The next few days following the battle were long and tiring.
Most of Elaine and the Pevensies' time was spent tending to the many wounded soldiers. Since Lucy only had so much liquid in her cordial, Peter told her that she should save it and only use it in the direst of circumstances.
Taking care of each and every soldier required their full attention from dawn to dusk, and though it was exhausting, they all did so without complaint. All of the soldiers had fought honorably for them and the least that Elaine and the Pevensies could do was treat their injuries.
When not treating the soldiers, the Pevensies met with Aslan to discuss how they would proceed to rule Narnia in the days ahead now that the Witch's reign was over. There was also the matter of how to deal with her remaining followers who had either fled or been captured.
Peter decided that for the time being, they would continue to remain cautious and keep their ear to the ground for any uprisings, but there was little cause for concern now as most of the creatures were completely incompetent without the Witch to give them specific orders.
On the last night at Aslan's camp, every soldier of the army released a candle on the river to represent one of their comrades whom they had been unable to save before the battle was won. Elaine stood up from the river's edge as she watched her candle float alongside the many others, and she wiped two tears away from her cheeks.
Peter slowly came up next to her and gently took her hand in his, understanding that the ceremony was a way for her to give a proper sendoff to her father and finally say good-bye.
After five total days of caring for the injured and tying up loose ends now that the war was won, the army finally broke camp and traveled to Cair Paravel.
When Elaine was shown her new private quarters, the sight of a large and warm bed nearly sent her into tears as she practically dove into it. It was the softest and fluffiest bed she'd ever had the pleasure of laying in, and it took her all of five seconds to fall asleep.
On their first day in the castle, the other Narnians allowed the five humans to rest as long as they needed since they had worked hard non-stop for nearly two weeks with little sleep. Elaine and the Pevensies were extremely grateful for this, and all of them ended up sleeping for nearly fifteen hours.
Once they had fully rested, preparations immediately began for the event the Narnians had been imagining for over a hundred years: the Pevensies' coronation.
Early in the morning, someone knocked on Elaine's bedroom door. "My lady, it is time to wake up now."
Elaine groaned and threw a pillow over her head.
The door opened and the person stepped inside. "It is a very big day today. You must begin getting ready."
She took the pillow off her head and looked at who had come in.
A beautiful young nymph who appeared not much older than Elaine herself smiled at her. "Good morning, my lady. My name is Mara. I have been assigned to be your personal attendant."
"Oh," Elaine said, still half-asleep. "I wish I looked much more presentable for our first meeting."
"If you have any requests or need assistance getting somewhere, please do not hesitate to ask me. I know this castle like the back of my hand."
"Thank you. You can call me Elaine if that's all right."
"Very well. Allow me to assist you in getting ready for the coronation."
Elaine's eyes widened and she quickly sat up with a smile. "Of course, the coronation is today! You must be so thrilled!"
"I am. We all are. I shall draw up a bath for you and then leave you to wash up."
"Okay, thank you."
After Elaine had finished bathing, a familiar face stepped through the door.
"Alaesa!" Elaine smiled.
"Hello, noble Daughter."
"I think we're on good enough terms for you to call me by name now."
The woman laughed. "I'm glad to see you well. I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been able to speak with you since the battle began."
"Oh, don't apologize. We've all been very busy since then. What are you doing here?"
"Well, who else is going to provide you a dress for the coronation?"
"I hope it's not another one of yours because if you keep giving them to me, you soon won't have any left."
"No, no, I made this one specifically for you. Come!"
Vaella and Rayne happily stepped inside as well and began to fix Elaine up for the big event.
"Is it going to be this way every time there's such a big occasion?" Elaine asked as Vaella gently worked on her hair.
"Why, do you not enjoy our presence?" Vaella teased.
Elaine laughed. "No, just the opposite. I was hoping that big occasions are common so I'll see you all more often."
"Rest assured, child, we will be around whenever you need us, not just when there is an important event. With the summer restored, it is my hope that things can be like they were in the old days before the eternal winter."
Elaine listened with fascination as Vaella eagerly described the old Narnian summer nights that had been filled with music and dancing. She spoke of it with such fondness that Elaine made sure to remember to ask Peter if they could ensure those nights returned for their naiad and dryad friends.
Once Vaella finished her hair, Alaesa helped her into her new dress which was much grander than the last dress Alaesa had given her since this one had been made for a royal event rather than a war.
Elaine looked in the mirror and smiled. The velvet green dress had long loose sleeves with gold ribbon around her elbows and crisscrossed on the front from her chest down to her waist. Vaella had curled her hair and loosely pulled back half of it to frame her face.
"How do you always make me look so…beautiful?" she asked softly.
