Hello readers! I hope you are all doing well. Here is another installment of ALQ-only five more chapters to post. Thank you Ewcom for betaing!

Disclaimer-I do not own Narnia. I wish, but alas, I don't.

Chapter 37: Faith
July 4, 1942; Saturday

I had grown rather bored spending Saturdays with no one my own English age, so I walked down to Lord Digory's cottage to find out if I could see Peter. He had been studying so hard that I thought he deserved to enjoy the beautiful evening that was upon us. His brain also needed a break, whether he wanted it or not. The short walk was a pleasant one; the warm breeze ruffled my hair as I watched squirrels, rabbits, and robins bounce about the fields.

When I turned to walk up the path to the Professor's house, I saw said person lounging on the front porch swing. The metal hinges creaked lightly as it swayed to and fro. The elderly gentleman saw me and waved. I waved back with a smile.

"Hello there, Swanwhite," Digory said with a bow of his head as soon as I walked up the few steps to the porch. "You're an evenin' early to visit Peter."

"I know, good sir, but the thought of the High King spending this evening studying in the house repulsed me . . . I also wished to spend time with someone my own 'age'," I explained with my smile going from pleasant to sheepish.

The Professor chuckled as he nodded. "Ah, yes. He does push himself a might harder than he should, and he should spend this evening with a friend. By all means, my Queen," he said as he offered an arm towards the door. "He is in the kitchen."

"Thank you, Lord Digory." I curtsied to the good man and went inside.

Walking through the small house, I made no effort to conceal my footsteps. I had tried in the past to sneak up on Peter and failed every time. My king did the same to me if he arrived at Miss Polly's house early; he failed to scare me as well. It was a sort of test, and we did it to keep our skills we worked so hard to learn in Narnia from diminishing.

When I arrived at the kitchen doorway, the High King said without ceasing his work, "You are early."

I shrugged and continued to sit down opposite him. "I was tired of waiting."

My king persisted in his work. He was writing an essay and there was a book on music in front of him. Whether he was close to finishing or not, I couldn't tell. "I just need to write one more paragraph," Peter said, reading my thoughts.

Not five minutes later, my King finally looked up and smiled tiredly. "Done."

I smiled back. "Done for the day or just with this subject?"

Peter leaned heavily back in his seat. "The latter. I start science next."

"Wrong."

My king tilted his head and gave me a questioning look as I pulled his books away. "You work too hard, Peter."

The High King smirked and rose to walk over to my seat and offered me his arm. "Shall we go for a stroll then?"

I graciously took Peter's arm, and he led me out the back door. We walked down the path to the Professor's garden; it was filled with numerous flowers and shade trees. There were red, white, and pink roses, purple and yellow Rhododendrons, Bluebells, and Daffodils. In the middle was a bird bath that was most always entertaining a couple of the little creatures. At the moment the fountain was being bathed in by three goldfinches. Peter guided me over to one of the two stone benches in the garden. This one was in the warm sun, and the other was in the constant shade of an oak tree.

The two of us sat leisurely in the sun for a while, enjoying each other's company and the rolling, multicoloured landscape that was painted in front us. My King let me lean on his shoulder, and while we sat, I took pleasure in being able to lean on someone. It was about fifteen minutes before the High King spoke. "Thank you for rescuing me."

I turned my head to look up at him. The way that Peter's hair was catching the setting sun light, a bright halo seemed to circle his head and cast a dim silhouette upon his face. "You are welcome, my King."

We sat for a moment in silence when Peter exhaustedly asked, "How did you know that I would work so hard?"

I smiled kindly up at him. "Is your brain so tired, High King that you would forget about the number of stories the five of us have shared over the months?"

Peter chuckled. "I guess I have been working too hard – much too hard to forget to tell you that I found Aslan here."

I sat up straight and looked at my King with abounding happiness. "When did you find Him?"

"Two weeks ago. I was reading about Christ's life and His death on the Cross, and that's when I made the connection."

"And what did you think?"

"I think His appearance in Narnia makes sense. In that world He created with Talking Animals and mythological creatures, it made sense that He appeared as a Lion. Actually, I am surprised I didn't notice the similarities sooner, seeing how Mother took us to church so often until the war started," he replied.

I looked at him in concern. "You haven't been to church since the war started?"

Peter shook his head. "Mother was too busy to take us."

"Would you like to accompany me to church tomorrow?" I asked.

My King thought for a minute. "If it is of no inconvenience for you, Swanwhite."

I shook my head. "I usually go to church alone."

"Lady Polly does not accompany you?"

"Only once a month."

Peter's brow furrowed. "That is odd."

I shrugged. "It is her choice. She reads the Bible everyday anyway. But you will come?"

My King nodded. "I will."

"Good. Mass is at eight, so I suggest you arrive at Lady Polly's cottage at six-thirty."

"How long does it take to ride to town?"

"About twenty minutes or so, but I do not plan to ride. It will be a warm morning tomorrow – just perfect for a walk into town."

"I shall be there at six-thirty then."

-x-x-x-x-x-
Next Day

Peter showed up right on time, as I expected, and I was ready to walk to church with him. We had a delightful chat about how we had worshiped Aslan in Narnia, and how we would go about continuing that here on Earth. We both agreed that we should go to church every Sunday (which I already did when possible because sometimes it was not), and we agreed that Susan, Edmund, and Lucy should start attending again even if they didn't quite realize who Aslan was here yet.

