Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Everything belongs to C.S. Lewis, Disney and Walden Media.

Author note: I know it's been, like, months since I last updated this story and I'm so sorry about the long wait. I've been pretty busy with school, work, and I'm totally obsessed with the new season of “Smallville” this year. Lol! Anyways, I’d like to once again thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I really appreciate your thoughts and encouragement to keep going. On that note, I'm sorry to say that the story is coming to a close, but there’s still more to come in these last two parts. Thanks for all of your patience and hope you enjoy the seventh chapter.

Chapter Seven: Journey's End

Once he heard her profession of love, Caspian swept Susan into his arms and carried the Gentle Queen to her bed. The young King carefully placed her on it, caressing her cheek softly, still amazed that she loved him as much as he loved her. His eyes were dark with desire; the smoldering look of passion was undeniable. He needed her…and he needed her right now. Caspian dipped his head and fused his lips with hers in a fiery kiss while his hands roamed up and down the sides of her body, almost massaging her with firm yet tender touches. He trailed butterfly kisses along her jawline, neck and shoulders as his tresses tickled her pale skin. The fresh scent of vanilla and jasmine from her bath earlier was intoxicating—he couldn’t get enough of her. Susan’s fingernails dug into his back, wishing it was bare…so longing to feel the heat from his body like she had only a few hours ago.

“Caspian…” she whispered in rapture. “Please…”

Trembling, he pulled her dress up some to reveal the lower half of her body, and then his fingertips teasingly grazed her silky, smooth legs, eliciting a soft moan of pleasure from the back of her throat.

“Wait,” Caspian protested abruptly, stopping himself before all of his self-control was gone. He pulled off of Susan, causing her eyebrows to furrow in confusion. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t be doing this again.”

“What? You mean you don’t want—?”

“No!” he cut her off before she could finish her thought, grabbing her hand and then kissed the inside of her palm. “No, my love. It’s not that. I want to be with you. More than anything…. But there’s something I need to ask you before anything else happens.”

When Peter stormed away from him after their fight and went back to the castle with Susan in tow, Caspian was afraid he’d lost her, but knew now that not even the legendary Magnificent King himself could tear them apart. Their love was like magic…. It was so rare, so intense, and so passionate that it was meant to be. It was destiny, and seeing those flashbacks from the Deep Magic was irrefutable proof of what he had been saying all along. Susan was his and he hers...forever.

Caspian got off the bed and walked around it to face her properly. “Would you stand up for me?”

Although perplexed from what this was all about, Susan did as she was told and stood up, fixing her dress so that no wrinkles would ruin it again.

Caspian was entirely uncertain how the customs were done in England, but decided to follow his instincts and ask her like he would’ve asked a Telmarine girl. Getting down on one knee as he took a hold of the Gentle Queen’s left hand, the right one flew to her mouth in shock when she realized what the handsome King was about to ask her. Caspian couldn’t help but smile when he saw the tears forming in her crystal blue eyes.

“I knew from the moment that I met you that I loved you, Susan. We were brought together by fate, fought bravely for what we believed in, and with it, our hearts have intertwined and joined as one. I will forever be thankful for the gift that the Deep Magic has given me, for it is the greatest gift that anyone would ever hope to have: true love. Susan Pevensie, High Queen of Old Narnia and formerly of Finchley, I love you with all of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you marry me?”

Smiling brighter than the Southern Sun, a single tear slid down her cheek, a tear of joy and pure happiness. She couldn’t believe Caspian was asking for her hand in marriage. During reign at Cair Paravel, Susan had been proposed to more times than she could count. Handsome suitors from Archenland, Calormen and Telmar had come to the palace of the four thrones bearing gifts and witty charm in hopes of making Susan their queen. Some would properly ask for Peter’s permission first—which usually ended in a sword fight where the High King won and single-handedly threw the suitors out—while others would choose a more “romantic” of impressing her by climbing up the castle’s walls, sneaking into the Queen’s private bed chambers in the middle of the night and try to seduce her. Many of them were sweet and kind; a perfect gentleman towards her, yet ultimately forgettable just like that irritating boy she met at the train station before returning to Narnia. No one had ever succeeded in stealing her heart away—except for Caspian.

