Chapter 25

"Evelyn," Aslan's voice was heavy with sadness as He padded through the hall to her side.

"What's wrong, Aslan?" she asked softly, her hand resting on the sword at her side. She walked beside The Lion until they stopped in the sunlight streaming in from a window.

"I must give you another choice, gold one," He told her. She could feel the sadness rolling off Him, and she knew the choice would not be easy. There would be sacrifices and consequences of each option, and she knew she had to pick the option with the consequence and sacrifice she could live with.

"A choice of what?" she prompted Him when he paused. He sat beside her, and He was as tall as she was, though she was standing.

"What you are going to do," He replied.

"What are my options?" she asked, gazing out the window over the castle.

"The first one is to stay in Narnia. You could restore Narnia alongside Caspian, and raise Lynn to continue on as the Guardian. You would remain the Princess, and Lynn could be your heir. You would give up your memory of the other world forever, and you not marry. You would never bear Peter's son, and you would not live passed the age of forty. But you could remain the Guardian and keep the legends alive," He started, and she knew she would not pick that option.

"No, Aslan. I have waited a thousand years to be with Peter and bear his son. Narnia doesn't need me anymore. Everything I did here, everything I didn't do, was for Narnia. I need to do something for myself now," she replied.

"Your second option would be to return to your own time. You would lose your memory of Narnia, and could go on without the influence of this world. You would be able to fall in love with someone else and bear his children, and live to old age. But you never know of Narnia again. You would give up Peter and your son, and you would be a very different person," He went on.

"I often wondered what it would be like to return to England with no memory of Narnia. I was willing to forget Narnia for a while, but now that Peter has returned, that hope will not die so easily. I spent a thousand years and more waiting for him to return so my hope would be fulfilled. Now it is, and I cannot let it go. I am who I want to be because of Narnia, I can't give that up," she admitted, though she sensed He knew already.

"Your last option is to return to England in Peter's time. You would have to live with a year's worth of memories that never happened, and you would know they are not real. You would not return to Narnia for some time. But you would be able to bear Peter's son, and you would be with him. But be warned; if you choose this option, you will not live a long life," He finished.

"I have lived far longer than any other human, Aslan. I do not need to live to old age. I am already old," she smiled sadly. "What will happen to Lynn if I choose Peter's time?" she asked.

"Lynn will learn to follow in your footsteps. She will become Caspian's Guardian, and she will be the Princess of Narnia. She will sit at Goldlight, as you did. She will help Caspian rebuild the Council, and he will make the Chair of the Council. She will be his equal in his eyes, and she will have more influence than the House of Lords will. She will help him learn the Books of Music and Poetry so that he can truly bring Narnia back," He replied.

"Will the Book of History show the Telmarine Age?" she questioned Him, resting her left hand against the glass. Her skin was turned to fire as the sunlight glowed through her flesh.

"Yes. But the Book of Heritage will show the royalty during the Age as Telmarine Kings and Queens. And the Princes and Princesses who died before they were crowned King or Queen will show as well, just as they did before the Telmarine Age. But Caspian will be the first Narnian King after Peter. Though you do fall between them in the Book of Heritage. And Lynn will appear in the pages once Caspian crowns her his Princess," The Lion told her.

"After all this time, I never looked at my own image in the Book of Heritage. I never knew I was in there," she laughed softly.

"You appeared there the day you were crowned. You know how the Books work. They are enchanted to hold the facts and story of Narnia. They were brought into being when I crowned Frank and Helen all those centuries ago. And you know the Book of Law hold the traditions you created during the Telmarine Age. Caspian will have all the answers he needs in those Books. You did the best thing you could have by saving them from Cair Paravel," He said, meeting her eyes.

"Will I see you again?" she asked quietly.

"Someday you will gold one. When the time is right, you will know," He promised.

"I can live with the fake memories, and a short life. I waited a hundred lifetimes to be with Peter again. The price is worth it. I choose to return to Peter's time," she told Him, raising her chin. Her voice was steeled with finality, and He knew she would not regret her choice.

