When I opened my eyes next, all I could see was black. I fell to my knees, weeping. My parents. My sister. They were gone, and I had no idea when I would see them again. As my tears died down, I lifted my head to look around. The first thing I noticed was that everything was still pitch black. The second thing I noticed was a hand. This hand was stretched out in front of me, ready to pull me up. Instead of taking it, I looked up to see who the hand belonged to. In front of my stood a Man. I didn't recognize Him, but it didn't matter. The moment I saw His face, I knew who it was.

"Jesus," my whisper sounded extremely loud in the silence.

Jesus didn't answer. He smiled, reached down to grasp my hand with His, and pulled me to my feet. I dropped my gaze to my feet, afraid to look upon my Savior. A moment later, a single finger placed itself underneath my chin and lifted my head so that I looked Jesus in the eyes. What I saw there was not condemnation for my many sins, or disgust at the less-than-perfect human that I was. Instead, I saw forgiveness and so much love it took my breath away. I'd thought my husband, children, parents, and siblings loved me. All of their love for me combined was a single drop compared to the ocean of love my Savior was showing me. Without a word, I rushed into His arms, and He held me as I cried once more. When those tears finally stopped, Jesus gently pulled back.

"Come," He said gently. "You have other family waiting for you."

I nodded and He took my hand and led me off. Slowly the pitch black began to lighten and a familiar landscape began to take its place. Narnia took shape before my eyes, but it was a Narnia better than the one I'd known. The colors were brighter, the air sweeter, the sun brighter. As we walked into Narnia, I noticed changes. Jesus had gone, and in His place was a very familiar, very large Lion. Aslan was here. I smiled. It made sense that the Lion would be here. After all, this was His Country. He led me to the edge of a pool of water. I looked down and noticed that my hair had grown. It was slightly wavy and down to my waist. Nestled on my brow was not my familiar silver circlet, but a silver crown instead. Around my neck was a simple silver necklace with a silver heart pendant. Matching earrings hung from my ears. I was clad in a beautiful dress of shimmering midnight blue, embroidered to look like the night sky, full of silver stars. The sleeves were wide, long and flowing, and the skirt went down to the ground. A silver belt encircled my waist, and I could feel my boots on my feet. What really made me grin, though, was the fact that I could feel all of my knives and daggers in their proper places. It had been far too long since I'd last felt that. I turned to thank Aslan, but he was gone. I shrugged and headed for the faint sound of voices that I could just barely hear. It didn't take me long to reach my destination, and I grinned again as I caught sight of shimmering clothes, gleaming armor and weapons, and glittering crowns through a grove of trees. As I came closer, I decided to surprise my siblings. I worked my way through the trees, taking care to be silent and not be seen. Peter and Edmund were talking together near the edge of the grove. At first, I hid behind the tree nearest to them, but as I noticed they weren't paying attention to me, I came out and stood right behind Peter. While I waited for them to notice me, I looked around. I spotted Lucy talking with two women who must be Jill and Polly. My youngest sister was clad in bright blue and silver. Her silver crown glimmered in her auburn hair. Jill was wearing a gorgeous shade of lavender, and Polly was wearing grass green. A little ways away, I saw three men talking. All three were wearing chain mail under different colored tunics and swords belted at their waists. The man who looked most like Eustace wore a tunic of deep forest green. The man who must have been Diggory was wearing a tunic of golden tan. The last man had a hand on the mane of a majestic white unicorn, and I knew this must be King Tirian. He wore a golden crown and a tunic of deep burnt orange. Lastly, I turned my attention back to my brothers. Both of them, like the other men, were wearing chain mail underneath their tunics. Peter was wearing a golden crown nestled in his blond hair. His tunic was the exact red shade of the Narnian flag and, although I couldn't see it, I knew it would be embroidered with the golden Narnian symbol of the rampant lion. His sword, Rhindon, was belted at his waist, and his silver and gold shield hung on his back. Edmund's silver crown gleamed in his black hair, and I could see the hilts of his dual swords sticking up over his shoulders. His tunic was a deep red trimmed in black and silver.

I tuned back in to the conversation my brothers were having. They were talking about Dwarves. The conversation was sparked, I was sure, by the circle of Dwarves sitting by the Door, completely convinced they were in the stable. Within a few minutes, the Kings had exhausted that conversation. They stood in silence for a moment before Edmund began to look around, frowning.

"Where is Alexa?" he asked. "I thought Aslan said she would be here-" Edmund caught sight of me, "-by-" his eyes widened as he realized who I was, "-now." He sighed as Peter turned and stared in shock. "How long have you been standing there?" Edmund asked with his eyes closed.

I smirked. "A while. Oreius is going to have your hide."

Edmund groaned and I laughed. "Why did I want to see you again?" he asked rhetorically.

Any reply I might have made was cut off as Peter got over his shock and nearly tackled me in a hug. I laughed. "Nice to know you missed me, little brother."

The laughter and commotion had caught the attention of everyone else, so as soon as Peter let me go, I was nearly tackled again by a auburn-haired blur.

"Alexa!" Lucy shouted excitedly as she hugged the life out of me. "You're here!"

"I won't be for much longer," I gasped, "if I can't breathe!"

She let go of me with a sheepish laugh and waited just long enough for me to get my breath back before taking my hand and dragging me off to officially meet everyone else.

