Eustace Clarence Scrubb was hoping that the girls would shut up soon. Normally he didn't mind Lucy and Pole chatting, but their high pitched giggles were driving into his brain.
"Do you mind being a bit quieter?" He snarled though he didn't mean to. They were giving him a headache. He turned to look at his cousin and friend.
"Sorry Scrubb." Jill Pole said giving him a smile, and then turned back to Lucy. Their giggling continued.
Eustace sighed and started pacing the aisle. He was quite certain one wasn't supposed to do that on a train, but he wanted to clear his mind. Pole didn't giggle…ever. He wondered what the two of them could possibly be talking about. It was strange to think of Pole as being a typical light headed girl. Pole and Lucy too, didn't get caught up in the 'girly' things his other cousin Susan had. In fact, Pole was rather tomboyish now that he thought about it. But he didn't like to think about Pole as Edmund teased him about her all the time. (How does one so old mentally act younger than their physical age?) Eustace did not like Pole that way…or at least he pretended not to. He wasn't exactly sure how he liked her, but friends was a good start. Of course Edmund would pick out the word 'start' and ask him where they would end up. Eustace sighed, and looked out the window.
"Lucy, Pole, do you think we're going too fast?" Eustace asked. Eustace knew a little about trains, Edmund being an expert, and he thought that they were accelerating, when they should be slowing down. The station was near.
"Well, we are going a bit faster. Perhaps we're off schedule, so the conductor's just boosting us a bit." Lucy offered with a smile. "I have no idea, as I haven't any knowledge of trains. Lucy could be right Scrubb. You needn't worry all the time." Pole sighed.
Then a bump. A rather large one too, as it threw Eustace, who was standing and had an astute disposition, to the ground. Eustace looked up at the two girls with faces of horror.
"Scrubb!" Pole jumped out of her seat and helped him up.
"Did we go off rail?" Eustace asked bewildered. Then another bump. It threw the two students to the floor again, and Lucy was bumped out of her seat. After questions of "Are you alright?" the trio headed for the window.
"We're near the station!" Eustace exclaimed. He knew better than Pole and Lucy. They were going far too fast, he didn't think they were even on track, and the train was very likely to crash.
Then the final bump. It threw Eustace and Jill to one side of the cabin, and Lucy to the other. Eustace heard the metal above him groan, and did what any gentlemen would have done (and he had learned from Edmund and Peter) – he covered Pole, no Jill, with his body and he felt like a weight fell on him. It didn't hurt.
Jill and Lucy were gossiping. It wasn't sporting of them, but they didn't care. Well, Lucy didn't care, but Jill cared. Lucy was asking Jill questions, and Jill was refusing to answer.
"But you must like him. Even I can see that." Lucy said giggled. Jill giggled too, though she was a bit mad.
"He is my friend, and that it is all. It's Scrubb for goodness sake's Lu!" Jill giggled again. She wondered what was wrong with her.
"Susan predicted this you know. I don't like getting in people's business, but Jill I have seen the way you look at him –"
"He's my friend; of course I'm going to look at him." Jill punched Lucy's shoulder playfully.
"Do you mind being a bit quieter?" Scrubb growled at them. Jill turned her head. "Sorry Scrubb." Jill said giving him her best 'No, I really did leave my homework on the bus' smile. He turned away and started pacing.
The two girls looked at each other and giggled again. Jill swore this giggling thing was contagious.
"You two are from fairy tale land ideas." Lucy said smiling at her.
"Fairy tale? I nearly murdered him – I pushed him off a cliff, and he nearly beheaded me when Puddleglum was trying to teach him sword fighting. I hardly doubt any prince and princess ever killed each other." Jill said.
Lucy thought for a moment and spoke slowly, "True, but I still say there's something between you two and you two aren't a prince and princess, you're honorary king and queen of Narnia. Rilian made it so. I don't lie." Her last words were a statement and a reminder.
Jill sighed, feeling defeated. "Okay, so maybe there's this little," Lucy squealed, "tiny little feeling, but it's nothing. Why are you so interested anyway? Isn't this Susan's idea of fun? Torturing, I mean interrogating, I mean asking me about my feelings toward Scrubb…"
"When two people, especially people I'm close with, are made for each other, I want to help. I advocate happiness, and I believe you two would be happy together." Lucy said triumphantly. Jill stuck her tongue out at her playfully.
"Lucy, Pole, do you think we're going too fast?" Scrubb asked cutting into their conversation, completely unaware he was the subject. The girls turned toward him.
