Coming home (Last book of Sarafine)

Chapter 20

Sara couldn't sleep well last night. After her talk with Aslan, questions just kept swirling in her mind. She didn't know what would happen if she chose to stay, or to leave. All she knew was that she didn't want to leave Narnia or Peter. It may sounds selfish, but if anyone was put in her position, they wouldn't think differently.

Now she was standing in her room, staring into the mirror as her maids helped her wear the dress, but her mind wandered somewhere else. They all knew about the leaders leaving, but they didn't knew the entire truth yet. Only Aslan and Sara knew. That made the situation worse for the girl.

"My Queen, you seemed absent-minded today." Faye, who had become a good friend with her, said "What could be the problem?"

"It's just, they're leaving." She snapped out of her thoughts.

"But they will come back one day, right?"

She didn't answer. She wasn't supposed to do that.

Inside, it broke her heart into pieces. She couldn't just leave the land she was born in, she was after all the rightful Queen of Narnia. But then, she didn't want to leave the Pevensies. Peter had become a part she couldn't live without, Susan, Edmund and Lucy had become more than just a family to her. Especially when it comes to the blond boy, it broke her a little more. Many things got in between them: time, obstacles, and worlds. They were separated many times, now that they were together she didn't want to be apart from him anymore. Not even one more time.

Looking out of her window, she saw Aslan walking with Peter, Edmund and Lucy. Their eyes couldn't show more sadness. Lucy was on edge of crying, but she held herself. Edmund looked down at his feet, his shoulders slumped. Peter looked disappointed, surely, she could see that in his eyes when theirs met not long later. He gave a weak smile, a simple nod and left with Aslan and his siblings. A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't bother to wipe it away.

After they were done with her dress, Sara took a walk around Cair Paravel and she went past the wooden doors leading to her and Peter's little garden. She put her hands on her door, but then she hesitated on whether to push it open or not. All the good memories flooded back and filled her mind with small moments between the two of them.

And she pushed it open.

It was the same in there: a statue of Aslan and beautiful flowers blooming with bright and joyful colors by the lively green of the trees and earthly brown of wood. But something shocked her more than the fact that the garden hadn't changed after more than a millennium. Peter was facing the lion statue, in his normal modern clothes and his sword in his hand. It was a weird combination, but the sight made Sara sad.

"I didn't know you were here." She said.

"It's okay." He said, still facing the statue "Remember those times we came here and just escaped from our daily job?"

She didn't say anything. She just stood there and watched him.

"I miss those days." He continued "We were so innocent, so carefree. Now we have the burden of a kingdom loaded on our shoulders."

A moment of silence went by.

"Peter..."

"I don't want to go back to America, Sara." He finally turned to face her "It's not the same. I can't find peace there, not without you, Ed and Lu. I don't want to leave."

"Every adventure eventually comes to an end, Peter." She touched his cheek "Even if you want it or not."

"Aslan told me..."