Chapter One
The Loss of Loved Ones
1949
The city of London was always busy, the cars and trucks and buses were driving along the busy roads, the boats sailing down the river Thames. Everywhere you looked busy Londoners walked the streets, pushing past each other and going about their own business.
It was the same in the small borough of Finchley in North London, here people chatted happily and walked up and down the high street looking at what foods the market stores were selling and what clothes were up for sale. If you looked carefully you could still see some of the damage that remained from the terrible bombs that had dropped during the war that had ended four years previously.
On a normal London street there lived a married couple called John and Helen Pevensie, they lived with their four children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. To their parents and everyone else these children were just normal children, however these four children were the former Kings and Queens of a magical world called Narnia.
So on a cold October morning, it seemed to just be a normal morning within the Pevensie household. Edmund was in the kitchen making himself some breakfast and a pot of tea when Peter walked into the kitchen. Peter and Edmund were both dressed as workmen wearing blue overalls which were covered in dirt.
"Morning Ed" Peter said as he entered
"Morning, do want a cup of tea"? Edmund asked in reply
Peter just nodded and proceeded to open up the newspaper and began reading, Edmund started to eat his breakfast and Peter drank his tea; the two of them just sat there in silence for a few minuets thinking about what was going to happen today.
"Do you think Lucy and the others managed to get the train alright"? Edmund asked
"I hope so, they should have left about ten minuets ago" Peter answered looking at his watch.
Just then a beautiful young woman entered the kitchen, she had long flowing raven black hair, her skin was beautifully white, her lips were bright red; but the thing that stood out most were her lovely ocean blue eyes. This beautiful woman was twenty one year old Susan Pevensie.
"Morning" Susan said smiling at her two brothers
Peter and Edmund both mumbled replies but did not smile at her or even look at her. Susan noticing that her brothers were still angry with her decided to ignore them and started to make herself a cup of tea.
"What time did you get in last night"? Peter asked her
Susan looked around and saw that Peter and Edmund were looking at her in a disappointed way, she became defensive looking at their faces they kept trying to make her feel bad for not believing a stupid game they used to play when they were kids.
"Late, why"? Susan demanded glaring at her brothers
"And who were you with"? Edmund asked through gritted teeth
"I was with Daniel if you must know" Susan replied turning around to pour the tea into her cup.
"Where did you go"?
Susan slammed the tea spoon she was using to stir with down hard, she turned around to face her brothers once again this time with a look of fury on her face. Peter and Edmund both flinched a little at her fury as they knew that Susan was not a person to make angry.
"We went dancing and why am being treated like I am in a police station"? Asked Susan
Edmund and Peter both shared understanding looks it was time to let their thoughts out into the open. They both stood up and looked straight at Susan, the stance they took showed that standing down was not an option and the two Narnian kings and warriors showed themselves.
"Susan we want you to stop going out all the time, we love you but it pains us to see you going around flirting with all these different boys and drinking with all your friends" Peter said breathing a sigh of relief for getting it off his chest.
"Peter I am twenty one years old, I am allowed to go out with whatever boy I want and drink as much as I want" Susan argued
Edmund opened his mouth to speak but Peter held up his hand for him to remain silent, Peter then just shook his head and looked at his watch. He nodded his head at Edmund who understood that it was time to leave; they both finished their tea and walked into the hall. Susan however wasn't finished with them yet and followed them.
"Where are you two going"? Susan asked looking at their appearance
"We've got some business to take care of" Edmund replied coolly
"And what business is that"? Susan coolly asked back
"If you must know Susan its Narnia business, but I know that you don't believe in it anymore" Edmund answered coldly
Susan glared at both her brothers; she had had enough of her siblings go on about a land they invented when they were children. For Susan it was nothing but a game they made up to help them cope with the stress of being evacuated because of the bombs from the German planes, but to her siblings it was a land they actually visited and had actually became the rulers of.
"What exactly are you two planning on doing"?
So Peter and Edmund explained about their plan, they explained how a spectre of a Narnian king had contacted them for help and how they planned on getting the magic rings from Professor Diggory Kirke's old house and giving them to their cousin Eustace Scrubb and his friend Jill Pole.
"So you two are now breaking the law over a stupid children's game" Susan said quietly her lip quivering from anger.
"It wasn't a game Su and were not breaking the law" Edmund protested
"Edmund you two are planning to trespass on somebody else's property, which is breaking the law"
Edmund glared at his sister, he then looked at Peter who had remained mostly quiet throughout this whole argument. Peter was just staring at Susan like he was in some kind of trance before finally speaking.
"Susan sometimes you have to do what you think is right even if it means breaking the law, if we get caught we'll pay the price for it but at the moment all that matters is that we help Narnia" Peter said quietly
"Narnia was a game"! Susan exploded looking at her brothers with disbelief
"Narnia is real Susan and I'll tell you this if you truly believe the love you and William shared wasn't real then I'm afraid that your soul will never find it's way into Aslan's Country" Peter replied his stare as hard as stone.
