Where in Aslan's name am I?
Chapter 1
Finding Phyllis
'And then, wonderfully and terribly, it was farewell to Aslan himself, and Peter took his place with Susan's hands on his shoulders and Edmund's on hers and Lucy's on his and the first of the Telmarine's on Lucy, and so in a long line they moved forward to the Door. After that came a moment where they were seeing three things at once. One was the mouth of a cave opening into the glaring green and blue of an island in the Pacific, where all the Telmarines would find themselves in the moment they went through the door. The second was a glade in Narnia, the faces of Dwarves and Beasts, the deep eyes of Aslan and the white patches on the badger's cheeks. But the third (which rapidly swallowed up the other two) was a grey, gravelly surface of a country station a seat with luggage round it...'
Prince Caspian, pg190
But as they found themselves sitting down, Susan felt yet another terrible jerk and found herself on the floor of a grey tiling that seemed unfamiliar on a cold, windy day, quite unlike the weather when they had been at the railway station. There were a lot of people wearing black blazers and very short skirts around her.
"Are you all right?" asked a girl with short brown hair, who looked rather like her friend Lily Harrison back at her boarding school.
"Quite so." said Susan, brushing herself down. She made her way to a brown wood bench and sat down. She examined the clothes she was wearing. A black blazer with an embroidered shield with the letters NGS and a Latin motto, Vincit Veritas. Having studied Latin for three years, Susan was quite sure that it meant 'truth wins' or something along those lines. She wore a warm, wool-like blue jumper that was rather loose and a shade of blue that would never been available in the war time.
So this was obviously before the war. However, she stared at the tights and the feel of them against her skin. She had never felt any material like this softness and smoothness, not even her Mother's silk dresses from the drawer where they hid. She frowned as she rubbed the material of the black skirt and the slip underneath. The slip was a silk one in gaudy shade of mauve she had only seen in Calormene and the skirt itself was cotton so light she couldn't imagine it. Susan suffice to say, realized that she was in the future. Her clothing was farfetched compared to her green blazer, skirt and tie ensemble all in heavy cotton and wool with a lightly woven straw hat.
She frowned at the length of skirt as she stood up; it was far above her knees which was the appropriate length for young ladies. It was bunched together at the top and Susan rolled it down with a tug. A blonde teacher nodded approvingly as she briskly walked by with a shoulder satchel of leather. Susan examined her over frilly pink bag with plenty of purple ribbons and bows all over it. Her nose wrinkled and her lip curled. She held it at arm's distance, as far away from her as possible. Not only was it horrible aesthetically, the capacity was frightfully small too. It barely held any books and Susan supposed if she tried to pack more; it would split in half, all together too easily.
She looked through the crowd after her silent contemplations. There were many benches with many people; talking and shrieking loudly, all with ridiculous amounts of jewellery and odd hairstyles that seemed to go in every direction but downwards. The only person who looked anything like her friends back in Finchley was a girl with her black hair in shiny plaits with dark skin; just a few shades lighter than the Calormene peoples. She had glasses which rested on the end of her nose and she was reading a rather thick book and seemed to be singing.
Susan made her way over towards her.
"Hello!" said the girl, "What are you doing over here, Su?"
Susan froze, how did the girl know who she was? "Hello...?" she said, her tone faltering slightly.
"Phyllis. Phyllis. You should remember my name, seeing as the teachers seem to think I'll be a good influence on the new girl. Even if you have only been here a week, you should be able to remember my name, Suzie." said the girl, looking exasperated.
"I'm sorry, Phyllis. But how do you know my name?" asked Susan, feeling very confused.
Phyllis merely rolled her eyes and returned to her book. "I sit next to you in every lesson, remember?"
Susan sighed. 'No actually, I don't."
Phyllis looked annoyed. "That forgettable, am I? No need to be rude about it, I know I'm a geek. Just leave me alone, Suzie."
Susan briefly wondered what a geek was but a more pressing question came to mind. "Why do you call me 'Suzie'?"
Phyllis looked at her with an incredulous look. "That's your name? Surely you aren't that dumb! You are Suzie Pellis, new girl from Finchley, Surrey."
Susan now felt she had a better grasp on the situation; the girl must have confused her with someone else. This reminded her of Cor and Corin's predicament in Calormene. She could now sympathize with poor Cor who had been snatched from the streets and told he was Corin.
"No. I'm not. My name is Susan Pevensie."
Susan suddenly felt another huge tug, like the one at the station which had bought her and her siblings to Narnia. She hoped that she would go back to the station, and even saw the image faintly in the distance of the country station, but the image was blown away by a particularly violent gust of wind.
The other girl, Phyllis, slumped over her book, looking almost unconscious. Susan tapped her gently on the shoulder. She sprung to attention, startling Susan to no end.
"I'm not asleep!" she blurted before looking at Susan with an odd look. "Who are you?" she asked
Susan felt even more perplexed now. First the girl knew her name, then she had it wrong, now she had no idea who she was.
