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Susan blinked, not ready for the sudden light. Strange. One second she was staring at a hospital ceiling, fighting to breathe. Next, she was lying on her back in the middle of a lush, green meadow, staring at the fluffy clouds in the clear sky above. She slowly and carefully sat up, well aware that the pain that had been plaguing her body for the last week and a half was gone. Even stranger, she thought, looking around. This looks like one of Peers' drawings.

She blinked again, realizing the truth as soon as the idle thought had passed. Her eldest child was a skilled artist and loved to sketch. He drew all manner of subjects, but his favorites were the ones he saw when, as he and his father said, "everything slipped." Roger had been double-sighted ever since Edmund and Lucy returned from the Dawn-Treader, and Peers had somehow inherited the Grace. She could pinpoint the drawing she remembered exactly. They'd been on vacation in the country near the Professor's old house when all at once both husband and son gasped and fell to their knees, tears forming in their eyes at the pure beauty of whatever vision they were seeing. Almost instantly, Peers had out his charcoal and paper, sketching subconsciously.

It did always look a little like meadow outside Aslan's How, she thought now, rising to her feet. Perhaps that's what they had seen, only changed. Made new. The meadow she saw now was more lovely than anything she had ever seen before, Narnian or not.

She did not have time to stare long. A light laugh suddenly echoed in from behind her, a sound she had not heard in over half a century. Susan turned slowly, part in disbelief and part in dread, and met the eyes of her beloved Lucy.

She could not have been more than eight years old.

"Noticed me at last, have you, Su?" Lucy said playfully, mischief shining in her eyes. She was wearing her coronation dress. She was exactly as Susan had remembered the day they were crowned.

Susan opened her mouth and made some small sound, only to close it again. Her throat seemed to be closing, too. Tears sprang to her eyes, of joy and frustration. "L- lu-luc-c-cy," she managed to say.

Thousands of times had she pictured seeing her sister again, apologizing for all her wrongs, begging her forgiveness on bended knee, pleading with her to forget every inconsiderate thing she'd ever done while in that ridiculous phase. Now they stood, face to face, and she could not even speak!

"There's no need to say anything," Lucy said reassuringly. "At least not yet. I already know how sorry you are. And I'm sorry that you're sorry, that you ever had to be sorry. But it couldn't be helped. We all learn in different ways, don't we?"

"I..." Susan swallowed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You look so young," she said helplessly, unable to think of anything else.

Her sister laughed, a sound that once again took her breath away. "And you look so old! But there's time enough for all that later. You've got to come with me now."

"Where are we going?" Susan asked as Lucy took her hand and began to pull her along.

"Onward," was her only answer.

Lucy led her through the grass and flowers at a rather sharp pace. Susan's battered old body found it hard to keep up, and she was wheezing before very long. "Lu," she said hesitantly, afraid the girl would disappear if questioned. "I...don't think...I can go further."

"Nonsense," she cried back. "Just believe. I know you can. I've always known you can. The question is, did you know?"

"I...don't know..."

"Exactly. Ah! Here's Edmund. Ed! Ed, look who's here at last!"

Susan's breath caught once again as Edmund rose from the ground. Apparently, he had been watching the sky with one leg bent, his knee peeking above the grass, when Lucy called him. If Susan did not know what to say to Lucy, the feeling was doubled for Edmund who had lost hope for her first.

"Susan," he said, that grave smile she remembered so well playing on his lips. "Praise Aslan, we thought you wouldn't make it!"

"He thought," Lucy corrected. "I knew all along. I didn't give up hope."

"I never gave up hope," Edmund said softly, and it seemed that he was talking about more than just Susan's arrival. "Just trust. How are you, Su? I can see the years have been kind."

"Edmund..." she bit her lip, unsure of how to go on. "Oh, Ed, I'm so sorry!" she finally burst, throwing her arms around him and weeping openly.

He didn't stiffen as he did when alive, but pulled her closer, burying his head in her shoulder. "I know, Su. I forgave you that day, you know. I was just afraid you wouldn't come to your senses before it was too late."

He let her sob for several moments, then pulled away. "Now, come. Dry your eyes. You've much farther to go yet, dear sister, before you're home."

She nodded, then really looked at him for the first time. Confusion overcame her penitence and joy. Lucy still looked like a new made queen, but he was wearing the soft, comfortable clothing he had been the day they returned to England the second time. He was older than he should have been, if Lucy was any comparison. "Edmund, you're older!" she said, half to herself.

Both Edmund and Lucy burst out laughing, enveloping her in a hug. "There is no time, here, Susan!" he said. "Now come with us. To the meadow's end!"

This time, each of her siblings grabbed a hand and pulled her along.

They did not go far. Just over a small rise in the ground, they could see a low table set up with tree stumps for stools. "Oh, Aslan..." Susan muttered, almost afraid to go on. Peter sat at the table, looking as she had seen him at twenty-five in the Golden Age, handsome and royal. Caspian was seated next to him-or at least, she thought it was Caspian. He looked older than last she'd seen him, and there was a more somber air about him. Reepicheep the mouse was the last occupant, looking as proud and foolhardy as ever.

"Don't be frightened, Su," Edmund said, pulling her forward. "He's been as eager to see you as we have. Peter!"

