Sovereigns of the Schoolyard
A/N: Another, ahem, "short" story (though I do have the tendency to write loads and loads instead of one chapter. I don't know if you've realized that by now) for readers. Um, I know the title doesn't make any actual references to Narnia, but maybe some will appear later. Okay? This is just an idea I had while listening to Jimmy Eat World (not to mention the fact that they are just a-mazing), so I hope it doesn't sound weird or anything. By the way, I'm only planning for this to be one-shot, so no big chapters, unfortunately for me. Leave a comment if you'd like, but please, only nice and "constructive criticism" comments will be accepted. I'm just saying this because you get too many people nowadays saying stuff like this: "OMGOMG, this iisssss soo rubbish ¬_¬, nuhh even jokin' likeee,; yeahh get a lifee. !1!". (- No. Just NO.) Anyway, enjoy!
Lunchtimes were always Lucy's favourite part of the school day, not really because of the food, (though her stomach did sometimes growl after lunch if she hadn't eaten enough) but because it meant that she could creep around the back of the school building and sit in her favourite secret spot just under the big apple tree which stretched out over the school fence and read a book. Though it sounded lousy to some of her classmates, Lucy didn't care as long as it meant that she could have time (as well as peace and quiet) to herself. However, one day, she realized that she wasn't the only one who knew about this secret spot, and along with that discovery came some painful, if not emotionally wrecking, consequences.
It was a Friday, the last day of the school week. Once the bell rang for lunch, Lucy dumped her bag on a chair in Registration and ran out of the classroom, clutching "The Canterbury Tales" tightly in one hand. She went to fetch her packed lunch from the office and dashed across the playground, turning a corner and jumping over a couple of bushes on the way. She then found herself in the familiar passage where the vines grew around the school security fence, and the small wooden gate which only the school gardener was allowed to pass through. However, knowing the true entrance, she ignored the gate and proceeded to slip through a gap separating the brick wall of the building and the vines. Quite easily, she managed to use one hand to pull herself out of the gap and out of the other side. From this area, she could already picture herself eating her corned beef sandwiches and reading her book under the big apple tree. Filled with an immense happiness, Lucy rushed towards the spot of grass which had the most shade from the sunlight and plopped down on it, feeling the not-so moist grass tickle her legs. She immediately began to unwrap her lunch with one hand eagerly and at the same time flipped her book open with the other.
It only seemed like a couple of minutes or so since she'd finished off her first sandwich but Lucy suddenly had the thought that someone was coming for her. Almost as if in reply to her thoughts, the sound of crunching vines started making its way towards her. Or so it seemed. 'No one knows the way through except me,' Lucy told herself, 'so why can I hear someone making their way here? Oh-no, I'm in deep trouble now…' A loud laugh rang through the tense silence that Lucy was experiencing and she jumped. It sounded like a boy's laugh. She heard another voice; how many of them were there? Lucy thought of school gangs and how there was always the popular one being the leader, with the rest being big and tough and cool, and she couldn't help panicking on the inside. Holding her book open and sitting as still as a mouse, she tried to weigh her options as fast as possible while maintaining sanity for as long as she could. 'The chances are 50/50, either the intruders do know about the secret entrance or they don't. What does one do in a situation like this?' Lucy began to bite her nails, a habit she did only when she was actually scared of something. As well as that, she also bit her nails when she didn't have a clue on what to do; so much for being one of the smartest Year Nines in her class.
"Hey, guys, look what I found, wanna see?"
Lucy gasped and widened her eyes in shock. She knew that voice. It was the voice of Henry Foole, the student who recently transferred from the United States, and rumour was that his father used to beat him, which was why social services had to place him in a foster home. He apparently didn't like the way things ran at his foster parents' house and so had to go back to the foster home, but unfortunately, for most of the students at Lucy's school, it didn't mean that he wasn't able to get an education, which was why he got a place there. Most of his time was spent making fun of the younger students in Year Seven, and even though Lucy was a Year Nine, she still felt quite intimidated by this boy. The worst thing about it is that she'd never spoken to him before, so this would really be their first conversation. 'Which will hopefully be quite civil,' muttered Lucy to herself, and started to pack away quietly, but by that time it was too late.