"Susan Pevensie, I just told you." She snapped, feeling more than justified in her actions.
Phyllis froze. "Do you have a sister and two brothers?" she asked, almost cautiously. Susan nodded. "Are their names Lucy, Edmund and Peter?" Susan nodded again, uneasy with the tone of the questions. "Narnia, Tumnus, Jadis, Cair Paravel, Lantern Waste, Calormene?" she said, rapidly firing a string of words that would have made no sense to anybody else but Susan gaped. This was too much for one day; being denied access to Narnia forever, landing in a world that wasn't her won, confusions and finally his. She buried her face in her hands.
Phyllis tapped her on the shoulder. 'I guess you have no idea where you are. Which time period are you from?" she asked. Susan shook her head, not trusting her vocal faculties.
"Lantern Waste? Caspian? Tirian and Jewel?" she asked.
"Caspian." murmured Susan.
"First or second?" asked the girl again, rather brutally, Susan felt.
"First. I didn't know there was a second... do I meet him again?" Phyllis blinked and shook her head.
"You have no idea what's happening, do you?" asked Phyllis. Susan shook her head, yet again. She was fast losing her temper.
"Just tell me what's happening? Why am I not in Finchley?"
Phyllis sighed. "What year is it in your world?" she asked.
"1941." said Susan, maybe this girl didn't understand that she wanted crystal clear facts.
"Well here? It's 2011. You're in Newlands Girls School, Maidenhead, Berkshire, The United Kingdom of England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. The world has changed a lot since you last knew it. In fact, so much so, your story here is immortalized. There are seven books. The first is Professor Digory and his friend, Polly's adventures with green and yellow rings and the creation of Narnia. The second is of your first adventures in Narnia, defeating the White Witch. The third is the story of Shasta and Corin and Aravis and the journey across that desert. And the fourth is the adventure you just had with Caspian." said Phyllis, sitting down again.
Susan wasn't quite sure how to react to that particular bombshell. "Well, his name wasn't actually Shasta, he was actually Cor..." she murmured finally, not even deigning to respond to the others.
Phyllis laughed a high-pitched sudden sound. Susan almost jumped.
"What! Who has a laugh like that? It's like a hyena." said Susan, shuddering, remembering the hostage situation with the last remaining forces of the Witch's creatures in the most glorious part of her life.
"If you think mine is strange, you won't like many others. But, I was laughing because of all the things to comment on from what I just told you... I think I'm going to like you, Susan Pevensie."
A sharp bell sound rang out. Susan frowned. "What's that mean? And where is it coming from?" she asked.
Phyllis started packing her books back into her bag. "It means the start of lessons again. And it's automated. I guess they didn't have automated bells back in your time. We've got ICT next. Come on; even if you are new, Mrs. Grogil will still kill you for being late."
Susan gingerly picked up the pink monstrosity and followed Phyllis. "What's ICT?" she asked as they left. Phyllis groaned.
"Today is going to be a long day..." the girl sighed as she blew a few spare strands of hair from her face.
(tCoN)
"...Yes, I do know that Phyllis Macready is a weird name for a girl with dark skin. My mother was Indian and my dad was English. Guess who named me?" Phyllis said to Susan as they walked to where Phyllis told her was the canteen.
She was also told that she ate lunch at the canteen every day and always ate broccoli and tuna salad (which Susan hated with her life) with a card that she had no idea where she kept.
Susan sighed as they got into the queue.
"Do you know anything about Suzie Pellis?" asked Phyllis in an undertone as they got into the large queue for the canteen.
"No. I don't even know where I live. Where do I go to go home?" asked Susan
Phyllis shrugged. 'I'm not a stalker. I don't get those details off girls until they're my friend. Other You wasn't exactly...the nicest person on Earth, lets say. But the problem of personal details is easily solved. OI, RACHEL!"
Phyllis shouted the last part to a pretty girl with unnatural red hair curled in pigtails. She and the rest of the group she was talking to behind them in the queue turned to look at her.
"I bet Sus-zie that you didn't know any of her details, because you're horrible friends. So why don't you prove me wrong? Go on, tell me her email, address, phone number, favourite things; like actual friends would know!"
The girl looked affronted but Susan could clearly tell that was fake. She wasn't friends with some of the most horrible girls in her school for nothing. Lucy always looked at her oddly when she boasted about this; but one thing she knew, was that while they were mean, beauty was everything to them and Susan had plenty of that.
The girl started parroting meaningless numbers and words until Susan caught an address. 15 Edith Road, that was useful. Phyllis shut them up and looked at Susan smugly.
"I never said that you couldn't find it out. I only silently challenged you." said Susan, happy to back into a battle of wits that she had secretly enjoyed in Narnia.
Phyllis laughed as she tossed Susan the salad that Other Her ate. She looked at it with disgust. "I'm not spending money on food that I'm not going to eat. That's such a waste. In our time, you could get put into prison for that kind of thing." said Susan putting it back and picking up a ham and cheese sandwich instead.
