Chapter 25

The Coronation

Susan, Peter, Edmund and Caspian stood on the bank of the river in a stunned silence; they had just witnessed a massive wave turn into a water made giant. After a while standing there in shock, finally Peter came to his senses and looked around at the others before gesturing them to follow him as he started wading his way into the river. However Susan hesitated following as she kept looking back at the trees behind her.

"Su" Edmund called looking at her

"Yes"? She asked quickly turning back from the trees

"Are you coming"? Edmund asked back pointing towards where Lucy and Aslan were standing on the other side of the bank.

She just nodded before looking back at the trees; she hoped William was alright she couldn't imagine him being wounded or worse. Edmund sensing his sister's thoughts walked out of the river before standing beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sure William's fine Su" Edmund said gently

"How can you be sure"? She asked looking at him

"Because he has survived too much to just die now" He replied smiling giving her shoulders a squeeze.

Edmund then gestured back towards the river; Susan gave a small smile and nodded. Together Edmund and Susan walked into the water and started moving towards Aslan on the other side.

William sat quietly looking at the body of Ignis; he wiped the tears out of his eyes. He hated that he had to watch another friend die; he had enough of that during the war against the witch. After finally wiping the last of his tears he finally decided to go looking for the others, he put his hand on Ignis's fur one last time and said a one last goodbye.

He headed for the river, as he walked he looked down at the lifeless bodies of Narnians and Telmarines who had fallen in battle. William wasn't shocked by the amount of death, after all he was a veteran when it came to battles; he continued on walking in silence looking at the still bodies on the blood stained ground.

After walking for about fifteen minuets he finally walked through the trees and came out onto a river bank. He looked around and saw the greatest sight ever to enter his life, Aslan himself. He noticed Lucy standing beside him and saw Peter, Edmund, Caspian and Susan wading their way through the water to meet him.

Susan and the others finally reached the other bank and exited the water to come face to face with the great lion once again. When they reached them they all hung their heads in shame, each one of them had failed to see his signs and they could only hope he would forgive them. Silently they looked at each other then bowed to him simultaneously and waited for him to speak.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia" he finally said

The three Pevensie's all rose to their feet, but Caspian remained kneeling in front of Aslan. The Pevensie's shared confused looks about this, but they understood that Caspian would not think of himself as a king yet.

"All of you" Aslan added looking at Caspian still bowing

"I do not think I am ready" Caspian replied not looking at Aslan

"It's for that very reason, I know you are" Aslan said smiling at the young prince.

Caspian stood up and shared a look with Edmund; together the Pevensie's stepped in front of Aslan and even saw some of his incredible power when he restored the wounded Reepicheep's tail right in front of them.

William slowly made his way through the river; he saw many Telmarine bodies floating around but ignored the sight. He saw many Telmarines who had survived the battle surrendering their weapons to different Narnians on the other bank of the river. Finally William reached the other side and stepped out of the river and towards where Aslan waited.

"William" Aslan said as soon as he spotted him

The Pevensie's and Caspian all turned at his name, Susan waited for a few seconds before she ran at full speed and tackled William to the floor. William laughed as she tackled him, but that laugh turned to a groan as he hit the floor.

"What's wrong"? Susan asked worry on her face "Are you wounded"?

"Just a little bit tender" William replied smiling

Susan helped William to his feet and then gave him a fierce hug; William then put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her lips to his. Their lips moved as one as they slowly kissed on the river bank, Susan then noticed that everyone was watching and quickly pulled away. William understood why and together they rejoined the group; once all of the Telmarines had handed over their weapons Aslan lead the Narnians to Miraz's castle.

"This is going to be easy" Peter muttered as they approached the castle, Aslan was ahead of them and the rest of the Narnians behind them.

"Relax, Aslan's here" William whispered from beside him

Peter just nodded in response and they continued moving towards the castle in silence, as they approached the gates guards started running around the gatehouse preparing for a defence of the castle. The Narnians stood with worried faces, they didn't want to fight another battle they were exhausted from the first.

Aslan just looked at the castle like it made him curious, then without warning he opened his mouth and gave a mighty earth shaking roar. The soldiers on the gatehouse were terrified; they prepared to fire arrows and spears before a voice shouted out from among the Narnians.

"Stop men, please stop" Shouted General Glozelle coming forward his arms raised in surrender.

"General Glozelle"? A voice from the gatehouse said confused "What is going on"?

