Wow. I need to say first and foremost that I am so excited that I actually finished. This is honestly the first fanfic I have ever seen through to the end, and I firmly believe that your support is a huge part of my loyalty to this story. For that I must thank for the final time (under this title) Haylee, Sky-Pirate325, Dean's Leather Jacket, SPDVengence, Aramoorn, loveISblind1990, romantic.dreamer26, Pirate Princess Luthein, Angel312, Nausicaa of the Spirits, LittleSquirt1, chnoelle, mel, Queen O' Randomness, ReinetteNarbonne, britishbabe21, Like a Puma, and Well-Yeah-There's-That. (Now that's every reviewer I've had the entire story, I think. If I missed you I'm so sorry!)

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, so here it is- the final chapter. I may post a preview of the sequel after this as well, but I'm still debating it. Anyways, I love you all, and I hope you enjoy the nice, long finale I've put together for you. :)

Chapter Thirteen: Such Sweet Sorrow

Caspian was right; the coronation was over before I knew it. It pretty much consisted of Glenstorm placing Caspian's crown on his head, where it belonged, and Haybra placing a dainty silver crown of vines with little ruby roses around the mass of hair on top of my head. Then Aslan introduced us ("King Caspian X and Queen Isabella the Warmhearted!") and there was some cheering and a lot of blushing on my part (I still think I really shouldn't be a queen) and then there was just dancing and general merrymaking for all.

It was a lot more comfortable than I'd actually expected because I recognized most of the faces in attendance. There were practically no Telmarines there. Everyone was Narnian, except for a pretty woman holding a baby with an older man at her side, and a soldier that I recognized as the one who spoke behind Edmund and I when we'd delivered the challenge to Miraz. They kept to themselves mostly, but I thought it was nice of them to come, whoever they were.

For my first dance as a queen, I chose Edmund and Caspian, adorably (CURSE HIM!), chose Lucy. The dancing was not quite as informal as it had been around the campfire in the middle of the woods, but it was still a lot of fun. There was laughter all over the room and the fauns played their merry music.

"Told you that you'd be a queen eventually," Edmund chided as we spun across the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I replied. "Don't get too cocky. Queen or not I can still hit you."

He made a face. "That's not very majestic."

"I never said I was majestic."

"That's true," he relented. "But what would your boyfriend think?" I bent back the fingers of his hand. "Ow, ow, ow okay!" I eased off. "Point taken!"

I laughed. "Good. He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, you wish he were."

"Do not!"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are!"

I looked away. "It doesn't matter what I want. I won't be here much longer to want it."

Edmund twirled me away and pulled me back. "What do you mean?"

"I have to leave tomorrow," I said softly.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Home. Where else?"

"Isn't Narnia your home?"

I blinked. Had I never told them that I wasn't even from this world? I guess not. "No. I'm not even from this world. I'm from the same world as you. At least, that's what Trufflehunter thinks."

"You're from our world?" His voice was excited. "Where?"

"Currently, sunny ol' England. But I move a lot."

"England? No way!" He spun me again. "We're from England!"

"Well, I figured that," I replied dully.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Edmund asked.

I shrugged. "Didn't seem all that important under the circumstances."

"I suppose not." His eyes lit up. "But that means we can see you when we all go back!"

"Really? I hadn't thought of that." I considered it. "Where do you live?"

"London."

I flinched. "I live almost two hours away from London. All the way out in the country away from civilization."

"Where?"

"I don't really know. I live in this huge old house that my dad inherited from some great uncle or something." I laughed to myself, thinking of the day we moved in. "It was funny. The first day we got there I almost killed myself opening the doors to this big old wardrobe. They fell right off and almost crushed me. My dad used the doors and trim as the door to a closet he built me the next day. It's pretty wicked." I paused thoughtfully. "That's actually how I got here. I stepped through the door to my closet and fell face-first into the dirt right in front of Caspian's horse."

