(REVISED VERSION)

I will take some time to revise each of the chapters I've written so far and once I'm done (which I hope doesn't take too long) I will continue the story :)

Some of you might be wondering how or why Susan has her horn in London. Well, here's the explanation.

IMPORTANT! - There's a flashback in this chapter, all that part is written in italics.

And once again I accomplished my goal. This chapter is 1, 800 words long.

Enjoy :)

Chapter II

"The dream of a queen"

A wave or realization washed over Bridget as she was looking at the ivory item her mother just gave her. Looking at that horn changed everything. Holding it in her hands. Seeing it was real was a living proof that everything her mother ever told her about Narnia was real. Narnia really existed.

But how could any of that be true? It was simply impossible that her mother once lived in a magical land and ruled there for years as a queen alongside her brothers and sister.

It was so hard to start actually thinking any of that was real. When she was younger she believed in Narnia, of course. But she was very, very young when she believed. She was around eight years old when she refused to keep thinking talking animals, a majestic lion and a land on the other side of a wardrobe could be real. According to her it was plain stupid to believe in any that.

"Do you remember I once told you in one of the stories that Father Christmas gave that horn to Queen Susan the Gentle?" her mother suddenly asked, bringing Bridget again to reality and away of her ponderings.

Her daughter only nodded.

Bridget also knew that same horn took the Kings and Queens of Old out of their world and back into Narnia when prince Caspian blew it, in need of help.

"I left it in my saddle the day we came back for the first time. But on our next journey to Narnia, Caspian gave it to me again"

Bridget thought it was quite weird to hear mother talk about that story not as a narrator anymore, but as part of the story, as one of the characters in it. She was no longer saying Queen Susan, this time she started saying Me instead.

"I left the horn in Narnia that second time as well. But something really strange happened on the night I found out my family was gone"

She had been crying for the whole day. Never in her whole life had she shed so many tears. She was clutching strongly in her hand a letter that was now wrinkled and partially ragged.

That damned letter.

Her family was dead and she found out through a bloody letter.

Susan was regretting so many things now that she was lying on her bed and thinking of all the moments she spent alongside her family, next to her dear siblings. All those beautiful memories.

But what was really killing her from the inside was that on the last few years she had been very distant to them. All that time she could have shared with her family and instead she had kept them away from her…

And now it was too late.

Oh! Poor Peter! So determined, strong and caring. He was her older brother, who always made sure she was fine. Always looking after her as her most loyal friend. He even was somehow a father figure to her, because after her father left, Peter took that place for the rest of the family, to protect them, to make them know there was someone there for the rest them.

Edmund! How she missed her dear Edmund! So smart, brave and loyal. He as well as Peter, always was there for the rest of them when they needed him. He was the most loyal man she had ever known. He was somehow shy and quiet, but inside him there was so much joy and he always brought it out when being near his siblings.

And Lucy! Her little sister! She was the sunshine of the family, always lighting the faces of everybody just when they looked at her. So cheerful and innocent. Her dear Lucy was very close to Susan because she was her older sister and there was a deep connection between them. She loved Lucy's light, shining always as the brightest of stars.

And Susan had given all that away.

They were the most amazing people she had ever known and now they were all gone. But the one thing she knew at that moment was that none of them deserved to die. And in a train crash! How terrible!

After a couple of hours Susan was finally starting to get sleepy, eager to be led to the realm of dreams and be able to forget about the awful event of the day. Her sorrow and pain were slowly driven away as her eyes slowly started closing.

And so, she began to dream. At first there was nothing but pure darkness and simply nothing to be dreamt. But after a while something began to appear in her mind.

She was walking on a wide meadow. Her surroundings were utterly gorgeous and breathless. That landscape was the most stunning thing she had ever behold. It smelled of grass and blossoming flowers, the scent brought to her by the sweet breeze brushing her face in the most refreshing of ways. It felt like a summer day.

Soon as she began walking she saw a few meters from her there were many people standing as if they were waiting for her to approach. Step by step, Susan believed she recognized the faces staring at her with huge grins and she noticed she was smiling back at them as well.

All of that was strangely familiar to her. She felt she knew them all from a drea. Or a dream of a dream…

But of course! She knew all of them! They were her friends. Her friends of Narnia! There was Caspian, Mr. Tumnus, Glenstorm, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, Oreius, many other centaurs, dwarves, fauns and all the people she knew.

