The four Kings and Queens changed from their armor, getting themselves into a more presentable state after the battle. All of the people of the Lone Islands were taken into the ship, given whatever rations the Dawn Treader had. There were many of them, but the crew found room for all.
A longboat was readied, and Caspian, along with Margaret, Edmund, Lucy, Reepicheep, and Eustace made their way towards the Great Wave. They left Drinian with orders to get the Lone Islanders settled whilst they went to investigate.
Edmund and Caspian worked the oars, the little dinghy gently drifting through the sea of white lilies. The delicate flowers gently parted before them, and closed behind as they floated past.
Margaret wondered how deep the roots of these flowers must go, to keep them in one place as such. Perhaps they were anchored by magic.
Silence carried them for a little while, but the lilies spread far and wide, and as time lingered on, a conversation slowly began to stir.
"How is it that you came to be a boy again, Eustace?" Margaret asked kindly.
Eustace seemed changed, both in form and in spirit. Now dressed in properly Narnian clothes, he could hardly be mistaken for the miserable, wretched little boy who had first stumbled upon this land.
"It was Aslan..." he replied at last. "When I flew away, I didn't make it far before I fell... the pain of the sword was too much to bear, you see. I landed on a little beach... a sandbar, really, just a ways away from Dark Island. When I looked up, I saw Him there. The way you all talked about Him, I... I hadn't known what to expect. But He was so much more than I ever could have imagined.
"I heard His voice in my head." Here, he paused. "More than in my head, really. It felt as if He were speaking to the very essence of me. I felt Him. He told me to take off the dragonskin, as simply as you might tell someone to undress for a bath. And I tried to... I did... It hurt, awfully, but I scratched and bit and pulled until it was off. But I was still a dragon. I tried again, but it was like wearing too many coats. I took one off, but there was always another one under it.
"I nearly gave up. But... then He came towards me. I knew I couldn't do it myself, but... I suppose I was still afraid. I liked being a dragon, in some ways... I could breathe fire and fly, and... I could help you all better that way. But at the same time, I just wanted to be me again. So I let Him do it.
"I thought it had hurt to try it myself! It hurt ten times as much when he did it. But... I suppose it was a good pain. A necessary kind of pain, like when you pull a thorn from your foot so you can dress the wound. The dragon fell away for good that time. Then, He said, There is still work to be done, my son. He breathed over me, and suddenly I was on Ramandu's Island with that seventh sword in my hand. So I took it to the Table. The Mist tried to stop me, but... I wasn't afraid anymore."
Edmund looked at him with a far more gentle expression than he had shown the boy thus far.
"It is good to have you back, Eustace," he said gently.
Eustace gave him a shy smile in return.
"Being a dragon wasn't all bad," he replied. "I think I was a better dragon than I was a boy, really." He paused, his smile dropping for a moment. "I'm so sorry for being such a sop."
"It's alright, Eustace," Edmund said. Then, teasing, he added, "You were a pretty good dragon."
A slight chuckle rippled through the group.
"That's what Narnia is all about, Eustace," said Margaret, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "We come here to learn, to better ourselves. Edmund knows a thing or two about change, and just how powerful forgiveness can be."
Edmund nodded seriously. "It's true... I was horrible before Narnia. Worse than you were, I imagine. I betrayed my family to the White Witch just for the chance to be more important. She laid a claim to my blood for it, too. Jadis wasn't about to let me slip through her grasp, even after Aslan and everyone else had already forgiven me. If Aslan hadn't taken my place, I would be dead. For a little while, in the Golden Age, it always baffled me, how Aslan forgave me so much that He was willing to die so I didn't have to. But I came to realize... that's just how He is."
"I'm not sure that I understand it myself just yet," said Eustace, "But I'm not going to be the boy I was. I can only hope that's enough to show Him my gratitude."
"I'm sure it will be," said Lucy. "I think Aslan would have forgiven Jadis herself if only she had wanted it."
"My friends," said Reepicheep, gathering their attention, "We have arrived."
Though Margaret had felt some nervousness earlier at the prospect of being sent away or told that Caspian's Fate was to marry Lilliandil or some other woman, now, here at the Great Wave, the beach which she had come to before in death, she felt only peace. No matter what may be.