"Well, we are going a bit faster. Perhaps we're off schedule, so the conductor's just boosting us a bit." Lucy smiled at him. Jill wondered how Lucy could always have the right answer. Jill's wasn't quite as reassuring. "I have no idea, as I haven't any knowledge of trains. Lucy could be right Scrubb. You needn't worry all the time."
Then the train hit, or made, a bump. Scrubb went flying to the floor. "Scrubb!" Jill cried, trying not to laugh as he had landed right on his face. He was always so balanced.
"Did we go off rail?" He asked as she helped him up. He looked dazed. The train bumped again. Everyone hit the floor. Questions were asked, and the girls, following Scrubb's lead, went to the window. "We're near the station!" Scrubb bellowed. Jill didn't understand why he needed to point out the obvious. They'd make it to the station, the train would be fixed, and they'd get the rings and be off to Narnia. Then another bump. Jill felt herself flying. She couldn't see much, but she saw Lucy's hair on the opposite side of the cabin. She thought she heard creaking, but suddenly Scrubb was on top of her. Then something pressed on her body, and it was heavy. It didn't hurt.
"But you must like him. Even I can see that." Lucy giggled a bit asking Jill about her least favorite subject. Lucy was very good at observing and she noticed that there was something between her cousin and her best friend.
"He is my friend, and that it is all. It's Scrubb for goodness sake's Lu!" Jill denied. Lucy could see right through Jill's defense. There was something between them, most definitely. She had seen it grow and develop over the last seven years. It was there.
Lucy decided on another tactic. She was queen, she'd get the truth. "Susan predicted this you know. I don't like getting in people's business, but Jill I have seen the way you look at him –"
"He's my friend; of course I'm going to look at him." Jill cut her off. Jill was quick to deny. Lucy thought that getting it off her chest would help Jill, make it easier for her.
"Do you mind being a bit quieter?" Eustace asked them rudely. Lucy gave him a sympathetic look that he completely missed. She wondered if the giggling was getting to him, he seemed quite stressed lately. "Sorry Scrub." Jill said, and gave him a big cheesy smile. The girls looked at each other and giggled again. Lucy hoped this wasn't the reason Eustace was mad.
"You two are from fairy tale land ideas." Lucy blurted out. So much for tactic, and it hadn't even come out correctly. She had meant to say they were like something from a fairy tale.
"Fairy tale? I nearly murdered him – I pushed him off a cliff, and he nearly beheaded me when Puddleglum was trying to teach him sword fighting. I hardly doubt any prince and princess ever killed each other." Jill said nearly laughing. Lucy couldn't decide if it was because they were slightly homicidal toward each other or if Jill was accepting Lucy's ideas.
"True, but I still say there's something between you two and you two aren't a prince and princess, you're honorary king and queen of Narnia. Rilian made it so. I don't lie." Lucy was still trying to curve Jill's mind. Internally she sighed. If Jill still denied it in a couple of minutes she'd change the subject. Or perhaps they'd be at the station, and she wouldn't have to.
Jill let out a monster sigh and then said, "Okay, so maybe there's this little," Lucy let out a high pitched squeal. Jill was finally coming around. "Tiny little feeling, but it's nothing. Why are you so interested anyway? Isn't this Susan's idea of fun? Torturing, I mean interrogating, I mean asking me about my feelings toward Scrubb…" Jill trailed off. Lucy then decided on telling the truth.
"When two people, especially people I'm close with, are made for each other, I want to help. I advocate happiness, and I believe you two would be happy together." Jill stuck her tongue, but Lucy could tell she had won. She always did. Most of the time it involved giving the 'baby' look, and everyone fell for it, but she was quite glad she had won using her brain. It reminded her of something Susan would have done before…
"Lucy, Pole, do you think we're going too fast?" Eustace asked suddenly. Lucy could hear a very slight nervous sound to his voice. She decided to try to calm his nerves. "Well, we are going a bit faster. Perhaps we're off schedule, so the conductor's just boosting us a bit."
Jill's reply wasn't exactly calming. "I have no idea, as I haven't any knowledge of trains. Lucy could be right Scrubb. You needn't worry all the time."
Bump went the train. Eustace was knocked off his feet. "Scrubb!" Jill exclaimed and went to help him up. He blinked and said, "Did we go off rail?" Bump went the train again. This time it threw them all down. Lucy's knee was probably bruised. After checking to make sure they were all okay, they went to the window. Well, Eustace went to the window, and the girls thought it must be important so they went too. "We're near the station!" Eustace's worried tone was very evident. It made Lucy nervous. Bump went the train again.
