Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any characters, events...oh whatever. I should hope you guys know that already.

A/N: This takes place after Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but before Silver Chair. It's one of those events that C.S. Lewis mentioned at the beginning of SC, but never really explained. The below line should remind you...

"And didn't I keep that secret about Spivvins—under torture too?" (Silver Chair, chapter 1)

Naturally, I saw an enormous hint for a fanfic in this. And as another person has written about the 'rabbit incident', I decided to try this one. :D Please review!

Spivvins' Secret

Experiment House, near the beginning of September

"Scrubb! I say, Scrubb!"

Eustace looked up from his book and saw Jacob Spivvins racing toward him, all his freckles standing out on his face, which was even paler than usual.

"What on earth's wrong, Spiv?" Eustace asked, shutting his book and pushing out a chair next to him. "You look like you're about to faint!"

"I just might," retorted Spivvins, plopping down in the chair with a troubled sigh. "Take a look at this."

He thrust a letter on the table and turned away. Carefully, Eustace picked up the thin paper and hesitated before unfolding it. When he read it, he gasped with pity for his friend.

"Oh Spivvins," he murmured, struggling to keep from talking out loud, which was not allowed in the library, "I'm so sorry."

Spivvins looked back at his friend, obviously trying to keep from appearing upset. He looked miserable, his eyes filled with sorrow and hopelessness.

"So am I. Mum is going to be inconsolable. I…she wants me home at once. For Dad's funeral…or his memorial service, anyway."

"What ship was he on?" asked Eustace, squinting at the neat handwriting.

"The Renown," Spivvins replied distantly, staring off into space. "Apparently a German U-boat came out of nowhere and…"

Eustace swallowed hard, his mind finishing his friend's sentence for him.

"I really am sorry, Spiv," he murmured, laying the paper back on the table. Spivvins picked it up and shoved it into his shirt pocket. He stood and cleared his throat.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes. You won't…you won't tell anyone, will you? They're going to notice I'm gone. They've been awfully mean to me lately. You won't tell Them, will you?"

Eustace shuddered, and then shook his head.

"Of course not, Spiv. They'd have to kill me first."

Spivvins smiled grimly before turning to leave.

"You never can tell what They'll do. They just might try it."

"Hey you! Scrubb!"

Eustace cringed as he heard the harsh voice of George Carter, the leader of Them. Carter had been after Scrubb ever since the Rabbit Incident, in which Eustace had released a rabbit that Carter had imprisoned, and was preparing to 'have fun with'.

Clenching his teeth, Eustace turned around. They were standing there, all of them staring at him hungrily with nasty grins. Carter, a tall, wiry boy with black hair and what seemed to be a permanent smirk on his face, stepped forward. The two loathsome Garrett twins stood on either side of Carter, their freckled faces plastered with contempt.

"Where's Spivvins?"

Eustace winced at the question.

I should have known this was coming, he thought, his heart sinking. Perhaps if I'd thought about it, I could have made an excuse, but now…

He swallowed hard and faced Carter, clenching his fists and trying desperately to remain calm as he offered the first answer that came to his mind.

"He went home this morning."

Eustace wanted to kick himself when he heard the words that he had spoken. What a duffer he was! Now, of course, Carter would want to know why Spivvins was home. It wasn't time for the hols, Carter would insist. Why did he get time off?

Adela Pennyfeather stepped forward beside Eustace and gave him a sickly smile through her thin lips.

"Why did he go home?" she asked, in what must've been meant to be a sweet voice.

Eustace fumbled for words. He knew that he couldn't give Spivvins' secret away. Spivvins had nearly begged him not to tell.

I could lie, he thought, his heart lifting for a moment. Yes. That's it. He went home because he caught the measles from Rupert Wendell last week in French class. He might have too, if Rupert hadn't sat across the room from us. It's not REALLY a lie. I'll just leave out the word 'almost'.

Eustace opened his mouth to speak, but before the lie left his lips, a well remembered voice from the past filled his ears.

"A knight speaks only truth; his heart seeks only honor and the glory of Aslan."

Eustace could have groaned aloud at the realization that the proverb that rebuked him for almost lying was the voice of Reepicheep. After Dragon Island, when he had been trying desperately to reform, Reepicheep had taken it upon himself to teach the boy about chivalry and knightly courtesy. Curing Eustace of lying had been one of the first actions he had taken.

It had all been well and good on board the Dawn Treader, but now, back at Experiment house, things were different.

It's not the same, Eustace thought desperately. Everyone lies here. It's not like I'd be the first to lie to Them. And I'm sure to get in trouble with Them if I don't tell a lie, because I can't tell Spivvins' secret. I used to lie...

