The Queen of Narnia

Before

  I stood on one of the many balconies at the castle, staring out as the sun set on the kingdom below. Despite the day coming to an end, the Narnians below were still bustling on the streets, continuing on to celebrate their new king. The festivities had been going on for the past five days, ever since-

  Ever since they left. And I stayed.

  Taking a deep breath, I tried to pull myself back from that abyss that threatened to swallow me whole since the moment my siblings left Narnia. I tried my best not to let it show, but all I wanted to do was cry and demand that Aslan tell me why I stayed back. Deep down, I knew it was the right thing for me, that I never truly fit in England, but I missed my family. I missed Lucy's smile and the rays of sunshine she seemed to carry with her everywhere. I missed Edmund's sarcasm and carefree attitude. I missed Peter leading us like a true king.

  "I thought I might find you here," A voice caused me to spin around, my eyes landing on the only person who I felt close to nowadays.

  "Have I become that predictable already?" I joked, trying to cover my sadness, and turned back to the view, leaning forward to rest my arms on the railing.

  Caspian moved to stand beside me, following my gaze. "No, but I know you better than most."

  I frowned. "You seem to be the only one to."

  I could feel his gaze shift to me. "You are thinking about your siblings again, then."

  "That wasn't exactly a question."

  "Because I know the answer," he said, turning to lean back against the railing and look at me. "I miss them as well. It may have only been a short time we spent all together, but it feels as though we were family."

  I didn't reply. Truthfully, I didn't trust my voice to stay steady if I did. Instead, we fell silent until I changed the topic.

  "They're still celebrating," I said, pointing at the group of dancers that had gathered in the kingdom's square. "You're certainly a popular king already."

  "Well, my uncle wasn't the kindest ruler," he sighed. "I thought I was prepared to be a king like my father, but the responsibilities... I don't think anything could have readied me for this."

  I looked up to see a frown on his face, which made me straighten and put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for that. You were busy spending most of your life trying not to get killed while you lived in the house of your enemy. If anything, I think you'll be a strong king because of that."

  His eyes lowered for a moment, before a half smile crossed his face. "This is why I wanted you to be the high queen again."

  "Not this time," I shook my head, smiling slightly as he brought up the old argument. "I need to start again. Besides, I did agree to be a lady of the court and your royal advisor. What more do you want from me?"

  He dropped his smile and took my hand off his shoulder, lifting it to his lips to place a feather light kiss on my knuckles. "Is it wrong to want you to be my queen?"

  My heart raced suddenly and my stomach filled with butterflies threatening to break loose. Still, I tried my absolute hardest not to show him how flustered I was. "For now, I think the title of Lady Susan is all I'll be. At least until we figure out... everything."

  "Of course," He smiled again, tone understanding.

  "Still," I twisted my hand to clasp his. "You aren't alone. We'll do this together."

  "Together then, my lady."