Fanfic : Crossing Borders
Title: Crossing Borders
Author:
maaike_fluffy
Fandom: The Chronicles of Narnia
Pairing: Susan/Caspian
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: 'The Chronicles of Narnia' were created and written by C. S. Lewis. I do not own anything you might recognize. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Prince Caspian and the Pevensies continue their life after their farewell, but none of them can stop dwelling on the past. The, Caspian makes a decision; if she can't come to him, then he'll have to find her. Movie-verse. Not beta-ed. Banner by
elliania
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 /
10. Three in favour
There was nothing that set the house apart from the others in the row. The doors and windows were all painted in the same dark blue. And apart from a shrub or two, all the yards were the same too; square with a low stone fence, and a patch of grass with mossy stone steps leading up to the front door. Edmund described their street as ‘dull’, but that wasn’t what Caspian thought. The strange houses fascinated him, even after he had seen so many of them today on his search. He had wondered what the houses looked like on the inside. What kind of people lived there. The houses here looked less stately then some of the houses he’d seen on his way. Looking at this house, Caspian could never have guessed that it was the home of the legendary Kings and Queens.
“It’s not much. Nothing like you’re used to.” Edmund said, as he opened the gate in the fence and stepped back for Caspian to walk through. “We’re staying here temporarily, until we can go back to our own home.” Caspian remembered what the porky blonde man had told him this morning about their home.
“What happened to it?” He asked, curiously.
“It was bombed-that’s a kind of explosive device we use in war. We’re lucky actually. One of the walls is heavily damaged, but the rest is still alright.” He stepped through and closed the gate behind him. “Our neighbours’ home was wiped away almost entirely. Mother is having our house restored, and we live here for the duration.” A shadow passed over Edmund’s face briefly, but he shook it of, and suddenly grinned. “This is going to be good.” He jerked his head in to direction of the house, and quickly walked the steps to the front door. With a bit of a flutter, Caspian walked after him. Behind that door…
… was a narrow hallway. It wouldn’t be narrow, except for the large white staircase that took up most of the space. The walls were painted a faded green, and there hung a single black and white picture of a proud-looking man sitting on a chair. This picture, Caspian noticed as he stepped inside, was remarkably good. I can’t even see the paint strokes. He started when Edmund unexpectedly shouted.
“I’m back!” The shouting seemed to have been directed at nobody in particular, and Caspian looked at him confused, but Edmund merely grinned. “And I brought a visitor!” He added in the same loud voice. Caspian froze when he head movement upstairs, and Edmund calmly proceeded to unpack the grocery bags in a cupboard under the stairs.
“Who is it?” A curious voice came from upstairs; Caspian tensed. Susan!
“Caspian!” Edmund shouted back merrily, winking at the young King in the process. Caspian’s eyes flew to the top of the stairs. Any second now, and she would appear there…
An exasperated sigh sounded, followed by several dull ‘thump’s. “You’re not funny, Ed. Did you bring the rhubarb I asked-” As she spoke, Susan had appeared at the top of the stairs. She did not immediately see Caspian, looking at the steps of the stairs instead, and therefore she had already descended a fair bit when she froze in her tracks as she locked eyes with Caspian.
Caspian’s breath hitched. She looked so different from the last time he had seen her; She had been wearing a richly decorated dress at the time, but now she was dressed in the same grey skirt and white blouse he had seen on other girls in the street. The blouse was untucked and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun-Caspian thought she looked beautiful.
Caspian waited nervously for her response, but Susan did nothing. Instead it was Edmund who broke the silence, three red sticks of rhubarb in his hand. “If I wasn’t King of Narnia, this would be a perfect opportunity to say ‘I told you-” He was cut short when Peter appeared at the top of the stairs, and responded much quicker than his sister did.
“Caspian!” His voice, ringing with surprise, shook Susan into action.
“Is it really you?” She asked in a uncertain voice. Caspian felt a sudden mad urge to shout ‘Surprise!’, but instead he nodded, and Susan’s face broke into the wide smile he had dreamed of for months. She bounded down the stairs, clearing the way for Peter to follow, halting just in front of him. “How can you be here? Did you follow through after us? If we’d known, we would have waited for you at the tube.”
Susan’s reaction reassured Caspian, and his anxiousness made way for relief. “No, I didn’t follow after you. It’s been months in Narnia since you left.”
“Months?” Susan blinked. “We only got back yesterday afternoon.”
