I am so sorry for long waiting but university just kept me occupied (but I passed all my exams yay!! :)) ... So enjoy reading!


"Do you miss your brother?"

That question came that out of nowhere that Cora nearly fell off her horse, when she turned around to face Peter. A minute ago they had been laughing about Trumpkin's nickname, dear little friend. The two young people were just riding through Narnia's woods, enjoying each other's company, like they had quite often in the last view days.

Cora enjoyed the time she spent with the Pevensies, especially with Peter and from time to time she nearly forgot about Archenland and the problems her people had there, from time to time she wished that she could just stay here and everytime she thought of one of these things she immediately felt guilty and out of place, like she didn't belong here and like she should return to Archenland immediately.

However, they've decided to wait until they got news from the negotiator and even though it was hard for Cora to wait knowing that her people were suffering, she accepted the fact that they couldn't entry into war blindly.

Peter had told her everything about their visits in Narnia and Cora already felt an inner connection with him. Therefore it didn't felt odd to her to talk to him about her feelings and so she answered without hesitating, although the question had surprised her.

"Yes, every second of every day." the young woman answered sadly.

The moment Peter saw the smile on her face vanishing, her eyes filling with grief, he regretted his question. He loved her smile, the way her whole face beamed with joy, the way her wonderful green eyes lit up.

"I am doing this for him, you know." she continued, her gaze towards the ground, "He died fighting for justice and peace. He died because he wanted Archenland to be free from the Calormen and I won't rest until I fulfil his last desire. I won't rest until I've taken revenge for his death and even if it's the last thing I ever do."

When she looked up, and their gaze met, Peter could not only see the grief in her eyes, but also decidedness and determination. He admired her for her strength, for her strength in a situation he knew all too well.

"And what about you?" she asked, knowing that this feeling was one that they had in common.

"It's really hard without him. He had always been the one who had kept us together. I didn't realize how much we need him. How much I need him." he added quietly.

Cora just nodded understandingly. Then they just rode next to each silently. But it wasn't an awkward silence, where nobody knew what to say, but rather a pleasant silence, where they needn't words to understand each other.

"You know, he would laugh at me if he knew that I was defeated by a woman in sword fighting." Peter said laughing, lifting their spirits.

"Well, maybe he wouldn't laugh anymore if I defeat him as well." Cora said smiling.

"Would you give me the opportunity of winning my honour back in a horse race, my lady?" Peter smirked.

"You really want to lose again?" she asked with a bride smile on her face, tightening her strings to make ready for the race.

"If I have to, I go down with flying colours!" Peter said laughing, spurring his horse.


Susan drew her bow and focused her target. She was oblivious of her surroundings, her world only revolving around the target. She felt the tension force in her bow and when she released the arrow, she knew that it would hit the bull's eye exactly in the middle. Her bow had never failed her.

That was the one thing she could count on. That she would never miss her target. That was the one thing she could control. She couldn't control the Telmarine council, she couldn't help her brother and her cousin, she couldn't stop the war, she couldn't control if and how long she was going to stay in Narnia and she couldn't control her feelings towards Caspian. She couldn't say what was going to happen next, but her bow was the one thing she could deal with.

And once she held him in her arms, her eyes focusing on the target, she could forget everything else. In this moment the only thing that mattered was hitting the target and this feeling was liberating.

When all her arrows with the red feathers had hit the bull's eye, Susan went to get them. That was the part of the archery training where she could think through her problems, having her mind cleared.

She thought about the conversations she had had with her siblings. Peter had been right. She would have never admit it to herself, but deep down in her heart she wanted so badly to stay in Narnia, she wanted so badly to stay with Caspian, that she would've risked the lives of all Narnians. Once in her life she wanted to put her own needs before the other's, once in her life she didn't want to sacrifice everything, once in her life she wanted to decide about her destiny, about her future on her own.

But she knew no matter how much she wished for it, for staying in Narnia, it wasn't fair to risk other people's lives, it wasn't fair to put her own welfare before so many others. She had to accept the fact that a life with Caspian wasn't what was destined for her, that she was intended for something else, something different in England, that Narnia wasn't her world to live in, at least not any more.

And that made her think about what Lucy had said. It is better to have love and lost than never to have loved. There had been times back in England when she would have said, better never to have met Caspian in her dreams than to wake and reach for somebody that is not there. There had been times where she had wished to forget about him, to forget about him and Narnia, but she just hadn't been able to, no matter how hard she had tried.

But now, when she thought of their moments together, of the butterflies in her stomach, of her heart beating faster everytime he had looked at her, of the pins and needles on her skin when he had touched her, she couldn't imagine never loving him. She couldn't imagine never to have met him, even if she had to live her life without him.

Maybe Lucy was right, maybe Aslan was giving her a second chance, a chance to do what she had failed to do before she left the last time, a chance to disburden her heart. This time she knew she would leave soon, she knew that there wasn't much time left. This time she wouldn't leave anything unsettled. She would tell him how she felt about him, leaving him with more than a kiss this time.

Well, speaking of the devil. He was just approaching her.

By now Susan had picked up her arrows and had gotten back to her shooting position. In order not to stand there with egg on her face, Susan drew her bow and aimed. Caspian stopped behind her silently, watching her arrows hitting the bull's eye.

When there was only one left, he suddenly asked, "Have you ever failed?"

Susan released her last arrow. Knowing that it would hit the aim, she turned around to face Caspian. "Yes, but never with bow and arrow."

"I've made so many mistakes in my life, but I don't intend to make them twice." she continued, "When I left Narnia last time, I left so many things unsaid and I am not intending to do that again. So here it is."

She took a deep breath and looked directly into his wonderful chocolate brown eyes, "I love you. I've loved you since we first met and I will always love you. When I left Narnia, I left my heart here with you. Being in England, being apart from you nearly killed me. I've tried so hard to forget about you, but I just couldn't. And when we returned to Narnia, I couldn't think of anything else but losing you again because I know in the end our love won't be enough."

"And it doesn't change anything," she continued in a rush, "I know that. It doesn't change anything, it can't change anything. Because our love can't change destinies, because our love won't be enough, but I want you to know that I will always love you, no matter what my destiny is going to be. No matter what the future holds for me, no matter if we are worlds apart, I will always love you with all my heart!"

There was a painful silence, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. Without saying a word Caspian stepped closer, so that Susan could feel his breath on her skin, reaching up a hand to wipe away the lonely tear that had escaped her eyes. Then he tipped her head back a little gently, without breaking eye contact and leaned in to kiss her. He covered her mouth with his and when he gently bit her lower lip, she opened beneath him.

This was the moment he had been dreaming of for three years, the moment he had been hoping for such a long time. And now that it was finally there he wanted it to last forever.

Then all of a sudden the woman in his arms cried out in pain and he felt how she dropped in his arms, her body covering with blood.


So what do you think? Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger (I don't know, I just love them ;)) ...

I know it's only a short chapter but therefore I am going to update sooner this time, promise!!

Well and again a big big big thank to those who reviewed so far - you're just great!