Hey everyone ! This is a new little oneshot I've thought up . It's kind of meant to be a sort of prequel to my other oneshot , Clear , because I've realized that not much was explained as to who Patti was and why Narnia is just a game rather than an actual , magical land that they traveled to . But , I'm not very good with time periods other than right now , so everything might be a little off . I'm not even sure I've done a good enough job explaining why Patti's here and why she acts the way she does ( like someone more like from our time rather than the 1940s ) . However , this was the best I could come up with - it's not much - so I hope it does a sufficient job of explaining things . I am only thirteen , though , so any constructive criticism would be nice . But please , don't be so harsh and don't flame . Flames are used for my smores , but I don't want any fires going on since it's summer and it's already hot enough ... That didn't make much sense , but anyway . Have fun reading the story ! And thanks for reading this author's note . :)
I do not own Narnia .
The Day We Met
Edmund Pevensie was alone once. After their return from the evacuation, his classmates realized how much he had changed. But he's teased about how 'soft' he is now. Will the one girl who approaches him make him realize how unimportant those people are? On another note, why does she seem so... different?
"Haha, Edmund's a softie now!"
"Look at how all his help is rejected!"
"They suspect he's up to something."
"He's not strong enough to be with our group anymore!"
"Yeah!"
Edmund sighed, hearing their loud voices fading off in the distance. His old group of "friends" sure was annoying him. Another sigh escaped his lips as he remembered the look on his teacher's face. All he wanted to do was help her collect her things. She had looked at him like he just committed a serious crime. She seemed so… shocked. I can't really blame her. He thought with amusement, remembering how he was before the whole evacuation incident. He was a quite the brat. His grin fell as he remembered everything. The game he and his siblings had created for Lucy; the game that whisked them away from reality each time they acted it out. It had changed him more than he thought a game could. Narnia really is magical, isn't it? He thought to himself, looking at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes. He felt the stares, but the ten-year-old simply ignored them. Another sigh escaped him as he heard the whispers of those girls walking by. Edmund's frown deepened. Why can't they just let it go? He sulked in his mind, sitting against the tree. His eyes closed as his mind drifted back to the game. It had seemed so real. Lucy had travelled into the wardrobe and stayed there for a few moments. Peter and Susan decorated "Spare Oom" – as they'd dubbed it, coming from spare room – to look like a winter wonderland. Edmund had just watched, scowling. Yet soon enough, he had lost himself in the wonderful game. He had played the traitor, and somehow it all seemed like reality. They ruled over the land they called "Narnia" for fifteen years; it really did seem like that much time had gone by. Maybe it was just their overactive imaginations, but whatever it was, he was grateful for it. It changed them. He couldn't stress that enough. His deep thoughts were broken by a shadow over his form.
"Um, excuse me," a nervous-sounding voice asked. He opened one eye to see a girl about his age standing in front of him. There was that hint of nervousness in her eyes, but she kept smiling anyway. She looked… different, like she didn't belong in this 1940s world. He blinked up at her; the sunlight shining behind her was blinding him.
"Yes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She blinked and smiled back at him. He couldn't help but give a small grin back; her smile was rather contagious.
"I'm new around here, and I kind of need help getting to know the town. You seem like the only person who won't make fun of my clothes," She gestured to her pants and strange top. Edmund stared at her with his eyebrow still raised. The pants were a dark, dark blue color and seemed to be made of some kind of sturdy fabric, and her top consisted of two shirts; the first was a bright green, off-shoulder, long sleeved shirt that covered her hands, leaving only the tips of her fingers to be seen. The second top was a sleeveless kind of shirt with a v-shaped neck, colored a turquoise shade that turned silver towards the end, which was down halfway between her thighs and knees. Her shoes were strange too; they seemed like black sneakers, but the tops reached up to her calves and the shoelaces were mismatched – green and white on one shoe and silver and teal on the other. There was a small, silver ring on an equally small, equally silver chain. The ring had a small, circular diamond in the center, the silver wrapping halfway around the diamond from both sides. After his analysis over her clothes, he looked up at her face. There were rectangular glasses resting on her nose, covering her dark brown eyes.
"What made you come to that decision?" Edmund asked, inwardly agreeing with her. Most of the other people around would definitely mock her for her different clothing. A girl wearing pants? Unheard of.
She shrugged, pushing her glasses up a bit. "I'm not too sure. I tend to trust my emotions, and something inside told me you wouldn't laugh for whatever reason." She smiled again, and Edmund realized that he never properly introduced himself.
"I'm Edmund," he greeted, standing up. He brushed himself off and held out his hand. The girl grinned and tucked a slightly-longer-than-shoulder-length, black strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was interesting to say the least; it was rather messy and the ends seemed uneven, making them stick out at random spots. It actually really worked with her; it made her seem prettier. Where did that come from? Edmund asked himself incredulously; he never thought of any of the other girls like that. Oh well, he was ten. He had plenty of time to figure it out. If worst came to worst, he could ask Peter.