Caspian was silent for a bit, trying to understand how he could have arrived in this world on the same day even though over four months had passed in Narnia.
“Why did you come here? Did something happen in Narnia?” Peter was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, looking worried. “Do you need our help?”
Caspian opened his mouth to reply, when he was cut short by Edmund. “How about we discuss that in the living room?” The youngest King suggested. “This hallway is awfully narrow.”
And so Caspian found himself swept through the doorway and into the living room. The living was painted the same shade of green, but it looked much livelier here. The long flowery curtains by the windows were shut-probably, Caspian guessed, to block the sunlight, and it added to the cheerful chaos inside. The room wasn’t exactly messy, but crowded. As though they had too many possessions to fit into the cabinets. And that, Caspian realised later, was probably also the case. At Susan’s indication, he sat down on a brown armchair and let his eyes travel across the room. There were small paintings everywhere; on the coffee table, the mantle, the walls and the bookcase. They seemed to have been made in the same flawless style as the one in the hallway, and Caspian wanted to take a closer look, but decided it was better to respond to the point Peter had raised.
“Narnia isn’t in trouble.” Caspian told Peter, who was looking at him intently. “That doesn’t mean there is no trouble in Narnia, though.” He added after a thought.
Edmunds brow knit together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Well… I’m afraid the Telmarines and Narnians don’t get along very well.” Caspian rubbed the back of his head and started explaining all that had happened since their departure; the discontent, the riots, the death of Eius the Lynx, the failed plan, and eventually the hopeless situation he was in now. As he spoke, he noticed how Edmund became thoughtful, Susan’s expression grew sad and Peter set his jaw. It couldn’t be easy for them, Caspian realised, to hear all this and know there was nothing they could do to help.
“But you didn’t come over to ask for hep?” Peter asked again when Caspian had finished.
Caspian shook his head. “I know that there is nothing you can-”
“Then why are you here?”
“Peter!” Susan scolded. “Don’t be rude.”
“No, I mean it, Susan.” Peter gripped the armrests of his chair and suddenly looked very much like the High King that he was. “If Narnia is in such trouble, then why did he leave?” He looked away from his sister and instead focussed of Caspian, who felt his stomach clench. “Who’s taking care of Narnia now?” He demanded.
“I left Professor Cornelius in charge.” Caspian replied quickly. “He’ll take good care of them.”
Peter sank back in his chair, exasperated, and Edmund spoke in his place. “Professor Cornelius is a Telmarine. The Narnians won’t trust him, or accept his authority.”
“He’s part Narnian.” Caspian contradicted. “His mother was a Black Dwarf.”
“That’s even worse.” Edmund sat down on the armrest of Peter’s chair. “The Narnians will consider him a traitor.”
“Well…” Caspian looked at Susan for support, but she looked uncertain and said nothing. “I have full confidence in the Professor. He is wise and he knows what the people need.”
“If the Professor were so splendid, Aslan would have made him King.” Peter said scathingly, and Caspian bit in his tongue in annoyance. He felt he deserved some kind of reprimand from the High King, but the disrespectful way Peter spoke about Professor Cornelius didn’t sit well with Caspian. His beloved tutor had done nothing to deserve it. “We didn’t find a war and lost many lives to put you on the throne just to have you abandon it when things get hard.”
“What are you implying?” Caspian’s growing indignation battled the respect and admiration he had for Peter. “That I don’t care about my people? Or that I am a coward?”
“Oh, let’s not do this!” Susan said, looking back and forth between the arguing Kings. “Stop it, both of you.”
“Maybe I’m implying both.” Peter said, ignoring his sister and causing Caspian to get on his feet.
“You have no idea the lengths I have gone to in order to solve the problem. I haven’t had a proper night sleep in months. Don’t tell me I don’t care about my people, Peter. They are all I care about!” A small traitor voice I the back of his head told him this wasn’t entirely true; he had done a fair bit of obsessing over the Kings and Queens as well, and half of his disturbed nights were because of his dreams. But Caspian pushed the voice out of his mind, and hoped it hadn’t shown on his face. “I am not a coward.” He said in a low voice. “It there was a real, tangible threat, I would be out fighting right now, and I wouldn’t rest until it was defeated. But this… distrust… I can’t fight that. I want to, but I don’t know how.”
“And so you decide leaving was the best solution?” Peter’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Tell me, Caspian. If it wasn’t cowardice, then what did bring you here?”
