Finally,after this thing's been sitting on my computer for three months(I wrote it over Christmas break. Haven't done any writing for since then),I'm posting it. Thank you very much King Caspian for doing yet another wonderful beta job :)
One joyful afternoon, a baby girl was welcomed to Cair Paravel. Queen Lucy was beaming more than usual, her consort of only a year, Lord Durban, formally of the Lone Isles, at her side ,along with Peter, who was almost as proud as a grandfather; motherly Susan; and, of course, the always supportive Edmund, as baby Helen was welcomed into the family.
But the joys of happy family life were too good to last; for Lucy was torn from her beloved home only a year later.
It was hard being back in England for the exiled queen.
How were you supposed to tell a worried grown-up that the air you have seemingly always breathed is now stiflingly stale? How do you, who have never had the chance to sit upon a horse in this world, let it be known that you are longing for a swift, reckless ride though the woods? And how, above all, can you say that you desire a long talk with the tree in the front yard?
How do you say that you are missing your husband and daughter, when you are only ten years old to everyone's eyes?
The pain grew less as a year went by. Oh, the memories were still there, but Lucy treasured them with all her heart, even though they still hurt at times.
But then she found herself once again in the place she called home. But there was no Helen, no Durban. Only two graves among the lonely ruins of Cair Paravel bearing the titles of "Queen Helen II, the Joyful" and "Lord Durban, consort of the Queen Lucy" lying alongside those of her siblings' consorts and children.
The headstones largely told of long life; Peter's oldest son's even told of a prosperous reign. Some told of death in battle, some of old age, and others of illness. Lucy noted that Helen lived to the old age of 98. And Durban died a noble death in battle.
But to think of all the years lost...she never got to see her daughter take her first steps...see her grow…get married...have children of her own...
And dear Durban. Would he have lived longer had she been there? Would the cordial have gotten to him before he breathed his last? Did anyone even use it with her gone?
She went to Peter for comfort, and together they cried for what might have been.
"Lucy Pevensie!" the nurse cried out, "Will you go to this," she pushed a paper towards Lucy, "patient?"
17 year old Lucy nodded and took the paper from the nurse. She was training to be a nurse herself, for the memory of the joy of seeing some sick or injured person being healed by her Christmas present never had left her, and she wished that even in this world she could bring some sort of healing, even if it was in a different way than she had healed in Narnia.
So it was that she received the information sheet on a patient. To the hospital staff it was only an assignment for a volunteer to administer some medication. To Lucy, the sheet giving the name, age, and medications of a patient were a door to meeting new people, a chance to brighten someone's day.
But as she looked at the page, she almost let out an audible gasp. The patient was a 98 year old woman...named Helen.
She tried to remind herself that it was a common enough name, not to get exited, there were likely many 98 year old women named Helen.
But as she went into Helen's room, she noticed a bright smile on her face. It was almost like looking into a mirror, for the smile was the same as her own.
But the eyes…the eyes were different than Lucy's, but still very familiar. From someone in the past, someone who she had not seen in many, many years, but whose face was still a constant memory
.
For the old woman in the bed had Durban's eyes.
After giving the woman her medication, Lucy sat down with Helen and found her to be a true kindred spirit, a follower of Aslan on Earth, and a joy to be around.
Lucy was sorry when she had to leave, but made plans to return.
That night, she told the Friends of Narnia about Helen.
The next week, Lucy met her daughter and husband once again in a place in which they would never be separated.
A/N- Weird,I know. But I work at a retirement village and let's just say things pop into your head while busing dishes...