A/N: shout-out to INstrumentAlVirUs for suggesting the bear's name. Your suggestion was my fave so thanks a lot!

 I M I R A

"Wake up, we are back!" Lucy barged in into our cabin at what felt like dawn with unmatched enthusiasm.

As the highborn Lady and Queen that I am, I replied very elegantly by grunting and covering my head with the sheets. How does she have so much energy at this hour? Peter grunts as well in complaint and covers his eyes with his forearm before uttering a "thanks" in a very sleepy and deep voice.

This seems to satisfy Lucy because the next thing I hear is the door closing. And as soon as she's gone I start to fall back asleep. Only to be disrupted once more. This once by Peter. 

"Imira?" He grunts, not moving an inch. 

"Hmm?" Can't he see I am trying to sleep?

"Where are we?" He asks in a muffled voice. 

Perhaps he wasn't fully conscious when he replied to Lucy. I was barely awake. "Lu said we are back," I inform him. 

"But where exactly?" He asks. 

Well, how the bloody hell am I supposed to know? 

"I dunno," I reply, hugging my pillow. 

"Go check," He says nudging me. 

"You go check. I'm sleeping," I reply and roll to the other side. 

"So am I," He replies. He can be so annoying sometimes. 

"I was sleeping first," 

If he is so damn curious then he can get up and check. 

"Go check," he insists. 

"No," I grunt, covering my ear with my pillow in an attempt to drown his voice. Just let me sleep you handsome annoying magnificent blonde.  

"Why not?" he asks, stirring beside me. 

He's not gonna let me sleep, is he? "I'm feeling seasick," I lie. Best excuse not to do something. Hey, if he wants to know where we are, he can check himself. I don't really care because I'm going back to sleep. 

"Oh. Alright, I'll go," he agrees. I don't know why, but I get the feeling he just wanted to mess with me and was going to get up anyways. I mean, on some level he must have known, right? 

I feel the bed shift and my right leg is left uncovered so I pull the sheets closer. The room lights up a bit and I know he's looking out the window. Well, I can't sleep with all this light... 

"Oh," He exclaims in a yawn a few seconds later, but I try to ignore him. I just want to go back to sleep, I was so comfortable. Why did Lu have to wake me? 

"Oh," he repeats, only this time more seriously.

"What is it?" I ask knowing he won't stop bothering unless I give in and amuse him. I sit up trying to untangle myself from my hair and adjust my eyes to the light. So much light! Why is there so much light?! 

"We are about to dock," Peter turns to look at me.

"So soon?" I ask, rubbing my eyes. It feels like dawn. "I thought at the earliest we'd be arriving at Cair at noon,"

"I think it is noon," Peter says, opening the curtains and letting in all the light. Okay, that's it, I give up. "It seems we ought to get dressed,"

"Or, you can close the drapes, get back in here and we can pretend we didn't hear Lucy and go back to sleep," I propose in one last desperate attempt. I barely got any sleep last night, I need my sleep. 

Peter yawns once more. "As appealing an offer as that is, and trust me, love, it is very appealing, we can sleep in the castle. I suggest you get dressed,"

"You know, you usually ask for the opposite," I point out.

He just laughs and throws a dress at me. "Just get dressed," 

S U S A N

"Look at that," Edmund says, staring out the window while a servant cleans some shattered glass. "The Splendor Hyaline is back,"

"That's wonderful," I say, putting down the book I was reading to my nephews. Edmund had been teaching them how to throw and catch a ball, but after they accidentally broke a vase, I had to tell him to stop. I told him that would happen, but he refused to take them outside. "Did you hear that, boys? Your mother is back,"

"Mama?"

"Yes. And so is your father. Do you want to see them?"

They make a big fuss, meaning yes, and I pick Peter up, though Edmund and I have been calling him Will for the last week. Short for William (Imira wanted to call him that but Peter ended up having his way). It's just too confusing calling him Peter, I never know who Edmund's referring to. And besides, he does look like a William. Edmund picks up the other boy, and we head out the door.

Edmund has been working on creating an alternate mode of transportation. Sort of like a chariot but instead of horses it employs talking bears. And there is no driver. Pointless if it is being pulled by talking bears. He says it should facilitate short-distance travels, in case of rain or snow, and that it should make it travel easier for the Narnians.

"We're creating new jobs. This benefits everyone," Edmund said when he first introduced us to his idea.

"You want to use them now," I ask, trying to stop the twins from running off.

