Chapter 14

There was a grassy meadow; all around it was dotted with wildflowers. The sun was shining and the sky was the perfect shade of blue. It looked like a painting.

In the center of the field there was a man with dark skin and large smile on his face. He walked over to me.

"Happy birthday, Clara!" He said with a grin.

"Thank you, Papa!" I said, wondering what was coming next; when you were with my father you never quite knew.

"I cannot believe my little girl has grown up! Practically a young lady!" He said.

"I am a young lady!" I said.

"Ah, but you'll always be my little princess…." He said. "Thirteen already…" He murmured to himself.

"Daddy…? Are you alright?" I asked anxiously.

My father smiled slightly and patted my shoulder.

"And now, here is your present." He proclaimed.

He handed me a case , I opened it and saw a beautiful ring with a symbol of the sun intertwined with a flowering vine.

"Oh, Daddy! It's lovely! Thank you so much!" I said, giving him a hug.

I awoke with a start; to my dismay I found it was a dream. How I longed for the ring my father gave me, but I had left it at my Godfather's house. I remembered exactly where it was, I had laid it my mother's jewelry box.

I felt restless and knew that I wouldn't be falling asleep for quite awhile.

I found myself as if in a trance, walking down to the lake. Gently, I sank down next to the rippling waves and looked out over the night sky. I sat in this position for what seemed like years, and then I heard a slight rustle to my right.

My head jerked up and to my astonishment and joy I saw a golden lion.

"Aslan! You're back!"

I bowed very low and listen to his words of comfort.

"My dear Daughter, I have many plans for you; so many in fact -that you may not know when one is ending and another is beginning. However, one thing I will promise you; I will never leave you. Even when you can't see me, I will be there just the same; keeping watch over my precious one." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

Standing up, I put my hand hesitantly on his mane; when he began to purr softly I started to stroke it gently.

"Aslan, when will the next adventure be coming?" I asked.

"If I told you it wouldn't be an adventure, now would it?"

"I suppose not. May I ask you another question?"

"You may." He answered.

"I was just simply wondering… why did you choose me? There are so many others that are better suited for this position than I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to do most of the time, it's so confusing. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever know." I finished with a sigh.

"You know more than you realize, when the time comes you'll understand everything you need know. You only need to know your story not everyone else's. My daughter, I brought you something that belongs to you. I believe you were just thinking about it." He said with a smile.

Could it be? I thought quickly.

"Look at your left hand."

I immediately glanced down at my hand and there was the ring! I threw my arms around Aslan and embraced him, jerking back I remembered what I was doing. Hastily, I withdrew and kept my head down murmuring an apology.

"Clara, there will be a time when you will need this ring desperately. Keep it with you constantly. Never lose it or part with it, ever. No matter who wants it or tries to take it from you, never give it away; for it would be like selling your life." He commanded.

"I promise, Aslan."

"Good. I will leave you now; tell no one that I have been here; for my visit was to you and you alone."

I nodded.

"Farewell, Aslan."

I watched as he faded away into the moonlight.

Suddenly I felt very sleepy and made my way to my bedchamber.

As soon as I climbed into my bed, I fell into a rest full sleep.


I awoke to someone jumping on my bed.

"Come on, Clara! Wake up! We're going to the seashore! Hurry up and get dressed!" Lucy shouted happily.

"Alright, alright. I'm up, I'll be down in ten minutes." I told her.

She left my room with a warning to hurry.

I sat up and yawned.

Aslan was here! And he gave me my ring! I thought I'd never see it again. As if I'd give my ring away! I thought indignantly. Getting out of bed, I bumped my leg on the night stand.

"Ouch!"

Blast my clumsiness.

I mentally selected a dress to wear; it was light green with gold embroidery. I donned it, and ran downstairs only to met by what could only be described as chaos.

I saw Edmund running about as if he were on fire, then it occurred to me that he really was on fire.

"Edmund! What are you doing?" I asked appalled.

"Chasing a cat! What's it look like I'm doing?"

"You mean, other than burning yourself? Not a thing…"

He shot me a nasty look that said "If you're not going to be helpful, go away!"

"Alright, where is the cat?"
"If I knew I wouldn't be looking for it, now would I?" He snapped.

I sighed impatiently and internally rolled my eyes.

Just then a blot of fur shot out from underneath the table.

"There it is!" He said leaping up.

Grabbing it by the tail, he pulled on it; the cat did not appreciate that and wasted no time in letting him know.

"I caught it!" He said, as if he had just made a huge accomplishment

"Good job, Edmund! All it takes is some determination! I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you." A voice said from behind me. Turning around, I saw that it was Susan, who looked as if she was holding back her laughter.

She walked over and patted him on the head. Edmund scowled quite bitterly and stalked off with the cat in his hands.

