[CHRONICLES OF NARNIA] The Promise Into the Light- 2/4
Title: The Promise Into the Light
Author: Jourdana Standish/queenmidalah
Artist: hiddencait
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Chronicles of Narnia
Characters/Pairings: Lucy Pevensie/King Caspian
Summary: It's been years since Lucy has been to Narnia after her last adventure on the Dawn Treader with Caspian, Edmund and Eustace. She misses it as much now as she did then, but now she is having dreams that she is back on the Dawn Treader, just days after she last left. Caspian mourns the loss of Lucy, Edmund and Eustace as he and the crew of the Dawn Treader, Lucy most of all because he realized he fell in love with her, but now she's back but incredibly tired and frail. Edmund, Susan and Peter watch as their beloved sister lay in a hospital bed, her life slowly draining away. There is nothing they can do but pray she'll recover, though deep down they know there is no hope. Especially as they hear her whisper about Caspian, Narnia and Aslan while she sleeps.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. This is all for fun purposes of writing.
Author's Notes: Thank you to hiddencait for the wonderful art work and her cheering me on to actually get this story finished even when I wanted to give up at times.
Link to art master post.
~~~
“She spoke?” Susan asked as she set her purse and jacket down on a nearby chair. “She actually spoke? What did she say?”
Edmund and Peter glanced at one another, debating what they should tell their sister. Since their years in Narnia, Susan had slowly started to push away those memories. Whenever any of them brought it up, she quickly changed the subject.
“Well?” she asked sharply.
Edmund shrugged at his brother who turned to their sister.
“Lucy said Caspian and Aslan,” Peter said.
“She... what?” Susan asked, frowning. Finally, she waved her hand. “The doctor said that she would be delusional...”
“Or revert to older, happier memories,” Edmund said.
“Those were figments of our imaginations, Edmund,” Susan said sternly. “It wasn’t real.”
“It was real,” Edmund said. “Even Eustace and Jill know that!”
Susan started to speak but Peter shook his head sharply. “Regardless of what you believe or not,” he said sternly to his sister. “It’s what she said. And the doctor said such things are not a good sign.”
“Should we have Mum come back?” Edmund asked.
“I just took her home,” Susan protested.
“Then I’ll go get her,” Edmund snapped. Susan’s spine stiffened and she was about to release a tirade on her brother before Peter spoke up.
“Mum can sleep,” he said. “I’ll talk to the doctors first, if they feel she needs to be here we can go get her and Dad both.” He headed for the door, pausing a moment before turning to speak to his siblings again.
“Stop the fighting,” he said. “Despite what you think or feel, Lucy remembered Narnia and everyone there as a memory, not her imagination. She she remembered it fondly. If holding onto that hope and that memory is what brings her back to us, I don’t want to hear either of you speak ill of it or to each other on it. Understood?” Edmund nodded without thought, Susan following suit. It was obvious that the more stoic of the Pevensies was at a loss for words over what Peter had said. Instead of focusing on that, Peter left Lucy’s hospital room to find a doctor. He suspected, however, that what they would tell them he would not want to hear.
~~
Lucy’s eyes cracked, her vision not quite clear as she looked around the room where she lay. The bed was amazingly soft, yet familiar as well. Though she had not slept in this bed in a number of years, she remembered the feel of the material beneath her back when aboard the Dawn Treader.
“You’re awake.”
Lucy turned her head towards the achingly familiar voice of the young man who made her heart flutter. He hadn’t aged a day since she last saw him. Reaching her hand just a scant few inches, he immediately moved over and clasped it between his own.
“Caspian... how long?” She licked her dry lips. Caspian didn’t answer, instead pouring clear water into a goblet before helping her take a sip of the liquid. Only once she was re-settled and her hand between his own again did he speak.
“Not very,” Caspian said. “It was only hours after we said good-bye on the island before you were once again on the deck of the ship.” He gave her a gentle smile. “But I suspect it’s been quite a bit longer for you.”
“Yes, years,” Lucy said softly. She shifted. “I don’t know why I am so tired. I’ve never felt this tired before... or why I am here even. Aslan said...”
“You should rest,” Caspian cut in. “I’ll see if I can find Aslan and ask him to see you, but rest until then. Sounds like you need it.”
