A/N: Okay, I know that the timeline is a bit messed up. Hope you guys don’t mind. This chapter covers a lot of stuff. I sure will miss this story when it’s done. And if my characters behave, it looks like this story is almost done. Any phrases or lines that might have been taken from C.S. Lewis’ are C.S. Lewis’.

**********

“You may tell the others, Susan,” I said as we leisurely walked back. I slowly turned and faced Susan. “I don’t know, but it seems like my memory about the other world has been fading away each day.”
Susan seemed surprised. “Come to think about it, I think my memory is fading too! If you didn’t mention it just now, I would have forgotten entirely!”
“So you can feel it too?”
She nodded. “Let’s not mention this to Lucy, but I think Aslan is making us forget on purpose,” she finished quietly.
I sighed again and looked away. “Perhaps tis so.”
*****
When we got back to the Camp, it was quiet and peaceful with the fireflies (named lantern fairies in Narnia), silently speaking in their own mysterious tongue. At a distance, we saw Lucy, Edmund, and Peter lying with their backs resting on the grass and their hands half hidden behind their head.
“What are they doing?” asked Susan wondrously.
“They seem to be looking up to the stars.”
“Wait, they’re not alone; a centaur—“
“Orieus,” I guessed.
“Orieus,” she repeated, rolling this new word on her tongue. “He looks like he’s showing them the stars.”
We neared them.
Lucy looked up at us, “Oh, hello, Susan and Anne.”
“It’s beautiful,” remarked Edmund.
“What is?” I asked, confused.
“The sky,” Peter replied for him.
Orieus cleared his throat loudly. “As I was saying, the stars in Narnia are living creatures. They light up the sky with their glory and splendor. Not to mention their radiance. See that square dot…” he said pointing out.
Susan whispered with shock, “The stars in Narnia are living creatures? You mean, living?”
Orieus abruptly stopped talking and lowered his hand with astonishment. “Yes, you didn’t know? Ah, I see that you are not familiar with the sky.”
“No, I am not,” she replied flatly.
“But you will learn—“
A leopard approached us; interrupting Orieus.
“Your majesties, I’m sorry to interrupt but I wanted to suggest that you all start to head back to the pavilion. Tomorrow will be a long day.” He chuckled nervously, “You know with Orieus, you’ll never know—“
“Levi…”said Orieus warningly.
“—when you’ll get to bed.”
Orieus narrowed his eyes slightly at the leopard. “Levi, how many times have I told you not to interrupt me? This is the fifth—go on,” he summoned us away, clearly wanting to have a private discussion with this leopard.
Peter, Edmund, and Lucy reluctantly stood up.
“I forgot! I’m…” we could still hear parts of the conversation as we walked away.
As soon as we were far from hearing distance, Lucy giggled. We couldn’t take it anymore so we all broke out into laughter.
“Did you see Orieus staring down at the Levi?” Edmund hooted.
“He was like a giant and the Leopard like a mouse!” Susan gasped.
Peter’s face was turning red, and I was choking from laughter.
After a few moments, we calmed down.
“Good night,” were our last words to each other that night and then we parted; the boys to their tent and the girls to our own.
*****
I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. I went outside after I got ready.
Where did everyone go?
I quickly consulted with a centaur who told me.
Soon, Lucy came along saying, “Good morning, Anne! Where are Edmund and Peter?”
I looked away and swallowed hard. “They’re in training.”
“Susan?”
“What?”
“Where is Susan?” she stated a bit more clearly.
“I’m not sure… I think she’s having a talk with Aslan.”
“Oh.”
It was silent for a moment.
“So, since we don’t seem to have anything to do right now, especially with the boys in training and Susan with Aslan, let’s do something!” Lucy suggested eagerly.
“Alright! What do you have in mind?”
“Let’s wade in the river!”
I looked at Lucy doubtfully. “What? Are you sure? We’re going to get wet, you know.”
She lifted her arms in despair. “Teenagers! That’s the whole point! Come on!”
As we walked, I said to Lucy determinedly, “Now if Susan comes along and sees us…” I shook a finger at her playfully. “…then you’re the one to blame and you’ll explain.”
“Alright, alright,” Lucy giggled. “By the way, that rhymes!” She sobered for a moment. “It’s a fair game.”
