Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis does, you know the deal...
Notes: Message me before using any of my characters, yadity-ya-dee-yah, ya'know, the usual. Takes place after the Silver Chair, completely book-verse. Kindly read and review!
*The story that is referenced is in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Chapter 10, possibly page 72 in the individual books and page 497 in the big volume.
.: Of Narnia, Of Us :.
"Here," Edmund said, bashfully shoving a brightly wrapped present into Lucy's lap. Peter attempted to hide behind his almost neck-length hair (which Mrs. Pevensie greatly disapproved of, but Peter liked because it reminded him of his time as High King in Narnia) and Edmund's face turned a deep crimson color. "We got you something special."
Lucy tentatively poked the box, thinking it might be one of Edmund's joke presents (and that usually meant it was alive) because her brothers had already given her a gift. The box stayed still, much to Lucy's relief, so she began to carefully unwrap the box. She took note of how Edmund was squirming uncomfortably and Peter chewed on his lip, and she made a point of unwrapping it slower. When the two looked as if they were far past their comfort zone, Lucy tore off the paper.
"I'll go refill the water-" Edmund started to say, standing up, but Lucy grabbed his wrist.
"It's beautiful," said Lucy, "Thank you!" She engulfed Peter and Edmund in a hug. Peter began to object and Edmund wriggled his way out of the embrace.
"Don't thank me," Edmund motioned towards Peter, "Thank him. He made it."
"But you painted it," said Peter. "And it was your idea."
"What did they give you, dear?" asked Aunt Alberta. Lucy held up a small wooden Lion for everyone to see. Aunt Alberta gave a small frown, because her opinion of the Lion was the same as the painting of the Dawn Treader (or, as she would say, "that distasteful ship"). Lucy pretended not to notice, and lucky for her, Mrs. Pevensie had cleared her throat to speak.
"I made a special cake," said Mrs. Pevensie. "For Christmas and for the end of the war!" She disappeared and everyone headed into the dining room, except for Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Wendy. Susan gave a backwards glance and shook her head slightly, in disapproval – why was Lucy still obsessing over that Lion? Then, she left.
"It reminds me of Aslan," said Lucy at last, after studying it for several moments. Peter had made the Lion so that he was poised with one large foot pawing the ground, his tail swished slightly to the side and with a graceful curve, and his face with a hint of a smile. Edmund had painted the eyes with amusement and the appearance of being pleased, with his coat a lustrous gold that seemed to illuminate the room. The Lion was in all ways perfect, just as his real-life counterpart was.
Edmund said, "Of course. What did you think it was? A silly zoo lion?"
The three laughed and Wendy asked, "Aslan is the Lion, right?" Lucy nodded as she absentmindedly stroked the Lion. "Will you tell me some more stories? I'll go make some excuse to the others about us playing a game."
"Hmm," said Lucy, pretending to be actually considering it. "Okay, but only if you get me a cup of tea."
"And I might as well have cake, since I'm apparently fat," Edmund added, shooting a wry glare in Peter's direction.
"Same for me, please." Edmund started making vague motions with his hands in annoyance, trying to point out that Peter was eating too, but the only attention he got was a pat on the head and a chuckle from Peter. Edmund crossed his arms and pretended to be childish again.
Moments later, Wendy returned with her cousins' requests. "Sorry, Aunt Alberta was dead set on having me at the table but Aunt Leanne let me go." She sat down on Lucy's lap. "I'm ready!" she said with a grin.
Lucy was thoughtful as she took a sip of her tea. At last, she said, "I know the perfect story. Do you remember King Caspian and his voyage on the Dawn Treader? Of course you do, I just told you another story about it. Well, anyway, Lucy had to go into a magician's house. If she didn't, these horrible invisible things threatened to kill her, so she had to go inside."
Wendy gasped, Peter cocked his head to the side, and even Edmund quit his pouting to scoot closer to Lucy – they were all eager to hear this story, as it was new to everyone, for as you remember, Lucy was the only one who went inside the magician's house.