"Now is the perfect time!" Edmund says after calling for his little project to be brought up. "We shall each take one and surprise Peter, Lucy and Imira down at the pier. They're going to love it. Trust me,"

"The prototype you showed me before you went ghost hunting did look rather nice," I say, remembering when he took me down to the workshop to show me the progress that had been made. It looked like a very large chariot, the sort the White Witch used during the Battle of Beruna, but turned around and with a seat.

"The new one looks even better," He says as I crouch down to hold on to the twins' hands so they don't wander off. They love to wander off.

"How many have they made?" I ask Ed.

"Two," He says, picking up... Edward, that's Edward, and placing him on his shoulders.

"Two?!" He's been going on about this all year long and he only has two?

"For now. Once we try them out we'll make more,"

"Wait," Once we try them out?... "Are you telling me they've never been tested before?" I ask alarmed. I am NOT getting in that thing if it's not been tested before.

"Don't be silly, of course they've been tested before. Do you think I'd get you and our nephews on board if they hadn't been tested before? Pff. Oh, here they come," he says as the two modes of transport pull up.

"Whoa, they're..."

"Fantastic, are they not?" Edmund said proudly.

"Gorgeous," I say, going forward to examine them, and I really mean it. "The craftsmanship is exquisite,"

"Thank you, my Queen," a black dwarf's head pops out from the seat and the dwarf gets off.

"Did you make them?" I ask him as I give them a good look.

"I did," says the dwarf very proudly. "They're mahogany, padded seats. It seats three humans, four if they're on the lean side. Although many smaller creatures could fit in. And a single bear can pull 'em. Isn't that right Grumberton?"

"Aye, that's correct," says Grumberton, letting go of the transport and standing on his hind legs.

"They're not too heavy?" I ask him.

"Oh, no. Not at all, Your Majesty," Grumberton replies.

"Perfectly balanced," says the dwarf. "We tried a few prototypes, but this one turned out to be the best fit,"

"Yes, fantastic job, master Thilefank," Edmund commends the dwarf. "Well, what are you waiting for, sister? Give it a go,"

I step in carefully and sit. The transport is surprisingly comfortable and... cosy? I don't know how else to describe it, it simply feels right. Peter, who for all intends and purposed I shall now refer to as Will, tries to get on it and so Thilefank helps him.

"There's nothing to hold on to," I point out once I have sat Will beside me.

"You can hold on to the side if you must. Though I don't see why you'd need to hold on to anything, they're not meant for racing," Edmund says, placing Edward inside his and getting in as well.

The bears take us down to meet the ship. The trip is slower than going by horse but faster than on foot, and it is a very practical means to travel in groups. Yes, I can see myself riding one of these.

"Edmund," Imira exclaims once we reached the transports. We waited a bit until they disembarked and while we waited, a crowd gathered. I suppose we are all a sort of spectacle in a way. The smallest of acts, the briefest of presence attracts attention and is met with curious eyes and often cheers. "Is this the project you've been working on?" She asks. The two boys clinging to her, smiling and laughing and asking questions as she hugs them or kisses their heads.

"Aren't they fantastic?" Edmund exclaims quite proudly with a grin, placing his left hand on one of them.

"They are brilliant. Far more practical than a chariot or a sledge," Imira says approvingly as she takes a step towards them to examine the... I don't know what to call them.

"Just think of all those dwarfs, fauns, dryads and creatures who can't ride horses or ponies. They'll have it easier in these than in wagons," Edmund says.

"They will," Lucy concurs. "What a good idea you had, Ed,"

"Thanks, Lu,"

"It's brilliant," Peter agrees and they started discussing craftsmanship and other applications and cost.

"And I've been thinking, picture this, underground transportation," Edmund says with both hands in the air, painting a picture.

"Underground transportation," Peter repeats, tasting the idea.

"Yes. I call it a tube station," Edmund starts to explain. "We could have tunnels excavated that connect the castle with the city and-"

"Whoa. Tunnels? Isn't that risky?" Peter interrupts. "Why, you'd be providing anyone with access to Cair Paravel if you excavate. Lovely for an invasion, I say,"

"Not straight to our doorstep," Edmund says as if it were obvious to us all exactly what he's picturing. "That's what the tube station is for. And besides, we'll have guards,"

"Tube station?" Imira asks at the same time Peter ponders a question of his own and hers goes ignored, so we start talking amongst ourselves.

"How was the trip?" I ask them both.

"Oh, it was wonderful," Imira says.

