Disclaimer: I own Vaslin, but nothing else.

A/N: This chapter concludes this story. I am not planning a sequel, though that may change in the future. I've watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but do not completely understand it. Maybe one day, when I do, I'll work on a sequel. Merry Christmas!

Chapter 11:

The water of the river rippled unnaturally, even after the effect of Aslan's roar ceased. Some of the Telmarines cried out in fear, having no idea what was going on. Looking to the right, Vaslin saw large, ocean-sized waves coming towards the Telmarines and the bridge.

"Retreat!"

"Back! Back!"

But the waves were too fast.

The rushing water turned into the shape of a man waist-up, emerging higher than any of the waves had been. He flew forward, coming to a stop at the bridge. The men on it began to leap into the water- not that it was any safer.

The water-man turned to look at another being on the other side of the river. Receiving an answer to an unasked question, the man turned his focus back on the bridge. His arms turned into streams of water that flooded the bridge, knocking men off of it.

When every man but one- a Telmarine general- had been flooded off of the bridge, the water-man tore the wooden structure from the earth, lifting it up to face level. He gazed upon the terrified general for a moment.

And then he ate him, the whole bridge shattering and falling back into the water. The man disappeared, returning to water. The debris of the bridge drifted downstream, the rest of it washing up on the beach.

The Telmarines surrendered almost instantly, giving in to the Narnian rule and doing as ordered.

Vaslin and the Narnian royalty crossed the river to greet their old friend.

Sure enough, standing beside Lucy on the beach, was a lion. Aslan.

They knelt down before him, heads bowed.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia." The Great Cat's voice was as wise and gentle as Vaslin remembered it.

Susan, Edmund, and Peter rose to their feet.

"All of you."

I'm no King. Caspian and Vaslin exchanged glances. The former wolf got up, but the prince did not.

"I do not think I am ready." He admitted.

"It's for that very reason I know you are." Aslan told the prince.

Caspian stood up, glancing at Edmund for a moment as he seemed to realize they were equals.

"I-I'm no King, sire." Vaslin pointed out hesitantly. "I'm just a former wolf."

"What you were has no effect on who you are, young one." The lion pointed out, kindly disagreeing.

I'm a King. Vaslin nodded, although baffled at this sudden turn of events.

Without warning, a group of mice waded ashore, walking between the Kings and Queens. They rested a makeshift stretcher down, a dying Reepicheep laying atop of it. Lucy grabbed her cordial and hurried over. She knelt down and tilted the bottle enough to let a single drop of the liquid drop into the mouse's mouth.

"Oh! Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you." Reepicheep gasped dramatically, waking up. He climbed to his feet, nearly falling over again at the sight of the lion watching him. "Hail, Aslan! It is a great honor to be in- Oh!" He gasped, nearly falling over, spinning around to look for his missing tail. "I'm completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion." He looked up at Lucy hopefully. "Uh...perhaps a drop more?"

"I don't think it does that." The Queen told him regretfully.

"You could have a go." He suggested.

Aslan chuckled, seemingly amused by the mouse. "It becomes you well, small one."

"All the same, great King, I regret that I must withdraw, for a tail is the honor and glory of a mouse." Reepicheep turned back to the lion, drawing his sword and holding it out sadly.

"Perhaps you think too much of your honor, friend."

"Well, it's not just the honor. It's also great for balance. And climbing. And grabbing things."

Aslan and Lucy exchanged amused glances.

"May it please, your High Majesty, we will not bear the shame of wearing an honor denied to our chief." Another mouse spoke up, clutching his own tail and drawing his sword. The other mice did the same.

The lion chuckled yet again, but consented. "Not for the sake of your dignity, but for the love of your people."

A tail sprouted from Reepicheep's behind. "Look! Thank you, thank you, my liege. I will treasure it always. From this day forward it will serve as a great reminder of my huge humility."

The humans grinned, both humored and happy for the mouse.

"Now, where is this dear little friend you've told me so much about?" Aslan asked Lucy.

The Kings and High Queen exchanged glances, knowing he meant Trumpkin, who'd previously made it clear he had no faith in Aslan.

