Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia.

*sigh* You would think with it being summer and it being the last chapter of my story, I could at least get it out on time! I am so sorry for the delay....I went out of town, got swamped with work when I got back from out of town, and this summer is turning out to be busier than the school year, which is just twisted and wrong. Oh well!

But, truly, thank you all for all of your support. It has been such a pleasure to write this and your encouragement just touches my heart. As a little present for you all, I drew a picture to go with this last chapter. You can find it at my deviantart website....there's a link in my profile, just click on the picture that says "Peter and Susan." It's nothing special, but I thought you'd like it.

musiclover-Thank you for your review! I love to imagine Aslan's country....and the best thing about it is that no matter what I imagine, it's going to be ten times better! I am glad you enjoyed the chapter....it was difficult for me to write because I wanted to get it just right. Thanks for your support, I hope you like the last chapter! :)

And here we go....

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Several weeks passed since we had been attacked. Peter was gradually regaining his strength but because he lacked the energy to do anything for a long time, many of his responsibilities passed on to the rest of us.

Edmund was a life-saver during this time. Though I could often deal with domestic disputes and other, simpler matters that were brought to our attention, matters of state and international affairs usually fell to our brothers, with Lucy and I occasionally adding our input. And since Peter was out of commission, Edmund took up the role of diplomat, handling every matter with grace and poise. I could already see that he was quickly becoming a wise, just young man. Aslan had given him an appropriate title.

Lucy too was a great servant during this time. My mind and nerves were much too frazzled by my experience to be able to function properly. So she went out to every family of the guards that were killed protecting Peter and I. She brought them food and comforted them with thoughtful words or even just sat there and shared in their tears. Her kindness touched my heart and I was reminded of how compassionate she was.

Today, both Edmund and Lucy were busy with their individual duties: Edmund with delegates from Calorman and Lucy with visiting some of Mr. Tumnus's friends. Peter was resting in his room after his usual morning walk.

I peeked into his room as I passed by and smiled when I saw him sitting on the ledge of his open window. He often did this, which caused our guards much concern. His room was located at least five stories off of the ground and they were afraid that he would fall off the ledge. Of course, Peter just laughed and continued his habit because he found the view of Narnia from his window to be refreshing to his spirits.

I backed away from his room as I got a sudden idea. I had an opportunity to talk with him alone that I hadn't had since our rescue. There was always at least one other person in the room with us, which I didn't mind, but I had wanted to be with him by myself and now I had the chance.

However, I knew there was one thing in particular that I could do for him that he would enjoy. I made my way to the kitchen as fast as I could so that my window of opportunity with Peter would not close before I had a chance to talk with him.

Fethra, a white hare and chief chef, was in the room when I entered. She paused in her work of pounding a lump of dough and bowed her head. "My lady, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing at the moment, Fethra, thank you," I responded as I grabbed a nearby kettle and began to fill it with water. "Do you mind if I heat some water?"

"Of course not, my lady. Would you like me to fix you some tea?" She watched me cautiously, as if she was afraid that I was going to set her kitchen on fire.

"No," I replied. "Do we have any more of that sucera from Tashbaan?"

Her face softened with understanding. "Ah....you are making some of that hot chocolate for King Peter, my lady?"

"Yes." I beamed.

She jumped off of her stool and walked over to a cabinet that was close to the door that I had come through. She opened the cabinet and disappeared inside for a moment while I waited patiently for her. She returned momentarily, holding an elaborately carved box that we had received as a gift from Tashbaan.

"Thank you," I said as I took the box from her and opened it. Inside were dark purple balls of sucera-a kind of luxury item that tasted almost like chocolate. It was a bit bitter, but with a bit of sugar, it made an excellent substitute for hot chocolate. It was one of Peter's favorite drinks and now was just the sort of occasion that called for it.

The water soon boiled and, after I had poured it into two cups, I dropped a ball of sucera into each one and stirred until it dissolved. The sugar was added next and, saying goodbye to Fethra, I picked up both cups and walked slowly back to Peter's room.

Much to my relief, he was still where I left him and no one else as of yet had come into the room. I tiptoed in, set the cups down on a nearby table, and then quietly closed the door behind me.

The soft click that the door made when it shut attracted my brother's attention. He craned his neck to see who had entered and smiled at me. "Susan. Come to sabotage me, have you?"

