"Ouch!"
"Susan, you're stepping on my foot!"
"Stop shoving me!"
Thump. The Pevensie children fell from the wardrobe, landing in a pile on the cold, wooden floor. The latch of the door loosened, and the door creaked open to reveal the Professor, dressed in the same clothes as he was when The Pevensie's had last seen him. Peter looked at Susan. Susan looked at Edmund. Edmund looked at Lucy. Lucy looked at Peter. This wasn't Narnia. Behind the children stood the huge, magnificent wardrobe, each carving telling a wonderful and adventurous story of bravery, and courage. In front of them, the professor stood one hand by his side, and in the other, a small, round, cricket ball.
"Ah, there you are. What were you children doing in the wardrobe?" Peter looked hastily at the others, before turning to face the professor.
"Y-you wouldn't believe us if we told you, Sir."
A secretive smile spread across the Professors face as he tossed the cricket ball to Peter, a twinkle in his eye.
"Try Me."
Peter Pevensie sat underneath the towering oak tree, daydreaming. It was 2 weeks since the Pevensie's found their way out of Narnia and back onto Earth, but none of them had forgotten, or doubted Narnia's existence. Peter sighed, looking up at the sky. Sure, being home was great and all that, but in Narnia he was a King that everyone admired and looked up to, and a brave and loyal knight that defeated Jadis and restored Narnia to its rightful Ruler, but here he was just another evacuee. Maybe they'd go back to Narnia again, and then they'd all be Kings and Queens again, and live in Narnia forever. But then, maybe they wouldn't go back to Narnia. Maybe it'd be all a distant memory; maybe they'd all forget about Narnia completely. Maybe Narnia wasn't even... No, Narnia was real. He'd been, he had proof. Yes, Narnia was real. Peter sighed, leaning back against the hard tree trunk, the sun beaming down onto the lush green grass. It seemed like he was the only one in the world at the moment. He had no clue where his siblings were, everything was so peaceful and quiet. Peter wasn't used to that, he was more accustomed to the sound of bombs shattering houses, and people screaming for help. That's what it always sounded like in Finchley.
"Is this what you always do, just sit around daydreaming?" Peter spun around, snapping out of his trance.
"Who's there?" He called into the shadows.
"Just me." A petite figure made her way into the open, and sat beside Peter. She had long blond hair which was tied up in a bun, with a short, white dress and small matching pumps. She was slim, with pale skin and hazel, sparkly eyes.
"Who are you?" Peter asked, as politely as he could. The girl was definitely pretty, but that didn't explain why she was here, on private property.
"I'm Angel." The girl stuck her hand out, obviously meaning for Peter to shake it, "And you are?"
"Peter. Nice to meet you, Angel." Peter smiled warmly, shaking Angel's hand. Definitely an appropriate name for such an... Angel. "Would you mind explaining what you're doing here?"
"Umm... I'll tell you later. Do you live here?" Angel asked, trying to change the subject. Peter glanced at her curiously. There was something she was hiding, but he wasn't going to ask her what. If the girl wanted to tell him, then she would.
"At the moment." Peter replied, smiling at Angel. She looked about the same age as him, maybe younger, but all the same, pretty.
"Is it just you?" Angel asked again, propping herself up against the tree.
"No, I'm here with my brother and 2 sisters, and the professor, and his house keeper." Angel seemed very interested in his life, it was a little unsettling. "What about you? Tell me about your life."
"It's not very exciting. My dad's gone to fight in the war." Angel said, looking slightly uncomfortable. Peter searched her eyes, trying to guess why she might look so shifty, but she wasn't giving anything away.
"Same here. My mother sent us away because she wanted us to be safe." Peters gaze slid down to the floor, thinking about Finchley, and his mother. She might not even be alive, or safe... But he had to keep positive, for his siblings' sake.
"Cool." Angel smiled, sliding her hand onto his. They sat there for a moment, completely silent.
"I'd better get going." Angel jerked, getting up and smiling at Peter, "Hope we'll meet again."
"We will." Peter smiled, climbing up, "Hopefully."