There was a slight distance in Caspian’s tone and posture that set Lucy on edge. She frowned a little, studying his handsome face.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” she said.
“Lucy?”
“There is something you are not telling me. You know why I am so ti--,” her voice trailed with a frown. Her blue eyes cleared and filled with tears. “Oh...”
Caspian hurried to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Lucy?” he said gently.
“I’m dying,” Lucy whispered. “That’s why I’m tired. I remember... I’m in the hospital. I keep...” She looked at Caspian. “Is this nothing more than a dream?”
“No,” Caspian said, vhemently. He winced when he saw Lucy flinch slightly. Reaching for her hand, he cupped it within his own.
“No, Lucy. This isn’t a dream. But I don’t know how easily I can explain it...”
“Try?”
Caspian swallowed, feeling emotions suddenly clogging his throat. “Aslan... he said...” he tried clearing his throat of the lump there. He took a deep breath before looking at her.
“He said you are very ill... in your other world,” he said. “That there isn’t...”
“Hope,” Lucy whispered. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Caspian immediately moved, gathering her into his arms and pulling her to his chest. She found comfort being nestled against his warmth. She had missed being held in his arms, however briefly she had in the past. This is where she belonged.
“He brought me here, didn’t he?” Lucy whispered against his chest.
“I don’t understand how you come from there to here,” Caspian said, the rumbling of his chest vibrating against her ear. It was one of the most comforting and warming things she had felt in a long time. “But you are here and if he brought you here because of what you face there... I am grateful.”
Lucy pulled back from his embrace, looking into his deep colored eyes. What she saw almost startled her. How had she never seen it before? Technically, she had only just left him, but it had been years for her. They were now around the same age, but even before she hadn’t been much younger than him. And she had always loved him, even as a little girl when she first met him.
“Caspian...”
“I should get Aslan,” he said softly. “Rest. I’ll go- Lucy!” She had collapsed back against the pillows, her breathing evening out as she immediately fell into slumber.
~~
“She’s waking,” Susan said, quickly rising. She could see her sister’s eyes cracking a little, but she wanted to sob when she saw no real recognition.
“Cas...” Lucy couldn’t even finish croaking out the name before she succumbed to unconsciousness again.
“Damn,” Edmund murmured.
“Language,” Susan admonished.
Edmund turned a dark glare on his sister. “I am not a child, Susan,” he said. “Stop treating me like one or thinking Lucy still is.”
“Don’t,” Mr. Pevensie said as he walked over to his children. “No negative feelings within this room. Lucy needs everything positive we can give her. Now what was she trying to say?”
Edmund straightened, staring at his older sister as she gave him a hard look, silently imploring him to remain silent. Standing as tall as his father, he squared his shoulders before he spoke.
“Caspian,” Edmund said. “She was trying to say Caspian.”
“Caspian...” Mr. Pevenise frowned. “Caspian. Isn’t that the name of the imaginary prince she so often spoke of?”
“Yes,” Susan quickly said, staring at Edmund. “Just a figment of her imagination as a child.”
Edmund’s jaw tightened, but their father didn’t notice the tension between the siblings. A frown creased his brow as he studied his youngest child, murmuring as he watched her. “The doctor did say this was a possibility,” he murmured sadly.
“I’ll be out in the hall, Father,” Edmund said. “Would you like some coffee when I get back?”
“Oh yes, thank you Edmund,” their father said. Edmund knew, as he turned, that Susan would be right on his heels to follow in order to berate him for bringing up Caspian to their father. So it was no surprise when he heard her voice immediately after the door closed behind them.
“Why do you insist on bringing up Narnia?” Susan demanded. “It is a piece of our imaginations as children.”
“Narnia wasn’t a piece of our imaginations, Susan,” Edmund snapped. “It was real, you just don’t want to believe anymore. And even if it *was* our imaginations, Lucy believed it and never stopped. She’s dying, Susan. The least you could do is stop arguing over the existence of Narnia, especially around her!”
“She is not dying, she is strong!” Susan said, her voice lowering and terror filling the tone. “She’s going to be okay, she’s going...”
“Wake up, Susan,” Edmund said. “I don’t want to believe it. I do have some hope that she is going to rally and pull through. Realistically, however, I know that it’s just a matter of time. How long can they keep her body alive when she isn’t really there?”