She sighed as they waited in the queue and Phyllis started a conversation with another girl in front of her. She had always been considered the pretty one out of her family. Peter was the strong one, their rock. Lucy was their soul, their joy and the love. Edmund was wise and sly and witty and she was just pretty. But she wasn't. She had all of their strengths.
She knew that she did. She was strong; even if she did not fight as the rest of her family did, she waited and acted like she was alright and that was the hardest part. She was happy, she could act happy and when she was, you knew that everyone else in her family was okay. And while she had never been good at studies at school; everybody knew of her maturity and her ability to understand and feel what people needed.
She blinked as she found herself in a completely different area with Phyllis looking at her curiously.
"How did you know to come here? Hell, how did you even do the tricky part with the machinery? Even I can't do it correctly half the time!" said Phyllis looking incredulous.
Susan blinked rapidly. She had no idea how she'd ended up here. "I...don't know. I was thinking quite deeply."
Phyllis stroked her chin pensively. "I think I have a hypothesis but this is one experiment I can't perform without dire risk assessments that can't be solved. I think that Suzie Pellis exists inside of you. The modern person does exist and you just inhabit her body. I don't know whether this theory is correct; but hopefully, if you space out in ICT and Science, we won't have the problems we had before lunch..."
Phyllis shuddered at the thought and Susan smiled sheepishly.
"What if I actually want to learn about this world?" Susan asked.
Phyllis shrugged. "If you do, that's cool. Just don't ask the teacher what the internet is again, PLEASE!"
Susan winced. "She never answered. She kind of fainted before she could. What IS the internet?"
Phyllis nervously chuckled. "Wow. Of all the things to ask...I have no idea how to explain it. Ummm...you do know what a computer is, don't you?"
Susan nodded. She had heard of the Enigma and Ultra machines from flirting with a few soldiers the year they'd returned from Narnia the first time. She knew then how to be alluring after her long experience and the unconscious mannerisms she had in Narnia.
"Well; it's a system of them connected together to share information...I guess? I think that is how you would describe it. "
Susan's brow delicately furrowed. "Why would code-breakers need to connect? I suppose they could share different codes and engine power but it does seem pretty pointless..."
Phyllis blinked. "You're thinking of Enigma, aren't you? Computers advanced since then. Now it can function as a typewriter, a printing press and we can communicate with others and share information. We have a saying. 'If you don't know something; Google it'. Google is a search engine. Literally everything you ever need to know, you can type it up on the computer and you'll find what you need. "
Susan blinked. This world became more and more confusing by the moment.
"Please say you still dance." said Susan, a pleading tone to her voice.
Phyllis laughed. 'We advanced into the future; we didn't forget the past. If you want we can go watch Dance Company perform once you've finished eating." Susan quickly finished eating, brushed herself down and gracefully rose from her chair, feeling more like Queen Susan the Gentle with a full stomach.
"Lead the way, good my sister." said Susan, reverting back to the old speech of Narnian royalty. The people sitting around them gave her an odd look but carried on eating and Phyllis suppressed a laugh.
(tCoN)
It was the end of the school day and Susan walked out of the school gates with Phyllis, feeling much happier with the afternoon than the morning. At least English and Music didn't change altogether too much over 70 years.
"Now, we've got to deposit you at your house." Susan blinked, she hadn't thought about her family at all today.
"Phyllis, what about my family?" she said, feeling absolutely terrible for not thinking about where Edmund, Lucy and Peter were. "Where will they be? They must have come with me!"
Phyllis looked even more horrified. "Oh gosh! How did we not think about them?" she asked.
Susan sighed and palmed her head in her hands.
Phyllis looked distinctly uncomfortable as she ushered Susan along; steering her through the crowd of inquisitive people. "Susan," she said once they were out of earshot of most of the people, "What if they didn't come with you? What if you were the only one who got sent here?"
Susan paused a moment but immediately dismissed the idea. "No. I'd know if that happened. We have been together for so long through so much; I would be able to tell if they were dead or away from me. No; they are in this world. Where; I know not, but that would be our quest, would it not?" she asked. Phyllis grinned.
"Well, let's go check the first, easiest place. Your home."
(tCoN)
Susan sighed as they reached 15 Edith Road after a lot of walking, that she was slowly getting used to after the long treks she had just endured in Narnia. Phyllis looked her meaningfully and Susan stepped forward and rung the doorbell.
A weary lady with streaky brown hair going grey at her temples opened the door and sighed at Susan.
"Suzie! You know I'm busy! This job is so very difficult and money doesn't grow on trees; despite what you may think."
Susan felt a wave of anger at Other Her; couldn't she how overworked this poor lady was? Why wasn't Other Her helping her mother? "I'm sorry Mother—
The woman held her hand up. "Hold on Suzie, why 'Mother'? What happened to Mum?"