"It's been nice meeting you." Angel replied, meeting his gaze, "Bye!" She smiled, before turning and jogging off in the opposite direction. Peter watched her go, a smile still spread across his face. Angel had made a very sudden appearance, and there was lots he still didn't know about her, but she seemed a reasonably nice girl. He turned, and started slowly towards the manor house, his hands in his pockets. Just before he walked through the door, Peter turned and stared out into the woodland where Angel had ran towards, but there was no sign of her.
"Bye Angel." He whispered, stepping into the house and closing the door quietly behind him.
"Okay Lucy, time for bed!" Peter called up the huge staircase, hoping that Lucy would actually listen to him this time. Normally Susan would be the one having to yell at Lucy to get some sleep, but Susan was- Actually, Peter hadn't seen Susan all evening. Probably in the Library. It had always been hard to make Lucy actually stay in her bed and sleep, and the fact the Narnia could still be lurking inside that wardrobe made it harder. Every night Lucy would plead to Susan to just go and check the wardrobe. Susan would be hesitant at first, but finally give in. Peter had been a little easier to get round, which was why it was now a grand total of an hour and a half since Lucy's bedtime had been set.
"Just one more round of hide and seek, Peter! Pretty Please!" Lucy appeared at the top of the stairs, clutching her teddy. Peter gave her a look, placing one hand on his hip.
"No Lucy, Bed now." To his surprise, Lucy let out a half-hearted sigh and turned slowly, making her way towards her bedroom. Peter began to follow, keeping a close eye on Lucy to make sure she didn't change her mind and dart in the wrong direction. But Lucy obediently walked to her bedroom door and twisted the knob. But then, just as Peter had caught up with her, she turned again.
"Peter, I want to check the wardrobe." There was something about the way Lucy said this that made Peter hesitate. It was like she was almost too confident that Narnia was going to be inside that Wardrobe. This made Peter panic. The last thing he wanted to happen right before bedtime was Lucy to get all emotional.
"No Lucy, like I said, it's time for bed!" Peter said sternly, ushering her into her room. Lucy didn't budge.
"Lucy, now!" Peter repeated his voice raising. Why couldn't she just go to sleep when she was asked to? It was like she did it deliberately.
"Please, Peter!" Lucy whimpered, her eyes welling up. Peter stopped, eyeing her closely. Was there something Lucy knew that she wasn't telling him? She never usually reacted like this when she wanted to see if Narnia was still there. Had she and Susan been to Narnia last night, making Lucy believe that Narnia was still there? No, they would've found him and Edmund... Wouldn't they?
"Okay, but very, very quickly. I mean it." Peter sighed, watching Lucy's face light up.
"Thank you Peter! Thank you so, so much!" Lucy wrapped her arm around Peter's waist, enveloping him in a huge embrace. Then she darted off in the direction of the spare room. Peter turned on his heels, following a little slower. This was going to end in tears, he could see it. Narnia wouldn't be there and Lucy would get all upset. Then Susan would yell at him for not seeing sense, then Edmund would get mad because... because Edmund always is mad, and then everyone would go to sleep not talking to one another. But truthfully, Peter wasn't really seeing sense in the first place. He had his minds set on something. Someone. Someone special. It had been about a month since his strange encounter with Angel, the pretty young blonde, but she never ceased to find her way into his mind. It was strange, how she'd just come out of nowhere and instantly befriended him. Then, she'd disappeared, just like an Angel. Every now and again, he'd find his spot below the towering oak tree in the hope that she might reappear, with her beautiful wavy hair, and perfect smile...
"Will you come with me?" Lucy interrupted Peter's thoughts. He jerked, his mind focusing on what was happening right now. Lucy was stood in front of him, her eyes bright. Peter blinked slowly, Lucy was pretty certain that Narnia was settled in the back of that mysterious wardrobe.
"If it's there, Lucy." Peter reminded her, hoping she hadn't got her hopes up too high. Why was she acting like this? It was unsettling.
"But it will be there, I just know it." And with that, Lucy turned and sprinted towards the creepy wooden wardrobe. Peter watched, not too far behind, as Lucy stared up at the huge wardrobe. Peter gulped. He should've known that this would go pear shaped. He was about to grab Lucy's shoulder and tell her there was no point trying, when Lucy twisted the handle and pulled open the heavy brown door. Peter froze, staring into the darkness...