“Who said it wasn’t?”
*****
We shook off our sandals and then dipped our feet into the clear, cool water.
“You know, come to think of it, Narnia is like heaven,” Lucy commented.
“Not when there is war,” I said quietly.
We lapsed into silence; enjoying the scenery and leaving each other to our own thoughts.
It was truly beautiful. The lavender mountains surrounding us, the sky standing out like the bluest diamond, the sun shining like pure gold; sparkling down its warm rays, the colorful and dainty flowers sprinkled carefully on the grass like a beautiful; piece of art, the tall trees with spiked—shaped leaves swaying with the breeze…oh, words, cannot describe Narnia.
If you are one of the few who have been into Narnia, then you will agree. I will not waste time trying to explain something that is indescribable; like a delicious dream—one of those dreams that feel so good, you don’t want to awake. And when you do, you are upset because you were just about to approach the best part.
Lucy broke my reverie suggesting,” Let’s wade now!”
And into the water we dived, splashed, and laughed having the best of fun until…
“Hmm…there you are,” said a female voice.
Lucy and I jumped in alarm.
“Why, Susan!” Lucy and I said in the same exact time. We stopped and stared at each other and then laughed.
“You startled us!” Lucy exclaimed.
“What are you two doing in this river? Susan admonished, “You’ll catch the death of a cold!”
I chuckled. “It’s spring, Susan, not winter!”
“Exactly! Why don’t you join us?” Lucy invited cordially.
“It’s really warm in here—really. Besides, we’re only soaking our feet. Come on,” I persuaded.
“Well…”
“Please?”
“Alright.”
****
“Let’s play ‘Marco Polo’,” I suggested eagerly.
“What’s that?” wondered Susan.
“It’s a game that the person who’s “it” gets blindfolded…” It was a few moments until I finally finished explaining the basic rules of the game.
“Oh, it’s like ‘Blind-Man’s Buff’, only easier!” Lucy exclaimed.
“It sounds like fun,” said Susan. “Who’ll be ‘it’?”
“How about you?”
It was one of the best times I had ever had. To watch Susan blindfolded and helpless; try desperately to grab anything was just good fun. When she spun around like lightning, her long hair sprayed all around her like a fan and oh, her laughs! They were like music and it echoed through the sparkling water and into the trees.
After a while, Lucy panted, “Let’s sit on the bank and talk. It was starting to get darker and now the sky was streaked with pink, purple, and blue mists with the sun pinkish—orange—it was heavenly.
We chatted long into the early evening, having heartfelt conversations; talking about things girls tend to talk about.
Suddenly, I looked up at the sky. “Oh no, it’s getting really dark! It might be almost time for supper! We should go!”
We hastily picked up our towels and practically ran back to the camp.
*******
“Where were you?” were Peter’s first words as soon as we approached him.
“We were about to set up a search party!” Edmund put in.
“It’s time to eat,” Peter informed us. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!”
“Starving?” I repeated, slightly frowning. “You can’t be starving; that means that you’re almost dying of hunger!”
Peter grinned sheepishly. “Couldn’t you tell I was exaggerating?
“Where were you girls anyway?” asked Edmund.
Lucy explained briefly, “We were talking by the river. Over there,” she pointed out. “I’m hungry.”
“Well then, what are you waiting for?”
We walked over to a long table that was set up very elegantly. Covering the table was a gold tablecloth with lacy edgings. White candles were placed down carefully and the amount of food before us was overwhelming. The aroma was tantalizing; causing my mouth to water. Wine was poured halfway into each golden goblet; marking each place setting.
“This is divine,” I remarked as we ate.
“I was sta—no,“ Peter stopped himself, “I mean, hungry before this but now I feel so satisfied!”
“Me too!” Edmund agreed.
“How was training?” Susan asked curiously.
My smile vanished.
“It was…hard at first. It wasn’t exactly what I expected…” he trailed off. He brightened. “But I‘ve got to tell you what happened…” Peter started his tale.
I could no longer hear Peter; I was lost in my own thoughts when I heard Edmund say, “Why the faraway look in your eyes, Anne? What are you thinking about?” he pressed .
I said, sighing, “Thoughts.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Just things.”
He remained silent for a moment and then apologized hastily, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been prying.”
If I had heard him, I would have assured him of the opposite. But I was in another world.
