༄ 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑃𝐻𝑂𝐸𝑁𝐼𝑋 𝐴𝑅𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑅（𝐿𝑊𝑊）༄

Epilogue

A few days after they had left to hunt the White Stag, Narnia and the Narnians began to worry. The Kings and Queens had yet to return. They knew, if the royals weren't in a hurry, it could take quite a few days to return to the castle. So, at first, most of them just pushed it aside thinking that they were delayed. But it didn't last for long and soon even Ana grew worried.

She sent out scouts, obeying the High King's command to stay in the castle, but all returned with no news. None of the Narnians had spotted Their Majesties in the woods. As the days turned into weeks, Ana knew something has to have happened. If they were simply delayed, they would've sent word.

The Kings and Queens had vanished. The leopards and other Talking Beasts couldn't pick up their trail. No one was sure how far they ventured into the Western Woods. Finally the ravens and a few other air scouts reported spotting their horses, but they appeared to have been abandoned days ago. It was that report that had Ana disobeying orders. She couldn't wait around anymore, trying to figure out what happened to them. This time, she would investigate it herself.

Despite Orieus' protests she saddled a horse and took off into the Western Woods. She was tired of being a kid and decided to find them. If she couldn't, Ana knew she would've failed in her duty to protect them. Anything could've happened in the last five days since they disappeared.

She traveled in the direction they scouts had spotted their horses. Ana knew it would take hours to reach the Lantern Waste, but she could make it before sunset if she pushed the horses. It had been years since Ana ventured this far from the castle—she had more of less been confined to areas closest to the castle due to her duties to the Thrones—and it felt strange to her. The last distinctive memory she had was traveling to Aslan's Camp from Tumnus' house and Beavers' Dam, which took several days on foot. This time she was on a horse and the journey would be much quicker. Not quite quick enough, Ana realized, as they had already been gone for far too long.

She saw the lamppost ahead and slowed her horse. As it stopped, she listened. The scouts had mentioned that the horse were free and weren't quite sure where they would be. If they were indeed Their Majesties' horses, they wouldn't have wandered far. Dumb animals normally returned home and talking ones most definitely did. So Ana wasn't sure why they had chosen to stay with no rider.

At first all she heard was the soft breeze but then she heard it. The quiet whinny of a horse. Ana jumped down from her horse and removed her quiver from the saddle. Being very quiet and careful not to make a sound, she walked in the direction she heard the horse. It may be wild horses, but she couldn't take the risk that they were riders or bandits instead—not that they had a huge problem with the latter.

Through the trees, she saw a four horses grazing and looked around. They were definitely the Kings and Queens horses, but their riders were nowhere to be found. She wondered why it took the scouts so long to find them and began walking towards them. One of the horses saw her and perked up, alert. But as soon as it recognized her, the horse calmed and let out a short snort as if to say hello. It was Edmund's horse, Philip.

"Philip?" she asked horse. Luckily, he knew exactly what she wished to ask.
"They're gone, Ana. All of them," Philip told her.
"Who's gone and where?" she asked though she feared she already knew.
"The Kings and Queens. They must've went home. It's the only place they could've gone. We've been waiting for their return but they have not. I didn't wish to leave should they come..."
"It's alright, Philip. Are you sure they weren't ambushed?" She had to hold onto hope that they hadn't left.
"I'm sorry," he said and Ana knew the answer. "If they had been ambushed I would've heard. Queen Lucy mentioned something about Spare Oom and ran off. Their Majesties followed her but then suddenly I could no longer hear them. It was abrupt, not fading as it would've if the went deeper into the forest."

Ana sighed and nodded. She figured this day would come eventually. She didn't know when, but it was bound to happen as Narnia was never their real home. Just like she couldn't hope to stay in that Other Place forever, they couldn't stay in Narnia. But it would've been better if they had some warning. Now they had to figure out how to keep a Kingdom running without a Ruler, especially when nobles came looking for them.

Philip looked at her, seeming to read the thoughts running through her mind, and Ana took his reigns. Then she went to collect the other three horses as well. Once she had them, she connected the leads to hers and Philip's saddles. She left Philip untied and asked him to guide the others back home. Before she could leave, Ana had to be sure they were gone.

She examined the clearing where they were last seen, and after finding no trace, headed in the direction Philip had told her. Although she was an excellent tracker—would've had to have been in order to survive a Hundred Year Winter—any trace of them was likely long gone. Just far enough away from the lamppost that she could still make out its light from the trees, a slight glistening caught her eye.

The autumn sun must've landed just right and Ana quickly went to see what it was. There, buried under several leaves were their crowns. They weren't thrown, as they would be in a struggle, but gently placed upon a small bed of leaves. Peter's and Susan's golden ones on the inside while Edmund's and Lucy's were on the outside. She collected then, knowing they had be left for her to find, and made her way back to her horse and Queen Lucy's gentle mare. Placing the crowns inside her saddle bag, she then secured her weapons and made to catch up with Philip.

They stopped only once for a night's rest, though Ana would've gladly pushed through the night. Philip convinced her that she should try and rest. While Ana knew she wouldn't, she didn't protest. After all, she couldn't for the Talking Horse to go where he did not want. There was no rush anyways. She had nothing good to bring the Narnians.

By midday the following day, they reached the castle. Several council members and members of the army rush to greet Ana. Oreius was at the front of the group as she watched him carefully. She heard the gasps when they noticed the four riderless horses, but the General's face was emotionless. Ana didn't know if he understood of not.

In the courtyard, she wordlessly dismounted and led the horses away. She heard Orieus say something to the crowd but she was too distracted with her thoughts to know what. As she began to take their saddles off she noticed something. On one of the saddles was a horn. Susan's horn. Ana took it off the saddle and quickly checked the others. They hadn't taken their weapons, which meant they were likely in their rooms. They would have to collect them and place them in the secret treasure room, along with anything else they wished to keep safe. Susan's horn would remain safe with the rest of their gifts.

Years past, and the Narnians lost hope that their Kings and Queens would return. But Ana didn't. She knew, one day, that they would eventually. Their Majesties gifts just became relics, locked away in a secret room. Even Lucy's cordial that they could've used during attacks was locked up. They couldn't fall into enemy hands.

Susan's horn became the most important relic of them all. Many Narnians believed that it was magical. If it was blown, the Kings and Queens would back when they needed them to. It remained in the Gentle Queens chest until their greatest need. Maybe, just maybe, one day someone would call them back. It was their only hope, but no one wanted to use it without reason. Ana understood why. No matter how much they wanted their rulers to come back, Aslan would only let them when they needed to be back.

THE END

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There are three stories after this. Warrior With the Heart of Fire is the next one, based on Prince Caspian. Feel free to check it out.

When I began writing this story, I didn't want Ana to fall in love because everyone she cared about she lost. Also, I didn't want to take away from the theme of the books/movies too much. So I tried to avoid making it into a love story. However, Ana needed to let her guard down and take a chance. If you want to read the one where Ana falls in love keep reading the series. I'd hate to spoil any of my stories but Ana will get a happy ending.