"For goodness sake Peter, what were you thinking?" Susan Pevensie yelled, Lucy curled up by her side. She had returned from the library to find Lucy in tears, with Peter and Edmund arguing. And for once, it wasn't Edmund being the total Jerk. Peter had taken Lucy to the wardrobe and, so she'd heard, Peter had convinced Lucy somehow that Narnia was actually there. And, of course, it wasn't. Susan had been fuming, instantly laying into Peter, who was acting quite innocent. Apparently he'd 'tried to stop her' but obviously failed in doing so. Edmund was now in a strop because of all the shouting, and Lucy was still bawling. Perfect. Why couldn't anyone cope without her being there? She thought Peter was supposed to be the responsible one, obviously she'd thought wrong.
"She was the one that got her hopes up too high!" Peter shot back, his eyes blazing. Susan rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm.
"You ever pull a stunt like that again!" She hissed into his ear, before turning to look at Lucy. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she'd stopped crying, for now. She stared up at Susan, with big round eyes like saucers, sniffling.
"But, Susan… I knew it was going to be there… I… I just knew it..." Lucy whimpered, before breaking down into floods of tears again. Susan whipped her head round to face an angry Peter.
"See what you've done? Just go away, Peter!" Susan snapped, fixing him with a glare. Peter shot her a look of death, before turning and making his way down the stairs.
"…But, It was going to be there, Susan…" Lucy sat up slowly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Susan sighed, running her fingers through Lucy's silky hair.
"Lucy, I know you feel strongly about Narnia, but if they needed us, then they would've tried to contact us in some way." Susan comforted Lucy, glancing back towards the door every now and again to make sure Peter wasn't there. Lucy seemed to get this sudden burst of energy or something, because her head shot up and her eyes started to well up again. 'Well done, Susan' she scolded herself, closing her eyes and sighing.
"But Susan! That's the reason I was so confident it was going to be there!" Lucy replied, looking as if she was about to get up and start bouncing in excitement. Susan's eyes snapped open.
"What type of dream?" She asked, sounding a little too interested.
"Aslan came to me! He said that Narnia was waiting for us! He did Susan, he did!" Lucy squeaked, squeezing Susan's hand. Susan groaned. This meant that she'd just flew at Peter for something that wasn't even his fault. Great.
"So... he wants us?" Susan replied anxiously, quickly glancing out at the long hallway in the hope that she would find Peter standing there, having overheard everything, with that familiar smirk on his face. But of course, he wasn't. Peter may be really stupid, but he was smart enough to know that when Susan said clear off, Susan meant clear off. She hoped that he'd just be sulking in his room, or gone for a wander around the creepy Mansion. But what if he'd taken Susan's comment personally? What if he'd actually left? No, Peter wouldn't. Like she'd said, he was really stupid, but he was smart enough to know that however much they tried to hide it, Susan, Edmund & Lucy needed Peter. He was one of the only things that kept this family together. He kept them strong and reassured them every time they were uncertain, even when he was just as uncertain as them. Now that she thought about it, Susan realised that she really, really cared about Peter, no matter how much he needed to wake up and smell the coffee.
"Well… I think he does. He didn't say much." Lucy interrupted Susan's thoughts, "He was in my room, you see. He smiled and told me that Narnia was waiting for us, all of us, and then he disappeared."
"I'm sure he'll fetch us when he really wants us," Susan replied, sounding a lot less interested. She was worried about Peter now. "Shall we go and find Peter?"
"Good idea! Then you can say sorry." Lucy had a sarcastic smile spread across her face, with that 'I told you so' expression in her eyes. Susan hated it when she did that, it made her feel so… Dumb. And Susan definitely wasn't dumb. In fact, she was convinced she was one of the smartest people in her school. School. No one had been to school since they had left Finchley. She missed her school mate's loads, and she knew she was missing out on heaps of valuable information, but this was all for her and her siblings own good, no matter how elusive the fact may be.
