A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update, readers - life's been a bit hectic, and I'm not sure if people are enjoying this or not yet - so if you're reading, please review as well! Thanks, SG.
Part Four
Susan followed Aslan as if in a dream, as he went to another pool. "Sit on my back, Susan," he ordered gently. "You will find the passage easier."
She did so, burying her hands in the lion's mane, and held on tightly. He leapt into the pool, and Susan closed her eyes. There was no fear, only the strange, dream-like state that came from spending so much time in the wood, and soon she found herself lying on soft, mossy grass, looking up at a blue sky that was partly obscured by the branches of trees. It felt familiar, with the sea washing around in the background, and she smiled. "Is this heaven?"
"Nay, dear heart; though perhaps it seems that way to you."
She sat up, and looked around her, and finally looked into Aslan's watchful eyes. "Where am I, then? What happens next?"
"You are here; and the future happens next."
"But…" but he was gone.
She stood up, noticing wryly that her clothes were now no longer 20th-century ones, but in a much older fashion. She shook out her skirts – well, riding habit, by the looks of things – and decided to head towards the sound of the sea.
Her eyes widened as she saw the beautiful beach, a lone figure sitting gazing out to sea. It couldn't be! She stepped closer, but he didn't stir, lost in thought, until she sat beside him.
"Always you come," he said sadly. "And when I turn to look at you, you're not there. So I won't look at you, and maybe you'll stay longer…"
She touched his hand gently. "Caspian?"
Her touch startled him out of his reverie. "Susan?" he said, head snapping round to look at her.
She smiled. "I thought you said you weren't going to look at me."
"I thought you weren't real."
Head tilted to one side, she asked, "What convinced you that I am?"
His fingers laced gently with hers. "You've never touched me before."
She blushed and looked away, but didn't pull her hand from his. "I'm real."
He swallowed. "I thought you weren't coming back to Narnia."
"So did I. But… something happened."
"Is Narnia in trouble again?"
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"What, then? Must you go back home again?"
She took a deep breath. "I don't think I can." She bit her lip. "In my world, you see… there was an accident. I was hit by a car… um, it's a bit like a sort of mechanical cart that doesn't need a horse to pull it…"
She found herself choking up a little, talking about it, but Caspian had guessed the end of the story. "The cart killed you?" She nodded. "What of the others? The High King, Edmund, your sister?"
"They are well, unharmed."
He gave her hand a squeeze. "Then live rejoicing that they were unharmed and that you have returned to Narnia," he suggested.
She gave him a sunny smile. "I can't help worrying about them, that's all," she confessed. "They're bound to be grieving for me…"
"Grief passes," he soothed. "And perhaps they will come to Narnia when it is their turn to die."
"Perhaps," she said quietly. "But what of you, Caspian? How long has it been for you?"
He shrugged. "A couple of years, no more than that."
"It was only a month for me," she marvelled. "Time really does run differently." She sighed. "It's so strange. I don't feel dead. "
"Well, you don't feel dead to me, either."
"You are dead only in your own world," said Aslan quietly from behind them. "You chose to give up your life there to allow your sister a chance for a good life. By forfeiting your life in that world, you have been given this one in recompense. Here, you may live and die as you would anywhere else. But your way back to your old country is barred, save in dreams. Your dreams are your own."
Caspian and Susan looked at each other and smiled. "My wish was granted," he said softly.
"Your wish?"
"That we might have more time together."
Susan blushed, and smiled. "So it was."