Aslan's Gift for animus_wyrmis

[nfe-gremlin.livejournal.com]

Title: Aslan's Gift
Author: crescent_gaia
Recipient: animus_wyrmis
Rating: PG
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Spoilers for Last Battle.
Summary: After the Last Battle, Susan picks up the pieces of her life and creates a new family, teaching her children about Narnia. What she never expected was a ghost to come calling.


Aslan's Gift


Susan closed her suitcase and looked around the room. She was completely sure that she had all the clothes that she wanted with her in the suitcase. The rest would be sold or put into storage until she had need of them again. She got up from where she was sitting, closing a box that held various knickknacks, and walking to the hallway of the Pevensie house. It was quiet and it would remain quiet for the rest of time.

She forced back tears as she heard someone coming down the hall. She turned and smiled at seeing Benjamin, the young man that she had turned from at the start. When all she cared about was parties and looking the prettiest in the room and thinking that Narnia was something childish and stupid. He was the only one that came to the funerals that sought her out, gave her comfort, and turn into a true friend. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’ve cried so much on you.”

“I don’t care,” Benjamin said and pulled her into a hug. “You’ve lost so much. I’m more surprised that you’re not crying more often.”

She nodded. “Thank you.’ She sniffled and used her handkerchief to dry her eyes. “I’ve done Peter’s and Edmund’s rooms; they were the easiest. I am dreading going into Lucy’s. But it has to be done and then the house…” she thought for a moment.

“Susan?” he asked.

“Would it be completely insane if I didn’t want to sell the house?” she asked. “Maybe live here or have it be a community house for children who don’t have a home or even something better? I mean, what do I need with a house? I don’t really have a family anymore. Well, save for you.”

“Even more than me if you’d agree to let me marry you,” he said with a smile. “You haven’t said yes or no yet.”

She sighed. He had asked right before they made the trip out to the house to clean it up and fix it up to be used again. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to get married, thinking that it might be better to spend life alone for being a stupid child. Yet, something in the back of her mind told her that was a senseless idea and she deserved her happiness too. “I don’t want a big wedding.”

“We can just go to the Justice – “

“Let me finish,” she said with a smile. “I don’t want a big wedding but I want one that will make you and your family happy. And I want there to be children. And I want us to either live here or someplace close to here.”

“I like here,” he said. “Your parents chose it for a good reason, Susan. I see no reason to not let another generation of Pevensies grow up here.”

She smiled at that. “Then yes.” She kissed him and he kissed her back. When they broke the kiss to breathe, he slipped the ring – a solitaire diamond on a silver band, on her finger. She grinned at it, thinking that it was perfect, before she kissed him again. “We should continue getting things packed up then, if we want to move in here.”

He grinned at that. “Do you want me to come into Lucy’s room with you?”

She nodded, taking his hand and leading him to Lucy’s room. She wasn’t surprised when she opened the door and there were lots of pictures of lions drawn everywhere. But it wasn’t just a lion, it was Aslan.

“She liked lions?” he asked.

“Just one. His name was – no is – Aslan,” she said as she moved more into the room, sitting down on the bed. She touched the stuffed lion that was on the bed before taking it and hugging it tightly. “Why was I left? Why didn’t – why wasn’t I with them? It’s just a cruel joke.”

He moved over and sat down next to her. “Maybe there’s a better reason for you being alive, Susan.”

“I don’t think there is,” she whispered. “There can’t be. I don’t even known what I am supposed to be doing anymore, other than being a good human being. And I am trying to do that, but it’s hard and I just – why did he have to take all of them?”

“He wouldn’t have unless he truly needed them,” he whispered as he pulled her into a hug again and let her cry. He sighed as he looked over the room. What he couldn’t tell Susan, what he could never tell Susan, is that he was left out of the Final Battle as well. He was sent here to Earth, just for the fact that he had married a woman that he thought he loved instead of loving her completely. At least, he thought that until he found Susan again and started to help her on her own quest. It would be the last quest for the both of them and it would be the one that would take the longest time. There would be no evil queens to fight or magical elements to save – just human life. That was scary for him, but he would have his queen by his side.

