I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. Today, August 24th, I leave for two weeks on a choir tour of South Africa. I'm not sure I'll have internet access, so I may or may not be able to update while I'm away. Sorry for the awkward updating, by the way; my summer schedule is crazy.
Cleaning up the hall took far less time than Lucy might have imagined – there had been little real bloodshed in the short battle, and with an entire castle's worth of servants and magicians (many of whom seemed relieved to be cleaning at last, as opposed to anything more advanced or dangerous), the throne room looked almost as it had before, minus the wedding decorations, though the altar and the carpet remained. Peter and Susan converged on their younger siblings immediately after, the High King reluctantly submitting to a quick magical binding of some of his injuries by a Caelanese healer while Lucy helped Edmund to his feet.
Words failed them for a moment. There was such a swarm of activity around them, so many unfamiliar voices, so much confusion left still, that what ought to have been a heartfelt reunion ended up as more of an overwhelmed silence, the four of them staring blankly at each one another.
"Well," said Susan finally, looking from her weary-eyed older brother to her bloodstained younger brother to her shell-shocked little sister. "Thank Aslan that's done."
Peter was the first to hug her because he was nearest, crushing her to him as if he'd never let her go; her surprise was muffled into his shoulder as his face screwed up with a what Lucy couldn't really call a mix of emotions – it was a complication of them, of relief and pent-up fear and released anger and utter ecstasy that at last, his family was all safe, all in one place. Lucy joined in a moment later, throwing her arms up around her biggest siblings, and Edmund looked awkwardly away until she grabbed his arm and pulled hard, and he stumbled into the hug with a yelp of surprise.
After a long moment, they parted, stepping back from one another reluctantly, and Lucy looked up to see Timothy approaching them. He was slightly knocked around from the brief battle, but on the whole he looked fine, and she had a thousand questions to ask him. But first, she realized, an introduction was in order.
"Your Majesties," he greeted, dropping quickly to one knee as he reached them. While Peter and Edmund hung back, Lucy stepped past them towards the soldier and waved a hand dismissively.
"There's really no need, you can still call us by our names," she said, taking his hand and helping him back up. "Timothy, this is my sister Susan, though I'm sure you've already guessed. And Su, this is Timothy – he's…well, it's a very long story. I suppose we'll have to explain it later."
"Wait," said Edmund suddenly, frowning. "You said you didn't believe we were kings and queens."
"Well, I didn't," replied Timothy. "But I do now. And I have to apologize to you, Queen Lucy, for stealing your magic rings in the middle of the night like I did. I do have an explanation, but first, here – you should take them back."
He reached onto his belt and carefully disentangled Lucy's small leather pouch from its place, pressing it into her hand gratefully.
"Thank you," she said, still utterly bewildered. It certainly showed on her face.
Abruptly, Ed wobbled on his feet; Peter caught his arm in concern, steadying his younger brother, who was rather pale.
"You all right?" he asked, looking him over carefully.
"He was just stabbed, Peter, you oaf, of course he's not all right. Ed, you ought to be sitting," Susan said practically, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the benches, which had been vacated rapidly by the wedding guests after the fight had ended. He sat down slowly as Peter followed them over anxiously, leaving Lucy standing next to Timothy.
"Perhaps the explanation can wait," she said, biting her lip. He nodded understandingly, giving her another slight bow.
"It can indeed, your Majesty. Whatever time suits you best."
She hurried after Peter, and they all gathered around Edmund, which of course only made him more cranky, and more eager to prove he was totally fine, which he wasn't.
"Lucy, where'd your cordial get to?" Susan asked her, frowning as she pulled back her little brother's collar to look at his half-healed injury; the Caelanese healers had done what they could but their work was nothing like that of Lucy's gift. A large scab remained, like he'd received the wound several days ago rather than scarcely an hour.
"I don't need the cordial, I'm not bleeding anymore," Edmund complained.
"Don't be an idiot," said Susan, at the same time that Peter said, "Don't be like me," and when he registered it, he looked rather startled and offended at the implication. His sisters both ignored him. His brother smirked.
"Last I saw, Valin had my cordial," Lucy frowned, stepping away a bit to look up towards where he'd fallen. The body was gone, no doubt moved with the bodies of the others who'd perished in this battle, but she saw that a few items had been laid up on the arms of his great stone throne. "Let me go check."
She was halfway up to the dais when she ran into another familiar face – Danya looked just as startled to see her, but immediately caught her in a celebratory embrace, spinning her around in surprisingly strong arms and planting a big wet kiss on her forehead.
"Lucy," she said breathlessly, her face alight in exhilaration. "We did it."
"You did it," Lucy corrected, smiling back. "I didn't really do anything. It was your interference that bought us the time we needed."
"Oh but Lucy, it was your people who saved us at the end," Danya protested, shaking her head. Lucy had begun to move away slightly, heading for the throne, but she stopped suddenly at those words.
"My people?" she asked in confusion. "I ah…no, that was just a friend of ours, he…I don't really know what he did, but they're not my people, so to speak. Not as a queen, they're not."
"But isn't your country called Narnia?" the maid asked in confusion. Lucy nodded, equally bemused. "Well…they all seem to think they're from Narnia."
Lucy, at this point, was feeling more confused than before she'd started asking anyone questions. But first things first – her brother needed tending to.
"Talk to me later," she said quickly. "I'm sorry – I have to do something."
Danya nodded with an easy smile, slipping quickly into step beside Roche, who'd been waiting for her, and Lucy could have sworn she saw the two kiss briefly before they hurried over to help with the returning of the wedding presents. She hurried up to the throne and sure enough, Susan's horn and her cordial were laid out there – she grabbed both and headed back down to her family, exhausted but safe and finally together. Soon, she told herself, the mysteries would resolve and they could all go home.