"'I am the cause of all this,' said Susan, bursting into tears. 'Oh, if only I had never left Cair Paravel. Our last happy day was before those ambassadors came from Calormen. The Moles were planting an orchard for us ... oh ... oh.' And she buried her face in her hands and sobbed." ~ The Horse and His Boy
When Queen Susan the Gentle left Narnia, her eyes were on the sea, but they did not see the waves. They saw the Prince. Rabadash, son of the Tisroc (whom Susan looked forward to meeting), who had unhorsed most of Narnia's knights, yet who never rubbed his victories into their faces.
So the Gentle Queen did not see the blue-green waves lapping on the golden shore. She did not breathe deeply the scent of the sea, while still seeing the treetops of the forest, and above all green crowns, the walls of Cair Paravel. Her eyes were not on her home.
Beside her stood her brother, but she did not see him either. The glory and anticipation of something new and high drew her heart towards a desert nation.
But Edmund saw, saw the green leaves, the golden sand, the towering walls of safety and home, and he bowed his head. Perhaps he had taken them for granted too much in recent years, for his heart warned that his sister might no longer reside in them. Try as he might to be glad for her, there had been something unsettling about the man who won her attention, and so Edmund had gladly agreed to go with her, to see this prince in his own home.
And Edmund would need to see if Susan the Gentle could thrive there, if gentleness could grow among this people. If she loved, and was loved in return, it would be best for her—but Edmund took a long look at the home that might never be the same. It would be much emptier when he returned, if his sister was not by his side, unless he could bring the gladness of her heart fulfilled back with him.
When Queen Susan the Gentle returned, her eyes devoured the familiar shoreline. The curve around the Cair, the rocks where the Merfolk rested, the walls—oh, the walls of Cair Paravel! Safety, welcome, beauty, true speech and true hearts—oh, her home!
After the curving roofs, walled in gardens, and jostling streets of Tashbaan, the wild forest and steadfast walls seemed beautiful in a way she had not realised in years.
Perhaps all it took was the risk of losing it, but as Susan set foot on Narnia's shore, a tear of joy fell from her cheek, for she was home, and she knew its beauty now.
Prompt 5: "After a while, the residents of the sea do not hear the sound of the waves. How bitter it is, the story of routine." ~ Unknown