Lucy went flying backwards. She looked up, and saw Jill and Eustace on the other side of the cabin. Suddenly Eustace climbed over Jill, and before she could even ponder why, the ceiling fell on them. Her scream died in her throat. They wouldn't make it to Narnia…they're dead…they're gone… Lucy tried to stand up, and succeed a little, her knee hurting even more. She barely registered that a fire was raging. She had to get to them. They were needed in Narnia. She was caught completely unaware when a piece of metal swung and whacked her in the back of her neck. A small cry escaped her lips due to shock. Lucy closed her eyes on the way down and felt her knee shatter as she landed on it. It didn't hurt.
Peter had a lot on his mind. Like the fact he wanted more books, more information, anything and everything thing he could find on medicine. No matter he was well on his way to being a doctor, he wanted more. Like the fact that he currently held Eustace and Jill's way to Narnia in his right hand. Like the fact that his younger sister, the silly one, was caught between two worlds and was probably insane or close. Like the fact that the same sister was trying to get him to court one of her many friends. Like the fact he couldn't help that sister even though he really wanted to as it was her own battle not his. And like the fact his younger brother was really annoying him at this moment.
"Peter pay attention to me!" Edmund whined. Peter turned, looked at him, and did something he hadn't done since he was five. He made a face.
"That's not very king-like." Edmund grinned.
"No you're not." Peter replied. The two boys broke into a small laugh. There was hardly a person at the station.
"Anyway, I was saying, while you were not listening, that I think Mum and Dad on the train. Heading to Bristol I think?" Edmund said. Peter nodded, his mind wandering back to his problems.
"Peter, do I need to send a telegram to you?" Edmund sighed impatiently.
"What is so important that you must interrupt my thoughts?" Peter asked.
"You have dirt on your face." Edmund said looking as though he was going to erupt with laughter. That was the final straw.
"Of course I have dirt on my face! We just dug holes in someone's backyard so we could get the rings!" Peter blew up, and then Edmund burst out laughing, which made Peter laugh. It was nice to release pressure. Of course Edmund was laughing harder, Peter wondered why.
"Look Ed, there's the train." Peter said his attention diverted. "By Jove, it's coming too fast. See how it's rounding the bend, that's one bumpy ride." Edmund said reverting to his more formal language. He did that when talking about something either very serious or something he knew quite well about.
It happened in an instance. Peter had been waiting for the train to slow down, but it only sped up. He then felt something hit his face, and he knew his nose was broken. The impact made him sprawl to the floor. His ankles felt as though the skin were ripped from them, perhaps there was nothing below them. Gripping the ornate box in his right hand, his eyes firmly shut (he knew he couldn't see anyway with the blood), he reached out his left hand to Edmund. It didn't hurt.
"I say Pete; I think you've gone insane." Edmund said to his older brother. Peter wasn't replying, instead he was off looking at something, while not looking at all.
"Peter come on, this is the third time I've said this." Edmund sighed.
"Peter pay attention to me!" Edmund whined undignified, he was a king he shouldn't have to whine to get his brother's attention. Especially at his age.
Peter turned to look at him, and made a rather nasty face. Very unPeter-like, unHigh King-like, and ungentleman-like. Edmund was proud.
"That's not very king-like." Edmund said.
"No you're not." Peter shot back, the witty older brother coming back. The boys shared a laugh.
"Anyway, I was saying, while you were not listening, that I think Mum and Dad on the train. Heading to Bristol I think?" Edmund said cocking his head as though that would help him remember. He looked over at his brother, and noticed he was gone again. Time for some fun. Why not imitate Susan's friends?
"Oh Peter dear are you listening?" Edmund said his voice going up into unnatural octaves. No response.
"I do say that you have such lovely eyes, and a sparklingly personality." Again no response.
"My, my, my, you're such a wonderful dancer. Perhaps you'd like to court me?" Edmund silently groaned and trying to provoke his brother he batted his eyelashes. Peter was still off staring in space. Edmund hung his head in shame. He used to be rather good at it, but at least Eustace still hated it especially when he imitated Pole. Edmund had gotten rather fond of Jill's nickname. She was more Pole than Jill, though Susan said it wasn't proper to call her that (when was Edmund proper?) and Peter and Lucy refused because "Pole isn't her name, Edmund. It's Jill, can't you act like a gentlemen for once?"
"Peter, do I need to send a telegram to you?" Edmund asked his voice back to normal, slightly agitated.
"What is so important that you must interrupt my thoughts?" Peter asked annoyed. Edmund drew a blank, and knew he had to think of something quick.
"You have dirt on your face." It just popped out. Thank goodness too, because Edmund could hardly admit to what he said to his non listening brother. Thinking about it made him really want to laugh…
"Of course I have dirt on my face! We just dug holes in someone's backyard so we could get the rings!" Peter had a temper, but it didn't matter. Edmund had held in his laughing for so long that it hurt, and it released. He thanked the good Lion for Peter laughing as well. Though he was sure neither one knew what they were laughing at.