“How do you like Narnia?”
I glanced up quickly; hearing a different voice. It was a male centaur that had addressed me.
“Hmm? Narnia? Oh, Narnia!” I said distractedly. “I think it’s very beautiful and pleasant. I guess you may say that I’m enjoying it grandly,” I said slowly. “But it’s impossible.” I said under my breath.
“Pardon?”
“N—nothing.”
The centaur raised his eyebrows but wisely kept his mouth shut. “A few words of advice, Daughter of Eve. Spend every second of your stay here wisely.” And with that, he walked away.
“Wait,” I called out,
If he had heard me, he paid no heed.
Suddenly, Lucy cried out with delight, “They are some creatures coming toward us! They look like—like dryads; dryads, only smaller. Maybe they are mini—dryads!
Yes, it was true. Merry children pranced over to us; giggling with joy.
“Why are they so happy?” questioned Susan.
“I don’t know,’ replied Peter with uncertainty.
“I think it’s because they’re happy to see us,” I guessed.
“But why—“ Susan stopped when the children were nearing much closer.
They were extremely polite; boys bowing, girls, curtsying, and both asking polite and interesting questions. At one point, a smaller dryad had started to get restless in her excitement when her older brother shushed her with a meaningful glance. She calmed down quickly.
After a while, they went back to their trees.
“I think they are cute,” Edmund noted.
“Very cute,” nodded Lucy.
“And pretty,” Susan added.
“And polite,” Peter finished.
“You wouldn’t see that virtue in many young children in our world,” Susan agreed. “I mean, you would but not as in high volume as these dryads.”
“They are trained well,” I concluded thoughtfully.
After we finished indulging into the food, all of us sat by the campfire and watched the fauns dance around the campfire. There were all sorts of creatures participating in the lively celebrations; they were dancing, playing instruments, or simply eating. It was the best of times!
We sat up till very late.
“We should get to bed now,” Peter advised, finally.
And with that, we concluded our 5th night in Narnia.
******
I woke up bright and early the next morning to see that Susan and Lucy were just about to rise out of bed.
Many creatures came up to us and asked hundreds of questions. At first, it felt good; knowing that they actually cared, but eventually, it started to get a bit irritating.
“How are you?”, “Did you sleep well?”, “May I do you any favors?”, “How do you like Narnia?” Those were only a few of the many questions asked by fauns, centaurs, dryads and naiads (known as Well—Women in Narnia), dogs, mice, and many more.
By the time we finished eating the early morning meal, we could feel something different about the air.
“I feel tension in the air,” said Peter strangely.
“I was just about to say the same thing,” Susan gave a dry laugh.
“It’s eerie,” Lucy described the feeling exactly.
“I wonder,” Edmund paused, “What could be wrong?”
I remained silent.
Crowds began to gather and all five of us stood in a line beside Aslan.
Then a leopard approached Aslan. “Sire, there is a messenger who craves audience.”
******
What if Aslan can’t help Edmund?” Susan whispered anxiously in Peter’s ear.
Peter tensed and he looked straighter ahead.
I took Susan’s and Lucy’s hand and squeezed them saying, “Be brave. Aslan has a reason for everything,” I reminded them.
Everyone was extremely overwrought and alert and an occasional whisper could be heard. Other than that, it was so quiet that I could have heard a pin drop.
I felt sorry for Edmund.
He has gone through more things than any of us.
After it seems like hours, Aslan strode up solemnly with the Witch who was walking behind him. She lifted her chin, darted a look at us which seemed like wickedly fierce joy, and smirked at Edmund (and the rest of us, for that matter).
*****
We erupted into cheers and hugged one another. I felt a sudden surge of inexpressible joy swarm about me as I smiled from ear to ear.
“Yay!” Lucy laughed and almost suffocated Edmund by hugging him tightly. Actually, almost everyone was either congratulating or hugging him, so he was already in the danger of suffocating.
“Oomph. Umph,” Ed grunted and his ears turned red with embarrassment for he wasn’t used to all the attention he was getting.
Peter grinned and patted Ed on the back.
Susan laughed and quickly kissed Edmund’s hair.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Aslan, he was looking fondly at us but his eyes were sad. My spirits dampened, for I knew what dreadful deed would occur tonight.
Will I be there?