Caspian thought of the cave, the tree, the countless dreams, the midnight strolls, the urge he had felt to go there, to pass the portal… “Because I had to.” He was aware how irrational he sounded and felt the need to explain. “I felt it was the right thing-the only thing-to do.”
Peter was not convinced. “Well, that clears that up.” He laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe you felt like it was the right thing, because you wanted it.” Caspian didn’t reply, and Peter continued, crossing his arms. “I think you came all the way over here, simply because you wanted to see Susan.”
Caspian gaped. “I… well… No! That’s not true.” He stammered.
“Isn’t it? We all know how you feel about my sister. You just had a rough time and you wanted Susan for comfort, didn’t you?”
“No, that wasn’t what I meant at all!” Caspian’s mind reeled from the turn their discussion had taken. He hadn’t meant to drag Susan into this. Looking to his left, Caspian saw she looked red and embarrassed.
“Well, you can’t use her that way.” Peter continued as though Caspian had said nothing. “I won’t allow it.”
“Stop it, Peter. Now.” Susan’s voice was a lot quieter than it had been the previous time she’d tried to break up the argument, but the threatening undertone finally caused Peter to listen to his sister. “That is none of your business.”
“Su, he’s just going to end up hurting you again!”
“I would do no such thing.” Caspian said, aghast. “Never!”
“Yes, you will. You won’t be staying you know; this isn’t your world. You’ll just get her hopes up and then you’ll leave again.” Even though Peter was talking to Caspian, he looked at Susan. “Don’t you see that?”
“I will decide what I do with my own life.” Susan said coldly.
Everybody had been so engrossed in their argument that none of them had heard the creaking front door close, and consequently they were unaware somebody had entered the house until this somebody spoke up. “What are you lot all shouting about?” The small frame of Lucy appeared in the doorway, and Caspian had never been more happy to see her smiling face. She halted for a moment when she saw Caspian, before her face broke in a wide grin. “Caspian!” she squealed, and ran towards him to fling her arms around his waist. Caspian was slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm, but patted her on the back fondly. “Oh, it is nice to see you again!”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Caspian tried, and failed, to keep the bitter undertone out of his voice, and Lucy quickly picked up on it.
“What do you mean?” Lucy said curiously, pulling back.
“Well…” Susan shot an accusing look at his eldest brother. “Peter just showed Caspian a really poor welcome.”
“I am just saying,” Peter said hotly to defend himself, “that it was a bad idea for him to leave Narnia when they obviously need him!”
“Oh, do stop being a bully.” Lucy put her small hands on her sides and frowned at Peter. Caspian would have found this picture amusing, if he hadn’t been so surprised at what she was saying. “If coming here were such a bad thing, Aslan wouldn’t have let him.”
“Aslan?” Susan repeated.
“Yes! It’s Aslan who decides who crosses the portal, not us. We could only go there when we were called, and Caspian could never get here unless he was sent. I’m sure Aslan knows what he is doing.”
“It was Caspian, not Aslan, who called us last time.” Peter pointed out. “And he just told us he got in through the wardrobe. As far as we know that exit has always been open. Aslan might not have had anything to do with it. And it was Caspian, not Aslan, who decided he should leave.”
But that wasn’t true, Caspian realised. How many times has Aslan been standing next to the tree in his dream, nodding in consent whenever Caspian wondered if he should step through? Maybe Lucy is right… maybe it wasn’t my decision after all. Maybe I felt I had to go so strongly because Aslan wanted me to.
“Whether it was Aslan or not, we ought to be a little more hospitable to Caspian. He’s been travelling for over a day and I doubt he’s had a proper meal since he left.” Susan settled the argument for the time being, and Peter walked out of the room looking cross.
“Oh, dear.” Lucy said, at the same time as Edmund got to his feet.
“I’ll go after him.” He made to follow his elder brother, but turned around again after a few steps. “Oh, and Caspian? Welcome to Finchley.” Edmund smiled, and Caspian was relieved to see that he at least had the approval of one of the critical Kings. “Lucy knows Aslan better than anyone. I can’t remember her ever being wrong about him.” Then Edmund walked out of the room after Peter, leaving Caspian with Lucy and Susan.
“I’m sorry.” Caspian muttered. “I didn’t mean to cause such an argument.”
Susan waved it away. “Peter will turn around. We only just got back from Narnia, being High King is still all he thinks about. I think the most important thing right now it for you to have dinner.” She walked to the table, where Edmund had left the rhubarb, and walked to the kitchen.
Caspian made to follow her, but Lucy tugged on his sleeve. “And maybe a bath.” She whispered.
