Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia, that is the courtesy of C.S. Lewis. Everything else belongs to me!

Chapter 1: Leaving

The bored faces of two young women were pressed against the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the place that was to become their home. Mrs. Woodworth smiled at them encouragingly from behind her newspaper.

"They're a lovely family," she said. "And the house is magnificent. There are gardens to play in, stables to ride horses and millions of rooms. Even if there is nothing to do outside, there are plenty of rooms to explore and books to read."

"Humph!" said Dinah. "I doubt we'll even be allowed out of our rooms, let alone explore."

Dinah and Sophie Glass were two girls who had lived in an orphanage for as long as they could remember. Their earliest memories were being fed by the orphanage staff, since they had no earlier memory of their mother and father. Dinah, aged sixteen, was not looking forward to living in the 'drab old countryside' but Sophie, aged twelve, was ecstatic.

"I'm sure I'll be the best of friends with the professor, and all the maids and the stable boy and everyone else!" she cried. "Of course I'll miss everyone in the orphanage, but…"

"Do shut up, Soph," Dinah grumbled. "I'm sure everyone will be perfectly horrid, and we'll be shut up all day with nothing to do and we'll all be bored to death. And there won't be any decent make-up in the place, that's for sure."

"Dinah!" Mrs. Woodworth said reproachfully. "Professor Kirke is a completely respectable man, and you will be let out everyday, and you'll become lovely bonny country girls."

"I don't want to," Dinah said sulkily. "I like being a town girl, there is always make-up for sale and parties to go to. There aren't any parties in the country."

Dinah took a compact mirror out of her pocket and studied her reflection, applying make-up here and there.

"Stop plastering yourself with that stuff, Di," Sophie said, noting this with disapproval.

"Why? I want to make a good first impression."

"I bet the professor doesn't give a fig whether you've got make-up on or not. Personally I think you look better without."

Dinah jumped up, her compact mirror closing with a click. "Why, you…"

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Turning, they saw a young man hovering in the doorway off their compartment. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Yes, yes," said Dinah, turning a faint shade of scarlet as she bent to retrieve her compact mirror. The boy disappeared, and she sat back up triumphantly.

"See?" she said breathlessly. "You don't get that sort of society in the country."

"Don't be difficult, Di," Sophie grumbled. "We're going, whether you like it or not."

Both girls settled back in their seats and resigned themselves to the journey.

Presently, Sophie said, "I'll miss Polly."

"Polly?" Dinah asked quizzically.

"You know, my best friend at the orphanage."

"Polly Zeizack?"

"Yes – she's the one."

Silence fell again. Dinah reached into her bag and, ignoring Sophie's disapproving look, pulled out a small diary. Immediately Sophie relaxed, realising that her sister was not worrying too much about her looks anymore.

Searching in her bag again, Dinah pulled out a pen, brand new and donated to her by the orphanage. After a moments thought, Dinah began to write:

4th July

We're going to the countryside today – Sophie's ecstatic, and so am I, really. I'll just miss everyone from the orphanage – Annie, Kate, Alice, and… and everyone else. I don't want Sophie to know I miss it though. I need to be an older sister to her in the countryside, where everything will be so different. Being weak and mentioning the orphanage won't help a thing.

"What's that you're writing, Dinah?" Mrs. Woodworth asked, peering over her newspaper.

"Nothing," said Dinah, shutting the book hurriedly. "Or at least, nothing of importance."

"What?" asked Sophie, sitting up. "Do tell us, Di."

"Just a date."

"Which one?"

Dinah smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

There's my first chapter done! It's my first fic so, please review and tell me whether I'm doing it right or wrong! Don't worry, the plot will thicken and Narnia will get involved in chapter three or so… Don't worry, the chapters will get longer! I'll try to update soon!