Wonderful Journey

Susan was surprised when they reached the Telmarine city the same day that they had set off. Or had they? She wasn't sure. She hadn't really been paying any attention as to where they were going, and she might have easily ridden all night without noticing that the sun was gone. As soon as they arrived Lucy dismounted her horse and ran towards the castle, taking the small phial out of its case as she ran. Susan slowly dismounted the horse and walked it to the stables.

She started wandering the grounds of the castle, looking for some sign of hope, something that could change the situation she was currently. She felt dead, and found herself wishing that they would be sent back to England as soon as possible.

"Do you really wish that?" she asked a deep voice behind her. She turned and found herself staring into the eyes of the largest lion she had ever seen. Her voice stuck in her throat and all she was able to make were indistinct noises. Finally she found her voice.

"Aslan!" she exclaimed. The lion chuckled.

"I see that your memory is good… now about your faith…"

"My faith?"

"That Caspian might still be alive"

"Well, I thought… Peter said…"

"That Caspian was with Aslan. And here I am"

"So where is Caspian?"

"Susan!" she heard Caspian's voice and she turned, and saw him running towards her. She expected him to hug her quickly seeing as Aslan was standing right in front of them, staring at them, but as soon as he reached her he grabbed her face and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Susan felt lost in the kiss, feeling all the warmth return to her body. Caspian wasn't dead… he had literally been with Aslan… that meant…

"PETER!" she screamed, feeling tears running down her cheeks again. Her brother appeared, a smirk on his face as if he were proud of himself.

"Yes?" he asked, walking towards her. Before he could get too close she slapped him across the face. He stumbled backward and she heard Aslan chuckle.

"Why in the world didn't you tell me that Caspian was alive?" she screamed, "Do you know what I've been through in the past… how long has it been?"

"About 24 hours" said Aslan knowingly.

"The past 24 hours! Would it really have killed you to mention that Caspian was ALIVE and with Aslan?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise" clarified Peter and Susan felt the rage inside her building.

"Oh, so you wanted it to be a surprise huh? Well, SURPRISE!" she screamed and she started to chase him around the grounds. She barely noticed that Aslan was practically rolling on the ground and Caspian was biting his lip, trying not to laugh. Finally Caspian caught her by the waist and she stopped.

"You were really worried about me, huh?" he asked, smiling at her crookedly. She started crying again.

"You have no idea"

He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and kissed her lightly.

"I'm okay" he whispered and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Oi, love birds!" she heard Edmunds unmistakable voice. She saw him, and couldn't believe her eyes. If he had looked older with the new haircut he looked even older in his post-battle state. It was hard for her to believe that he was only thirteen, he looked about sixteen.

"Ed!" she screamed running towards her brother, hugging him.

"See? That's more like it," he said, chuckling as he patted her hair.

She pulled apart, smiling.

"Where are the others? Trumpkin, Trufflehunter, Nikabrik… Reepicheep!"

"They are being tended to by Lucy," said Aslan calmly.

"When did you return?" asked Susan. Aslan smiled.

"Why don't you come for a walk with me, my queen?" he asked. Susan nodded and then glanced at her brothers and Caspian who seemed to be nudging her towards the giant lion. She sighed and followed him towards the castle gardens.

xxx

"Are you glad to be back in Narnia my queen?" asked Aslan as they walked through the gardens. Susan smiled.

"Quite"

"And might this happiness have something to do with a certain Prince Caspian?"

Susan felt herself blush. She looked at the ground.

"Well, he is a very good friend…"

"And a very good kisser?"

She was sure her face was extremely red by now. She bit her lip.

"I…I guess…"

"And would I be correct to suspect that that was not your first kiss with the young prince?"

"You would," she whispered.

"Susan… I want you to know something. I do not disapprove. This is not why I have asked to talk to you"

"Then why have you?" she asked, looking up into the great lions eyes.

"Well, it came to my attention that you seemed to think that Caspian was dead"

"That was because of lack of communication on Peters part" she sad bitterly, still wanting to rip her brother's head off.

"How did that feel?"

Susan was caught off guard by the question. She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Sorry?"

"How did it feel to think that Caspian was dead?"

She thought for a second and then took a deep breath.

"I don't think I can explain it with words"

"Try"

"Um… okay…" she thought again, "I felt as if I had nothing to live for anymore…"

"I was afraid of that," said Aslan.

