A/n: Guess what?? It's the last chapter! Sighs Ok, this has been quite an experience, and I want to thank you all so much for the helpful comments and encouragement that I've gotten. This is the most reviewed piece of writing I've ever posted! Woo! Hey, hey, now…don't get too disappointed about it being over-I have a surprise for you at the end!


Disclaimer: Can you guess it? Yep! Still don't own any of these characters!

The lion walked to the throne room, his paws softly plodding along through the majestic hallways. Even though there was no wind, his long, golden mane flowed gracefully behind him. His rich, dark eyes surveyed the castle around him, and watched as the night time guards bowed low before him.

Somehow, Aslan knew that the guest of honor and the king that she was with was going to be a little bit late. As he entered the beautiful throne room, he sighed. He was beside himself on what to do with Susan and the rest of the Pevensies. He had his rationale for sending them all back the last time, and for telling Susan and Peter that they wouldn't be coming back. It wasn't that they were too old; it was that they were getting too attached to a world that wasn't their own. Narnia loved the Pevensie children; there was no question about that. But, they had lives, friends, and family back in England. They couldn't just leave them.

But then…they also had lives here. Peter didn't like life in England…it lacked adventure, swords, and royalty for him. And Susan…well…she was madly in love with Caspian. Lucy and Edmund noticed changes in their siblings when they weren't in Narnia…and they weren't good changes. They were, and always would be, high kings and queens of Narnia. He remembered the words that he said to them at their own coronation, once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen.

He also knew that in due time, Caspian would be required to be married. He knew full well that the only person that the king would marry was Susan. Caspian would put up a pretty good fight against it, if need be.

The black and white marble throne in the center of the room shone in the moonlight. Aslan sat at the foot of it, and waited, his mind reeling the entire time.

What was he going to do with them?

His eyes slowly shut, and he began to dream.

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

The look of heartbroken shock on Caspian's face was hard to match. He just stared silently at Susan the entire time, until Peter walked up to him and handed him his sword. The lion just stood there, watching this pan out in front of him.

He had noticed the attraction that the two teenagers had, but he hadn't made much of a note. And yet, there they stood, stealing glances whenever they could at each other. The lion still thought that his decision to send the Pevensies back was good, and that Susan and Caspian would eventually drift away and forget. He was almost sold on that idea, but then, the two kissed. He watched his theory fall to pieces as he saw how much they really did love each other.

He watched as the Pevensies walked through the door in the air, and saw how heavy the young king's heart was. The crowd dispersed, soon leaving only him and the king. Aslan watched as Caspian walked over to the tree. The king gently touched the bark, as if he could make her return. He grimaced, and began to walk away. Suddenly, he turned around, and in one quick movement, pierced the earth that surrounded the tree with his sword.

"A monument." He said quietly to the great lion before nodding his head and walking away briskly.

After watching the king depart, Aslan turned back towards the tree.

Had he really done what was best for them?

Aslan woke soundlessly. He could sense that the Queen and King were coming. He raised his head, still sitting at the foot of the throne. Finally, Susan and Caspian entered the throne room, hand in hand. He sighed. Tough decisions were going to have to be made tonight.


"Good evening, King Caspian, Queen Susan." He said to the couple as they bowed before him.

"How has your stay in Narnia been, Queen Susan?" He said, walking towards her.

"It has been amazing as always, my king. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me come back, and putting me in charge of rescuing King Caspian." She said, smiling genuinely at the lion.

"Yes. If it was not for Queen Susan, I wouldn't be alive right now, Aslan. Thank you." Caspian added, squeezing Susan's hand gently.

"You're welcome, both of you. Now…would you please come outside to the courtyard with me? I find the air in here a bit too close."

The two nodded, and followed the lion out to the beautiful courtyard, where they both received a pleasant surprise. Standing in the light of the torches, Peter, Edmund and Lucy all stood, smiling at their sister and Caspian. Susan squealed, and ran into Peter's arms, wanting to ask him all the questions that she had.

"Where were you?" She whispered in her older brother's ear. "You'll find out, Su." Was all that he allowed himself to say. She gave him a look, and then proceeded to hug Edmund. Caspian walked up to Peter, and gave him a firm handshake.

"Have you been taking good care of her?" Peter asked with a smile.

"How could I not?" Caspian replied, laughing quietly.

Meanwhile, Susan was trying to coax the answers out of Lucy, but she wouldn't budge.

"Please, Lucy?" Susan said, trying to pout as big as she could. Lucy only smiled.

"Just wait and see, Su. To be perfectly honest, we don't know what Aslan is going to do with us, okay? We just might have given him something to think about."

"Okay."

Susan stepped back and watched as Caspian gave her sister a hug.

"You know, Lucy, if it wasn't for you…none of this would've happened. Thank you so much. So much." He whispered to her, making her smile.

"You're so welcome."

The King and Queen stepped back so that Aslan was in between them and the rest of the Pevensies.

"Now. You all are assembled here to return back to England, with the exception of King Caspian. I still stand with my rationale for sending you back. This world loves you all so much, but you have a family and lives back in England. I wouldn't want you to lose that."

"Sire," Peter interjected, "our father perished in battle, and our mother was lost when an enemy bombed our home. The only real people we have back in England are the Professor and his housekeeper. And…the professor is very old…he only has a few years maybe left for him. Please…we have more people who love us here than in England." His siblings nodded in agreement. Susan drew closer to Caspian, her fear of being torn away from him becoming more obvious every passing second. He said nothing, but put his arms around her.

