CHAPTER 25: Narnia the Great

Peter and the rest still hadn't returned that night. Nia was worried.

"You've got to rest, Nia," said Toulouse (who was now rather round in the middle). "Peter will be back by morning."

"He's right, Godmother," said Ram (Prince Ram of Archenland, Cor and Aravis's son and heir to the throne; age: four years old). The young prince was taking his role as ring bearer seriously. "I'll just wait for them while you sleep…"

"You'll go straight to bed young man, if you know what's good for you," interjected his mother. "Come. Stop bothering Godmother…"

"I'm not being a bother, aren't I?" Ram looked pleadingly at Nia with those big, dark eyes of his.

"No, you're not." Would her child be as adorable as Ram? "But you want to be a strong warrior like your father, right? As the old saying goes…"

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Ram leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight Godmother. Goodnight, Mother"

"Let's go Ram," said Cor, who had been sitting by the fireplace n Nia's drawing room. He stood up, and together, father and son left the room.

"They look so wonderful," mused Nia as she watched he door close behind the two.

"Dreaming of your child-to-be, Princess?" Lady Cashieille asked, smiling. Nia liked her very much, and found the Lady a very sensible person. If it weren't for Cashieille of Espy, she and Peter would never have confessed to each other.

"Yes."

"Well, you can dream during your honeymoon," said Aravis, her voice businesslike. "You really should have a rest…"

"How can I ever repay you two?"

"Oh honestly, this is my payment for my wedding, Nia."

"What are friends for?" Cashieille asked at the same time. "Besides, you an always arrange my wedding…"

There was someone knocking on the door.

"Come in," Nia called out, and the door opened, revealing Mister Tumnus, pale-faced and sweaty.

"Are you alright, Mister Tumnus?" Nia stood up and hurried to the Faun. "You're cold!"

"Maybe you should sit down," said Toulouse, as Aravis poured him some tea.

"No! No!" With that, he broke into sobs.

"Mister Tumnus!" cried Nia. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry, Nia! I'm sorry! I never should've told you about the Stag!"

"What?" Aravis handed the Faun his tea, but his hands were shaking so much, they spilled on the carpet.

In between Mister Tumnus's sobs and hiccups and apologies, the Cat and the three women pieced together what had happened. The long and short of was that the rulers of Narnia disappeared without a trace while hunting for the White Stag. The Beavers found their horses tethered by the Lamppost Tree, but they – Peter and Susan and Edmund and Lucy - were gone. The dryads, led by Pomona, searched the surrounding areas, but Pevensies were gone. They simply vanished.

Everyone was quiet (with the exception of Mister Tumus, who was still sobbing uncontrollably) for a while.

"I'm so sorry, Nee," said Aravis in a small voice. Nia didn't hear her.

Peter was gone. Peter was gone… perhaps forever. They all were. She was alone, huddled in a dark, cramped space. Everything was so dark, and so cold…

"You better sit down," said Cashieille, her purple eyes filled with worry.

They all heard a low, growling sound from the corner of the room, and they jumped.

"My children," said Aslan in greeting as he approached them.

"Oh Aslan!" Nia burst into tears and ran forward to hug him.

"Where are they, Aslan?" asked Toulouse. "The Pevensies… They simply vanished!"

Nia sobbed harder.

"They are fine," said Aslan. "Their time is past. Dry your tears, Narnia. Hush."
Somehow, it seemed that what Aslan was about to say was so important; Nia stopped sobbing and sat in the nearest armchair.

Someone knocked (yet again) on the door, which opened to reveal Fenrir and Cor. They stopped dead at the sight of Aslan.

"High King of all High Kings…" Fenrir whispered in awe. He stepped forward and knelt in front of the Lion. "Forgive me, my Lord, for my betrayal. I have sworn to you before, ad I will swear my fealty to you again."

"The past is forgiven, my son," said Aslan, placing a paw on Fenrir's shoulder. "You have sworn fealty to me, and now I ask you to do the same thing for your Queen."

Nia started. What was Aslan saying?