Edmund's face paled. "You came to Narnia through the doors of…an old…wardrobe?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Weird, huh?"

"Not so weird, actually. The first time we came to Narnia it was through the back of an old wardrobe." He seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Come to think of it, it was in a big old house in the country too. I wonder…but it couldn't be. Professor Kirke still lives there." He shook his head.

"Kirke?" I raised an eyebrow. "Kirke is my last name."

Edmund froze and we stared at each other. "So that's your father's last name?" I nodded. "And perhaps his…uncle's…last name?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."

"But Professor Kirke is still alive!" he exclaimed.

"Maybe it's a different Kirke. My father's uncle or whatever has been dead for years."

"But that's just too much of a coincidence. Were there old fur coats in the wardrobe?"

I stared. "How did you know that?"

"It's the same wardrobe! It has to be! There can't be more than one wardrobe leading into Narnia!" Edmund pulled me into the dance once again, looking extremely excited. "But the question is, how? We were just staying with the Professor a year ago to escape the air raids during the war."

"Air raids?" I asked, confused. "War? What war?"

"Where have you been? The war with Germany, of course! The Blitz was just last year!"

It was my turn to freeze, gaping at him. "You mean World War II? That was almost seventy years ago."

"Seventy years? What are you talking about? I'm telling you, it was just last year!"

"I just learned about this in military history class!" I argued. Something suddenly dawned on me. "Edmund…what year is it where you're from?"

"1941, of course!" Edmund replied, his tone suggesting it should be obvious. He watched the look on my face, and slowly comprehension dawned in his expression. "What year is it where you're from?"

"Um…2008," I answered softly. We just stood their, gaping stupidly at each other. Neither of us knew how to react. I mean, he was from the past? How was that possible? What sort of time schedule did Narnia work on, anyway? How were the Kings and Queens of Old barely even through puberty yet?

"Is everything all right?" Peter's voice interrupted our shock. Edmund and I jumped and looked at him.

"She's from the future!" he cried, pointing at me.

"You're from the past!" I countered.

"What are you two talking about?" Peter asked.

"You're from 1941!" I said.

"Yeah. So?"

"I'm from 2008!"

Peter stared at me. "You mean you're not from Narnia?"

"No, you idiot! Stay with me!"

He crossed his arms. "You know, just because you're a queen now doesn't mean you can insult me."

I scoffed. "Puh-lease. I was making fun of you long before I got a title."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Focus!" Edmund interrupted. "Honestly, you're worse than children!" I punched him. "Ouch! Quit hitting me!"

"Quit calling me a child!"

"I didn't call you a child! I just said you were worse than one!"

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, appearing at my side.

Peter and Edmund both pointed at me. "She's from the future!" they said in unison.

I rolled my eyes. "Or you're from the past."

"What do you mean?"

"You are from 1941 and I am from 2008," I explained.

"Oh," Lucy said. "Why are you all freaking out?"

"Because she's from the future!" Edmund answered.

"So? You know Narnian time doesn't work the same as our time. It's a completely different time flow." I'm never going to get over how smart she is. "It just happens that it's the same time in Narnia for both of us, that's all. I mean, you could step out of Narnia and right back in and years could've passed. So, why not?"

"Makes sense, I guess," Peter mumbled. He was probably upset that he hadn't thought of it first.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Well said, Lu!" I high-fived her, then realized that if she was here then she was no longer dancing with Caspian. "Now that that's settled, who's for a dance? Why, Peter! I would love to!" I grabbed the bewildered Peter and swept him away into the crowd. I didn't want to give Caspian the chance to ask me. I wasn't sure I could handle it.

As the night wore on, I started to run out of dance partners. It felt like I'd danced with every Narnian I was able to. I'd even danced with the Telmarine soldier at one point, and Susan and Lucy as well. When the moon was reaching its peak in the sky, I quietly slipped away into the gardens outside. I wandered through the flowers for a while before I found a stone bench that I could sit on and look up at the stars. The sky was so clear in Narnia, nothing like in our world. There was no light pollution to make the inky heavens look worn and faded, and the stars looked that much brighter. I noticed several formations that were familiar- Caspian had pointed them out to me that night by the fire. That carefree time seemed so long ago now.

