A Brief Explanation of the SCAUverse: The entire premise for this verse is that after the events of the Silver Chair, Jill and Eustace were not taken back to Spare Oom, but rather stayed in Narnia to help Rilian prove that he was the true heir to the throne, and after that, to help him in matters of running the country. That is not to say that they became king and queen alongside Rilian - rather, they became a part of his cabinet of advisors, acted as ambassadors, and generally helped with keeping the country together and avoiding diplomatic disputes. A more extensive look at the SCAUverse can be found by following a link on my profile which leads to a constantly evolving Timeline.
I shall be posting all one-shots here to keep them together for convenience. They will not be in chronological order, but will follow where my inspiration leads. I hope all you readers enjoy and stick around!
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Title: Must Come to an End
Summary: All things must come to an end at some time. Jill just wishes the end were not coming so soon.
A/N: This particular one-shot was written as a meme response for Metonomia, and was first published through my livejournal.
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Eustace's eyes shine too bright from the fever. His hair is slicked back with perspiration, his skin hot to the touch, and his lips dry and peeling. Jill tries to tend him as best she can with cool cloths and water, but she knows – oh, how she knows! – that this can't go on much longer.
She tries not to look down at his poor, bandaged legs, both of them too stiff from the splints, but she cannot help but see the way the blood has soaked through. When she covers them with blankets, Eustace worries them away again in his restless sleep.
"This cannot last," the healer whispers in the dark of night, and Jill rests her forehead on the side of Eustace's pillow to hide her tears.
A pigeon has been sent to Cair Paravel requesting the Holy Cordial. Jill finds herself checking the window too many times in hopes of a response, even though she knows there is no way the bird would have made the distance in so short a time. She finds herself counting heartbeats, counting breaths, squeezing Eustace's hand in her own and willing him to wake up.
"It will not be long, now," the priest murmurs in the hall, and Jill pretends she cannot hear.
When dawn arrives with a pink-flushed sky and a splash of gold, Aslan is there. Jill finds herself crying all over again, choking so hard on her tears she cannot speak. She wants to beg the Lion for his help, beg him to heal Eustace, but the words are stuck in her throat as she sobs.
"Be at peace, dear one," Aslan tells her, and as he speaks it seems that the hand she holds is a little less hot. She looks up to him with hope in her eyes and is startled by the tear she finds gleaming against golden fur.
Everything around her seems to blur, as if Aslan has taken a deep breath and blown the house and the hills and the sky away. Jill holds tight to Eustace's hand, wary that he might disappear, too.
"It is time for the two of you to return home," the Lion explains gently. Around her, becoming clearer the more Jill looks, is a forest she has not laid eyes on for many years – not since that day Eustace pulled open the door at the back of the school yard.
"But – I don't understand," Jill manages. And then Eustace sits up, and he is no longer a grown man, but a boy once again. And Jill sees the door in the wall behind him, and everything becomes clear.
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