"Susan, why on earth was Edmund chasing a cat? I thought he didn't like cats. Come to think of it he doesn't like animals." I said.

He doesn't like people either.

"He doesn't. A little girl asked him to find her lost kitten." She replied with a wry smile.

At that moment, Lucy bounced into the room. Whenever I saw her, she reminded me of a dryad. Her long brown hair which usually was left unbound was haphazardly thrown into a bun on top of her head. She was as graceful as her sister, although her grace was of a different kind. Lucy was still but a child, a child with a large responsibility. She handled the pressure with as much poise as she could possibly muster, though at times I could tell she was overwhelmed. Peter tried to bear her share of the work as well as he could, often staying up well past midnight; working on diplomatic affairs. Susan tried as hard as she could to live up to reputation of the Gentle queen, she confided to Lucy and I that it was harder than she thought it would be. She knew that the people of Narnia were counting on them to fulfill their expectations. Susan hated to think of letting them down, so she often pushed herself to do what she thought was necessary.

"Susan, where's Peter? Isn't he coming?" Lucy asked, as she stooped to pick up a book that had fallen while Edmund had been in the midst of chasing the cat.

"Yes, I believe so. He's tiding up his apartments." Susan said with a impish smile.

"Why? The servants do that. Unless he has something the servants can't see…" Lucy trailed off as Peter walked into the room.

"Were you talking about me?" Peter demanded with a mock frown on his face.

"Why yes, I believe we were. Would you care to know what it is we discussing?" I asked.

"Why yes, I believe I would." He responded.

I heard Lucy say to Susan in a panicked voice that she hoped I wouldn't tell him what she had said.

"Well we were agreeing that you were…ah, working too hard and that you needed a break." I replied, wincing as I heard Lucy's sigh of relief.

Peter's only response was raised eyebrow.

"What, you don't believe me?" I asked innocently.

"No." He said trying to stifle a chuckle.

"Why Peter! Are you saying that I'm lying?" I asked with a frown.

"Er… maybe?" He paused.

"How rude!" I exclaimed.

"Peter! I expected much better of you! You're insinuating that Clara is not trustworthy, and that is very ungentlemanly. " Susan chided joining me in my little game.

"Now listen…that's not what I said! I said…." Peter trailed off, realizing that's exactly what he had said.

I tried my best to glare at the poor boy, but my face didn't seem to obey. My mouth started twitching and soon I started laughing. I ventured a glance at Peter's face, only to see him frowning deeply.

"Sorry, Peter" I gasped out in between my laughter.

"So…. you thought you'd have your fun at my expense?" Peter said menacingly.

I could only nod, I couldn't get words to come out of mouth. Probably because I was laughing too much. After all, it wasn't everyday you got the king of your country tongue-tied.

"How vey unladylike of you, Miss Vincent. One would think that you don't know how to respect your elders. I think that you may need to take etiquette lessons… maybe I shall have to arrange some for you. I know of several respectable ladies whom I'm sure would be more than happy to oblige me."

"And by respectable, you mean they're a stick in the mud." Lucy piped up.

Susan stared at her sister in disbelief. I just grinned.

"What are you all doing? You're burning daylight! Let's move!" Edmund said after bursting into the room.

Grudgingly, I started heading for the door. Putting my arm around Lucy's shoulder, I informed her that she was getting good with her timing.


"Clara!" I heard my name being called, as I turned around to see who was talking to me.

It was Edmund. What did he want?

"What do you want, Edmund?" I asked with sigh, as I sidestepped a large rock on the forest floor.

"Why do you always assume I want something?" He asked with a fake pout.

"Because you never talk to me unless you want something. Now, what do you want?" I asked determined to get his question out of the way so I could enjoy being at the seashore.

"Well, fine. If you insist… I just wanted know when you were leaving. I overheard you telling Peter that you would be leaving sometime and just wanted to let you know that I think that's a very good idea." He said with a smug grin on his face.

I stared at him in shock. Looking over his shoulder, I saw there was a rather muddy river of water behind him and it looked quite deep.

"Well?" Edmund prompted.

"In answer to your query, I simply don't know. I don't know if you're ready to run the kingdom's affairs without me." I answered with a slight smile knowing what his response would be.

"I beg your pardon? I am more than capable." He drew himself up with offended dignity and pride.

"Indeed?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Indeed." He said haughtily.

Should I? He certainly deserves it. Oh, well… I'll do it anyway I thought.

"So you think you can get along without me?" I asked.

"Yes. Quite well. In fact, I'd do better if you weren't here." He said with a smirk.

That's it.

With a hard shove, Edmund fell backwards into the impure water.

"I CAN"T SWIM!" Yelped Edmund as his head went down in the water.