“Oh really? She’s not there, huh? Where is she, Edmund? Narnia? Some fairy tale land we all dreamt about as children to deal with the war?” Susan was back to snapping and disbelieving the one thing they had all held so dear. At least Edmund thought they all had.
“What’s going on?” A new voice asked. Susan stepped away from her brother to take a few deep breaths. Edmund turned to the voice, seeing his cousin, Eustace Scrubb and Eustace’s fiancee, Jill Pole, standing a few feet away from them.
“Edmund is being unreasonable,” Susan said.
“Susan is being a bitch,” Edmund quipped.
“Edmund!” Susan was appalled.
“You are,” Edmund snapped. “Regardless of what your opinion is on Narnia, it’s not Lucy’s. And it’s not mine or Peter’s or Eustace’s or Jill’s. And you need to grow the hell up and stop bringing your insistence on the matter to Lucy’s bedside.”
Susan opened her mouth to release a tirade on her brother when Jill stepped between them. “Stop, both of you,” she said. “If you insist on tearing into one another, at least have the decency to take it out of the hospital and definitely away from Lucy’s room.”
“You aren’t even family, so stay out of it,” Susan said, snapping off the angry words before she put herself in check. Her face fell and she flushed bright red. “Oh... Jill...”
“You’re right,” Jill said evenly. “I’m not family. Not yet since Eustace and I aren’t married yet, but I am a family friend. More importantly, right now, I’m *Lucy’s* friend. And Edmund is right, though not very diplomatic about how he said it. So stop this. Both of you. Lucy doesn’t need her brother and sister bickering at one another when she’s fighting and frankly, it’s childish of you both.”
“Jill’s right,” Eustace said, stepping up beside her and slipping his arm around her shoulders. “And I trust you won’t speak to my fiancee that way again, Susan.”
“Since I am so wrong, I will take my leave,” Susan said, her back stiffening. She walked back into Lucy’s room, grabbing both her overcoat and her purse. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, giving him some excuse that she had some errands that she needed to run and would return later or the next day. Without speaking her brother or cousin, she quickly walked past the trio and down the hall before disappearing around the corner.
Edmund slowly let out a breath, sorrow filling his broad shoulders as he shook his head. “I handled that very poorly,” he murmured. He glanced into Lucy’s hospital room, swallowing at her too-still form. He leaned in and slowly closed the door to keep the warmth in and give the three people some privacy to talk without his father overhearing.
“Yes you did,” Eustace agreed. “But I know it’s not easy right now.”
“Susan was never as strong of a believer as the rest of us,” Edmund said. “Especially after the last time that she and Peter were in Narnia. Even in the year that passed from our original reign to when we returned to help Caspian...”
“Do you really think she is seeing Caspian?” Jill asked, a frown slipping over her features. “I mean... when we saw him...”
“I do not know what Aslan has planned or what Lucy is really seeing,” Edmund said. “If she’s seeing anything. They may just be memories of our time there before.”
“What have the doctors said?” Eustace asked.
“The doctors are... trying to be as hopeful as possible. I think for our sakes, especially Mother and Father’s,” Edmund said. “But I look at Lucy and... I just...” He swallowed against the lump forming in his throat, emotions clogging what he wanted to say. “I just want Lucy at peace. I want her pain to be over.”
Jill pulled away from Eustace and wrapped her arms around her future cousin-in-law, embracing him as he let a few tears slip his control. “I think that’s what we all want, deep down,” she said. “Just some can’t fathom that it would mean letting her go if that’s what will bring her that peace.”
“I just wish I could understand it all,” Edmund said, gathering himself together enough to pull away from Jill. “And if there is any sense to it all, is it possible that she’ll end up in Narnia when gone here.”
“I don’t remember hearing mention of her when we were there last,” Eustace said sadly. “I would think Caspian would have said something.”
“Caspian was quite elderly that last time,” Jill reminded Eustace gently.
“But even after? When Rillian was reunited with him?” Eustace asked.
“I don’t know, love,” Jill said. “And it has been a few years since we were there.”
“Time can be so fluid, especially the differences between here and Narnia,” Edmund had to admit, though there was a dull pain in his voice. “If she is destined to remain in Narnia... it is best. I just wish it would happen soon. I hate seeing her so fragile.”
