Chapter 29~ Beautiful Disaster

Two days passed on the Narnian ships, and they were the longest two days of Edmund's life. He knew she was going to die, but yet he was forced to deal with the suspense of it happening. Not once did he leave Rose's side. Peter, Caspian and Lucy joined him often, and Glenstorm, Peepiceek and a few others joined him from time to time. When Drinian was awake he would often get up and sit next to Edmund in silence, just to keep his friend company. Edmund was grateful Drinian didn't talk: he was afraid if he started talking he would break down.

It was a glorious afternoon that day. The sun was shining and reflecting off the water, and the air was warm and refreshing. If the day had fallen under different circumstances, the Narnians would have been joyous. As it was, they barely laughed at all.

As the afternoon started to turn into sunset, Lucy, Caspian, Peter and Edmund were all gathered in Rose and Drinian's room. The doctor had warned them it wouldn't be long until Rose was gone, and they did not want to leave her side at all now. To their surprise, they were joined by the most lovely of creatures that ever walked this world and theirs.

"Aslan!" Lucy cried, being the first one to spot the lion in the doorway. Aslan smiled as she flung her arms around his neck. "Oh how I've missed you!" She buried her face in his mane, and the men in the room all bowed. "But Aslan…why?" She didn't have to say more as she looked at Rose. Lucy knew Aslan understood.

"You have doubted me, dear one."

"Yes," she said sorrowfully. "I just don't understand why this had to happen. Why did so many of our friends have to die? Sons, husbands, brothers, wives, sisters, mothers…so many lost their loved ones. Why?"

"Much good has come of this war," Aslan said. "Sit, and I shall tell you why." The Narnians obeyed and Aslan continued. "Eight years ago I sent you Edmund, and you Lucy back to England from the Dawntreader, thinking that all would be good because Caspian had met Ramandu's daughter. I underestimated you, however, young King. You knew whom your heart lay with, and you followed your heart, an action I did not think you would take. For that I am proud." Caspian smiled a little, and Aslan continued. "But because of this, I knew I must bring Lucy back. If I didn't, Narnia would come to an end, and it is much too early for this world to do so."

"End? But how?"

"Think back to those months prior when the Princess of Calormen visited you. Had Lucy not been there, Caspian would have fallen for Araminta. She would use him to allow Calormen to take over Narnia, and Narnia would cease to exist. That is why I told you all those years ago—when I called you and your brothers back to Narnia—that you would be the only one who could save Narnia."

"I see now."

"You did save Narnia, Lucy. This war was the other option to the Narnian world ending. Which would you have preferred?"

"This war," was the consecutive answer.

"But Aslan, what about Rose?" Lucy asked, and then sighed at the Lion's face. "I know…I'm only told my own story." Aslan chuckled and breathed on them all.

"I must away now, I am afraid. I will be back. Never doubt me, dear ones. I will always be here for you." Much hugging occurred between the Lion and the Narnians, and soon he was gone just as quickly as he had come. He was replaced by the doctor entering the room. He checked Rose's pulse, and his face became very somber.

"I am afraid you must say your goodbyes now," the doctor said quietly, and Lucy bit back a sob. She knelt down in front of Rose and said,

"I am going to miss you, dear. I am so glad I met you; you mean the world to me. Good-bye, Rose." Lucy got up and Caspian, Peter and Drinian all said their good-byes as well. Lucy turned to Edmund.

"Would you like to be alone?" she asked quietly, and he nodded. His friends and siblings left the room, leaving him alone with Rose. He scooted his chair closer to her and took her hand.

"Rose…" he began, and sighed. "The flower doesn't even compare to how beautiful you are. Nothing does you justice; you're too extraordinary and too special for that. The first time I saw you I knew you were going to be trouble, and I was right. I never thought that I would be able to love anyone again after Isabelle, but I have never been more wrong. I love you more than I thought I was capable of loving anyone, but I was too late in saying it. I should have told you when you told me you felt the same way, but I couldn't let myself. My stupid pride, my stupid promises…it all means nothing now. Everything seems so empty now that I know I will never have the chance to hold you, or kiss you again. That kiss we shared that night was the most wondrous feeling I have ever had, and I am sure it will be the most I ever will have. I wish you didn't have to go. I wish you could stay so we could be together for the rest of our lives. I would want nothing more, as long as you were a part of my life." Edmund rested his head on Rose's shoulder. "You changed me, love. You made me more into the man who I used to be…you were right everytime you said I was too serious and too solemn. But you erased that different man from my personality, and you made me into myself again. I love you Rose, so much. More than Narnia itself. I love you…I love you! It feels wonderful saying it, even though I know I will never hear it from your lips…" Edmund squeezed her hand and raised his head. "I love you," he whispered. He saw her take a long, last, shuttering breath, and he held his own. She let it out, a small smile on her lips.