“He’s not like all the others, Peter. Caspian’s loyal, kind, intelligent, honest, funny, handsome, and brave.”

She could still sense his eyes on her that first moment they first met in the Shuddering Woods, still see that pained look of sorrow and regret just before she left the How in bitterness after he almost released the White Witch, and still feel a wave of relief wash over her when he came to her gallant rescue from that Telmarine soldier. Caspian wasn’t like all the others. He didn’t care about her royal status or the fame he would receive after marrying her. Materialistic possessions weren’t what he was truly after. Providing him an heir wasn’t an ulterior motive of his either. It was her heart. All Caspian wanted was to win her heart. But it was already his. Her heart would always belong to him now. And in her heart, Susan wanted to scream “Yes!” a thousand times the very second the question left his lips, but something in her mind stopped her from saying the words out loud.

Aslan.

However, Peter's words from their previous conversation came flooding back to her as well.

“Don’t give up hope, Su. There’s always chance you could see him again even if we do leave Narnia sooner than last time. Remember what Professor Kirke told us last year after we returned to his mansion through the wardrobe? Goodbyes aren’t forever. If you love Caspian as much as you say you do, then you have to keep the faith that Aslan will allow you to come back or stay here permanently.”

Susan wanted to believe her brother's words more than anything, but if she accepted Caspian’s proposal, would Aslan let her remain in Narnia permanently after all? And if she stayed, would her siblings stay with her or return to England like before? What if they did leave and never came back? Susan couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Peter, Edmund and Lucy again. Not only that, but what about her parents? Her mother and father would never know she was their daughter if she no longer existed in England, would they? Aunt Alberta, Uncle Harold, even her spoiled little prat of a cousin Eustace—they would all forget her, too. Susan's memory would be erased from the minds of all her loved ones who lived in England if she remained in Narnia. It had finally dawned on the Gentle Queen for the first time since Caspian had asked her to stay that she would lose everything she ever had in England if she chose—and Aslan allowed her—to stay in Narnia. The only question that remained now was could she really close the door on that part of her life in order to be with the boy she loved?

Not by default, yet by the lack of love in his own life, Caspian's conceptions of how deep the internal struggle within her heart would never amount to what she was truly feeling. He didn’t have the same upbringing as she did, not just because they came from separate worlds, but because he lost so many people who loved him as a child. Caspian lost his mother at a young age, and then comes to find out years after his father's death that his uncle killed him in his sleep for the throne, so the only sense of warmth and comfort he ever had was from his professor, Doctor Cornelius, and his aunt, Lady Prunaprismia. As much as she wished he understood what she was feeling, Susan knew that she could never truly be cross with him for not understanding why she was torn between England and Narnia. That day she and her siblings returned to Professor Kirke's mansion, they not only left behind Narnia, Cair Paravel and their royal crowns, but left all of their beloved friends as well. And Lucy's comment about them when they first entered Narnia again and came upon the ancient ruins of the castle suddenly echoed inside her mind.

“Everyone we knew...Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers...they're all gone.”

Susan's thoughts quickly drifted back to her family again. She couldn't deny that England never felt like her home, at least it no longer did after entering Narnia. Letting go the first time was painful because this magical land had been her and her siblings home for the past fifteen years. Staying in Narnia was everything she wanted and more, but losing her family forever would be utterly heartbreaking. People always say that time heals all wounds, but losing a part of who you are is something that could never be mended with just time alone. Their parents would live on in England, but she, Peter, Lucy, and Edmund would no longer be their children—to them. She would no longer have those quiet, peaceful afternoons sitting at home with her mother while they drank British tea and reminisced over happier times before the war, or see her father hopefully make a safe return to Finchley from Germany, or finish school with the few friends she had. Could she just walk away from it all knowing her family probably would forget they ever existed?