Susan winced. 'I'm sorry, mum, I forgot my keys. I didn't want to cause you any hassle. Go back to your work, I'll be as quite as a mouse, I promise."
The woman's face softened. "I don't know what happened, Suzie, but I like it. Get in - and bring your friend with you." She said, fondly.
Phyllis decided to cut in now. 'Actually, I was wondering whether Sus-zie could come over for a sleepover tonight? I'll take her off your hands. You do seem quite busy."
Susan put on a fake look of indignation and her mother in this world laughed. "Oh Suzie! You have found a good friend. Off with you, I'll see you soon!"
Susan smiled and was about to go inside the house when Phyllis stopped her. "I've got anything you'll need at my house. Don't go inside. You'll want to stay and that's not a good idea." She whispered quickly and fiercely to Susan.
Susan frowned pensively, why exactly was Phyllis so defensive now? But she acquiesced and waved goodbye to her mother in this world and was about to walk awy with Phyllis when a thought struck her.
"Mum, are Lucy, Edmund or Peter home yet?" she asked.
Her mother looked very perplexed. "Who?" she asked after a moment's pause.
"Never mind, Mum," said Susan and strode away after Phyllis.
"How far is it to your house?" asked Susan as they strolled down the lane. Cold zephyrs zipped past them, taking the flower blossoms with them.
Phyllis's brow furrowed. "10, 15 minutes? I think. Not too long. I haven't been here before, you see. But I'll know where to go from now on. I hope..."
Susan and Phyllis walked together in a comfortable silence.
"Do you think my siblings will be like me? In a school? With a family? Will they remember?" she asked the questions that had been swirling in her mind since School had ended.
Phyllis shrugged, her hands buried deep in her pockets. "I wouldn't know and I wouldn't presume to guess. The best hope I can give you is that if you believe in Aslan, he'll guarantee you a safe path. All of you. I think... I think they are like you, but I wouldn't want to raise your hopes and dash them cruelly to the ground later."
Susan felt a burst of joy at that statement; Aslan would protect them as he always had.
"We're here..." said Phyllis, almost sullenly. Susan blinked. The houses along this road were huge! They looked bigger than even the Professor's house in the country.
Phyllis pulled a blue trimmed card and scanned it in front a black screen. It blinked red and the gates in front of a house opened. She swiped the card through a slit in the door next to a large shiny gold number nine and the door swung open.
Susan's eyebrows rose. "That's a little extreme." She said quietly. This girl should have been a sybarite; but she acted nothing like it. In fact; she seemed to despise it.
Phyllis shook her head in disgust. 'Don't ask. My father is a rich fool," she said, stepping into the house, beckoning Susan to come with her. "DAISY!"
Susan shut the door behind her and stared at the large chandelier in the middle of the hallway. There was a rather grand staircase leading away to the side and plenty of doors in the long corridor.
A woman with short curly red hair, a rather crooked nose and an apron peeked through a particularly shiny red door.
"Hello Phyllis. Your father called!" She said, coming out with a large contraption; the purpose of which, Susan was unsure. It did look rather like a sweeping machine that her cousin Eustace seemed fond of reading about in those large; rather boring books, even by her standards.
Phyllis looked rather sceptical about the excitement the woman seemed to have.
"What did he want? A monocle set sent over? Another useless book about vampire slaying? Silver bullets?" she asked, sarcastically, looking irate and frustrated.
"Actually," said the woman looking more timid, "He wanted to know whether your mother's invoice had arrived yet. His latest customer is being stubborn with parting with his money."
Phyllis sighed dramatically. "At least he's being sensible for once. I'll go check the mail. Is it in the living room, Daisy?"
The woman nodded, relieved that Phyllis was looking calmer. She had seen the dark expression on her face when talking about her father, she knew there was something up too.
Susan followed Phyllis through a bright green door into a calm room with streaks of gold and black through the cream paint. She went towards the pile of letters on the table immediately and sat herself down on one of many sofa arranged in a semicircle facing a black screen that closely resembled the computers Susan had seen that morning but far bigger and without the big box. Instead there was smaller box accompanied by a tangle of wires.
Susan drifted towards the fireplace where there many pictures scattered around and on it; though Susan quickly discovered; only two of these were actual photographs.
The first photograph was of three people that looked a lot like Phyllis. She quickly indentified the attractive Indian women posing raunchily for the camera to be Phyllis's mother. That would mean the man absentmindedly reading a book with a large tangle of feathers and crystals on top of his head was Phyllis's father. In the middle was a child about Lucy's age, perhaps younger, which Susan immediately realized was Phyllis looking uncomfortable between her two parents. Susan could understand why. She felt a twinge of pity for the girl; Susan had always been in a loving family and through they had had their arguments, they had obviously loved each other. There wasn't much love exchanged in this family.
