This is Home

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It had now been a whole day since they had been there, but it hadn't even felt that long. They had stayed up all night, pointing out the Narnian constellations, and the stars seemed so much brighter here.

Of course, at some point, the stories had to be told to the parents of their adventures in Narnia. Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Miranda had finally sat down with their parents (and many curious Narnians) and had told them of how they had discovered Narnia and their adventures in it.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Jeffrey Pevensie asked.

"Would we have believed them?" Helen asked him.

Jeffrey thought for a moment, then said;

"No, we would not have."

Miranda laughed along with her parents, Dad on her right and Mom on her left.

"You did well my little brave heart," Dad said. "I'm proud of you."

"Excuse me, Sir Jay," Caspian asked. Dad nodded his head for him to continue.

"Why is it that you call Miranda "brave heart"? You never knew about her in Narnia."

"That is true," Jay, or Dad, answered. "But she was like that even back in our world."

"In what way?" Caspian asked.

"Well, I think that at least once a week, she would come home with a bloody nose or a bruised cheek, saying "Dad, those bullies were messing with my friend, Cassie, again, and I beat them up"."

The group laughed out loud and Miranda blushed.

"She was fearless," Dad continued, "And would try out anything. But after the disease caught a hold of her, that all stopped."

"And I despised every minute of that," Miranda said.

They all had another good laugh, and it was then that Miranda felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and Peter stood there, with an expression on his face that Miranda could not read.

"Come with me," he whispered.

"Is that an order?" she teased.

His face broke into a grin.

"If you want it to be," he replied.

Miranda laughed and stood up. Nodding her head to the others, she followed Peter into a denser part of the forest. Standing there were Onyx and the white unicorn that Peter had ridden into battle with so many years before.

Peter went over to the unicorn and mounted. Miranda followed suit and mounted Onyx.

"What on earth are we doing?" she asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Peter replied. Then, he urged the unicorn into a gallop, Miranda following close behind.

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Peter wished that he could get the tight feeling in the pit of his stomach to go away. But he couldn't.

He lead them into green forests and open plains until they came to the spot. It was the beach near Cair Paravel, one of their favorite places in the world.

Without hesitation, he leapt off of the unicorn and plunged right in to the ocean waves. It was cold, but not too cold, and for once, he felt no sand getting onto his clothing.

He heard a splash. Miranda had jumped in behind him. The two swam further out, and the mermaids began swimming around them. Suddenly, Peter felt himself pulled under. He held his breath until he came back up, coughing and spluttering. He turned to Miranda. She had that mischievous look on her face and was laughing out loud. Peter immediately reached over and pulled her down. Unfortunately, Miranda pulled him back down with her. The two came back up coughing and laughing at the same time.

The mermaids were good enough to help them back up on the shore, and the two rested themselves on the beach, breathless, but happy.

"Susan would have loved this," Miranda said suddenly, and her voice now held sadness.

Peter had known that it was coming.

"I tried Miranda. You don't know how many times I tried to bring her back: tried to make her believe once more. But every day I tried."

"Then you kept your promise Peter," she said, "And there is nothing more that you can do than that."

The two fell silent once more, looking out to the horizon.

And Peter had a feeling that it was now or never.

"Miranda."

"Yes Peter."

"Do you remember us standing on this beach so many times for.... suitors?"

Miranda laughed.

"Do I ever. You had countesses and duchesses and tarkheenas and princesses; I can't even remember all the names with the titles."

"I can't even remember how many came," Peter said with a chuckle.

"Fourteen," Miranda answered without skipping a beat.

"You counted?"

"I was bored," she said defensively.

Peter gave another laugh. His mind then wandered back in time.

"Do you remember the one?"

"How can I forget Peter? If I remember correctly, it was the governor's daughter at Doorn. All the other people of the Lone Islands didn't have a problem with you, but obviously that governor did."

"Yes," Peter sighed, remembering well. "So he sent his very beautiful and lively daughter to seek my hand once again."

"Only this time, she had done her homework."

"You remember it as well as I do," Peter said. "And I fell for it."

