Entering the army was hard, for Peter had rarely gone to battle without his brother by his side.
But he couldn't sit back and do nothing, and he'd be drafted anyways. It was a tearful goodbye, and leaving for this war was harder than any in Narnia.
He took three small personal items, a carved wooden amulet in the shape of a shield on a leather cord, bearing Aslan's rampant lion standard on one side and a cross on the other. This was accompanied by a small Bible, that he kept with him at all times in an inner pocket of his jacket, along with a notebook holding sketches of Narnian origin, notes cross referencing Aslan and God, and revelations of sorts from when Peter had first found Aslan in London.
Peter, relentlessly Narnian, still had the habit of reading his letters and books by firelight or sunlight in England, if possible, regardless of electric torches or other lighting. It never felt quite right otherwise. Seated with his fellow soldiers, Peter would, when prompted, read letters from Lucy outloud with his brothers-at-arms. The enthusiastic tales from his dear sister, and fond memories of Narnia brought hope and light in whenever a letter arrived.
His fellow soldiers soon were asking, "Who is Aslan?" after numerous mentions in Lucy's letters, and Peter began telling stories of the Great Lion who was and is The Highest King and Ruler of Narnia. Nearly every time, he would be seated with his profile lit by the flames, the golden light maturing his smooth face, bringing out the angles, and reflecting upon timeless eyes like the clear sky after a storm.
At first his fellow soldiers simply humored the stories, seeing no harm in childhood tales, even though they certainly had never hear of this being (who surely must be a storybook character) before. They assumed Peter was describing an imaginary friend of his sister's at first.
But the magic, the magic that breathed life into Narnia, the magic of the Great Lion was still present with Peter. When he spoke of Aslan, and takes of his home, of his siblings and Narnia, the magic would come alive, bringing Aslan's presence into the trenches, that whisper of hope, the spark of courage and justice and honor being fanned into a flame.
They don't quite realize the magic, but their faces light up with every letter from Lucy, with every mention of Aslan, it soothes weary souls and spreads through their camp a sense of peace.
Soon, Peter has taught those who are interested old Narnian folk songs, and battle hymns, which they hummed and sang together. When they went to battle, Peter would invite his fellow soldiers to pray with him, sometimes slipping, using God, Jesus and Aslan interchangeably.
After battle, Peter sat with the shell shocked soldiers in the aftermath, still trembling himself, and gave thanks to Aslan for keeping him safe, holding tight to Ed's amulet when his hands shook with tremors.
Sometimes, Peter would ask Lucy if she could include some of her sketches in her letters, or if she could send some scrap paper so Peter could write his favorite verses with Narnian images to put in that little notebook when he ran out of pages.
Edmund would send Peter new revelations, both of them working with Lucy to make a collection of Narnia-Christian literature. It started with them just writing their history in Narnia, just as a way to remember and write out their time there together.
It details how they came there through the old wardrobe and into the Lantern Waste, and from there onward chronicling the fight against Jadis and the Golden Age that followed.
Lucy and Peter illustrate it with sketches and tiny pictures of Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers and all the various Narnian they loved, colored with berries and other wild things made by Lucy (watercolors and paints were a rarity), and Edmund draws wonderfully detailed maps of the land, complete with mountain rises and lakes.
Then, as they find themselves and becoming at peace with their new roles, they write more in a separate book, from each of their discoveries of Aslan in London when they first found him there and moving forward in life. Diary entries or letters painstakingly copied over by Lucy in a steady and graceful hand. Her favorite entries where when her brothers realized prayers were answered, the wonder in their words. The books were in essence, an autobiography.
The first completed book, their parents thought was an extraordinarily detailed story their kids had created, so they would read through it on late evenings when Peter was away, and Susan, Lucy and Edmund at school. They found it left on Lucy's nightstand, filled up from cover to cover.
They marveled over its complexity even as they wondered how their children had learned and researched so much (so they though) about medieval warfare, mythology, and much more through books to write it.
They were awestruck with Lucy's many little paintings, sketches and her creativity when describing the creatures and places of Narnia.
They were surprised at this Great Talking Lion who they read about, and his likeness to Jesus Christ. It had been years since they had regularly attended church, it was too much, too stressful to worry about it when the bombings started. But in this book, they found a story that brings them closer to God themselves.
When the children return home, they no longer would exchange confused glances when hearing the word "Aslan" mentioned by their children, they smiled and felt that whisper of magic come alive.
A.N
So, that's my very first Narnian fanfic! Please review if you liked it!
-WD617