The second photograph was completely different. There was a brown haired boy and Phyllis and they were pumping water at each other and laughing. Susan could only guess who the boy was but he looked a lot like Phyllis and her father so he supposed that it was Phyllis's cousin.
Susan smiled at her deductions, it wasn't just Edmund who noticed and analyzed things. She did too; in fact, she and Edmund were the ones to protect Peter and Lucy's innocence and minds while Lucy and Peter protected them physically. That was just the way things worked; the two golden-haired, golden-hearted rulers were to stay that way and the darker, broody rulers stayed that way too, untouchable.
She turned round to Phyllis who was frowning as she read the crisp white coloured letter.
"What's wrong, Phyllis? Did she not send you the money?" Susan asked.
"No, she did," said Phyllis, almost absentmindedly, looking a lot like her father in the photograph on the wall.
"Then why do you look so upset? Did she write something beastly?"
"No," said Phyllis, tearing her eyes away from the letter, "No, she sent far too much. Almost triple the amount she usually sends. I don't know why. And I'm worried why my father called. He never calls, not even to tell me when he's in England. Something's up - and I don't know what."
Susan blinked rapidly. That was unexpected. There were far too many unexpected things today.
"What was the large machine Daisy was carrying outside?" asked Susan after a long pause.
"A vacuum cleaner. It hoovers up dirt and dust. Quite useful but it makes far too much noise. I'm glad she did the cleaning before we came. And on that note..." said Phyllis, standing up, leaving the mail behind. "Wait here, Su,"
Susan however did exactly the opposite and followed Phyllis.
"DAISY!" called Phyllis as they walked out into the corridor .
"I'M IN THE KITCHEN, PHYLLIS!" came the shout from behind the red door.
Phyllis pushed through the door and Susan followed her into a large spacious square room with a sleek black marbled tabletop. Phyllis jumped up onto the surface and sat down with an audible thump.
"If I told you, you could get your salary for doing no work at all; how would that sound to you?" she asked conversationally. Susan tilted her head curiously. Phyllis had suddenly morphed into a smooth talking salesman or politician that only England could make. Or Calormene.The reason you are wary is because Rabadash was like this but smoother and more romantic.
Susan brushed away the treasonous voice and waited for the shocked woman's response.
"W-well..." Daisy stammered, "Y-your f-fath-er w-w-w-ouldn't like it. H-he sen-t m-me t-t-t-t-o look aft-t-ter you..."
Phyllis leaned forward just a tad, not enough to intimidate but enough to put just a little bit of pressure on the person she was manipulating. Susan frowned just a little; she and Edmund often used that to put pressure on stubborn ambassadors from other countries.
"But it's really not worth it, is it? Cleaning this huge house...looking after stubborn old me... I could give you double your salary for this month now and your normal salary for the following weeks I dismiss you...I could do the rest. I know how to cook and the house really doesn't need cleaning every single day...Wouldn't that be nice? You could go on holiday. Tan a bit, gain a bit of confidence. I'll call you back, but won't be for at least a month if not longer. Doesn't that sound good?"
Susan shuffled away from Phyllis slowly, her persuading voice was very good and frankly, scaring Susan, just a little. If she could appeal to Daisy this well, had Susan just been wheedled into this? What if Phyllis actually meant harm to her and her family? Why had she never considered this before? Susan moaned softly, she was losing her touch. She hoped Edmund wasn't and that Peter could keep his wits about him. Alas, Lucy...Lucy was far too gullible and trusting. She could only hope that danger would stray from Lucy.
"B-b-but..." whimpered the poor maid, bringing Susan back to reality with a jolt.
"Triple the salary then. But I really can't pay you more than that. I may be rich but I'm not made of money. Come on Daisy, please just say yes,; this is good for both you and me. And think for a moment; when has my father actually cared about me?"
There was silence from the maid and she nodded. "I'll go. But I want you to promise you'll stay out of trouble and if the kitchen starts smelling; YOU WILL CALL ME. There's frozen food in the freezer and when that runs out; well, God help us all. Try not to blow up the whole house. I'll be taking my leave now. I want the money by the end of the week. Salut."
The maid walked out of the door and it shut with a slam and Phyllis leaned back and placed her head against the wall. She rubbed her temples and looked weary. Susan would have sympathised if Phyllis hadn't just turned into everything she hated and never wanted to see again.
"What was that supposed to be?" asked Susan, using her mother voice which always made her siblings cringe when they'd done something incredulously stupid.
"Can't you hear and process what just happened? Or is the dumber side of Suzie Pellis showing up?" asked Phyllis, her eyes still closed.
"You just bribed, pressurized and almost gave that poor lady a heart attack!" said Susan, her deadly quiet voice.
"It was for the best. I'll slip up name-wise somewhere and Daisy is one of the biggest blabbermouths on the planet." Phyllis sat up and jumped off the table. 'Anyhow, it's best my father doesn't get wind of this; he'd come back with a ridiculous notion of protection and then forget all about it as he goes off another money-squandering shopping trip for useless items."
