Accidentally Falling | Narnia

54 | aftermath

Peter and Susan were unaware of the battle around them while they engaged the Witch in combat but it turned out that, when Aslan arrived at the battlefield, the Witch's army fled. At the mere sight of Aslan, every single one of the Witch's minions started screaming and running away. Whether it was because the Great Lion looked so majestic and powerful with the rising sun shining behind him and they were afraid or because they had stories of him and how, with his help, Peter and Caspian brought the downfall of their mistress during the First War, none of the Narnians knew.

After the battle, the Narnian and Archenland armies gathered up their dead and built a pyre in the middle of the battlefield to burn them. Oreius was burned separately from the army and Peter, along with Trumpkin, Nikabrik, and Glenstorm built the fallen General's pyre themselves.

Cor and Corin made it through, although Corin was sporting a large bruise on his left eye. But instead of fussing about it, the Prince of Archenland seemed to be proud of his bruise and kept pointing at it everytime anyone would ask him if he was alright.

Edmund was safe. When Susan and Peter finally gathered their senses, Susan saw Edmund sitting upright on the ground where she left him with Lucy by his side, clutching a small bottle with red liquid inside. She ran to her brother and tackled him into a bone-crushing hug while sobbing heavily into his shoulder. Edmund, who was never the crier, couldn't keep his own tears from falling as his elder sister showered his face with kisses. We're safe, he thought as he buried his face against Susan's shoulders while his one hand gripped Lucy's. My family is safe.

The Narnians and the Archenlanders knew that Caspian perished during the war. The whole country was muted with grief over Caspian's death, despite knowing that he was their enemy in the battlefield. Maybe the people were convinced that Caspian only did it because the Witch poisoned his mind or the Witch threatened his family, no one knew for sure. But for the Narnians and Archenlanders, Caspian was and always would be a King of Narnia and they didn't care that they fought on the opposite sides during the war. They mourned for him.

But somehow, knowing that they won the war made the Narnians and Archenlanders feel better. Maybe the fact knew that the greatest enemy Narnia has ever fought had finally been vanquished and that their families are safe back home has eased slightly their feeling of loss over their fallen King.

On the way back to Cair Paravel, Peter and Susan didn't leave each other's side, though they didn't talk about anything at all. When they finally got back to Cair Paravel, the both of them were busy helping the healers tend to the wounded that they hadn't had the chance to talk about what happened. They just sort of drifted around Cair, doing their duties but feeling blank. The person they both loved died in their arms; it left them hollow. Both of them felt numb, as if their legs would crumble beneath them with every step they'd take. Once in a while, they would meet in the hallways in passing, after being separated tending to the wounded and dealing with the aftermath. But they'd only take each other's hands, give them a comforting squeeze, and be on their separate ways again. They didn't talk.

They didn't talk about Caspian.

***

That night, Peter went to Caspian's bedchambers.

The night sky was ink blank, no trace of the Narnian stars. It was as if the sky also mourned the death of his brother.

He hadn't visited the place even before he knew that Caspian wasn't really his brother and that he had joined their enemy. Of course, back then, Peter knew he was still alive and breathing.