"Isabella?" I'd grown so used to his voice that it never surprised me anymore, even when I wasn't expecting it. There was still a noticeable increase in my heart rate, though. I turned my head to look at him as he sat down beside me. "If I did not know better, I would think you have been avoiding me."

"Why would I do that?" I asked, carefully. There was a moment during which the only sound was the muffled music from inside. "You're not wearing your crown."

Caspian's hand went to his head. "It's inconvenient when dancing," he explained.

"Ah, of course. It did look awfully heavy."

He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "I've not had a single dance with you all night."

"Really?" I tried to sound surprised. "That's weird…"

"I suppose." He hesitated, uncertainly. "Have I…been too forward? I apologize, I simply assumed that y-"

"No, no, you haven't!" I interrupted.

"Are you certain? I thought that…I mean…I've made my own feelings obvious but I…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I never even stopped to ask if they were…mutual." I realized that the strange edge to his voice was nervousness.

I considered lying. Perhaps if I told him that I didn't return his affections it would be easier for him to watch me leave. But the moon lit up his cautiously hopeful expression and I couldn't bring myself to tell him anything but the truth. I could, however, be as vague as possible. "I…feel the same," I said, softly.

The smile on Caspian's face brought one to my own. Even in the midst of my own troubles, his happiness still brought me joy. "Wonderful. I mean…it's just…that makes me very…"

I silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Shh. It's okay." He took my hand and kissed my fingertips. I shivered. "Cut that out!"

"Sorry." He lowered our hands, but kept mine in his. "I'm just so…happy."

"So am I." It was true. Despite everything, his presence could still put me all the way up on cloud freakin' nine.

Caspian reached out to brush a stray curl out of my eyes. "You look beautiful tonight."

"You clean up pretty well yourself." That was also true. As beautiful as he was in the middle of the forest in a haggard white shirt and pair of breeches, I wouldn't have thought he could get any better looking. Apparently, I was wrong. In the rich, royal fabrics and colors better fitting to his station, he looked every bit the handsome prince. I mean king. It was so surreal I kept forgetting that the young man in front of me was not only generally incredible, he was also a king. It looked like he'd gone from Prince Charming to King Unbelievable while I was sleeping.

Caspian jumped to his feet suddenly and held his hand out. "Dance with me."

"Huh?" I stared up at him.

He laughed. "Dance with me! We can hear the music well enough." He pulled me to my feet without waiting for a reply and held me against him as we twirled under the moonlight. His enthusiasm made me sad. I lowered my head and rested my chin on his shoulder to keep him from deciphering my feelings from my face. Our slow-moving circles faded to a gentle sway. "Querida," he murmured after several minutes. "I want you to know that I…I've never…felt anything like this before. And so in accordance to that I have also never…done this…before." My heart fluttered at his nervous innocence. I bit my lip. "So…what I mean is that…I am sorry if I'm…not very…good at it."

I had to laugh at that one. "You're already way better at it than you think. Too good at it, if you ask me."

When he replied, he sounded pleased. "Oh."

"And, for the record, while I may have been…uh…close…to other guys before…well…" I bit my lip, thinking of Nathan and how childish and immature my attraction to him had been. The emotions spent on him were a single light bulb compared to the Time Square intensity of what I felt for Caspian. "It's never been like this," I blurted. "It's never been like…like my heart doesn't fit in my chest anymore and it's beating so fast and so hard like its trying to burst right out of my ribcage because it doesn't belong where it is because it isn't mine anymore." I have a babbling problem. I was talking so fast that the words were out of my mouth before I'd taken the time to consider the consequences. Every time I opened my mouth a new string bound me to him, making the idea of leaving more and more painful. I closed my eyes and pressed my face into his neck, inhaling the scent of his skin.