"How can I trust you? You know everything about me but I know nothing about you! How do I know you aren't on the Witch's side? How do I know you support Aslan? How am I supposed to trust you when I know nothing?"" said Susan, letting it all out with a rush.
Phyllis looked away angrily. "I didn't want to tell you because I don't want you to feel pity. I don't need it; I'm used to living alone. My parents got together in Vegas. They woke up one night with rings on fingers, with hangovers as large as Mars in bed with a stranger. They departed with phone numbers feeling odd that they got married. Then my mother discovers she's pregnant with me. She calls my father and they start getting their act together; pooling the money they earned over the course of their careers and quit their jobs, if for a small time to look after me. My mum was a lingerie model in India and my Dad's completely crazy. They divorced when I was six or seven. I can't remember my mother and it has been three years since I saw my father."
Susan looked away. Now she wished she hadn't asked, but she had to know more to check she was truly trustworthy.
"Why is your father crazy?" she asked.
Phyllis's lip curled. "He's a so-called paranormal investigator and slayer. Most children get told fairy tales as bedtime stories; I was taught the weaknesses and strengths of all the creatures he'd supposedly encountered. Most children are taught their ABCs and countries at a small age; I was taught how to use a rapier and a gun and how to identify all these creatures. I actually believed these stupid stories when I was younger but I realized just how crazy he was. Most people store spare junk and useless gifts from relatives in their basement. My father? He's made it a creature safe room with mistletoe, garlic, silver and oak wood panels over the walls and doors. He also stores all his weapons down there. I have no idea how he got a license for them, but they exist."
Susan blinked. Well, there wasn't anything wrong with the girl's father at all. In fact, he was gifted with sight, a gift only Peter had, to her knowledge, until now. "Well, maybe you'll believe him more now. After all, how else did I get here by magic? Anyway, werewolves and vampires all existed in Narnia. Maybe they just escaped into this world?"
Phyllis laughed bitterly. "No. I won't believe till I see it. He's a loon, and so are his customers for paying him. If I didn't know him better, I'd say he's a very smooth salesman and con man, but he actually believes in this stuff, so I'm wrong."
Susan shook her head; she supposed if she didn't have Aslan she would act like this to the idea of Narnia, she knew, but it was still incredulous how much a person could deny. "I'm going to make dinner. Show me the ingredients?" said Susan.
Phyllis brightened as they left the topic of her family behind and hurried to help her find the pantry and some fresh vegetables.
(tCoN)
After the meal and a lot of explanations on how the oven, grill and hobs worked; Susan and Phyllis settled down in her living room.
Phyllis pulled out a large scroll of paper from underneath the table and a pencil too.
Susan leant forward; they were obviously going to be doing something.
"From the way I see it," started Phyllis, placing the pencil on paper, "Your siblings will be close to you if you can 'feel' them. So, I assume they'll be in Maidenhead. Your mother doesn't know them so you aren't related to them. I also assume their name has changed slightly like you. Susan to Suzie. Perhaps, Edmund to Edward. Lucy to... I dunno, you get the gist."
Phyllis then drew a mini table that said 'Schools' as its title in the corner of the sheet.
"Okay, how old is Lucy?" asked Phyllis distractedly.
"She's nine." answered Susan without hesitation.
"Then she'll be in primary school. The primary schools I know are: Courthouse, pray that she didn't go there; Wessex, which is quite far from whether we are, a forty-five minute walk; Lowbrook, a decent place. Can't say I know much about it though. Umm, what else? My old school, St Edmund Campion, it's a really nice place and Holy Trinity, up near Furze Platt."
Susan looked nonplussed at the amount of schools for this town. "How big is this place?"
"Not that big. Only 100,000 people or maybe 150,000. But there are a lot of children from other towns."
Susan blinked. 'Phyllis, how do you call 100,000 people a small amount of people? That really doesn't seem like it's a small amount."
Phyllis shrugged as she finished writing all of the schools down on the list.
"Okay, now for your brothers Su. Edmund's two years younger than you and Peter is two years older than you, right?" Susan nodded in answer to Phyllis's sharp question.
Phyllis looked pensive. "Okay," she said, after a few moments. "Because you're in Newlands; one of your brothers has to be in Desborough, because that's Newlands's brother school. Cox Green and Altwood are also possibilities. I wouldn't rule out Claire's Court or Furze Platt either. Are any of your brothers above average knowledge wise?" asked Phyllis again, painstakingly etching the names into the table with details of location and standard.
"Edmund's very clever. Peter's good too, but sport is his advantage." said Susan; fondly remembering the jousting and wits competitions her boys used to have against each other and members of the court to keep them on their toes. That had worked to their disadvantage once, with a skunk maid who had gotten so flustered at the Kings addressing her; she'd gassed them and their rooms with enough stink to last all week. Needless to say; their thrones were just a little bit further away from her Lucy's.
