After the End (Narnia)

Chapter XI - Satisfied

"Caspian, Peter! Come quickly!"

The two men burst out of the castle in a frenzy, wracked with panic. "What's happening Ed?" Peter looked like a warrior with wild eyes, clutching his sword like a lifeline. Caspian followed him, also fully armed.

"There's a girl in the forest. It looked like she fell out of the sky. I've never seen her before," Edmund wasn't sure if it was panic or excitement that was stringing his sentences together, but he was sure the girl wasn't just a wandering Narnian.

Peter laughed. "Are you kidding me Ed? All the fanfare, for this? She's probably a Narnian that fell asleep on an early morning walk." Edmund shook his head, urging his brother towards the forest.

"Why don't you see for yourself, then? Surely you can't be afraid of being wrong?" Edmund's adrenaline had quickly morphed into endorphin-induced arrogance. Curious, Peter and Caspian followed Edmund to the clearing.

The girl in the clearing had woken up, rubbing her eyes as she observed her surroundings. Edmund's heart skipped a beat. She was actually quite pretty. Maybe Aslan had granted his wish. Edmund shook his head. What a strange idea. Her face developed into a grin as she saw them approaching. "I can't believe it! Are you Caspian the Tenth?" her voice was low but sweet. A kind voice, Edmund decided.

Caspian grinned, scratching his head. "I guess Peter was right, after all. She's obviously a Narnian. She knows who I am." Peter hi-fived the former Telmarine prince with a cocky type of finality. He began moving out of the clearing, motioning for Caspian to join him.

The girl laughed. "A Narnian? I wish."

"What? You mean you're not from here?" Edmund asked.

"Of course not, silly. Although you are all quite famous where I come from," the girl explained.

"What in Telmar do you mean? How did you know my name in the first place?" Caspian sat down next to the girl, searching for answers. Peter and Edmund joined him.

"All of the Narnian adventures were made into books, you see. They star you as some of the main characters. They were always some of my favourite books as a child, even though they were quite old," the girl responded casually.

"So you come from our world?" Peter enquired.

"When were you there last?" Edmund said excitedly. This girl was decidedly fascinating.

"Well the year I left was 2014. As I said, the books of your adventures were written quite some time ago," the girl answered.

"I never thought I'd meet a girl from the future! What's it like? Any exciting new developments?" Edmund was beyond curious.

"I don't know, really. Depends what type of things you're looking at," the girl said vaguely.

"Wherever you're from, we are more than glad to welcome you. It is quite obvious that you are supposed to be here with us. Aslan knew, I'm sure. Now lets get you up to the castle," Caspian diverted.

"Perfect! I can't wait to meet all of the supposedly made up people," the girl joked. The group started to trek back through the forest to the castle, which was now a hive of activity. Edmund stopped the party suddenly.

"I think we've forgotten something rather important," Edmund said with a laugh. "What's your name?"

"Harriet," the girl replied with a grin. "Harriet Carter."

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The table in the castle's best parlour was groaning under the weight of numerous plates in typical Narnian fashion, fine china glinting in the midday light. Rows of delicate tea foods were displayed immaculately, a tiny plume of steam rising from the teapot. The atmosphere was friendly as the True Narnians gathered around their newest member with a curiosity that was almost laughable.

"So, where did you live in England?" Susan inquired. "Anywhere near Finchley?"

"Nowhere near Finchley," Harriet laughed. "On the other side of the world in fact. I come from Australia."

Jill nearly spit out her mouthful of tea. "How dreadful! How many convicts do you know? Have you ever fought a kangaroo? What do you do about those killer koalas?"

Harriet collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. Tears streamed down her face as her laugh echoed in the small space. "You believe all those silly myths? Australia has three times less violent murders than the UK. And I've only ever seen 'roos dead on the side of the road. Killer koalas are a myth as well."

Eustace frowned. "How disappointing. I was planning on meeting a killer koala some day."

"Well I guess you'll just have to imagine one, Eustace. I'm sure that brain of yours is good for something at least," Jill teased.

"Savage!" Harriet remarked, winking at Jill. The room stared at her in shock, the quiet chatter dying immediately.

"Excuse me, I am not a savage. I can take teasing from Jill, but not from you," Eustace brushed himself off and faced Harriet with a scowl.

Harriet's eyes widened. "You must have gotten it wrong. Savage is slang, for something that's a good cutting insult. I was complimenting Jill."

The tension in the room lessened almost instantly. "We are going to have to get used to each other, that's for sure," Diggory guffawed. Harriet smiled at the Narnians, who were now reverting to their normal smiling selves. She could fit in here.

Edmund looked across the room at the girl from the future. Surely humanity had improved in the years he had been away from it. She was funny and beautiful. Edmund was in serious trouble. The next few days would undoubtedly be difficult. He wasn't used to having such a beautiful woman in the castle. The Narnians began to leave, cleaning up the early afternoon tea in their wake. Harriet stopped by Edmund on her way out of the room. She smiled at him. "I said Caspian's name first, because his was the most distinctive. But, you should know, you were always my favourite character," she explained with a cheeky wink.

Edmund gazed after her as she left the room. She was going to be the death of him, and it had scarcely been hours.