~By the Lion's Mane: The Call~

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

When the white cliffs of the Narnian coast finally came into sight, a great cheer erupted from the rigging of the Dawn Treader. Caspian gave the order for a few bottles of champagne to be brought up, and we all celebrated our homecoming with a few glasses of the finest from Terebinthia.

We finally pulled into the harbor of Glasswater at noon the next day, and there was a party from Cair Paravel there awaiting us with banners and trumpets and flowers. Glenstorm was there with Trufflehunter and Anduril, as well as many other Talking Beasts and people. They all set up a great cheer when we came ashore in the rowboats, and waved their banners and ran alongside us.

When I got to my unicorn, he whinnied joyfully at me, prancing in place and then nuzzling me affectionately as I threw my arms around his silver neck, my vision blurring with tears. I saw with a slight grin that he had in fact gotten quite a bit rounder in his time off, and I told him so. For that bit of insult I got a nip on the shoulder, but I didn’t mind. I had missed him too much.

Caspian’s horse Destrier was also happy to see him in his own simple way. He nickered a low greeting and pricked his ears forward in recognition, bumping Caspian with his velvety black nose. We swung up onto their broad backs and began the ride to the castle. The welcoming party of humans and Old Narnians started after us, either riding their own horses or running along on foot.

We started off at an easy lope, but I soon told Andy that I was in the mood for swiftness, and he leaped into a gallop. Soon we were flying through the trees, Caspian and Destrier on my right and Glenstorm on the other side of him.

We reached the castle first, and there was what seemed like most of the population of Narnia waiting for us. There was music and food and dancing and Narnian banners waved about. We rode through the streets to the castle, waving and smiling as flowers were tossed to us, filling the fresh Narnian air with a sweet odor.

On the inside though, all I felt was exhaustion, and more than anything I wanted to crawl under the covers of my wide, four-poster bed in my chamber overlooking the sea, and not emerge for the rest of eternity. But alas, I had to pretend to be happy and recount our entire voyage to all of our friends and the historians that were sure to be flocking to the castle.

When we finally got into the castle, Trumpkin and the others were there waiting for us in the Great Hall. We had another feast, in which we told our stories to the inhabitants of the castle. Trumpkin was greatly distressed that Lucy and Edmund had come back to our world without him getting to see them. The Dwarf loved Lucy especially, though he would never admit to being soft.

Caspian brought out the maps that Coriakin had made with his magic, and they pored over them for the next hour. I sat quietly in my place next to Caspian, staring at the tapestries on the wall and watching the flames dance in the fireplace. We had arrived back in Narnia in late autumn, and the air outside right now was crisp and frosty. Most of the leaves on the trees had already changed color and fallen, turning dry and brittle and dead on the forest floor.

I excused myself from the table and went down to the stables to visit with Andy. I went into his open stall (he was never confined) and sat on the straw, telling him of all of our adventures while he lay on the thick hay across from me, listening intently with his silver ears tipped forward and his dark liquid eyes fixed on me. And when I told him about Edmund and me, he made soft, throaty sounds of sympathy while I cried into his silken mane.

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And so I spent my first night back home in a stable, sleeping in the straw with my unicorn. The next morning, a stable lad found me. He woke me, telling me that Caspian had been quite upset all morning, worried about my absence.