Between your world and mine: Just a heartbeat away
Just a heartbeat away
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Chronicles of Narnia don't belong to me (sadly). Credit goes to those who do own them.
Susan's eyes flew open in surprise as her bed beneath her rocked and immediately panic rose in her throat. Visions of the war, earthquakes and other disasters sprang to mind as she stumbled out from under the covers to rouse Lucy from her sleep. However, silence reigned as she got her footing and she realized it was the lull of the ocean.
"Ocean?" Susan wondered in her mind, letting her eyes adjust to her surroundings.
She was in a dimly lit cabin of a ship that seemed to be moving gently in the night. In seconds, a smile lit her face as her memory fell into place. She was overjoyed that they would meet twice this month, only a day apart no less. She ran out through the open door searching for her king heading towards the deck above.
King Caspian was leaning on the railing, his head hung low. Susan took a deep breath before opening to call him.
"Caspian!" her mind screamed and yet she could not hear her own voice. There was no sound that escaped her. She lifted her hand to her throat only to find she was of no more substance than the thinnest fabric. Her eyes widened in alarm, frantically looking at the rest of her, wondering what was going on.
It was then that Caspian straightened up and lifted his head to the heavens. With closed eyes he breathed out a single word, a name-"Susan."
"I'm right here!" Susan thought, attempting to create a scream. She walked towards him but as she reached out it was as if there was an invisible barrier that kept her from even touching him with her gossamer hands.
She fell to her knees, exhausted with the effort, with her tears vanishing before they hit the ground.
"I love you, Susan."
His voice cut the night loud and clear, as if he was speaking directly to her instead of the blackness of the ocean that surrounded the Dawn Treader.
"I love you too." Susan whispered softly as the wind rocked the boat gently.
Caspian's head shot up, as if he heard her, and he looked around wildly searching for the faint voice that held an answered prayer.
The queen held still on the floor, watching her king pace inches from where she was. She waited for him to cross that line but he never did. It was as if someone drew a line between them, the thinnest but strongest of walls.
"I am sorry, dear one."
"Aslan!" they both said in unison, neither hearing the other
Side by side, without touching, without seeing the other, they knelt before the great lion.
"What do you mean? What are you apologizing for?" Caspian said, voicing out the question that was stuck in Susan's throat
"For your pain, for the confusion that rages in your heart and the destiny that you should have been allowed to make." Aslan said, his eyes steady on Caspian but the small nod to the left stilled Susan's heart.
"You know I'm here." Susan thought, wondering if the lion could hear
Another small nod and what seemed to be a sigh escaped Aslan. Susan felt like her world was spinning out of control but she struggled to keep her composure as the great lion continued.
"There is only one comfort I can leave you with-the truth. There is a magic far greater than all the worlds combined, the true source of life and this is governed by a power that can allow a future that never should have existed."
Caspian clenched his jaw as he fought to understand but his emotional state was warring with his logic and he could do nothing but shake his head, frustrated with himself.
"Tell me, dear one, have you ever been in a place where you should not be? With someone who shouldn't be in your life? "
"The dreams..." Susan whispered
"But they're just dreams..." Caspian countered instinctively
Susan froze and turned quickly to Aslan, who merely smiled.
"Love is that which can unravel the world as we know it but it is also a choice. A leap of faith to trust in its power and to believe it is real. Otherwise it really is no more than a dream."
With one last bittersweet smile, the great lion roared.
Susan blinked and in that split second the world was still. There was no rocking, there was no sound but the steady breathing of her sister and there was no king beside her.
She sat up and looked around fully awake. Susan looked down at her hands-white, calloused and whole. She walked towards the window and opened it to the cool night air. She sighed, her disappointment in seeing the garden instead of the ocean was palpable-even to the king she could not see, the one who was watching her from the stone bench as the words of Aslan lingered in his mind.
A/N:Been awhile :) Short update but hopefully will be followed by a longer one soon. Hope the muses stay with me on this one and I hope you enjoy reading!