'Oh, Aslan, why must love be so wonderful and painful all at the same time?'

Susan understood why Caspian was so desperate in trying to convince her to stay in Narnia. Losing his parents as a child and being raised by a man who wanted him dead his entire life would make anyone with a heart feel his need to grasp for love. And she loved him so much. Everything he wanted with her was exactly what she wanted as well. Susan wanted to marry him, bear his children, raise them together as a family, and spend the rest of her life growing old with him.

She was about to open her mouth to speak when both of their heads turned to the left upon hearing someone knock on her closed bedroom door three times.

“Su?” Peter's voice came from the opposite side. “Are you ready yet?”

“Peter...!” she gasped in a whisper, almost forgetting that he was coming to get her for their discussion with Aslan.

Caspian rose back up and grasped her hands in his. Susan's head turned towards him again, eyes locked in an intense gaze. She no longer knew what to say, could no longer say what was in her heart. Everything was happening so fast. It was battle between the right thing to do and smart thing, between emotion and logic, between her heart and her mind, between Queen Susan and Susan Pevensie. In her mind's eye she was standing in front of a mirror, staring at herself while wearing her simmering white and sky blue dress with soft curls hanging down past her shoulders, but wearing her plain school uniform and hair up in tight ponytail in the mirror's image. She wore the same face as she gazed upon herself in the mirror, yet saw two completely different identities and didn't know which one was the real her. Caspian wanted her to choose her own destiny—to rule by his side and marry him. Susan wanted that just as much as he did, but she already knew from her first experience in Narnia that sometimes you don't get to choose your own destiny.... It chooses for you. The Pevensies' time in the magical land had ended 1,300 years ago. Their magnificent Golden Age was gone, but the Deep Magic sent them back to help Caspian bring peace to the Narnians again, and it was now time for him to create his own age by keeping harmony between the two countries. And Susan believed with every fiber in her being that he would be a wonderful King—whether she ruled by his side or not.

“Susan?” Peter called out her name again, beginning to get concerned when she didn't respond. “Are you in there?”

“Yes,” she finally spoke up. “I'm almost done. I just need a few more minutes.”

“All right. I'll go check on Ed and Lu while you finish up.”

“Thank you.”

After they could no longer hear Peter's footsteps in the hall, Caspian brought her into his arms. “No, you can't go with him, Susan.”

“I have to,” she argued. “It was Aslan's request to see us before everyone is assembled together in the city.”

“But what if—?”

Before Caspian could say another word, Susan cupped the sides of his face with her hands and pulled he into a deep, passionate kiss. She kissed him with all she had, telling him wordlessly that she was his. He kissed her back with the sweetest tenderness, never wanting her to leave his side. Susan was the embodiment of everything he wanted in his life and so much more. Leaving them both breathless, she broke the kiss while their foreheads were gently pressed against together. Reaching up once more, the Gentle Queen kissed his cheek, then taking one step backwards because she wanted him to hear what she had to say.

“When we re-entered Narnia last month and saw the ruins of Cair Paravel, Peter knew we were all called back for a specific reason, even if we didn't know what that reason was. Then after we saved Trumpkin, he told us about how you had my horn and that you were the one who blow it which brought us back. He explained how the Telmarines had taken over Narnia, forcing all of the creatures into hiding. Peter finally suggested that the best thing to do was find you, and together we would defeat your uncle. When Lucy saw Aslan from across a river in the Shuddering Woods, yet no one else did, so we didn't believe her—except for Edmund. After we got across the gorge, I admitted to her that deep down inside I believed she did see Aslan. What I couldn't understand was why I didn't see him, and she told me that maybe I didn't want to. I didn't tell her this, but she was right about me. I didn't want to because I didn't want to grow attached to Narnia again. I was afraid of saying goodbye to the one place I had ever really considered home, and I think Aslan knew that. That's why only Lucy saw him.”