The red dwarf looked up nervously from where he was guiding Telmarines onto the beach. He reluctantly turned away from what he was doing and strode up towards the lion, taking a bow. Aslan roared for the second time that day, the humans' grins growing wider at Trumpkin's obvious discomfort.

"Do you see him now?" Lucy asked him.

*X*

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians, just as it does to man." Caspian told the gathered Narnians and Telmarines. "Any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to. But for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers."

To the left of Caspian were the four blood siblings. This right was Aslan, some of the Narnian soldiers beside him. Right next to the former prince, Vaslin stood tall. He had spoken privately with the lion the previous night and he now had news to break to his adopted siblings.

"It's been generations since we left Telmar." A man spoke up.

"We're not referring to Telmar." Aslan told the people. "Your ancestors were seafaring brigands, pirates run aground on an island. There, they found a cave, a rare chasm that brought them here from their world. The same world as our King and Queens." He paused. "It is to that island I can return you. It is a good place for any who wish to make a new start."

"I will go." A former Telmarine general spoke up. "I will accept the offer."

"So will we." Prunaprismia, Miraz's wife, held her infant son in her arms.

They stepped forward, an older man with them.

"Because you have spoken first, your future in that world shall be good." Aslan promised them, breathing warm air upon them.

Without warning, the nearby tree's twin trunks twisted, creating a large, human-sized gap between them. There were gasps of awe from the crowd. The people who were leaving vanished as soon as they touched the air between the trunks. Understandably, the crowd was alarmed.

"How do we know he is not leading us to our death?" One man asked loudly.

"Sire, if my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay." Reepicheep chirped up helpfully.

"We'll go." Peter said suddenly, stepping forward.

"We will?" Edmund repeated, confused.

"Come on. Our time's up." Peter told him. He turned to Caspian and Vaslin. He handed his sword to the long haired King. "After all, we're not really needed here anymore."

"I will look after it until you return." Caspian promised.

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

"We're not?" Lucy asked.

"You two are." Peter explained, turning to Lucy and Edmund. "At least, I think he means you two."

"But why?" The young Queen asked Aslan. "Did they do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, dear one." The lion assured her. "But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned what they can from this world. Now it's time for them to live in their own."

"It's alright, Lu." Peter told her softly. "It's not how I thought it would be, but it's alright. One day, you'll see too. Come on."

The four siblings walked to some of the Narnians they'd met on their journey and gave their goodbyes.

"I'm glad I came back." Susan said to Caspian.

"I wish we had more time together." The King told her sadly.

"It would never have worked anyway."

"Why not?"

"I am thirteen hundred years older than you."

Then, she kissed him. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sure when I'm older, I'll understand." Lucy whispered to Peter, loud enough for Vaslin to hear.

"When I'm older, I don't think I want to understand." Edmund commented.

Vaslin smiled, though his heart shattered in his chest.

Susan pulled away from Caspian, joining her siblings.

"Vaslin?" Lucy asked him, confused. "Come on."

The other three turned to look at him, realizing he wasn't following them towards the tree.

"I'm afraid I can't." The former wolf told them, swallowing to hold back unshed tears. "I'm where I belong."

"You're not coming with us?" Peter asked, shocked.

"No, I'm not." He shook his head.

Lucy looked to Aslan, heartbroken.

"Vaslin's destiny lays ahead for him in Narnia." The lion told them calmly. "While he joined you in your world, it is not where he is meant to be."

The Queen raced over to the former wolf, embracing him in a tight hug.

"When you think of the wolves, think of me." He told her, hugging her back.

Lucy pulled away, allowing Vaslin to hug each of his adopted siblings in turn.

"What should I tell our mother?" Peter asked him.

The King shook his head lightly. "Tell her I vanished."

Vaslin took a few paces back to stand beside Caspian. He addressed all four of his siblings.

"Though I will only see Ed and Lucy again, I hope you shall remember me. I will be thinking of you all, every day. I shall remember you, always."

"We'll never forget you, Vaslin." Susan promised.

Their goodbyes said, the four siblings approached the tree. They cast the two Kings one last glance, then stepped into the magic surrounding the tree and vanished.

The two Kings exchanged glances of grief, but did not say anything.

Vaslin would miss his siblings much, he knew, but his destiny wasn't to chase after them their whole lives. His destiny laid here. In Narnia. His home.