I woke up to the sound of TobyMac's latest song. Turning my head, I looked at the clock. The red numbers told me that it was 9:21 am. I smiled, as it had been much too long since I'd last slept in past 8, but then my smile faded as I remembered the dream I'd just had.
I was in a dining room with a rather large rectangular table, with seven people seated at it. I recognized three of them, and I could easily guess who the other four were. On one side of the table, an old man and woman sat next to each other. They both had white hair and lots of wrinkles, with an air of regality around them. On the man's right sat Peter Pevensie. He looked just like I remembered him to look at around age 23. Even when he wasn't in Narnia, he radiated this air of magnificence and royalty. On the woman's left sat his younger brother, Edmund. Edmund was three years younger than his brother, so he was around 20, but he had always looked older than he was. Anyone who saw him now would guess he was the same age as Peter. On the other side of the table sat their youngest sister, Lucy. She looked just as happy as ever at age 19 or so. On her left was a boy, and on her right was a girl. They both looked to be 17 or 18. All seven of them were looking at me. Peter spoke.
"Who are you?" he asked. I was too stunned to answer at first, and he stood. "Speak, by order of the High King!" he commanded.
I raised an eyebrow. Why did he automatically assume that I was Narnian? I knew for a fact that Peter was cautious enough that he wouldn't ask in the name of the High King unless he knew I was Narnian. I looked down. Ah. That would explain it. I was wearing a light orange dress that was distinctly Narnian in design. I looked back up and curtsied, a smile on my face.
"One would think," I began as I rose from my curtsy, "That the High King of Narnia would recognize his own sister, even after so many years apart."
Peter looked confused, but Edmund stood, a smile forming, and Lucy was grinning in her seat.
"Really, Peter," Edmund chided his brother, "Why do you not recognize our Loyal sister? Hello, Alexa."
Peter just gaped at me. I sighed.
"Hello, Ed. Peter, close your mouth. You'll end up eating a fly or something."
Finally, he grinned.
"Alexa!" he exclaimed.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, attempting to hide a smile.
"Honestly, Peter, one would think that after living for 26 years with me, you'd recognize me on sight."
The High King of Narnia smiled sheepishly at me, but he didn't get to say anything else, because just then his sister decided to join the party.
"Alexa!" she yelled. She looked like she was just barely restraining herself from tackling me in a flying hug.
"Now," I said, "I don't believe I've had the honor of meeting half of the people in this room. Who's going to introduce me?"
Peter opened his mouth to speak, and I held back a laugh as Edmund beat him to it.
"This lovely lady," he said, gesturing to the woman on his right, "Is Aunt Polly. You would probably know her better as Lady Polly, who helped the Lord Diggory," he gestured to the man next to Peter, "when he went on the quest for the golden apple with Fledge, the father of all winged horses." I nodded, remembering the tale both from my years in Narnia and from The Magician's Nephew. I'd always loved that story. Edmund gestured to the boy sitting next to Lucy. "This is our cousin Eustace Scrubb. He joined us when Lucy and I went back the last time." I nodded. I remembered that story too. Edmund gestured to the girl sitting on the other side of Lucy. "This is Jill Pole. She went with Eustace for a trip to Narnia a few years ago." Edmund gestured to me. "Everyone, this is Lady Alexa the Loyal." I curtsied as Edmund told them a little about me, and why I was important to them.
We chatted for a bit, just getting to know each other (for those that I'd just met) and catching up on news (for my siblings). Suddenly, a man appeared. He was tall, with a beard. He was dressed in Narnian clothes that must have once been worthy of a king, but were now torn and stained. Peter took the lead, asking who the man was. The man opened and closed his mouth, but didn't speak. Peter commanded him to speak in the name of the High King, but even that didn't work, and the man disappeared. This, of course, sparked a conversation about who he was and what course of action to take. I did my best to advise them, as I always did. I told them that if Aslan wanted any one of them in Narnia, he would provide a way. They eventually decided not to listen to me, and instead go get the rings that Diggory and Polly had used. Back when the Four had ruled, sometimes they decided to ignore my advice. It didn't happen often, and about 20% of the time, their ideas were better, but usually I was right, and they ended up admitting it later. I mentally shrugged. Aslan would make it happen. Unfortunately, as soon as the group came to a decision, I started to fade. I barely had time to say goodbye before I woke up to hear the music playing.