"Peter? Peter, where are you?" Lucy's tiny voice echoed around the giant Manor House. It had been about 20 minutes since her and Susan had set off to find Peter, and so far they'd had no luck. Lucy had had no clue peter would take what Susan had said so personally. They'd looked everywhere in the house, but he was nowhere. It was like he'd just… disappeared.
"Susan? I-I'm scared." Lucy quivered. Peter never took anything Susan said like this, he normally just shrugged it off. But now he just wasn't there. She stared up at Susan's face, attempting to read her expression, but failing. Susan was giving nothing away. She probably felt stupid. Well, she was for shouting at Peter like that. It hadn't been his fault, in fact, it had been hers. Why couldn't Susan see that Peter would have more common sense? Lucy knew that she'd been too positive, and gotten her hopes up too high. She knew that Peter had been trying to stop her from walking into that wardrobe, like he was certain there was no way Narnia was in that magical wardrobe. She knew that Peter shouldn't have been shouted at like that by Susan when it wasn't even his fault, but she knew better than to interrupt Susan, or even doubt her words. But still, she never imagined her brother would take the harsh words seriously. He knew better than to listen to Susan, she always jumped to conclusions.
Susan's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Don't be silly, Lucy. He's probably moping in the library."
"But… We've checked the library?"
"Then he'll be in his room."
"We've checked there as well!"
"…Then he'll be in the dining room"
"Checked!"
Silence. Lucy looked up at Susan. This time, her expression was readable. She was undoubtedly as worried as Lucy was.
"I don't know what to do." Susan admitted softly after a while. Lucy swallowed; it took some guts for her sister to admit that she was wrong about what she said and that she had no clue where to look. But now, there was no reassurance. Susan had said out loud that she didn't know what she was doing. Peter could be anywhere, and Lucy and her sister could do nothing about it.
"We can't give up now-"
"Lucy, there's nothing more we can do. We've searched everywhere.
"But if we'd searched everywhere, then we would've found Peter by now!"
"Peter is old and sensible enough to look after himself for one night. Please, go to sleep."
"But-"
"Lucy, please!" Susan turned to face Lucy, her voice trembling. Lucy almost gasped when she saw her sisters face. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her lips were creased. Susan did care. She just didn't like to show it. This bothered her just as much as it did Lucy. She'd never felt so sad in her life. Even Susan had given up hope now, and the last time Susan gave up was when they'd all tried to get back to Narnia. And the horrible part was that Susan had been right. There had been no Narnia, again.
This was it. Her brother could be anywhere in the whole world, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Lucy's eyes flickered open. She stared at the deep blue sky, and the trees surrounding her. Had she fallen asleep outside? She didn't remember leaving the house. She sat up, staring at her surroundings. This place looked familiar… Then it clicked. She was in Narnia! Lucy jumped up, a smile spreading across her face. She stared at the sky, taking in everything. They hadn't abandoned her! It was still here! Lucy laughed and laughed, spinning round until she was dizzy. Suddenly, there was a noise. Lucy stopped, and stared in the direction of the noise. There it was again. And again. It sounded like… and then, there he was. His proud posture, his magnificent build, and beautiful fiery mane tumbling down his neck.
"Aslan!" Lucy beamed, breaking into a run. She threw herself at the huge lion, almost knocking him off his stand. The big cat let out a purr of amusement, placing one huge paw softly on the small child's back.
"Welcome back to Narnia, Lucy." Lucy was so wrapped up in the creatures embrace that she didn't realise she must have been called here for an important reason. Slowly she pulled away, searching the lion's eyes for any sign of worry.
"Is something wrong...?" Lucy asked, her head cocked to one side. Then, a thought entered her mind. "Do you know where Peter is? Is he okay? Is he hurt?"
The lion smiled, bowing his head a little.
"Yes, Lucy, I know where Peter is. But where that is I cannot tell you."
Lucy thought she was about to burst. Aslan had brought her to Narnia, only to tease her? "What? How are we going to find him if you won't tell us?"
Aslan chuckled, starting to walk away from her. As he strode away into the trees, he muttered a word that Lucy could only just make out.
"Angel."