Chapter Text
The moment had arisen for Susan, Lucy, Edmund, and Peter to leave. With pounding hearts they took a step forward but Lucy’s shrill cry made them stop. She was hesitating and fiddling with the sleeves of her dress. She looked up at Edmund, Peter, and Susan and shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes.
“I don’t want to go,” she announced.
Wide grins spread across Edmund and Peter's face as they took a step away from the door, away from their other sister, and towards Lucy. Susan had a look of confusion and anger and she took a few steps towards them.
“No, we can’t stay here,” she demanded. “Right Aslan?”
“They can stay here, young one,” he said. “But you can return if you choose to. Though, you will not see your brothers or sister ever again. You will be an only child. Your mother and father will not remember there ever was a Lucy, Edmund, or Peter.”
Susan nodded and turned to her brothers and sister. She had a sad look in her eye as she hugged them tightly. She whispered that she’d miss them and that they’d see each other in Aslan’s country. Susan took one last look at her family and walked through the door. Nobody else wished to cross over, so the door closed. Susan wasn’t coming back.
~~~
Lucy woke up with a start. It had been six years in Narnian times since Susan left Peter, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy couldn’t even keep up with how long it had been in her old world. Had it been seconds since Susan left? Had it been years? Was Susan still staring at the space her brothers and sister used to occupy?
It was very early in the morning, it had to be for nobody was outside her room, walking around. None of the servants worked this late or this early. They usually start work when the sun comes up. Lucy got out of bed and shivered at how cold the stone floor was under her feet.
The fire in her fireplace must have gone out long ago because the fire was dull embers at this point. Lucy wrapped her quilt around her shoulders and went to the window, staring out at the moon who was just peeking in the sky. It must be really late for the moon to be that high in the sky, Lucy thought to herself.
Susan leaving the three of them didn’t bother her so much as it was just a simple memory. Lucy was aware Susan felt that Narnia was just a dream they’d wake up from. To Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, it was so much more. It felt more at home than home had when they had one. Peter and Edmund didn’t have to stay with Lucy, she would’ve been fine on her own but they felt they had to out of necessity. Lucy was the youngest and required the help of her older brothers to survive while Susan didn’t need Peter and Edmund, definitely not Edmund since she was older than he was.
Lucy put on her cloak and slipped out of the door. She closed the door quietly behind her to see Caspian had emerged from his room as well. They stared at each other for a minute then smiled gleefully. He walked closer to her.
“What are you doing up?” he whispered, so he wouldn’t wake Peter and Edmund who had rooms around Lucy’s.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted softly. “And I was hungry. I was going to see if there were any leftovers they would let me eat.”
“You’re the high queen of Narnia, I think they’d cook you a feast if you asked,” he whispered.
“Oh, I know, I just don’t want to bother them,” she said and pulled him away from her sleeping brothers’ room.
Peace had come easy in the six years since Susan left. Nobody wanted to start wars with Narnia, nobody seemed to start wars with anybody. The rulers of other lands were content with their lands and with the alliances between their lands and the lands surrounding them.
The two reached the kitchens where a chef was making something that suspiciously smelled like blueberry muffins. It was Lucy’s favorite thing to eat for breakfast in England. She had recently shared that with Caspian and he must have done something for blueberries didn’t grown anywhere near Cair.
“Oh, good morning Queen Lucy, good morning King Caspian,” he bowed to the two of them.
“Are these blueberry muffins?” Lucy asked the man who nodded hurriedly. “Do you mind if I have one?” she asked, gesturing to the gigantic basket of muffins that usually held apple cinnamon muffins on the breakfast table. “Thank you,” she replied after he nodded his head in delight.
She took one and sat down at the little table that the chef usually strung green beans or peeled potatoes. She took a bite and groaned in delight at the taste of the obviously fresh blueberries in the muffin. Caspian sat down with two muffins and started eating them. The two finished their muffins.
“Thank you sir,” she beamed at him. “Can you make sure the leftovers from breakfast and the ones the staff does not eat is stored?”
“Certainly, ma’am,” he nodded and went back to cooking.
Caspian and Lucy walked out and reached the old throne room. Lucy stopped and took a step in. She made her way to her throne and stared at it. It was all the way at the end, next to where Susan’s throne was supposed to be.
When visiting rulers came, it was required the kings and queen of Narnia sit in their throne until the last guest has arrived. Lucy hated the rule but they were always free to do whatever to the rest of the day.
“Tell me about your coronation,” Caspian said, coming up behind Lucy.