"Why is Spivvins home?" asked Big Bannister, his brown hair greasy and his shirt speckled with dirt, stepping forward and showing Eustace his beefy fists.

A crowd was gathering. Of course all of Them were there. All except Cholmondely Major, who was out of school with the measles. He had caught them from Rupert, and it would have been so easy for Eustace to have used the same excuse for Spivvins.

But he couldn't.

What should I do? he asked no one in particular. What should I say?

"Strength and honor, courage and valor; be strong in Aslan's Name!"

Reepicheep's voice again. A common battle cry used by the heroes in the epic tales the mouse had told Eustace when he was a dragon. The words echoed in his mind now.

Suddenly, he knew what to do.

Eustace straightened his shoulders and stood up as tall as he could. Carter sneered at him, straightening his own lanky frame and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, Scrubb?"

Eustace cleared his throat, and bit his lip, praying to Aslan for courage before he spoke.

"I really can't say."

The silence was deafening. No one spoke, or even moved. Eustace swallowed, and glanced around. Finally, slow smiles spread across the faces of all of Them, starting with Carter and ending with Big Bannister, who, though he was the biggest in size, seemed to miss a lot of what went on.

"Can't you?" Carter asked, stepping closer and putting his head to one side. "Why not? Don't you know where your friend is? Sorner said he saw Spivvins talking to you this morning in the library."

Eustace swallowed again, gritting his teeth and clenching his sweaty fists.

"Spivvins asked me not to tell anyone why he was gone. And no matter what you say, that reason will stay secret."

The sneer disappeared from Carter's face, replaced by a look of disbelief.

"You refuse to tell us?" he asked, astonished.

Eustace nodded slowly, biting his lip and trying to calm his thumping heart.

"Spivvins trusted me with his secret, and I won't betray his trust."

Several onlookers murmured in surprise and worry. The shocked look on Carter's face slowly morphed into a snarl.

"Since when have you cared about trust, Scrubb?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Seems to me that you were on our side last term."

Eustace swallowed yet again. He could tell by the tone of Carter's voice that he was in trouble, but he stood his ground.

"I'm different this term."

Both of Carter's eyebrows shot up. He circled Eustace like a predator circles its prey.

"Are you really?"

Eustace struggled to keep his breathing slow and steady. He tried, and succeeded in appearing calm and sure, but he knew it wasn't any good. How many times, when he had been almost counted one of Them had he seen new students, so bold and brave and fearless, ground into the dust and reduced to crying children.

"Make him tell!" shrieked Edith Jackle, one of the hangers-on and talebearers that followed Them around. "Beat the truth out of him, Carter!"

"Make him talk!" cried one of the loathsome Garrett twins.

"Don't let him boss you around with 'is pretty words," the other one shouted.

Carter stood in front of Eustace again, his eyes flaming and teeth bared like a wolf. The crowd around them watched intently.

"One last chance, Scrubb. We always get what we want. You should know that by now…"

Eustace swallowed again and shook his head.

"I'm not telling."

Hardly were the words out of his mouth when Carter lunged forward, sending a quick punch to Eustace's stomach. The air left his lungs, and Eustace folded over in pain, trying to regain his breath. Big Bannister came up from behind and twisted Eustace's left arm behind his back. A pained gasp escaped the smaller boy, but he was too winded from Carter's punch to cry out.

Carter stood to one side, looking very pleased. He nodded at Bannister, who loosened his grip ever so slightly.

"Why did Spivvins go home," Carter asked, standing over Eustace like a victorious warrior.

Eustace struggled to breathe, his arm throbbing with pain.

"Never…tell…" he finally managed to gasp.

Carter frowned and nodded at Bannister, who twisted Eustace's arm cruelly.

"Ow!"

Eustace clenched his teeth until his jaw ached and squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears from coming. Carter was impatient with him. Class would start back up in a few minutes, and Eustace knew that Carter intended on getting an answer to his question before the bell rang.

When Eustace refused to speak, Carter shoved Bannister away and grabbed Eustace's arm himself, which was still twisted behind his back. Carter half dragged Eustace over to the brick wall of one of the school warehouses and shoved his face against it.

"Tell me, Scrubb," he demanded, twisting Eustace's arm again and pushing the younger boy slowly along the wall.

Eustace's face grated against the wall. The bricks felt wet under his cheek, and Eustace had the vaguest idea that he might be bleeding. His arm was almost numb, and his lip, which he had been biting to keep from crying out, was now bleeding as well.

"Why is Spivvins away?" shouted Carter, almost frantic now.