"I…know exactly how you feel," Caspian said. I was trying hard just to breathe. I felt him trace the curve of my neck from just under my ear to my shoulder with the tip of his nose. He retraced the same path with a gentle brush of his lips on my skin leaving a trail of fire in their wake. His hands were hot on my back. I pressed my lips against the pulse in his neck, a reminder that he was alive and he was saying these beautiful things for me. He tensed up suddenly and took my shoulders in his hands to force me back a step. "I…you should go and get some rest. It's late."

I blinked at the strangely strained expression on his face. "I've been sleeping for two days."

"You should go." Caspian's face was almost pleading.

"Why? What's wrong?" I scrunched my eyebrows together, confused, and took a step back. "You don't want to be near me?"

He pulled me back, suddenly panicked. "No! No, not that. Never that." He looked away. "I want to be near you…far too much." I stared at him, trying to decipher his expression. Slowly, comprehension dawned on me as I realized he was embarrassed.

"Oh…Oh!" I bit my lip, trying hard not to laugh at his obvious discomfort. In the end, I couldn't help but giggle a little. It was just so cute!

Caspian looked at me, aghast. "You think it's funny?"

"N-no," I lied, then lapsed into another fit of giggles. "Okay just a little." I could tell he was even more embarrassed when he let go of me and turned away. "Aw, don't be like that. I think it's cute, that's all!" He flinched. "Not like that!" I threw my arms around his shoulders, still not fully over my giggles, and muffled my laughter against his back before continuing. "I think it's cute that you're all…" I cleared my throat and put on my best Telmarine accent (which wasn't very good at all). "…You must go now before I put my hands in inappropriate places!" I dropped the terrible rendition of his voice and laughed. "It's adorable. I mean, it's not like I would mind if you put your hands in inappropriate places, but the whole old school gentleman thing is totally hot." I stood up on my tiptoes so my mouth was next to his ear, trying hard to contain another fit of giggles. "Makes me want to put my hands in inappropriate places."

I think if he'd been drinking something, it would have been a total spit take. Classic. But since he wasn't in the middle of downing a glass of water, Caspian coughed instead. Hard. Like he was choking on his own spit or something. I think he tried to step forward too, but I was holding on like a vice. My playful demeanor quickly changed to that strange sensation I couldn't place. "Caspian…"I murmured, thrilling to the sound of his name on my own lips. He froze and fell silent. That snake was back in the pit of my stomach, shooting venom like an electrical charge through my veins. Whether my charge was positive or negative, I don't know. All I know is that it was the opposite of Caspian's because I suddenly couldn't get close enough. I turned him around, surprised by how pliable his body was under my hands as I'd seen him stand solidly against much less gentle forces. I traced the features of his face with my fingertip, following the lines I could never recreate with a pencil. He closed his eyes as my touch moved over the curve of his brow and the almond shape of his eyelids. I struggled to keep my breath even as I touched the slope of his nose, the slant of his cheek, the line of his jaw. "Caspian," I whispered. His lips parted slightly under my fingers and I fought to keep control. I failed. Miserably. The venom in my veins had left me completely intoxicated. I mumbled his name again and pressed my lips to his.

Caspian's surprise was evident as he gasped into my mouth. It thrilled me. I wondered if this was how he felt every time he'd caught me by surprise with his kisses. If it was, he had much better self-control than I did. My probing fingers found the hem of his shirt and skimmed over the warm skin beneath. He gasped again, fuel to my fire. I needed to feel him, as much of him as I could before I had to leave. My palms burned against his stomach, my thumb brushing over the soft curls under his bellybutton. His skin was on fire and so was I. Splaying my fingers out, I could feel the strength in the muscle, the unsteady movement of his breathing. I wondered if Caspian could taste my hunger like syrup on my tongue. Bittersweet. He seemed to respond instinctively, his arms moving to capture me in a crushing embrace while my fingers moved over his chest. A moment later he broke away, swallowing hard but keeping me tight against him.