He looked down at her as he heard that she stopped crying. She was curled up against him, fast asleep. He gently picked her up and carried her to her room. He lay her down on the bed before curling up against her. They would finish Lucy’s room another day or he would do it on his own if it upset her to the point of making her collapse into sleep.

*~*~*~*

Lucy sighed as she woke up next to Liliandil. It seemed odd at the start, but they made it work for each other. At first, there was a lot of comforting, due to Lilliandil's distress about Caspian being sent to Earth for Susan. Being the ultimate healer, Lucy used her own gifts to make Liliandil start her own life. From that, it turned into love for the both of them and now the two never separated from each other. She quietly got up from the bed, not to wake her bedmate, and got up to get ready for the day. As she went out into the main room for breakfast, she smiled at seeing the regal lion. “Aslan,” she said as she moved over and gave him a hug.

“Hello Lucy,” Aslan said with a smile.

“I cannot thank you enough for all of this,” Lucy said. “Especially Liliandil. We’re so happy together. I never thought I would be.”

Aslan chuckled. “The two of you are similar in some ways, so I am not surprised about the two of you being a good match. I am sorry to interrupt your happiness, but I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” Lucy said.

“Susan has proved herself,” Aslan said.

Lucy gasped. “She can come?”

“She can, if she wants to,” Aslan replied. “It is up to her if she wants to come now or not. If she does not, then we will wait for her.”

Lucy nodded. “Because we have the time to wait.”

“Exactly,” Aslan said. “When you are ready to go, you need only to drink the red vial on the table. It will change your form and make you able to visit her. But Lucy, you have to be ready to know that she might not come. She has built herself a new family and you are now an aunt.”

“Oh,” Lucy said quietly. “And she’s happy with Caspian. Does she know it is him?”

“No,” Aslan said.

“Why?” Liliandil asked from the doorway. “I’m sorry – I was listening a bit, but why not let her know?”

“She will see that it is him when she starts to believe again,” Aslan said. “He is bound not to tell her – she is the one who has to realize who he is.”

Liliandil nodded. “I understand. Will it hurt if she goes?”

“No,” Aslan said. “Your Lucy will return to you.”

Liliandil smiled. “Thank you, Aslan.”

“You are welcome. And for now, I must go,” Aslan said. “Safe journey, Lucy.”

“Thank you Aslan,” Lucy said and gave him one more hug before he left.

Liliandil moved over to Lucy, hugging her from behind before kissing her cheek. “Will you eat breakfast before you go?”

“No,” Lucy said. “The sooner I go, the sooner I can return.” She turned and kissed Lilliandil’s lips lovingly. They kept the kiss until they both needed to breathe. “Will you be alright?”

“Yes,” Liliandil said. “I will do some of the tasks that have been set before me – working on new stars that Aslan will want.”

Lucy grinned. “You are the brightest and best star, Lilli.”

Liliandil chuckled before letting go of Lucy. “Go before I drag you back to bed.”

“You can do that when I come back,” Lucy said. She moved over to the table, taking the vial and uncorking it before she poured the red liquid down her throat. It burned for a moment before her vision went blurry and she disappeared.

*~*~*~*

It had been five years since Susan and Benjamin married and moved into the house. The biggest surprise to them, three years after they married, were the twins that were born. They named the boys Peter and Edward – the first for Susan’s brother and the second for Benjamin’s uncle that was like a father to him – and the two grew up to be good little children. She was firm but gentle in her discipline, making sure the boys understood what they were doing wrong before sending them off to a small punishment.

They were also in the process of adopting two little girls that were refugees from Russia, an unknown world to them. They spoke little of the English language, but Benjamin was able to open them up with drawings and other objects that were more than words. It was a weekend with the girls and she was so happy that the twins just accepted them into their daily lives as well. She rocked back and forth in the swing as she watched the children play, smiling happily. She took one of the teas when Ben came out with them and moved so he could sit down. “We have a very nice life.”

“We do,” Ben said. “How have you been feeling?”

