Author's Note: This story will not make a lot of sense if you have not read the first two installments (Aslan's Return and Beyond Narnia).
Part One: Crack in the Wall
Emma Dowers tugged nervously at the hem of her school uniform as she waited for the train to slow to a stop. The station platform was swarming with students wearing the deep red of Saint Finbar and the navy blue of adjoining boys' school. This would be her first year at the all girls' academy. All her friends had gone to another private school across London, but Emma's parents had insisted that she'd be happier at Saint Finbar. Emma wasn't so sure. She glanced around at the unfamiliar faces, feeling her heart give a nervous stumble.
The train came to a halt, and Emma tugged her bag out from the overhead rack. She shuffled down the aisle, dragging the heavy bag behind her. When she reached the platform, she looked around, wondering where to go next. She spotted another girl who looked to be her age suddenly recognizing her from her parent's many dinner parties.
"Lucy!" she called out, joyfully, jogging over to join her old friend. Lucy's face lit up in surprise, and she rushed over to hug Emma.
"Emma, what are you doing here? You're attending Saint Finbar this year?" she asked breathlessly.
"My parents sent me here, yes. I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone!" Emma smiled gleefully. She noticed that Lucy's elder brothers and sister were there as well. "Hello," she greeted them.
The other three Pevensie children greeted her with friendly smiles. "I'm so glad Lucy will have a friend in her class," Susan said.
"Come on, we'd better get our stuff put away," Lucy said, taking Emma's arm and leading her toward the tall edifice that would be their dorm rooms. Edmund and Peter waved goodbye, walking in the opposite direction toward their own school.
Lucy began to tell Emma about her summer and her past year at Saint Finbar. As they made their way to the dorms, Lucy showed Emma the different buildings where their classes would be held. Susan gave her younger sister a quick hug before slipping off to her own dorm.
"You get to stay in the same dorm as me," Lucy told Emma. She smiled gleefully, her blue eyes shining. "I'm so glad I have a friend."
"I'm sure you have lots of friends here already though," Emma said, setting down her bag on one of the spare beds.
Lucy's smile fell. "Not really. The other girls seem to avoid me. I think it's because I'm so different."
"How so?" Emma asked, surprised.
"Well, I guess I just act older. I'm not interested in the same things as them," she replied vaguely. "But we'll have a great time together," she added, changing the subject. Emma smiled, but inside she wondered what exactly Lucy had meant.
…
The boy was writhing in pain, his face drawn and pale, his heartbeat rapid. He tossed and turned in sleep, crying out in agony as if some poison were inside of him. By his side sat a small girl with wet eyes. Her golden hair fell around the boy's face, mixing with his dark hair. The girl let out a sob as she watched him suffer. Emma stood by, unable to move or to speak. She wanted so badly to help them, but her dream would not let her. Suddenly out of the darkness came a great golden lion. He raised shining eyes to look at Emma.
"Dear one, the time has come for you to help. You must heal the king, you are the only one who can," the lion spoke in a deep soothing voice.
"I'm frightened," Emma said, finally finding her voice.
"Do not be afraid, dear heart, I am with you." The lion let out a warm breath that brushed against her face like a mother's kiss. She felt at peace, her fear fading.
She looked back to see the sick boy and the mourning girl. She would help them.
…
Emma awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and looking around the dark dorm room, half expecting to see a great, golden lion. Everything was still, however, and she let her head fall back on the pillow. "What an odd dream," she said aloud to herself. Turning over, she fell back asleep and did not dream of lions or anything else for the rest of the night.
The morning dawned bright, and Emma got out of bed, eager to start her classes. Lucy was already up and putting on her school uniform. "I had the most peculiar dream last night," Emma said to her, tidying up the blankets on her bed. "A great, golden lion spoke to me. He said that I need to help a king or something. It was so odd." She was ready to laugh it off, but she noticed that Lucy had stopped midway through buttoning her sweater. Her eyes were wide in an expression of shock.
