Adoration

xii

Narnia 2307

The mist lifted, along with the spell.

The crew watched as the missing boats filled with the missing people appeared from nothing. Mr Rhince and Gael pushed to the front of the crowd, drawing the five's attention.

"MOMMY!" Gael yelled, clearly having spotted her mother in one of the boats.

"Helaine!" Mr Rhince yelled after noticing her too.

Gael jumped in the now clear ocean, shortly followed by her father. They swam till they reached the boat, pulling Helaine into an embrace.

Peter smiled, pulling Edmund and Lucy into his embrace, smiling when Edmund pulled a face but didn't try to fight it.

Caspian turned to Susan and pulled her towards him, placing a kiss on her temple and resting his hand on her hip.

"Let's have them on board, clear the decks." Caspian ordered the crew.

"We did it," Lucy smiled. "I knew we would."

"Wasn't just us though." Peter spoke, explaining nothing else.

"You mean..." Edmund trailed off.

"Hey, I'm down here." A distant voice sounded. "I'm in the water. Lucy. Susan. I'm down here."

Looking over the other side of the boat, Susan smiled at him and called the others over. "Eustace," she spoke.

"I'm a boy again. I'm a boy." Eustace yelled excitedly.

"Alright Pinocchio," Edmund muttered, drawing a laugh from the siblings.

"What's a pinoco?" Caspian asked Susan.

She laughed again and shook her head. "Just something from our world, love." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before looking back towards Eustace

"Eustace, I see your wings have been clipped." Repicheep said before jumping in and swimming towards Eustace. "Where sky and water meet, where the waves go ever sweet –" he began singing before promptly pausing.

He and Eustace tasted the water, and Repicheep smiled. "It is sweet. It's sweet." He climbed on the boy's shoulder and looked into the distance. "Look."

"Aslan's country," Peter spoke in acknowledgment. "We must be close."

"Well, we've come this far," Susan smiled.

The seven, including Eustace and Repicheep, loaded themselves into a rowboat and began their journey to Aslan's country.

Lilies floated on the surface, blanketing the ocean.

"So, what was it like? When Aslan changed you back?" Edmund questioned Eustace when they were five minutes in.

"No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it myself. Then he came towards me, it sort of hurt but it was a good pain, like when you pull a thorn from your foot. Being a dragon wasn't all bad, I think I was a better dragon that I was a boy really. So sorry for being such a sock."