Once the introductions and hugging was done, Peter came up to me, wearing his most mischievous grin. I raised an eyebrow at him, but all he did was hold out a hand to me. I paused for a moment, and then took it and he led me through the copse of trees to a small clearing where a man was standing. The man was wearing the same colors as I was, and like the other men, a shirt of chainmail underneath his tunic. He, like Edmund, wore dual swords belted in an x shape on his back, and his raven black hair bore no crown. I turned to look at Peter, a question on my face. My brother nodded and gave my hand a comforting squeeze before he let go and walked off. The man in front of me turned at the sound of Peter's footsteps, and suddenly I was lost in forest green eyes and my husband's name slipped unbidden from my lips. And then I was in his arms and kissing him and nothing else mattered except that for the first time in a lifetime, he was here, and he was real, and he was MINE. We finally broke apart, and I relished being in his arms again. And then the sound of someone clearing their throat broke through my thoughts. Unwilling to leave the circle of Brandon's arms, I turned in them to see who had interrupted our reunion. It wasn't just one person. It was five. I recognized them all.

Standing tall in the middle was my oldest child, Jeremy. He, like Peter, wore a tunic of red and gold over a shirt of chainmail. Like his father, his raven black hair bore no crown. Instead of the dual swords Brandon wielded, my son wore a shield on his back and a sword at his waist. On his left were the next oldest of my children: my twin daughters. Mariah stood tall and proud, resplendent in a gown of royal purple. Her belt and accessories were silver, and her black hair was left loose, hanging to her waist. It was held out of her face by a silver headband. Melody, who was almost the complete opposite of Mariah, wore the same shade of purple as her sister, but in a tunic. Underneath, she was silvery pants and black boots. Her belt was silver, and her only jewelry was a long silver necklace. Her black hair was braided down her back, and she wore two daggers on her belt.

On the other side of Jeremy were my youngest two children: Abigail and James. Abi stood in the middle of her two older brothers clad in white and light pink. Her tunic looked like the high-lo dresses from my world. The top half was a tank top made to look like it laced up the front with silver laces. Underneath, she wore a silvery white off-the-shoulder shirt and leggings. Her boots were gray, and her belt was silver. Her only jewelry was a silver chain around her neck, from which hung a small golden ring that I had given to her on her 10th birthday. Her brown hair, the same shade as mine, was partly pulled back, and her blue eyes, also inherited from me, were drinking in the sight of me. On her other side stood my youngest son, James. He was dressed like the other men, but with a tunic of forest green, black, and silver. He wore two swords belted on his back like his father. His brown hair, inherited from me, was tousled and unadorned. His brown eyes, inherited from my mother's side of the family, were filled with love as they looked at me.

For several minutes, we just looked at each other, and then Abi opened her mouth.

"Mama?"

Without a word, I stepped forward with open arms. This was, apparently, all the invitation my youngest child needed, as she raced forward and buried her face in my chest. I held her, stroking her hair as I used to do when she was a child, and whispering soothing things to her as she cried. Her tears ran out surprisingly quickly, and she stepped back so her siblings could greet me. Once individual hugs were done, I quickly became ensconced in a group hug. From the middle of the hug, I noticed that some of the things my kids wore looked familiar. Finally, I brought it up.

"Are those my swords?" I asked James, pointing to the weapons on his back. He nodded.

"When it became clear you weren't coming back, we each picked an item of yours to carry with us. I chose your swords so that I'd have your protection."

"I took your shield," Jeremy told me, "so that you'd help me defend myself."

"I borrowed your charm bracelet," Mariah said, "so that I'd remember how much you loved us."

She was referring to the bracelet that Susan had given my for my 21st birthday. It held a charm symbolizing each of my siblings, as well as my parents and Trinity. Later, charms for my husband and kids were added.

Mel went next. "I took your daggers so that I'd have your strength."

Now, that statement wouldn't make sense to most people, but I knew exactly what she was talking about. I'd told all of my kids of the strength it had taken for me to use those daggers for the first time at the Battle of Beruna. I'd never wanted to kill. I'd never wanted to fight. I'd never wanted to be in the army. But I'd had to, and it had taken tremendous strength to wield those blades in that first battle.

Abi was last. "I didn't need to borrow anything. I already had your ring, as a symbol of your loyalty, faith, and love."

These words meant the world to me, and I attempted to show it by grabbing them all in the biggest hug I could manage.

Still in the middle of all of my kids, I turned to my husband.

"What did you take?" I asked softly.

Brandon smiled gently at me. "Why would I need to take anything? I had everything I needed right here." He lifted his left hand to show me his wedding ring, and then gestured at all of the kids. Carefully, I extricated myself from the kids and kissed him, only to break apart a moment later due to a distinctly feline chuckle. We looked up to see Aslan beckoning us to follow him. So with my husband's arm around my waist and Abi's hand in mine, my family and I went to watch the end of Narnia.

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, as much as I sometimes wish I did.

Sorry for the wait, everyone. My computer cord broke in Jan and I had to wait a while for a new cord, and real life is currently hectic. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. Feel free to nag me via PM or review if you think I'm taking too long. :D

Also, there's a poll on my profile. Please go vote. I have so many stories in my head, but I don't know which one to do next. Help would be much appreciated. If you don't see something on there that you'd like to see me write and post, please feel free to review and let me know. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks, everyone! Happy Easter!