Peter looked up at the call, distracted from whatever conversation they had been holding. He broke out into a joyous grin when he saw Susan, rising from the table so quickly that he knocked over his stool. "Susan!" he cried, sprinting towards the three of them and wrapping his arms around her before she could say a word. "Susan, how we've missed you!"

Susan could do no more than laugh. Peter began babbling about nothing in particular, and he was switching subjects so fast she could hardly keep up. "Give her room to breathe, Peter," came Caspian's crisp voice. A hand fell on his shoulder and Susan found Peter being forced away by the Telmarine king, who was suddenly shaking her hand rather vigorously. "Oh, but it's good to have you back, Your Gentleness. We were wondering when you were going to show up in our corner of the world again."

"Susan!" Rough screeches suddenly erupted in the air and all looked overhead to find a bluejay flying forward to land on Susan's shoulder. "I've missed you so much!"

"Primplefeather!" she cried. A picture rose into her mind unbidden-a blue, white, and black feather mask, expertly crafted, lined in red and gold thread in celebration of Aslan and Christmas, pushed to the bottom of a hope chest in a royal bedchamber while its owner puzzled over a cryptic utterence of the Lion himself-but she pushed it aside and planted a kiss on the jay's head. "I've missed you, too!"

"There are more, thousands more, to meet you," Peter said, taking the lead. "But you need to see a few specific faces first."

"Peter, there's something I don't understand," she said before he could take her hand. "Why are you so much older than Lucy and Edmund?"

"Who said he was?" asked Edmund himself, grinning. Susan blinked and looked him up and down. He was suddenly the king she remembered from the Golden Age too, and not some ancient legend going home again. Lucy giggled, making Susan turn and stare. She was eighteen and invincible again, the Valiant queen to the last. Susan's brow furrowed and she groaned. "I think I'm going to get a headache," she muttered, inciting more laughter all around.

"Come on," Peter insisted. He led the procession to the place where the meadow met woods.

"When you said specific faces, who exactly did you have in mind?" Susan asked, glad that the larger number had taken a more gentle pace than Lucy and Edmund. An eighty-two-year-old body did not work the same way as a twenty-year-old body.

"Well, you'll see the Professor and Aunt Polly later," Peter answered.

"Mostly just Aslan and Rog," Edmund said thoughtfully.

Susan's breath caught. She stopped, unable to move another step. "Roger?"

"Well of course," Peter said, looking confused at the idea of not seeing her husband. "Don't you want to see him?"

"More than almost anything," she breathed.

"Well then, you'll see him," said Lucy.

"Where? When?"

"Soon."

They rushed through the woods and soon broke out into another meadow even lovlier than the last, this one with a river winding its way through the grass. Susan's breath caught. Standing nonchalantly with his back to the group and his hands in his pockets was a tall young man with bright red hair. She immediately knew it was Roger.

"Hey, Roger!" Peter called, sprinting ahead to meet the man by the river. "Roger, she's here!"

Roger turned around-he looked exactly as he had when he proposed to her. She watched his face open in joy and was soon swept up into his arms once again. "Oh, my Susan, my Queen, how I've missed you!" he said, cradling her. She could say nothing, only weep into his shoulder in happiness.

A hush fell over the bubbling crowd. Soft, padded footsteps could be heard and the group parted. Roger slipped out of Susan's grip, always staying within reach, and fixed his gaze on something behind her. Susan swallowed, turned, and knelt.

"Susan Pevensie," said Aslan's silky voice. "Hello, my daughter."

"Aslan," Susan whispered, scarcely able to breathe.

"You turned away from me, once."

"It was the worst years of my life. I am so, so sorry that I did not understand Your words."

"I know." The sweet smell of his mane filled her nose, making her dizzy. "And you made up for it. You exchanged your mask for a crown again. You are welcome in My Country, O Gentle Queen."

The crowd erupted into gales of laughter and cheering. Susan felt as if all her old weariness had vanished, and when she stood she was once again the same young maiden that had worn a blue feathered mask at a Christmas dance. With a laugh of thanks, she embraced Aslan and ran to join her family and friends.

This time, there was no mask.

Over at last, and in my personal opinion, this ending was bad. Your mileage may vary, but I did not like it, even though that's the way it wanted to end. You can also expect the first chapter of Graced to be up in about fifteen minutes. Thank you to all my wonderful, wonderful reviewers! This is my first real story on and I was stunned at how nice and just plain amazing you guys are. I wish I had the time or patience to name everyone who reviewed, but that would take forever and I have more things to write!

Like I said, I'm starting Graced of Aslan tonight, but unfortunately, I wouldn't expect very reliable updates for a while. For starters, next week begins Kill The Students As Fast As You Can Month in which all my teachers and organizations plan EVERYTHING at the same time. I have tests, ACT prep, play practice, concerts, and choir and solo/ensemble contest as well as a sudden burst of calculus homework. Another thing being that while I know where I want Graced to go, I'm not quite sure how it's going to get there. I'm nearly done with the second chapter and I have lots of outlining done, but still a lot left to do. Scenes will continue as often as I can manage.

Long monologue short, you guys are awesome, I'm behind in everything, the writing will go on, and it rains in the spring. Some things are just meant to be. :)

~Feste