"Yes, I figured the only way to talk to you alone was to sneak up on you. So far, it's working fairly well." I walked over to the table, picked up the cups, and brought them over to him. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," he replied as he took one of the cups. A wide grin split his face when he saw what was inside. "Hot chocolate! You're a brick, Su!"*

I chuckled as I climbed onto the windowsill beside him and dangled my legs out the window. "Well, it's more of hot sucera, but it'll have to do."

He took a sip and closed his eyes, savoring the flavor. "This is good. I don't know how you do it, but only you seem to make it with just the right amount of sugar. Ed and Lucy make it much too sweet and I don't even want to try to make it."

I laughed. "Who knows, Peter? Maybe you'll have a magic touch when making it."

He wrinkled his nose and said, quite frankly, "I rather doubt it. I have the uncanny ability of ruining even a pot of boiling water. I'm afraid that making hot chocolate is quite beyond my skills."

I smiled as I recalled the incident he was referring to. Lucy had a nightmare one night and as the kitchen staff had already gone to bed and we didn't wish to wake them, I had sent Peter down to the kitchen to boil some water for tea. He had grabbed the first pot that he had come to, which was made of thick iron and was rather deep, and had filled it all the way to the top. While waiting for it to boil, he fell asleep and I, being curious as to what was taking him so long, came down to find that all the water had been transformed into vapor and the flames were now diligently working on making the pot hot. It was since decreed by Fethra that Peter was not allowed to be in her kitchen unsupervised.

He glanced over at me and his complexion darkened in embarrassment as he guessed at my thoughts. "At least I had a reasonable excuse for falling asleep, it was late!"

I chuckled. "I know, Peter, I know. Perhaps if you tried making something else, Fethra wouldn't be so suspicious of you."

He winced. "I swear that rabbit glares at me if I breathe too hard on her food. But no matter, I'm sure you didn't come here to discuss my lack of skills in the kitchen. What can I do for you?" And here, he turned his full attention to me, ready and willing to listen to absolutely anything I had to say.

I was immediately undone, for once again he displayed his unselfish devotion to his family, always putting our needs before his own. I didn't understand how he did it, but I was so incredibly grateful and touched by his care that tears sprung up in my eyes and I had to look away from him to regain my composure.

He set down his hot chocolate on the space beside him and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "Susan? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I blubbered, "I just don't know how you do it."

He looked puzzled. "Do what?"

"Live like this every day. You are so self-less and kind. You are always desiring to help other people....you almost got yourself killed this past week for my sake and I just don't understand why you would do that for me. I am so selfish and rude at times and yet-"

He cut me off abruptly, pulling me into a warm embrace as he said sternly, "Susan, stop that. You are not a terrible person and neither am I as much of a saint as you make me out to be. We are both human; we each have our shortcomings. You want to know why I was willing to die for you?"

I nodded, trying to stop the tears that were suddenly pouring from my eyes.

He pulled back and looked right into my eyes. "I was ready to die for you because you, Lucy, and Edmund are the most precious things on earth to me, second only to Aslan. I couldn't bear the thought of losing any of you.

"You all are a constant reminder to me of how I should act: Lucy is so brave and her faith is so strong, she challenges me to love Aslan more; Edmund is wise and patient, he constantly reminds me to check my own temper and impulsiveness; and you, Susan, you sacrifice so much of your time and energy making sure that each of us is well-taken care of and you are a daily example to me of what selfless love looks like. I am amazed at how each of you can still love me when I fail so often. You all are worth more to me than my own life.

"But even that was not enough to sustain me. I was so frightened, I could scarcely think. But then Aslan came to my mind. And after all that he has done for me, how could I not endure? If he allowed me to be imprisoned and tortured, though I may not know his reasons, I knew he did it for my good and he would give me the strength and courage to persevere. And even if I died, I would be with him and one day we would be reunited as a family in a place where there would be no more pain or tears. That's why I could die for you, not because of anything inherent in me, but because of the courage and love that my family and Aslan instill in me."

"Oh Peter!" I grabbed him again and held him close, touched by his words.

We sat there for a long while, just holding each other and thanking Aslan for putting us in the same family. Though we had suffered terribly this week, we could now see that we had come out the stronger. Aslan had proven himself faithful once more and our family had grown closer through those trials. As long as we relied on Aslan, we had nothing else to fear, for he would be here even if everything else faded away.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect

and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1: 2-4)

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*This is a compliment....I'm not sure how it works out to be a compliment, but it is. C.S. Lewis uses it in his Chronicles several times. :)

Goodbye my dear readers! Thank you for reading and God bless!