Hi. I'm pretty awkward with author's notes. Well, hello everyone. I'm back. You might have come across me as a certain user named Kookies and Kream. BUT. I was dumb enough to forget my password when my old laptop died. So yeah. I'm TheMissingBananaSock now. This is the edited version of 'Believing', which I had edited (FINALLY). So. On to the disclaimers! I don't own Narnia, never will. Only original characters are under my ownership. This chapter is more like a get to know/filling in thing. Please enjoy whilst you read. Free bananas to everyone who comes by. :D
-TheMissingBananaSock
CHAPTER ONE:
"Juliet Jane Ashton! Come down here now or you'll be late!"
Amanda Ashton nee Brighton yelled up the staircase to her step-daughter. Her other step-children, fifteen year old Will and eight year old Philip were already in the kitchen, having breakfast. Only Juliet was still upstairs.
Loud footsteps from the staircase announced Juliet's arrival. Amanda looked up at her wearily, finding Juliet's customary sneer perfectly normal. She sighed to herself. Out of all her step-children, Juliet was the one who hadn't accepted her. She understood that the girl had it horrible – her mother dying when she was only eight and her father dead fighting the Nazis, but sometimes, Juliet was just too much.
"You know, when the wind changes direction, your frown will freeze into your face" Will said cheerfully. "Can't have that"
"And you care because?" Juliet asked him haughtily as she slid onto the chair next to Philip. "Mind your glasses and not my facial expressions"
Amanda sighed, "Juliet, it's too early in the morning to be disagreeable"
"It's too early to be optimistic too" Juliet replied.
"Manners, Juliet" Amanda reprimanded her gently. "What would your father say?"
Juliet rolled her eyes and slouched on her seat, crossing her arms, "He's dead anyway, why does it matter?"
"Juliet!" Amanda snapped. "None of that behavior, or else"
The blonde girl muttered something under her breath but didn't talk back. Amanda inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was less disagreeable today.
"Aunt Amanda, where will be staying?" little Philip asked Amanda with a bright smile on his face. Philip was the youngest and the one who easily warmed up to Amanda.
She smiled at him, "You'll be going to Miss Polly Plummer in the country, dear"
"The country you say?" Juliet commented sarcastically. "I thought we were going to the States"
"Juliet" Will glared at her.
Sighing, Juliet got up. "I'll go get my suitcase"
This was a rather typical day at the Ashton household. Mr. Jonathan Ashton had three children with his first wife, Julianne – Will, Juliet and Philip. Julianne died of an illness five years ago, leaving a widower with three young children to care for. Mr. Ashton was lucky enough to find Amanda, then a nurse. Mr. Ashton died in the war only a few years later, and Amanda was left to care for her three step-children. She did not have much trouble with them.
That is, unless said step-child was named Juliet Jane Ashton.
Already troublesome years before, Juliet had been rather a happy child, until that fateful day when the telegram arrived, informing them of Mr. Ashton's death. And then the bombs started dropping over London, and Juliet's world was suddenly pulled out under her.
It was only a few months later when her beloved grandmother died, Grandma Janie had favored Juliet over all her grandchildren, and needless to say, spoiled her. The old snippety woman seemed to have passed on most of her traits to Juliet too. Amanda had no idea what to do with the young girl. She couldn't just abandon her either – she promised Jonathan Ashton that she'd take care of them.
A few hours later, the foursome had arrived at the train station. Philip was clutching Amanda's hand whilst Will followed them, Juliet lagging behind.
Amanda stopped a few feet from the line. She turned to look at the three of them. "Now, I hope you shall behave well there" she said to them. "Be polite – I'm talking to you especially, Juliet"
Juliet raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Will nodded, "Yes we will, Aunt Amanda"
"Will it be nice in the country, Aunt Amanda?" Philip asked her, his lower lip trembling.
Amanda knelt down so that she was level with Philip, "Why yes, indeed. The country is quite a beautiful place, Philip"
"Dreadfully boring though" Juliet commented. Will shot her a look but she merely shrugged.
"Be polite" Amanda repeated, looking straight at her step-daughter. "Miss Polly will surely be a nice lady and I want you to show her the proper respect she deserves, do you understand?"
"What if she doesn't deserve any respect?" Juliet asked.
