#i'd like to think with lucy and susan's blessing caspian gifts the elephant to prunaprismia so that she may give it to her son

[thedawntreaders]

you know something that's been on my mind? i think susan would crochet stuffed animals for lucy when lucy was still a child in narnia, because all the ones they had were left back in the professor's mansion. out of all of them, the baby elephant was lucy's favorite and most cherished. it's susan's proudest work.

this very same elephant would be left untouched thousands of years later in lucy's quarters after her disappearance, which the following kings and queens had never dared to enter, as they did not with the rooms of the other kings and queen. but something so noble as a toy, whose purpose is to provide comfort and happiness, could never be destined to stay hidden away forever.

the castle of cair paravel burns brightly tonight, broken into nothing but flame and rubble from the recent telmarine's attack. it is in this debris king caspian the first finds a crocheted elephant. it's a cute looking thing, despite the ash that stains it so, and he decides then that he must take it with him into the heart of narnia, where his new home will be. he has it washed, and gifts it to his firstborn son, who cherishes the elephant with all his heart.

fast forward many, many years, the son has a boy of his own, and with fond memories, gives the stuffed animal to him, so that it could bring the child joy as it did for him. soon enough, the toy becomes something of an unofficial royal heirloom.

when susan catches sight of the stuffie in caspian the tenth's quarters, she finds herself fixated on it. no, it can't be. without warning, she rushes to it and takes it into her hands. caspian doesn't mind at all. finds it amusing, in fact.

"can't ignore the elephant in the room?" he teases. she doesn't entertain an answer.

"how did you get this?" caspian senses a shift in the atmosphere, and sets his book down.

"it's always been with me since i was a child. it was passed down to me through my forefathers. doctor cornelius said its creation dates back to when the telmarine dynasty first began. why do you ask?"

she smiles to herself, caressing the elephant. her eyes gloss over with the memories of an era long past. how simple times were then, when they were nothing but children chasing each other through marble halls and sleeping through history lessons. she can recall the wooden pressure of the hooks she used to interlock the textiles with, the ache of her wrists, the hug of her sister as she asks about the toy's progress.

"your professor is wrong, i'm afraid. i was the one who made this sweet little one, once upon a time. it was for lucy."