•King Caspian: A New Dawn•

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tears clung to Melioralee's face as the sharp wind stung her cheeks. Sobs wracked her body harder than even the horse carrying her across the countryside could. No poem or sonnet could rightly describe the pain that coursed through Melioralee's veins. She felt as though her heart was fragmenting into a million pieces...liable to shatter at any second.

Fear of losing Aloysius consumed her. Terror that she had just lost Caspian enveloped her.

As they approached the border, Melioralee slowed her horse and, coming to a stop, fell to the ground.

Her cries of anguish filled the empty night air. Melioralee brought her arms to her chest as though she could somehow hold her heart together.

"Why do you weep my child?" an unknown voice asked gently.

Looking up, Melioralee found herself gazing into the concerned face of a motherly dryad.

As hard as she tried to form the words, Melioralee was unable to swallow back her sorrow. In defeat, she buried her face in her hands and continued to weep.

"This kind of sadness comes from deep within you..." the dryad breathed, stroking Melioralee's hair. "You must love someone or something very deeply to be grieved so."

The dryad continued to speak soft nothings until Melioralee's cries subsided.

"Where were you running to?"

"Home." Melioralee replied with a sniffle.

"I asked where you were running to, not where you are running from..."

"I..."

"Narnia is your home, my fair queen."

"I'm...I'm not your queen."

"Perhaps you have yet to wear the crown...but Narnia already recognizes you as their queen. You don't just have a king watching out for you dear one. We all watch and listen. When you cry, we catch the tears."

"I feel as though my heart is being torn in two." Melioralee whispered with a sniffle. "What am supposed to do?"

"What you need to do, dear one." a warm, deep voice replied.

Melioralee's heart pounded as she surveyed the dark wood around her, searching for the voice's bearer. She dared not speak; almost afraid this moment was nothing but a dream.

A soft breeze swept over the ground, circling at Melioralee's feet and tugging at her hair.

Following its playful hints, she looked up and her breath caught.

Aslan.

Despite the darkness of the night around them, the lion's presence was as bright as the day.

Melioralee stood, unsure of what else to do.

"You're afraid." Aslan uttered compassionately.

"I'm not sure what I am..."

"Of losing them." Aslan interrupted. "You fear choosing one means forfeiting the other."

Tears brimmed in Melioralee's eyes as she searched for words.

"How do I let go?" she finally whispered, fighting with all her might to hold back the tears.

"Who ever said you had to?"

"I've always had to let go..."

"But you don't. Deep down you hold on, perhaps tighter than most can. It's a beautiful part of who you are; it sets you apart."

"Why does it hurt so deeply?"

Aslan's eyes softened as he returned, "To feel deeply is to love deeply. The rarest of loves is not often without pain. Love like that holds a power the ages have yet to find broken."