"Okay; then they would have a chance to get into Borlaise and John Hampden then. Those are a bit further away and would be tricky to investigate properly. Luckily I know people there. I'm not close but I'm sure I can get them to do a bit of investigating."
Susan looked at the list with apprehension. "That is a lot of schools..." she murmured.
Phyllis threw her a sympathetic look. "You know, you could let Aslan bring them to you... You wouldn't have to trawl through all of this..."
Susan paused; the idea was more than tempting and Aslan had never failed them yet. But you are not allowed into Narnia again. Surely that is him failing you. How can you trust him?
She scowled; neither of those thought processes seemed right. She would trust Aslan, as they always had; but just in case, she would search too.
"No. I will find them. You don't have to help me, but I will find them, if it takes forever. I am not abandoning my siblings to this new-fangled world."
Phyllis smiled sadly. "Good to know you're dedicated. And don't worry, I'm not going to leave you struggle through this mess alone! What kind of a friend would I be then? Anyways, you'll need someone to do your science homework for you!"
Susan smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.
Phyllis rolled her eyes. "Don't look so guilty Su! It's hardly your fault. Anyway, I'm GOOD at Science. It won't take me too long. You should get some sleep. Your room should be first floor; yellow door. That's always furnished with the necessities. Borrow some pyjamas from my room. Same floor; turquoise door, drawer five."
Susan laughed and headed up the stairs. Hopefully this was all a bad dream and when she woke up, she'd be back in Narnia, suffering a hangover from too much spiced wine.
(tCoN)
Susan watched from a distance at the naval battle that all of her siblings were at. It was a long and tedious one and Susan would have given anything to be there with the archers to know that her siblings were well. Unfortunately,they couldn't all swan off and fight. Someone had to stay behind and as always, Susan accepted this job with grace. But as she dealt with trivial affairs and alliances to be made, Susan always found her gaze diverted towards the window where the ships were fighting and her attention was always drawn back by the ever patient chamberlain, Sirrah who,despite his mischievous appearance was a rather serious raccoon.
Suddenly a squirrel messenger ran in, eyes diluted. "Your majesty! It's the highnesses! THEY'RE DEAD!"
What? No...that isn't right! Edmund got seriously injured and Lucy was presumed missing. They weren't dead...
Suddenly the scene morphed to a ball scene. Susan was dancing with Rabadash, the charming ambassador and later ass, when he turned around and stabbed Lucy who was dancing behind with Tumnus then laughed and murdered Edmund too.
No, that isn't right either... He actually span you round so fast you felt like you were flying and falling into love.
The scene morphed once more and to Susan's horror, it was winter once more and she recognised the scene immediately. It was her worst nightmare, when the Fell creatures found a hag and brought back the Witch's winter back to Narnia for a few weeks. Edmund, Peter and Lucy were captured and bound by a minotaur and several hyenas and werewolves. The hag stood to the side while Susan was hiding in the trees. She had never been able to remember how they'd managed to get into that situation, but she was sure that it involved a lot of bribery and corruption.
"Prepare to die, highnesses!" shrieked the hag. "The girl first!"
Now I know this didn't happen. I saved them. Everyone told me it was one of the bravest things I'd ever done. My crowning moment, pardoning Edmund's pun. This was a nightmare. This had to. I'd wake up in Miraz's castle in a luxurious bed, ready for a lot of hangover cure. Wake up, Susan.
The hag lifted the knife and plunged into Lucy. The boys started screaming and thrashing and Susan cried.
MOVE! Do something! Don't stand there like a dummy! Shoot the hag!
Edmund managed to kick the minotaur and it gored him and he slumped with a finality and indignity of meaningless death. Peter was in hysterics by now and Susan was still silently sobbing. The hag lifted the knife then lowered it. The hyenas cackled with joy and the laugh sent chills shuddering down Susan's spine.
"I know how you like human flesh! Try some, Fenrir. You and your pack. You deserve it!"
And the werewolf pack descended upon Peter and Susan could see body parts everywhere–
WAKE UP SUSAN!
The scene changed again. There was Edmund. He was in his England clothes but was well.
Susan ran towards him and put her arms around him. "Oh Edmun—"
"You killed me." He said blankly and Susan stopped embracing him. She then realised the blood pouring from his first scar wound from the White Witch.
"Ed..."
'YOU KILLED ME! You don't deserve to be alive!"
The scene changed again. Peter stood there in his formal clothes looking disapproving.
"Peter? Why was Edmund acting so weir-"
"You try to usurp me, sister?"
Susan stopped and looked at him. 'Wha—"
"Or can I even call you that now? There was only one high King and that was me. Who gave you the authority to rule over us? You aren't mother, don't try and take her job, and sure as hell aren't me. So you can't boss us around. Susan. You don't deserve your title."
The scene changed once more. There was Lucy in her nightgown. She was crying, tears all over her face.
"Gosh Lucy, what happened?" said Susan rushing towards her.