Author:
maaike_fluffy
Fandom: The Chronicles of Narnia
Pairing: Susan/Caspian
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: 'The Chronicles of Narnia' were created and written by C. S. Lewis. I do not own anything you might recognize. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Prince Caspian and the Pevensies continue their life after their farewell, but none of them can stop dwelling on the past. The, Caspian makes a decision; if she can't come to him, then he'll have to find her. Movie-verse. Not beta-ed. Banner by
elliania
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 /
10. Three in favour
There was nothing that set the house apart from the others in the row. The doors and windows were all painted in the same dark blue. And apart from a shrub or two, all the yards were the same too; square with a low stone fence, and a patch of grass with mossy stone steps leading up to the front door. Edmund described their street as ‘dull’, but that wasn’t what Caspian thought. The strange houses fascinated him, even after he had seen so many of them today on his search. He had wondered what the houses looked like on the inside. What kind of people lived there. The houses here looked less stately then some of the houses he’d seen on his way. Looking at this house, Caspian could never have guessed that it was the home of the legendary Kings and Queens.
“It’s not much. Nothing like you’re used to.” Edmund said, as he opened the gate in the fence and stepped back for Caspian to walk through. “We’re staying here temporarily, until we can go back to our own home.” Caspian remembered what the porky blonde man had told him this morning about their home.
“What happened to it?” He asked, curiously.
“It was bombed-that’s a kind of explosive device we use in war. We’re lucky actually. One of the walls is heavily damaged, but the rest is still alright.” He stepped through and closed the gate behind him. “Our neighbours’ home was wiped away almost entirely. Mother is having our house restored, and we live here for the duration.” A shadow passed over Edmund’s face briefly, but he shook it of, and suddenly grinned. “This is going to be good.” He jerked his head in to direction of the house, and quickly walked the steps to the front door. With a bit of a flutter, Caspian walked after him. Behind that door…
… was a narrow hallway. It wouldn’t be narrow, except for the large white staircase that took up most of the space. The walls were painted a faded green, and there hung a single black and white picture of a proud-looking man sitting on a chair. This picture, Caspian noticed as he stepped inside, was remarkably good. I can’t even see the paint strokes. He started when Edmund unexpectedly shouted.
“I’m back!” The shouting seemed to have been directed at nobody in particular, and Caspian looked at him confused, but Edmund merely grinned. “And I brought a visitor!” He added in the same loud voice. Caspian froze when he head movement upstairs, and Edmund calmly proceeded to unpack the grocery bags in a cupboard under the stairs.
“Who is it?” A curious voice came from upstairs; Caspian tensed. Susan!
“Caspian!” Edmund shouted back merrily, winking at the young King in the process. Caspian’s eyes flew to the top of the stairs. Any second now, and she would appear there…
An exasperated sigh sounded, followed by several dull ‘thump’s. “You’re not funny, Ed. Did you bring the rhubarb I asked-” As she spoke, Susan had appeared at the top of the stairs. She did not immediately see Caspian, looking at the steps of the stairs instead, and therefore she had already descended a fair bit when she froze in her tracks as she locked eyes with Caspian.
Caspian’s breath hitched. She looked so different from the last time he had seen her; She had been wearing a richly decorated dress at the time, but now she was dressed in the same grey skirt and white blouse he had seen on other girls in the street. The blouse was untucked and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun-Caspian thought she looked beautiful.
Caspian waited nervously for her response, but Susan did nothing. Instead it was Edmund who broke the silence, three red sticks of rhubarb in his hand. “If I wasn’t King of Narnia, this would be a perfect opportunity to say ‘I told you-” He was cut short when Peter appeared at the top of the stairs, and responded much quicker than his sister did.
“Caspian!” His voice, ringing with surprise, shook Susan into action.
“Is it really you?” She asked in a uncertain voice. Caspian felt a sudden mad urge to shout ‘Surprise!’, but instead he nodded, and Susan’s face broke into the wide smile he had dreamed of for months. She bounded down the stairs, clearing the way for Peter to follow, halting just in front of him. “How can you be here? Did you follow through after us? If we’d known, we would have waited for you at the tube.”
Susan’s reaction reassured Caspian, and his anxiousness made way for relief. “No, I didn’t follow after you. It’s been months in Narnia since you left.”
“Months?” Susan blinked. “We only got back yesterday afternoon.”
Caspian was silent for a bit, trying to understand how he could have arrived in this world on the same day even though over four months had passed in Narnia.
