Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia, Lucy Pevensie, Aslan, Proffessor Kirke, Polly Plummer, C.S. Lewis, or Walden Media. All I own is the idea of a trunk that the Professor gave to the Pevensies.
This idea came to me a long time ago, so I frantically wrote it all down. Enjoy! :)
"Long live King Peter!"
"Long live Queen Susan!"
"Long live King Edmund!"
"Long live Queen Lucy!"
Lucy Pevensie awoke with a start, her hair flying around her face as she sat up straight, turning her head around to look at her surroundings.
She was still in her regular old room in London, not in Narnia. And she was still wearing a nightgown, not fancy robes and a crown. And she was lying in bed in her room, not standing before a throne at Cair Paravel.
This sadness is what made the young girl of eight frown.
"Oh." Lucy sighed. "And it so did seem like Cair Paravel again." She felt a tear slide down her face, and she quickly brushed it away. Without much else to do, she took an electric torch down from her table and flipped the switch on. The small beam of light hit a spot on the wall, showing a picture. Lucy slowly tiptoed out of bed, so as not to wake her older sister, Susan, who was sound asleep in the room next door. The floorboards in her old house in London were quite loud, and she had to tiptoe just to get a glass of water from the kitchen.
She traveled over to the picture; shining the beam onto it she leaned in closer to examine it. When the photo came into focus she let out a small "oh" as she smiled wistfully.
The picture showed herself, her siblings Susan, Edmund, and Peter, and a nice old man that they had stayed with during the air raids. The man's name was Professor Kirke and he had been dreadfully kind to her and her family.
Behind the group was a small wardrobe with a looking glass in the front. Lucy felt another tear, but didn't bother to brush it away. She felt some needed to cry once in a while. If she thought hard enough, she could remember that day. It was the last day she and her siblings had stayed with the professor. It was only one hour before their train arrived to take them home, and everyone had agreed on getting a group picture in front of the wardrobe. The wardrobe where it had all began.
Lucy longed for the days when she was a queen in Narnia. Where she didn't have to wear itchy sweaters or go to bed at six. When she was a queen, she wore lovely gowns and riches and could stay up as long as she pleased and had feasts with her friends of Narnia, and went riding every day. It had been so wonderful. But now it was all gone, and she was back in England again.
Sighing, Lucy took the picture off the wall to examine it. As she did, she gasped aloud, almost dropping the picture, but she caught herself just in time.
She remembered that on that exact day, the professor had given them a trunk. In the drunk held old photos, paintings, and journals inspired by Narnia. And she had kept that trunk up in their attic.
Lucy realized that she and their siblings hadn't ever opened the trunk, and they had gotten back from the professor's a month ago. She set the frame gently down on her bed. She felt so excited that she forgot about Susan and stepped onto the floor. A creak rang through the room and she drew in her breath, standing stock-still and wondering if her siblings had heard. After a few moments she heard nothing and made sure to tiptoe out of her room, gently easing the door closed and tiptoeing up the stairs, being careful to avoid the creaky spots.
She finally reached the top and shone the light over the room. Boxes and boxes filled up the musty attic. Lucy sneezed lightly, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping some dust off of a sofa. Pushing past old boxes and cobwebs and using the handkerchief as a mask, she made her way to the back, where a single window let the moonlight beams shine through and glow the room with magic and history. Under the circular window was a trunk with a heavy padlock on it. Dropping onto her hands and knees she slipped her arm under the trunk as far as it was reach until her fingers closed around something. She withdrew her arm and revealed a golden key, the key to the trunk.
She inserted the key in the lock and twisted it. With a small click! the trunk unlocked and Lucy used all of her strength to push the heavy lid up until it hit the wooden wall.
Inside the trunk were many diaries, albums, and journals all about Narnia. There was even a manuscript written by the professor himself, all about the adventure he had in Narnia and how Narnia had come to life. Lucy shifted through the old memories. At the bottom of the pile was a small little book. Lifting it out of the trunk she shined the torch on the cover. In fancy handwriting, the cover read: Photo Album: Property of Digory J. Kirke
She flipped the book open and smiled at the wonders inside. It was a photo album, sure enough, a very old photo album, for the pictures were yellowing and crinkling at the sides. The first photo showed a little girl that looked perhaps a few years older than Lucy with blonde hair climbing onto a horse. A little boy that looked about the same age as the girl was putting a saddle on another horse, smiling into the camera. Under the photo were the words in slanted, curvy handwriting: Digory and Polly getting ready to go out riding at Digory's mother's house.