“We all do, Ed,” Eustace said quietly. “We all do.”
Author: Jourdana Standish/queenmidalah
Artist: hiddencait
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Chronicles of Narnia
Characters/Pairings: Lucy Pevensie/King Caspian
Summary: It's been years since Lucy has been to Narnia after her last adventure on the Dawn Treader with Caspian, Edmund and Eustace. She misses it as much now as she did then, but now she is having dreams that she is back on the Dawn Treader, just days after she last left. Caspian mourns the loss of Lucy, Edmund and Eustace as he and the crew of the Dawn Treader, Lucy most of all because he realized he fell in love with her, but now she's back but incredibly tired and frail. Edmund, Susan and Peter watch as their beloved sister lay in a hospital bed, her life slowly draining away. There is nothing they can do but pray she'll recover, though deep down they know there is no hope. Especially as they hear her whisper about Caspian, Narnia and Aslan while she sleeps.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. This is all for fun purposes of writing.
Author's Notes: Thank you to hiddencait for the wonderful art work and her cheering me on to actually get this story finished even when I wanted to give up at times.
Link to art master post.
~~~
“She spoke?” Susan asked as she set her purse and jacket down on a nearby chair. “She actually spoke? What did she say?”
Edmund and Peter glanced at one another, debating what they should tell their sister. Since their years in Narnia, Susan had slowly started to push away those memories. Whenever any of them brought it up, she quickly changed the subject.
“Well?” she asked sharply.
Edmund shrugged at his brother who turned to their sister.
“Lucy said Caspian and Aslan,” Peter said.
“She... what?” Susan asked, frowning. Finally, she waved her hand. “The doctor said that she would be delusional...”
“Or revert to older, happier memories,” Edmund said.
“Those were figments of our imaginations, Edmund,” Susan said sternly. “It wasn’t real.”
“It was real,” Edmund said. “Even Eustace and Jill know that!”
Susan started to speak but Peter shook his head sharply. “Regardless of what you believe or not,” he said sternly to his sister. “It’s what she said. And the doctor said such things are not a good sign.”
“Should we have Mum come back?” Edmund asked.
“I just took her home,” Susan protested.
“Then I’ll go get her,” Edmund snapped. Susan’s spine stiffened and she was about to release a tirade on her brother before Peter spoke up.
“Mum can sleep,” he said. “I’ll talk to the doctors first, if they feel she needs to be here we can go get her and Dad both.” He headed for the door, pausing a moment before turning to speak to his siblings again.
“Stop the fighting,” he said. “Despite what you think or feel, Lucy remembered Narnia and everyone there as a memory, not her imagination. She she remembered it fondly. If holding onto that hope and that memory is what brings her back to us, I don’t want to hear either of you speak ill of it or to each other on it. Understood?” Edmund nodded without thought, Susan following suit. It was obvious that the more stoic of the Pevensies was at a loss for words over what Peter had said. Instead of focusing on that, Peter left Lucy’s hospital room to find a doctor. He suspected, however, that what they would tell them he would not want to hear.
~~
Lucy’s eyes cracked, her vision not quite clear as she looked around the room where she lay. The bed was amazingly soft, yet familiar as well. Though she had not slept in this bed in a number of years, she remembered the feel of the material beneath her back when aboard the Dawn Treader.
“You’re awake.”
Lucy turned her head towards the achingly familiar voice of the young man who made her heart flutter. He hadn’t aged a day since she last saw him. Reaching her hand just a scant few inches, he immediately moved over and clasped it between his own.
“Caspian... how long?” She licked her dry lips. Caspian didn’t answer, instead pouring clear water into a goblet before helping her take a sip of the liquid. Only once she was re-settled and her hand between his own again did he speak.
“Not very,” Caspian said. “It was only hours after we said good-bye on the island before you were once again on the deck of the ship.” He gave her a gentle smile. “But I suspect it’s been quite a bit longer for you.”
“Yes, years,” Lucy said softly. She shifted. “I don’t know why I am so tired. I’ve never felt this tired before... or why I am here even. Aslan said...”
“You should rest,” Caspian cut in. “I’ll see if I can find Aslan and ask him to see you, but rest until then. Sounds like you need it.”
There was a slight distance in Caspian’s tone and posture that set Lucy on edge. She frowned a little, studying his handsome face.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” she said.