"We saw the mermaids," Lucy says. "And one day I woke up very early and spotted a group of dolphins and whales. It was beautiful,"

"How much would that cost?" Peter asks.

"Not an awful lot," Edmund says. "We still have a few years of labour from the prisoners we took. They're making us a load of coin by working in the mines. I am sure we can spare a few and have them work on this,"

"And did you stop at Galma or did you sail all the way to Terebinthia?" I ask.

"Straight to Terebinthia," Lucy says.

"We considered stopping, but that would have just delayed us even longer," Imira adds.

"And what would we gain from this tube station venture of yours?" Peter asks.

Tube station... Why do I feel like I have heard that word before?

"Yes, you did take a couple of days longer than I thought," I say. Implicit question in there.

"They threw us a feast and then invited us to stay. We couldn't refuse, really," Lucy says.

"Beside modernizing Narnia, creating infrastructure and facilitating transport to our citizens?" Edmund says. "We can charge for the use of the tube transports if we must. But this venture is precisely why we need roads in Narnia,"

"But we brought you presents!" Imira says excitedly.

"Oh, yes! You are going to love them. We got-"

"Lu! Don't tell her," Imira stops her. "It's a surprise, remember?"

"Right," Lucy says. "Ah, I can't wait to see you opening them, they are so pretty,"

"We've discussed roads with the council, the trees say they interfere with their paths. If we build roads, they'll be wrecked if one of the trees crosses over them,"

"Can't they tread lightly?" Edmund asks.

Imira snorts at Edmund's suggestion and I try to contain my laughter at her doing so. Lucy, however, does not and starts giggling along with the twins. She must have been overhearing them as well.

Peter gives him a look that clearly means he must be joking.

"If not bricked roads can't we at least make clearer paths?" Edmund asks.

"Ed, we've just gotten back. Can't we discuss this with the council next meeting?"

"I wish they'd discuss it over breakfast," Imira says. "I haven't had any. What time is it anyway?"

"Time for lunch," I say, finding this amusing for some reason.

"Breakfast happened a good four, five hours ago," Lucy says. "You sleep way too much,"

"I am a night person, not a bird. I can't wake up at sunrise," Imira retorts.

"I'm not a bird," Lucy complains and I can't help but to laugh at the comparison. Lucy does like to wake up quite early. Like birds do.

"Oh, we must discuss this with the council next meeting," Edmund says. "But first, we need to come to an agreement you and I,"

"Well, what about the girls?" Peter turns towards us and the three of us exchange looks.

What was it? Something about...

"The trees," Lucy says, saving us.

"Oh, yes, the trees," "We must speak tot he trees first," "And moles," "And rabbits," "And birds if you want to chop down trees," "What about squirrels?" "Oh! Yes, them too," We all say at the same time.

"Can we do that tomorrow?" Peter asks. "Or up in the castle? I know you are passionate about this project, but I have just gotten off the ship,"

"Oh, yes. Please, Ed," Imira says. "We can talk about it over breakfast, or lunch, or whatever meal it is time for,"

"It's a wonder no one's ever thought of this," Imira says, as we approach the castle. "It's quite brilliant,"

"They are. And we can have an actual conversation while on the move," I say. As opposed to when ridding, it is nice not having to shout to someone.

"The name sounds familiar, doesn't it? Tube transport. Where have I heard that before?" Lucy ponders.

Imira shrugs, but Lucy is right.

"There is something familiar about the name, isn't there?" I just can't put my finger on it.

"Maybe Edmund mentioned it before," Imira suggests.

"Yes, that must be it," I agree, unable to pinpoint where exactly I have heard the term before. Lucy doesn't seem convinced but does not argue any further. 

Their hair is still damp when they reach the table, but they did hurry up to get ready and decent for lunch. Or in Peter and Imira's case, breakfast.

"What were we talking about before?" Imira asks taking a seat for her very late breakfast and my perfectly on time lunch.

"You were telling me about the trip," I remind her.

"Oh, right,"

"We met a pod of mermaids near the shore of Terebinthia, they were the nicest. We invited some aboard but they explained they find ships bizarre. And they also don't like growing legs, so it might have been that," Lucy says. Merfolk when dry lose their tails and grow legs. Incredibly convenient, if you ask me. But I've rarely ever seen one do so. I suppose now I know why. 

"Terebinthia. We ran into a little situation there," Imira says nonchalantly.

"You did? What happened?" I ask, curious. 