Alaesa smiled and put her hand to the girl's face. "You are already beautiful, Elaine. All we do is highlight it."
Mara knocked on the door and entered the room. "Elaine, the coronation is about to begin. Are you ready?"
Elaine smiled broadly. "I'm ready."
Mara led her down several halls until they reached the Throne Room where all of the Narnians were preparing for the Pevensies' entrance.
Oreius, restored from his stone form, stood among the ranks of centaurs in two lines to form an aisle in the center of the room. The soldiers in Aslan's army stood behind the two lines in perfect formation.
Elaine walked to the front of the aisle and stood next to Oreius with her staff in hand. "It's good to see you back to normal," she told the centaur general.
"It is good to be back to normal," he answered. "And it is even better to see that you are also alive and well."
"I only lasted as long as I did in the battle because of yours and Killian's instruction."
"Your fierce determination also played quite a large role in that."
"Even though we're only children and I'm sure that we're not anything like you expected…you've still helped all of us so much. You rescued Edmund from the Witch, you taught me, him, and Peter how to fight, you were always with us on the battlefield even when it seemed we were to fail, you charged the White Witch in order to protect Peter. He and Edmund are only alive now because of you. I could never begin to express my gratitude for all you've done. Your devotion to the Pevensies is truly inspiring."
"As is yours."
Elaine couldn't help smiling at the sheer irony of that statement considering how she'd acted when she'd first met the Pevensies.
A horn sounded in the Throne Room which ended their conversation.
Oreius tapped his hoof on the floor twice and the other centaurs held their swords up in the air at an angle. Elaine straightened her back as she looked forward and gripped her staff in her hand.
Aslan walked into the Throne Room with the two girls on one side and the two boys on the other. The centaurs lifted their swords up straight when they passed in front of them.
Lucy looked around her in awe, Susan did her best to look professional, Edmund looked absolutely ecstatic, and Peter stood regally. They stopped at the bottom of the dais in the front of the room and smiled as they looked at the four thrones awaiting them. A raised engraving of a sword had been carved onto two of the thrones, Susan's horn on another, and Lucy's cordial on the last one.
The children climbed the steps of the dais and stood in front of their respective thrones while Aslan remained in the center. All of them then turned to face the crowd.
"To the glistening Eastern Sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant," Aslan announced.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver walked forward, each of them carrying a small blue pillow that held two crowns. Mr. Tumnus came up behind them and smiled shyly at Lucy. He took the first thin silver crown off the pillow, and Lucy knelt down so he could gently place it onto her head.
"To the great Western Wood, King Edmund the Just."
Mr. Tumnus placed a thick silver crown onto Edmund's head. When Edmund stood up, he smiled excitedly at his siblings. Before, he had despised the idea of ruling the land alongside his brother and sisters. But now, he wouldn't have it any other way.
"To the radiant Southern Sun, Queen Susan the Gentle."
Susan knelt down for Mr. Tumnus to place a thin golden crown similar to Lucy's onto her head. She smiled at the faun she had befriended after rescuing him in the Witch's castle.
"And to the clear Northern Sky, I give you King Peter the Magnificent."
Peter stood tall after Mr. Tumnus placed an elegant golden crown onto his head.
Elaine felt goosebumps rise up on her arms as she and the rest of the Narnians bowed to their new rulers. The Pevensies sat down onto their thrones, and the soldiers moved into the aisle in two straight lines.
They had done it. They had fulfilled the prophecy.
When she had first arrived in Narnia, Elaine had struggled with feelings of jealousy that the Pevensies were included in a grand prophecy and she wasn't. But looking at them now after everything that they'd been through, those feelings seemed far away. She wasn't going to let a prophecy determine her worth like she had then. She knew who she was to the Pevensies and no prophecy would ever change how much she meant to them and they meant to her.
Aslan turned to face the Pevensie children. "Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."
He turned back to face the crowd and led everyone in the Throne Room in an honorary chant.
"Long live King Peter! Long live King Edmund! Long live Queen Susan! Long live Queen Lucy!"
Elaine met Peter's eyes and smiled broadly.
For the first time in over one hundred years, all was right in Narnia.
Following the coronation, the Narnians held a banquet in the Great Hall for the new Kings and Queens. Elaine had met a lot of the Narnians both through her training and the subsequent healing period after the battle had been won, so it was easy to find people to make conversation with. Some of the fauns requested her as a dance partner, and she obliged them as long as they knew that she would probably be a pretty poor partner.
At one point during the evening, Elaine went towards the balcony and saw Lucy in the middle of a conversation with Mr. Tumnus.
"One day he'll be here, and the next he won't," Mr. Tumnus told her gently. "But you mustn't press him. After all, he's not a tame lion."
