With the war between the Narnians and Telmarines won, life as they knew it was going to change forever. Caspian and Cassia along with the Pevensies and Eva returned to the castle to get their affairs in order and prepare for Caspian's coronation.
Caspian explained to his sister what had happened to their uncle before the battle had begun and Cassia was surprised that she did not feel saddened upon receiving the news of his death. She thought that after experiencing eighteen years of his supposed affection, hearing that he was dead would still wound her in some way, but she felt nothing.
As soon as they all arrived back at the castle, everyone took long, hot baths to wash away the sweat, blood, and dirt from the battle.
After Cassia had bathed, tamed her wild curls, and changed from the dirtied nightgown into a simple magenta dress, she slowly walked through the hallways alone. Starting tomorrow, she and Caspian were going to begin figuring out what to do in order to fully unite the land of Narnia and establish peace. She decided to take advantage of the short quiet moments she had for the remainder of the day before such moments became difficult to find.
At the end of the hallway, she happened upon the courtyard where just days ago, her entire life had been turned on its head.
Her heart skipped a beat when Aslan calmly strode into the empty courtyard with her.
"Good evening, Cassia," he said.
Cassia politely curtseyed. "Good evening, sir."
"What brings you here alone?"
Her throat tightened with regret and shame. "Aslan…are you sure I'm fit to rule with my brother? Ever since our father died, I've been helping his murderer take the throne from him. I wanted so badly to have my father back that I latched onto the wrong part of him. If I allowed my uncle to fool me so easily, how can I be trusted with the fate of this kingdom?"
"That is exactly why you will be able to help your brother. By knowing what happens when you allow your heart to overrule your better judgment, you will now be more cautious and reasonable in the future."
"I can just barely remember my father telling me stories of Old Narnia. Of the Kings and Queens of Old. And of you. After he died, I rejected all of it. I was so angry that I closed my mind to the possibility that any of it was true. I wanted to be a princess on my own terms, not yours, and I ruled however I wanted to."
"But you believe and accept it now. That's what matters."
"So you truly believe I am worthy to act as my brother's counsel? That I am worthy to…follow you?"
"I do."
"Just like that? After twenty-three years of living my life how I pleased, you accept me without hesitation?"
"Yes."
Cassia's eyes watered. "I have spent my whole life running from you. How do you forgive me so easily?"
Aslan gave her a gentle smile. "My love does not have to be earned. It is freely given to all who truly seek it."
His love didn't have to be earned. Just because Cassia had asked, Aslan had welcomed her back to the castle and to him.
He had forgiven her just as simply as Drystan had back when he'd freed her in the Telmarine camp. She realized that Drystan was able to find the courage to come rescue her and forgive her because he had always believed in and followed Aslan, unlike most of the other Telmarines who followed their own selfish and bloodthirsty desires. If following Aslan made Drystan into the tenderly compassionate man he was, Cassia regretted ever turning away from him as a child.
She slowly knelt down before him. "You are my true King. And I promise that I shall not run from you any longer."
"All of Narnia rejoices, dear one."
Cassia's heart was so full of joy that she thought she might burst. "Forgive me, I don't know much about Narnian customs, but…am I allowed…to hug you?"
Aslan let out a quiet, low laugh.
Cassia immediately knew that was his way of answering 'yes', and she quickly stood and wrapped her arms around him. Tears of sorrow and joy fell onto his mane and soaked his fur, but she could tell that it didn't bother him as he gently nuzzled her.
For so long, Cassia had sought for approval and affection in all the wrong places. She desired it from her soldiers and her people, but mostly from her uncle after her father had been ripped away from her. Nothing she'd ever done had seemed good enough for anyone, and after finding out the truth about Miraz, she knew that she never would've been able to please her uncle had she tried for the rest of her life.
But now in the empty courtyard in the presence of the one true King of Narnia, she finally felt the unconditional and powerful love her heart has always been searching for.
The next day began the reconciling of two sides who had been enemies for over a thousand years. Caspian was not foolish enough to believe that everything would instantly be solved because the war was over. Peace between the Telmarines and Narnians would take many months to fully achieve. But he took comfort in the fact that he still had Cassia to assist him in the transition. Upon initially returning to the castle, he was proud to find that she'd already begun to take charge by having a guard ready to defend the castle against his uncle's supporters had the Narnians lost.
"Elaine!" Caspian called.
The girl turned to face him.
"Someone arrived at the castle looking for you. She said she's an old friend of yours."
Elaine's eyebrows creased together. "Who?"
Caspian stepped aside and revealed a beautiful and familiar young woman standing behind him.
Elaine's eyes widened and she staggered backward in shock. "Alaesa?"
Her old friend smiled as beautifully as ever.
With tears in her eyes, Elaine bolted forward and wrapped her arms around her old naiad friend's neck.
After several moments, Alaesa pulled back and looked her over. "You are younger than the last time I saw you. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"
Elaine laughed and wiped her eyes. "It's kind of a long story. I don't understand. How are you still alive?"
"I am a river spirit. As long as my river lives, as do I."
"Vaella? Rayne?"
Alaesa's face fell. "I'm afraid their trees have since been cut down."
Elaine tightly grasped her hands. "Please forgive us."
"No, forgive me, Your Majesty. We naiads and dryads should've been there to help your land, but instead, we became afraid and we hid after we were invaded. I'm so sorry."
"It's…only been a year for me since I saw you last, but for you…back then, I…if we had known…we didn't mean to just…"
"No, no one thought that you had just deserted us," Alaesa explained quickly. "At least, not anyone in your closest circles."
"…What?"