"A lion?" she asked breathlessly, abandoning her buttoning. "Are you sure? What did he look like?"
Taken aback, Emma shook her head. "Just a lion, I suppose. But he could speak."
"Aslan!" Lucy was nearly jumping with glee. "You saw Aslan!"
"Aslan, who on earth is Aslan?" Emma cocked an eyebrow at Lucy, wondering at her odd behavior. "You're acting awfully strange, Lucy. Are you feeling alright?"
"Of course! Emma, you've seen Aslan. He's a lion. From a magical land called Narnia." Lucy's eyes glowed with excitement. "Let me tell you about it. Get dressed, and we'll walk to class together."
By the time they had reached their first class, Emma's head was swarming with centaurs and magical talking lions. She could hardly believe what she was hearing and would have thought Lucy was making it up – she did have a vivid imagination – but the way the girl spoke was so genuine, Emma found herself believing there really was a place called Narnia.
"Aslan said that I needed to save the king," Emma said, thinking back to her dream. "He said I was the only one who could."
"Caspian. I hope he's alright…" Lucy looked worried.
"Does that mean I'll be going to Narnia?" Emma asked cautiously, not sure she wanted to know the answer.
"Oh, I hope so! You'll love it!" Lucy smiled eagerly at her. "Aslan said I would be going back one day. I wonder if we'll go together?"
Before Emma could reply, the bell for class rang, and they hurried off to arithmetic. Emma's thoughts were miles away, however, and she didn't hear much of what the teacher said.
Emma had a break between classes, and took her lunch to a quiet corner in one of the gardens. Lucy didn't have the same break, and so she sat alone, her thoughts on the great lion and the land of Narnia. She didn't hear anyone behind her until a branch broke underfoot. Turning around, she spotted a chubby, freckle-faced girl with unruly red hair and a rather nasty expression on her face.
"You're new here, aren't you?" she asked rudely.
"Yes…" Emma answered cautiously.
"We have a rule around here. New kids give their lunches to us." She pointed her finger at another girl who followed behind her.
"I'm not giving you my lunch." Emma stood, grabbing her lunch sack and backing away.
"You'd better."
"Or what?" Emma watched as the redheaded girl's cheeks grew red.
"Just give it!" She made a snatch for Emma's lunch sack, but the smaller girl was too quick for her. She leapt away and turned to run as the two girls chased after her. A wall stood before her and beyond that the school grounds. If only she could reach the wall, she would be in view of the teachers and other students. A narrow crack ran through the wall, starting at the very top and working its way down to the bottom. Emma sprinted toward it, looking back to see that the bully girls were close on her heels. She put on an extra spurt of speed and squeezed nimbly through the crack in the wall. She turned around to see if the girls would follow but found that the wall was no longer there. Instead there stood a solid wall of rock. Dropping her lunch sack, Emma felt the wall with her hands, but there was no crack. She turned around and let out a quiet gasp of astonishment. She stood on a lonely beach, the sand beneath her feet wet as small waves crashed up over her feet.
She took a step forward, her lunch completely forgotten. All around her the air smelled fresh and sweet, and a light breeze snatched up her short, copper hair, tossing it about her face. She looked up as a seagull soared overhead and caught sight of a building set high above the sea on a cliff. A castle was more of what it was. Emma gaped up at it, hardly believing her eyes. Then she kicked off her shoes, pulling her stockings off after them and ran barefoot across the sand. She felt free and laughed happily, her arms flung wide to catch the wind. So this is Narnia, she thought. When she reached the cliff below the castle, she found that a stairway had been chiseled into the side, leading straight to the castle. She began to climb, eager to reach the top of the cliff. The castle was even grander up close, and Emma stood staring, trying to take it all in at once.
A figure in white suddenly appeared before her, coming out of the castle doors. She had long, golden hair and a beautiful, sad face. Emma recognized her at once from her dream. The girl stopped a few feet away from her and then smiled.
"You've come," she said at last.