Author's Notes
Disclaimer: C.S. Lewis owns the Chronicles of Narnia, not I! If I did, I'd be discussing the script of Voyage of the Dawn Treader with Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes right now!
Rated: T for general angstiness
Hello everyone! Originally the three sections of this installment were going to be three seperate chapters. But, each of them was so short that I felt they belonged together... I'll let you decide *smiles* Three more full chapters are in progress. Please read and enjoy!
After the End
Edmund sat in the stuffy train compartment with his arms around Lucy. His little sister had finally fallen asleep, lulled by the incessant motion of the train. He was glad. At least in sleep she might dream. Awake, there was only one thing to occupy her mind.
Aslan had told Lucy and Edmund that they weren't coming back to Narnia.
Edmund shifted a little and looked down at Lu. She was curled against his side, her head resting on his chest. Her dress was rumpled and twisted, but it didn't seem to hinder her sleeping. In her lap she clutched a flat, carefully wrapped package as if she would die before she let it go. Edmund bent to rest his chin in Lu's hair. He stared at the package.
Eustace had given it to her. Edmund wasn't sure if his cousin had asked Aunt Alberta if it was alright, but somehow he didn't think Eustace cared either way. The younger boy had come downstairs that morning before the two Pevensies left, and presented a brown paper-wrapped object to Lucy. She didn't even have to open it for her or Edmund to know what it was. Lu just sat there, sliding her hands over the familiar rectangular outline, a little tremor running over her lips.
"I thought you might need it… more than I do," Eustace said awkwardly.
Lucy cried out and threw her arms around her cousin, burying her face in his neck.
"W-what did I say?" Eustace gasped. "Don't you want it?"
The little auburn head on his shoulder nodded vigorously.
Bewildered, the boy looked to Edmund for help.
Ed, for his part, was overcome by his cousin's gesture. So much so that he did the last thing he would ever have thought of doing when he first came to Eustace's home some weeks before; he put his arms not only around his sister, but also his cousin, and pulled them both into a tight embrace. He ignored the boy's startled squeak. "Thank you, Eustace," he murmured. "For the kindness you have shown to my Lucy."
The younger boy had been rather flustered the rest of the day, and as a result their goodbyes at the station were awkward. But Lucy and Edmund had promised to write, and Eustace had agreed that it was a good plan. Ed had taken his sister's hand, led her onto the train, and put his arms around her.
They had stayed that way for the past hour.
Brother and sister had hardly spoken on the long ride. Edmund watched as a grey English countryside sped away from them, the occasional horse or stag making his heart leap and fall at the same time. Lucy sat gripping the package in her fingers the entire time. Once she had hesitantly offered to let Edmund hold it, but he declined. He dared not take from Lucy the one tangible tie she had to Narnia.
Lucy shifted in her sleep and murmured. Ed turned his ear, hoping to catch what she was saying. She sounded so very Narnian when she talked in her sleep, as Edmund had discovered when the crew of the Dawn Treadermade camp on Dragon Island. One night he had lain awake for well over an hour, listening to his sister's intermittent mumblings about Dryads and feasts, old tales half-forgotten, tournaments and Fauns, and Aslan. Always, Aslan. Even now, on a rumbling train in England. Edmund smiled and listened contentedly. Lucy's murmurs quieted.
And then she gave a soft, sudden cry. Her brother's heart twisted in on itself, knowing that this was the cry of another heart in pain. A cry for her country. A cry for her loved ones. A cry for Aslan.
Edmund buried his face in her auburn hair, hugging her tighter. "It's alright, Lu," he whispered, sure he was lying. It wasn't alright. They were never going back. His eyes began to sting, but he commanded his tears to stay put. King Edmund must always be strong for his Queen Lucy. "Just a little while longer now, and we'll be with Peter."
At the mention of her oldest brother's name, Lu relaxed. No wonder. Peter had always been Lu's comforter and confidant. No matter how much she and her other siblings loved one another, the High King would always be the one to soothe her troubles. And since Mum, Dad, and Susan were still in the States for a few more days, Peter, having finished his studying with Professor Kirke, was supposed to meet the two youngest Pevensies at the station. Edmund was glad of that. Lucy wasn't the only one who looked to Peter for comfort. He wanted his older brother so badly right now, wanted a tight embrace and warm blue eyes locked on his dark ones. Being strong for Lucy for so many hours on end, when his own heart was sore and full of questions, was getting exhausting. Edmund sighed and attempted to stretch. Lucy whimpered in her sleep. Immediately he returned to his former position, curled around his sister, protecting her as best he could.
"Just a little while longer," Ed whispered.
***
Peter caught sight of his brother and sister and caught his breath. "Thank Aslan!" he whispered.
