Family Bonds -STORY UNDER REVISION!

Making Her Return

Susan blinked her eyes and slowly sat up. Her heart was racing, though she could not remember why. What had happened? Where was she? Her eyes grew less fuzzy and she could make out a few things. A clear stream, a castle in a distance, the faint song of nymphs humming in the air... all of these seemed familiar to her, yet she could not place them. The lulling song of the trees eased her into a comfort, a comfort which was so achingly familiar it felt like home. Then, it hit her. Narnia! She was back. But why her now? She was never supposed to return...

A pang of sadness hit her heart, realizing her siblings weren't with her here. Why should she get to return while they lay rotting in the ground, she who had forgotten this land by choice, who would have rather imagined it a game than a real event in her life? It was not fair to be in this land if her family, her family who loved and cherished it, could not be there with her. 

She stood up, sighing lightly. She should not dwell on it, not now that she had made her peace with the mistakes of her past. Instead, she began to look around, noting how different things looked. Everything seemed brighter, clearer, as if there was a veil on them before that had now been lifted so she could enjoy the truth of the beauty. It had been so long since she had been there, so long since she had felt this familiar ease, a peace in her heart that could only be brought on by Narnia. Their first trip had been extraordinary. The second one, aching with memories that now flew through her mind with much more ease than they could have caged away in England. 

Her mind wandered to a prince with dark hair and handsome eyes. She knew he was long gone, as Eustace had said that once to the group, but the peaceful spot in which she found herself sitting reminded her of the times they could afford to steal away from talk of war, to be young teenagers in love and at peace. Was it love she felt as a girl? Caspian... she knew he still meant a lot to her, though she thought herself good at hiding it. Susan smiled as thoughts of him filled her mind. For once, she wasn't bitter about it. She felt relieved, if nothing else.

She looked up from her daydream when she heard a noise in the distance. All the sudden she heard a roar.

"Aslan?" she questioned, heart racing once again. She looked around quickly to spot him. There were five figures walking towards her, along with Aslan. From the distance they were at, she felt as if she should be able to recognize them, yet for the life of her she could not place them. All of the sudden, one of the figures sprinted towards her.

"Susan!" yelled a familiar voice.

"Lucy!" Susan was shocked, the voice jarring her as she realized that she did in fact know the figure, that she could now tell it was Lucy. Her sister was here, with the veil that had seemed to be over everything also pulled back from her, but did that mean she was also...dead? Or had her siblings been called before they could actually die, leaving them clueless to their fate in England? "Am I dreaming?"

"I wish I could say you were," Lucy smiled softly, her voice light and happy though carrying a heavy tone under that joy. "But like the rest of us, you came here through death."

Death? Had she died? She could remember running, remember the sound of brakes squealing and then... nothing. Was that death? She felt chilled to the bone at the thought, but it had to be true. She could not be here otherwise, they could not be here, if not for the truth.

Susan pondered for a moment about what would be best to say, what word could summarize her feelings, but instead just spoke what first came to her mind, as silly as it sounded. "I suppose that makes sense."

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. There were things that needed to be said, words that had to be shared of apology and the hurt she had caused. "Lucy, I need to apologize for everything and-"

"I forgave you long ago," Lucy hugged her sister tightly, and for a moment Susan had to hold back sobs. Her little sister, given back to her. Her little sister, forgiving her.

By the time the two sisters stopped hugging, three others had made it up to the top of the hill. They were watching the two, waiting to be noticed.

"Peter? Edmund!" exclaimed Susan as soon as she saw them. Her brothers, grinning at the sight of her. She could hardly believe the forgiveness that seemed to radiate in their eyes, the joy and utter relief she saw. They too looked like themselves but more, and it had to be that through death her eyes had been opened wider, letting her see them in a new ethereal light. She ran over to give them both a hug, clutching them to her.

"We missed you, Su." Peter whispered.

"It wasn't the same without you." Edmund added.

By this time, the tears were freely flowing down Susan's face as she was overwhelmed with emotion. Her heart was full, joy spilling over. She was home, home with her family!

"Mr. Tumnus! It's so nice to see you!" She exclaimed, catching sight of the faun. He was so youthful she would have not recognized him save for the scarf. Looking closely, she could see it was him, but at first glance he was almost a new being. "I've missed you all so much!"

The family and their most trusted friend conversed, with apologies and tears mixed in as they went on. Peter placed a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder as they all spoke, and Lucy kept herself connected to her sister by linking their hands. Edmund, too, made an effort to be as close to her as possible, as if he was fearful his sister would vanish before him. It felt like hours before they finally lulled into a peaceful quiet.

Susan was so overjoyed at seeing her family she forgot about the fifth figure that had been with them. That is, of course, until Lucy told her to go and say hello. Her sister had given her a smirk, a little grin that told Susan she was up to somehing, though what she did not know.

"But who is it?" Susan asked. She was trying to think of who could be here, who in Narnia would still wish to see her. She thought maybe... but no. It was likely not him. Perhaps an old friend from the days of their reign?

"Go find out," Lucy's voice held something Susan couldn't place, something that told her the person may be exactly who she least expected.

"Go on!" Lucy gave a little push, and even Edmund and Peter nodded for her to go and speak with the figure who was still waiting with Aslan.

Her thoughts of the impossible only increased as she took in the figure, which looked so very familiar her heart ached, and with a bubbling hope, she spoke softly. "Hello?"

The figure grinned, a wide and blinding grin that made Susan grin as well. "My Queen."

Caspian...

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Author's note:

The original ending of this chapter will be it's own, new chapter! I wanted to expand upon the reunion between Susan and Caspian and a new chapter allowed me to do that better pacing wise. So be excited! There will be a never before read chapter coming your way soon :)