"And inside, there was this book of spells. Lucy's job was to find the spell to make things visible – that's what those creatures wanted, they wanted to be seen again. So, Lucy went in and found the book and she began to flip through the pages, taking in what each one said. Such a beautiful book it was, too - the pictures were so lifelike, you seemed to be watching a motion picture, only in color, and the words were so harmonious. It was wonderful. There were spells for everything, too."
"Like what?" interrupted Wendy.
"Curing warts, refreshing the spirit, making yourself beautiful, those sorts of things..."
"So that's what took you so long," mumbled Edmund. To his luck, Wendy hadn't heard the slip, although Peter had and shot Edmund a warning look.
"I would have sat there for hours, memorizing those spells," said Wendy.
"Oh, but you couldn't," Lucy said, "The book only turned one way: forward. Once you had read a page, you couldn't turn back. You see, Lucy had done something quite horrid – earlier, she had used a spell to spy on her friends, and now she felt terrible about it. To her luck, she found a spell for refreshing the spirit, although it was more of a story - and such a wonderful story it was! I can't quite remember what it was, though. Something about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill."
"What happened next?" asked the others.
"Lucy said the visibility spell and Aslan came – well, he claimed to have been there the whole time and that the spell had merely made him visible, though Lucy argued that surely nothing could make Aslan, the Great Lion, Emperor from Over the Sea, visible. Nevertheless, Lucy got reprimanded for using magic to spy on her friends. Lucy was truly sorry yet she knew she would never be able to forget what she had seen. Aslan forgave her, and then she asked him about the refreshing spell."
"What about the refreshing spell?"
"She asked if she'd ever read it again. He said a very queer thing, and I'll tell you exactly what he said. 'Indeed, yes, I will tell it to you for years and years.' You see, Lucy never quite understood what he meant, but she never had time to ask because Aslan had to leave." Out of nowhere, Lucy gasped, standing up to pace back and forth around the room. "Of course, that's it!"
Lucy snatched the replica of Aslan from where it had fallen on the floor in her sudden rampage. "Aslan, I know, I know!"
"Calm down, Lu," said Edmund, "And tell us what you think you know."
"The story!" Peter shook his head slowly and stared at Lucy as if she might be going crazy. "Don't you see?"
"No," said Wendy. Lucy had forgotten about how Wendy still believed the stories were made up, and even if the thought wormed its way into Lucy's brain for a moment, she was too excited to care.
"The hill, the tree, the cup, and the sword!"
"I'm sorry, I still don't quite-" Edmund started to say.
"It's the story of Narnia," said Lucy, gazing straight into her brothers' eyes, "Of us."
"I just don't understand," said Peter, helping Lucy to sit back down in her chair.
Lucy said, "The hill was where Fledge landed, the hill of the tree of life, which then gave birth to the tree of life. The cup - I don't quite get this one, but it could either be the cup the Witch gave Edmund - of hot chocolate - the cup which Tumnus gave me, or the cup of life - Aslan. The sword could be your sword, Peter, or it could be something to do with Eustace and Jill - they came back on a hill, holding swords, remember? Or it could be something we haven't seen yet."
Edmund said, "So you're saying... that you read a story... of our lives?"
"I think," said Lucy.
"Sorry - did you say, gave you? And we?" Wendy asked.
Lucy gulped, the shock of her mistake finally sinking in. "Yeah, about that..."
"You've been there? You've been to Narnia?" Wendy exclaimed. "That-"
"I'm sorry, Wendy, we should have told you-"
"No, don't be. That's incredible!" she said, ecstatic. "I think we should make a book of these."
"We should," said Peter, "They'd make great stories for our kids and grandkids – and f we didn't write them, we'd have to have people keep telling and re-telling them. And then they'd forget – look at Trufflehunter, for example. He told me that badgers remember everything, but to be honest, he'd gotten quite a bit about our rule wrong."
Lucy laughed and said, "That settles it. We can start now!" said Lucy, "Go find some paper. We'll start from the beginning, with Fledge."
From then on, the Pevensies shared stories with Wendy, and that is how Narnia is known to everyone on Earth today.
~END~