Author's Notes: Chapter 3 is up! Please, PLEASE do REVIEW once you read…it's what keeps me going. Consider your reviews my own personal supply of…hmmm……happiness! The more you review, the better I write!

Chapter 3: Revelation

The cake was displayed. The candles were blown. And the presents were revealed.

But Susan's eyes reflected only one thing – the look of pure joy on the faces of all those in front of her as they tasted the sweetness of success. Success at being able to draw the emotions from Susan, who had all but killed herself from within after her last return from Narnia. She wiped great tears from her cheeks and stared at them in a sort of wonderment. Her façade had begun to fade. Queen Susan the gentle was beginning to emerge.

"What is it, Susan?" asked Eustace anxiously, noting her facial expressions. Peter lay a hand upon his, shaking his head both in assurance and instruction. He mouthed the words 'Give her time!'

Being her elder brother and closest confidante, he knew exactly what was going on. This was what they had had in mind while planning the party, and Peter was glad to see the turmoil of emotions that Susan was trying so hard to mask. His sister would be back soon.

As though she hadn't heard him, she slowly picked out a simple dress that Lucy had presented to her as a birthday gift. She fingered its light fabric, exquisite embroidery and old fashioned yet modern look. A far-away look entered her eye.

She put it down gently, and picked out a charm bracelet – another present, from Edmund this time. The bracelet was of simple wrought silver, and contained quite a few charms that made it to jingle whenever she moved it – a tiny mermaid, with flashing cyan scales that looked painfully like the ones she was used to swimming with in the great Easter Sea of Narnia; a little golden crown, suspiciously similar to the one that had adorned her head for fifteen years during the Golden age; a miniscule russet colored leather-bound volume signifying her thirst for knowledge; an ivory quiver filled with tiny, red feather-ended arrows and finally, two intertwined crystal hearts. The shine that they emitted even in the dim light of the room gave it an unearthly look. Slowly, after scrutinizing each charm, she gently laid the bracelet on top of the dress that Lucy had given her.

The next item that caught her eyes was a set of three books, stacked neatly one on top of the other. They were all leather-bound, and the first one which faced her contained an inscription penned in an elegant script using golden ink. Susan peered closer to read it.

To our dear Susan Pevensie.

We wish you many, many happy returns of the day and wish that your life may always be joyous, trouble-free and gentle.

Love, Eustace Clarence and Jill Pole.

With a warm, grateful feeling in her heart, she turned the book so that she might read its title. Her blood ran cold.

There, in sprawling golden letter, were written the words Magical Creatures and Mythology in the Modern World.

In a crazed frenzy, she opened the first volume and tore through the first pages. It seemed to be the very books that the nerdy boy who liked her…what was his name again? Oh, yes. Jeffrey. It seemed to be the same set of books that Jeffrey had been telling her about on the way home. She groaned. Just what she needed…yet another reminder of what might have been.

Suddenly, the anger ripped through her like no other. Shoving her presents to the floor in one angry movement, she ran, blinded by tears, away from the dining hall where her 'guests' were gathered.

"Sssshh, dears," soothed Aunt Polly. She had guessed what would go through the minds of her siblings; she knew that Peter would be the first one to run behind his sister and comfort her, hold her in his hands and tell her that all was alright – but she also knew that Susan needed her space, to sort her thoughts and confront her emotions.

Her speech was in vain. Four pairs of feet thundered away in the direction where Susan had made her run, and Jill and Eustace stood, shaking their heads and staring at each other with confusion dominant in their eyes.

A gentle breeze blew, cleansing the air in the now-dark gardens. The spicy scent of tangerines lingered in the air. Susan, sitting on the stone bench, drew her jacket closer towards herself and shivered involuntarily, drawing her jacket closer towards herself. The breeze picked up and played with a strand of her hair.

"Stupid, horrid people," she muttered angrily. "Peter, Lu and Edmund…even Eustace and – what's her name? Jill. I cannot expect anything less from them, they've been on my case ever since. But Professor Kirke and Aunt Polly too? When are these people going to stop pretending?"

For the third time day, hot, angry tears fell fast from her eyes. At that moment, three pairs of hands encircled her, and she heard sniffling.

"Susan" groaned a pained, haggard voice. It was Peter. In a flash, Susan was out of the bench and staring stormily at her siblings, who shrank back at the furious glare in her eyes.

"What were you three thinking?" she hissed.

Peter daringly took a step forward. "You listen to me, Susan," he threatened. Susan was not daunted at his tone.

"Not a chance. Please listen to me," she said, her voice low and pleading now. She turned her back on them.

"We came back from Narnia -" Lucy, Peter and Edmund gasped when they heard the words emerge from her mouth. It was the first time in three years that she had actually acknowledged the existence of such a place other that outside their 'whims', and she said it with such emotion that her siblings were rendered spellbound.

Susan resumed what she was saying. "We were told that we would never go back, Peter. You remember the day? I do, every waking moment of my life. And though it had hurt you, it was not beyond repair. You immersed yourself in your studies, sporting events and that helped the pain to gradually ebb away. But you didn't- thankfully, might I add-leave your heart there. Wait, Peter," she added, noticing the strangled expression on his face.

"It is so hard for me to go about with my daily life, knowing what I will never have. And the thought haunts me, Peter. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to…I felt like I was staring at great, big dead ends all the while. It was as though my life had come to a permanent standstill," she ended in a hoarse whisper.

Now the tears ran down Peter's eyes too, and he enveloped his sister in a warm embrace. "All this time," he whispered. "All this time, you were suffering like that in silence, without even telling us...we are there for you, Susan! Always and forever! Don't you dare forget that," he ended.

Susan nodded, and, while Lucy ran forward with a squeal to hug her sister tightly, He laid a reassuring hand on hers. "We understand, Susan," he said gravely, looking every bit King Edmund the Just.

"You never gave up on Narnia, Su!" squeaked Lucy in happiness. "You are a friend on Narnia after all!"

"Always and forever, Lu," replied Susan amidst tears. "I was only trying to protect myself by denying Narnia, and all I managed to do was damage myself further. Will you ever forgive me?"

Her tone was almost pleading, seeking for forgiveness in her siblings. They responded by holding her tight, afraid o f ever letting her go from their sight.

She laughed – and her tinkling laughter felt like what water feels like to a shipwrecked sailor. "Aunt Polly, Professor Kirke and Eustace, not to mention Jill, will be waiting for us," she remembered, grinning after a long, long time. It felt nice. "They must be worrying about us…isn't it time we went back and enjoyed the party?"

Author's Notes: End of chapter! I've done my bit and updated as soon as possible. Please do your bit and review?