Okay, here's my second fanfic. To those of you who have read my other one, "Big Brother", don't worry; I haven't given up on it. There's only one chapter left in that one, so I don't plan on abandoning it. Anyway, I'm hoping that this makes you smile...it's my first attempt at humor, so bear with me please! Now, on with the story!
BTW: I own any characters that aren't mentioned in any of C.S. Lewis' books, so don't try to take them from me.
"Hello,"
As that simple greeting met my ears, I yelped and jumped nearly two feet into the air, landing hard on my rear on the pine needle covered forest floor as my flashlight, shining brightly due to its recently replaced batteries, flew through the cool night air only to flicker and go out when it hit a tree and fell to the ground as well. The voice that had spoken copied my yelp, as my flashlight had barely missed its head as the ill-fated instrument of light made its arching first flight. I groaned and struggled to stand up, not succeeding due to the fact that I had partially landed on a rather uncomfortable rock and pain was currently making its self known. My tailbone hasn't hurt this much since I fell on it three times in a week.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The voice and the person it belonged to rushed to my side. "I didn't mean to startle you," She grabbed my hand and pulled in an attempt to help me up, but only succeeded pulling me up a few inches before I fell back onto my rock (Hello again, my hard, pain-inflicting friend!) and she landed on top of me with an "Omph!". I groaned again, and she apologized again before scrambling off of me and standing. As she reached for my hand once more, I spoke for the first time.
"If you don't mind, I think I can get up on my own."
"Alright," She said as she stepped back, her tone of voice betraying her doubt in my ability to do so.
Having learned from my earlier attempt, I did not try to stand immediately. Instead, I rolled over and rose onto my knees. My poor, aching tailbone protested this action, but I gritted my teeth and began crawling in the direction that I thought my flashlight had fallen. I smiled when my hand met the cool metal outside of my presently dead flashlight, and crawled a little farther to the tree that it had hit. My pajamas are going to be a mess. Grasping my flashlight in one hand, I wrapped my free arm around the tree and slowly pulled myself up, the rough bark pulling at my sweatshirt and fleece pajama pants. I smiled triumphantly as I straightened. Unfortunately, my smile disappeared when I tried to walk. I took three steps, my tailbone still throbbing, lost my balance, and hurtled headlong toward the girl that had tried to help me.
Fortunately, she was able to catch me (a considerable accomplishment for someone I figured weighed less than my little brother; not that I'm large or anything, but you get the picture). I sighed in relief as she steadied me, and I grasped her arms for support.
"Thank you," I said, finally finding my tongue, and feeling sheepish for the display I had made of myself. "I'm not usually such a klutz."
Even though it was very dark, I could see her mouth turn up in a smile that looked slightly like a smirk.
"I know it's hard to believe after all that, but honestly, I'm not."
Her smile stayed put, but the smirk part disappeared. "Alright. Don't worry, I believe you."
Her grin was contagious, and I found my mouth stretching into a smile as well. Then she giggled. One thing led to another, and soon we were both laughing so hard that tears were coming out of my eyes.
"You should have seen how high you jumped!" She said, gasping for air.
"I know I looked ridiculous, but how about the look on your face when the flashlight almost hit you in the head!"
When our laughter finally came to an end, she asked, "Does your torch still work?"
My facial expression went blank. "My what?"
"Your electric torch," she said, motioning to the object I still held in my hand.
"Oh! My flashlight!" I exclaimed and jiggled the light, trying to get it to turn on again. Then, mid-shake, I stopped and stared at it. "My flashlight…uh-oh…oh boy." I muttered, remembering exactly why I had been outside in the middle of the night clad in my pajamas in the first place.
"What's wrong?" she asked, puzzled.
"They're going to think I got attacked by coyotes!"
"Who?"
"Okay, well, maybe not that, but they're going to wonder what's happened to me. I wonder how long it's been. Do you have the time?"
"What?"
"Oh, that's right. We won't be able to see the time since my flashlight's broken. I'd better hurry, then."
"Hurry where? Wait, stop!" She grabbed my arm, halting me as I attempted to move deeper into the woods. "Where are you going?"
I sighed. I guess another minute won't make a difference. "I'm going back to the tent."
"What tent?"
"The tent I'm sleeping in tonight. And there are people waiting there for me that are likely worried about me, so I need to hurry."
"You live in a tent?" she asked, curiosity filling her voice.
I rolled my eyes. "No, I don't live in a tent. I live in a house. It's not around here, though. I'm just visiting my relatives' house right now. Anyway, we're camping out tonight."
"I didn't know there were any houses near here," she mused.
If it had not been so dark, I probably would have given her a strange look. "The houses in this neighborhood may be far apart, but you can still see them through the trees. Where do you live?"
She pointed to my right. "I live that way, in the castle. Have you ever been there?"
"Actually, I didn't even know there was a castle around here."
"Oh, well, then you should come visit sometime. It's very big and beautiful, you can't miss it. Oh, and it's right next to the ocean, too."