"Then it will be so," He swore. "When I open the door to your world, you must go through. Go with Peter and Susan when they leave. They will understand. And you will too. I will be there, in your world, but you must find me," He added.

"You go by another name in our world," she replied, nodding. She had a pretty good idea of what that name was.

"You must learn to know me by that name, gold one. I will hear you when you use it," He promised her.

"I will, Aslan. But I have a question," she responded.

"Your eyes will stay gold. They were gold before, though they were a much flatter, duller color. You used to call them hazel. And Lynn will follow you on the path as the Queen with no crown," He answered the unspoken question before she even put it into words in her head.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"I know leaving Narnia in Caspian's hands will not be easy, my gold one. But you left part of your legacy in Lynn, and you five gave Caspian the answers he needs when you gifted him the Royal Books," Aslan's gentle words dispelled many of the fears still gnawing at her stomach, and she looked to The Lion.

"Thank you, Aslan," she murmured, meeting His eyes. She could see the joy and the sorrow, the pride and the acceptance, and the love gleaming in the golden depths. She bowed to Him, knowing it would be the last time she did so. And before she straightened, she felt His nose on her forehead, and when she looked up again, her own Lion-eyes were calm.

After Aslan had walked away to find Peter and Susan, Evelyn sought out Lynn. She found the little girl on the practice courts with Edmund, learning to wield a dagger while wearing a dress. Said dress was a cream color that complemented the light gold of Evelyn' over shirt, which had been altered to a more feminine form. The shirt had a V-neckline that revealed the light cream undershirt and short sleeves covered the top of the undershirt, but the longer, slim sleeves were exposed. The sleeves of Lynn's dress were a pale gold, and Evelyn thought the girl looked very cute in the colors. Evelyn completed her own outfit with dark brown pants and nearly black boots.

Watching the girl, she saw the same mistakes she'd made when she'd first learned. "Twist backwards so your skirt lifts up. You won't trip over it that way," she called. The little auburn head whirled around and nodded. She turned back to Edmund and took her position once more. Then she whipped through the move, twisting as she did, effectively dodging Edmund's sword and her own dress. Evelyn watched with gleaming eyes and a proud smile as she moved forwards and drew her own sword.

Lynn saw, and moved to practice with one of the fauns nearby. Edmund looked up and shed his two shirts. Evelyn removed her over shirt, and then she rolled on the balls of her feet. Edmund grinned and his sword darted forward, faster than a striking snake. Evelyn's sword came up and she flicked his blade aside, spinning around him to lash out with a sidearm cut. It went on and on for a while, then they stepped back and bowed to each other. Evelyn's wrists still bore faint bruising from Peter's duel, and her ribs prevented any fancy tricks, so they didn't spar for long.

And then Caspian was there, standing on the stairs down into the practice yards. "Everyone is ready," he told them as they turned to him. Around them, the guards and soldiers bowed.

Lynn gave him a shallow curtsy, but Evelyn and Edmund shared a soft look before they replied. Evelyn bowed her head quickly, deferring to his now higher rank. But Edmund simply nodded and said, "Then we had better join the assembly."

At the top of the stairs, Evelyn pulled Caspian aside momentarily. "Caspian, I want you to take this," she told him, handing him her dagger in its sheath. It had protected her for a long time in Peter's absence. "A Narnian King needs to defend his people with their weapons," she added.

"This blade must have a history," Caspian murmured.

"Of course it does. But the most important part of it is that the dagger you hold was Peter's gift to me when we met the very first time. Let it be part of my legacy here, that Kingsshield lives on to protect you," the Princess replied.

"I will tell its story to those that follow in my footsteps," the King promised softly.

"And I would ask one more thing of you. Give this sword to Lynn the day you make her your Princess. The Guardian of Narnia will need her weapons one day," gold Lion-eyes met dark ones and she saw the promise in his eyes. He saw the love of the land and her people in the unique depths, and he swore without words that he would. One of his valets took both blades up to his personal armory, and then Evelyn fell in beside Edmund once more. She smiled at him, and he saw the peace in her eyes reaching all the way into her soul.