Once a Queen of Narnia
The Invitation
Susan felt as if she was floating on a cloud of angel's dust. Golden brilliance flooded about her, filling her heart with both happiness and sorrow. Was this the end? She could see the face of Lucy, her dear and most beloved sister. Lucy's face looked so much older than the last time Susan had seen her. Her hair was a beautiful shade of reddish-blonde. With a faraway memory, Susan saw Lucy as she was the day, they all left Narnia so long ago. She was a woman, no longer a child. Her face and body were now fitting of a Queen of Narnia. Susan could feel the warmth of arms holding her, carrying her in the clouds of her vision. Was she dead? Lucy glowed with a light of her own; a golden tone shown from her skin and her eyes. Lucy was divine. "I have you, sweet sister, rest now; I have you." Such words were never more captivating. With an exhaustion far more than she could explain, Susan closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the arms that held her.
"Place her before me!" a voice spoke…a voice of many waters, a voice that was eternal, a voice Susan knew so well. She had no strength left. She could not even open her eyes. Her heart was failing; and she knew she was slipping away. But He was here. Or was this a dream? Had she retreated deep into her mind to escape the inevitable? Was this a trick of her mind upon her soul? They say that your life passes before your eyes in the final moments before death. Oh, death would be an excellent adventure, would it not? Was it her time?
A sweet and wild breath enveloped her, as a large paw of infinite power settled gently down upon her heart. Susan could feel the paw - so large it covered her entire chest. Its weight and strength possessed a meekness that knew she could be broken with little effort. As for the breath, it warmed her soul and her body. It reached into Susan's essence and pulled her spirit back to the living. The great paw held a pulse that invaded her own, and her heart beat desperately to match it. Susan could feel strength and healing flooding through her, overwhelming her, igniting her. With a great shout, Susan opened her eyes. The golden face of the royal lion hovered mere inches from her own. In His eyes were tears of great loss and pain; but his expression showed immense compassion. "Greetings my child; well done!" His voice echoed and rumbled as Susan threw her arms about his mane, and placed her nose to his. "If I am dead, let me be dead; as long as I am with you." Susan whispered into his golden face as she laid her cheek to his. "You are not dead, my child; ye have only just begun to live." Aslan spoke fondly to Susan's surprise. "Today begins an infinite of tomorrows, my dear."
Aslan lifted his massive head and mane, as Susan maintained her hold upon him. Soon her feet were under her, and she reluctantly let go. With a great rumble of a growl, the mighty Aslan shook his mane and stomped firmly upon the earth, sending a tremor through the ground, and giving Susan a shutter of joy. This was not a dream. This was not a vision. This was real. Looking down, Susan ran her hands quickly over her wounds. The dress she wore was torn, but the flesh that Mrs. Macready and Mrs. Adler cauterized, where the bullet entered her body as well as the exited, were healed. It was like new born skin, still beautiful to the touch. Suddenly Lucy was back, placing her arm about her sister with tenderness and love. Looking about, Susan could see two tall magnificent men. "Could that be Peter and Edmond?" she wondered out loud. They looked so much older now; they were men! Like Lucy they glowed with the brightness of basking in the presence of Aslan. They were helping Andrew down from the remains of the fallen mansion. "Come my dearest sister; it is time you changed into something more befitting," Lucy explained as she guided Susan through the archway and out of sight.
As Susan stepped through into the grass of the "other" country, she immediately saw a large pavilion tent with the flag of Narnia waving in the breeze at its peak. "Where are we?" Susan asked in a hushed voice, still fearful this would all fade away if she spoke, stepped, or thought wrongly. "Sweet Susan, Narnia of old was just a vision, a copy, a shadow of the true Narnia. What you see now is Aslan's country - the real Narnia. It is the land reality or realities - the true kingdom we all are called to indwell." Lucy hugged Susan tightly, "I never lost hope you would come back to us! Praise Aslan! Now let's get you dressed for your wedding…" Lucy laughed as she shoved Susan into the pavilion. "Wait, My What?!" Susan challenged.
Andrew wanted to run! Looking into the face of the beast before him made his skin crawl. It triggered an inner urge for flight, to escape, to run before being eaten. The Lion said nothing as he dipped his nose, and carefully sniffed every part of Andrew's body. The breath of the Lion dominated the very air about the lieutenant. Every inhale and exhale, enshrouded Andrew's face and form with coolness and warmth. The eyes that stared at him, and seemed to see past his bluff and bravado and into his soul, danced in a light of yellow flame. The eyes dissected him, reading his character, his follies, his failures, and his dreams. This was Aslan? This was the God of Narnia? He was so much more! "Do you fear me?" the Lion questioned.