"Don't stop," I breathed, my voice low and husky.

"We should not be doing this," he replied breathlessly.

"I don't care." I kissed his chin, his jaw, his throat. His breathing became even more ragged as my tongue left little cold spots on his skin.

"Isa…bella." I ignored him, kissing his collarbone and wishing his shirt didn't start so soon. I moved back up to his jaw, his ear, pausing with my mouth against the skin just behind his earlobe.

"Please," I murmured. "Please touch me." I wanted to feel his hands on my skin. I wanted his palms to burn like mine were. "Caspian." I wanted to stay. He stepped back, taking my face in his hands. His eyes burned in a way I hadn't seen before.

"I want to," he said firmly, "but I'll not compromise your reputation."

I groaned. "I wish you weren't so good." Caspian smiled and leaned in to offer a much softer kiss as his hands moved over my shoulders and slid down my arms to gently pull my hands out from under his shirt. My fingers were still tingling as he broke away and looked down, his eyebrows pulled together. The music had stopped I don't know how long ago, and the silence was suddenly very loud. "What is it?"

Caspian stepped back, cradling my left hand, palm up, in his right. He ran his free fingers down the exposed underside of my forearm. I looked down at the five round, dark, dime-sized scars, the thick, jagged bit of raised skin a couple of inches from the inside of my elbow. His fingers paused on the large one. He looked sad.

"Paranoia does strange things to people," I said softly. "I thought there was a tracking device in my arm." Caspian stayed silent, his hand moving down to the quintet of smaller scars. "Burns." His attention moved to my other arm. Three little burns on this one, and a figure eight carved into my wrist. He traced it with his fingertip. "Razorblade. It means infinity."

"You did this to yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"You talk about it so lightly."

"If I didn't, I'd still be doing it." He looked up at me but I just shrugged. "Even scars can still hurt sometimes." Caspian brought my arm up and kissed each little burn, then the figure eight, his eyes never leaving mine. He repeated the process with my other arm, then pulled me into an embrace that meant something entirely different from the one we'd shared moments before.

"I wish I could have been there to help you," he said.

"No you don't."

"I do." I felt his lips trace my hairline. "Come. I'll walk you to your room."

It was way too sunny that dreaded morning. I wanted it to rain, heavily. I wanted the sky to fall. My messenger bag was sitting on the end of the bed when I woke up. Someone must have excavated the How and retrieved it. I guess there was a lot of weaponry they didn't want to just leave behind.

Susan had left me another dress. It was much simpler and without stays, making it much easier to put on, which was good because I couldn't find her anywhere and neither she nor Lucy were in their room. There was a pretty white blouse that went under the dark silver paisley-patterned bodice. The blouse was worn off the shoulder like the dress from the night before, and the skirt of the dress was a lovely shade of dark maroon. A split in the middle of the maroon skirt revealed the dark silver under-layer beneath it. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, letting my hair down so it fell in thick, dark curls over my shoulders. Sleeping with it still up had given it a more silken body than the usual frizzy mess. I ran my fingers through it a few times and then went to the little water basin to wash my face.

The sunlight filtering through the lace curtains was maddening. I threw back the white cloth and opened the doors to step out onto the balcony. I leaned on the stone banister and stared longingly towards Shuddering Wood. I wished I could go back to the carefree dancing and talking that had filled the days we'd spent there before the battle. It was sad to know I would most likely never see a day like that again. At least, not here. Not in Narnia. Not with Caspian. I was distracted from my depressing thoughts by a knock on the door. I walked back inside, closing the glass doors behind me, and crossed the rooms to answer.

I was only vaguely surprised to find that it was Caspian.

"There is to be a meeting with the townspeople and Aslan," he said with a smile. "Will you come?"

