~ by Kendra E. Ardnek

When Ramandu had first been given the task of guarding the island and the stone knife, he had been very old and desired only solitude. But he was not so old now and desired company. Yes, he did have visitors from time to time, usually Aslan or perhaps one of the other Stars. He longed for someone who wouldn’t leave, or at least not leave quite so soon.

“Ramandu,” came a familiar voice as he stood watching the sea one day.

“Aslan,” said Ramandu, turning and bowing respectfully to the speaker.

“Ramandu,” said the great Lion. “I have a task for you.”

“I will perform it to the best of my ability,” replied Ramandu.

“You have done well in the keeping of this island and the guarding of the Stone Knife,” commended Aslan. “But I have another for you to guard and keep, if only for a short season. Look on my back.”

Ramandu did as he was instructed, and found a sleeping child – a girl – no more than a year old, hidden in the lustrous mane. She was a beautiful child, with flaxen curls, delicate features, and a rosebud mouth. She slept peacefully, her hands entwined in the mane. At Ramandu’s touch, her eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at Ramandu like the reflection of the sky above.

“She is important to the fate of Narnia,” said Aslan solemnly. “In her veins runs the royal blood of King Frank and Queen Helen. Guard her well, Ramandu. Teach her well. Be a father to her.”

“Daddy?” said the girl in a sweet, questioning voice as Ramandu took her into his arms.

“He is your daddy now,” said Aslan. With those words, he left, leaving Ramandu no longer lonely, but with a young girl clinging to his neck.

~~~

As Aslan had not told Ramandu the girl’s name, Ramandu called her merely “Daughter,” not wanting to call her a new name if her parents had given her one already. Years passed, and as she grew older, Ramandu grew younger. It seemed to him that the presence of the child took as many, if not more, years from him as did the Fire Berries.

According to Aslan’s instruction, he taught her everything a young girl would need to know – and more as he deemed fit. He watched in wonder as she grew from a beautiful child to a beautiful young girl.

One day a ship sailed up to the island, with only three travel-weary passengers. The table that was prepared for the travelers’ enjoyment was a welcome sight to them. However, as they ate at the table, they fell to arguing over whether to sail home or continue to travel on. One, in a fit of anger, took hold of the stone knife—

Instantly, sleep fell on all three.

“The poor men,” said the girl as they emerged the next morning and found them. Ramandu never ventured outside except during the day, as the sight of the stars above only made him homesick.

“They shall awaken again in time, daughter,” said Ramandu wisely. “Just be patient.”

“But when?” questioned the girl.

“When another ship arrives, then travels to Aslan’s country, leaving a member of its crew behind, and returns here,” said Ramandu. “Then they will awaken, and they will return to their homes.”

~~~

Years continued to pass, and the girl only grew more beautiful. Soon she was a young woman. One day, another ship came, just as Ramandu and his daughter took shelter for the night. Ramandu recognized two of them – King Edmund and Queen Lucy from oh-so-many years ago.

He explained to his daughter who those two were, and she asked about the others. Unfortunately, Ramandu had no answer. By the attention she seemed to devote to one of the unknowns, Ramandu wondered if he had begun to lose her.

As they watched in the shelter of their cave, they realized that travelers were not partaking of the feast, and the girl’s brow became knit with concern. “Why aren’t they eating, Father?” she asked.

“I know not,” Ramandu admitted.

Finally, just before dawn, he gave the girl leave to go and talk to the party. Ramandu knew the party was trustworthy, as they had in their number the Just King and the Valiant Queen. He told his daughter that he would be out, as was his habit, at dawn.

As he later watched the party sail away later, he knew that when the ship came back, his daughter would leave on it.

And so it happened, and his Daughter became the Queen. Ramandu waited eagerly for news of her and her life with the young King Caspian. He rejoiced when he heard of the birth of their son, Rilian, and grieved when he learned of her death and the son’s disappearance. He was grieved more by the latter, however, as he knew that she was now in Aslan’s Country, a much better place.

One day, he saw two children fly over the island, one sometime after the other. The first he recognized as being Eustace, the cousin of the Kings and Queens of Old who had visited the island with Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian. The other was a girl he didn’t know.

He later rejoiced when he learned that they had been sent on a quest to find his daughter’s missing son and that the quest was successful.

~~~

Many years later, Ramandu finally became as young as a babe that had just been born yesterday, and he retook his place among the stars.

But he never forgot the girl.

He never forgot his daughter.