"Aslan" began Susan, biting her lip, "Is there anyway that I can stay in Narnia?"

Aslan looked away from her, and Susan looked at the ground. She already knew the answer, and she wished she hadn't asked. Knowing there was no way she could stay was one thing, but hearing Aslan say it out loud would show that it was definitely impossible.

Finally Aslan turned to look at the girl with a faint smile on his lips.

"Perhaps" was all he said. Susan didn't know what to do. Part of her felt like screaming, but another part of her didn't want to get her hopes up.

"If there is, would you let me know?"

"Of course my queen" said Aslan, and Susan smiled.

"Thank you"

"Susan"

"Yes?"

"Do you regret coming back to Narnia?"

"You make it sound as if I choose to come back" she said, laughing.

"Well, if you knew what was going to happen and you had the choice to return, would you?"

"Yes. It's been a wonderful journey. I don't regret a single part of it," she said. She had not even thought about it, but after saying it out loud she knew it was true.

"I am glad. Now I must leave you. I believe there are several somebody's waiting to speak to you inside the castle"

Susan nodded, quickly hugged the lion and made her way to the main entrance of the castle.

xxx

Susan had been glad to see that Reepicheep, Trumpkin and Trufflehunter were alright, but sadly Lucy had been to late to save Nikabrik who had been fatally wounded during the battle. After conversing with her Narnian friends for a few minutes Susan made her way out of the castle to find a quite place where she could think.

She somehow found herself sitting under an apple tree in a far corner of the castle's gardens, where only minutes ago she had been talking to Aslan.

'Perhaps'

What did that mean? Were her, Peter, Edmund and Lucy meant to stay in Narnia? Or did he know that she didn't truly want him to tell her that she had to go back to England? No, he had said perhaps there was a way for her to stay… and if he were absolutely certain there wasn't he would not have said perhaps, he would have told her the truth.

"May I join you?" she heard her brother Edmund's voice and she nodded. She felt someone sitting beside her and she turned to look at her brother. He smiled slightly and she leaned on his shoulder.

"You know," said Edmund, sounding as if he were choosing his words carefully, "They are crowning Caspian tomorrow"

"Are they?" asked Susan.

"Yes. Soon he will be a king of Narnia"

"Three kings? How is that possible!" she joked.

"I know, it's almost as bad as having two kings," said Edmund, rolling his eyes. Both siblings chuckled, remembering how many times they had joked and argued about the idea of Narnia having more than one king while they reigned.

"Are you going to attend the ceremony?" she asked. Edmund sighed.

"I have to. The Narnians want their kings of old along with Aslan to crown him"

"Do you not want him to be king?"

Edmund shook his head.

"He will be a brave and kind king. A good leader"

"It is strange to hear you speaking kind words about Caspian"

"Things have changed. I've learnt to respect him during the battle"

"Was it a hard battle?" she asked cautiously.

"You've no idea. The Telmarines were an extremely skilled army, and there were many of them. But we had the element of surprise… They never saw it coming"

"I'm glad we won," she mumbled, "Although I wish I could have been a tad less useless"

"You actually played an important part in our victory"

"How so?"

"Caspian refused to die. He was wounded several times, fatally once, but somehow he kept coming. It was him that killed Miraz at the end. And do you know why he would not die?"

"Because he promised," breathed Susan. Edmund nodded.

"I do not know how he was able to continue battling"

"He is strong"

"Indeed. But it seemed almost unnatural how he could continue fighting. Like I said, he was fatally wounded"

"Aslan" said Susan.

"Of course! I had forgotten how much help he was. We could not have won without him"

"Obviously" said Susan, smiling.

"Susan, how long do you expect we will be in Narnia?"

"I do not know. I only hope"

"And what do you hope?"

"I hope that we are here longer than last time"

"But last time we were here for at least twenty years!"

"I know"

"You don't want to leave do you?" asked Edmund. Susan shook her head, "Neither does Peter" he commented and Susan chuckled.

"Peter was devastated when we were sent back the first time. I think being sent back again would be the end of him. He belongs in Narnia"

"But do you?"

Susan thought for a few seconds, and then nodded, smiling.

"Yes, I believe I do"

"Then I hope we may stay for as long as possible," said Edmund, putting an arm around his sister.

A/N Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, and sorry it's so short ): Hopefully next chapter will be easier to write!