Caspian and Edmund rowed a bit further, past the place where the lilies ended, until they were in shallow enough waters to draw the boat in. The six of them stepped out and approached the Great Wave, once the longboat had been secured.
Just as before, when the Wave dipped in its crest and flow, the vaguest outline of a city could be glimpsed, ever so briefly, and a vision of waterfalls flowing from lush, craggy cliffsides boasted of what lay within.
As they walked, Eustace seemed to notice something to the side.
"Aslan," he said.
The others all turned.
Surely enough, there stood the Great Lion himself.
"Welcome, children," Aslan said gently. "You have done well... very well indeed. You have come far. And now, your journey is at its end."
"Is this your Country?" Lucy asked.
"No," said Aslan. "As Margaret well knows, my Country Lies beyond this Great Wave."
Caspian stared beyond the Wave, lost in thought.
"Is my father in your Country?" he asked at last.
Aslan turned his great eyes upon the King.
"You can only find that out for yourself, my son," he replied, "But you should know that if you continue, there is no return. For those who have entered my Country come to stay."
Margaret and the others watched Caspian intently. He slowly approached the Great Wave, stepping into the very base of it.
Would this be it, then? Would he leave everything behind?
He extended his hand, just letting it touch the rushing water, but then withdrew, turning back to face them all, his expression resolute. Though his eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"You're not going?" Edmund asked.
"I can't imagine my father would be very proud to see me give up what he died for. I spent too long wanting what was taken from me, and not caring for what I have been given. I was given a kingdom. A people. And they need me. I cannot abandon them." He looked at Margaret. "I was given time with the woman I love. And time is precious. I shall cherish the memories always." Then, he turned to Aslan. "I promise to be a better king."
Aslan smiled.
"You already are."
He turned to face Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace.
"Children..."
Lucy smiled, glad to see him, but Edmund gently touched her shoulder.
"I think perhaps it's time we went home actually, Lu..."
Her face fell. "But I thought you loved it here..."
"I do," he said, "But I love home, and our family as well. They need us... I'd love to stay here, or even go on to Aslan's Country, but I know, and I think in your heart, you know it too... it wouldn't be right."
Beside them came the small sound of a throat clearing.
Reepicheep stepped forward, bowing to Aslan.
"Your Eminence," he said, "Ever since I can remember, I have dreamt of seeing your Country... I have had many great adventures in this world, of course, but nothing has dampened that yearning. I know I am hardly worthy... but with your permission... I would lay down my sword for the joy of seeing your Country with my own eyes..."
Aslan gave him a kind smile.
"My Country was made for noble hearts such as yours, no matter how small their bearers be."
At the base of the Great wave, a small coracle appeared, just the right size for the dear Mouse.
"Your Majesty!" Reepicheep said gratefully, bowing once more.
"No one could be more deserving," said Caspian.
"Well, I--" Reepicheep began sheepishly.
"It's true," said Edmund. He bowed to the small warrior, and Reepicheep bowed in return.
"You are the noblest Mouse I have ever met," Margaret told him. "And I shall not forget you."
Lucy turned to Reepicheep, eyes filled with tears, and knelt before him.
"May I?" she asked.
Reepicheep smiled. "Well, I suppose just this once--"
He had scarcely finished speaking before Lucy swept him up into a hug, holding him close. After only a moment, he reached to hug her in return.
"Goodbye, Lucy," he said softly.
Next, he approached Eustace, who knelt before him, sniffling and wiping at his eyes.
"Don't cry," Reepicheep comforted.
"I don't understand," said the boy, "Will I not see you again? Ever?"
Reepicheep chuckled softly. "What a magnificent puzzle you are... and a true hero. It has been my honor to fight beside such a brave warrior, and a great friend."
Eustace smiled sadly and bowed his head to the Mouse.
Reepicheep returned the gesture, then turned towards the Great Wave. He ran up to the coracle, then swiftly drew his sword from his belt.
"I won't be needing this any longer," he said to himself, stabbing the blade firmly into the ground.
With that, the noble Mouse climbed into the little boat and began to paddle away. He looked back at them all one last time, before the current carried him up and over, on to his next great adventure.
Margaret pulled Eustace close, holding him as his tears flowed freely.
Lucy wiped away her own tears, looking to Aslan.
