A few remaining plot lines are tied up here, and yes, there is a ridiculous amount of fluff, a cameo appearance by Linus, and an instance of Peter being everyone's favourite pillow. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter :-)

They left Harfang as quickly as was possible, managing through a rather impressive amount of shouting and tactical maneuvering on Orieus' part to vacate the city by the agreed upon time

"Do you think it's actually over?" Peter asked quietly, looking back across the snow covered plain to where the distant spires of the city showed faintly against the darkening sky.

Beside him, Edmund too turned back, looking more through the city than at it, shaking his head slowly. "We burned their castle, killed their king, waged war on them in the streets of their own city and, as far as they know, murdered their queen and the heir apparent to their throne. I don't think it will ever be over."

"And what of their crimes? The murder of good Narnians, the lies and treachery?"

Edmund shrugged as Philip turned his head homeward. "That, brother, is for Aslan to judge, not us."

And what of the crimes committed against us personally? Surely those are ours to judge. But Peter sensed now was not the time to raise that particular question, and he too turned his horse's head towards the South.

The presence of the army slowed their homeward progress a great deal, but it was still a far easier journey than it had been coming to the giants' city. The impressive show of force the army provided had dissuaded the giants of Ettinsmoor from troubling them as they had previously, and despite the lateness of the season they had still managed to avoid the worst of the winter blizzards.

When at last they crested the final hill in their homeward journey and Cair Paravel lay before them, shining and peaceful at the edge of the sea, Peter thought he had never seen anything more beautiful. He looked over at his sisters, smiling and laughing as they raced down the hill for home, and smiled to himself. Edmund snorted quietly in amusement from his place on Philip's back, and Peter was relieved to see that he was smiling and looking far better than he had in weeks-no, months.

"Why did we ever leave?" Peter wondered quietly, not really expecting an answer.

"Either because we were behaving idiotically or because we were doing our duties as rulers," Edmund offered helpfully. "Either way it is good to be back. Race you there?" Philip sprang forward without a moment's warning and was halfway down the hill before Peter had the presence of mind to urge his own horse forward. Edmund let him catch up before they reached the gates, with Lucy and Susan had also slowed their mounts to wait. Together the four of them dismounted and walked the last few paces through the gates with their arms intertwined.

Trebonius was quite certain that (had he been human) his knees would have been knocking together as he bowed before the imposing dais and the four thrones of his monarchs. As it was, his hooves were making an extremely annoying clacking sound as they skittered across the polished floor and he would have given anything to be anywhere else.

"Captain Trebonius," the High King acknowledged with a slight inclination of his head; the other three remained silent and grave. "What is it you wish to ask of us?"

The kings and queens customarily held a formal audience once every fortnight for the addressing of grievances and to offer an opportunity for their subjects to present them with various petitions. It was before such an assembly that Trebonius now stood, trembling and miserable.

"Captain?" The High King was addressing him again and though his voice was as calm as ever the satyr saw a flash of annoyance cross his face. Queen Susan shifted slightly, smoothing away an invisible wrinkle from the fabric of her gown, and King Edmund's fingers drummed a steady rhythm against the polished marble of his throne. The audience hall was packed due to their long absence, and Trebonius had been standing there speechless for a good two minutes.

"I-your majesties, I wish-I stand accused of treason, your esteemed majesties, and wish to surrender myself to your judgement." King Edmund's fingers halted in midair as he stared down at Trebonius in shock.

"Treason?" The High King's brow furrowed in a frown, and Queen Lucy could not quite stifle a quiet gasp of surprise. The High King stood and beckoned Orieus forward to his side. "Orieus, stay if you would; the rest of you are dismissed until such a time as this matter is resolved."

No one dared argue; there were very few words that could clear the Great Hall more swiftly than the mere mention of treason. Trebonius knelt awkwardly and waited for the various footsteps to die away as the crowd dispersed with a few murmurs and doubtless numerous glances of a distrustful nature in his direction.

"Now then," the High King said sternly when Trebonius and Orieus were the only two left in the room with the monarchs. "As no one has come forward to accuse you, perhaps you would like to explain your behaviour?"

"You are right, lord king, no one has accused me; therefore, I must accuse myself. I did knowingly, and with murderous intent, attack King Edmund, putting both him and the Queen Susan in no little danger. Not only was this behaviour inexcusable and treacherous, but it was also in direct contradiction with my vow to protect your majesties." He stared resolutely at the floor, refusing to waver now in his determination to seek justice. After all, it was his fault; he had failed miserably to protect his sovereigns from the very beginning and in the end had attacked them.

"Well," said the High King quietly. "King Edmund, Queen Susan, does this noble satyr speak truly?"