Susan paused, taking two more steps back and looked deeply into his eyes.

“Saying goodbye to Narnia was something I expected to do once we returned, yet falling in love wasn't. As hard as it was to accept living in England again when we came back, none of us had ever fallen in love while we were here the first time. And now that I think about it, if we had it would have only made leaving even harder. My mother always told me when I was growing up that we can't control who we fall in love with—it's just something that happens. Although, after so many suitors came knocking on the palace doors to take my hand in marriage simply because of my royal crown and wealth, I didn't believe what she said was true...until I met you. You are my true love, Caspian.”

His heart soared upon hearing those words. “And you are mine, my darling,” he said softly, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

Susan unconsciously leaned into his touch for a moment, yet quickly remembered that she had more to say to him. “I know.... I know, but I just can't forget about—”

“Su?” Peter's voice interrupted them once again. “Are you ready now?”

“Yes,” she spoke up just loud enough for him to hear her, her eyes still on Caspian's—so full of love and sorrow that his gaze pierced her heart.

Mustering up all the courage she left, Susan cupped her hands on his face once more, reaches up to his level and softly kissed his lips. “No matter what Aslan decides, my heart will always be yours.” She then closes her eyes, kisses his lips, and walks out of her room before he could say a word.

Minutes later, Peter and Susan were walking side by side together in silence through the castle's torch-lit corridors to where Aslan wanted to meet them. The sun was shining and the colorful birds were chirping happily. The day was beautiful, but all Susan could think about was Caspian—and what must be going through his mind after she left him in her room. If given the chance from the Great Lion, she had no doubt that her siblings would want to stay in Narnia as much as she wanted to.

“Peter...” she started to say.

“Yes?” he asked, looking over at his younger sister while they continued walking.

“Do you... Have you ever thought about how we would've felt if any of us had fallen in love and gotten married at Cair Paravel before we were sent back home?”

Peter knew where this was coming from; his sister's feelings for Caspian were still plaguing her thoughts.

“Every now and then,” he admitted honestly. “The thought did cross my mind. I know that if we had left behind someone we loved, it would have made our leaving even harder on us. I suppose that's probably one of the reasons why none of us ever—”

“And what if Aslan sends us back?” Susan stopped, grabbing a hold of her brother's arm, looking him straight in the eye. “What do you expect me to do then? Pretend like nothing ever happened? Act like Narnia never really existed and forget about my feelings for Caspian?”

“Su, don't talk like that. You sound ridiculous.”

As she let go his arm, her facial expression turned stern after hearing him say this. “I'm being serious, Peter.”

“I thought we already had this discussion before. Do you really want to get yourself all worked up again before we see Aslan?”

“No...” she sighed. Susan then took a deep breath to calm herself down and added, “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” he said softly and kissed her forehead. “I know why you're upset and I hate to see you in pain. I just wish I knew what do you to make you feel better.”

She gave her brother a weak smile when he brought her into his arms for a comforting hug. It was so sweet of him care about her feelings. True, Peter had his faults, but he had his strengths as well. Most brothers wouldn't be this concerned about his sister's happiness, but hers was. He was brave, caring, and would do whatever it took to protect his family. Ever since they were young children, Peter had always been that way. She could tell him anything and he would listen. And that sibling bond between them grew even more once they were living at Cair Paravel. Having already gone through most of their own childhood before entering Narnia, Peter and Susan took it upon themselves to “finish” raising Lucy and Edmund together until they reached adulthood. And although Peter was the High King, he almost never made executive decisions without his younger siblings.

Pulling away from him, “Peter, may I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“If we were given the choice to stay in Narnia or return home to England...which would you choose?”