"I would hardly call that a situation," Lucy says. "It was barely anything. It's not really worth mentioning," 

That definitely sounds worth mentioning. It sounds like something did happen and she's trying to cover it up.  

"I think Susan would like to know," Imira says with a little smile. So clearly, something did happen and, for whatever reason, Lucy does not want to talk about it. And it's something Imira finds utterly amusing by the looks of it. Hmm... Peter and Edmund are far too into their own conversation to comment or give some insight. 

"What was it?" I ask. But before Imira can swallow the bite of scrambled eggs and toast she just took, Lucy answers. 

"We chose to disembark first on a deserted beach and just take a look around. You know, have some lunch and explore a bit before reaching port. I wanted to take a walk down the beach but Imira and Peter wanted to stay put and do nothing for the next hour or so," Lucy says, turning the tables on Imira, who was clearly trying to tease Lucy with whatever happened on Terebinthia. 

"And by nothing you mean they wanted to kiss," I say, backing Lucy up. Oh, this is fun! I missed these little moments when they were away. It is no fun teasing Edmund, he always has something sassy to come back. 

"Susan!" Imira protests, but for now, I am siding with Lucy and I'm enjoying out little victory.

"Exactly," Lucy says with a sly smile. She managed to turn the tables on Imira and she's proud. I think I am proud of her too. 

"Lucy!" Imira complains now to her, but Lucy is not done. 

"Oh, we were all thinking about it. And besides, it is not as if we haven't seen you and Peter kiss before," Lucy replies. Oh, wow! 

"Lu," I say laughing. Okay, I think it's time to get over this kissing business before they try to come after me. Not that I've kissed anyone lately. But I'd rather avoid being on the not so fun end of the joke. 

"What about me?" Peter turns to us, clueless as to what we are discussing, and Lucy and I begin to laugh.

"What?" He asks Imira.

"Nothing," Imira says, rolling her eyes at us, but then her embarrassed look turns into a sly smile. "Lucy was just about to tell Susan about that bloke she flirted with on the beach,"

"What?!" I turn to Lucy.

"Oh, that," Peter says uncomfortably. "I'd rather not hear about that," 

"What?" Edmund asks, choking a bit on his drink, and now all attention is centred on Lucy.

"I did not," Lucy complains, cheeks red as apples. 

"Did not what?" Ed asks suspiciously. 

"Flirt with someone," Imira says, regaining control of the situation. 

"Did not!" Lucy says, embarrassed and annoyed, yet trying her best not to giggle. Oh, it definitely happened. 

"You did what?!" Edmund asks utterly surprisedly. 

"That's not what happened," Lucy says, trying to convince us otherwise even though it is clear as ice to me that Imira is telling the truth. 

"Then what happened?" I ask her. 

"I convinced Imira to walk with me and we started picking some seashells, saw a jellyfish on the sand and then just as we were about to head back we ran into two blokes,"

"Did they attack you?" Edmund asks. Typical boy question. 

"No," Lucy says at the same time as Imira says yes. 

"They did not attack us," Lucy turns to her. 

"Well, speak for yourself. You were doing just fine talking to that young man, but my ears felt under attack from the cheesy lines the one you left me with delivered," Imira says and I can't help but laugh. Actually, everyone starts laughing. Everyone but Peter who looks uncomfortable and seems very concentrated on stabbing his eggs with his fork. 

"Someone flirted with you?" Edmund asks her. 

"Mhm. He couldn't take a hint," Imira says. "But Lucy was doing just fine flirting with the governor's son," Shifting the conversation back to Lucy again. Oh, I see! She doesn't want to make Peter even more uncomfortable. Yes, he gets easily vexed. 

"The governor's son?" I ask Lucy. 

"I was having a friendly conversation," she says, but I turn to Imira for an answer.  

"She was flirting," Imira confirms and Lucy turns red once more. 

Edmund looks just as uncomfortable as Peter now, but I want to know what happened. She is my sister and I missed such an important milestone in her life. Her first flirtation. This is huge! 

"I was not," Lucy says, probably wishing the earth could swallow her, but that just means she was. Lucy flirting with someone? What does that even look like? Lucy is just... she's Lucy! She's so... so young. She's my little sister. I can't believe she fancied someone and I missed it. Aww, it must have been so adorable. Little Lucy in love. 

"Please, I know what flirting looks like and you were doing it," Imira says.

"I was not," Lucy says, looking down, embarrassed. 

"What was she doing?" I ask Imira because clearly Lucy is not going to share and I want to know what happened.