"No," Lucy admitted. "But he is good."
Mr. Tumnus pulled a handkerchief out from under his scarf. "Here. You need it more than I do."
Lucy somberly took the handkerchief from him, and Mr. Tumnus tenderly squeezed her hand.
Elaine smiled at the nature of their friendship. "If I may interrupt…" she said.
Mr. Tumnus turned, and he and Elaine politely nodded towards each other before he exited the balcony. Elaine walked to the edge of the balcony to stand next to the young girl. They both watched Aslan walk along the beach below until he was out of sight. Elaine wondered when they would see him again.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, you know," the older girl said to Lucy. "When we all first stepped through the wardrobe, I had every intention of going back. I only came along because you asked if I was coming, and I couldn't tell you no."
Lucy smiled a little. "I know."
Elaine laughed lightly. "You knew?"
"You seemed so…sad. It wasn't fair that the four of us had one another, but you didn't have any other family with you. So I thought that maybe if you just spent a little time in Narnia with us, we could all get closer and you wouldn't feel so alone."
Elaine smiled. "You are far wiser than any of us give you credit."
Lucy smiled back shyly.
"Peter wanted to share a dance with you. Why don't you go find him?"
The younger girl nodded and exited the balcony.
Elaine put her hands on the railing and sighed as she looked out at the beautiful view before her. Thank you, Aslan, she thought, knowing somehow that he could hear her. For all you've done to help the Narnians, the Pevensies, and me. Thank you for helping me understand who I am in your eyes.
Elaine remained on the balcony for several minutes as she let the wind carry the scent of the ocean up to her. The sun sank further and further beneath the sky until it took away the pinks and oranges and left behind the clearest and prettiest night sky she had ever seen.
"Elaine."
Elaine turned to find Peter standing in front of the balcony.
He smiled and held his hand out for her. "May I have a dance?"
She smiled back and took his hand. "I would be delighted."
Peter led her away from the balcony and out onto the dance floor. The orchestra began playing a simple waltz, and the two of them did their best to try to do the same dance as the rest of the other pairs on the dance floor. It was clumsy and awkward because as it turned out, neither of them were very good dancers. But after all of the stress of the last several weeks, their dance was still enjoyable, even when Peter misstepped and caused Elaine to fall on the floor.
A few hours later, the banquet finally drew to a close.
Elaine started to head back to her room to get some well-earned sleep. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do now that her main reason for being in Narnia was over. Only a few days ago, not knowing her purpose here anymore would've terrified her. But now, the idea of discovering a new purpose only excited her.
"Elaine!"
Peter quickly walked down the hall to catch up to her.
"Your Majesty," Elaine smiled as she curtseyed.
"No," Peter said, holding his hand out. "None of that, please."
Elaine let out a small laugh. "As you wish."
"I have something to give you."
"Peter, I'm not exactly sure you understand how coronations work."
"I understand how coronations work just fine. But just because it's my coronation doesn't mean I can't give you something."
"If you insist," she conceded.
He nervously cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I couldn't let this day go by without showing you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me, my family, and the rest of the Narnians. I know we got off to a pretty bad start, but I'm so thankful that we've had the chance to become as close as we are now. That first night we were here and we exchanged secrets with one another, I knew that I had been wrong about you and I wanted to get to know you more. And even though you had absolutely reason to, you stood by me in the biggest and hardest moment of my life. I don't know what our future holds here, but I'm hoping that this will show you how important you are to that future. And…to me."
Elaine found herself blushing.
Then to her utter shock, Peter presented her with a drawing that was an exact replica of the picture of her mother and father that she loved so much. Her hand went to her mouth as tears of joy sprang to her eyes.
"How…how did you do this?" she asked softly.
"I used your mirror. I hope you don't mind my borrowing it without your permission, but I couldn't think of a way to ask for it without revealing why I needed it. The picture appeared in it, and I asked one of the Narnians to draw it."
"It's…perfect. He even managed to capture the happiness in my mother's eyes. Peter…this is the best gift anyone's ever given me. Thank you so much."
She looked up at him, and once again met his eyes.
When exactly had Peter become so…handsome?
Her heart fluttered inside her chest as Peter gently put his hand to her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek.
He slowly leaned his head down towards her. Before Elaine could stop herself, she drew closer to him and allowed her lips to press onto his in a beautiful and innocent kiss. Peter snaked his arms around Elaine's waist to pull her closer to him as she rested her hands on his shoulders.
"Do you think we're going to regret this tomorrow?" she asked softly when she pulled back.
"I can honestly say that I have no idea what tomorrow is going to bring. But I do know one thing. I will never regret this."
Elaine blushed, and Peter gently kissed her again.