"Yes, My Lord, every part of me is in fear of you." Andrew answered with as much honesty as he could muster. "My body says "Run you fool; he is about to devour you - to swallow you up in one bite!"
"My mind says that if you are the God of Salvation, then I have nothing to fear but fear itself," Andrew continued. "My mind and body are in conflict; I am afraid to admit. But my soul longs to touch you, to embrace you. My soul wants nothing more than to place my face in your mane, and to feel the presence of your glory."
"Well said, my son." Aslan said with a chuckle in his voice, "Can you believe in me?"
"Belief requires faith. However, faith with sight is fact. I believe in you now; I do not know if I really did before," Andrew confessed. "Before, my faith was in Peter, and in Susan's faith in you. Can I believe in you?" Andrew dropped to one knee with hast. "All that I am, all that I will ever be, is yours to command."
"I accepted your service, Andrew Zepherman," Aslan acknowledged. "I have one more question: Whom do you love?"
"Before today my answer would have been easy. A month ago, I would have said my mother. She is the last of my line, and when she departed this world, I was alone," Andrew answered. "Alone…but for my one and only friend, Peter."
"When Peter was no more, I was lost," Andrew for the first time in his life confessed his true loneliness. "I had no one, no body. Then today changed everything. How is it possible that one person, one face, one morning, can alter the course of your heart? How can one woman, that I did not know before, and met face to face only a few hours ago, make every day of my past meaningless? Who do I love? Yesterday, even this morning my answer would have been: me. Now, I must admit, without her I can never return to my life. I am lost without her. I need her. Is that love? Or it that selfishness?" Andrew fell silent.
"Truth has spoken. Now Son of Adam, go stand with your Queen!" Aslan spoke with finality. Had Andrew failed the interview? Had he said something false, or untrue? With all his heart, he so desperately wanted to stay in the presence of this living God, Aslan. With hesitation, he lifted his eyes towards the direction Aslan pointed with his snout; and there stood an angel in white: Andrew had no more words. Susan? Andrew began walking to her. His knees were weak, and his heart beat uncontrollably. He took in the vision before him. The white dress she wore was simple and elegantly cut in the fashion of her siblings. Susan's hair was combed and styled to expose her ears and her neck. Flower petals decorated her raven locks, and a golden crown was carefully placed on top. Her face and skin glowed with health, and there was no sign of her injuries. Her eyes danced with a life and she spoke, "Thank you my sweet Lieutenant Andrew, you have saved me." She said, and embraced him. Susan smelled of jasmine and honey. She felt right in his arms. He felt suddenly home at her side.
"Son of the dirt, child of the mud, step forward and let me see thee." Aslan commanded.
Mr. Adler quickly shuffled forward and fell to his knees before the great Lion. Bowing low, Ebenezer prostrated himself before Aslan. "For more than five hundred years we have kept the faith. We have kept the oath. We have served the High Queen of Narnia. We can enter eternity knowing we have not failed you, My King of Kings."
"Do these be thy cubs?" Aslan asked. "Is this thy mate?"
Mrs. Adler and the boys were frozen in fear; believing in Aslan, and seeing him face to face were two separate things. Without her consent or command, their little feet walked forward on their own, forcing them closer to the great Lion. Hilda soon stood beside her husband, along with their boys. "She is my wife, my King. She is not of Narnia, but by heart she wishes to be. She is everything a dwarf could ever hope for in a bride; and from our love, we have been blessed with two sons."
"My dearest Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer, I welcome you, your bride Hilda, and your cubs, Lapis and Lutum into my paradise. Today you step through - out of this world and into the next. Further up and further in!" Aslan turned and ushered the family through the archway into the bright world beyond. "Understand this, oh son of the earth, your role as the last red dwarf is not over; it has barely begun. Go forth and multiply. May your beard grow as red as blood, and may there be generations of your offspring to serve the High King and High Queen, forever more."
The Adler family huddled together as they cautiously stepped through the archway and into the new world. For a moment they stood looking around and then they vanished into the tall grass as every burden of this world faded away; and they found new joy in the real Narnia that was now their home.
Mrs. Macready stood quietly watching as Aslan spoke first to Susan, then to Andrew, and then to the family of Adlers. Her soul cried out in happiness, as she felt like she would explode in joy. Every dream, every hope, and every prayer had been answered. She watched as the Adlers walked through the archway and vanished into the new world. Then she saw Aslan looking at her. Their eyes met. She knew she was next. He wanted to speak to her. She casted an eye to Susan and Andrew standing beside Lucy, Peter, and Edmond. "Please don't use my name…" She pleaded in her heart. "Please don't call me by my birth name..."
"Susanietta Macready, last of the Telemarine warrior princesses, step forward. Face me; and allow me to see thy face." Aslan commanded. Embarrassed and flushed in the face Mrs. Macready slowly stepped forward to face the King of her life. Susan gasped as realization flooded over her. The Macready was named after her? No wonder she had never spoke of her birth name. Now Susan loved her even more. Her aunt was also her name's sake.
