AN: This isn't the end. There is going to be one more chapter after this one but it'll probably be a pretty short one.
"But how can that be?" Ash asked, an almost wildly bewildered expression full of fear of the unknown in his eyes. "Mako gone?"
"I don't know." Lewis sighed. "But I don't doubt it." He glanced back at everyone decked out in their Narnian finery looking as fresh as though they'd just come from bathing and not at all like they'd nearly gotten themselves killed in a battle. "Somethings have to be taken on faith."
Suddenly Cleo let out a little sob and placed her hands over her face.
"Oh, Cleo." Peter said sympathetically. "You aren't crying are you? What with us all safe and well in spite of what's happened?"
"Don't try to stop her, Peter." Lucy said, putting her arm around Cleo's shoulders. "It's always painful when something you love comes to an end. Think of all the beautiful things that are no more, all sunken into the sea of that other world. It would be less becoming of her if she didn't weep."
"She's right." Emma said softy. "Although it does feel so strange. It's funny, I thought it would last for ever."
"This is my fault." Charlotte said, unable to tear her eyes away from the door. "Mako might still exist if not for what I did."
"Denman might have put an end to it in time." Lewis tried to comfort her. "Or Bennett, or anyone...too many people were finding out, maybe it was just time."
But Charlotte could not be consoled. "I wish that Lion had eaten me before any of this had happened. I don't belong here with all of you."
"Traitors worse than you have mended in the past, Charlotte." Edmund reminded her.
"And Aslan wouldn't eat you." Lucy assured her. "He must have known what he was doing, giving you that warning."
"Charlotte, I'm going to be blunt." Rikki told her almost sharply.
"Is she ever not?" Lewis joked as Zane elbowed him in the ribs, urging him to shut up. "Ow."
"If you hadn't been so full of yourself, maybe we might have grown to like you in time." Rikki said flatly. "It's true, I was the one most against having you in the group but still."
"Wait." Charlotte looked confused. "That was you? I thought it was Cleo."
"Cleo was very nice about having you in our group at first." Emma told her.
"I'm sorry, Cleo." Charlotte apologized feeling worse than ever about all the nasty things she had done to them.
"It's alright." Cleo forgave her.
She looked over at Susan now. She'd been dreadful to her. "Susan, I'm really sorry about getting you thrown into Dr. Denman's lab."
"I forgive you." Susan's voice was rich and queenly. It was at that moment that Rikki, Cleo, Emma, and the others who'd only heard of Narnia before could see clearly that she really had been a queen-still was one in fact.
"Where's the goat?" Charlotte said suddenly as they all realized that Tumnus was not with them.
"Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy called nervously.
"Look, over there!" Zane pointed to a goat-legged figure standing under a large fruit tree only a few feet away.
Lucy, Charlotte, and Cleo raced over to him to see if he was indeed Mr. Tumnus. For he was not Mr. Tumnus as they had last seen him-worn and drenched in sweat-But he had been changed just as they all had been changed. Being a faun, he still wore no clothes but a long royal purple scarf was draped around his neck and on his head their were little golden horn tips that were very like the ones Lucy had once given him for a gift back in the golden age of Narnia in Cair Paravel.
"Master Tumnus, are you alright?" Lucy asked, reaching for her dear friend.
"I'm fine." He assured her, gently squeezing her hand. "I've just been enjoying the nice shade of this tree here."
Cleo, overjoyed that he hadn't been lost in the battle anymore than they had, hugged him.
Charlotte smiled and said she was glad things had turned out well for him.
"Haven't we done this before?" Peter asked Edmund, looking at everyone's clothing and smelling the rich aroma of the strangely familiar fruit trees.
"Of course we have." Edmund told him, laughing a little as he spoke these words. "Don't you remember Peter? It was at these very fruit trees that King Tirian asked you where Susan was when you only had Lucy to introduce him to."
"That's right!" Lucy cut in. "Peter changed the after about five minutes of us all talking about her choice to forget Narnia. He said we should all try the fruit."
"You stopped talking about me, to talk about fruit?" Susan folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at her husband.
Peter reached out and touched the side of her face with the palm of his hand. "It hurt too much to think of you then. And after that fight..."
Susan nodded. She understood, at least she thought she did except that if these were the same fruit trees it would mean they'd come to Aslan's country. All of them. Not even just herself and Peter. She wondered if they'd all died or if they'd simply been called here. You didn't necessarily have to die to reach this place.