"Patti. It's nice to meet you, Ed!" she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. Edmund blinked; was it natural for her to be so friendly? "Oh, sorry. You don't like being called Ed?" she apologized, looking at him innocently.
He shook his head. "No. It's alright. My friends call me Ed."
"Does this mean we're friends?" she asked, in a strangely sly way, like she planned for him to say that.
Edmund found himself unable to keep the smirk off his face and shrugged. "So long as you don't commit any serious crimes, I believe we'll be okay."
"Alright then," she laughed. Edmund found himself liking the sound. Why did he feel so close to her already? Was it because they were kind of alike? As they walked around the town, he saw how the people stared and whispered about this new girl. Patti just walked along, completely oblivious to the whispers and points – or she was just ignoring it all. He realized that she was something; to not be affected by people's stares and being their rumors' subject must have taken a lot of strength. After their tour, Edmund didn't want to be separated from her. "I didn't know Finchley was so big," she commented as they walked through the city's park. Edmund laughed.
"It is rather big," he agreed, looking around. Spotting a bench, he raced towards it and plopped down, eager to let his feet rest. Patti giggled and walked after her, seating herself on the other side of the bench. "Where are you from, anyway?" Edmund asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
She hesitated for a moment, before vaguely saying, "America."
"Really?" When she nodded, he continued his questions. "What is it like in America?"
"I wouldn't know," she muttered, looking down at her feet.
"Huh?" Edmund was confused. "But you said –"
"It's complicated, Edmund," she interrupted, looking at him straight in the eye. He shut his mouth immediately. "Edmund, would you believe me if I told you something crazy? Something impossible?"
"Yes," he answered in an instant, not hesitating at all. He believed he could trust this girl with whatever he needed to be trusted.
"Then I might as well tell you that I'm not exactly from America. I mean, I am but not this America."
"There are more Americas?" Edmund asked. "I thought there were only two."
"There are, as far as I know. But what I meant was that I'm not from now."
"You mean here?"
"No, I meant what I said."
"Oh," Edmund nodded but kept looking at her. "So what did you mean?"
"I'm not from the 1940s. I'm from 2010."
There was silence hanging in the air. Edmund didn't know whether to laugh or stare like she was insane. So he did his only other option.
"What?"
"It's true! I –"
"No," Edmund interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her gently. Her eyes widened; most other boys she knew wouldn't be like Edmund was now. "I believe you." And he did. He didn't know why, and he knew if anyone else told him the same thing, he'd think they had lost it. But when it was coming from Patti, it seemed so true. He felt like he could trust that she wasn't that insane. "But how? How are you here?"
"I don't know, but," she paused, frowning a bit. She looked up at him. "I have to ask, have you ever been to Narnia?"
Edmund froze. How did she know about that? He wanted to ask, so he did. She laughed.
"I know because I've made up that game too. Does your Narnia include Aslan?"
"Yes. It does. He's the –"
"High King over all High Kings? The Son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea?"
"Something like that," he mumbled, amazed they had both come up with such a world.
"I think it's real," she stated bluntly, so bluntly he just had to believe. "I'm going to find Narnia one day."
"When you do," he began, looking at her sincerely. "take me with you."
"I will!" she exclaimed, not even pausing to think about it. "Narnia's not as fun if you can't share it."
Edmund smiled at her. "But how did we both create Narnia?"
"I'm not sure on that part. It might have something to do with it just being the type of magical land you'd love to get sucked into. It felt so real whenever I thought about it. Almost like –"
"You had actually been there?" he finished for her. Excited, he continued to tell her how he felt about Narnia. "Like everything you'd ever done during the game was real?"
"Yeah," she breathed, happy she had found someone who felt the way she did. "Why exactly do you think that is?"
"I'm not sure. We'll figure it out one day; we've got plenty of time," he rushed his speech. Patti tilted her head slightly, wondering why he was getting so worked up. "I have to tell my siblings that I found someone else who believes Narnia's real!" With that, he jumped off the bench and held out his hand. "If you don't mind, that is."
"I don't mind at all," she replied, blushing a bit. He noticed but disregarded it.
"Oh wait!" He stopped abruptly, making her bump into him. "Sorry. Shouldn't you tell whoever you're staying with that you'll be home late?" She looked away.
"There's no one to tell," she whispered, eyes darting everywhere but him. Edmund frowned; she had no one to stay with?
"How long have you been here?"
"A week."
"A week! Without a proper home or anything?" He shouted, frowning at her.
She sighed. "It's not like I had a friend I could stay with. I have no relatives here either; I'm Filipino and no one in my family has ever been to England."
"Then you can stay with us!" Edmund offered proudly. He was not going to leave his new friend alone.
"I couldn't. I don't want to intrude or anything."
"You wouldn't be intruding. I'm inviting you," he explained.
Patti grinned. "So, do I have to say yes?"
"No, but I'd feel much better if you did."
"Then yes, I suppose I'll accept your offer."
Edmund just smiled brightly at her and took off, dragging her behind him. He couldn't wait to tell everyone about their new housemate.