Our Story
Chapter I
Salutations, all. This book shall be part of a series. I may end up changing most everything around if I re-read it and think that it does not give the story justice.
And now, I disclame. Thank You.
~Ereb Lor
This is a record of the adventures of four brothers and sisters we think we know quite well, but in all actuality, do not. They are the Parkers. Yes, their last name starts with a P, like Pevensie, and all of the children's names begin with the familiar letters. Do not worry about pondering that just yet, for much will be revealed as you enter the world you thought you knew.
~*.*.*~
Evan felt his mind slowly arousing, signaling for the rest of him to awaken. Breathing in deeply, he realized his bed had never felt so comfortable. Then, he thought (or tried to, as it felt as if every second the memory of it was finding its way out of his brain through his ears and dissipating when it hit the air) of the dream that he had awoken from. In it he was not himself, yet he was, but he was so, different. His brother and sisters were there, but they were also peculiarly unlike themselves. None of them looked, talked, or acted the same. He frowned, not able to remember anything else, and came to the conclusion that sleep would evade him. He opened his eyes, only to have no idea where he was.
It took a minute, but Evan eventually got his senses about him, and recalled the past few days. It had all started off in the middle of the night. He hadn't seen it coming. For some reason, he had never thought that the Germans would care about where he lived, let alone blow it to smithereens. His mother had nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to get all of them out of the house safely, with glass shattering, hardly being able to hear a thing. Even in the cellar, the chaos was merely muffled to a slightly duller roar. The family had huddled together, shaken, not thinking or speaking, as their small world crumbled around them.
Even before the war, when his father, Mr. Parker was home, the family was not exactly well off. In fact, it was quite the contrary, they were very poor. Their house was made up of a small kitchen, a similarly sized living room, three tiny bedrooms, one bathroom and a fruit cellar. When the children's father got home from a long, strenuous work day, he would sit down to dinner with the family, answer a few questions about his day, and when he was done, tell all but his wife to clean the table, then go play. She would get him a cup of coffee and turn on his small radio for him. Before going to bed, both parents would sit down together and try to figure out how they would pay their bills, which lasted for hours.
There was one particular night like this that all of the siblings remembered well. Leona (who was apt to sneaking around quite frequently; being the youngest, many things were kept from her) had gotten out of bed, and heard the two, still talking. Under the guise of getting a glass of water, in case she was caught (which in her mind, she most assuredly would not, but it was better to be prepared), she slid around her sleeping sister, and tiptoed around all the squeaking boards to get as close as possible.
"…I don't think we can do it. I really don't. "
"We have before-"
"This time is different. You know it just as well as I do, that I can't make enough money where I'm at to pay these and feed this family."
"…I'll just have to trust Pippin to look after the younger ones. I know Sandra will help him. Tomorrow I'll go out and look for a job."
"Mary, I think we had two children too many."
"Why would you say that?!"
"Because! Can't you see? I love them all, but even with more money, we will hardly be able to keep this roof over our heads! I don't know what it is we have to do, but we can't keep living like this. Let's not talk about it anymore tonight, okay? I'll be in bed soon."
Leona quietly made her way back to the room, and waited until both parents were finally asleep, then stole over to the boys' room.
"Evan, Evan, wake up! I have to tell you somethin'!"
"Ughhh, whaddaya want?"
"I heard mum and dad talking, and, and, I think they're gonna send me and you away!"
"What? Why?"
"Dad said that he thinks they have two kids too many, because mum has to get a job, and they won't make enough money for the house! Ev? Did you hear me?"
"Yeah. Come on, help me wake up Pippin, we gotta tell him and Sandra this. Let's go to your room though, so they can't hear us."
After persuading their older brother to come with them, they woke Sandra up, and all sat on the bed in a circle.
"What's wrong guys?" asked Sandra. Evan nudged his sister.
"Tell em'!"
She recounted the events and all that she had heard to the others. They came to the conclusion that they would all go out and find a job together, to help support their family and keep them all together. But not long after, things started changing. Not only in their house, but all around the world. Before, the grown-ups would talk about the possibility of another war, but when it did happen, nobody felt prepared.
Some of the children's friends were sent to live in the country with relatives (sometimes willing strangers)neven before the bombings. After their home was destroyed, their mother knew that it would not be safe for them to stay, and followed suit. They ended up in an older man's very large house (to them, it was huge compared to what their previous situation was) out in the country. He had stables, owned many antiques, and even had a few house servants. The children were nearly overwhelmed by such a change, and the gentleman unnerved them all.
The servant who came to pick them up was slightly surprised by how little they had with them. Pippin spoke for them.
"It's all we have."
Each child had a room to themselves, a completely new concept, especially for Evan and Leona. Bedtime found them in the same circle as before, in Sandra's room, with a candle in the middle. Now, though, they were contemplating much bigger things.
"How will we know that mum is safe?"
"She'll be alright Leelee, you know how brave she is. Don't worry, we'll see her soon enough." said Pippin, trying to comfort the youngest.
"Yeah, like you know that for sure."
"Oh, be quiet Evan!" he replied.
"Ha! Like I have to listen to you."