I sighed and got out of bed. I hadn't slept in since the last time I'd left my house, six months ago, and it felt extremely nice to be able to relax. My job as a teacher didn't exactly allow for a lot of time to relax, so while I was here at my parent's house, I took whatever chance I could. Sadly, my two week vacation only had three days left. I had three days to spend with my parents and sister, and I didn't know when the four of us would be able to get together in the same place again. I got dressed and headed out to the kitchen for a bite to eat. I found my parents and sister already there. Trinity was munching on a pancake leftover from dinner last night, while Dad drank a cup of coffee and Mom checked something on her laptop.
"And the Sleeping Beauty finally rises!" Dad said jokingly when he saw me.
I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning. "Good morning to you too, Dad," I said as I gave him, Mom, and Trinity a hug on my way to grab an apple and a bowl of cereal.
"So what's on the schedule for today?" I asked as I sat down at the table with my food.
Dad quickly outlined everything. He and Mom had to run a few errands, Trinity wanted to stop by a few places, and I wanted to hang out with my little sister. We decided to divide and conquer. Trinity and I would go do her stuff together while Mom and Dad ran their errands. We agreed to meet up for lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants at about 2. I went to grab my stuff, and then I said goodbye to my parents and went to wait in the car for my sister. Apparently I had taken too long, though, because she was already waiting for me. I got in and she drove us to our first stop. We spent a few hours going to different places, talking, laughing, and catching each other up on our lives. Finally, it was time to meet up with our parents. We could see the place before we got there, and I recognized the red Jeep, with my parents standing beside it.
"They beat us here, Sis," I said.
Trinity shrugged. "Their errands were all closer than our stops were," she pointed out.
I nodded, but didn't say anything else. We headed toward the last intersection before our turn. It was a green light right in front of the restaurant, and we started to go through it, but then a car came from out of nowhere. I saw it and knew it was going to ram us, and I had just enough time to pray that Trinity would be unharmed and okay before the impact came. The next thing I knew, pain was coursing through my body, and I could hear someone saying my name frantically. Trinity. My little sister was saying my name, and she was crying. Two more voices joined hers. Mom and Dad were here too. They must have seen the wreck and raced over. I managed to open my eyes.
"Trinity?" I croaked.
Her face came into view. "I'm right here," she said. Tears were streaking down her cheeks. "I'm okay."
I looked over her. She looked fine. She might have a few bruises and scratches, but otherwise she looked unharmed. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to God.
"Mom?" I asked. "Dad?" My voice sounded stronger. It didn't hurt me to speak, thank God.
They leaned toward me. Both of them were crying. That scared me. My parents didn't cry often. How bad of a condition was I in? I tried to sit up, but even a tiny shift in my body nearly made me scream in pain.
"Don't move," Dad said.
"No, really?" I muttered through gritted teeth, "I hadn't noticed that was a bad idea."
Dad smiled a bit.
"How bad am I?"
The smile disappeared. "You're badly hurt, Alexa."
He might have said more, but at that moment, my vision faded. Instead of seeing my family, I saw familiar golden eyes. Aslan. Then my vision restored itself. I saw my sister on one side of me and my mom on the other. Dad had my head in his lap. I must have passed out for a minute.
"The ambulance will be here soon," he said.
"I'm dying," I whispered. I saw their expressions and it broke my heart. "No, it's okay. I'm going home." I smiled at them. Slowly, painfully, I reached out and touched my mom and my sister. "I don't want you to be sad. I want you to celebrate. I'm going home!" Their expressions didn't change. My vision darkened. I didn't have long left. "Mom, Dad, you're the best parents I could want. I love you so very much. Trinity, you're my best friend. I love you tons, little sister." My vision faded as I spoke. "Be happy for me. Tell everyone I love them. I'll see you all when you come home too. I love you." My vision went black as I spoke the last words, and as I closed my eyes for the last time, I heard all three of them say that they loved me too. I managed to give them a small smile before everything faded to black.
Hi, everyone! Here's my AU version of The Last Battle. This one deals with a lot more of the things that you don't see in the book. It will be shorter than the other stories because I'm going off the assumption that any readers reading this have read C. S. Lewis' awesome Chronicles. Besides, Alexa won't be a part of anything Jill and Eustace do with Tirian and Jewel.
Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter posted soon. Please go vote on the poll on my profile for what I should write next. And please don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia. Sadly.