A Tale of Prince

Disclaimer: I only own the cousins.

Chapter 10: A Fifth Coronation and Leaving

"Are you nervous?" I asked Caspian as all of us waited for the ceremony to begin. The two of us were a bit separate from the others, out of their earshot.

"Yes. I wish..." he stopped.

"What?"

"I wish I could be as perfect as you all are."

I laughed. "We aren't perfect. Far from it!"

"You couldn't tell it."

"Peter's always struggled with doubt. After we left the last time, he also grew very angry and blamed Aslan. Susan has always struggled with pride because of her beauty and the men that chased her because of it. (She was the most beautiful woman in Narnia, you know.) Edmund's vice is guilt. Lucy's is disobedience."

"Disobedience? Lucy? I thought she saw Aslan the most often."

"She does, but if you remember, she didn't follow Him like we did."

"Oh, right. What about you girls?"

"Rose's is not getting along with her brother and losing her temper, usually at him. Faith's is delayed obedience, which to Aslan is disobedience. Mine is my temper. I can't seem to be able to help it sometimes. I used to mainly lose it at Art and James, but those were just practice for Narnia, practice I failed at. Here, I lost my temper most recently at Peter before the raid and again when he almost released Jadis."

"I didn't know you lost your temper at him."

"I did it when no one else was around. I always have needed Aslan's help to control it. I often reiterate my request, so I don't forget."

"Wow. I didn't realize..."

"You didn't realize we're just as human as you?"

"I suppose not."

"Well, we are." Just then, the doors opened and we were waved in for the ceremony. The six of us who were already kings and queens went first, followed by Caspian, and Rose, Art, and James brought up the rear. Peter, Susan, Edmund, Faith, Lucy, and I stood three on each side of the throne, and Caspian sat down. The knights (James had been knighted sometime the preceding day) stood behind the throne, which was exactly the right height so that James could be seen. Aslan said, "I give you, Narnians and Telmarines alike, King Caspian the Tenth! Once a King of Narnia, always a King. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."

Peter put the (Telmarine) crown on his head, and we all cheered, "Long live King Caspian!" I couldn't help but remember the last coronation I attended: Mary and Timothy's. It was quite different from this one. But there was one similarity. I had to leave right after the coronation, and, although besides me, only Art and Rose know it at the moment, we will leave within the next two days, probably tomorrow.

Caspian called Trufflehunter to him. "I do hereby knight you in the Most Noble Knighthood of the Lion."

The Badger was flustered. "Sire, I don't know what to say! But I will perform this job to the best of my ability."

Caspian smiled. "That's all I ask, dear Badger." Next he knighted Trumpkin and Reepicheep, made Dr. Cornelius his Lord Chancellor, and told the Bulgy Bear, "I and my descendants will never forget the Bear's rights to be marshals of the lists."

We then went outside, mounted, and rode through the streets amongst cheering throngs of people. I smiled, but it was superficial. All I could think about was, We're about to leave for the last time.

That night, there was a ball to celebrate. Faith and I tugged Ed and Pete out onto the dance floor. Lucy's smile was, for once, sad. I knew she was thinking of Adrian. I could remember that feeling. I had it, and I'm sure Adrian had had it, too, during every ball after they had left. It was a lonely feeling, but I suddenly realized hers was more lonely than mine. I had known that I would see Peter again before Aslan's country, but Adrian was dead. "Poor Lu." I murmured.

"Why?"

"For girls missing their husbands, balls are the saddest times. You see everyone dancing so happily with their partner, and you wish your husband was by you side for you to drag onto the floor."

"How do you know?"

I glanced at him. "Ten more years, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"I missed you more than I could say those years."

"That's nice to know." He kissed me. Right after that, fireworks exploded outside the castle. We went to the window to watch.

The next day, Aslan took me off to the side and told me, "You know what will happen today." It wasn't a question.

"I do. I don't want to go, but I will."

"Child, Narnia will still have need of you and all your cousins. It will never stop needing its best knights."

"You mean…"

"Yes. This is not your last time to come here."

I couldn't help it; I squealed and threw my arms around His neck. He laughed. "But, remember, child, you can never tell anyone what will happen."

"I know." Illustrations flittered through my head: Eustace, Pug, the forgotten signs, Susan, Roonwit with an arrow in his side, the last battle (the actual battle, not the book, although I might like to stop it, too…). Yeah, there would be some things I'd like to stop. "Child, you do not have to go through these things. You can accept this responsibility or not. Will you do it? But, if you say yes, you say yes for all of your cousins as well."

I needed less than three seconds to decide. "We will."