He stared at Susan, their blue eyes fixed on each other for several moments before Peter looked away and stepped past her. He looked up at the deep blue sky, the sun shining, birds still chirping happily. The answer to that question could be said without saying a single word. By his silence, Susan knew exactly what he was thinking: His heart, like hers, was in Narnia. Living anywhere else would never suffice.

Peter was about to reply when he and Susan both heard a third voice enter the conversation.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesties.”

The eldest Pevensie siblings turned around and saw Aslan, his mane was shining brilliant streaks of gold from the bright rays of sunlight. They immediately bowed to the Great Lion to show their respects and he bowed his head slightly in return to the 1300-year-old High King and Queen of Old.

“Aslan.” Realizing he must've have heard at least part of their discussion, Susan immediately felt a rush of guilt flow through her for asking a question such as that one in front of him, even though it was unknowingly. “Forgive me. I didn't mean to—”

“There is nothing to apologize for, dear one. I know your journey has been a difficult one ever since you and your siblings were returned by the power of the Deep Magic. You have no reason to feel guilty for your feelings because they come from the heart.”

“So you're not angry for my being torn between England and Narnia?”

“Of course not,” he smiled softly. “Earth is your home world. I understand why you've had such a trying time to accept Narnia again after leaving your Golden Age behind without any warning.”

“Why were we sent back, Aslan?” Peter approached him, his voice was laced with emotion. “Why didn't we stay here last time? I mean, this was my—Narnia was our home for fifteen years. Why did we have to be sent back if you knew how hard the transition would be once we returned to England? Did you know how much it hurt to go back to school like a regular boy after ruling Narnia as High King for so long? Do you know how much it hurt to be treated like—like a kid by my teachers and classmates, even though I wasn't always one?”

Aslan said nothing for moment, and did nothing but stare at Peter in contemplation.

“Don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?”

“We are kids,” Edmund scoffed at his older brother's remark while he, Peter, Susan and Lucy waited for the train to arrive to take them to school like every weekday morning since they'd been returned to Finchley from Professor Kirke's mansion in the countryside.

“Well, I wasn't always.”

The fourteen-year-old boy's satirical smile quickly faded into a frown.

“It's been a year,” Peter said in a seldom tone, as he walked back towards his younger siblings and sat on the bench with them. “How long does he expect us to wait?”

Each of the Pevensies' thoughts dwelt on the magical land they had been cut off from for a year now—a year in England to be exact. It had felt like a lifetime now though. Lucy was still in high hopes that they would be returned to Narnia by Aslan's magic, but Peter and Susan's were diminishing a little more every day.

Susan stood in silence whilst her brother finally laid out all the feelings he had kept bottled up inside since before they came back, no longer able to repress the emotions that stirred within his heart. Still standing beside him, she touched his right shoulder to wordlessly tell him to calm down. Peter looked at his younger sister for a moment, seeing the soft features of her pale face. He reached up to grab her hand for a few seconds, took a deep breath to relax himself, gave her a faint smile of gratitude for pulling him back and she placed it down by her side again.

“Peter...” the Great Lion said, gazing at the seventeen-year-old boy once he turned back towards him. “I know sometimes it's difficult to accept, but change is an inescapable part of everyone's journey. We must accept and adapt to change in order to grow, to keep living. I sent you back to Digory Kirke because your time in Narnia had come to an end. You and your siblings had learned all you could from your experiences here for the time being.”

“But if Caspian hadn't summoned us back with Susan's horn, would you have brought us back yourself?”

“You mustn't forget, Your Majesty, that once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia. As long as you remember those words, I promise you there shall always be a place for you here no matter where your future journeys in life take you.”

Susan couldn't bear not knowing the truth about their future any longer.

“Aslan, forgive me, but there's something I need to ask you.”

“I know, dear one,” he said in a tone much quieter than before. “And that is part of the reason why I've specifically asked to see both of you before everyone is assembled together this afternoon.”