"Good morning to you, too," I grumbled. "How did you sleep, Iz? Oh, wonderfully, Caspian, and yourself? Good!"

Caspian laughed. "I am sorry. Good morning, Isabella." He took my hand and kissed it. "I trust you slept well?"

"Amazingly," I replied. He didn't fully grasp the sarcastic edge to my voice. I had hardly slept at all.

"Good," he said. "Will you accompany me to alert Aslan of the peoples' gathering and then to the meeting?"

I put on my best fake smile, the one I reserved for people who really knew me, the most convincing and most exhausting one. "Sure, just let me grab my bag." He took a step into the room as I walked over to the bed and slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Your book. I finished it days ago and I keep forgetting to give it to you. If you'd like I could run and-"

"Keep it," I interrupted.

Caspian looked at me uncertainly as we walked out into the hallway. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's all yours. I know it by heart, anyway." I can buy another copy when I get back, anyway. "Besides, I want you to keep it." Besides, I want you to keep me. "Something to remind you of the wonders of Shakespeare, in case you ever forget." Something to remind you of me, in case you ever forget.

Caspian smiled and laced his fingers through mine. "As you wish." We walked to the courtyard in a silence that may or may not have been awkward. I wasn't really paying attention because I was too caught up in the torment of knowing that this meeting would most likely include my departure. We walked down the stairs, our appearance attracting the attention of Peter, Susan, and Aslan, who were walking with each other and talking solemnly.

"Your Majesty?" Aslan addressed Caspian. I noticed the Lion's eyes move briefly to our entwined hands, then back to his face.

"We're ready," Caspian informed him. "Everyone has assembled."

Aslan nodded and the three of them followed us back up the stairs and down a path into another courtyard where the Telmarines were gathered. We came up onto a little dais sort of thing and the crowd fell silent. I let go of Caspian's hand and stepped back, giving him the stage and hiding my discontent.

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it does to man," he started. "Any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to, but for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers."

There was a flurry of murmuring in the crowd, then a man in the front spoke out. "It's been generations since we left Telmar."

"We're not referring to Telmar," Aslan replied. I stood beside him silently and stared down at my shoes with my shaking hands clasped in front of me. "Your ancestors were sea-fairing brigands, pirates run aground on an island. There, they found a cave; a rare chasm that brought them here from their world- the same world as our Kings and Queens." I saw the four siblings exchange a surprised look out of the corner of my eye. "It is a good place for any who wish to make a new start."

More murmurings passed through the group. Another man's voice carried over the din. "I will go." I looked up through my lashes. It was the Telmarine soldier that had been at the coronation. "I will accept the offer." Caspian nodded and the man came forward through the crowd.

"So will we," said the pretty woman with the baby who had also been at the coronation. She stepped forward with the older man to stand beside the soldier.

"Because you have spoken first, your future in that world shall be good," Aslan said, then breathed on them softly. All this I watched with my head tilted down, but when he turned and I heard a strange cracking behind me, I had to look. I stifled a gasp when I saw that the tree on the edge of the courtyard was slowly twisting and splitting in two, forming a sort of doorway in the middle of it. Surprised shouts came from the Telmarines, but the small group that had stepped up walked calmly forward to pass through the doorway, disappearing into thin air. More cries of shock and some of suspicion followed.

"How do we know he is not leading us to our deaths?" a man called.

"Sire," Reepicheep said, stepping forward. I turned to look at him as Aslan did. "If my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay." The Great Lion turned and looked past me to the four Kings and Queens of Old with a smile. I looked as well, and saw that Peter and Susan were sharing a meaningful glance.

"We'll go," Peter said. He took a step forward.

Edmund was confused. "We will?"

"Come on. Our time's up. After all," the older boy said, walked over to Caspian and holding out his sword, "we're not really needed here anymore."

Caspian wrapped his fingers around the sheath-covered blade. "I will look after it until you return," he said.

"I'm afraid that's just it, we're not coming back," Susan piped up sadly.