Carter had never been so frustrated. As long as he had led Them, he had been feared by everyone, especially Eustace Clarence Scrubb. But now, puny Scrubb was resisting every attack. It infuriated Carter, not that he let it show.

"Answer me!"

There was silence, no noise except for the panting of Carter himself and one or two pained intakes of breath from Eustace. Then, the shrill ringing of the school bell split the silence in two. Carter cursed inwardly. Classes would begin in but a few moments. Glaring down at Eustace, he released his hold on the boy's arm and let him fall to the ground.

"You haven't heard the last of this," he promised Eustace as he turned and ran toward the school buildings, brushing off the dirt on his clothes as he went. "I'll see to you after school."

Eustace simply lay there on the ground for a few moments.

"After school, Scrubb," the despicable Garrett twins jeered in unison as they headed toward their classroom.

"Don't think you're getting away with not telling," Adela Pennyfeather hissed as she passed him, pausing only to shove her sharp toed shoe into his stomach quickly.

When he was certain that all of Them were gone, Eustace untwisted his arm. He rubbed his aching shoulder, and tried to sit up by leaning against the brick wall.

"Scrubb?"

Eustace breathed a sigh of relief at the voice of Peterson, one of the only friends he had at Experiment house.

"Are you all right?"

Another voice came from above. Eustace glanced up at the small group that now surrounded him, and recognized that the voice had been from Thompson, a boy a year younger than Eustace.

Eustace nodded reassuringly and managed to choke out a reply.

"I'm fine."

His voice sounded hoarse and tired. Eustace reached up and rubbed his left shoulder absently. He glanced down at his arm. A bruise was forming where Carter and Bannister had grabbed his arm so tightly.

"That gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'saved by the bell'," remarked another admiring voice.

This was from Bastable. Though he was relatively new at the school, he was at least a year older than Eustace, and was one of the only ones that had stood up against Them.

The bells rang again, and Eustace, summoning up all his remaining strength, pulled himself to his feet. His right cheek felt wet and stung horribly. He put a hand to it, and instantly pulled it back, wincing at the pain. He glanced at his fingers, and saw the blood on them.

"That's a nasty scrape," said the voice of a girl.

Eustace swallowed, and after tearing his eyes away from his bloody fingers, met a pair of light blue eyes, filled with pity, distrust, and even a bit of admiration. The girl's clothes were dirty, and the elbow of her cardigan was ripped. She had a pale, elfin face with a pointed chin and curly brown hair, and she was handing him a handkerchief. Eustace stared at it for a full five seconds before he realized that she was offering it to him.

"Thanks," he said, taking the cloth and wiping his cheek carefully.

He glanced down by his feet, and spotted a water spigot. With a quick glance at the school buildings, he knelt and wetted the cloth with the water that dripped from the spigot. Then, he washed his wound carefully. When he was finished, he sent the girl a grateful smile, holding out the handkerchief to her.

"Thanks," he said again.

The girl took one look at the bloody handkerchief and wrinkled her nose.

"You can have it. I have too many as it is."

Eustace grinned and nodded.

"Again, thanks. I'm Eustace Scrubb."

He held out his hand as Peterson and Bastable, the only ones in the group that weren't dashing off to their classes, watched on.

"Jill Pole," the girl replied, shaking his hand and watching him curiously, but with an air of suspicion. Eustace realized with a shock that he'd seen her before; probably last term when he had followed Them. No wonder she didn't trust him.

The bell rang for the third time, and Eustace glanced at the main building anxiously.

"Come on, Pole," said Jill's friend, tugging at her sleeve from behind her. "We'll be late for class."

"All right, Tate," Jill hissed, giving her friend an exasperated look. "Mrs. Billingsly'll have my head anyway. You know how she hates 'untidy students'."

She cast a quick glance at her rumpled uniform and wrinkled her nose again.

"We'd better go," Bastable remarked, jerking his head at the school.

"It was nice to meet you, Pole," Eustace said quickly, smiling once more.

Then he, Peterson, and Bastable all turned and ran toward the school. Pole and her friend weren't far behind. And though his shoulder ached, and his cheek burned for the rest of the day, the concern that Eustace felt at the thought of the bullies' revenge that would surely follow this incident was drowned out by the knowledge that he had kept Spivvins' secret.

And after school, when Carter and the others cornered him on the way to the Gym, he did it again, more of Reepicheep's words echoing in his mind.

"He who remains true and keeps his oath shall be rewarded in full."

This time, though, Peterson and Bastable were there, emboldened by Eustace's courage, and They never got the answer to their question about Spivvins.

Finis.