"Look Ed, there's the train." Peter said straightening up, and sounding serious. Edmund turned around and little out a gasp.
"By Jove, it's coming too fast. See how it's rounding the bend, that's one bumpy ride." Edmund exclaimed. Something was wrong; it shouldn't look like that…ever. Then a screech, Edmund saw a piece of metal hit his brother in his face sending him backwards. Edmund went racing to his brother's aid, but something hit his knee, the same one he'd hurt playing rugby. He crashed down, and looked over in Peter's direction. Blood on his face, and his feet, his knuckles white on the box with rings, his hand extended toward Edmund. Edmund grabbed his hand and held it tightly. He had to close his eyes as he was getting pelted by various objects, and he never noticed that he was hit in the back. It didn't hurt.
She cursed Peter's car. If it hadn't of broken down, she wouldn't have had to drive them here. Or maybe had Edmund been considering getting his own car then they could have used that one. But no, her brothers had manipulated her into driving them to the station in her car. Not only that they told her she must drive them to the station, they soiled her car in those filthy clothes, and didn't even give her an explanation.
Well, Edmund tried, but Peter had shot him a look. Her siblings were careful not to speak of Narnia to her. She knew it, she commanded it. She was given looks of course, but nonetheless it was done. Despite Edmund and Lucy's ideas she remembered it.
How else would she give such wonderful parties, how else could she float to the highest ranks of society, how else could she have such renowned style? Narnia's higher points were always in her mind, but the other stuff was scratched out. Until now.
Peter had been trying so hard to make her remember. He had been doing a good job too. Ever since America when she learned that England is real and Narnia is not, Peter had tried. She thought that he thought it was duty as oldest to do so. For seven years he had tried and failed. Now her barriers were coming down. She certainly hadn't expected them too, and she didn't know why. But she did miss her siblings…she sat in car. She was missing Kate's party, but the more she thought about it, the more silly it became. Susan wondered how she lived for things like that before. Narnia was slowly infiltrating her mind. Stupid Peter and his stupid stubborn ways.
Then she heard it. It was hard to describe, but it sounded like Death itself. The sound of tearing metal, fire, and destruction. Her heart stopped. Susan sat while the flames went to the sky; she blinked as she heard metal crashing down. After an eternity that felt like minutes and years together, she removed herself from the car.
Others had gathered and were helping. Some were crying. There were a few survivors screaming. Police and officials were there. She stood staring at the wreck. She couldn't see clearly, she saw bits of metal, the fire's red glare, splattered blood. She saw two boys on the platform, both dead and dirty, hands clasped together in an act of brotherhood. There hadn't been many waiting, she knew them. Susan wasn't going to tell yet, it was her secret, her brothers, and her family. It was hers to tell. Besides there were others who required more attention; her brothers were dead what could anyone do for them?
Susan didn't cry, she had seen battle before, her mind calm and logical. She wouldn't lose her head like those other women. She became Narnian in that moment and she knew it. She acted like the weak, silly women, but she was a queen. Her family fought against machines and lost. Inside she cried, but outside she commanded. She directed. She ordered. She helped. She identified their bodies, and blinked back tears as they took her brothers away. She comforted families. She ran around, the men surprised at how this twenty-one year old girl did not flinch at the bloodshed, did not weep at the loss, and did not consider herself more important than anyone else. She saw her parent's bodies pulled from the wreck. She was steely, gave the information and carried on. Her Gentleness had once been legendary. For her family's sake and their belief in Narnia, she allowed herself to remember. It helped her get through this.
Eustace's body was wrapped around a girl, he had been protecting her, the police said. On a normal day Susan wouldn't have remembered poor Jill's name, but her English and Narnian upbringings mixing, she could accurately remember everything at the moment. They pulled Digory and Polly's bodies out too.
Susan wasn't thinking about how strange it was that her remembering Narnia was helping her. A small part of her brain registered that remembering should be making her confused, but it didn't. It fell in line like it was supposed to.
What killed her was Lucy. Lucy. Her baby sister. She hadn't the time to think about at the moment, but she cried. The one time she let go, she wept. It hurt.
A/N: This idea came to me in the middle of the night, and thus I wrote it then. I was quite tired, so the ending is not exactly my favorite. I think my tiredness comes through, but I did try very hard to get the ideas across. Susan's part I think is the most evident of lack of sleep which is a shame, because I really wanted to write it well. Alas! I do hope it comes out better than I think it did.