A/N: The Valiant is ended. It's given me a lot of headaches and I am certainly not an action writer, but it's done. These last few chapters switched POV because the impact of the story seemed to work better for me.
They sent the Wavewalker ahead to warn Cair Paravel of their return, the smaller ship leaping ahead as if she'd been held back by the larger warships. Lucy spent the last day standing at the bow of the ship, looking for the deep water harbor and home. Susan joined her after the noon meal, tired and paler than normal, with the sun lending her a soft glow of fragility. There were shadows in her eyes, things she wouldn't tell Lucy about what happened, but she smiled as Lucy leaned into her.
Lucy was also pale, and suffered nightmares of the fight with the man she had thought would be her friend, but she was smiling and chattering excitedly as they drew ever closer. Kegen watched them from his post at the ladder to the forecastle, beside Gwynnifar. Behind him, he could hear the soft voices of Junea and Hadrian as the two old campaign partners spoke of the future before them. Like Junea, Hadrian would be mustered out on their return. During the assault, he'd suffered a crippling injury that now meant he could never serve again. Now, the two were planning to get a place together where they could learn to work together and continue being helpful to the Queen. Lucy had slipped them instructions on how to do so when her sister wasn't looking.
Two people were waiting when the ship's boat brought them to the dock below Cair Paravel, King Edmund, looking amused, and High King Peter looking angry. "Hi Peter!" Lucy caroled as she swung up on to the pier, "I brought you something, and it's better than a pony." For a few minutes, all of her shadows were gone as she bounced and waved wildly.
"Indeed," Peter said.
"I brought you a navy! Well, Jago says his life debt is to me, but he'll serve you, I already told him that he should." Lucy threw herself into Peter's arms, "And I rescued Susan, well Kegen led the men, but it was my idea on where to find her."
Lucy moved on to hug Edmund while Susan and Peter embraced. Peter looked at the group in the boat, "I want whoever is in the warships up to Cair Paravel in the morning for a conference. The army has orders to provide provisions until then." Peter frowned at the sole attempt to speak up by one of the men in the ship before he turned and guided Susan back towards the great castle.
Kegen joined the guards trailing after with Gwynnifar. He glanced up at Cair Paravel and thought, welcome home.