snow. I smiled. We were in Narnia!
At the Beaver's house, after we ate, I saw Edmund slip away out of the corner of my eye, with Hannah following. In a few minutes, the other Pevensies realized he was gone, and we chased after them, almost all the way to the Witch's house. Hannah rejoined us there, and Faith immediately lashed out at her. "Why did you let him go? Why didn't you stop him?"
"You two know why. If I had stopped him, it would ruin the story. I wanted to, though," she refuted.
We approached Aslan's camp. I fingered my sword hilt, given to me by Father Christmas. This is serious. It isn't time to play. I'm about to see Aslan face to face. I wish I had acted serious back home in church. Oh, Jesus, Aslan, please, please, forgive me. All too soon we were standing before a tent. Aslan emerged. All of us knelt.
I saw everything I had done wrong, every lie, every time I had lashed out at my brother, every time I disobeyed my parents, flash before my eyes. Then, as the Lion addressed us, I heard words echo in my head, drowning out all my mistakes. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." It sounded like a Bible verse. I didn't recognize it, but I figured Hannah would know. I recalled a memory verse of my own. "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." I was, am, and will be free forever!
Hannah, Faith, and I hid with Susan and Lucy as Aslan walked up to the Stone Table. He was kicked, mocked, tied, shaved, and who knew what else. I silently wept. He isn't only dying for Edmund; He's dying for me. For Hannah. For Faith. For Susan. For Lucy. For Peter. For all of Narnia.They dragged Him onto the Stone Table. I couldn't bear to watch. I buried my face into Hannah's shoulder. I heard her softly sniff. Soon after, the Witch and her forces left, and Su, Lu, Faith, and I ran to His body. I laid my head on His, my tears falling onto the Lion. We stayed and mourned the whole night. Then, we began to leave, and there was an earthquake. We turned, and the body was gone. "What have they done?" Susan breathed.
We dashed back up to the Table, when suddenly, before us, He stood! "Aslan!" we cried. "You're alive!" I added. Joy flooded into my heart.
I watched as the Four were crowned and Hannah and Faith were knighted. I then knelt before the risen Lion, sword in my hands, touching the ground."I, Rose Lily Baker, do solemnly swear to defend the honor of Aslan's name and the names of the kings and queens which He has appointed and blessed, and to uphold and aid in the enforcement of the laws of Narnia, and to protect, with my last breath if necessary, the kings and queens appointed by Aslan and blessed by Him. But if any king or queen of Narnia appointed and blessed by Aslan shall ever stray from doing His will, I swear I will do my duty and do everything in my power to try and turn the king or queen back to Him. This do I swear by Aslan's name, and to these noble causes do I commit my life and my sword."
Aslan touched both of my shoulders with His paw and said, "You knelt as Rose Lily Baker, but you rise as Dame Rose, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion."
I sighed as I watched Peter spin Hannah around on the dance floor. "Is something wrong, Lady Rose?" I turned to see Michael, another knight, standing beside me.
"No, nothing is wrong." I wasn't about to tell him that I missed the days when Hannah, Faith, and I would be wallflowers together, keeping an eye on the Four. Now, Hannah danced with Peter, and Faith with Edmund. I was left alone. Again. Michael's voice broke into my thoughts. "Would you like to dance?"
I blinked. That had taken me by surprise. "Sure," I said, not believing my ears. Did he really just ask me to dance? He bowed and I curtseyed. He took my hand and led me onto the floor. We stayed dancing the rest of the night.
Michael, with Hannah's permission, of course, courted me for two and a half months before he asked me to marry him. I said yes.
I read Michael's love for me in his eyes, as I hoped he could read mine for him in my eyes. We spoke our vows and he kissed me. I had never felt such love in my whole life.
I sighed as my four year olds ran circles around me, begging me not to go hunting with the Four and my cousins. I had to wonder if two rambunctious twins, a boy and girl who often argue with each other, was Aslan's way of teasing me about the way Art and I had fought. "I'm going, but the two of you must stay with your father. I'll be back soon. I promise."
We rode for a while until we finally spotted the creamy Stag dashing through the brush. As we rode, Phillip pulled up. We turned around to find Edmund. "Come on, Ed!" Su said, grinning.
"Just catching my breath."
"Well, that's all we'll catch at this rate."
"What did he say again, Susan?" Lucy playfully asked.
"'You girls wait in the castle. I'll get the Stag myself.'" All of us girls giggled. Peter almost joined in, but saw something that stopped him. "What's this?" he asked, dismounting. We all followed suit, staring at it. "It seems familiar."
"As if from a dream." Susan began.
"Or a dream of a dream." Lucy finished. Suddenly, she realized something. "Spare Oom." I wondered why that sounded so familiar. "Lucy!" Peter said, following her.
"Not again." Susan said.
"Lu?" Peter repeated.
"Come on!" she shot back.
"These aren't branches," he said presently.
"They're coats." Susan said.
"Susan, you're on my foot!" Edmund shouted.
"Peter, move off!" Lucy cried.
"Rose!" Faith screeched at me.
"Stop shoving!" Peter said, his voice changing back into a child's.
"Stop it!" Edmund said. We tumbled out of the wardrobe, as children again. Everything rushed back to me. Hannah tumbled out last and nearly crushed Peter. The door opened, and the Professor entered, carrying the cricket ball Edmund had hit through the window what seemed like a lifetime ago. I guess, in a way, it was. "Oh, there you are. What were you all doing in the wardrobe?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir." Peter said.
He threw the ball to Peter. "Try me."
At that moment, I knew. I knew that, even if I was a child again, I would still protect the six royals here with my life. Because I was a knight, but I was also their cousin.