𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐒𝐂 & 𝐋𝐁)

Chapter 18- Home

Jill and I had fallen asleep while supper was being prepared. Before I fell asleep though, I heard the Prince telling the Narnians, well certain ones anyway, about everything that had happened. When they awoke us a while later for supper, Rilian had just finishing talking to them.

Puddleglum, the Prince, Jill, and I ate supper. Then afterwards I fell asleep again. It had been almost two days since I had last slept.

But I wasn't the only one who was tried and worn out from the journey. Puddleglum was also preparing to lie down. Jill was about half-asleep through supper. There was no doubt that she would fall asleep quickly. Prince Rilian didn't appear tired, though I thought he had to be. If he fell asleep, I knew it would be the first time he slept without being under a curse in a long time.

I smiled as I dozed off. We had rescued the Prince. Now all that was left was to get him home. But we would be able to do that when the sun was up. After all it wouldn't take nearly as long for us to get back. We were already in Narnia and all we had to do know was get him back to the King. That was all that mattered at this point. Reuniting King Caspian with his son.

Jill was the one to wake Puddleglum and I up in the morning. The two of us sat up and looked around. We were in a cave and I almost forgot all that had happened last night. But then I remember and looked to the Prince. However, he wasn't in the cave. Puddleglum noticed too.

"Where's the Prince?" Puddlelgum and I both said. It was the first thing we had said in the morning.
"He's gone to see his father, the King, at Cair Paravel," replied the faun who I just realized was present. His name, I soon found out, was Orruns."His Majesty's ship is expected to return at any moment. It seems that the King had met Aslan-whether it was in a vision or face to face I do not know- before they had sailed too far. Aslan told him he was to turn back and he would find his long-lost son waiting for him when he returned to Narnia."

By the time Orruns had finished explaining everything, Jill and I were up. We helped him prepare breakfast.

Puddleglum was told to stay in bed. A centaur, Cloudbirth according to Orruns, was coming to take a look at Puddleglum's injured foot. He was what the Narnians called a healer. Puddleglum complained about it but he sounded more content than usual. He was also glad to stay in bed.

We had a large supper in the middle of the night so I didn't expect that I would be very hungry. But when I ate, it seemed like we hadn't had supper last night. I was almost starving and I didn't exactly know why. Orruns wanted me to slow down. He was afraid I would get sick from eating so fast. Besides that, he argued that the centaurs wouldn't be done eating yet, even though they had gotten up quite early. They were to be our ride back to Cair Paravel. Apparently it was rare for one to ride on a centaur.

Just a few moments later, horse-hooves could be heard outside. I looked to the entrance of the cave and saw two centaurs bending down to look inside. Then Jill and I quickly finished our breakfast and said our goodbyes to Puddleglum. Once again he responded quite sadly.

He always seemed really sad, even when he was perfectly happy, and cowardly. But the truth was that he was braver than Jill and I combined. Jill told him he was as brave as a lion and I completely agreed. Then she gave him a hug while I shook his hand.

The two of us quickly left the cave, leaving Puddleglum behind. Riding on the back of a centaur was definitely an honor. We hadn't been told of anyone who had actually ridden on the back of one before. At least not for long. But it was really uncomfortable. I needed a saddle on his back because riding bare-back wasn't easy. Especially for me since I had never ridden a horse before.

But no matter how difficult it was to ride on a centaur, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I loved the fresh snow and the rabbits, squirrels, and birds who wished us good morning. Breathing the Narnia air was even nice. Much better than the air in Harfang and the Underworld. It seemed cleaner and more clear. There was nothing I would've changed about that moment.