"My dear Susanietta, thou hast lived and ministered well. Thou art a true princess. Thy quest is complete. Thy mission fulfilled. Enter into my paradise." Aslan spoke as he gently kissed the woman on the forehead.
"I am alone my King. Susan is all that I have. I cannot leave her side. I have no other one to serve." Mrs. Macready begged. "Please do not separate me from my niece. I will be lost without her."
"Thy heart's burden is understood. Thou shalt not be long separated. But in this new life, beyond the veil, there is one who has been waiting for you to join him for so very long. Will you not greet him, as you once did so long ago?" Aslan asked as he swung his massive head back toward the archway to reveal a humble man, standing there with his arms open wide.
"Johnathon!" Mrs. Macready screamed in joy and rushed to his open arms and leapt into them. Instantly she was lost in the moment with the man she loved, lost, and now found once again. And so, they vanished through the archway.
Peter and Edmond each grabbed an arm of Andrew and lifted him off the ground. "Hey what is this all about?" Andrew demanded as the two kings brought Andrew once more to face Aslan, and let go. Peter stepped back and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. Edmond matched him on the opposite side. What was happening? Andrew looked about nervously. Was he about to die?
Susan watched as her brothers carried Andrew across the broken ground and dropped him upon his feet before Aslan. Her curiosity matched Andrew's. What was going to happen now? "Come sister. It is time." Lucy said as she slid her arm through Susan's and escorted the High Queen to stand beside Lieutenant Andrew Zepherman.
As Susan was brought to a stop before the great Lion, Lucy shoved a bouquet of flowers into Susan's hands. They were beautiful roses of a soft blush color, with white accents. Her eyes grew wide in sudden fear. "My dearest Susan, the gateway into the real Narnia is before you," Aslan spoke. "Will you enter it as High Queen Susan? Will you rule my subjects in my stead with gentleness, mercy, and justice?"
"Yes, My Lord, I will." Susan spoke with confidence.
"Unlike your siblings, when you cross through the archway, you enter into this new world alive. You will either be the new Eve, the mother of a new race, a High Queen of generations of sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. Or…you may not. What you choose next is the path you so desire to walk. I ask you to answer my question with your own free will." Then Aslan asked, "Did you mean all that you said of this man to your friends in America; or was it all simply lies?"
Susan drew in a long breath. Her soul was laid bare for all to see. They knew. Peter looked upon her with eager eyes. Lucy smiled, wishing Susan would speak honestly. Edmond was unreadable as always. She had said so many things. She had made up so many stories. There were stories of their first date, their first kiss, the first time he had dared to hold her hand. Susan blushed as she remembered her invented tale of their engagement, and even details she added of the romantic steps he took to make the day so special. It was all a lie…or was it? Susan turned to look at Andrew. How much did he know? Did he only know what she confessed to him? His face was one of compassion. Then he reached out and took her hand into his own. "It was all lies, but I want them to be truth," Susan confessed as she bowed her head in shame.
Aslan growled in approval.
Aslan then faced Andrew, and spoke, "I give to you Lieutenant Andrew Zepherman, the greatest invitation. Will you walk away, back to your old life, knowing now what you have seen? This choice must be of your own free will, or will you make true your oath to me that you proclaimed in prayer, as you begged me to spare her life? Two paths lay before you. One is back to the world of man and a life that is yet to be lived. Another is before you through the archway, as a new High King, a new Adam, as a father of many nations. Will you hold her hand for eternity? Will you love her and wed her a thousand times, in a thousand days?"
Andrew turned to face Susan, lifting her chin so she could look into her eyes. "I will love you, if you will have me."
Susan closed her eyes and wilted into his arms, "I am thine."
"Then today I declare you mated, as man, and wife." Aslan proclaimed with a mighty roar that shook the ground they stood upon. "Joy to the world! Let all of Narnia rejoice!" Peter declared. "There is a new King and Queen of the lands! It is time to feast!"
"Let us go and set the table!" Lucy called out as the three siblings rushed down the slope and through the archway. They vanished into the new Narnia with glee.
"Come my new High King Andrew, and High Queen Susan, let me show to you the true Narnia." Aslan invited as he welcomed them into the archway and through the opening. "Now High King Andrew…don't forget to kiss your bride." Aslan whispered.
As Andrew and Susan stepped through the archway, followed by Aslan the gateway closed behind them with a flash. Only a mystery was left to those who might find the remains of the stone archway, and the fallen mansion…A mystery of one Susan Pevensie and how she forgot, and remembered, and lived the truth: that once a queen of Narnia, always a queen of Narnia.