Disclaimer: (sorry I didn't put this in before…) I don't own any of the characters used in this story.
It was in the middle of a hot, sticky summer in London. The four Pevensies had gotten out of school for the summer about two weeks ago, and they were bored out of their wits.
Lucy and Edmund still hadn't gotten back into Narnia, and poor Lucy was growing impatient. Peter had joined a fencing class, and came back home to the professor's house laughing once, because the teacher had told him that he had never seen anyone with such skill in battle, and that he fought with the strength and courage of a king. Susan could often be found sitting or walking alone, sometimes staring off into space for hours on end.
Though the boys were too busy to notice, Lucy had seen some changes in her older sister. Instead of being open and talkative, like she was before and during their second stay in Narnia, she had become secluded and quiet. Her dark brown eyes, which used to have a brilliant sparkle in them, which used to be playful, which used to gaze upon a king she loved, had turned dull-only a little shimmer remained.
Night was probably the worst time for Susan and Lucy these days. Almost every night, Lucy would wake to the soft sound of Susan standing by the large window, crying her heart out. Lucy's heart broke whenever she heard her sister cry. She knew that it was about Narnia, and she knew that it was about the king she had left behind. One night, Susan was crying so hard, that she ran outside, and collapsed on the grass, not wanting to wake her sister. Unfortunately, her sister had already been awake.
Lucy knew that she had to do something.
It was a Sunday, and the Pevensies were getting ready to go to church with the professor. With Susan and Edmund out of earshot, Lucy walked up to Peter just before they were about to go.
"Peter! Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, Lu. What do you need?"
"I need to stay after church…alone."
"So you want me to leave you alone at the church after it's over? Why?"
"Have you seen Susan lately, Peter? She's heartbroken! She needs Narnia…no. She needs him. She needs Caspian, Peter."
"Agreed. But how does this go into you staying alone after church?"
"Edmund and I are the only ones that are allowed back into Narnia, right?" Peter nodded as Lucy continued, "I'm afraid that Edmund will say that he's too busy to go with me, so I've decided to go alone. I think that if I talk to Aslan alone, in a quiet place, like the church gardens, I'll be able to get back into Narnia. Into my home."
Peter sighed. "Very well, Lu. I'll just tell everyone that you went over to a friend's house, and you didn't tell me her name, and not to worry."
"Oh, thank you, Peter!" Lucy said, as she gave her brother a hug. "You won't regret this. Promise."
And with that, they left for church.
After the sermon, Lucy sat in the pew alone. Peter was the last one out, and he was the last one to talk to Lucy.
"Listen, Lu. I know that you are going to do a great job, alright? But, I need you to be safe, and keep smart. Find him, and have him write a letter to Susan. Bring the letter to Aslan, and he'll tell you what to do with it. Okay?" Lucy shook her head yes, "I love you, Lucy, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Peter gave his sister a light kiss on her forehead, gave her a hug, and then left her.
Lucy was then pretty much the only person left in the church, so she headed outside to the church gardens. They weren't much, but they consisted of high plants, so that if any magic happened, no one would see it. (That was Lucy's reasoning, anyway.)
"Aslan," she said quietly, "I have a feeling that you can hear me. And if you can, I just want to talk with you. I…I need your help. It's Susan, you see. When you made her and Peter go, you made her leave Caspian. She loved him. She…she loved him. All I ask is that you let me come back into Narnia, so that I can see him, and ask him something. I want my sister back, Aslan…please," she whispered, "please."
Within seconds, she felt that same poking feeling that she had felt every time they entered Narnia. She was going home.
Lucy found herself standing in a grassy meadow, surrounded by trees. In the distance, she could see Caspian's palace, and she started out for it. She had gotten about ten steps before she stopped short. Out of the trees came a great lion, almost two times bigger than when she last saw him. She clearly remembered that same lion telling her earlier, "for every year you grow, so shall I."
"Aslan!" She yelled happily, as she ran into him. He laughed as he nuzzled into her. "It is good to see you, Lucy."
"I guess you heard my request, then."
"I did indeed. I knew that Susan was in love with King Caspian, but I did not know that their love was this strong. He has not been very well here, either. I can tell that he misses Susan deeply."
"Erm…Aslan…has Caspian been with anyone since we left? Wait! Caspian…Caspian should be dead! We've been away for over three months…that would be about five hundred Narnian years! Why didn't I think of that…"
"Calm down, Lucy. Like I said, I knew that Caspian and Susan were in love, and so I did them a favor. I bridged the gap between the time in your world with the time in ours. You have been in your world for three months now, so it has been three months here. For instance, what day is it in your world today?"
"May 16th."
"Then it is May 16th here in Narnia as well. Everything is as you left it. Caspian is no older, he is still alive, and he still misses your sister. Your time is going at the same pace with Narnia's. No need to worry."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"Now. You need to go and find Caspian. Spend all the time you have with him. Alright?"
"Thank you, Aslan…I will."
"Lucy, if you need me, just call out my name."
"Thank you."
And with that, they went their separate ways.
Caspian was standing out on the balcony of the highest tower, observing his kingdom and the land around it. Or…at least, that's what he wanted everyone to see him to think. He was really thinking of Susan. How her hair was like silk, how she smelled of vanilla, of the white rose…
"Lovely, isn't it?" A light voice said behind him, "I remember doing the same thing at Cair Paravel." He turned around quickly to be met by Lucy's smile. He was suddenly filled with so much joy, he could hardly contain it.
"Queen Lucy!" he said as he picked her up and twirled her around, laughing. She was laughing and squealing as well. "I'm so glad to see you, Caspian!" She said happily as he set her back down.
