36

THE END OF AN ERA

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There had been days upon days of grand feasts, parades and festivals in the days following Caspian's coronation. He had officially been crowned as Caspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of the Lone Islands. And since, there had not been a quiet night without the singing of Telmarines and the music of Narnians filling the air.

Each morning Alex would wake up in Peter's arms in their bedroom at Castle Caspian and each night they would return to their bed and fall asleep as they talked about all their lives before Narnia. 

On a particularly warm morning, they held each other tighter than ever. As time went on, the uncertain and inevitable departure was all they could think about. They had fallen in asleep in silence after a long day of teaching Caspian the ways of Narnian diplomacy and horseback riding with Lucy.

A loud knock echoed through their chambers. "Peter?" Susan called as she knocked once more, "Peter, Aslan has requested to talk to us."

Both of them groaned in annoyance as Alex pulled the covers over her head, "If we don't respond, Susan will assume we are still sleeping and leave us alone."

"If we don't respond," Peter yawned as he pulled the covers from his own body whilst leaving them draped over hers, "She will come in and pull me from the bed herself. My sister is stubborn if you haven't realised; they both are for that matter."

"Edmund is too," she spoke into her pillow which muffled her voice, "You are the most stubborn of them all. In fact, you all are extremely stubborn."

"Ha ha," he faked a laugh and pulled on some trousers and a shirt, quickly brushing through his hair with his fingers, "You can go back to sleep and I'll come back as soon as Su and I finish talking to Aslan. We can spend the whole morning in bed and after lunch, we can walk along the beaches at Cair Paravel."

"Is that a date?" she asked cheekily, sitting up with a smirk.

"I suppose it is. I can have breakfast brought up to you if you are hungry, my love."

Alex's smirk grew larger, "Say that again."

"My love," he chuckled and kissed her on the lips softly as Susan knocked once more and made a threat about coming into the bedroom and dragging him out of bed herself, "Coming Su!"

Alexandra brought the thick blankets up to her chin and rolled back into the mattress. Alex stayed like that for an hour if most before she finally got dressed into her own pair of trousers and shirt. She combed her hair for a while until it was free from any knots. A gasp left her lips.

There, in-between all the white strands of hair, lay a few flaming orange strands. Not the kind of orange hair that would be found on England. It was the brightest of oranges anyone had ever seen and under the sunlight it appeared to be a red. Or a crimson. And she smiled. She smiled at the crimson strands of hair buried deep within all the white, because even though it was only a few, it means it had worked.

Without even pulling on a pair of boots, she ran out of her bedroom. She didn't even make the bed or close the door after her, she just ran until she found Peter, Susan and Aslan. She would have approached them to show them that removing the regal power had worked, but Peter refused to meet her eyes from across the courtyard. Susan did glance up, but she had tears brimming above her eyelashes.

Caspian came up behind her, "We are ready. Everyone has assembled."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed together, "Assembled? What's going on? Why haven't I been informed of this?"

Caspian, Susan and Peter looked down in shame as Aslan approached her.

"I believe we need to talk," he spoke quietly as he motioned his head to the side. She reluctantly followed behind him as Peter still refused to meet her eyes and Susan looked down as the tears threatened to spill.

"Aslan, with all due respect, if you are going to tell me some bad news then I won't stand here to listen to it," she said as they walked through the courtyard of Castle Caspian. They entered the garden where Edmund had been sat on a bench the day before, surrounded by Telmarine girls. "I have spent my whole life, both before and during my time in Narnia, being the receiver of bad news. For once in my life I want someone to tell me that everything is going to be okay."

He bowed his head to her respectfully, "This is why I have called you here. You have done more than enough for Narnia. You can return to England if you would like to."

"If I would like to?" she asked slowly, still trying to comprehend her ability of returning to her native land. A land that she had not seen in over 1300 Narnian years.

"Susan and Peter have learned the lessons they needed to learn in Narnia therefore when they leave Narnia this evening they will be incapable of returning. Edmund and Lucy will be allowed to return to Narnia when they are next needed. But, if you leave Narnia, you won't be able to come back."

"You said if I leave Narnia. Thus implying that I have the choice to leave or stay," she spoke as they sat down in the rose garden of the Castle.

He responded not a second later, "You do have a choice. If you decide to stay, you will spend the rest of your life in Narnia with no contact with your home world. But if you decide to leave, you will be in the same state as Peter and Susan in which you won't ever be able to return."

"So that's why Peter looked so upset. He was worried that I would stay in Narnia."

Aslan didn't respond.

"And when Caspian said that they had assembled he means that everyone is waiting for me to decide if I stay in Narnia or not?"

Aslan didn't respond with his voice but he did give her a slight nod of his head.

"If I leave... will I ever see you again?"

"We will all be reunited in my country. You, Peter, Lucy, Susan, Caspian, Edmund and all of your Narnian friends over the course of your stay here will find themselves in Aslan's Country when the time comes," he responded. "You have seen this country before. Tatiana met you at the water wall that surrounds the lands."

Alex thought back to her sacrifice on the battle field and how she had awoke on the ocean's surface. There had been a tall wall of water that stood between her and Aslan's Country but she could still recall how it looked, even after all those years.

"Thank you, Aslan," she leaned down in front of him and pulled him in for a tight embrace. "I know that I can't keep them waiting any longer. Shall we?"

Aslan and Alexandra set out their journey to the town just outside the castle walls. It didn't take long but it gave her enough time to finalise her decision. For once in her life she had never been so sure in her future. But now she couldn't picture it any other way.

