EPILOGUE
POSTED 3/31/20
A/N: Not proofread again, but what's new? This took me so long to write because it felt like something was always off lmao. I'm only half awake at the moment so I'll edit this chapter and end it with another quick author's note at the bottom tomorrow! Watch out for that and maybe another update (not a chapter) because I'll be posting some important stuff here hehe
There was one sliver of grace that followed the wars that Narnia always seemed to be caught in the middle of: the peace that came after. It was always just so comforting and settling. It might sound strange knowing the land's history of cycles of war and peace and the struggle of picking up the pieces after a tragedy, but Mary liked to believe that it didn't make the aftermath of the war's worth any less. Yes, there were loads of challenges they were faced with, but there was still so much more to be thankful for, and more importantly, to learn from. She wished it would be the same case back home wherein the entire world was still plunged in a war.
Mary's three years alone in Narnia were truly eventful. They had defeated the Northern Giants when their rebellion was at its peak, successfully taking down yet another threat. Majority of the Narnians were finally living comfortably, having found their suitable sources of livelihood — whether it was farming, being in the army, working in the castle, or being self-employed in a business. It eased the anxiety Mary felt about being left alone by the Pevensies to make sure their people got back on their feet following the hundreds of years in hiding due to the Telmarine's cruel reign. Finally, Mary felt confident about who she was and what she was capable of — at least in Narnia. Back home, she always just went with the flow of things because everything was uncertain and unpredictable due to the war. At least in here, they were able to overcome their own war and she was able to take part in helping everyone get back on track.
Mary breathed in the salty ocean air that breezed through the balcony she was standing on. It overlooked the beach just as it had did before Cair Paravel was destroyed. The Pevensies, Reepicheep, and Aslan — they were all correct. This was a castle like no other. Mary was glad to have finally been able to move there and away from the Telmarine castle, which, though was still beautiful, didn't hold the same comfort and grandeur that Cair Paravel did.
"Are you going to get ready to head to Calormen or not?"
Mary whipped around to find Caspian standing just by the doors that led to the balcony.
"Do I have a choice?" she answered bitterly.
Caspian chuckled, walking over to stand next to her as he said, "Come on, they're not that bad."
"Yes, of course they aren't bad. They're just astonishingly dumb."
"You say the same thing about every man who tries to ask for your hand in marriage."
"Well, sorry for rejecting the Tisroc's twelve year old son, then."
Caspian couldn't help the large grin of amusement that fought its way to his face. It truly was entertaining during their last visit to Calormen to see a kid want to be romantically involved with Mary. Aside from the fact that there was a political motive behind it so that theirs and Narnia's kingdom would not break off their soon-to-be official alliance that easily, the young boy clearly had a crush on Mary and stupidly thought she felt the same just because she was polite to him.
"Is this what Edmund meant when he said loads of girls always fell for him back then?" Mary sighed dramatically.
"I suppose so. He was the most eligible bachelor, and now, you're the most eligible bachelorette. Well, sort of. I mean, you and Edmund are still..."
Mary snickered at the way Caspian couldn't phrase her and Edmund's relationship into words, but she couldn't blame him. They didn't exactly clarify where they stood the day he left more nearly three years ago. She brushed the thought away, knowing that she could just ask him whenever she got back. It certainly felt strange that although it felt like so much had happened in Narnia, it felt like no time had passed either; like it had been forever since she last looked at Edmund, but at the same time, that it had also been just yesterday that he embraced her. Time is such a weird concept here, Mary thought to herself.
"But, if you think about it, your age gap with the Tisroc's son would only be roughly four to five years apart," Caspian mused. "Not bad once he's finished with puberty."
Mary lightly hit Caspian's arm in annoyance, not wanting to even think about dating a child. The older man chuckled once more before backing away, clearly finished with his joking around for the moment.
"I should be the one teasing you after your failed relationship with his sister a few months ago," Mary shot back.
"That's different," Caspian insisted. "She wouldn't stop asking for gold and jewels every time I met up with her. She was extremely demanding and only wanted me for my wealth."
"Is that why you stopped courting women recently?"