"Shall we try the fruit again?" Edmund asked.
"I don't see why not." Peter shrugged his shoulders.
Zane's stomach rumbled. "I'm starving."
"I'm rather hungry myself." Rikki admitted, reaching out to pluck the lovely fruit before stopping, her hand half way there.
"Why did you stop?" Ash asked her.
"I'm not sure." Rikki told him. "I just did."
"I think it's because we aren't sure..." Emma said. "Not sure if it's allowed, I think. I mean, supposing this fruit isn't for us?"
"Oh don't worry." Lucy said cheerfully, taking one of the fruits off the tree and handing it to Zane. "This is the country were every good thing is allowed."
That was enough for Zane, who began to inhale the fruit as though he hadn't eaten in a year.
Peter took some of the fruit and handed it to Susan with a contented expression on his face as he saw the wedding ring glittering on her hand as her fingers closed around the fruit. The fruit had been wonderful before but now that she was here with him it would be even better. Now this really was the most perfect place that ever was.
After they'd all had their fill of the fruit that made everything in our world taste like medicine, they all began to wonder what they ought to do next. It wasn't as if they could just go back home. Emma and Ash had tried the door (although it must be confessed that they did this very half-heartedly because Aslan's country isn't the sort of world anyone is ever in a hurry to leave) and found they couldn't get it open at all.
It was Lucy who took the lead now. "Friends," She announced. "There is no point to staying here in this one place. We have a whole wonderful world ahead of us, further up and further in, let's go into it." And she began to run as quickly as her legs would take her. She laughed happily as she ran and her peace of mind made everyone realize at once that they could no longer feel afraid even if they wanted to.
It was Peter who took after her first, then Susan and Edmund followed him and Julia of course followed Edmund not wanting to lose sight of him after all this time. After which Emma, Cleo, and Rikki felt they ought to go along with them. Lewis, Zane, and Ash saw no reason why they shouldn't run after the girls, not if this was the world were almost everything was allowed and ran along too. Tumnus, Charlotte, Louise, and William followed them all trailing just behind.
They passed the most beautiful surroundings that ever were. Lush green hills and roaring waterfalls (the kind you could actually swim up like a pool of raining silver if you wanted to), mountains of many colors, pretty gardens and houses, some Narnian others from other places and worlds. And the best part was it all just got prettier and prettier the deeper in they ran.
"What is that?" Lewis gasped, not for breath (In that world running never made you tired in the least) but out of awe and surprise. He pointed to a large green hill garden with a golden gate all around it.
"Oh that's the main garden." Lucy told him as she ran up the hill towards it's gates.
They all rushed to the gates after her eager to see what they might find there.
What they found was beyond anything they could have imagined. Inside the garden was far larger than it was outside and could fit far more flowers, plants, trees and even living creatures than any of them except Lucy, Edmund, and Peter had expected to see.
There was King Frank and Queen Helen the first king and queen of Narnia sitting in the very middle of the garden relaxing the afternoon away. They rose when they saw High King Peter coming towards them with a fair lady on his right side.
"High King, welcome home." King Frank said by way of greeting. "And who this this lovely maiden you've brought back with you?"
"This is Queen Susan the gentle." Peter explained. "It is for the sake of my love for her that I left Aslan's Country at all. And now I've come back with no reason to leave again unless Aslan himself wills me to."
"You are welcome to us, lost queen of old Narnia, new bride of the high king himself." Queen Helen told her in a friendly tone, giving her a welcoming embrace.
After that everyone was busy introducing everyone else. There were so many who wanted to meet Queen Susan or hadn't seen her in a long time and wished to see her once again. So she and Peter were kept busy with handshakes and hugs from everyone.
"So you've come at last, cousin?" A familiar voice at Susan's left said.
"Eustace!" Susan cried happily throwing her arms around him. "So good to see you again."
"Likewise." Eustace told her. He reached behind him and pulled Jill into their circle. "You remember Jill Pole?"
"Yes of course!" Susan said, giving the family friend a hug too. She then pulled Emma and Rikki into their group and introduced them to her cousin and Jill.
Tumnus was introducing Cleo and Lewis to some other fauns who'd been in the garden playing their flutes. And He also called over the two good beavers who were dear to himself and the Pevensies and had them all shake hands and talk to one another.
Peter ran back to the entrance of the garden to bring William over to meet Eustace and some others. Louise tagged along and liked the family just as much as William did. And it is fair in turn, to say they also liked her very much as well.