"I love you too." Edmund jumped up as Rose's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him.

"You…you're…alive!" he whispered, and she smiled softly.

"You love me," she whispered back, and he nodded.

"More than anything." Edmund took her chin in his hands and kissed her. It was more passionate and beautiful than anything Rose had ever felt in her life, and when he let go, she smiled at him.

With that smile, Edmund did something he hadn't done ever in his memory.

He cried.

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"A miracle, completely miraculous…" the doctor muttered as he checked Rose out. "I don't know how…"

"Aslan works in mysterious ways," Lucy smiled, sitting next to the younger girl and stroking her hair. Edmund was on her other side, holding her hand.

"We thought we'd lost you," said Caspian.

"You aren't rid of me yet," Rose chuckled.

"Will she be ok?" Peter asked, quite worried.

"I think she will be fine. Just be very careful these next few weeks. Your ribs won't heal over night, and they are very close to your heart. Any strenuous activity may cause them to puncture it."

"Inside her body?" Lucy gaped. "That's why it didn't work!" She ran out of the room, leaving the rest of the occupants very confused. She was back seconds later, her cordial with her. "Open your mouth," she instructed Rose, and poured two drops of the cordial into Rose's mouth.

"What in…that's nice. I feel so warm inside."

"Are you more comfortable?"

"Very."

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"PETER!" Peter spun around, and saw his wife walking as swiftly as she could toward him. "Oh thank Aslan you're safe…I've missed you." He took her in his arms and kissed her fiercely as soon as his feet touched the ground. "Lucy, Edmund, Rose, Caspian…" Shaina checked off, and hugged them all, noticing that Edmund was carrying Rose, a detail she would attend to later. "Drinian, Raul, Trumpkin, Trufflehunter…why aren't Damien and Rhince on your ship, Peter?" His face tightened, and Shaina's hand flew up to her mouth. "No…no, it can't be."

"I'm sorry sweetheart."

"My only family left…gone." Peter caught her as she began to sink to the ground and allowed her to balance on him as they walked back to the castle. "I can't believe this…this can't be happening. How did they die?"

"Rhince died fighting about twenty Terebinthians at once. Rose almost did; they were together. I will explain the story later."

"And Damien?" she whispered.

"Shain, promise not to hate me," Lucy said timidly.

"I could never hate you, Lu."

"He died to save me." Shaina's face turned white. "See, I told you that you would…"

"You almost died?" Shaina choked, and engulfed Lucy in her arms. "Losing you is no better than losing Damien. Both are and would be incredibly hard."

"You aren't mad?"

"Only at the Calormen who did this."

"I killed him."

"I'm not normally one for violence, but thankyou." Shaina wiped a few tears from her eyes and turned to Peter. "Who else…wait, did you just say Rose almost died too?"

"We thought she was going to. She was about an inch away from it when suddenly she woke up. Now she and Edmund are courting."

"Finally," Shaina sighed. "Atleast some good has come of this war…but I am going to miss my brother. He's the only family I had left."

"Think of it this way; soon we are going to have our own family," Peter said with a small smile, and Shaina smiled back at him.

"Indeed we are."

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"What an eventful few days," Lucy sighed, a little more cheerful at the sudden turn of events. They passed Rose's room where she and Edmund were sitting on her bed. "Oh I'm so happy they are finally together…"

"Me too," Caspian smiled, and they reached Lucy's room. To her surprise there was already a fire in the fireplace, and candles illuminated the walls. "Lucy, I've been meaning to ask you something…"

"Anything," she said, and he took her hand. He got down on one knee and with his other hand, produced a small box from the pocket of his tunic.

"Lu, I love you…and I was thinking about how if you had died, I couldn't ever possibly go on without you which was when I realized I need to spend the rest of my life with you…so…will you marry me?" He opened the box and revealed a seven-carat diamond ring with a silver band and tiny rubies surrounding the diamond. Lucy's mouth dropped open as she looked at Caspian.

"I…I…of course!" she cried, and Caspian's face lit up. He slid the ring onto her left ring finger, stood up, and twirled her around. "We're getting married!"

"There isn't anything else I'd want more."

"Me neither," she beamed, and he kissed her passionately, sealing their engagement.

YAY! This chapter made me happy after so many depressing ones. You know, I was originally planning on having Rose die, but then I grew so attached to Edmund that I just couldnt do it. Review please!