This is set before the events of Chapter Five in another work of mine, The Golden Age. It's very unlikely that this will make sense if you haven't first read that.
Lucy was fed up with the lot of them. Even Susan, who could usually be counted on to be reasonable was acting silly—she'd told Lady Willa to report Marcie's every move.
Marcie to be regarded with suspicion! Lucy scoffed, and felt badly for the Rat Doe, who was about as convinced of Marcie's threat as Lucy was after she'd tailed her for a day. And really, Marcie spent so much time with the Physician that Lady Willa's eavesdropping had to be dreadfully boring. (Lucy thought Paulus was a dear, of course, and utterly brilliant, but had the good sense to find somewhere else to be whenever he got particularly enthusiastic about some herb or another. He was truly so long-winded.)
Certainly, Marcie was an unknown element, but Lucy had told them again and again that there was nothing to worry about. Aslan was at work and they merely had to be patient.
Oh, they said that they accepted it, but Lucy wasn't so sure that they did. They didn't act like it. And, really, how frustrating. Lucy had decided to ignore them.
Edmund was being particularly obtuse. Along with Susan, he would track Marcie's movements and habits, and he would meticulously analyze her at mealtimes while acting oddly buoyant, or hide himself in the library and refuse to talk to anyone. Lucy thought she might have some idea of what was occurring in his head—though Edmund's head was a place that was so convoluted one could never be sure—and wasn't certain whether she should sympathize or give him a firm smack upside the head with one of his own books.
And poor Marcie. Lucy felt terribly for her. So far as she could tell, the only thing that Willa had determined to be of interest was how Marcie didn't seem to be doing very well at all. (Burning through candles late into the night, reading, and then sleeping fitfully.) And, honestly, it should have been obvious enough without Willa or one of hers trailing the woman. Marcie worked so hard to keep herself engaged, but she'd stop for a minute and Lucy could see something move fleetingly in her, like brief, sharp winds making candlelight gutter. Briony had commented, too, that Marcie smelled anxious nearly all the time. And little wonder! Lucy couldn't imagine being taken to Narnia so old, had herself been very young when it had happened. It was one thing to be given a new life as a child, and another entirely to have one thrust upon you in your adulthood. What on earth would Lucy do if she had to leave Narnia now, along with the comfortable and fulfilling role she had as an adult?
This was, Lucy thought, at the heart of her siblings' unease. Marcie forced them to think of their life Before, and thus forced them to think of all the questions that had gone unanswered, the ones that they had forgotten had to be asked. Figuring most prominently was, Will we go the way we came? It was something that went undiscussed, and which everyone tiptoed around, including Lucy to an extent. She was troubled by it, undoubtedly, but she also trusted in Aslan. Their work was not done in Narnia.
And Peter was acting—no, rationally wasn't the word. He wasn't trying to spy on the poor woman, like some siblings Lucy might mention, but Lucy was of the same mind with him as she was with Edmund: A good smack might do him a world of good if she was following his assumptions aright.
Lucy wished that she could offer Marcie comfort more substantial than a cheerful conversation with their meals, but what Marcie truly needed was something that only Aslan could provide. So they were all five of them waiting, really, but Lucy didn't let it concern her overly. Aslan would come when the time was right. He always did.
A/N: Blame rthstewart. It's all her fault. "Well, greaves, I'd love to see some outside perspectives." I hope you're happy. (But I'll be fair; I've thought about doing it before.)
I'm leaving this open to be a series of scenes from TGA from others' POV. It will not be running directly alongside TGA, because nothing would ever get done.
Reviews are always appreciated.