Chapter Five:

Rose opened the door and found herself in the linen closet. She sat down and cried. This was so overwhelming…never to see her friends in Narnia again…why was this all so?

"Rose?" Peter stepped around and saw her tears as she sat on the closet floor. "What on earth?"

Rose stood up clumsily and blushed, embarrassed to be caught crying publicly. "Sorry it's just…" There was no way Peter would understand. "My family." She finished, and the Narnians pretty much were her family now.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Peter stood there awkwardly, very much wanting to take her in his arms, but knowing it wouldn't be proper. At length he offered her his handkerchief, told her she could keep it, and walked away.

Rose wiper her eyes, tucked the kerchief in her pocket and remembered the blanket. By now Mr. Taylor had probably gotten…well by now he was probably all better. But why had Peter still been there? And he didn't look older at all for all those years.

She found Mr. Taylor still in bed, looking quite the same.

"You've probably been wondering where I've been." Rose apologized confusedly.

"Not at all, I asked you to get a blanket, and you went and got me one."

Rose laughed, but he was serious. "Then I haven't been gone long?" She asked.

"Not at all." He smiled

Rose shook her head and covered him with the blanket.

"Good-night, Mr. Taylor."

"Good-night Rose." He smiled.

Rose couldn't explain why, but he felt the sudden urge to paint Narnia. Perhaps it was because she couldn't really tell anyone what was swelling in her heart. Maybe it was just because she missed it so much. Whatever the reason, she stayed up all night painting. She painting Cair Paravel, The Ocean, Prince Caspian, the fauns, the dancing dryads, the banquet hall and Aslan.

The next day Mr. Taylor was a bit restless. Rose helped him walk around his room a bit, and played chess with him.

"Have you got any more pictures?" He asked after he had won the game.

"As a matter of fact…" Rose went to her room and took out the pictures pf Cair Paravel, the ocean, and the banquet hall. She figured it could look like any castle or banquet hall, and certainly any ocean…although the sky in Narnia did have something unique about it.

"Those are very good! What castle is that?" Mr. Taylor asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Just an inspiration, really." Rose told him. In her room, the other pictures were set up where she could daydream about them.

The rest of the week passed. Rose finished the portraits of Peter and his siblings and added them to the gallery her room was quickly becoming,

On Saturday Peter prepared to leave. Rose was in the garden, musing over his soon departure.

Peter went to say good-bye to his uncle.

"Don't you worry about me, boy. That pretty lass is taking good care of me. She's even painted me pictures to keep me company."

Peter's gaze followed his uncle's. He blinked and did a double take. He stood up and studied the pictured closely in amazement.

"Cair Paravel." His whispered.

'Isn't she good?" His uncle asked.

"Where is she?" Peter asked hurriedly.

"I don't know. In her room perhaps."

Peter bounded down the hall and knocked rapidly on the door.

"Rose!" he called. No answer. He swung the door open. She wasn't there, but more pictures were. He entered and studied them, his amazement growing deeper. It was all there…the fauns, the dryads, Aslan…he stopped and stared at one picture…him! She had painted him, and it was so alike, so detailed. There were three other paintings that resembled his siblings. He had to find her.

"Rose!" He called through the halls. "Rose! Where are you?"

He finally grabbed his coat and ran outside.

"Rose!" He saw her. She was walking by one of the trees. Snow flakes were slowly falling.

He ran to her. "You've been there? You've been to Narnia?' he gasped.

Her eyes widened. "You too!"

"Yes! This is…" he was practically jumping he was so ecstatic. He forgot all manner and threw his arms around her and swung her in a circle. She hugged him back. "I saw the pictures." He explained.

When he set her down again his mood had suddenly changed. His arms were still around her, and hers around him. He looked at her differently. They both felt it. There was something…so different than they had ever felt before. Their stomachs had butterflies dancing in them.

Rose stared back into his eyes and suddenly it all clicked. That's what Aslan had been talking about! That's why Aslan had wanted her to stay. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were the four who had been the first. And when Aslan had said that Narnians could only fully understand someone who had been to Narnia before he wasn't talking about Aslan; he was talking about Peter!

It felt like they had known each other for a lot longer than 2 weeks, like it had been forever. They knew deep down that they belonged together.

"I love you." Peter told her.

"I love you too." Rose told him.

"I think I have to go." Peter's voice sunk. "But we'll all be back for Christmas. Stay. We can write to each other until then." He hugged her once more, and then took her hand and she followed behind him as he ran to get his bags and hurry to the waiting wagon.

"Good-bye!" he called as the horse pulled him away from her.

"Good-bye." She had realized she loved him in the same five minutes that he was taken away from her.