And there was Aslan standing in front of all of them. He was emanating such power and kindness at the same time. There was always something magnificent about him every time she looked at the Great Lion.

"Welcome, Queen Susan the Gentle" he spoke, his voice a mix of a human voice and a lion's growl, so strong and deep it almost made Susan shiver.

She bowed to him, slightly bringing her head down, and as she raised it to look at Aslan again, she saw three people were standing behind him.

Her eyes filled with tears for she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her siblings were there. Alive and unharmed. Peter, Edmund and Lucy ran to her to embrace their sister, who gladly received their hug.

Everyone could notice it was a very sentimental and important moment for the Kings and Queens of Old, so nobody interrupted them. Only when they let go of each other but still near to one another, the Great Lion spoke again.

"This is my country, dear one" he said, talking only to Susan. "As you can see your siblings are not dead as you thought. They will stay here forever as well as you…"

Susan smiled.

"…when your time comes" the lion continued. "You are not yet ready to spend eternity in this place. You still have a life to be lived in your world. But there is something I wish you to have, as a reminder of Narnia and the magic that rules over it"

Susan thought of herself and her attempt to forget Narnia over the past few years. There was a time when she only thought of Narnia as a childish game she used to play with her siblings. But deep inside her she knew Narnia was not such a thing, that she was just trying to deceive herself. She knew it was a lot more than just a game, and that it was an enchanted and magnificent land she loved so much, that it hurt deep down to leave it and never return.

That's why she chose to forget. And for Aslan's words she was certain he knew she was trying to leave all her memories about Narnia behind.

Aslan looked at Caspian, who was standing near them and that was when Susan noticed he was holding her precious horn. He walked towards her and gave her the beautiful ivory object, smiling dearly at her.

"I think it's time you have this back" he said, his thick accent marking each of his words.

She smiled back as she remembered he once told her that, many years ago.

Susan was overjoyed to be there with all these people who loved her and who she loved back. She was glad to be with her siblings once again, knowing they were not dead, to be surrounded by her dearest friends and to have her wonderful horn back.

Out of the sudden she opened her eyes, slightly confused to see she was in her room and not in Aslan's country anymore.

A smile found its way in her lips and she felt her burden wasn't there anymore, haunting her and making her feel uncomfortable. That weight she felt she had been carrying was suddenly gone, leaving her with a feeling of lightness and pure bliss.

Susan noticed she no longer had the letter in her hand, instead she was holding a nicely carved ivory horn.

Her mother ended her story and Bridget understood that even if some parts of it seemed highly unlikely to ever happen, her mother was telling her the truth. She could see it in her deep blue eyes.

"That's how I got my horn back. And that's why I no longer cry for my family's deaths. Because I know they're not dead. They're waiting for me" Susan said with a huge grin.

Bridget could see her mother was craving to return to this Aslan's country as she called it. She knew her mother was eager to be with her beloved friends of Narnia, with her siblings once again.

"I know even though I've showed you my horn and I've told this part of my life, you still won't…"

"Stop" Bridget sharply interrupted her. "Please, just stop…"

What was she supposed to think now? She knew she could believe what her mother had just told her, because her mother never lied to her. She had never told her a single lie in her entire life. But this… this was something different.

She had never been more confused in her whole life!

"Bee, I know it's hard to believe in this. I didn't believe in it either when Lucy found the wardrobe even if I knew Lucy never lied. But…"

"Mother, please…" Bridget interrupted her once again.

She didn't want to think of what her mother just told her. She didn't want to confuse herself anymore. She didn't want to choose between what her mother believed and what she herself believed! Because what for her mother was real, for Bridget was simply nonexistent. Impossible.

Bridget looked at her mother straight to the eyes and placed the horn on her bed. Then, without a word, she left her mother's room trying to forget what she just heard.

Susan looked sadly at her beautiful horn and realized it would take more than just a story and that horn to make her daughter believe.

I hoped you liked this one! I'm very proud of how Susan's flashback turned out. I had the delight to write a small (diminutive, actually) scene between Caspian and Susan in her flashback (Yeah, I'm a HUGE Caspian/Susan fan! Making Susan have three daughters with someone who's not Caspian goes against all my beliefs, but that's how this story goes...)

I also used a quote form the film Prince Caspian when Caspian is giving Susan her horn back :D

Please leave a review! :)