Peter then motioned Edmund to follow him as he opened the door and stepped out onto the street. Once the door had closed Susan stood there attempting to calm her breathing, eventually she went back into the kitchen and attempted to think about the night out that was happening tonight.
Later that evening Susan was ready in the sitting room wearing a lovely red dress, her hair was down by her shoulders wavy and shiny. She was looking in the mirror putting on some lipstick when the doorbell sounded around the house, she sighed thinking how early Daniel was. She finished putting on the lipstick while the doorbell rang three more times.
"Coming" she called.
Susan put her lipstick down and danced towards the door, all she was thinking about was her and Daniel showing everybody down at the dance club how it was done. She opened the front door and instead of Daniel there stood a Police Constable.
"Susan Pevensie"? He asked
"Yes, can I help you" she replied confused at why a policeman was at the door.
"I have some news for you, do you mind if I come in"?
"Not at all"
Susan moved over to allow the constable to enter; once he passed she went to shut the door and noticed a man standing across the street. He was dressed in a long black coat and his face was covered by the black hat he was wearing.
"Miss Pevensie is everything alright"? The constable asked still standing the hallway
"Yes everything's fine" Susan said looking at him, she then turned back to the man across the street and saw that he had disappeared. She continued to stare for a few more seconds before remembering the constable and closing the door.
She led the constable into the sitting room; she offered him a seat on the sofa which he accepted. Susan sat herself in her father's armchair and waited for the constable to speak.
"Miss Pevensie, I am sorry to inform you but there was a train crash today" The constable began.
"What has a train crash got to do with me"? Susan asked
"I'm sorry to tell you that your brothers Peter Pevensie and Edmund Pevensie were killed in the crash" The constable said gently
Susan felt like somebody had punched the life out of her, she felt like she couldn't breath, her legs felt weak if she wasn't sitting down she thought she would have collapsed.
"You've made a mistake, this can't be true" Susan said her voice trembling
"I'm sorry miss it is true, I'm also sorry to inform you that your sister Lucy was also killed in the crash along with your parents and your cousin Eustace Scrubb. Also a Professor Digory Kirke, Miss Polly Plummer and Miss Jill Pole were also killed"
Susan broke down in tears and started screaming, she couldn't believe it her whole family couldn't be gone. The constable attempted to comfort her by moving over to her and putting his arm around her, Unfourntlaley he was met with Susan screaming at him to get out. He didn't argue, he just apologised once more and then left Susan alone in the house to cry out her grief.
Susan was standing in the sitting room looking in the mirror; she was dressed in a black dress that used to belong to her mother. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying Susan had been doing and had bags underneath them due to lack of sleep.
She was then picked up by her aunt and uncle; few words were spoken between them as everyone was in mourning. When they arrived at the cemetery they found a few people already there waiting for them. Susan spoke to many people but she felt like a ghost her whole family was gone and now she felt incomplete without them. The Priest silenced everyone in attendance and started to speak.
"We are here today to lay to rest the nine people who lost their lives in that terrible tragedy, John and Helen Pevensie will be missed as they were always willing to help their community and were so dedicated to helping people in need during the war. We also miss their three children Peter, Edmund and Lucy; these children were lovely children and were always there to help others in need just like their parents"
Susan wasn't paying attention to the words the priest spoke; she just stood their staring at the graves of her family and friends. She felt guilty for the last words she ever spoke to her brothers were words of anger over the world they so loyally believed in.
Susan looked towards her aunt and uncle who were standing beside her and saw tears in their eyes as they laid their young and only son to rest. Nobody there deserved to die, Susan couldn't help thinking what had she done to deserve this, fresh tears fell from her eyes as all the memories of her family floated through her mind.
After the priest had finished and everybody turned to leave, Susan remained standing by graves as the diggers piled dirt among each of the coffins now resting inside them. Her aunt and uncle were waiting for her by the car, respecting her need to say her own goodbye to her family.
Susan looked around the cemetery at all the other graves which filled it. That's when she noticed a man standing on the other side of the cemetery watching her, he wore a black coat and his face was covered by a black hat. Susan remembered that man standing across the street when the constable told her about her family, she started to walk towards him frightened and curious at who he was. However her aunt called her from beside the car, Susan turned to look at her then turned back to find that the man had once again disappeared.
Susan slowly allowed herself to turn away and start walking back to the car. All the time she tried to figure out how she could live her life without her parents or her siblings by her side, she felt like she was still being watched she turned around but saw nobody there. She still couldn't help feeling that a familiar presence was in the cemetery she just couldn't think where she had felt it before. Ignoring the feeling she slowly walked back to the car where her aunt and uncle were still waiting and slowly walked to a life where she was forced to be alone.