“What about Lucy and Edmund?” Peter inquired. “Why doesn't this matter concern all four of us?”

“Do not be alarmed, Your Majesty. This conversation does not concern them at the present time, but know that it will someday. Now, come. Let's take a walk around the grounds of the castle and all will be made clear soon enough.”

Peter and Susan exchanged a glance, both slightly hesitant to follow, but knew it must be done. And with that, the High King and Queen of Old followed the Great Lion through the castle's torch-lit corridors.

About an hour later, Caspian emerged out of a door in the east wing of the castle. He walked down a small case of stairs and began searching for Aslan to inform him that all Narnians and Telmarines had been gathered together in the city. His search, however, lasted no more than a few seconds when he immediately saw him walking by and was in deep conversation with the eldest Pevensies. Caspian couldn't hear anything from where he stood, but saw fit not to disturb the royals while Aslan was speaking to them privately. He turned his heels and was about to walk back towards the castle when he heard the Great Lion call out to him.

“Your Majesty?”

Peter and Susan looked over at the newly-crowned King and saw his chocolate brown eyes immediately lock onto the Gentle Queen's fair blue ones. Mesmerized, he could have gazed upon her fair beauty for all eternity. She stared back at him, not with love but rather with a distance expression instead. Looking deeper into her eyes, he hoped to read her thoughts, yet he could not detect what was on her mind. Regardless of Aslan and Peter's presence, he wanted nothing more than to bring Susan into his arms and kiss her. Oh, how he longed to kiss her again. The Great Lion's golden orbs traveled from the handsome Telmarine's gaze on the Daughter of Eve to her for a brief moment, intrigued by the way they captivated one another. From the corner of his eye, Caspian noticed this and suddenly realized again why he was there.

“We are ready,” he informed them with a slight nod to the head. “Everyone has assembled.”

Saying no more, Caspian's eyes lingered on Susan for a second more before leaving. She looked back at Aslan, who locked eyes with her just for a brief moment, and then the three royals continued walking on their path through the castle grounds together.

Closing the tall door behind her, the Gentle Queen was once again alone in Caspian's garden, finding peace and solace in the serenity of such wondrous, natural beauty. However, Susan didn't have much time to be here; all Narnians and Telmarines had been assembled together in the city, waiting patiently for the kings and queens to arrive. Peter had gone with Edmund to make sure the horses were being prepared for departure, and Lena was supposed to come and collect her when everyone was ready to leave the castle. Taking a small walk around the garden, she gazed upon the breathtaking sight before her. The red, white and pink roses had the sweetest scent, the colorful tulips were almost in a full bloom, and the calla lilies glistened the sunlight, for they had just been watered by one of the gardeners a few minutes earlier. Everything in this garden was so enchanting and beautiful.

“Almost as beautiful as you,” the sound of a Spanish accent awoke the Gentle Queen from her dreamlike trance.

She turned around to find Caspian standing only a few feet away from where she stood, feeling a faint blush rise in her cheeks for a few seconds. He stepped towards her, handing her a fully-bloomed white rose from behind his back and she took it with a weak smile. Susan brought the rose to the tip of her nose, enjoying its light fragrance.

“Thank you,” she said in a hushed tone, unsure of what to say now. Looking down at the ground, the Queen of Old soundlessly exhaled once before she felt his hand lift her chin to look at him and was met with a mixture of love and anguish in his dark eyes.

“Caspian, I—” she started, but stopped when he inched closer.

“Stay with me.”

Surprised by his short yet passionate plead, it took all of her courage not to look away from his piercing gaze. Susan opened her mouth to speak once more, although she could not say a single word in reply. Her breathing only became shorter when he cupped the side of her face with his hand and held it there.

“Please...” he whispered softly. “Stay with me.”

That's it for now! I hope this chapter was worth the six-month hiatus I had the story on. Lol! I live for reviews, so click on that button below and submit your feedback.

PLEASE REVIEW!