“I’ve been fine,” she replied. Now that was a lie. There were days, more and more common, when it seemed like the boys ran circles around her. She was always out of breath but the boys always minded her when she got too tired. If anything, they were perfect angels then, helping her sit down and catch her breath.

“The boys talk to me too,” he said gently.

She sighed. “Alright. I have been out of breath a small bit. But only when I run on and on.”

“Not even then.”

“Benjamin, I am fine,” she said. “You’ve made a doctor’s appointment for me, haven’t you?”

“I have,” he said. “I want to make sure that you are completely fine, especially before we adopt the girls.”

“I want to adopt the girls even if there is something wrong with me.”

“Susan,” he said.

“No, I mean it. The boys need good forces in their lives and the girls are that. Besides, if I die anytime soon, it’s not like you can’t hire a nanny.”

“I don’t want a nanny, I want you to live,” he said. “Or do you think me so heartless?”

She blinked and turned to look at him. “I don’t think you heartless. I love you. I know you love me too. I was – I just – I am probably just not all over one of my colds.”

He nodded before taking one of her hands and kissing it. “Tomorrow at one.”

“I’ll be there,” she said. She let him hold her hand until the children came over to them. She watched him take over, herding the children into the house, save for Edward. She smiled at Edward. “Yes pet?”

“Mummy, don’t let the lion take you away,” he said and hugged her legs tightly.

She blinked at that before picking him up to give him a proper hug. Ever since the boys were born, she talked about the adventures of Narnia and of Aslan and Jadis. “Why do you think the lion is going to take me away, pet? Did you have a dream of it?”

He nodded. “Of you riding a lion.”

She smiled at that. “Are you sure you weren’t thinking of one of my stories? I told you about the magical table last night and the flight that your aunt and I took on a back of a lion.”

He blinked. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But mummy, please don’t go away with the lion? Promise?”

“I promise,” she said and kissed his cheek. She put him down on the ground before she got up from the swing. “Let’s go inside and get some lunch, shall we?”

“Yes mummy,” he said and took her hand. She let him lead the way inside and then sat down at the table. There was a sandwich waiting for her, along with crisps, and she ate a bit. The rest of the day went fine, along with Susan telling the rest of what happened at the battle that ended Jadis’ life, until she went to sleep. That night, she dreamed of her sister and brothers, sitting on a beach in Narnia and watching the sea. Of not knowing exactly where or when they were, but that they were in Narnia and that’s what mattered. At the end of the dream, it seemed that they knew it was ending. Peter and Edmund gave her a brief hug while Lucy gave her the longest one.

“We’ll see you soon,” Lucy whispered into Susan’s ear. “He’s so proud of you. He knows that it is going to be hard to leave them, but it’s time. It’ll be time so very soon.”

She woke up with a start at hearing that. She looked to her left and was glad that she didn’t wake Benjamin. She took her robe, wrapping it around her as she checked on the boys. They were asleep in their beds, so she quietly made her way down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. As she was waiting for the water to boil, she could swear that she heard something outside. She grabbed a torch, opening the door to the backyard and stepping outside. She turned it on, going further into the backyard. She didn’t see anything, but, as she turned to go back in, she clearly heard a lion’s roar. She made her way back inside quickly, shivering all over. She started to cough hard, trying to catch her breath as well. Her legs gave out and, as she tried to claw at the counter to stay up, the cup for tea came down with her. She tried to catch her breath, wanting to call Benjamin to help.

Her luck was with her, as Benjamin did wake up and come down at hearing the mug break. He moved over to her, helping her sit up and hit on her back to help with the coughing. “Susan, it’s going to be alright,” he said with a voice full of panic.

She slowly stopped coughing and started to take deep breaths in and out. She could see stars in front of her eyes, as well as a ghostly figure that resembled Lucy. It held out a hand to Susan, the eyes begging for her sister to come with. She reached out to the hand, taking hold to grasp around what seemed to be empty air. Instead of the empty air, the ghost figure became Lucy herself, aged when they tracked the white stag back to the lamp post. As she got up from where she was on the floor, Susan became a ghost, looking back at Benjamin. She saw the façade fade to show the prince she had to leave behind in Narnia. One of the reasons she thought of Narnia as just a childhood game – to protect herself from heartbreak. “Lucy, wait.”

