The Faded Portrait of a Bygone Era

A Moment to Last Forever

Quickly, the leaves of her form scattered in a soft breeze, floating back to the forest where another tree took up the call. The wind carried all kinds of leaves from tree to tree until the three girls could no longer see them.

"What do we do now?" Maggie asked softly.

"We stay," Lucy said. "We watch over him..."

Susan nodded resolutely, looking sadly at the great lion once more.

"We'll stay until morning... and after the battle, we'll come back for him. To put him to rest properly..."

Maggie said nothing.

Lucy rested her head against Aslan's, gently petting him.

All three girls stayed there in silence, until one by one, they drifted off into a wearisome slumber. The exhaustion of grief had finally caught up to them all.

The next thing Maggie was aware of was a soft gray light behind her eyelids. The light of day, though hidden by clouds, gently roused her, alongside the crick in her neck from sleeping atop the Stone Table with only Aslan for a pillow.

Beside her, Susan and Lucy also sat up, taking in the now-lit surroundings.

"We should go..." Susan said.

Maggie didn't know how to tell her they needed to stay without giving away the truth of the matter.

"But..." she started, faltering for an excuse.

"They need us in the battle, Maggie," Susan said in a firm but kind tone. "It's what Aslan would have wanted."

Maggie sighed and stood from the Table, along with Lucy. There was nothing to be done about the matter, so it seemed.

"I'm so cold," Lucy said as Susan took them both under her arms. Indeed, since last night, they all had felt the presence of the White Witch's power, as if Aslan's death had brought back a small taste of her wintery bite.

The three girls paused at the top of the stairs, taking one last look at Aslan, before they turned to go. They hadn't gone but two steps when a sudden wind howled through the valley, accompanied by a great crack that rang through the air. The very ground beneath them shook with a great quake that sent all of them tumbling to the ground. Susan took hold of Lucy and Maggie so that they wouldn't tumble down the stairs.

Maggie immediately looked to the Stone Table. What she saw put a great smile on her face, but before she could remark on it, Lucy cried out worriedly.

"Susan, Maggie, look!"

The three of them hurried back up to the Table. Just like the great slab of stone in Maggie's dream, it had been split down the middle by a great crack. Aslan was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Aslan?" Lucy asked just then.

"What have they done?" Susan asked. She must have thought the Witch's soldiers had put some sort of curse over the Table.

Suddenly, the clouds parted behind the stone frame, revealing the glory of the blazing sun, shining out behind the great lion himself. There he stood, his mane restored to its full glory. Aslan seemed even more full of life than he had been before, if that was even possible.

"Aslan!" Maggie said happily, just at the same time as the other two exclaimed in relief. All of them rushed forward and threw their arms around him. He came to meet them halfway, chuckling as the force of their affection nearly sent him back a step. Gently, he nuzzled each of them comfortingly in turn.