"This is true, which somewhat alters my decision. And…"

He looked at Caspian and Susan, who seemed to not notice. Susan was being cradled in his arms, clinging to him like a drowning victim. Her head was nuzzled underneath his, and he held her tight. Aslan's heart went out to them.

Why did they have to be separated? Caspian couldn't possibly live in England, but Susan could live in Narnia…for goodness sakes, she once was Queen of Narnia! They really did have no one left in England. Goodness. Aslan could feel himself take down his own reasons, and replace them with new ones. He was in a very delicate situation. He was dealing with love and the chance for a new life for the Pevensies. Of course! How had he been so blind as to not see it?

In his head, he knew that England was their real home. But, in his heart, he knew that the Pevensies belonged in Narnia. They always had. Why…the Pevensie children had spent more years in Narnia than their actual home! They had grown up in Narnia. And, to top it all off, the King of Narnia was in love with The Gentle Queen of Old.

"Excuse me for a moment, children…I must be alone with my thoughts for a minute. I will be back soon." They all watched as the lion gracefully walked back to the throne room. The rest of the Pevensie children just watched in silence as Susan started to break down in Caspian's arms, sobbing about how afraid she was about having to go back home. He whispered comforting words to her, and rubbed her back soothingly. When she was calmed down, she went to her older brother, and sat down on a bench beside him.

"So…Peter…you want to tell me where you were all those days?" He smiled sadly at her. "We were with Aslan. We were…trying to convince him to let us…you…stay. He wouldn't budge in his thoughts, but I know that we had some impact on his final decision."

"Oh…thank you, Peter. It means a lot to me."


Aslan walked back to them smiling, his decision made. He watched as all of them, sitting, lifted their heads, eagerly awaiting his verdict.

"I do not make mistakes. It was intentional that I sent you all back. It was intentional that I made it so that Susan and Peter couldn't come back. I may not make mistakes, but sometimes, I overlook things. I did overlook many things in this situation. I didn't see how deep your love was, Caspian and Susan. I didn't see how much you love Narnia's adventure, Peter, Edmund and Lucy. But, you do have important lives in England. With that in mind, and taking into consideration the talks that I got over these past few days, I have made my decision." The Pevensies locked hands and stood around Aslan, and Caspian hovered in the background, crossing his fingers behind his back. Please, Aslan…please…

"As high King of Narnia, I, Aslan, have decided that…"

Caspian shut his eyes, the Pevensies stood, each one of their hands going white from the pressure of the person standing next to them squeezing it so hard, and Aslan looked at each of them intently, not sure what kind of reaction he was going to get.

"Caspian, come here, please."

The king walked forward, shooting a glance of hope towards Susan. The lion looked at him solemnly.

"I'm very sorry, Caspian, but…"

This time, Susan shut her eyes tight.

"Peter cannot be high king without his sword…would you be willing to give it back?" For a moment, everything seemed to freeze, no one really knowing what had just happened, until little Lucy gave a scream of pure delight.

"Susan! We can stay!"

Susan could hardly believe what she was hearing. They could stay. She watched, frozen, as a shocked (but ecstatic) Caspian gently handed Peter his sword, which Peter took with a wide grin on his face. Edmund was giving Peter a high five, and Lucy was hugging Aslan. Suddenly, it really hit Susan. She screamed, and ran to Aslan, tears starting to fall down her face.

"Oh Aslan! How can I ever thank you?" He looked at her and smiled.

"Take care of his highness." He said, laughing. His Highness! Caspian! She turned around to face him. He was smiling larger than she had ever seen him smile. She ran to him, knowing that she was going to be kissing a guy like there was no tomorrow in front of her siblings, but at this point, she couldn't care less.

He quickly captured her lips and brought her in to an electrifying kiss. It was ten times better than their first one in the courtyard. Not breaking their kiss, Caspian gently lifted her off of the ground, allowing both better access.

"Come on, Ed, Lucy…let's go and find a place to sleep…I'm really tired." Peter said with a smirk, ushering his younger siblings out of the courtyard.

When the kiss finally broke, Susan wrapped her arms around Caspian's neck, and gave him a tight hug. He hugged her back, he had never been this happy in his life. Aslan walked over to them, smiling.

"Thank you, Aslan." Susan said, holding Caspian close.

"You're very welcome. All that I ask in return is that you two love each other till the sun grows cold, and that you make good leaders. Alright?"

"We can do that." Caspian said, smiling.

"Good. I'll be back for your ceremony, Susan." He said, smiling. He then turned his back on them, and walked into the darkness.

"He'll be back," Susan said to Caspian, who was starting to go after the lion, "back for my ceremony?"

"I think I know what he meant." He said, wrapping his arms around her again. She cuddled in to him, knowing that she didn't have to be afraid of being taken away from him again.

The Pevensies were home, and they were here to stay.

From the Author: Yay! It are be done! Ok. I have a youtube vid for ya'll, so I'll be posting the URL on my FanFiction home page. THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed! Ok…do you think we can get to 200 this chapter? I hope so. Sorry this chapter was so short, but…I really didn't have anything planned. Ok. Thanks, guys! R&R!