“It was a marvelous day,” she whispered, the ghost of a smile on her face. “Every creature in the land came to see and feast that night. The coronation in itself took months to plan. Our clothes were hand spun and hand sewn. Our crowns were handmade. Before our coronation, we had to tour all over to meet other rulers and see other lands. When we came back, we immediately had our coronation. The feast had taken weeks to prepare and hundreds of creatures who offered their cooking ability for the meal. It was a joyous celebration. I remember Susan turning to me and saying this was our home,” she shook her head. “I think it’s funny how things change.”
Caspian nodded and Lucy turned around and walked out of the room. They walked back towards her room and he bid her goodnight again. Lucy sat in the window seat and stared out the window. Lucy was never a stupid child. She was always smarter than the other children in her year back in England. She knew Caspian had feelings for Susan and felt hurt when she left.
Meanwhile Caspian sat in the chair beside the fireplace. He mulled over the past six years with Lucy, Peter, and Edmund. Six years ago Caspian could say he wanted Susan to be his queen and rule beside him. But that was six years ago. Today, he wasn’t sure. Most of Narnia was awaiting Caspian to announce he would marry a woman to be queen and she would bring a child into the world ten months after that.
Six years ago, Caspian wanted that woman to be High Queen Susan the Gentle. But as of recent, he’s imagined what his child would look like with Lucy. She’s five years younger than he is and her brothers are deathly protective of her. She’s had suitors come for her before but her brothers never gave them their blessing.
~~~
When Caspian went down for breakfast, Lucy wasn’t there. Peter told him another suitor had arrived an hour ago and she was in the garden with him. Peter and Edmund had glanced at each other, chewing on their food that had been made for them, but avoided Caspian’s eyes.
“What is it?” Caspian asked, sitting at the head of the table.
“When are you going to ask to court Lucy?” Peter finally asked. “We see the way you’ve been looking at her as of recent and we’ve kind of been hoping the two of you would eventually court and marry. It’s better than our sister going off to some random man. And we aren’t marrying anyone who is of royal blood, we did that once.”
“What do you mean?” he questioned, staring at the two of them. “That you married someone of royal blood before?”
The two glanced at each other again and looked up at the approaching footsteps. It was Lucy who looked exhausted and annoyed. She sat down at the place to his left and secretly glared at the man who took a seat beside her. She looked up and smiled at Caspian and her brothers.
“Our first time in Narnia, the four of us married,” Edmund explained.
“You’ve married?” the suitor asked, staring at Lucy with a look of confusion and a touch of anger.
“It was 1300 years ago,” she snapped before turning back to Caspian. “When we disappeared, I had just gotten married. I was supposed to be on my honeymoon but war had broken out for Galma. He died and I was left a widow. That’s why we went on the hunt for the white stag.”
Caspian, Peter, and Edmund had been shocked to silence. Lucy refused to talk about her late husband after returning to England. Every time the man, named Carter, was mentioned, she snap at them not to bring him up at all. The man, who had yet been named, announced he was done, Lucy asked for him to be taken to a room on the east wing.
“What is his name?” Edmund asked his sister who became increasingly quiet.
“Carter,” she muttered, standing up and hurrying out of the room.
Caspian stared at her as she hurriedly walked off. He knew she would go to her own study, which she hardly went to at all. He turned to her brothers and they continued eating slowly, but they knew she was on their mind.
“He was her best friend,” Edmund explained. “And when we got back to England, she told us that before we had left for the hunt, she found out she was pregnant. She was still her bright, normal self but she was quieter. She had lost her best friend and child, in the same week. She says no to the suitors because she doesn’t want them to go to war and die like Carter did.”
“What would you say if I did ask to court your sister?” he asked, glancing to the two brothers.
“That if Lucy wants to marry you, we give you our blessing but if she does not want to marry you, we don’t give you our blessing,” Peter said in a rehearsed voice.
“Have you practiced saying that to me?” Caspian asked, laughing.
“No,” Peter said slowly. “Ed had, I just said it.”
“I wanted to be ready,” Edmund mumbled. “You were going to ask eventually. And I was right. Now go find her.”
Caspian sat there for a moment, thinking over the past five minutes. He had asked Peter and Edmund to court Lucy. For the first time since Lucy got married to Carter 1300 years ago, they said yes. Edmund glanced at Peter and Peter glanced at Edmund, the two of them smiling.
“Right, yes, I should go find her,” Caspian abruptly got up and walked out.
Peter and Edmund stayed in the dining room, continuing to eat their breakfast and sneaking some food in their pockets for later in the day. When Edmund was about to take a bite of his tenth biscuit, Peter finally spoke.
“Do you think Caspian will really propose to Lucy?” Peter asked.
“Eventually and hopefully Lucy won’t say no just because of what happened with Carter,” Edmund replied.
Peter just nodded in response and continued eating his breakfast.