"After you left on your ride, yours and King Edmund's mounts, Philip and Meera, returned to the castle without you. They told us what happened, and after hearing the accounts of your arrival from Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, we understood that you had been called back to your home. We were all disappointed that we hadn't been able to say good-bye, but we did our best to continue on without you."
"So…you never thought that we had abandoned you?"
"Some of the creatures outside the castle and those from the neighboring kingdoms did, but none of us closest to you believed it for a moment."
Elaine put her hands to her face, overwhelmed with emotion. She once again wiped her eyes and smiled. "Peter will be so happy to hear that."
Since Eva had no experience running a country and therefore could not offer assistance to Caspian or the others, she took to helping some of the servants prepare the throne room and the ballroom for Caspian's coronation the following day. As they all arranged flowers and hung banners across the two giant spaces, Eva wondered if she might have a knack for decoration.
Mid-afternoon, she decided to take a break and made her way to the castle kitchens to sneak a snack or two under the guise of testing them for tomorrow.
On the way, she passed by one of the gardens and saw Edmund, Caspian, and Peter walking alongside each other, no doubt discussing further plans for the future of the kingdom.
Somewhat distracted, Eva unintentionally changed her course of direction until she ended up near the entrance to the lower towns.
To her left, Aslan slowly and softly padded into view. It seemed as if he just wandered around the castle and the surrounding areas at random, but whenever anyone saw him, he always walked as if he had a specific destination in mind.
"Aslan?" she called.
The lion turned to face her and smiled. "Good afternoon."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"I've always felt…far away from the others, even when I knew them back in our world. And now, knowing that they've lived an entire life here…will the gap between us ever change?"
"You'll understand this more later, but when the Kings and Queens return home, they return as if no time has passed for them. The longer they're in their own world, the more all of this seems as if it was only a dream. While they will never forget the lessons they've learned here, they are now essentially the proper ages once again."
"Does that mean that Peter and Elaine are two sixteen-year-olds trying to be a married couple?"
"Peter and Elaine joined together as one in this world which means their relationship with Narnia and with each other is always going to be different than the others."
Eva quieted, not really knowing how much that answered her question.
"Speaking of the High King and Queen, I believe they have something they wish to tell you."
Eva turned to see Peter and Elaine walking towards them. She felt like she was supposed to bow or curtsey or something, but at the same time, they'd known each other as friends for a year and it seemed odd to suddenly start bowing to them.
She settled for an awkward nod.
"Eva, we previously discussed something with the others, and we would like to know what you think," Elaine said.
"Okay."
"After everything you've done for us not just here but also back home, we would like to make you a Lady of Narnia."
Eva's jaw dropped. "Um…but…what?"
"If you accept, Caspian plans to give you your official title tomorrow after his coronation."
Stunned, she looked towards Aslan who smiled proudly at her. "I…I don't deserve that."
"Are you questioning our judgment?" Peter smirked.
"No! No, I…I just…" Eva smiled at them. "Thank you."
Eva awoke early the next morning before any of the servants arrived to begin getting her ready which was a surprise as she usually slept until it was nearly the afternoon, and that was when she wasn't worn out from trying to save a country. She got out of bed and walked over to the full-length mirror to observe herself. Eva had never felt especially down on herself or disapproved of her looks. She had always liked the way she looked and didn't worry about what other girls had that she didn't. But now after everything she'd been through in the last several days, when she looked at herself in her white nightgown, she felt…plain. Ever since they'd arrived, the Pevensies had begun carrying themselves with the air and dignity of royalty. Next to them, she was just painfully ordinary.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Eva called.
She expected it to be one of the servants, but instead, it was Cassia who stepped inside. The princess was already dressed and ready for the day even though it was still quite early in the morning. She didn't understand how anyone could look so stunningly beautiful without even trying.
Eva politely curtseyed. "Good morning, Princess."
Cassia smiled. "As a Lady of Narnia, you are permitted to call me by my first name. Though I'd prefer that either way."
Right. She was to be given the title of Lady today. The girl in the mirror didn't look or feel like a Lady.
"What's wrong?" Cassia asked.
"A few days ago, I would've loved all of this. But now…I realize how much responsibility comes with being granted a title. I don't know if I'm ready for it. I've been so oblivious to all of the problems here and back home."
"I know how you feel."
"You do?"
"My father died when I was five years old. Desperate for any way to hold on to him, I allowed my uncle to show me what to do and what to believe. For years, I allowed him to practically run my kingdom. When he had me in the dungeons, he told me that I believed everything he ever said because it was all what I wanted to hear. And unfortunately, he was right. In spite of all the signs of his true nature, I ignored them because I didn't want to see them."
"Back home, there's a war going on. I know that my parents were only trying to protect me by shielding me from it, but as angry as I am at them for that, I can't deny that they aren't fully to blame. Just like you, I turned away from all the evidence about the atrocity of it because I didn't want to know. Instead, I acted flippantly and treated everything as if it was nothing more than a game. After the way I've acted, the others must only see me as a child."
"If they thought that, they wouldn't have wanted to name you a Lady."
"It was Peter and Elaine's idea. I'm not so sure about…"
Cassia smiled knowingly when Eva trailed off. "You like King Edmund, don't you?"
Eva's eyes grew big as her face reddened. "What? I, uh…um…"
"You've spent the past two days staring at him from a distance, and your blushing face says it all."
She hadn't realized she'd been so obvious about it and her face brightened even more. "I just…want him to see me as more than a young, childish girl who doesn't take anything seriously. I want him to see me as an equal. As…his equal."
Cassia's eyes glimmered. "Well, I can help you with that. Come with me."