Caspian sighed, running a hand through his ever-growing hair.
"No. It's because my heart is still taken by someone who left Narnia without hesitation."
Mary blinked, not expecting him to admit that. Of course, she knew that Caspian was hung up on Susan for quite some time, but she assumed that after so many trials (and failures) of courting women of different places and backgrounds, he had gotten over it. Evidently, it seemed that he actually had not.
"I think I just need a bit more time and space to completely get over her," he quickly reassured Mary when he noticed how worried she looked. "Now, would you get changed already and head to the docks by the old Telmarine castle?"
"You know, if we decided to push for an alliance with Archenland first, we wouldn't have to go around them through the ocean just to reach Calormen."
Caspian rolled his eyes playfully. "Archenland is too mountainous, anyway. Would you want to go through such a rocky path when we can just sail smoothly to Calormen even if it takes a bit longer?" he questioned, not wanting to admit defeat.
"Alright, alright," Mary cut him off, not wanting to start a debate. "Anyway, are we heading to the docks together?"
"You'll go ahead. I still have to make a quick trip to the blacksmiths just in case things go south."
Although Mary and Caspian had been joking about their encounters with the people of Calormen, they were still anxious about the outcome of their trip. They were to discuss their alliance again. Their first proposition was a marriage between Caspian and the Tisroc's first daughter, but, as the two Narnian royals had just said, it failed. They didn't take it too personally, but when they saw that their son took an interest in Mary, they wanted to push for that, too. Not only was Mary's relationship with Edmund both exclusive yet not labeled, but that aforementioned son was also only twelve years of age as Mary had complained. So, she and Caspian were trying to tread the waters around their alliance carefully because Mary would never want to be betrothed to a kid — and an annoying one, for that matter. Caspian also didn't want to force her into marriage seeing as that was a very risky deal as well. However, they didn't want to keep on disappointing the Calormene Empire. Thus, they were worried that they would look as if they were constantly disagreeing with their suggestions once they informed them that their second marriage proposal was to be rejected, which would make it even more difficult to secure that alliance.
And so, Caspian was set to head the blacksmiths to pick up their orders. The ships they would ride were to be filled with not just food and water, but weapons to prepare for the worst.
"Shall I call the guards to prepare a carriage for you?" Caspian asked.
"No, I'd rather go there on my own," Mary replied. She never really liked riding in the carriages. It made her feel too privileged on top of everything she already had the power to do as a queen. Besides, she enjoyed horse rides alone, and she knew most of Narnia like the back of her hand already.
"Alright. Inform Drinian for me that I might be a little late."
"As if he'll believe me."
Caspian sighed, knowing the tension between Lord Drinian and Mary had yet to die down. The older lord still seemed not fully trust the queen.
"Also," he chose to change the subject. "A few other lords and nobles had to be switched for this trip last minute. Trumpkin told me earlier today that he needs some of the ones we originally chose to stay here."
"I suppose that's fine," Mary said, trusting Trumpkin's judgment. She decided to find out who exactly were switched later on, believing that Trumpkin and the other members of the council assigned them carefully.
"I'll see you in a while, then," Caspian finished, bidding Mary goodbye. She nodded in response, waiting for him to exit the room before she got to work.
Half an hour later, Mary was all dressed for a quick voyage. Clad in a navy blue polo, brown pants and boots, she found herself setting up the saddle on one of the horses at the stable. She didn't need to pack much since most of what was needed was already being moved into the ship they would be using. She merely packed a few important papers, a novel, a dagger, and Edmund's electric torch. The battery had somehow lasted until then, and Mary wondered if it had something to do with the fact that time was somehow suspended, if that made sense. Either way, the torch came in handy, and since she would be passing a shortcut through the Shuddering Woods where it could get dark, she felt it was safe to bring it with her.
The woods never felt scary to Mary anymore. It reminded her of the first time she came to Narnia, constantly having to camp and travel though there to get to their destination. Nowadays, there wasn't much happening inside the woods. There were still Narnians that lived there, but they weren't in hiding anymore. It was common to see some of them just strolling around, visiting other creatures or doing their jobs.