"We're not?" Lucy asked.

"You two are," Peter clarified, addressing his two youngest siblings. "At least, I think he means you two." He turned back to face Aslan.

"But why?" The youngest girl was still confused. "Did they do something wrong?"

"Just the opposite, dear one," Aslan replied. "But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned all they can from this world. Now it's time for them to live in their own."

"It's all right, Lu," Peter said, moving to stand in front of her. "It's not what I thought it'd be, but it's all right. One day you'll see too." Le gasp! King Peter sounds so mature! I never would have thought it possible! "Come on." He took her hand, and the four of them walked over to bid farewell to Glenstorm, Trufflehunter, and Trumpkin. As Peter shook the centaur's hand, Lucy hugged the dwarf tightly. I couldn't help but smile a little.

Edmund walked over to me. "See you in seventy years?" he asked so only I could hear.

"If you're still around," I replied with a smile, then hugged him. "You know, you were always my favorite." He laughed as he stepped back and I kissed him softly on the cheek. "Mind your manners," I advised, "and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

His cheeks flushed. "That doesn't leave out much." I moved to punch him and he flinched, but I just ruffled his hair with a laugh that he joined before moving away.

Lucy surprised me with a hug around my waist. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head fondly. "I'll miss you," she said. I crouched down so we were at eye level. "It was like having another big sister!"

I grinned. "I'll miss you, too. It was like having a little sister who's way smarter than me. I'm sure I'll really miss you when I have to do my psychology homework." She smiled and hugged me again and I straightened up to embrace Susan as she came forward. "And I'm sure I'll miss you when I have another bad hair day, which will be tomorrow…and the next day…and every day after that."

Susan laughed. "I'll miss you too, when Lucy complains about my messing with her hair. Which will be everyday." It was my turn to laugh as Lucy shouted "Hey!"

As Peter meekly stepped forward, I practically smothered him. "Aw Petey I'll miss you most of all," I crooned.

"Uh, yeah, I'll uh, miss you too," he replied awkwardly. He never did get comfortable with me. I guess I'm a little too loud for his tastes. Oh well. He tried to move away quickly when I let go, but I grabbed him and kissed both his cheeks, leaving them tinged red.

Peter whirled around while I giggled, and lead his siblings towards the tree. My laughter faded when I saw their solemn faces as they waved goodbye and slowly disappeared through the door. I looked down at my hands during the quiet murmuring that followed.

"Your Highness?" Caspian and I both looked up at the sound of Aslan's voice; Caspian because he was used to the title, me because I knew what he was about to say. Caspian turned his eyes to me when he saw that I was the focus of the Lion's gaze. "It's time."

"Time?" Caspian inquired, confused. "Time for what?" The crowd suddenly fell completely silent. I couldn't meet his eyes, but he took a step toward me. "What is he talking about?" I bit my lip, hoping Aslan would explain. He didn't. "Isabella?"

Slowly, I raised my eyes to Caspian's. I wanted to cry, but I did my best to hold back the tears. "I…have to go." My voice cracked, betraying my emotions.

Caspian either didn't get it or didn't want to. "Go where?"

"Home," I practically whispered, gesturing to the tree behind me. "I have to go home, Caspian. I can't stay here." He took another step toward me, the confusion on his face replaced with shocked sadness.

"But why?" His left hand was extended slightly, like he wanted to take mine.

"I have to. This isn't my world." I spread my arms out helplessly, painfully aware of our audience. "I have to go back to my family and friends." Caspian's hand fell to his side and a few wayward tears escaped down my cheeks. "I'm sorry," I whispered. It was so hard to look at the wounded expression on his face, but I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"But…" He dropped Peter's sword and closed the gap between us suddenly, taking my hands in his. "You can't leave."

"I can't stay."