It was the way their faces looked. The golden glow of the Lion shone from them, brighter even in this train station than it would be on the street. Peter knew that look. He wondered if anyone who wasn't a friend of Narnia would notice it. It had been on all of them when they came back the first time, and again the second. Peter felt a sense of sweet joy that Aslan had not failed his promise to them… and a rush of pain at the thought that he hadn't been able to share it with them. Your time was up, he reminded himself. Now it was his privilege to enjoy the adventures of his younger brother and sister. He stood watching them for a moment, as they alighted from the train that had taken them to and from Aunt Alberta's. King Edmund the Just. Queen Lucy the Valiant. In Peter's mind, rich velvet cloaks replaced their drab traveling clothes. Edmund looked about them, spoke to Lucy, then began gathering up the bags and boxes piled at their feet.
Suddenly Peter remembered that he was supposed to be bringing them home. "Ed!" His voice carried over the crowds and he waved frantically. "Lu! Here!"
Lucy's voice sang out, pure as a young bird's. "Peter!" She looked about swiftly but didn't see him.
Edmund's flashing bright eyes found him. "Pete!"
Peter had no idea who moved first, but a moment later he found himself in their arms, hugging and laughing, just as they had those many years in Narnia whenever there was a reunion between the brothers and sisters. If only Su were here for this, he mourned. But his sister was still in America with Mum and Dad. For now it was just he and his two youngest siblings. He pulled their faces down close to his.
"You don't even have to tell me," Peter whispered, fierce with joy. "I can see it all over you! You've been to Narnia!" He laughed giddily at the startled expression on Lucy's face and whirled her around. "These arms have borne a bow and arrows!" He grabbed Edmund's right hand and pulled his brother to him. "This hand has wielded a sword!"
He caught them both up in his arms and buried his face in their hair, Lucy's shining locks and Edmund's black curls. He inhaled deeply. The scent rushed upon him so swiftly that he felt his knees give way a little. Warm and sweet and wild. He who made Narnia what it was. Aslan had kissed his brother and sister.
"And the perfume of the Lion's Mane clings to you," he breathed. He dropped a kiss on each of their heads, not caring that they were in a public place. "Thank Aslan you got back to Narnia!" He finally held them at arm's length, grinning, to see if they had gotten any taller.
They were crying.
Both of them. Some fresh heartache had Lucy in tears. Even Edmund, who hated to show such strong emotions, was wiping vainly at his eyes.
"What is it? What did I say?" Peter began to panic. "Isn't everything alright? Is it about Su? Or Mum and Dad? W-what…"
"Pete." Edmund, his voice hoarse but composed, interrupted. "Stop worrying, will you? It's nothing to do with anything here in England."
Lucy turned to hide her face in his shirt. Edmund wrapped his arms around her, then raised his face to look Peter in the eye. Ed had always been good at speaking with his eyes. His meaning could not be misunderstood now.
Peter's heart dropped. Oh Aslan, not this! "You – you won't be going back again?"
At Edmund's nod, he swooped forward to crush them in a hug, tighter and tighter, desperately wishing he could bury them both in his heart where they would never feel pain again. Lucy's sobs shook the three of them. Passersby began to murmur. Peter heard pity in their voices, at the sight of three children mourning as if at the loss of a loved one. Peter hugged Edmund and Lucy despairingly.
Oh, Aslan! You never told me how I should comfort them when their time came.
***
Lucy sat curled up in Peter's lap on the living room sofa. Edmund was in the kitchen making tea for the three of them. Peter had offered to do it, but Ed waved him away tiredly. "Go on. She needs you."
"And you don't?"
At his brother's bewildered tone, Edmund had given him a fierce look. "Of course I do," he said in a low voice.
Lucy felt a little selfish, having first Edmund's comfort on the train and now Peter all to herself. But she knew her brothers. Being Kings and Knights and all of that made them terribly chivalrous, in England as well as Narnia. So for the past five minutes she had rested in the High King's arms. She buried her face in his hair. Peter had begun to let his hair get longish again, and she knew that as soon as he saw the first signs of a beard, he would happily grow one. Lucy had loved the honey-colored beard of Narnia's eldest sovereign. She always thought it made her brother look the most handsome and noble of men. She half-closed her eyes. The soft gold of Peter's hair blurred in her vision, and if she didn't think about it too much, she could imagine it was the Lion's mane glowing in the late afternoon, Narnian sun. Lucy snuggled into Peter's chest, and his arms tightened in response. It wasn't quite the same thing as being in the paws of Aslan. But it was almost as good.
Almost, she found herself thinking. From now on, everything will be just "almost."
A soft thump drew her attention. She opened her eyes. Edmund had set the tea tray on the table. Lucy watched as he poured three cups, putting honey in her tea, sugar and lemon in Peter's, all without asking. Fifteen years in Narnia had made him well aware of his brother and sisters' preferences, of tea and many other things. He handed a cup to Lucy.