“Why did you come here? Did something happen in Narnia?” Peter was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, looking worried. “Do you need our help?”
Caspian opened his mouth to reply, when he was cut short by Edmund. “How about we discuss that in the living room?” The youngest King suggested. “This hallway is awfully narrow.”
And so Caspian found himself swept through the doorway and into the living room. The living was painted the same shade of green, but it looked much livelier here. The long flowery curtains by the windows were shut-probably, Caspian guessed, to block the sunlight, and it added to the cheerful chaos inside. The room wasn’t exactly messy, but crowded. As though they had too many possessions to fit into the cabinets. And that, Caspian realised later, was probably also the case. At Susan’s indication, he sat down on a brown armchair and let his eyes travel across the room. There were small paintings everywhere; on the coffee table, the mantle, the walls and the bookcase. They seemed to have been made in the same flawless style as the one in the hallway, and Caspian wanted to take a closer look, but decided it was better to respond to the point Peter had raised.
“Narnia isn’t in trouble.” Caspian told Peter, who was looking at him intently. “That doesn’t mean there is no trouble in Narnia, though.” He added after a thought.
Edmunds brow knit together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Well… I’m afraid the Telmarines and Narnians don’t get along very well.” Caspian rubbed the back of his head and started explaining all that had happened since their departure; the discontent, the riots, the death of Eius the Lynx, the failed plan, and eventually the hopeless situation he was in now. As he spoke, he noticed how Edmund became thoughtful, Susan’s expression grew sad and Peter set his jaw. It couldn’t be easy for them, Caspian realised, to hear all this and know there was nothing they could do to help.
“But you didn’t come over to ask for hep?” Peter asked again when Caspian had finished.
Caspian shook his head. “I know that there is nothing you can-”
“Then why are you here?”
“Peter!” Susan scolded. “Don’t be rude.”
“No, I mean it, Susan.” Peter gripped the armrests of his chair and suddenly looked very much like the High King that he was. “If Narnia is in such trouble, then why did he leave?” He looked away from his sister and instead focussed of Caspian, who felt his stomach clench. “Who’s taking care of Narnia now?” He demanded.
“I left Professor Cornelius in charge.” Caspian replied quickly. “He’ll take good care of them.”
Peter sank back in his chair, exasperated, and Edmund spoke in his place. “Professor Cornelius is a Telmarine. The Narnians won’t trust him, or accept his authority.”
“He’s part Narnian.” Caspian contradicted. “His mother was a Black Dwarf.”
“That’s even worse.” Edmund sat down on the armrest of Peter’s chair. “The Narnians will consider him a traitor.”
“Well…” Caspian looked at Susan for support, but she looked uncertain and said nothing. “I have full confidence in the Professor. He is wise and he knows what the people need.”
“If the Professor were so splendid, Aslan would have made him King.” Peter said scathingly, and Caspian bit in his tongue in annoyance. He felt he deserved some kind of reprimand from the High King, but the disrespectful way Peter spoke about Professor Cornelius didn’t sit well with Caspian. His beloved tutor had done nothing to deserve it. “We didn’t find a war and lost many lives to put you on the throne just to have you abandon it when things get hard.”
“What are you implying?” Caspian’s growing indignation battled the respect and admiration he had for Peter. “That I don’t care about my people? Or that I am a coward?”
“Oh, let’s not do this!” Susan said, looking back and forth between the arguing Kings. “Stop it, both of you.”
“Maybe I’m implying both.” Peter said, ignoring his sister and causing Caspian to get on his feet.
“You have no idea the lengths I have gone to in order to solve the problem. I haven’t had a proper night sleep in months. Don’t tell me I don’t care about my people, Peter. They are all I care about!” A small traitor voice I the back of his head told him this wasn’t entirely true; he had done a fair bit of obsessing over the Kings and Queens as well, and half of his disturbed nights were because of his dreams. But Caspian pushed the voice out of his mind, and hoped it hadn’t shown on his face. “I am not a coward.” He said in a low voice. “It there was a real, tangible threat, I would be out fighting right now, and I wouldn’t rest until it was defeated. But this… distrust… I can’t fight that. I want to, but I don’t know how.”
“And so you decide leaving was the best solution?” Peter’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Tell me, Caspian. If it wasn’t cowardice, then what did bring you here?”
Caspian thought of the cave, the tree, the countless dreams, the midnight strolls, the urge he had felt to go there, to pass the portal… “Because I had to.” He was aware how irrational he sounded and felt the need to explain. “I felt it was the right thing-the only thing-to do.”