The next photo showed a woman sitting on a bench in front of a grand piano. The woman was very pretty, and next to her sat the girl from the first picture next to the woman, wearing a huge grin on her face. The woman's head was tilted back and her mouth was wide open, her hands poised above the keys, as though she were playing and singing along to the music. Under the picture was this: Polly listens to Digory's mother sing.
Lucy skimmed through the book, discovering all of the pictures were taken at Digory's house. She remembered Professor Kirke telling herself and her siblings that Polly Plummer had been his dearest friend through childhood and was his dearest friend even now. She had traveled with him on his adventure to Narnia where he saw the making of it. Lucy carefully placed the book back inside the trunk and began shifting through more of the items. She came across a black leather-bound journal, with the words Digory J. Kirke across the front. Lucy flipped through the dusty old book and found tales of Narnia and how it was made. She also found the tale of how the lamppost ended up in Lantern Waste, the first joke of Narnia, and the creatures he encountered such as an elephant, a bear, and a winged horse named Fledge. She also read of meeting Aslan and Jadis, and shivered at how cruel Jadis was, even then.
When she finished the book, she then shifted around until she dug through the trunk some more, the dust clouding around her. Lucy tried to avoid it, but she sneezed once or twice all the same. She found another book, this one written by Polly. It looked the same as Digory's, but the story was much more detailed. Lucy opened it up and began to read.
This is my complete description of my adventure I had with Digory back about a year ago. In the beginning, Digory and I met on a rainy day. We spent every day with each other, for it was during the summer. There came a day when I showed him what I called my Smuggler's Cave. It was really a very long passage that connected to other people's houses. We did some math, and realized that we would be able to get into Digory's neighbor's house. You see, no one had lived there for years, and we decided to figure out why that was. So the next day we began our journey. You had to jump from beam to beam in the cave, otherwise you'd step on plaster and fall right into who-knows-where. So at our estimate we stopped and opened a door. Inside was the most peculiar thing ever seen. There was a normal little room with a fire blazing and furniture. But there was a strange humming noise coming from the room, and we soon found the source to be a set of rings on a plate, half of them green, the other half yellow. We hadn't been there for long when suddenly Digory's Uncle Andrew came in and told me to try on a yellow ring. I was such a fool, and the rings were awfully pretty, so I tried it on. The next thing I knew, there was a light and I seemed to be traveling in something black. Then I began to see many wonders I hadn't seen before, such as planets and stars up close. Then next, I was standing in a pool. Only, my clothes weren't wet at all. They were completely dry. And I found myself in a wood with dozens more pools.
Lucy read more than half of the diary, but realized that she couldn't be up for long, for someone might find her. She was getting pretty nervous already. She put a piece of paper to mark her place in the book, and set it back in the trunk. Then she shifted through more of the ancient history, until she found a book of oil paintings, painted by Polly.
The first painting was of a tall tree with apples dotted all over it. It was a lovely painting; so intriguing that Lucy stared at it for quite a long time, until she remembered that she didn't have much time. She flipped to the next page and saw a picture of a wood with many pools, and realized that this must've been where Polly had landed after she put on the ring.
There were many more pictures after that, pictures of Charn, pictures of the wax figures, pictures of the toffee tree, pictures of the animals, and of the garden. But the most magnificent picture of all was a gigantic picture of a Lion. And Lucy knew who exactly this Lion was. It was the Great Lion, Aslan.
Lucy stared at the picture of him; he looked so ferocious and terrible, that it was hard for her to look at. She would've shoved the picture away if he had not looked calm and soothing too. Vibrations ran through Lucy, and she felt a chill run down her back. She experienced strength she had never felt before, and a twang of happiness. She was feeling it all at once.
Lucy heard his roar ringing in her ears, though she knew that it was just her imagination. No, She thought, I AM hearing him roar. At least, it feels like it. Then she heard the voice she loved best saying: Lucy… Lucy… do not forget Narnia. Do not mourn for her. Be strong. Narnia is in your heart. Have faith in me. I am your only guide: listen to me always. Lucy looked down at the page in front of her, and it seemed that the Lion in the picture was talking to her! I am always with you: I am the beginning and the end. I am here, and you are never alone.
With this, the voice (real or not real) faded away, but the words echoed in Lucy's head: You are never alone.
Lucy felt tears sting her eyes as she put the book away, but these were tears of happiness. She locked up the trunk and slipped the key back under it, taking the torch back with her to her room, where she crawled into bed and slept. But even when she was sleeping, she knew Aslan would be with her. And as long as Aslan was there, she was never alone.