We arrived at Saint Augustine of Canterbury's church around seven-thirty, and after we knelt and prayed, I explained to Peter how the Mass went. This is what I told him: "First there is an entrance hymn, then a few prayers to be recited," I showed Peter all the prayers in my prayer book as we went along, "And then there is the first reading that is typically from the Old Testament. After the first reading, there comes a responsorial psalm, the second reading (which is typically from one of Saint Paul's letters), the Alleluia, and the Gospel reading. After the Gospel reading, the priest or deacon will give a homily, and after that there the Prayers of the Faithful, and an offering of the gifts we saw in the back. Then the priest begins the ceremony for transforming the bread and wine into Jesus' Body and Blood. Then those who have received the Sacrament of Holy Communion rise to receive Jesus as well. Mass ends with another prayer and the recessional hymn."

The High King stared at me with wide eyes as I explained this all to him. "Wow," he whispered. "That is a lot. How long does Mass take?"

"About an hour. It really depends on who is presiding," I answered.

Peter smiled as someone stood up on the pulpit to announce the beginning of Mass. "Welcome to Saint Augustine of Canterbury …"

-x-x-x-x-x-

The walk back to Polly's house was a quiet one, but it was a nice kind of quiet. The two of us were reflecting on the readings from Mass. The first one was from Zechariah, the second from Saint Paul's letter to the Romans, and the Gospel was according to Saint Matthew. From the look on Peter's face, I hunched that he was thinking about the Gospel reading –

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou has hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed then to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to who the Son chooses to reveal to him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

– But just to be sure, I asked him. "What is thou thinking about, High King?"

"Hm?"

I smiled at my King. He was walking with his hands in his pockets and staring at the ground in so hard of concentration that he did not hear my question, just my voice. "I asked, King Peter, about what you were thinking. My guess would be that your thoughts are on the Gospel reading from today."

"Yes…" He trailed off as he looked for his words. "It sort of answered the biggest question I have had about going to Narnia -"

"About why Aslan chose four children who, at the time, couldn't seem to get along for more than five minutes?" I interrupted to clarify.

"Yes. It makes me wonder if He answers anymore of my questions in the Bible," the Magnificent said at length.

I smiled warmly at him. "Peter, Jesus always answers our questions. It's our job to listen and accept the fact that He does say 'no' sometimes."

My King smiled back. "You have a point, Swanwhite."

I clasped my hands behind my back. "Speaking of listening, what has He said about you and Maggie?"

Peter hesitated before asking, "What do you mean?"

I stopped and looked at my King. There was a nervous look in his eyes – as if his feelings for Maggie were supposed to be a secret. The thing was, even though he never spoke about it, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, and I knew that Peter fancied Maggie, and I knew that Maggie fancied him too from the way she acted.

"You know exactly what I mean, my good King. The four of us do know that you fancy her by the way you act and how the air about you changes ever so slightly when she's around. Have you been praying about it?"

Peter was blushing in the slightest – I could tell he was fighting it. "I have."

I raised my eyebrows and leaned forward a bit to encourage him to continue.

When he didn't, I said, "Aaanndd?"

"And I'm thinking about courting her."

I smiled happily, and we began walking again. "Don't think too much Peter, you may over-think it. Do what your heart wants for once, but do remember to consult your brain."

The High King laughed. "I shall endeavour to follow your advice, good Queen," he said with a bow of the head.

We turned into Polly's driveway and headed for the stables to saddle Fledge and Frank for a ride. After we put the tack on the horses and mounted, I said, "I have the address where Maggie is staying if you wish to send her a letter, King Peter."

"Thank you, Queen Swanwhite. I may take you up on that offer. But for now, I intend to race you to the end of the field," Peter answered as he kicked Frank into a gallop.

I followed in suit, encouraging Fledge into a gallop and coaxing him to go faster. It was a near tie to the end of the field – Peter almost beat me by a neck. I pulled Fledge to a stop and brushed my hair back with my hand. When I closed my eyes as I did so, I saw many things. I saw Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace in water, and then men jumping from a ship nearby to rescue them. Once they were all on the ship, I recognized Caspian greeting the three and announcing to the sailors who was with them. I saw the Narnians visit many islands and encounter many dangers: they were kidnapped, there was a sea serpent, and they went to a Dragon Island, a sort of Midas Island, a Dark Island, and two islands where old stars lived. I also saw Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and Reepicheep sail to a place where the water and sky meet. The row boat stopped, and the four had to separate. Lucy hugged the Mouse, and the boys said they're good-byes before Reep sailed away in his coracle. Then there was a Lamb who greeted them, and the Lamb turned into Aslan. He spoke to Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace, and they walked through a door in the wall of water and sky after Lucy and Edmund tearfully hugged Aslan.

I opened my eyes, and sadness enveloped me.

"What is it?" Peter asked in concern. I gazed at the High King; his eyes were full of worry.

"We need to call Edmund and Lucy."

The Magnificent needed no further explanation. Together we spurred our horses back towards Polly's house. We had our mounts run so fast that I was surprised we didn't fall off.

Dawn Treader makes its appearence! Did everything flow okay? When I uploaded the chapter, I had to go through most of it and seperate the paragraphs because they were all lumped into two big ones.

Only five more chapters! Can you believe it? I can.

Aslan's Blessings!

~Fierce Queen