"Thank you Edmund." She took a sip, the warmth and honey flowing through her.
Ed said nothing, merely tapped her under the chin with a sad smile. Lucy watched her brother as he took his own drink (with plenty of sugar) and sat down next to Peter. Ed had actually gotten a little bit of sun while on the Dawn Treader, and Lucy had been delighted to see the familiar sprinkling of freckles that she remembered from their long years as monarchs. But now, in England, with the effects of the voyage erased, his face was clear and pale. It worried her. Somehow, Narnia was the health of her and her siblings, especially Edmund, and to know that he could never get it back was frightening. Lu knew that her own countenance was not what it had been aboard ship. She had stared into the mirror for a little while after coming back to Aunt Alberta's, searching for what Peter and Edmund called her "Dryad face;" cheeks of cherry blossom pink, eyes the color of a spring sky, auburn hair wind-blown about her temples. She had looked and looked, but Lucy couldn't find it.
For a few minutes there was silence as the three displaced sovereigns drank their tea. Then Edmund set his cup down. His dark brown eyes looked into Lucy's blue ones for a long moment, and glanced down.
Lucy's fingers tightened as she followed his gaze. She hadn't put the package down for a single second since the moment Eustace handed it to her. Nor had she opened it. Some unspoken agreement had been reached between the two of them that the package would remain wrapped until they were with the one person who could best understand what they were feeling right now. Lucy put her teacup away. Then, hesitantly, she reached up and took Peter's drink from him. She slipped out of his lap to sit between him and Edmund.
Her oldest brother's blue eyes widened slightly. "Lu?"
Lucy gave a small smile as she slid her fingers under the strings that tied the package. "You'll see." She began working on the knots.
"Need any help with that?" Edmund asked quietly.
Lucy shook her head. "No. Eustace did a good job with these knots, though. Drinian must have taught him…" Then her voice drifted away. Her fingers went weak.
Without a word, Edmund brought out his pocket knife and cut the strings. The paper fell open. Peter gasped.
It was the painting. A trim green ship with a square purple sail and a Dragon's head for a prow plunged through shining waves. Lucy felt as if she was seeing it for the first time, although she had stared at it for hours after coming back from Narnia, thinking that she might never see the painting again. Supposing Aunt Alberta got rid of it for some reason? Lucy was surprised that Eustace had managed to sneak into her room and get the picture without her noticing. Then again, he had learned a thing or two about stealth in Narnia… Lucy fought back tears and looked up at her brothers.
Peter seemed to have forgotten to breathe. The Dawn Treaderwas so very Narnian that he would have known it in any world. "By the Lion," he whispered. "That's how you got in?"
"Correct," Edmund murmured, his eyes drinking in every line and swirl of the painting. "It was in Lu's room at Aunt Alberta's. Came to life, it did, and pulled us in. And Eustace."
"Eustace?" Peter looked as if someone had suggested he eat his crown. "Oh dear, I am sorry I missed that!"
"So are we," Lucy quavered.
Peter shuddered and hugged her. "Never mind me, Lu. You must have had a dreadful time with that little blighter…"
"Oh, I suppose he was rather awful to begin with," Edmund grinned, albeit shakily. "But you know the effect Narnia has on people. Especially beastly little boys."
Peter stretched his embrace to include Edmund, who rested his dark head against Lucy's shoulder. "Indeed I do, Brother," he murmured softly.
"Eustace gave the picture to me this morning," said Lucy. "He's really turned himself around, Peter. Or rather, Aslan turned him around…"
Edmund nodded against Lu's shoulder. "We were there for months, Pete. Sailed to the World's End."
Their brother, the High King, stared at them. "I say…"
And so Edmund began to tell the story. Peter listened, awestruck, to the adventures with Caspian and Reepicheep and Eustace-turned-Dragon-turned-human-again. Lucy listened to her brother, the rise and fall of Edmund's solemn court-manners voice taking on the sing-song quality of a Narnian fairy tale. He was in the middle of telling the story of Eustace being un-dragoned when his voice began to grow softer and softer, and then there was a very long pause, and Lucy found that her eyes were closed.
And the next thing she knew was that she was being put in her own bed, too tired to protest. Soft kisses pattered against her face. Warm, sweet sleep came to claim Lucy.
***
...ummm... did I mention this gets very angsty?
Yeah, it does. Will you still review? Pretty please?
Also, I am looking for a Beta and would prefer it to be someone who has read my stuff already... it would mostly be spelling and grammar check (I'm so nitpicky, and yet mistakes still get through!!!), continuity check, and just the overall ability to be tough and tell me what you really think... so before I go sifting through the Beta tab, would anyone care to take me on?