"Swear fealty, Fenrir Lightningpaw, to your new Queen, Narnia."

Déjà vu.

Nia was, for the second time in thirteen years, walking down the aisle for her coronation. This time, though, there was no Peter, no Susan or Edmund or Lucy, waiting for her at the end. This time, her throne was the throne where Peter used to sit. This time she was to be crowned Queen.

Everyone was solemn this time. They were still mourning for the loss of the four Kings and Queens. During the past month since Aslan announced that she was to be made Queen, Nia spent her energies searching everywhere for her fiancé and his siblings. They were gone.

Not that they opposed Nia as Queen. In fact, every Narnian thought Nia a perfect ruler: wise and smart. It was just that they couldn't believe their rulers could disappear so suddenly.

But someone had to keep the country running.

The TFC, who'd remained loyal to her all these years, stood near the front; Cor and his royal family were standing across the aisle. Aslan, Toulouse, and Mister Tumnus (who was bearing her new crown) were waiting at the end of the aisle.

Oh, yes. That was another thing different with this coronation. This time, Aslan was the one who would announce her.

The pink silk gown she was wearing proved cumbersome as she walked, and her curls, which were tied back, save a few ringlets that framed her face, swished and swayed.

She reached the end of the aisle, and knelt in front of Aslan. Aslan placed his right paw on her right shoulder and blessed her, then moved to allow Mister Tumnus to take her old coronet and replace it with her new crown.

The new one was a modified version of the old. It was still an Aslium crown that flashed different colors as the light hit it, but this time, it was fashioned into a wreath of roses. Who would've thought the little girl who was running through the woods would be a Queen? She certainly didn't.

"I give you Queen Narnia," said Aslan in his majestic voice, "the Wayfarer."

She had to smile at that. Instead of an adjective describing her because of something about her that was yet to be proved, Aslan had styled her with a word that was closely associated with her. She wasn't the Luminous Queen, or the Brilliant Queen (she was both of those, actually). She was the Wayfarer Queen. The Ambassador of Narnia.

"Rise, Queen Narnia."

She stood up and climbed up the steps to Peter's throne… her throne now. Before she sat, she turned and faced the audience, her countrymen… and her friends.

"We are mourning over the loss of Peter, the High King, Susan the Gentle, Edmund the Just, and Lucy the Valiant," she began. "I don't expect any of us will ever get over the sorrow of losing them." She certainly wouldn't. An annoying lump formed in her throat. By the Lion did she want to cry! "But we have to live with our loss. We have a country to manage. They wouldn't want Narnia to go into waste." The thought of Peter's beloved Narnia, ruined, was unbearable. "And we don't want that, too. Let us then go forward and continue what Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy have started. The sorrow may be part of our hearts forever, but we have the future generation to nurture… We must bestow upon them a land where milk and honey flowed in abundance." She vaguely remembered reading that in the Bible. "Our former rulers are gone, but we're here. We've inherited their legacy, and we have to make it our own. Think of the past, my friends, and think of the future. There is nothing to be done about the past, but there's a lot to be done for the future. What must be done must be done. Let's do it!"

There was no after-coronation feast. It would be held during the spring instead. Everyone wasn't feeling up to it.

During the following months, Nia formed her set of advisers, which included Toulouse, Mister Tumnus, Oreius, Reginbrik, Gawgon, and Fenrir. Lady Cashieille was assigned to be one of her ladies-in-waiting. The Tisroc had wasted no time sending one of the Tarkaans to congratulate her.

Those months became years. She wasn't as free to travel as she once was, for she had taxes and economics and national policies to mind. She had to pass laws and drabble in politics the way she never had before. But she visited Harfang, Lone Islandss, Terebinthia, Archenland, and even Calormen, whenever she could. She traveled more frequently than the Pevensies ever did, put together. She was the Wayfarer Queen, there was no doubt about that. She personally took care of foreign relations – it was her specialty, after all. During her reign, there were no wars, not even after Prince Rabadash ascended the throne and became Tisroc (this happened ten years after Nia became Queen). It was still the Golden Age. Narnia reached the peak of her wealth in arts, literature, and economy, in her reign.