But, Mary's shortcut was a path less traveled. It was darker and quieter, but she liked the silence sometimes. The faint noise of crickets and rustling leaves made the silence less deafening, so she didn't mind. Her horse's hooves trotting down the crunch and gravelly floor was like white noise to her as well.
That was all she was supposed to hear — the insects, leaves, and gravel. She wasn't supposed to hear faint whispers as if there was a crowd of people far away, but still close enough to be heard. She frowned deeply, pulling at the reigns of her horse to come to a stop when she first heard it. The whispers were gone; so, she pushed for her horse to keep on moving. But then, they resumed, and she pulled at the reigns once more to slow down. She soon realized that the whispers would keep on dying down and coming back as if people were coming and going.
It just didn't make sense; rarely anyone passed through here. And, if they did, why could she hear so many of them, and yet they felt so far away?
She tried to ignore them, wanting to settle on the idea that they were just Narnians gathering together somewhere nearby. But, it still seemed so odd to her, so she couldn't help but dismount her horse and try to find the source of the sound.
"Stay here," she ordered the brown animal, tying its reigns to a low tree branch. She walked away from it, wandering aimlessly to get closer to the whispers. She should have felt scared — after all, who wouldn't be a afraid if they heard such whispers in such a secluded and supposedly empty road? She could only feel curiosity and a pull inside of her, though, so she kept going.
The faint sound of a horn caused her to jump. She hurriedly fished out Edmund's electric torch and switched it on, hoping it would help her find someone or something that made that sound. What was that? It couldn't have been Susan's horn. It was safely tucked away in Cair Paravel, and the last time it was used was when Caspian blew it two years ago precisely to call the Pevensies for help. As far as Mary knew, Narnia was safe and doing well. There was no need to call them back for help so soon.
And then the whispers got louder. It felt like she was walking in a familiar crowded place. She was starting to be able to decipher what some of the voices were saying, and they were such common snippets of everyday conversations you would hear walking down the market or sidewalk. The horn sounded once more, and much louder at that. She jumped again, but this time, she bumped into something and dropped the torch. She turned around to check if she had just hit a tree, but her eyes widened when she realized she had bumped into a man in a suit, holding a briefcase. Nobody dressed like that in Narnia.
Another person hit her shoulder. Another walked right in front of her, nearly colliding with her. A woman's voice from behind was scolding her son not to throw a tantrum. The growing chattering and the sudden influx of people coming from nowhere overwhelmed her for they were just happening all at once.
Mary blinked, and then she found herself staring at a train rolling into the station instead of the tall, looming trees in the Shuddering Woods. Her jaw dropped, not expecting to find herself in the same station she had left two years ago to get to Narnia. She was still processing what had just happened: no more trees, her horse nowhere in sight, her clothes having transformed into her Saint Finbar's uniform which she was sure had disappeared long ago, and the train's doors wide open right before her.
She blinked once more, only for her eyes come in contact with the soft yet piercing brown eyes she hadn't seen in what felt like forever. A flicker of surprise came over the owner's features, and then relief. Mary's whole body filled up with some kind of warmth and happiness she hadn't felt in a while. Not when she befriended Elena or when she defeated the Northern Giants. Not even when she was laughing around during dinner with Caspian and Trumpkin. This only came from finally seeing the boy she cared so deeply for, and that warmth only grew stronger when she spotted the other three people she missed dearly.
The train's horn echoed loudly again in the station and it snapped Mary back into reality. She always knew she would find her way back to the people she felt most at home with no matter what. And so, she took one step, and then another, and then many more until she was jogging towards the train to finally reunite with the Pevensies.
A/N: I can't believe we actually reached the end of this book like??? I don't want to get all sappy yet tho bc this obviously isn't the end of Mary and Edmund's journey ;)
In case you didn't know, this book literally took me years to finish. I started it in 2015 but went on a really long hiatus until the start of 2019 (I think HAHA). Thankfully, I decided to continue writing! I'll post a longer thank you message for y'all soon + when I plan to post the sequel so watch out for that!!