Amanda sighed, "Be polite. As I have said about a thousand times. Don't do anything disrespectful"
The train gave a sharp whistle. Smiling sadly, Amanda gave each child a hug, even Juliet, who to her credit, didn't step away, although she did not hug back.
"Ready?" she asked them all.
"Ready" Philip replied bravely.
"Take care of them, Will!" she called to the eldest boy as they joined the queue to enter the train.
She would miss them – the house was less gloomy with them inside, with Will's radio, Philip's laughter and even Juliet's stomps and slams.
"I hope you will take Aunt Amanda's words to heart, Juliet" Will said to his sister once they were settled in their compartment. "It won't be any good for you to –"
"I know!" Juliet snapped. "I won't embarrass you or her or anybody else"
Philip patted Juliet's arm, "Don't be so angry, Julie" he smiled at her sweetly.
It seemed that even Juliet was not immune to her younger brother's charms. She sighed, "Philip, please don't call me Julie. And I'm not that angry" she glanced at Will, "Just irritated – highly irritated"
"Why are you looking at me that way?" Will asked with an eyebrow raised. "I did nothing"
"Ever the innocent victim" Juliet sniffed, "Oh go back to your stupid fantasy stories, Archibald"
Will reddened when he heard her call him his first name. He had always hated it, and preferred his second name, William, in its shortened form. "Don't call me that, Juliet!"
"As you wish, Archibald" Juliet answered, smiling sweetly. "I do not understand how someone who has such a serious, stuffy name can continue reading such nonsense such as fairy tales and novels. You are almost an adult"
"And you are an adult, I reckon?" Will asked her. "Juliet, you don't have to be a child to believe and read such stories"
"And you believe them too?" Juliet demanded. "William, you are not an eight year old boy"
Will glared at her, "What's wrong in believing? Unlike you, I don't want to live in a bleak world, sustaining myself in self-pity"
"I do not sustain myself in self-pity!" Juliet protested incredulously. "And the world is bleak, if you have not noticed. Don't you know there's a war going on here?"
"Please don't fight!" Philip cried. "Aunt Amanda said we shouldn't!"
"And Philip has more sense than you" Will commented, glaring at his sister. "Once again"
Juliet glared back, "I was not the one who took the bait, Archibald"
"Oh, shut up"
Juliet sat back up straight in a haughty fashion, and proceeded to look out the window. The view was tremendously boring, all fields and a few cows and farm animals here and there. If I were Will, Juliet thought to herself, I would've described the scenery as something with the words of frolicking and others along that line. She found it quite amusing and tried to hide the smile on her face. Making fun of Will was always a favorite hobby of her's.
Truthfully, Juliet never gave any excuse for her almost always appalling behavior. Her Grandma Janie had always told her that in a cruel world, she had to keep her emotions to herself. Of course, Juliet thought her grandmother too morbid and bitter for her own good, but she knew she was right. Grandma Janie had told her that fanciful novels of fairytales would do her no good, and that life was a bitter, bitter thing.
She did not believe her grandmother until her mother died, shortly followed by her father. Then, her beloved grandmother left her too. For her, there was no such thing as hope remaining in a world torn by war.
Juliet was struck out from her reverie when the train suddenly jolted into a stop, almost throwing her out of the seat. In fact, Will's glasses flew off with the force. If you are curious, they didn't break, luckily.
"What's happened?" Philip asked worriedly. "Are the Germans coming?"
"No, no" Juliet told him. "That's silly, Philip. There must have been something that has gone wrong"
Will nodded, "Juliet's right, Philip, we'll get started in a jiffy"
It was not to be though.
A conductor entered their compartment and announced that the train had broken down, and it would take almost more than an hour to complete repairs. For the meantime, they could go out, as long as they would not venture too far from the train.
"Great" Juliet groaned. "Wonderful"
"Stop complaining, Juliet" Will said in a monotone. "We can go to the stream and find something that could occupy us for the while" he smiled at Philip, "Wouldn't you like that, Philip?"
Juliet snorted, "Oh yes. Something that could occupy us – I don't think anything can occupy our time here"
"Stop being a pessimist" Will told her. "You sound like an old maid"
Juliet smiled sarcastically, "Well come on then, dear brothers of mine. Let's go look for something delightful to occupy us until this train is fixed!"
She thought to herself, Not.
Well...that was better than anything that I've expected. Anyhow, Pevensies will be in the next chapter...I think. Please review! :D This is the MissingBananaSock signing out - for now.