"I'm afraid the war is over, King Miraz is dead" Glozelle announced

There was silence from the gatehouse; nobody shouted back nobody knew what to do. Finally the gate opened and out rode five men on horseback, they rode until they were in front of the Narnians.

"General Glozelle" The lead horseman said nodding his head

"Lord Mateo" Glozelle replied

Mateo looked around the Narnian army and especially at Aslan. William who was standing with the Narnians next to Susan, managed to reach over to where Caspian was stood and with his now healed arm thanks to Lucy pushed Caspian forwards.

"Prince Caspian, in light of your Uncle's death the high council has agreed to invite you to take up the throne that was once your fathers" Mateo explained

Caspian looked at Aslan who nodded; he then looked at Peter, Edmund and William who all smiled at him. He smiled and nodded back before facing Mateo; he then took a deep breath and spoke.

"Lord Mateo, I am my father's son there is no doubt about it so I believe it is my duty to take on the responsibilities of king of this great country and by accepting the throne my first act is to bring the Narnians and Telmarines together so they can live in peace and harmony".

The Narnians cheered into the air, The Pevensie's and William were all smiling and Aslan looked proud at his chosen king. The Narnians were then lead into castle to watch as their new king was finally crowned.

The hall was packed with people and Narnians of every kind, every waited patiently. The Pevensie's were all stood on the front row facing the dais where the throne of Narnia now sat. Aslan stood on the dais silently waiting for Caspian to arrive, however there was no sign of William anywhere. Susan looked around the hall, but still she could not see him; she looked up at Aslan and saw he looked as calm as always and Susan's worries disappeared while looking at him.

"Where do you think William is"? Susan asked to Peter who was standing beside her

"I don't know, but I'm sure he will be here" replied Peter giving his sister a confident smile

Suddenly trumpet's sounded around the hall initiating the start of the ceremony. Everybody turned towards the door eagerly; standing in the doorway was Caspian dressed in a stylish grey tunic with a very interesting pattern. Slowly he started to walk through the hall, the crowd parted to form a clear path that lead all the way to the dais.

Caspian continued to slowly walk through the hall; everybody was silent as they watched him walk towards the throne that was rightly his. Finally Caspian stopped at the steps to the dais and looked up into the face of Aslan. The great lion smiled down at him and gestured him to finally climb the steps to his destiny, Caspian took a deep breath before finally walking up the steps. When he arrived on the dais he bowed to Aslan who bowed to him in return, Caspian then took his place and stood in front of the throne staring at the audience in front of him. Doctor Cornelius then arrived on the dais followed by Trufflehunter who was carrying a red velvet cushion, in which a golden crown sat. Cornelius then bowed to Aslan who bowed back; he then lifted the crown off of the cushion and waited as Aslan began to speak.

"It is an honour to finally crown the true king of Narnia, yes this crown has been fought over for many years; but I declare on this day there will be peace in Narnia, no longer shall war darken this land as today everyone here belongs to Narnia".

Everybody in the hall cheered, Aslan had finally restored the delicate balance of peace. Aslan then nodded to Caspian and Cornelius, Caspian kneeled and Cornelius slowly placed the crown on Caspian's head.

"I crown you, King Caspian the Tenth of Narnia"! Aslan announced to the hall.

Once again cheering echoed around the hall, everybody cheered and clapped at their new king. Caspian then sat on his throne for the first time, which resulted in more cheering. After about ten minuets sitting on the throne, Caspian stood up and started walking through the hall. The crowd parted for him once again and everybody bowed their heads as he passed, he bowed back when the Pevensie's bowed. He also did the same to Trumpkin, Pinecone and Reepicheep as well; finally he reached the back f the hall and standing there was William.

He was wearing a scarlet tunic, which had a golden sash going across it. He also wore a golden cape and for the first time since Caspian had met him, he truly looked like a lord of Narnia. William smiled and bowed to Caspian who smiled in reply and bowed back, and then Caspian carried on towards the balcony where the rest of the kingdom waited outside. When Caspian reached the balcony cheers echoed all around him, he waved and smiled as he finally accepted the responsibilities of the king.

After a few minuets standing on the balcony, Caspian made his way to the stables where a horse had been saddled for him; together Caspian rode through the crowds of people who were outside accompanied by Aslan at his side and riding behind him were the Pevensie's and William. Also Narnians such as Glenstorm, Trumpkin and Trufflehunter also walked with the party as Caspian was greeted by his people. Finally the day ended and everybody was excited about the magnificent feast and glorious ball that was being held to celebrate the beginning of a new age.