Lucy stopped and looked at Susan. “It is your choice in the end. We can wait. We’ll always wait. You are a friend of Narnia again, Susan, for you believe again. That is all he wanted.”

Susan gave Lucy a long hug. “Then let me live my life here and I’ll come as soon as this journey is done.”

Lucy hugged her sister back. “Okay.”

“And give both Peter and Ed a hug for me. A really long one, Lu.”

“I will,” Lucy said as she blinked back tears. She let go of her sister, watching Susan’s spirit go back to her body before she disappeared.

Susan opened her eyes with a gasp and looked up at Benjamin. “I’m alright,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me, Caspian?”

He kissed her forehead. “I was forbidden. I’m also here because my own faith in Aslan slipped. But he made it so I could be with you if you decided to move away from what you built yourself up to be. And you did.”

She nodded and reached up, kissing his lips lovingly. They kept the kiss for a long moment before he helped her up. They cleaned up the mess and went back to bed, grateful that the children didn’t wake up. At the doctor’s appointment the next day, Susan’s illness was mysteriously gone. As she stepped out to the bright blue sky, she smiled as she sent a silent thought in thanks to Lucy for the healing and for Aslan for sending her sister.

*~*~*~*

Lucy appeared back at her rooms and sunk down into a chair. There was a pot of tea on a tray with two cups and biscuits. She poured herself a cup, just looking down at it before putting it back on the tray. She curled up, forcing herself not to cry, as she felt Liliandil kiss her forehead. “She didn’t come.”

Liliandil nodded and pulled a chair over to sit next to Lucy. “You knew that might happen, love.”

“I know.” Lucy moved and hugged Liliandil tightly, burying her face into her love’s shoulder and breaking down in tears. She took the comfort that was given, slowly feeling better as she cried out her misery. She sniffled when she was done. “I so wanted her to come. I didn’t realize until I saw her just how much I miss her.”

“But she’ll be able to come when she’s ready,” Liliandil said.

“Yes,” Lucy said as she sat up. She smiled as Liliandil wiped her face clean. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And you should have some tea.”

Lucy looked to the tea before she moved and kissed Liliandil. “I just want you.”

“You have me, my Queen,” Liliandil whispered as she got up and offered a hand to Lucy.

Lucy smiled as she took it and followed Liliandil into the bedroom. When they were done, she curled up close to Liliandil and fell asleep. When she dreamed, she dreamed of meeting her nephews and the two adopted nieces. What she didn’t realize was that it wasn’t a dream – it was very much real – and it was the greatest gift that Aslan gave to the sisters.


Original Prompt that we sent you:

What I want: I never know what to say for these things so here are some things I enjoy!

-I much prefer bookverse to movieverse (but I really enjoyed Ramandu's Daughter getting some characterization as well)
-Ladies interest me much more than male characters
-I am always a fan of femslash (such as for example Lucy/Sea Girl or Lucy/Ramandu's Daughter)
-I like the idea of Susan as a spymistress more than I like Edmund the spymaster.
-I love stories about journeys and voyages and queens and the start of the Golden Age.

I love stories where Susan moves on after LB, and has friends and a life and pulls together a new family for herself, and integrates the best parts of her Narnian life without sacrificing her English self.

I love stories about Polly after Magician's Nephew--her magical adventures, her political shenanigans, her travels, her absurd letters home to Digory.

If you are feeling crossover-ish, I enjoy Doctor Who and Mary Poppins and Discworld and Supernatural.

Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever:
1) Either you had no purpose
Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured
And is altered in fulfilment. There are other places
Which also are the world's end, some at the sea jaws,
Or over a dark lake, in a desert or a city—
But this is the nearest, in place and time,
Now and in England.
-T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding, Four Quartets


2) Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know if by its seriousness.


Give me your hand.
Rilke, Gott spricht zu jedem nur, eh er ihn macht