Chapter Ten~
Jessie knows she is dead, she just does because she finds herself looking down at her body covered in blood with the Witch somehow nowhere to be found. Turning her head she sees the Witches body lying several feet away and somehow knows she too is dead, only in a much darker deeper place. Yet what surprises Jessie is that Peter is cradling her body and sobbing over it. What's more, the other Pevensie children are watching; Lucy sobbing into Susan as Edmund just stands holding his brother's shoulder with one hand.
"You have made a great sacrifice Jessica Ryan." she hears Aslan say so that turning she sees the Great Lion by her side so that blinking away tears that stream down her face she whimpers,
"Am I dead Aslan?"
"You are in the In-Between child. A place where those worthy and willing can come back to the realm of the Living—or go to My Country." letting out a sob, Jessie watched as Peter kept crying and said,
"Does—does he love me Aslan?"
"He has strong feelings for you, which in time may turn to love if allowed." was Aslan's cryptic message to which Jessie's foggy mind didn't mean anything in that moment. Stepping over to her, Aslan looked up at her and said,
"What is your choice Daughter of Eve?" without a second thought Jessie said instantly,
"I want to live." so that she watched Aslan's figure fade from her side and reappear beside the Pevensies and her fallen figure. By now Mr. Tumnus had appeared, as well as several dozen Narnians to watch as Aslan blew a gentle breath on Jessie's body. Closing her eyes, Jessie felt herself be pulled from the very depths of her soul, a soul which had been out of her lifeless body—back into her body. Her first breath was shaky and shallow but she heard everything clear as day; Peter's crying, Lucy's sobbing, even a flute playing.
"Stop, being so sad Pete." she managed to choke out so that forcing her eyes open she saw his eyes watery and tears down his face as his face turned from an expression of heartache to one of wonder.
"Jessie!" Lucy cried as she knelt beside her friend and Peter stumbled out,
"But, you were dead! And Aslan was—"
"He was with me Peter, he said—I could make a choice. Go to His Country, or come back." Jessie told him honestly fighting to sit up as Peter helped her into an eased sitting up position. Holding her back and treating her like she was made of porcelain, Jessie continued,
"But I have a family to live for, and a country that needs me." and here Aslan, who had been watching from a distance came forth so that the Narnians made a path bowing to him.
"Come, Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve." then blowing on a frozen in stone satyr, Lucy suddenly stood and taking out her vial given to her by Father Christmas smiled before going to heal the wounded. As Lucy and Aslan continued to heal and revived those effected by the Witch, with Susan and Edmund following, Peter stayed by Jessie's side saying,
"You shouldn't have done that Jessie."
"It was my choice to make Peter, and besides, I knew Aslan would make it right in the end." yet even so there was some unspoken words left between them. A day later the five found themselves in castle Cair Paravel with seemingly all of Narnia there for their coronation. Aslan led the five to the thrones; five thrones as they each took their positions. The three girls sat on the right, the boys on the left.
"To the Glistening Eastern Sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant." Aslan says as Mr. Tumnus along with the Beavers come forward, the Beavers holding two pillows with five crowns. Lucy receives a crown of silver as Aslan continues,
"To the Great Western Wood, I give you King Edmund the Just." Edmund receives a crown of silver also as Aslan continues,
"To the Radiant Southern Sun, I give you Queen Susan the Gentle." Susan receives a crown of gold as Aslan continues,
"To the Clear Northern Sky, I give you King Peter the Magnificent." Peter receives a crown of gold before finally Aslan says,
"And to the Heart of Narnia, I give you Queen Jessica the Bravehearted." And to Jessie she receives a crown of both silver and gold as once seated Aslan turns and says to the five,
"Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the Heavens." then the crowd chanted their names making them each smile with an unbelievable amount of joy and mirth before the coronation part ended and the celebration part began. As the now Kings and Queens mingle with their subjects, Jessie finds a balcony to overlook the beach of the Eastern Sea as she hears footsteps coming up from behind her.
"You alright Jessie?" turning, she sees its Peter and smiling she shrugs saying,
"I just wonder, what do we do now? I mean, we're royalty Pete—not children anymore. We have a whole country to rule! Subjects to govern and care for!" seeing her fear, Peter goes over to her and takes a hand saying,
"I'm scared to."
"You, scared?" Jessie says jokingly but in all seriousness he nods saying,
"Yes me, scared. Yet not as scared as when I saw you jump in front of the stab intended for me. When you died I—I felt like I had lost something so important to me. That Aslan had failed me somehow." seeing the seriousness in his eyes, the hurt and loss, Jessie cupped his cheek and smiling said,
"You still have me Pete, I'm not going anywhere." then taking both her hands, Peter began leading her back into the castle saying,
"Well that's good, because I don't intend to lose you ever again." so that when a slow sounding song came on the two started to dance. To Jessie it was nice, knowing that Peter meant what he said but then Aslan's words came back to her,
"He has strong feelings for you, which in time may turn to love if allowed." so that she actually laughed making him ask,
"What was that for?" and shaking her head she just said,
"Nothing, nothing at all—majesty." and raising an eyebrow, Peter twirled her around so that she continued to laugh. For the first time ever Jessica Ryan felt at home, and never once ever did she think otherwise. For the Pevensies and Ryan their reign would go down in Narnian history as the Golden Age, because one day as the five were at breakfast a herald came to them saying that the White Stag had been seen. The White Stag was said to give the wish of anyone who caught it and let it go so the five quickly dressed and then set out on horseback to go seek out the Stag. Peter however intended to use his wish, should he capture the White Stag—to wish that his marriage with Jessie would be prosperous. For that day he intended to ask her to marry him. What they didn't know though—was that they ended up in the Western Wood where they had first entered Narnia all those years ago. As the five come to see Edmund, whose horse had stopped they discover something that makes them look in confused wonder a lamppost covered in vines. Dismounting, it's Peter that says,
"What's this? It seems familiar." as Susan adds,
"As if from a dream." and Jessie ads,
"Or a dream of a dream." so that Lucy staring up at the lamppost says in a wonder filled voice,
"Spare Oom?" before darting off again making Peter shout,
"Lucy!" so that they all race to catch up to her as she and the other race through the ever thickening forest and branches before Peter says sounding confused,
"These aren't branches." so that Jessie looking and feeling the texture of the items says,
"They're coats!" before they all begin to bicker and argue, saying that one person is on the other's foot while one is shoving before—five children come barging out of a wardrobe. Looking down at themselves, Jessie confused and more than worried looks up when they hear the door open to see the Professor step into the room saying with a seemingly knowing glint in his eye,
"Ah there you all are, what were you doing in the wardrobe?" Peter speaks up saying,
"You wouldn't believe us, if we told you sir."