A white sleeve slipped through the gap in the wall and Lucy stood up, not sure where to hide, or if to hide at all. Grunting sounds were heard Henry Foole slipped out, wiping his dirty forehead on his face. He spotted Lucy and laughed. His laugh was like the laugh of a horse; high-pitched and annoying. Lucy swallowed and frowned. So this is it, Lucy. Face your fear.
"Who's this here?" Foole jeered. "Pretty little girlie, eh, boys?"
About three other boys appeared from the gap in the wall. Personally, Lucy wouldn't have found it uncomfortable if she had been wearing a pair of tights instead of the smallest ankle socks in existence, but it couldn't be helped; those were the only pair of clean socks she currently had. Not to mention the fact that she was wearing a skirt which she had worn since Year Seven; it was quite short now, but Mother never had time to go and buy some new ones from the market. Lucy's breathing turned rapid and she felt her pulse rise. One boy grinned cheekily at her. Lucy noticed he had some teeth missing and looked away in disgust. She clutched her lunch and book to her chest and stood still as Henry Foole strutted towards her. He smiled in an unfriendly way and put an arm around her shoulders. Lucy shrugged him off in annoyance and avoided making contact. The other boys laughed, whether it was at her or because she shrugged Foole off, Lucy didn't care. She wanted to keep as far away from them as possible before they did anything to her.
"Hey, girlie," Foole said loudly, nudging her playfully. Lucy wasn't in the mood to play games and she knew that if he tried to mess with her, she would beat him with her book till his nose bled. She thanked God her book was hard-backed and made a small disapproving sound. Foole laughed again and one boy tittered. "What's a broad like you doing here?"
Lucy snorted and retorted, "I was just about to ask you the same thing, Foole." He made a mock-hurt face and the other boys guffawed. He began to walk around her, and Lucy could feel his eyes lingering on her skirt. She really wished she could scare the other boys away so that they wouldn't be able to help their little leader when he was being beaten to death by her hardback. Praying that they would leave her alone, she turned around to face Foole and said, "Look, I'm a nice person. Just leave me alone, alright?"
"What were you doing here, anyway, broad?"
"Just having my lunch. You know, I'm pretty sure you don't have many friends. You certainly know how to talk to girls. Very impressive manners, Foole."
Foole growled unpleasantly in response and the others made a loud "Ooooh!" noise. Lucy couldn't help feeling that this time she had the upper hand in this match, and smiled not-so-innocently at him. He made a move to punch her but instead had an idea and kept himself together.
"What's your name, broad?"
"Stop calling me that. Watch your mouth or I'll report you!" Lucy cursed herself on the inside; she knew it wasn't the best comeback but she needed to distract him so she could make an escape. "Why don't you go and play with other girls rather than waste your time talking to me? I certainly have a life to live." Although I've already lived my life, she thought miserably, her heart dropping. I've already lived it somewhere else, somewhere you wouldn't even begin to imagine… Lucy suddenly had the urge to shout out, "I've been the ruler of a country, you idiot! Don't talk to me like that!" but she kept her mouth shut. After all, keeping up appearances was an important thing, and besides, that sounded like something only her brother Edmund would say. Her heart ached for him to come and rescue her from these idiots, but she knew he was somewhere else in the school, as were Susan and Peter, probably…
"Gee, someone's had a rather big bowl of bitchy flakes today, don't you think, boys?" Foole cackled and Lucy felt the anger boiling up inside her.