"Good. Now, I must speak with Peter and Susan." He left, and I nearly screamed again with happiness. "Hannah? Is anything wrong?" I whirled around to see the girls, Art, and James standing there looking at the delighted me.

"No. Nothing at all is wrong!"

"Are you sure? Because we know you very well."

"Well, OK. Art, Rose, what is Aslan about to tell Pete and Su?"

"That they can never come back." Rose said.

"Right. I thought He would tell me and maybe Art that we could never come back. But..." I paused for dramatic effect.

"But what?"

"But, we can!" They squealed like I had. We began strolling back to the castle of Miraz. "So, you aren't upset that I chose for us to come back?"

"No! Why would we be?" Faith asked me.

"I know you've read at least the first part of The Silver Chair, right, Faith?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get to the part where they forget the signs?"

"A few, yeah."

"We can't stop that, or anything. Is that clear?" I looked Art, Rose, and Faith in the eyes. (I didn't look at James because he doesn't know much about Narnia.)

"Yeah. It's clear." They all said.

"Good." We entered the courtyard where we saw Caspian waiting. "What did Aslan want to speak with Peter and Susan about?" he asked.

"Um, what we're going to do later."

"Ah. I see." We talked for a few minutes more before we had to leave for the ceremony in which I knew we would be returning to our world. We stood in front of a tree. "Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as much as it does to man. Anyone who wishes to live in peace with them is welcome to do so. For anyone else, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers."

"It has been generations since we left Telmar!" one man pointed out.

"We aren't referring to Telmar. Your ancestors were once seafaring brigands. Pirates run aground upon an island. There they found a cave, a rare chasm that led them from that world to this. The same world as our Kings and Queens. It is that island I can return you to. It is a good place for anyone who wish to make a new start."

All were silent until a man's voice broke the silence. "I will go. I will accept the offer." General Glozelle stepped up.

"So will we." Prunaprismia, holding her baby, and her father, Lord Scythley also stepped forward.

"Because you have spoken first, your future in that world will be good." Aslan breathed on them. The tree behind us opened. The three (four if you count the baby) hesitantly moved toward the tree. They stepped through and disappeared. A Telmarine I couldn't see cried, "How do we know that he is not leading us to our death?"

Reep stepped up to Aslan. "Sire, if my example can be of any help, I will take eleven mice through with no delay."

The Lion turned and looked at Peter. "We'll go," said Peter.

"We will?" Edmund asked.

"Come on. Our time's up. After all, we're not really needed here anymore." He unfastened Rhindon and held it out to Caspian, who took it.

"I will look after it until you return."

"I'm afraid that's just it. We're not coming back." Susan said sadly.

"We're not?" Lucy asked.

"You five are. At least, I think He means you five." Peter said. (The five he's talking to, by the way, are Edmund, Lucy, Faith, Rose, and James.) Tears stung my eyes as I recalled that he didn't know I would be returning, without him. For the past 26 years, he had been High King, and for 21 I had been his Queen. I couldn't conceive of being in a Narnia without him. I removed my swords and held them out to Caspian. "Maybe you oughta hang to these, too."

He took them without saying anything, seeing my tears. Lucy, still puzzled, asked Aslan, "But why? Did they do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, dear one. But all things have their time. They have learned all they can from this world; now it is time for them to live in their own."

"It's all right, Lu. It's not how I thought it would be, but it's all right. One day you'll see, too. Come on." Peter tried to console her before leading her to say goodbye. Tears welled up in my eyes once more as I watched them say their farewells, knowing what Ed and Lu didn't: They will never see any of these people besides Caspian and Reep again until Aslan's country. I at least knew we might see them again. How my heart broke for Pete and Su. To leave Narnia forever- I could barely imagine it! Wait, maybe I could. Maybe it felt like wishing to go to Narnia but knowing it wasn't real. Maybe I could imagine it.

I hugged Trumpkin after Lucy, and said goodbye to the rest of them. Except Caspian. We all understood that my giving him my swords was my leave-taking. I kept a close watch on Su; luckily, she didn't kiss him. The four and my cousins went through, but I hugged Aslan one last time. ""They know I have another Name. Help them find It." He whispered in my ear.

"Of course, Aslan." I turned and left. The train station was almost a surprise. I was still crying. (It didn't help that The Call was playing in my head.) I saw Lucy turn around as if to see if Narnia was still there. "He must know what He's doing, huh, Lu?"

She turned to me, that sweet smile lighting up her face. "Yes, He must. Thanks for reminding me." She hugged me close.

"You're welcome, my Valiant sister." I knew that Peter was right; we weren't really needed right now.