All heads turned their way once they arrived in the Telmarine town. Telmarines cleared a path down the centre of their gathering and both Alexandra and Aslan joined the four Pevensie children and Caspian on the stone platform. On the other side of the dais stood Cornelius, Reepicheep, Trumpkin, Trufflehunter, Peanut and other Narnian heroes.

Alex looked up to Peter as Caspian started to address his people. "I choose you," she whispered into his ear, "I choose to stay at your side even if it means that I can't return to Narnia. You are worth so much more than my knighthood. You are my happiness. You are my love. You are my life."

Peter couldn't reply but it was evident that he would have; his cheeks blushed a deep red and his smirk only doubled in size. 

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it does to man. Any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to. And for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of the forefathers," Caspian announced over the crowd of his people.

"It has been generations since we left Telmar!" a voice shouted from the crowd.

"We are not referring to Telmar. Your ancestors were sea-faring brigands, pirates run aground on an island. There they found a cave; a rare chasm that brought them here from their world. The same world as our kings, queens and Crimson Knight. It is to that island that I can return you. It is a good place for any who wish to make a new start," Aslan started as he stepped closer to the crowd on the dais. 

The Telmarines looked hesitant to step forward and accept Aslan's humble offer. The first of them to step forward was Glozelle who stood beside Prunaprismia who held a bundle in her arms. They all knew that the bundle in her arms was in fact Miraz's heir and Caspian's cousin.

"I'll go. I will accept the offer," he stepped forward, sporting a red scar over his eye. He and Caspian respectfully bowed their heads at each other.

"So will we," Prunaprismia stepped forward with her child and an older Telmarine Lord who had been supporting her after the battle.

All three of them climbed up the platform as Aslan spoke to them, "Because you have spoken first, your future in that world will be good."

Aslan turned and blowed on the large tree behind them all. The large tree at the back of the dais started to move. Upon closer inspection they all realised that it had in fact been two trees entwined together to form one large tree. But, now, the two trees had been separated to form a doorway which opened up to England. And once the four of them entered, they disappeared to their new lives. 

The crowd started to gasp and mutter amongst themselves at the magic they had just witnessed. "How do we know that he is not just leading us to our deaths?"

"Sire, if my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay," Reepicheep stepped out from behind the lion.

Alexandra smiled and approached him. "Always the most courageous one, Reepicheep. But there is no need. We will be the ones to go first."

"We will?" Edmund asked out, obviously he had also been kept in the dark about their departure. 

"Come on," Peter agreed, "Times up. After all, we're not really needed here anymore." Peter took his sword from his belt and passed it over to Caspian who also looked completely confused at what he was witnessing.

"I will look after it until you return," he responded.

Susan sniffled, "I'm afraid that's just it. We're not coming back."

"We're not?"

"You two are," Peter looked to Lucy and Edmund, "At least, I think he means you two."

"But why? Did they do something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, dear one," Aslan neared the girl who believed, "But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned what they can from this world. Now it is time for them to live in their own. And as for Alexandra, our Crimson Knight, she has done such a service for Narnia that it is only fair that she controls her own destiny."

"It's alright, Lu. It's not how I thought it would be but it's alright. One day you'll see too. Come on," Peter took his youngest sister's hand and pulled her towards the other side of the dais where Alexandra had already begun saying her farewells by shaking hands with Cornelius, Glenstorm and Trumpkin. She also got a hug from Trufflehunter and Reepicheep.

"Remember, Pipsqueak," she looked down to him, "Be as courageous as a mouse and nothing less."

"I would never dream of it," he smiled up to her.

Alexandra pushed back to stand before Caspian. "Seeing as we are giving you our most prized possessions to keep safe," she opened her palm in the air and watched as the silver axe came flying from the open balcony window of her bedroom in Castle Caspian. "Take care of her. And this. You will fall in love one day, I am sure of it. And when you do, give this to her." She unclasped her locket from her neck.

They shared a tight embrace.

"You know," he remarked during their hug, "An old, wise woman once told me that we are the ones with love in our hearts and we are the ones who will win. And we did win."

"It was an honour, Cas. Thank you for giving me hope. But Caspian, go get the girl before you spend eternity regretting it. I've been there and no pain meets that of regret."

He nodded as Susan neared him and they talked din hushed tones. Alex and Peter chuckled as they awkwardly shared a kiss.

"Are you sure that when I am older I'll understand?" Lucy laughed.

"I'm older and I don't think I want to understand," Edmund faked a disgusted face, "But then again, Pete and Alex are worse."

They all held hands as Susan returned to the group. All five of them smiled as they took in Narnia for the last time, or in Lucy and Edmund's case, the last time for a small while. Alex in particular breathed in the Narnian air and appreciated each tree, blade of grass, ray of sun and Narnian. For she was a Narnian at heart. And, boy, was she proud to be one.

"When we walk through this tree," Alex looked up to Peter, "I won't join you at the train station. I will return to my family manor where I first came to Narnia all those years ago. So you will have to wait for me to convince my uncle to take me to London."

"I'd wait a lifetime if it meant seeing you again," he kissed her forehead.

It was the end of an era. And for the first time in a long time, she went home.

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I was trying to write this chapter but the fear of having to listen to The Call broke my heart way too many times. Thank you all for all the continued and consistent support throughout the publication and creation of Obligation to the Queen. I am grateful for each read, vote, comment and follow. I love you!!