There were the sad parts, too. Mister Tumnus died twenty years after her coronation, and Beaver followed a year after. The real miracle was Toulouse, who aged but didn't die (and showed no signs of dying any time soon). Fenrir, who was sailing home from Cair Paravel, was caught in a storm; his ship sank and he drowned. This was thirty years after her coronation. The TFC, however, remained.

Nia soon realized the importance of having an heir to her throne. She refused to marry, so she adopted Ramon, Cor and Aravis's younger son (younger than Ram by five years) as her heir.

She was already an old woman when she decided to take that quiet walk in the woods. After fifty years of running the show, she was seriously contemplating abdication. She was already nearing her eighties. She had to rest.

"You're still healthy, Nia," said Toulouse, who was quite ancient himself, though still perfectly healthy. "I'll be darned if you can't rule for another twenty years."

It was a beautiful autumn day, and what more agreeable way spend it than walking in the Lantern Waste, by the Cauldron Pool?

"I still will be the Queen Mother," replied Nia. "Ramon is ready. Look at me, Tou. I'm old and weary. I can't rule much longer. Might as well do it now, while I can sill guide Ramon during his first years as King." Then, she smiled, remembering Peter. Dear, sweet Peter… She hadn't seen him in a very long time. She hadn't seen all of them in a very long time.

"You're thinking about them, aren't you?"

"Yes… No, Tou. I'm not thinking of what might have happened. I…"

"I say what's that?" Toulouse suddenly ran deep into the woods.

"Toulouse!" She could no longer run as she used to. She hobbled in the direction he went, and found him sitting patiently by a heavily battered wooden chest. "What's that?"

"It's a chest, obviously," said Toulouse, rolling his eyes. "Remember when we were younger? We used to hide in trunks when playing hide and seek."

"Maybe we could lie there again, see what it feels like to play that game again," said Nia, a smile forming in her weathered, wrinkled face. It was a grandmotherly face, with thinning, snow-white curls, and warm, intelligent brown eyes usually crinkled into a smile. She bent down gingerly and lifted the lid. It was surprisingly light. She crept inside, and Toulouse followed nimbly. The lid suddenly fell down on them.

"Maybe we should get out." Nia was beginning to regret climbing into the chest. She felt like she was in a coffin.

"Agreed. It's too dark…"

"What did you expect?"

"And hot, too."

"Nevermind." Nia shifted and pushed the lid off…

And found herself staring not at the sky, but at a strangely familiar ceiling.

From far away, she could hear someone (a cranky old female) shouting, "Narnia Evenshire! Where in the world are you?"

Far away, in another world, inside a magnificent castle by the sea, a young Faun placed a crown upon the head of a man in his middle years, with flecks of gray in his dark hair.

"Rise, King Ramon," said the Lion. "Speak to your people."

King Ramon of Narnia felt his throat tighten as he saw the people assembled in front of him… His brother, the King of Archenland, and his brother's wife, Queen Brunnhilde… His mother, the Queen Mother Aravis… His wife (who would be crowned the next day), Signy… How he wished his father was here. But Cor was dead. And how he wished Aunt Nia was here…

"Fifty years ago," he began, "you crowned a Queen, who was brokenhearted, mourning over the loss of her High King. During King Peter's reign, the land achieved extreme wealth, intellectually and economically. During Queen Narnia's reign, she managed to pull us up to dizzying heights, in spite of her heartaches. She entertained us with her stories of Scheherazade, of Wendy Darling, and of Dorothy. She was the mother who took care of us all. She made the land into what it is today – into what we are today. You helped her then, and I humbly ask you to help me now.

"My friends, in the fifty years my Aunt Nia ruled, she has ceased to be the Wayfarer she once was. She has become as solid as that pillar over there. We've all watched her become the greatest Queen in the history of Narnia. And now, let us all honor the legacy of she, who was once the Wayfarer Queen. Let us all take a moment to remember Narnia, the Great."

END OF CHAPTER