Edmund had a lot of people to bring Julia to meet. They were all very fond of her and said a better bride couldn't have been found in for the just king had they searched for thousands of years. Edmund blushed and told them that Julia and himself were not married yet only to have several creatures laughingly say, "Yet! Did you hear him? He said yet. They're going to be wed, spread the word!"
Edmund slapped his forehead and muttered something before getting down on one knee (Or maybe one of the talking animal's pushed him down) and popping the question. Julia said yes but there was never any doubt from anyone present that she wouldn't.
Zane and Ash made friends with Aravis, Cor, and Corin. Zane and Corin nearly got into a fight which Aravis had to break up but it was mild anyway and was cut short because Corin simply had to rush over to see Susan again. After all it had been a very long time.
Max hadn't been introduced to quite as many people as the others had. He was rather standoffish and spoke only with the few people that Lewis brought with him to the corner gate where he stood watching everyone else talk and laugh happily amongst themselves.
Charlotte stood at Max's side wondering what this all meant for her. Did it mean that she was to stay in this beautiful place for ever? This place she most certainly was not worthy of staying in? Would the Lion come and banish her back to the cold barren world she now saw our world as? But before she could come up with any possible answers to the questions her mind was reeling with, she felt a warm arm slip around her shoulders and a soft kind voice speaking to her.
"Granddaughter, you've gotten so much taller and prettier than when we last saw each other." The sweet voice said.
"Grandmother!" Charlotte cried happily, realizing that the woman speaking was none other than Grandma Gracie herself.
But it wasn't the grandmother Charlotte could just vaguely remember from her toddler days. Not the gray haired woman who told wonderful stories of the sea. No, it was the young and beautiful Gracie she had seen in photographs so often. It was the Gracie from the video. The lovely Gracie who had once been a mermaid herself. The one whom Max loved so dearly.
Gracie planted a kiss on her granddaughter's forehead. "So you've come to see me at last."
"I would have come so much sooner if It was allowed." Charlotte told her, surprised that she could speak for truly she felt too happy for words.
After that, Gracie noticed Max looking at them. "Max." She let go of Charlotte and threw her arms around him. "I've missed you."
"My Gracie." Max, murmured, tears of joy filling his eyes.
"I'm sorry I pushed you away all those years ago." She told him.
"Think no more of it." Max said. "It was my fault. I didn't realize how hard it was for you."
"It wasn't your fault." Gracie insisted, tears filling up her own eyes now. "It wasn't."
And the three of them, Gracie, Max, and Charlotte, realized at once that they were a family. With that the three of them left the garden. Max and Gracie both had one arm around Charlotte and they all walked to the place where they belonged. Home. Gracie's home which was where they would all live now. For Max and Gracie would marry soon and though the looked so young they were inside old and wise enough to raise a teenager and to teach her right from wrong.
Right outside the gate, they met Aslan himself who gave Charlotte a satisfied nod and told her she had made the right choice and could now live happily forever with the very family she'd longed for all her life.
Hours later, Peter took Susan out of the garden to the home where their parents now lived.
Mrs. Pevensie was hanging clothes on the line to dry in the warm yellow sun that is even nicer and newer feeling than ours even though it's older. When she saw them coming. She dropped the basket on the ground and raced to them, calling for her husband to come out of the house at once.
Once she'd reached them, Mrs. Pevensie pulled them to her unable to remember a time when she'd last been this happy. "Oh Susan, you've returned to us at last."
Mr. Pevensie noticed the rings on their children's fingers. "She returns as a bride. Our little girl no more."
"Father." Susan sighed happily, giving him a tight hug. "I've been so old before that if I'm not young and little now, I don't know when I have been young and little."
"Mum, Dad!" Edmund came running towards their house with Julia close behind him. They were hand in hand so she shouldn't have been behind the long Narnian gown, beautiful and comfortable as it was, was quite long and made her trip a little. "Look who else has come back."
"Why it's Julia." Mr. Pevensie smiled. "It's been ages since I last thought of her. How good to see you again."
"Bless my soul, it has been a long time since we last saw her, hasn't it been?" She reached out for her future daughter-in-law.
And from the hill, the bright sunset glowing from the west behind her, racing towards her parent's house where the family had gathered came Lucy, last of all carrying an armful of purple tulips she'd picked from the garden knowing that at last the real golden age could finally begin.
AN: Please do NOT forget to review! Reviews are helpful.