Peter was not convinced. “Well, that clears that up.” He laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe you felt like it was the right thing, because you wanted it.” Caspian didn’t reply, and Peter continued, crossing his arms. “I think you came all the way over here, simply because you wanted to see Susan.”
Caspian gaped. “I… well… No! That’s not true.” He stammered.
“Isn’t it? We all know how you feel about my sister. You just had a rough time and you wanted Susan for comfort, didn’t you?”
“No, that wasn’t what I meant at all!” Caspian’s mind reeled from the turn their discussion had taken. He hadn’t meant to drag Susan into this. Looking to his left, Caspian saw she looked red and embarrassed.
“Well, you can’t use her that way.” Peter continued as though Caspian had said nothing. “I won’t allow it.”
“Stop it, Peter. Now.” Susan’s voice was a lot quieter than it had been the previous time she’d tried to break up the argument, but the threatening undertone finally caused Peter to listen to his sister. “That is none of your business.”
“Su, he’s just going to end up hurting you again!”
“I would do no such thing.” Caspian said, aghast. “Never!”
“Yes, you will. You won’t be staying you know; this isn’t your world. You’ll just get her hopes up and then you’ll leave again.” Even though Peter was talking to Caspian, he looked at Susan. “Don’t you see that?”
“I will decide what I do with my own life.” Susan said coldly.
Everybody had been so engrossed in their argument that none of them had heard the creaking front door close, and consequently they were unaware somebody had entered the house until this somebody spoke up. “What are you lot all shouting about?” The small frame of Lucy appeared in the doorway, and Caspian had never been more happy to see her smiling face. She halted for a moment when she saw Caspian, before her face broke in a wide grin. “Caspian!” she squealed, and ran towards him to fling her arms around his waist. Caspian was slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm, but patted her on the back fondly. “Oh, it is nice to see you again!”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Caspian tried, and failed, to keep the bitter undertone out of his voice, and Lucy quickly picked up on it.
“What do you mean?” Lucy said curiously, pulling back.
“Well…” Susan shot an accusing look at his eldest brother. “Peter just showed Caspian a really poor welcome.”
“I am just saying,” Peter said hotly to defend himself, “that it was a bad idea for him to leave Narnia when they obviously need him!”
“Oh, do stop being a bully.” Lucy put her small hands on her sides and frowned at Peter. Caspian would have found this picture amusing, if he hadn’t been so surprised at what she was saying. “If coming here were such a bad thing, Aslan wouldn’t have let him.”
“Aslan?” Susan repeated.
“Yes! It’s Aslan who decides who crosses the portal, not us. We could only go there when we were called, and Caspian could never get here unless he was sent. I’m sure Aslan knows what he is doing.”
“It was Caspian, not Aslan, who called us last time.” Peter pointed out. “And he just told us he got in through the wardrobe. As far as we know that exit has always been open. Aslan might not have had anything to do with it. And it was Caspian, not Aslan, who decided he should leave.”
But that wasn’t true, Caspian realised. How many times has Aslan been standing next to the tree in his dream, nodding in consent whenever Caspian wondered if he should step through? Maybe Lucy is right… maybe it wasn’t my decision after all. Maybe I felt I had to go so strongly because Aslan wanted me to.
“Whether it was Aslan or not, we ought to be a little more hospitable to Caspian. He’s been travelling for over a day and I doubt he’s had a proper meal since he left.” Susan settled the argument for the time being, and Peter walked out of the room looking cross.
“Oh, dear.” Lucy said, at the same time as Edmund got to his feet.
“I’ll go after him.” He made to follow his elder brother, but turned around again after a few steps. “Oh, and Caspian? Welcome to Finchley.” Edmund smiled, and Caspian was relieved to see that he at least had the approval of one of the critical Kings. “Lucy knows Aslan better than anyone. I can’t remember her ever being wrong about him.” Then Edmund walked out of the room after Peter, leaving Caspian with Lucy and Susan.
“I’m sorry.” Caspian muttered. “I didn’t mean to cause such an argument.”
Susan waved it away. “Peter will turn around. We only just got back from Narnia, being High King is still all he thinks about. I think the most important thing right now it for you to have dinner.” She walked to the table, where Edmund had left the rhubarb, and walked to the kitchen.
Caspian made to follow her, but Lucy tugged on his sleeve. “And maybe a bath.” She whispered.