Disclaimer: I don't own C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or Disney's movies.
Lucy Pevensie's fingers fumbled as she snapped shut her knapsack. Inside were two changes of clothes, a few small meals, and a photograph of her family. That was all she would take. That was all she would need.
She couldn't take it anymore. England was such a cruel world in comparison to her true home- Narnia. The comfy house in Finchely they'd once loved suddenly seemed dull and cold. People suddenly seemed arrogant and dishonorable, and nobody but her siblings- the people she once confided in- could understand her pain.
At first, Lucy had had long talks with her brothers and sister about Narnia, but after she sunk into a depressed state, she talked openly about it less and less. Finally, she was completely mum on the whole thing as thoughts of escaping muddled her mind. Lucy needed to leave the town, the schoolchildren who bullied her, the aching atmosphere hovering between her and her siblings.
And so, tonight, that was exactly what she would do. She'd leave without a plan, without letting anybody know. She'd run and run, far, far away, just hoping for something to happen… for Aslan to call her back. And if that happened, maybe, just maybe, she'd get to see her siblings again.
With a sigh, Lucy flung the knapsack over her shoulder and made to leave the kitchen. But before she could reach the door, it was opening, and a shadowy figure was coming in.
"Hullo?" It was Peter.
"Hullo, Peter," she whispered, taking a step back.
"Lu?" He turned on a lamp. When there was light, Lucy turned red and looked away from his questioning gaze. "Why are you dressed? And is that a knapsack?"
"Um…" She racked her mind for excuses and found none. "I- I- um… I'm leaving, Peter."
With that, Lucy started and tried to get past him, but he was no match for her. Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her back, forcing her to look him in the face. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know, but I can't stay here," she choked out, beginning to cry. Lucy didn't want to leave Peter, Susan and Edmund, really. Even though she'd miss them, everything else was so very hard to deal with.
"Lulu," Peter whispered, tears beginning to form in his eyes as well. Trying to be more of the man he was becoming for the second time, he blinked them back and talked fiercely. "Why are you leaving, Lucy?"
"I hate England!" she seethed, wrenching from her brother's grasp. "I hate it here! I hate the people here! Don't you see? This isn't home, and it never will be again!"
Peter watched his baby sister's eyes glaze over in anger. Her mind was made up, he knew, and there was no easy way of reaching her. Deciding to make her feel like he was on her side- something Lucy needed right now, he knew- he bent over to look her in the eyes. "I know this isn't home, Lu. We all realize that. But you're nine. You can't go out in England on your own without a plan!"
"I wasn't always nine."
"And I wasn't always fourteen. But this is how it's going to be until we're called back. You've got to have faith that things will happen when they're supposed to." After Peter told Lucy this, he thought she'd be giving up, as she was quiet for a few long minutes. But then she threw herself into her older brother's arms, and the only thing he could do was hold her tight as she sobbed out all the things hurting her inside.
"But, Peter, it's so hard! This isn't where we belong, but we can't leave! Everyone at school thinks I'm crazy, and some of them beat me up behind the playground nearly every day. Nobody would believe us about Narnia if we told them. We're outcasts here, Peter! In Narnia, everyone is so… kind. We are accustomed to that, and we have to come back and put up with Hitler and all these evil people..."
Peter completely understood what she was saying, because he felt much the same about the things separating England and Narnia. He wasn't beaten at school and had never had any idea that she was, but now was hardly a time to worry about that. "Running away isn't going to help that, though, ok?"
Lucy said nothing, just sniffed. Peter could feel the moist patch through his shirt where she was crying into his chest. "And if you're going to be miserable, you might as well be miserable with Edmund and Susan and I, right?" He added a laugh at the end, trying to make the situation lighter.
"I suppose," Lucy sighed, pulling out of her older brother's arms. She swiped at her eyes. "Yes, I guess you're right."
"Of course I am. Now, listen to me, Lu." His voice turned serious once again as he knelt down to look into her eyes. "Don't even think about running away. We don't want you to do that, and… and neither does Aslan. If something happened to our precious Lucy..." Peter closed his eyes at the thought and touched her cheek. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Nobody would know what to do. Understand?"
"Yes, Peter," she said softly. Dropping the knapsack to the floor and abandoning it there, she held her arms out and Peter scooped her up. Lucy rested her head on his chest as he carried her back upstairs to the room she shared with Susan. He lowered her into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Gazing softly at her gentle, sleeping form, Peter couldn't help but smile as he swooped down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Lucy. I love you."
Ooh, I do love Peter/Lucy sibling fluff! There isn't nearly enough of it, either. sigh Oh well. Please, please review! It'll make my day!