"And you're telling me! Are your brothers and…sister here with you?"
Lucy's smile lessened, and then Caspian knew.
"No…I'm afraid not. I'm sorry. I know how much you miss Susan."
Caspian blushed. He still missed Susan terribly, but he could see some of her in Lucy, which made him feel better than he had in the past three months.
"Well…it is good to see you, Queen Lucy."
"Caspian, it's just Lucy, okay? Erm…can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything…Lucy."
My Dearest Susan,
Though this is not my preferred method of communication, (I would much rather talk to your beautiful face) it will have to do.
How are you, Susan? Well, I hope. When Lucy gets back, I'm sure she will tell you that your world's time is running consistently with Narnia's…which means that it has only been three months since you left. Things are alright here. I miss you terribly, which might be infringing on my leadership a bit. Please do not feel responsible, for it is my fault.
I miss having you with me. It is torture having to live here without you…the Narnians miss you as well. I don't think anyone misses you more than I do. This may be because I was the one that spent the most time with you. I was the one who backed you up as you did me. I was the one who loved you more than anything, Susan. And I still do. I cannot bear to be with anyone else…it is not the same. No one in this palace can be compared to you. You are the only one I will ever want. Know that, Susan.
I hope with all of my soul that I will see you again; otherwise, I don't know what I will do.
If you do get this letter, know that I send my love and a kiss. Oh, how I wish for one more, Susan. I want you here with me. I need a queen.
My sincerest apologies that this letter is so short, but Lucy is pressing me to finish. I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
All of my love,
Caspian
Ps. Tell Peter and Edmund 'hello' for me, please.
Lucy and Caspian spent the rest of the day together, talking about how each other were doing. He had cleared the rest of his day for her, so they could talk. When night came around, though, it was time for Lucy to leave. But, she had one last thing left to do.
"Aslan!" She called into the night as she and Caspian walked back to the meadow where Lucy had come earlier that day. A low growl came from behind them, and both turned around to face Aslan. The two bowed, until the lion spoke.
"Peter told you to ask me something, did he not, Lucy?"
"Yes…he told me to take the letter that Caspian wrote for Susan to you, and that you would sort the rest out."
"And indeed I shall. Stand back, you two."
Caspian and Lucy locked hands, and stepped away. Aslan took a deep breath, and then let it all out. The two watched in amazement as a small pond began to form, blending itself in with its surroundings. The water in the pond was to clear, that you could see all the way to the bottom without having to squint. Bright colored fish swam freely in the pond, and lovely wild flowers grew weedless around it.
"This," Aslan began, "is your way of communicating with Susan, Caspian. At this very moment, a pond very similar to this one is forming in the yard of the house in which she is staying. When she goes back to school in another place, the pond at the house will vanish, and will reappear wherever she is staying, so that she can talk with you through these letters."
"Thank you so very much, Aslan. I…this is incredible. How can I ever thank you?" Caspian said, staring at the pond.
"You are very welcome, Caspian. All that I ask is that you care for the pond, and never stop replying to your love."
"Oh, Susan is going to be so happy! I can't wait to see her face when she sees it!" Lucy said, excited for her sister. Caspian smiled, trying to contain his own excitement. He was actually going to talk with his love for the first time since she left…he could hardly wait.
"Lucy. You must tell your sister to wait five minutes after she sends her letter, or until she sees a bright red flower petal come to the surface. This means that Caspian has received her letter, and when she receives his letter, she must put a red flower petal in to signal that she received it." Aslan said, "The same goes for you, Caspian." He nodded.
"This is the demonstration I will give you. Caspian, pick one of the red flower petals off from one of the flowers surrounding the pond and drop it in." Aslan directed. Caspian obeyed, and dropped a petal in. It immediately started to sink down to the bottom, and then it disappeared. Caspian and Lucy gasped, and Aslan replied, "Right now, this same petal is surfacing in Susan's pond. This is what will happen to your letters, and the petals that follow."
"That is amazing!" Lucy said, looking at Caspian, who looked like he was going to cry from happiness.
"Yes, it is." He whispered.
"And now, I believe Lucy has to get back to her siblings, they are starting to worry…except for the one who knows her secret." Aslan said.
"Peter." She whispered to a confused looking Caspian, who then nodded. Lucy ran into him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Lucy," Caspian whispered into her ear, "for giving me my hope back. I am forever in your debt."
"It's love, Caspian," she whispered back, "sometimes you're willing to do anything to save it."
They broke apart, and Caspian put his letter into a glass bottle he had brought.
"I will wait for you to get home to send it…so you can see Susan's face." Caspian said, smiling. She smiled back, gave Aslan a great hug, and vanished into the trees.
She found herself back in the church gardens, slightly out of breath. She then knew what she had to do. She ran all the way back to the professor's house, as fast as her little legs would carry her.
When she got to the house, the first thing she did was go to the back yard. Sure enough, there was a pond there, looking almost exactly like the one near Caspian's palace. Floating on the surface was the letter, the bottle shining. Around the mouth of the bottle, someone had tied a note.
Thank you, Queen Lucy.
She smiled as she took the bottle from the water and removed the note from Caspian. She quickly took one of the petals off of one of the red flowers and threw it in the pond. She watched it disappear, and then ran inside, yelling her sister's name all the way.
From the Author: Ok. So I usually do Harry Potter, and so now I'm giving Narnia and my new favorite couple a story. I remember sitting in the theater, trying to contain myself from screaming, I hated the ending so much. So...this is my anti-depressant, and I hope you like it! PLEASE read and review!!