"This is our last time here, isn't it?"
"Yes," he said. "You have grown up, my dear one. Just like Peter, and Susan."
Lucy approached him and gently touched the side of his face, petting his mane.
"Will you visit us, in our world?" she asked.
Aslan nodded. "I shall be watching you always."
"How?"
He gave her a long look.
"In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia: That by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
"Will we meet again?" Lucy asked, her voice breaking.
The Lion gave her a warm smile. "Yes, dear one... One day."
Aslan turned his great gaze to Margaret. The others slowly looked to her as well.
"My Oracle," he said.
She stepped forwards and fell to her knees on the sand in front of him.
"Aslan, please, do not send me from this place. The love that I have for Narnia and for Caspian... I cannot live in the other world. It is mine no longer, and I beg of you, do not bid me return there..."
He watched her with an unreadable expression behind his golden eyes.
"Only that which was given life in this world can remain in it," he said at long last.
A tear slipped down her face, seeming to burn a hot path along the way. A long silence remained as she searched for anything, some word to say.
"I shall offer you this chance again," said Aslan. "Before, you chose to return to life and to all the hardships you faced thereafter... But my word stands true. You have more than earned your place in my Country. I shall not send you away."
Margaret stood to her feet, looking long at Caspian and the others. It seemed that only one path lay before her. She couldn't bear to say goodbye. Instead, she turned and slowly walked towards the Wave.
The water soaked into her boots as she continued forwards. She reached out to touch the wave, when Aslan called after her.
"Did my Father not give you the very breath in your lungs?" he asked her, his voice ringing out strong and clear, his words reverberating in her mind. "Did I not draw the arrows from your flesh by my own work, that you might return from Death itself?"
Something fell into place in her mind, and she froze. Slowly, her hand fell to her side, and she turned to face the Great Lion once more.
"Think, my child, and speak what you know."
"I died," she said. "I died and then returned... I was given life... upon the Stone Table, in this world... I died then so that I could remain now..."
Aslan's face held the hint of a smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, there was movement. She turned in time to see Caspian, falling to one knee in the sand.
"Marry me."
It was a statement and a question and a plea, all in one.
Margaret, in her shock, could only nod, silently. He stood again and she threw herself into his arms.
And when he kissed her, everything felt right within the world.
Almost everything.
She parted from Caspian, suddenly, turning to the Great Lion once more as the thought occurred.
"But I don't understand, Aslan," Margaret said. "My vision... I saw..."
"Tell me of what you saw," he said calmly.
"I saw Caspian, on the day of his wedding," she said, though it pained her to relate. "He stood before two thrones... The way he looked at her, Aslan, I--"
And then she realized.
"He was looking at... me."
All along, she had assumed that her vision had merely placed her into the shoes of the woman Caspian was to marry... but in reality, it had been her own wedding after all.
Suddenly, she laughed.
"How foolish I am," she declared. "All these years of thinking it was a warning, not to let myself love him! But it was a promise... a promise that my dreams of death held greater purpose, that there would be life still, afterwards... Please forgive me, Aslan. Though I am a Seer, I was blind in this matter."
Aslan nodded to her. "All is forgiven, dear Oracle.. May your life with him be blessed."
With a long glance at Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace, he turned and roared at the Great Wave. The waters parted and twisted, forming into a tunnel within the Wave itself. It seemed to end in a bright light, beyond which nothing could be distinguished. The passage home, no doubt.
Caspian, still holding Margaret at his side as if she might vanish, looked upon each of the faces of the other three.
"You're the closest thing I have to family... and that includes you, Eustace." He parted briefly from Margaret to pull the boy into a hug.
"Thank you," Eustace said with a smile.
Next, Caspian embraced Edmund, then Lucy.
Margaret smiled sadly at them all.
"I love you all so very much... I will not forget our time together."
She embraced Eustace first.
"Thank you, Cousin," he said, his tears now somewhat happier. "For believing that I could be better than I was."
"Goodbye, Eustace," she said softly.
Next came Lucy, who held her tighter than she ever had before.
"I know we'll see each other again someday," Lucy whispered.
And then... Edmund.
"I... I can't quite believe that this is the end," he admitted.
"This isn't the end," Margaret said gently. "It's only the beginning."
