Forgiveness Leads to Peace
"You did not greet the younger King."
I did not turn from the window. The large, arched window, the window of Cair Paravel, the window in the hall that had not held Narnians for a hundred years. And now it did. It held me, and the other Centaur awaiting my answer. "I did not greet the younger King."
Oreius, general of Narnia, enemy of the White Witch, clopped forward, his hoofbeats echoing on the stone. His hand clasped my shoulder.
I still did not turn. I stared out over the sea, dark beneath the night sky. The sea where merfolk had recently sung songs of joy, welcoming that King, along with the three others, to their new home.
"We fought a hundred years for peace. Now we have it—at last, the warriors have won it—and we're told to share it with the traitors. First a traitor King forgiven, then a traitor spy—soon all the traitors will be forgiven." I leaned forward, resting my head on the glass. "Why did we fight, if warriors and traitors reach the same end? If peace is for all—it would have been better, perhaps, to be a traitor."
"If either of us were traitors, we would not be ourselves."
I laughed. No, General Oreius would not be who he was if he had chosen pleasure before loyalty.
"If the warriors did not fight, there would be no victory. Our suffering was not wasted." His hand left my shoulder, and I heard his hooves strike the stone as he walked away. But they stopped a little farther down the hall, as he paused to say one last thing.
"Remember, soldier, that there is no peace without forgiveness. So Aslan said to me."