"You have to stay." His voice fell, his eyes pleading. "Please."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, pulling my hands out of his to wipe my face. "But I can't. I can't just abandon my friends…my family." I opened and closed my fists a few times, wanting to reach for him but afraid I wouldn't be able to let go. I settled for taking his hands again. "It's hard for me to leave but I have to go back. Please try to understand, I…" I paused, taking a shaky breath. A few more tears escaped but my eyes never left his. "This is breaking my heart," I whispered. "But it's something that I have to do." I leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't forget me, okay?" I stepped back, releasing his hands and turned to walk through the doorway.

"Please don't go," Caspian tried one last time, though I knew from his voice that he was already resigned to my decision.

I looked over my shoulder but towards the ground, unable to will my eyes to look at him again. "I wish I could, but I love them and they…love me." I turned my head away as I spoke and took a step forward.

"But, Isabella, I love you too!" Caspian cried desperately. There was a collective gasp from the crowd followed but muttering. I froze, my heart stopping for a moment before picking up at four times the natural speed. Slowly, I swiveled on the ball of my foot and pretty much gaped at him. He was standing with his hands out pleadingly, sincerity written all over his face. Impossible. Impossible.

It took several heartbeats for me to reply, but even then all my Shakespeare-filled AP English mind could think of was, "Huh?"

"I love you," Caspian repeated firmly. So I had heard him right. Holy…

I gaped at him some more, my brain still not fully functioning. "I…did you just…Oh my God." I covered my eyes with my hand. "Oh my God."

I didn't hear him coming, but Caspian was suddenly pulling my hand away from my eyes so he could look into them. "I know you think it isn't possible because of how little time I have known you but I don't care." A mosaic of emotions passed over his face. "I don't care. It doesn't matter to me how long I have known you because I feel as if I have always known you." He took my face in his hands. "So I don't care. I don't care. I love you." I thought of Haybra's words to me before the battle, the ones that I had thought so cheesy at the time. They suddenly didn't seem so dumb.

you have always known him here.

I touched my chest right over my heart. "Compositus Animus," I murmured, spacing out as I remembered her words.

"What?" Caspian asked, confused. "What does that mean."

I met his eyes again, suddenly understanding why I was so attached to him, why it was so hard for me to leave. "It means I love you too." He smiled briefly and then his lips fell to mine. I welcomed his kiss fervently, my arms automatically taking their place around his neck. There was so much in that kiss- joy, love, desperation, need. Caspian ran his fingers through my hair absently as he broke away but pressed a few more little kisses to my lips. I wanted to stay more than ever, but I knew that I couldn't regardless of who loved me. Even if it was Caspian. Even if it broke my heart.

I stepped back, trying to bring myself to tell him that nothing had changed, but he seemed to read it in my expression. He took my hands. "Will I ever see you again?" I looked to Aslan, who I realized had been watching our exchange with fond interest and a knowing smile. Caspian followed my gaze.

"Yes," the Lion said. My heart suddenly felt a thousand times lighter.

"When?" I asked.

"That, I cannot say," he replied. "But for now you must return to your world and set right what is wrong." I nodded, knowing what he meant. In the short time I'd been in Narnia I had learned more than I had in all seventeen years of my life, most of it about love. I won't get too into it because I don't want to sound like a living cliché, but the most important thing I now knew was that love isn't conditional. When I got home, I would tell Dana and Jo all the things I'd been afraid to tell them before. I would tell them all my darkest secrets, and I knew that they would still love me. I knew.

I turned my attention back to Caspian and smiled. "Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night 'til it be morrow," I said.

Caspian returned my smile as he heard my words. Shaking his head, he skipped back a bit. "A thousand times the worse, to want thy light. Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks."

I touched his cheek and kissed him one last time, and then turned back to the door. Hesitating, I looked over my shoulder. Caspian was smiling sadly as he watched.

"'Tis twenty years 'til then," I said softly, and with one step traveled light-years away.

I knew I would always feel his absence. I knew I would always ache for him.

My stranger. My prince. My Caspian.