"Evan! You aren't going to be in one of your moods the whole time we're here, are you?" scolded Sandra, getting only rolled eyes and crossed arms as a response.
"Anyway," she continued, ignoring her two brothers glaring at each other, "just think of all the exciting things here! Maybe we could even get to see the horses!" Both sisters beamed at the prospect of being near their favorite animal.
Just then, they heard somebody climbing the stairs, and hastily blew out the candle. The feet stopped in front of the door, and the children held their breath, A few seconds later (or a few eternities, in their minds), the person moved down the hall. But, being the bright youngsters they were, none of them moved until they were sure all was safe.
"Well, I guess now that our light is out, we must go to sleep." Pippin sighed.
"We could all stay in here! I'm sure nobody would mind!" suggested Leona.
"I don't know…"
"Come on Pippin, please!"
"I suppose… That is okay with you, right Sandra?"
"Yes, it's alright." She sighed.
"Nobody has to ask me or anything."
"It isn't your room silly!" Leona said to the moody Evan.
Throwing an abundance of pillows on the ground, they stayed up talking for another hour, and with Pippin on the ground, Evan at the end of the bed next to Leona, and Sandra at the top, they drifted off to sleep. The following day was spent unpacking their things, being late for lunch, having an expedition outside until dinner, and at the end of the day, meeting in Pippin's room to confer on the events. This time though, they slept in their own beds, which proved much more comfortable.
This brings us back to the start, with Evan waking up blissfully, though slightly confused. On this day, as they ate breakfast, it started to rain. Not to be put off, they decided to scout out the vast interior of their temporary home.
"Look Evan! Look!" exclaimed Leona, running to find her brother (who was currently staring, appalled, at a women's nude portrait). She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her discovery.
"Wow! A real suit of armor!"
"And, look! Fencing swords! And there's even a real one in that room over there! Maybe we could learn how to fence! Or swordfight! We already know how to regular fight! We should learn! Just think-"
"He would never let us use those. And who would teach us?" interrupted Evan.
"What would I not let you use?" Both children jumped at the sound of a man's voice.
"Oh, we were just, we were just looking at your swords, sir, and…" started the boy, only to have his little sister finish the sentence. This was one of the few moments he actually wanted the help of his older siblings.
"We were just thinking how wonderful it would be to learn to fence, sir. We weren't going to touch them, I promise."
He chuckled at the little girl's sincerity.
"Well now, you want to learn to fence…. Is that proper for a young lady?"
"Oh, I'm not a lady, Sandra wants to be, but I don't. She likes all that girly, mushy stuff," at this she scrunched her nose up.
"But I don't. Never."
"Ah, I see, now this is a whole different story. Hmmm…" He thoughtfully stroked his short white beard for a few seconds, and then nodded to himself.
"Yes, yes, perhaps a fencing lesson is in order. What do you say, um, Evan, is it?"
"Really?!"
At this point, Pippin and Sandra had found the two, and immediately thought the worse. The oldest hastened to fix the situation.
"I am terribly sorry if they were bothering you sir, I promise it won't happen again."
"Oh, no. Not at all, not at all. But, I must bid you Adieu; there is work to be done. Go on, have fun. I hope you find an adventure to be had." And with a wink, he turned and left.
"How, strange." Sandra said slowly.
"I guess it means that he doesn't mind us exploring. Come on guys, and let's try to stay together, hm?" Pippin looked mock-accusingly at the two youngsters, who in turn grinned at each other and ran off.
They all explored room after room (after the older kids located the troublesome ones, of course) and found all sorts of treasures. It was a place where a child's imagination could run rampant. In every thick leather book, a secret was hidden. Under every loose board there was a secret passage, in every closet a secret door. They took a short break to eat something for lunch, but resumed immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, the first room was a "disappointment", it was empty but for a wardrobe. The brothers and sisters quickly agreed nothing was to be found and left. Well, that is, all except Leona, though she didn't say anything. She quite loved doing her own secret thing, and so acted as if following the others out, but instead hid behind the door, and presently found herself closed in the room, alone.
Deciding that this would now be her room, in case she needed to get away from her siblings (we must all be alone sometimes), she peered curiously at the wooden object looming in front of her, beckoning her in with its woody smell and dark hiding place. Smiling to herself, she went to it and ran her hand over its door, undecided whether or not to go in. If she stayed for too long, things could get bad, but, well, she had to. Opening it carefully, she nearly jumped when two mothballs rolled out onto the floor. Stepping inside, and leaving the door open slightly behind her (shutting it fully just wasn't a good idea; anybody who thought this through would know not to shut themselves into a wardrobe full of furry coats.), Leona entered her new favorite place in the whole house.
Surprisingly, though it did have that lovely smell, the air was not stale at all. Entering deeper (it was much bigger than it seemed), she felt forward to see if there was an end to the coats, a place for her to fit nicely and think. What she found instead was that she was getting a chill, and then something started to crunch under her feet. The agreeable softness brushing over her face turned to a much less-agreeable pricking. Pushing whatever it was aside, she opened her eyes (not even realizing she had closed them, being as dark as it was), to a snow covered forest.