"You know things won't be the same without you. No matter how much older than me you get, you'll always be my sister."
"I love you, Ed..."
He wrapped his arms around her, and then as they parted, for good measure, he mussed her hair one last time.
"Goodbye, Margaret."
The three turned towards the tunnel of water, ready to face their own world again.
"Wait," said Caspian. He took Margaret's hand, looking at Aslan. "They're family... they ought to be here to see us married. Aslan, would you perform a ceremony for us?"
Aslan looked to the three.
Edmund shared a long look with Caspian.
The echoes of the words they had exchanged at the pool no doubt filled their minds.
"Thank you, Caspian," he said. "This means everything to me."
"What about the wedding in your vision?" Lucy asked, laughing through her tears.
Margaret grabbed her hand. "We can have a grand ceremony for our people when we return. All the pomp and circumstance, that can come later. This, here and now... this is for us. For our family."
Lucy nodded, smiling.
Caspian took Margaret's hand in his, and the two of them stood before Aslan, with Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace as their witnesses.
"Caspian the Tenth, formerly of Telmar, now of Narnia," Aslan began, "Do you vow to commit your life to Margaret's, to love and cherish her through all circumstances, through darkness and sorrow as well as joy and light?"
"I do," said Caspian solemnly.
"And do you vow to respect her wisdom as a Queen, to heed her knowledge as equals, and to remind her of the light if she loses hope?"
"I do."
Aslan turned his gaze upon Margaret.
"Margaret the Resilient, Lady of the Stars, Seer of Narnia, Oracle of Aslan, and Red Lady of Calormen... Do you vow to commit your life and love to Caspian, to remain steadfast at his side through times of war and destitution just as through seasons of celebration and plenty?"
"I do," she said, her eyes filling with tears of joy.
"Do you vow to lend your wisdom when it is needed, to guide your people, and to take Caspian's wisdom in turn, as equals?"
"I do."
"If there is any further vow which you wish to make to each other, then let it be made," said Aslan.
Caspian took both of her hands in his.
"I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. I have loved you, and I have lost you. I would have given my life to bring you back. And I shall always lay down my life for you. I want nothing more than to have you at my side for as long as I may reign. On my life and upon the Stars which you hold most dear, there is nothing that you could say or do, no part of yourself that you could show me that will ever drive me away from you," he swore, repeating the oath he had made to her before. "I love you most dearly, and by His Mane, I shall spend the rest of my life proving to you."
Her tears were falling now, and Caspian reached to dry them, smiling at her as though she were the only person in all the worlds.
"Oh Caspian," she said, trying to gather her own thoughts, "I know our journey hasn't been easy... some of which is because of my own blindness. But you are good and kind and honorable, and you have been at my side always. I have always loved you, though there were times when I refused to let myself. Yet you never gave up on me... you never left me to my own devices or abandoned me. By His Mane, Caspian, I will not let my own doubts part me from you ever again. We may have lost some time, but now we have the rest of our lives..."
She could hear Lucy crying softly behind her.
Aslan gazed upon them both fondly.
"May your union be blessed, and may the wisdom of you both bless your people and all those whom you meet. And now, here at the Utter East, at the boundary of my Country, let it be declared: King Caspian and Queen Margaret of Narnia, husband and wife."
Caspian kissed her, and all else fell away. For one long moment, it was just the two of them, together. And then reality set in once more. They became once more aware of the others, and of the time slipping through their fingers.
They parted, and the other three came to embrace and congratulate them.
Though they had bought a few precious moments more together, now the time had come for Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace to return. They headed into the tunnel of water.
"Tell Peter I love him," Margaret told them, "And Susan, too." She wiped away her tears, trying to offer a smile as their last vision of her. "And tell them... tell them that I'm happy." She looked to Caspian with a soft smile. "Just tell them I'm with him and they'll know I'm going to be alright."
Edmund nodded solemnly.
Eustace took one last look at Aslan.
"Will I come back?" he asked.
"Narnia may yet have need of you," the Lion replied.
And then the water closed in around them, sweeping the last of Margaret's family into their own world once more.
-
A/N: Just want to make sure everyone knows - this is not the end! There is at least an epilogue left to come!
As always, be sure to let me know what you! I love hearing from everyone! Polite suggestions and all questions welcome!