"You said Narnia was a game!" Lucy sobbed.
"But..."
"How could you? How could you forget Tumnus? The Dancing Lawn? Rabadash. Corin and Cor and Aravis? Orieus and Reepicheep? And Caspian! Everyone knew you had a crush on him! How could you forget? And Aslan, Susan? Is he a fiction? Is his breath, his laugh, his mane? Did we make that up too? You sicken me, Su! If you can't believe, you don't deserve our LOVE!"
Susan awoke with a start, tears pouring down her face. She was in a room she didn't recognise without Lucy or Edmund or Peter. Back in an England she doesn't know. She leans back against the bed and gives in to the wracking sobs and heart-wrenching moans for her siblings and for a land to which she would never return.
After a while, when there were no tears left, Susan sat up and swung her legs out from underneath the duvet. She wondered what to do. There was no going back to sleep after that. Then it came to her.
Susan quietly crept out of bed, wiped away the tear tracks that streaked her face and made her way down the stairs.
Back in her England, whenever someone had a nightmare, she would always prepare hot milk for them. She hadn't had many nightmares herself and they were usually smoothed away by Peter or Lucy. She could only hope hot milk worked here too.
As she opened the red door, a strange sight greeted her. The light was already on. Though the clock in front of Susan depicted the time as three o'clock in the morning, there was Phyllis with several charts, diagrams and pencil drawings scattered on the kitchen table. Phyllis looked up, surprised to see Susan.
"Oh no! What happened Susan? Are you okay?" said Phyllis immediately abandoning the many papers to put her arm around the taller girl.
Susan shook her head, suddenly, she found she still had tears to spare and talking would release them. Phyllis seemed to understand because she let her go and gestured towards the kettle. As Susan went to fill up the water, Phyllis stopped her.
"I always find a spot of hot chocolate helps when you're down." She said, steering her towards the milk from the fridge. Susan filled the kettle with milk and sat down on a chair. Phyllis reached up the shelves and grabbed two cups. She also bent down and grabbed a large brown pot.
"What's hot chocolate?" croaked Susan, finding, as it always was after one had a long, jolly good cry, that your voice didn't sound right at all, as if your sorrow bunched up in your throat and wouldn't go away.
Phyllis's eyes widened. "I forgot you come from the rationing time period. Oh you'll love it! It's simply the greatest." At that moment, the kettle pinged which startled Susan but didn't bother Phyllis in the slightest.
Phyllis poured the hot milk into the cups and added four spoonfuls of a brown powder. "Suger, Su?"
Susan nodded; this was one thing all of the Pevensies agreed with, sugar tasted good with anything.
Phyllis stirred the concoction for a while before handing it to Susan cautiously.
"Careful o'that. It's proper hot."
They sat in silence, sipping the warm, surprisingly delicious drink. Phyllis merely sat there, watching. There was no pressure, no obligations to Phyllis. She was waiting, just like Edmund did, on the rare times he got to her when she was despairing, before Peter and Lucy. And it was because of this, the silent tears rolled down Susan's cheeks once more.
"You know, it's not often my family makes any modicum of sense, but one thing my father always used to tell me; was that there is no use bottling up emotions, likes they are insects. You can trust me, despite your accusations this afternoon. If...you want to...that is." said Phyllis looking nervous.
But Susan acquiesced to the girl's nervous tone, for the second time that remarkable day and told her of her nightmares, her doubts about herself and family and how she felt she could never be like them. She told the girl of her doubts, her fears and her hopes for the future. For next to no reason, Susan found herself pouring her heart out to a girl she barely knew. And perhaps that was for the best, because there was no pity, no scorn, no anger for thinking the way she did. No rebukes for how she felt forsaken and unloved, never to return o the only place where she belonged by a cold lion. Just a tired smile and a warm hand around her.
And when Susan had nothing left to say, she felt so tired, she starting yawning, like you always do when you have exhausted yourself far beyond your capabilities. Because, despite her mental age, she was still a thirteen year old girl. And that was when she fell asleep.
(tCoN)
Phyllis smiled and slowly carried the fast asleep Susan to the living room where she sprawled her over the longest sofa and covered her with some spare blankets. Susan did not awake through all of this and when Phyllis was finished making her comfortable, she turned off the lights and closed the door with an inaudible thump.
"Back to work, " she mumbled, feeling a yawn coming on. "Stupid contagious yawns," she muttered and went back to drawing under the dim light of an almost broken blub.
AN: Wow! That was some first chapter. There were so many points I meant to finish at but I didn't. This story has been in planning for over year and while it says on my poll that I'm in a Narnia craze now, truthfully, I have wanted to write this for a long time. This is the first and only story with a planned plot for every chapter. That's a change!
I hope you liked it. If you do, please review. It's nice for me to know I'm not just writing to my own imagination.
Hopefully the next update will be soon. I still have to finish the second chapter of Ingo fic and ninth chapter of ATLA fic. :O
