After the End (Narnia)

Epilogue

~Five Years Later~

It was a beautiful evening for a picnic. The sunset was a canvas; reds, pinks and blues perfectly combined. The food had been prepared that afternoon, spread out by the various families on a mess of picnic blankets that covered most of the lawn. The air was fresh and crisp as the night set in on True Narnia - it was time for some fun.

Caspian sighed as he finally allowed himself to relax. The whole picnic had been his idea, and he had been in the kitchen all afternoon trying to coordinate the food and drinks. It has turned out well, he congratulated himself. Susan waved him over to a picnic rug, smiling at him as he sat down. Little William clutched at Caspian's hand, excited to see his father after a long day of absence.

"He's been asking where you were all day," Susan laughed. "It's pretty clear that you're the favourite."

"I'll tell him to take it easy on you," Caspian winked. "You deserve a little bit of recognition every now and then." Susan gave him a peck on the cheek. They both settled down to watch the festivities. Susan picked up a piece of bread from the basket.

"Yours?" she asked. The bread was delicious - light, fluffy and just crusty enough.

Caspian nodded. "I never thought bread baking would become a hobby, but here I am."

Eustace and Jill were still distributing the food as the sun went down. "When did we get so many people living here?" Eustace asked. "It seemed like only yesterday that there were barely ten of us in our little group." The stream of hungry people kept coming as Eustace worked to pack the baskets.

"Well, you know, we have had a few new additions to the families since then," Jill pondered. "And we're only adding to the number, so don't you complain, mister!" Eustace smiled at his wife. He was still getting used to waking up to a pregnant Jill. Soon, he would wake up to a miniature Scrubb as well.

The sun set quickly, revealing the fairy lights strung around the trees and the castle. It was truly a sight to behold, almost as if little pieces of the sun had stayed with them. Lucy and Tumnus looked at each other, hugging and jumping up and down. "It worked! It worked!" she exclaimed. Tumnus beamed at the woman who was currently doing some kind of victory dance. I couldn't have chosen anyone better, Tumnus thought with a sigh. "Come on Tumnus!" she called her husband. "We need to go switch on the ones on the balcony!"

"Who on earth came up with that idea?" Harriet snickered.

"I place my bet on Lucy," Edmund whispered. "I think she loves her fairy lights more than she loves Tumnus!"

"Well, rest assured I love you more than fairy lights," Harriet laughed, gazing down at her hand. The diamond twinkled in the faint light, reflecting the lights that twinkled above them.

Peter sat polishing swords on one of the picnic blankets, his eyes focused on the simple task. The cloth he was using slid down the sword with a strange type of accuracy that only came from experience. Caspian approached the man with a jovial grin on his face. "Don't tell me you're polishing swords for fun instead of socialising."

"Well, my mother always told me there's no rest for the wicked, and I'm quite sure I fall into that category," Peter chuckled.

"I think you deserve some rest. Come sit with us and have a chat," Caspian suggested. He started trying to pull Peter up off of the ground to no avail.

"Sit with you married folks and talk about kids and table settings? No thank you," Peter refused.

"Come with me or I'll spray you with water," Caspian threatened. "I've found those gun-like water things Edmund made are very capable of the task."