Darkness or no, at this point I did give her a strange look. "Um, maybe I'll do that. Sometime. But not now. I need to get back to the tent. Hey," I said, getting an idea. "Why don't you come with me?"
"I suppose I could. Mr. Tumnus already went home, and I'm tired of dancing."
I recognized the name, but thought nothing of it. What young girl has not pretended to have a friend from a book?
"What's your name?" she asked.
I smiled. Whoops. That's a slightly important detail. "My name's Crystal. And yours?" I asked.
"I'm Lucy Pevensie." Came the innocent answer.
"That's a nice…" My voice trailed off as her words sank in. Wait, did she just say she's Lucy Pevensie? "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I just heard you correctly. Could you repeat that?"
"Of course. I'm Lucy Pevensie." She pronounced it slowly, making sure I understood this time.
"Uh-huh. That's what I thought you said."
"Is something wrong?" she asked, puzzled at my strange reaction to her name.
"Uh…no. Don't worry, you don't have to tell me your real name."
"But that is my real name. Perhaps you would prefer to call me Queen Lucy the Valiant?"
I took in a deep breath. "Oh, no, that's alright. Lucy's fine. Goodness, you are really going to fit in well tonight." Oh, boy. Tonight. I totally forgot again. "Um, speaking of tonight, we should go now. The girls are going to want to meet you. We don't come across a Narnian Queen in the woods in the middle of the night very often."
Lucy giggled. "Perhaps I should come here more often, then."
I smiled at that comment. This girl is really cool. "Maybe you should," Then, I added, "Come on, let's go find the tent."
An uncertain tone came into her voice. "Find the tent? Do you not know where it is?"
"It's kinda dark. So, obviously, we can't see it. That's why I was carrying a flashlight – or torch, as you call it. And," I added in a tiny voice, my face flushing, "I'm not exactly sure what direction the tent is in. Maybe you could help me find it?"
She stood silently for a moment and then moved around me and walked away. I could not see, but heard her soft footsteps on the pine needles underfoot and the rustle of various plants as she brushed past them. I foolishly thought that this meant she was leaving me.
"Wait! Don't go! Lucy? I can't help not knowing where the tent is! I got my sense of direction turned around when we met."
"I know."
"Gak!" I yelled. I had been so busy freaking out, thinking that she had left me, that I had failed to notice her return.
"Sorry," she said.
I shook my head and muttered, "We have got to stop doing that,"
"Well, at least you didn't fall on your rear this time." Sweet little girl or not, I swear I heard an evil grin in her voice. "The tent is that way."
"Huh?" I know, an unintelligent response, but let me remind you that I had been scared half to death once that night, fallen twice on my tailbone, met someone who claimed to be a character in one of my favorite book series, and had been startled again by said person. Not to mention the fact that it was past my bedtime.
"That's the direction you were walking when we met."
"Really?" My hand latched onto her arm. "Which way?"
She grabbed my arms and turned me so I faced the opposite direction. "That way." She said, releasing my arms.
"Okay…" I stood in place for a moment, staring into the darkness before us, straining to see what I was looking for. "There!" I exclaimed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you see it?"
She was silent for a moment, and then she said, "Yes. Is that the tent?"
"Yep." I said proudly. Now, you may be wondering exactly how we could see the tent in the dark, so I'll tell you. It was glowing from within due to the battery-powered lantern that was being used. Okay, so we could not see the whole tent because the light did not filter through the rain cover very well, but we could see little bits of light here and there, and the bits of light formed a shape that looked more or less like a tent. Because of this fact, I probably could have found the tent without Lucy's help in the first place, but the thought did not occur to me until after we had located it together.
"Can we go now?" she asked, rubbing her arms. "I'm a bit chilled."
"Of course!" I said. I was getting excited now. I could not wait to introduce her to the other occupants of the tent, and I was, unfortunately, getting slightly hyper. Partly because I was getting hyper and partly because I was cold, I began bouncing in place. "Come on!"
I saw her smile shine white in the darkness, sweet and pure; a reflection of her innocence. "I can't wait to meet your friends."
Needing no more encouragement, I turned and started toward the tent. Unfortunately, I only made it a couple of steps before I was brought to an almost literal screaming halt. My foot stepped in an enlarged gopher hole, one of many in the general vicinity, and I fell forward, arms flailing. I hit the ground with a thud, and I groaned as my face planted itself on something hard and unyielding. I lay still as Lucy rushed over saying something like, "Crystal! Are you alright? Say something!"
"Something…" I muttered, then groaned again as the thing against which my face was pressed dug itself deeper into my cheek and jaw. As Lucy sighed in relief, I slowly lifted my head to relieve the pressure and groped with my hand to find the object that had decided to inflict such pain upon my face. When I found it, I growled quietly.
"Dumb rock."
Well, there it is. So, what'd you think? Please review for me! It's very motivational!
