The Faded Portrait of a Bygone Era

Destiny and Fate

As they returned to the How, Margaret walked alongside Edmund. At first, they both were silent.

"Four years?" he asked at long last.

"Yes," Margaret said softly.

"You'd be seventeen, then?"

She simply nodded. She had expected him to be upset. This whole thing would have had her reeling too, had she not already spent the past few months considering various, far more morbid possibilities regarding the fates of her family members.

"We brought this for you," he said, reaching into his satchel.

Margaret was delighted to see her bow from Father Christmas, and the sword she had used in the Golden Age.

"You found them!" she exclaimed, happily donning her things.

"At Cair Paravel," he confirmed. "It... It was in ruins."

Margaret nodded solemnly. "So I heard..."

Edmund hesitated, then reached into his satchel once more.

"We also brought this."

What he produced next made Margaret's blood run cold.

The cloak, as red as blood. The cloak from her nightmares.

The one she would die in.

Of course, on this day of happiness, being reunited family, she would be reminded of her fate.

But, she forced a smile and took it from him. She hoped she didn't look too pale, but the sight had shaken her.

"Thanks, Ed."

They held each other's gaze for a moment, but looking into his young eyes made her heart ache for the time that had passed for her without him.

"It doesn't seem fair, does it?" Edmund asked, sensing her grief. "This past year, the whole time, I've thought how awful it was that we were separated for so long... only to find out just how long it's been for you. And suddenly, that one year, it doesn't seem so awful anymore. But then I feel selfish for feeling that way, thinking of you waiting so much longer..."

"I'm sure Aslan has a reason," Margaret said.

Edmund looked at her curiously. "Did he send you a dream?"

Margaret averted her gaze. She knew she had answered a bit too fast when she said "No..." but Edmund didn't press the matter.

Silence lingered between them for a while, but just as Margaret thought of something she might say to resume the conversation once more, they came to the clearing in front of the How.

Lucy gasped in amazement as they drew closer.

One of the Big Cats ran ahead, no doubt to spread the news of the other Kings' and Queens' return.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the entrance, the centaurs had lined up along either side of the path, standing at attention. They stepped up and drew their swords in salute, and just for a moment, Margaret could imagine herself at Cair Paravel, at some celebration in the days of old.

She walked forward with her siblings, relishing in their presence. In these past few months, she had all but convinced herself that she would never see them again. She certainly didn't mind being proven wrong.

Caspian, she noticed, fell behind in his gait as the five rulers of old walked down the rampart. Margaret stood between Peter and Susan, of course, glad to have them near, but she couldn't deny that some small part of her desperately wished that Caspian also walked at her side - no matter how hard she may try to deny it.