"Oh, you know, the hair thing and the shy smile and the batting of the lashes," Imira says, demonstrating.

"There was a lot of wind so I had to keep adjusting my hair and I always smile at everyone," Lucy attempts to excuse her behaviour. 

"What about the eyelashes?" Imira asks. 

"There was wind and sand," Lucy replies nonchalantly. 

"She was flirting," Imira looks at me. 

"Alright, can we talk about something else?" Lucy said, now annoyed. 

"Yes," Edmund backs her up. "Lucy's too young to be flirting with anyone," 

"Hey, I'm not that much younger than you. I'm sixteen," Lucy complains. I know Lu does not like to be treated like a baby, but she's the youngest one. It's hard not to, we have to protect her. 

"Exactly. Way too young to be fancying anyone," Edmund says. 

Lucy is about to say something back to Edmund, but Peter intervenes. 

"Change of subject," Peter says, placing both hands loudly on the table to stop our squabbling. "Did you get any visitors while we were gone?" 

Wait... does he know? 

"Prince Dean dropped by," Edmund says almost at once. 

"Ah, he made it. That's fantastic!" Imira exclaims. She was expecting him? 

"He got here three days ago but has since left," Edmund adds. 

"He left?" Imira asks, very confused. 

"You were expecting him?" I ask her. Why didn't she mention it before going away? 

"I forgot to mention it, didn't I?" she asks with a frown. "I knew I had forgotten something. Didn't I tell you I forgot something?" she turns to Peter. 

"You sure did," Peter nods. 

"It was the most bizarre visit," I tell her. "By the next day, he was gone. He said he had an argument with Darren and was going back to Datram, but it seemed strange. Why would he come all the way here to go back after an argument?" 

By the looks of her, Imira seems to concur. She meditates on this for a little. 

"Is Darren still planning on marrying, you know, her?" Imira asks me and Ed. Her meaning Lady Danielle. It's a little childish refusing to say her name, don't you think?  I don't like Lady Danielle, but I also don't actively dislike her. I guess I simply do not care for her.

"Last I heard," I reply. I haven't seen much of Prince Darren recently, but surely we would have heard something if he had changed his mind. 

We finish our meal without any more quarrels, just friendly chatter about their trip and our time here and, since Lucy doesn't seem to be annoyed at Imira (it was all friendly, good-spirited familiar banter after all), we go to open the presents they brought us. 

I M I R A

After sharing stories about our trip such as talking with the merefolk and exploring the deserted beach of Terebinthia, we head upstairs to deliver the presents we got for everyone. Susan loves the perfumes and dresses we got her and Edmund seems very pleased with the books and the helmet we got him. We all go our merry way afterwards, and by merry way I mean Peter, Lucy and I head for a briefing to get updated on what we have missed (though the update I want the most is the one on the Darren situation). Did Roselynn and Thea entertain Danielle long enough? Did Dean talk Darren out of marrying Danielle? (Seems unlikely). Why did Dean leave so soon? And where in the five seas is Henry? I expected him to show up somewhere between breakfast and the reunion.

Luckily for that last one I don't have to wait too long because, as expected, word of our return had spread and Henry, along with Thea, were waiting outside the council room when we emerged from the briefings.

"I will see you later," I say to Peter as soon as I spot Henry and Thea, touching his arm to get his attention. 

"Don't miss dinner," Peter says, interrupting his conversation with Oreius.

Oh, I don't plan to. The meals onboard the S.H. were great, but there is no place like home.

A few Narnians greet me as I walk by until at last I reach my targets.

"There you two are. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you earlier," I say, hooking my arms with theirs and dragging them away from all the people.

"I was exchanging notes with Thea. We really must speak," Henry says rather somberly. 

There is a small private library behind our bed chamber. The windows overlook the northern courtyard and the eastern sea, and all the carpets, draperies and furniture is royal blue. We call it the blue room, for obvious reasons. That is the room where I took Henry and Thea so that they could tell me what had happened while I was away.

"Start from the beginning. Did you go to Glasswater Creek?" I ask Thea as I take a seat.

"Yes," She nods standing before me. "We got there, stalled, and got back just yesterday evening,"

"So she wasn't here when Dean arrived," I say.

"She wasn't," Henry confirms. "She's not the problem,"

"Then what is?" I ask, utterly confused. "I hear Dean came but left the day after?" Dean couldn't have just had a fight with Darren and left. There's got to be more to it.

Henry turns to look at Thea for a moment, hesitant before speaking. "That's more or less true,"