“Lucy?”
“There is something you are not telling me. You know why I am so ti--,” her voice trailed with a frown. Her blue eyes cleared and filled with tears. “Oh...”
Caspian hurried to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Lucy?” he said gently.
“I’m dying,” Lucy whispered. “That’s why I’m tired. I remember... I’m in the hospital. I keep...” She looked at Caspian. “Is this nothing more than a dream?”
“No,” Caspian said, vhemently. He winced when he saw Lucy flinch slightly. Reaching for her hand, he cupped it within his own.
“No, Lucy. This isn’t a dream. But I don’t know how easily I can explain it...”
“Try?”
Caspian swallowed, feeling emotions suddenly clogging his throat. “Aslan... he said...” he tried clearing his throat of the lump there. He took a deep breath before looking at her.
“He said you are very ill... in your other world,” he said. “That there isn’t...”
“Hope,” Lucy whispered. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Caspian immediately moved, gathering her into his arms and pulling her to his chest. She found comfort being nestled against his warmth. She had missed being held in his arms, however briefly she had in the past. This is where she belonged.
“He brought me here, didn’t he?” Lucy whispered against his chest.
“I don’t understand how you come from there to here,” Caspian said, the rumbling of his chest vibrating against her ear. It was one of the most comforting and warming things she had felt in a long time. “But you are here and if he brought you here because of what you face there... I am grateful.”
Lucy pulled back from his embrace, looking into his deep colored eyes. What she saw almost startled her. How had she never seen it before? Technically, she had only just left him, but it had been years for her. They were now around the same age, but even before she hadn’t been much younger than him. And she had always loved him, even as a little girl when she first met him.
“Caspian...”
“I should get Aslan,” he said softly. “Rest. I’ll go- Lucy!” She had collapsed back against the pillows, her breathing evening out as she immediately fell into slumber.
~~
“She’s waking,” Susan said, quickly rising. She could see her sister’s eyes cracking a little, but she wanted to sob when she saw no real recognition.
“Cas...” Lucy couldn’t even finish croaking out the name before she succumbed to unconsciousness again.
“Damn,” Edmund murmured.
“Language,” Susan admonished.
Edmund turned a dark glare on his sister. “I am not a child, Susan,” he said. “Stop treating me like one or thinking Lucy still is.”
“Don’t,” Mr. Pevensie said as he walked over to his children. “No negative feelings within this room. Lucy needs everything positive we can give her. Now what was she trying to say?”
Edmund straightened, staring at his older sister as she gave him a hard look, silently imploring him to remain silent. Standing as tall as his father, he squared his shoulders before he spoke.
“Caspian,” Edmund said. “She was trying to say Caspian.”
“Caspian...” Mr. Pevenise frowned. “Caspian. Isn’t that the name of the imaginary prince she so often spoke of?”
“Yes,” Susan quickly said, staring at Edmund. “Just a figment of her imagination as a child.”
Edmund’s jaw tightened, but their father didn’t notice the tension between the siblings. A frown creased his brow as he studied his youngest child, murmuring as he watched her. “The doctor did say this was a possibility,” he murmured sadly.
“I’ll be out in the hall, Father,” Edmund said. “Would you like some coffee when I get back?”
“Oh yes, thank you Edmund,” their father said. Edmund knew, as he turned, that Susan would be right on his heels to follow in order to berate him for bringing up Caspian to their father. So it was no surprise when he heard her voice immediately after the door closed behind them.
“Why do you insist on bringing up Narnia?” Susan demanded. “It is a piece of our imaginations as children.”
“Narnia wasn’t a piece of our imaginations, Susan,” Edmund snapped. “It was real, you just don’t want to believe anymore. And even if it *was* our imaginations, Lucy believed it and never stopped. She’s dying, Susan. The least you could do is stop arguing over the existence of Narnia, especially around her!”
“She is not dying, she is strong!” Susan said, her voice lowering and terror filling the tone. “She’s going to be okay, she’s going...”
“Wake up, Susan,” Edmund said. “I don’t want to believe it. I do have some hope that she is going to rally and pull through. Realistically, however, I know that it’s just a matter of time. How long can they keep her body alive when she isn’t really there?”
