Everyone you had ever heard of (if you knew the history of these countries) seemed to be there. There was Glimfeather the Owl and Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, and King Rilian the Disenchanted, and his mother, the Star's daughter, and his great father Caspian himself. And close beside him were the Lord Drinian and the Lord Bern and Trumpkin the Dwarf and Trufflehunter the good Badger with Glenstorm the Centaur and a hundred other heroes of the Great War of Deliverance. And then from another side came Cor the King of Archenland with King Lune his father and his wife Queen Aravis and the brave Prince Corin Thunderfist, his brother, and Bree the Horse and Hwin the Mare. And then- which was a wonder beyond all wonders to Tirian- there came from further away in the past, the two good Beavers and Tumnus the Faun. And there was greeting and kissing and handshaking and old jokes revived (you've no idea how good an old joke sounds when you take it out again after a rest of five or six hundred years).
And after whispering something to the Star’s Daughter (I know not what, but she gave him a smile of understanding), Caspian went to Edmund and took him in his arms and kissed him; and afterwards they held each other very tightly, almost too tightly, though neither minded at all (after all, when you have not seen someone whom you love in a very long time, you want them to hold you quite close). And when they finally took their eyes from each other (this was a good deal later), they saw that the whole company had moved forward to the centre of the orchard where the Phoenix sat in the tree and looked down upon them all, and at the foot of that tree were two thrones and in those two thrones a King and Queen so great and beautiful that everyone bowed down before them. And well they might, for these two were King Frank and Queen Helen from whom all the most ancient Kings of Narnia are descended.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Caspian tells his wife that he loves both her and Edmund, for it is entirely possible to be in love with two people at once, and love them both equally. She understands this, of course; for one understands everything once he or she is dead. She smiles at Caspian, who kisses her cheek and squeezes her hand, then walks over to Edmund, who is with Lucy, saying hello to the Beavers. Lucy’s eyes light up when she sees Caspian coming towards them, and she nudges her brother, causing Edmund to turn and meet Caspian, face-to-face. There are no words, and at first they simply stare at each other for several long moments, drinking in the sight of each other, before simultaneously reaching for each other. Edmund throws his arms around Caspian’s neck and Caspian wraps his arms around Edmund’s back, drawing him close as their lips melt together for the first time in so long. Lack of breath is not a concern now, and Edmund only breaks the kiss so that he can hold Caspian close against him, stroking his hair and feeling that they are really finally together.
Caspian eventually pulls back to look at Edmund, and smiles. “I love you,” he says softly, running fingers along Edmund’s cheek.
Edmund is silent for a moment, then smiles back. “I love you too,” he tells Caspian, who smiles again, and Edmund cannot help but laugh with the joy of it all, as Caspian leans forward and presses a warm kiss to his cheek. Caspian then laughs himself, and the two embrace again. They eventually realize that everyone else has moved to a certain spot in the center of the orchard, and they walk slowly over, hand in hand, fingers twined tightly together, to see what the others are marveling at. The Phoenix is beautiful, and Edmund is awed to be in the presence of the great King Frank and Queen Helen; yet his attention is really only focused on Caspian, who now has an arm around his waist and is smiling down at him. Edmund thinks he could never be happier- forever, after all, is a very long time.
~EL FIN~
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
frustrated
accomplished
content
thoughtful