"He does speak the truth, but in part only. It was not by his will, but by the will of the Green Lady that he attacked us." Queen Susan's reputation for gentleness and grace was well earned, and even though he did not dare look up, Trebonius could hear the distress in her voice.

King Edmund said nothing, and Trebonius knew that surely he at least would not hesitate. Justice must be swift and fierce, and King Edmund was nothing if not just.

"Well?" repeated the High King, a trace of impatience colouring his voice. "What say you, brother?"

"Our noble sister speaks the truth. What was done was not done out of malice towards us, but caused by the Lady's enchantment." There was something very odd in his voice-something that sounded remarkably like sympathy-and Trebonius wondered at it.

"And you, good satyr? You have freely confessed though no one has accused you; do you wish to be tried before a jury of your peers?"

"No, lord king. I am content to accept the judgement of Aslan's chosen."

"Peter! You wouldn't!" That would be Queen Lucy, ever eager to leap to the defense of her subjects, even those who had proven themselves unworthy of the affection she seemed to hold for the entire kingdom.

"Lucy-" Queen Susan's voice was low and held a note of warning, but the younger queen did not heed it.

"He hasn't done anything wrong; not really! Peter, the penalty for treason is death!" The note of horror in Queen Lucy's voice forced his eyes up from the marble floor for the first time and Trebonius was shocked to see tears shining in her eyes. Hasn't she heard a word I've said?

"I am well aware of the penalty for treason. Captain Trebonius, it is not my place, nor that of my sisters to pass judgement upon you. However, I do believe it is yours, King Edmund." Was he smiling now? Trebonius did not dare look up again to see.

He heard the click of the younger king's boots on the polished floor as Edmund rose and stepped forward. "So it is," he said quietly as the toes of his boots entered Trebonius' field of vision. "I have not forgotten the debt I owe you, Captain; without your aid I would have died with my guards in Harfang." The boots retreated. "High King, I cannot pass judgement upon one to whom I owe so great a debt." There was a rustle of fabric as King Edmund settled back into his seat.

"Then, as no one has accused you, and we can find no one to sentence you, it seems we must pardon you." Trebonius' jaw dropped at the quiet, certain statement.

"But-my lord king, surely you have misunderstood me! King Edmund, I tried to kill you!" In his confusion Trebonius found himself staring up at the faces of his rulers. The High King's expression was serious, but there was a dancing gleam in his eyes that looked suspiciously like amusement.

King Edmund raised an eyebrow at his outburst. "Really? I seem to recall a witch and her enchantment being responsible for your attack on me."

"Queen Susan, surely you cannot agree with this! You were forced to shoot me to save your royal brother's life!"

Queen Susan smiled radiantly. "I was forced to shoot a servant of a vile enchantress; it is clear to all present that you are no longer her servant and were never so willingly. You have my sincerest apologies for the injury I caused you."

It was no use, the four of them simply smiled kindly at him and would not be moved by his confused protests. "But I'm a traitor!" Trebonius insisted miserably. "Traitors deserve to die."

Something akin to pain flashed briefly across the High King's face and Queen Lucy, who had been kicking her heels against her throne, stilled suddenly. Queen Susan drew in her breath sharply and made a sudden movement as if she were about to stand before she thought better of it. Strangest of all was King Edmund's reaction; he smiled, though his eyes held a hint of sadness, and Trebonius had the strangest feeling that he was missing something.

"My good Captain, if all traitors-willing or unwilling-received the punishment they deserve many things in Narnia would not be as they are now. You are forgiven; think not on it any longer."

And what could he say in the face of such an order? He stood shakily, bowing with his eyes still fixed on the floor and shuffled away, confused thoughts spinning in his mind. Justice, in the days of the Witch, had never been tempered with mercy. It was a terribly foreign concept, but strangely comforting. Think not on it. But he had to, if only to remind himself of the kindness he had been shown and to strive, in any way he could, to repay it.

"That was interesting," Peter remarked, running a hand through his hair, regardless of how it knocked his crown askew.

"Indeed." Orieus, who had remained silent all the while, now stamped his hooves and glowered in the direction Trebonius had exited. "Just when I thought he could not possibly make himself appear more of a fool. Speaking of fools," he added darkly as a flash of grey fur bolted into the hall and Linus skidded to a halt, barking and panting in turns.

"Your majesties! It's Aslan! Aslan is here!" Whatever annoyance Peter felt vanished immediately at those words. Aslan! At last. At least, if it isn't just Linus exaggerating and being fanciful as usual.

A moment later, everything else in the hall seemed to fade into the background, becoming very unimportant, for Aslan was there. He stood in the doorway, outlined in golden light, and looked upon them with quiet love and welcome in His eyes.