"That's it, shut your mouth and leave me alone, hood!" Lucy dropped her lunch and swung her right arm upwards, book in hand, preparing to swing it back down again and bash him on the head with it, hard enough so that he would fall unconscious…
"Hey, someone get her!" Foole's voice resounded in her ears and Lucy felt somebody grab her around her waist. She shrieked in shock and her assailant had her on the ground in two seconds. She lay on her front, screaming from the discomfort and the pain while the person sitting on her back laughed manically. Her book lay on the ground a few inches away from her hand but Lucy knew it was hopeless. She closed her eyes and screamed as loud as her lungs would let her, a shrill, piercing shriek that would attract the attention of her friends or maybe even her siblings. She begged for them to worry about her and look for her, and she began to picture Peter, helping out in the library, and Susan, gossiping with her friends and flirting with the athletic sort, and Edmund, who was most likely trying to pick a fight with somebody at that exact moment. She prayed and prayed and said the "Hail Mary" at least five times, but she could only hear the sound of blood rushing in her ears and the jeering and yelling of the boys, and Foole's horsey laugh. Lucy had never felt so much hate for anybody since that time when the White Witch had kept Edmund prisoner and killed Aslan. At the thought of Aslan, her heart leaped and she screamed one final, painful scream, hoping that somebody would finally come and save her.
All at once, Lucy felt Henry Foole crouch down beside her. She glared at him with so much hate in her eyes that she wasn't even sure if it was possible for her to hate somebody this terribly. He smiled at her, all his teeth showing, and mustering up all the courage she could, she lifted her head a bit and spat right in his face. He yelled, saliva running down his face and Lucy tried her hardest to scream once more. "Shut her up, for Pete's sake!"
"Peter!" Lucy screamed, feeling her face go red from all the strength she was using. "Susan, where are you? Where's Edmund? Someone help! Please!" Shutting her eyes tight, she could feel the pressure on her back begin to increase slightly, and being stuck in this position for so long wasn't going to do her much good. She tried to push back, but at the same time knew it probably wouldn't work; according to some frightened students' remarks, Foole's 'henchmen' were quite large and stocky.
"I'm sure you didn't take a look in the mirror when you left your house today. You sure look like you could do with a makeover. Maybe your girlfriend could help you out? Oh, wait, maybe she just couldn't be asked to, after looking at that horrible nose of yours."
Lucy almost shouted with joy at recognising the voice, and she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. Almost immediately after that, she heard the grunts and shouts of people hitting each other, flesh hitting flesh, knuckles cracking, painful yells… and almost all too soon, it was over. The pressure on her back disappeared so suddenly it felt like a miracle when Lucy was finally able to pick herself up off the ground. She turned around and couldn't help smiling. Edmund still had to finish off the Foole boy, so it wasn't quite finished then. Edmund had Foole backed up against the wall, his feet dangling off the ground. Seeing her brother doing such a thing seemed almost comical, especially when the victim was none other than the school bully Henry Foole.
Foole's face was a hideous sight; his lip was bust open, one eye was slowly turning black and his cheeks were flushed. Edmund kept hissing, "Tell me, do you think I'm a happy brother right now?" Foole wriggled and squirmed in protest and Edmund kneed him hard where the sun didn't shine. Well, what other term could Lucy have used to describe that? Foole shouted in pain and a tear streaked down one red cheek. Lucy caught the mark of a hand on that same cheek and grinned. Revenge was sweet.
"I said, do you think I'm a happy brother right now? Do you?"
"N-no, sir!" Foole squeaked. Lucy's eyes widened a little. She wanted to laugh; why was he addressing her brother as 'sir'? "No, not at all!"
"Alright, then why do you decide to treat my sister like a piece of horse meat?" Edmund spat in Foole's face for effect. Foole yelled again.
"I didn't know she was your sister! Let me go, you-"
"You what? Are you saying that even if she wasn't my sister, you'd still treat her like that? What kind of man are you?"
"I'm sorry! Just, please, put me down!" Foole pleaded, his hands raised, palms open to show surrender. Lucy's smile slowly faded, and all of a sudden she found herself rushing towards them, grabbing Edmund's arm and telling him to let go.
"Let him go, Ed, it's over, he's sorry," Lucy spoke sternly. Edmund glanced at her and then back to Foole. He shook Foole hard one last time and then dropped him. Foole collapsed on the ground, covered in scratch marks and bruises. He looked up at Edmund with an expression that Lucy found almost unbelievably familiar, and then in a quiet voice, Foole whispered, "Look, I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean any of that. I swear on my life, I ain't seen a girl as tough as your sister, don't hurt me. I was just playing around!"