"But thank Aslan you kept your head about it. You never proposed to her or anything."

"I was quite close to it. And if I remember, it was Edmund finding her hidden letter that kept me from taking the last step."

"Yes it was," Miranda sighed. "But she was not happy."

"Nope. She got violent. And again, if I am remembering correctly, she pulled a knife on me."

"She did," Miranda confirmed. "And she might have made it."

"Except you were there."

Miranda blushed, and Peter laughed. Then he grew solemn again.

"After that one, I begged Aslan to please find me someone. For him to please give me someone to love and to cherish for the rest of my life."

"Did he?" Miranda asked.

"I believe so," he replied. "But like a fool, I didn't see it until it was all over."

Now agitated, he stood up and began a fast pacing.

"What do you mean Peter?" Miranda asked, looking a bit worried.

"I mean that I didn't realize that he had given me someone until it was too late. I mean that I didn't see my love for her until she was dead."

Peter stopped pacing and bent back down to Miranda.

"It's you."

Miranda's eyes widened.

"What?" she whispered.

"I love you!" he said. Tears began streaking down his cheeks.

"Forgive me please. Like a fool, I didn't realize it until after you had died. Like a blind child I didn't see the gift that Aslan gave me until you were gone."

"Peter..."

"Edmund soon found out, but I could never gather up enough courage to tell anyone else. It wouldn't have been fair for them to..."

"Peter!"

Peter turned back to her. There were tears shining in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"I love you," she whispered.

A full minute passed by.

"You do?"

"Yes Peter. I do. But unlike you, I knew it a little earlier. It was just before I called you that night."

Peter was surprised.

"Then why...?"

"I couldn't bear it Peter. I was dying, and I knew that nothing would keep me from dying. And I didn't want my last few moments to be ruined by telling someone I loved them and finding that they didn't love me in return."

Peter was silent for a few more moments.

"Yes," he finally said. "That was perhaps the best decision."

Neither one said anything. Slowly, Peter took her hand in his own and placed something inside it. Miranda opened her hand, and there sat Peter's necklace of Rhindon. She looked at his neck to see her necklace of Alanosa.

Not a word being spoken, she clasped the necklace around her neck and looked up at him. And Peter knew that Aslan had given him this moment, and that he was not going to waste it anymore.

He reached over and caressed Miranda's hair. She reached up and stroked his cheek.

Then, as if the moment were planned in time, they kissed. It was not a kiss of passion, nor was it a kiss of comfort. This was a pure kiss of a long waited love, the kind of love that our greatest king has in store for us.

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Epilogue

Miranda lay her head upon the soft black back of Onyx, breathing in the fresh Narnian air.

She heard laughter, and turned her head towards the wonderful sound. A newly arrived Susan was playing a game of tag with Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, Jill, and other good Narnian friends. Unlike the Narnians, but like her mother, father and Miranda's parents, she was not dressed in Narnian clothes. Instead, she was dressed in a beautiful white English dress. For though she had accepted Christ, she never did completely remember Narnia.

Miranda felt a warm glow, and she turned to see Aslan, more beautiful than the brightest sun.

"Aslan," she whispered, rising up. She put her arms around the golden lion and embraced him. Aslan turned his bright face and kissed her forehead.

"Tell me, courageous one," Aslan said. "Do you ever feel the need to use your sword?"

"No Aslan," Miranda replied.

"Good," he said. "Then use it no more. Your battle with the witch was your final battle."

"Then I am glad," Miranda said. "For though I fought and protected in battle, though it was my instinct and what I wished to do, I must admit, I never really did enjoy it."

"Then that is even better," Aslan replied. "For that is how I created you."

Then, giving a playful growl, he raced to join the game.

Miranda gave a sigh and looked out to the mountains and the sun overhead.

"What are you thinking about?" she heard. She turned to the smiling face of Peter, his golden hair messy from his part in the game.

She smiled back at him as he hugged her.

"I'm thinking about here."

"And what do you think about it?"

Miranda thought for a moment before answering.

"This is Home."

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