Lucy-forgetting all her manners and the courtly behaviour Susan had spent the past weeks trying to make her remember-leapt to her feet and ran to Him, throwing her arms around His neck and burying her face in His mane. Susan curtsied beautifully, her face shining with quiet joy as Aslan touched His nose to her forehead and spoke softly to her. Peter could not hear what He said, and he somehow knew he was not meant to (the words were for Susan alone), but she smiled when she heard them and straightened her back as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Then Aslan was turning towards him, and Peter found he could not bear to stand before the Lion. He dropped to his knees and stared at the polished marble of the floor. All his failings over the past few months rushed through his mind. Ignoring Edmund's warnings, allowing himself to be so easily influenced by the Green Lady, his harsh words and actions, and worse than all the rest, the knowledge of how deeply he had failed to protect those he loved. Then Aslan stepped forward and rested His nose on Peter's bowed head. "Well done," He said simply, his voice rumbling with the faintest hint of a purr, and inexplicably that was all Peter needed to hear. He felt his shoulders straighten and raised his head with a smile, feeling the weight of his acknowledged guilt lift from him.

Edmund, if it was possible, looked even more miserable than Peter had been and did not react at first when Aslan bent His head and spoke as softly to him as he had to Susan. For a moment Peter could see no change in his demeanor and felt a brief flash of worry, then Edmund leapt to his feet and threw his arms around the Lion's neck, much as Lucy had done, and buried his face in the sea of golden fur.

"Welcome home, my dear children." If Lions could smile than Aslan most certainly was doing so.

"Aslan?" Peter was not surprised when it was Susan who spoke first, sounding slightly anxious despite the peace of the Lion's presence. "We didn't do so very well. We made rather a mess of everything I'm afraid."

Aslan sighed, though the smile did not fade from His eyes. "It is true that you have made mistakes, such is the way of life, but more good may come of those mistakes than you yet know. Be at peace." And it was impossible to do anything but obey.

Much later, when grievances had been settled, petitions heard, and Aslan had quietly slipped away, Peter lay alone in his room and watched the snow fall silently through the inky blackness outside his window. It was difficult not to feel a little lonely; on the journey from Harfang he had grown used to one or more of siblings falling asleep on his shoulder, and now that they were back in Cair Paravel it was strange to be alone. Nevertheless, he had very nearly fallen asleep when the door burst open and Lucy slipped through it, pursued closely by Susan who was trying to drape a quilt around her younger sister's shoulders. Peter blinked sleepily, confused for a moment, before Lucy giggled and launched herself into the centre of the bed-quite effectively squashing the air from his lungs.

Still only half-awake, Peter smiled and wrapped an arm around her as she curled up next to him and burrowed her head into his shoulder. Susan sighed before giving up and perching at the foot of the bed in a much more dignified manner. A moment later the door creaked open again to admit Edmund, hair tousled and dragging a quilt. He elbowed Peter in the ribs lightly, curled up on the opposite side of the bed from Lucy, and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Susan, tell us a story," Lucy pleaded, despite the fact that her eyes were half closed already.

Susan, accustomed as she was to Lucy's nightly requests for stories, smiled and curled up next to her sister, propping her head up on one arm and smoothing Lucy's stubbornly messy hair with the other.

"Once upon a time there were four children…"

It might have been minutes or hours later when Peter opened his eyes to find the room filled with silvery moonlight. Aslan sat in the doorway, watching over them as they slept, and for a moment it seemed as if the soft light came from Him.

Susan had fallen asleep, head still pillowed against her arm, with her other hand resting lightly on Lucy's head. Edmund, peaceful for once, had thrown one arm over Peter's chest and was snoring faintly as he slept. Lucy smiled in her sleep, obviously dreaming of pleasant things, and mumbled a few indistinct words but did not wake.

Thank you, Peter thought fervently, meeting the Lion's eyes. Thank you for my family. And then he slept, as outside his door a steadfast satyr kept silent watch and a huge grey wolfhound snored softly.

That ending was so fluffy that it reminded me of cotton candy and made my teeth ache! I hope you have all enjoyed this story and I will continue to appreciate any reviews you leave even though it is now complete :-) (Hint: Reviews are the best!). Special thanks once again to my awesome beta reader PaintingMusic14 for all of her inspiring comments and help. (I really don't think this story would have presentable without her :-).)

On an ending note there is still time to vote on which multi chapter you would like me to write next; the poll on my profile will be up until 17/11/2017. Why then? That's the end of the term YAY! Which means I will once again have time to focus on writing.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing; I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time,

Cheers,

A