The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 10: Alive ~

The stone hard ground meets my back as I let my final breath out, not being able to hold it in anymore. I hear Peter say the words 'I love you!' and then nothing. I know instantly that I'm dead; everything is pitch black, but at the same time it's not. It gets lighter and lighter before I open my eyes to a beautiful country. I feel lighter than a feather as I stand up gracefully and look around. Suddenly there's a great light before a huge lion stands in front of me.

"Aslan," I whisper. I'm suddenly very happy; I can't stop smiling. I run up to the Lion and tackle him to the ground in a bear hug. He laughs greatly and deeply; his entire body filling with the vibrations of it. I sit up quickly and bury my hand into his mane.

"Dear One, welcome to my country," he greets. I look around me at the beautiful, rolling hills and spot a sparkling, bright-blue sea on the far east side. The grass is the brightest green you can imagine; it's the same with all the colourful flowers and trees. Something about it all feels oddly familiar though.

"Aslan, why does this feel so much like Narnia again?" I ask in amazement. He smiles at me.

"Because it is Narnia," he answers proudly. I smile so brightly that if the smile would've been any wider my face would've started to hurt. "But this is my Narnia; my country. If you think of somewhere you want to be, you will be there instantly," he explains to me. "Nothing bad happens here. There is no sadness or hatred, nothing bad. Only good things are here." I nod my head. "So enjoy! This is where you're going to be for the rest of your life; for eternity," he tells me before he disappears. I try to remember all the important places in Narnia as I glance over to the Eastern Ocean. My eyes lock on a shining thing that is sitting on the edge of the cliff face. Cair Paravel! I beam brightly before my smile falters slightly; sudden sadness comes over me. Either though Aslan said that there are no bad things here, the aching hole in my chest is starting to twinge. I miss Peter. I instantly think back to our first date and the beautiful hill top. I look up from the ground and suddenly realise that I'm there. My shoulders slouch over in defeat when I discover that Peter isn't here to enjoy it with me.

"Ashley." I jump a little bit at my name being called, but spin around anyway, expecting to see Aslan. Who I see instead though makes my still smiling face light up even more.

"FATHER! MOTHER!" I exclaim, running straight into my parents' waiting arms. If I could cry in this country, I would be bawling my eyes out. As soon as I reach them, I'm in their tight embrace. My face is buried under my father's chin as my mother stands by my side, drawing reassuring patterns on my back. I feel my father kiss my head as I pull out of his embrace to hug my mother.

"Oh, Ashley! I love you," my mother says sweetly into my ear. I feel father join in on our hug.

"Honey, you mean we love her, right?" my father whispers into her ear making her giggle. I sigh happily at hearing my father's voice and move away from their hug. I look at my mother and father and instantly feel sad; not that my face shows any sign of my sadness, but inside I'm hurting. My mother and father look so happy together with their arms wrapped around each other and I feel extremely envious of their happy marriage. I want it so badly.

"Ashley." I turn around on my heels at the sound of Aslan calling me. "I'm giving you a choice, you can either stay here with your parents and I or you can go back to Bella and Peter." I suddenly feel very sad and, before I know it, tears are falling down my face. I can feel the emotion on this hill and I instantly know that it's so that I can assess my feelings. I turn around again and notice that my mother is bawling her eyes out. I feel my heart rip in two. My parents or my boyfriend and sister. I instantly know the answer to that. I turn back slowly to Aslan.

"Aslan, I want to go back. I can come back here again when I die, but I won't have another chance to see Peter and Bella again. I miss Peter so much. I need him; he's a necessity. And sweet, innocent, little Bella, well I couldn't leave her there to suffer all by herself," I explain through watery eyes. I see him nod.