Susan Was Always First

Epilogue

Susan woke, a smile on her face as she felt her husband's arm draped across her. Shifting so she was facing him, Susan pressed a light kiss to his forehead, then slipped out of his arms. Somehow, she had awoken without him waking too.  

Pulling on a dressing gown, Susan tidied her hair slightly. It was growing long again, no longer at her shoulders. She still found herself studying her face each morning, seeing how her complexion was returning. Even though it was now back to normal, she still had to check to make sure, a reassurance of sorts that she was home and safe. 

Tiptoeing out of the room, Susan made her way two doors down to the nursery. Opening the door, Susan couldn't help but grin. Mara was already up, the little girl babbling to her toys as the nursemaid brushed her long dark hair. Upon hearing her mother enter, the child ginned.

"Mama!"

Susan shushed her gently and scooped her into her arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. It was hard for her to believe she was nearly three already. She set her daughter down gently so the toddler could explore for a bit. She then made her way over to the crib, her gaze softening as she did so. 

Rilian was only two weeks old, and this had been his first night in the nursery. It was not a permanent space for him quite yet, as Susan liked to have him in her and Caspian's room where she could easily attend to his needs, but she and Caspian had both needed a night to themselves. They had crawled into bed at nine, and were asleep within the hour. 

"Princess Mara was an angel last night, and so was Prince Rilian. He slept almost through the night, Queen Susan." The nursemaid gave the queen a smile. "He only woke to feed three times, and needed a changing twice."

Susan grinned. "Sounds like he was on his best behavior for you. Usually, he likes to keep me up until four, and then I have to be up by six." 

The nursemaid seemed uncertain if she should laugh, so she gave the queen a polite smile and left the family. Susan shook her head slightly, knowing the girl was still not used to the level of formality and familiarity in the palace. 

"Should we go see if your father is awake yet?" Susan asked as Rilian stirred, his little eyes blinking open. He was still so small, but Susan could tell he would be a spitting image of his father when he grew up. She scooped her infant son into her arms and rocked him as he squirmed.

Mara grinned and held onto her dressing gown, her blue eyes wide with excitement. "Wake up Papa!" 

"We have to be quiet though. We don't want to wake anyone else up." Susan quietly reminded her daughter as they exited the nursery. 

The little girl just grinned, and before long let go of her mother's dressing gown to rush to the door of her parent's room. Even on her tiptoes, Mara couldn't quite reach the doorknob, and she pouted the entire time she had to wait for her mother to catch up. Susan wished in that moment that Narnia had cameras, just to capture the look on her daughter's face. 

Opening the door, Mara rushed and hoped onto the bed. She began jumping up and down, laughing as she did so. Susan smiled, sitting at the foot of the bed while her daughter still bounced to nurse her now-fussy son. 

Caspian woke with laughter on his lips. Sitting up, he pulled Mara to him and began to tickle her, the little girl laughing. 

"Good morning, love." Caspian addressed Susan as he continued to tickle their daughter. "It seems you all beat me awake this morning."

Mara slipped out of her father's hold and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Morning!"

"Good morning, princess! Did you sleep well?"