“Oh really? She’s not there, huh? Where is she, Edmund? Narnia? Some fairy tale land we all dreamt about as children to deal with the war?” Susan was back to snapping and disbelieving the one thing they had all held so dear. At least Edmund thought they all had.
“What’s going on?” A new voice asked. Susan stepped away from her brother to take a few deep breaths. Edmund turned to the voice, seeing his cousin, Eustace Scrubb and Eustace’s fiancee, Jill Pole, standing a few feet away from them.
“Edmund is being unreasonable,” Susan said.
“Susan is being a bitch,” Edmund quipped.
“Edmund!” Susan was appalled.
“You are,” Edmund snapped. “Regardless of what your opinion is on Narnia, it’s not Lucy’s. And it’s not mine or Peter’s or Eustace’s or Jill’s. And you need to grow the hell up and stop bringing your insistence on the matter to Lucy’s bedside.”
Susan opened her mouth to release a tirade on her brother when Jill stepped between them. “Stop, both of you,” she said. “If you insist on tearing into one another, at least have the decency to take it out of the hospital and definitely away from Lucy’s room.”
“You aren’t even family, so stay out of it,” Susan said, snapping off the angry words before she put herself in check. Her face fell and she flushed bright red. “Oh... Jill...”
“You’re right,” Jill said evenly. “I’m not family. Not yet since Eustace and I aren’t married yet, but I am a family friend. More importantly, right now, I’m *Lucy’s* friend. And Edmund is right, though not very diplomatic about how he said it. So stop this. Both of you. Lucy doesn’t need her brother and sister bickering at one another when she’s fighting and frankly, it’s childish of you both.”
“Jill’s right,” Eustace said, stepping up beside her and slipping his arm around her shoulders. “And I trust you won’t speak to my fiancee that way again, Susan.”
“Since I am so wrong, I will take my leave,” Susan said, her back stiffening. She walked back into Lucy’s room, grabbing both her overcoat and her purse. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, giving him some excuse that she had some errands that she needed to run and would return later or the next day. Without speaking her brother or cousin, she quickly walked past the trio and down the hall before disappearing around the corner.
Edmund slowly let out a breath, sorrow filling his broad shoulders as he shook his head. “I handled that very poorly,” he murmured. He glanced into Lucy’s hospital room, swallowing at her too-still form. He leaned in and slowly closed the door to keep the warmth in and give the three people some privacy to talk without his father overhearing.
“Yes you did,” Eustace agreed. “But I know it’s not easy right now.”
“Susan was never as strong of a believer as the rest of us,” Edmund said. “Especially after the last time that she and Peter were in Narnia. Even in the year that passed from our original reign to when we returned to help Caspian...”
“Do you really think she is seeing Caspian?” Jill asked, a frown slipping over her features. “I mean... when we saw him...”
“I do not know what Aslan has planned or what Lucy is really seeing,” Edmund said. “If she’s seeing anything. They may just be memories of our time there before.”
“What have the doctors said?” Eustace asked.
“The doctors are... trying to be as hopeful as possible. I think for our sakes, especially Mother and Father’s,” Edmund said. “But I look at Lucy and... I just...” He swallowed against the lump forming in his throat, emotions clogging what he wanted to say. “I just want Lucy at peace. I want her pain to be over.”
Jill pulled away from Eustace and wrapped her arms around her future cousin-in-law, embracing him as he let a few tears slip his control. “I think that’s what we all want, deep down,” she said. “Just some can’t fathom that it would mean letting her go if that’s what will bring her that peace.”
“I just wish I could understand it all,” Edmund said, gathering himself together enough to pull away from Jill. “And if there is any sense to it all, is it possible that she’ll end up in Narnia when gone here.”
“I don’t remember hearing mention of her when we were there last,” Eustace said sadly. “I would think Caspian would have said something.”
“Caspian was quite elderly that last time,” Jill reminded Eustace gently.
“But even after? When Rillian was reunited with him?” Eustace asked.
“I don’t know, love,” Jill said. “And it has been a few years since we were there.”
“Time can be so fluid, especially the differences between here and Narnia,” Edmund had to admit, though there was a dull pain in his voice. “If she is destined to remain in Narnia... it is best. I just wish it would happen soon. I hate seeing her so fragile.”
“We all do, Ed,” Eustace said quietly. “We all do.”