"Do that again and what happens?"
"Er…" Foole hesitated and confusion flitted across his face. "You'll kill me?"
"Goddamn right I will," Edmund growled and hit Foole hard across the face. "You cut off my sister's rep, I'll cut off your goddamn…" and then Edmund yelled a word in Foole's face which Lucy, not even Susan or their mother, would've like to hear. Foole nodded and stared grimly back at Edmund. Suddenly an idea occurred in Edmund's mind and with a grin slowly spreading across his face, he said, "You know, I'd rather you not call me 'sir', it seems a bit...formal. How about something even more formal instead? Like...'Your Majesty', perhaps?"
Lucy stood there in silent shock as Edmund spoke and Foole stared back in confusion. Edmund then raised his hand above Foole's head and spoke, "I, King Edmund the Just, King of Narnia, crowned to the Great Western Wood and Duke of the Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March and Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, banish you from this place and forbid you to make any kind of contact with Her Majesty, Queen Lucy the Valiant, crowned to the Glistening Eastern Sea, whether that contact be physical or verbal. Failing to do so will result in your demise. Go now, and make sure that you never return." He finished with a flourish of his hand, and then simply stood there and waited for Foole to move. "Move!" he shouted suddenly.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foole got up clumsily and kept glancing back at Edmund with a look of pure horror as he slipped through the gap (quite noisily) and exited. The two heard a loud shout on the other side and laughed.
Lucy smiled and turned to Edmund, who was holding his arms out for a hug. He took her into his arms and she exclaimed, "Edmund, you're such a joker! Don't ever talk like that to somebody, it's a bit...Narnian."
He laughed and then mumbled, "Why were you here all by yourself, huh?"
"...I was eating my lunch, that's all. Oh, and reading "The Canterbury Tales" again."
"Again? Christ, Lu, that's about the twelfth time you've read that. You're so boring, read something else for a change."
"Why don't we try one of those books on constellations you have in your room at home? I'd really like to know more about those, since you took astrology when we were there, you know, in Nar-"
"I know, Lu, I remember, and sure, you can borrow one, but only one!" Edmund laughed. "I don't need my sister reading it a hundred times and then forgetting to give it back!"
"Sure, Ed, I'll remember," Lucy mumbled and smiled. Then she remembered why they were there and said, "Thanks for helping me out. I was so scared even though I know that I shouldn't have been. I'm so stupid sometimes."
"It's alright, Lu, as long as no one tries to get their dirty hands on my little sister. I'm there for you, Lu, when you need me, okay?"
"Thanks." Lucy sniffed and suddenly had a thought. "...Ed, do you realize why I had to tell you to stop hurting Foole like that?"
Edmund looked at her and noticed the worried look in her eyes. "Lu...don't tell me it reminded you of..."
"I still worry about you sometimes, Ed. The way you worry about me. It feels awful knowing that somehow if we hadn't decided to look for you, then the White Witch would have-"
"I know, I know. There's no need to worry about that now. It's over, she's dead, but I know that she'll still be a mere memory. Nothing can change that, she can't come back to life, she can't torture me anymore. I won't do that to Foole or anyone else if you don't want me to, okay, Lu? I'll do it all for you, promise."
"I won't forget, Ed." Lucy snuggled in deeper, smelling his jumper. It smelled of cologne and fresh grass. She smiled and remembered something. "How did you get here? I was a bit surprised because I usually come here every lunch-time so I thought I was the only one who knew the true entrance… "
"Do you really think that just because one person knows how to find their way to a place, it doesn't mean someone else won't find out by doing a little exploring?" Edmund smiled, reminiscing about an entirely different place. "Foole's gone now, it's okay. So I guess that makes us sovereigns of the schoolyard, eh?"
"Yes, I guess it does. Thank you so much for being there for me," Lucy whispered. She was filled with that same immense happiness she experienced earlier on before she was so rudely interrupted by Foole and his cronies. Looking at her packed lunch still on the ground, she suddenly broke the hug and exclaimed, "Oh, pray tell they didn't step on my lunch!" Edmund laughed and went to help, looking up at the sky at the same time and wishing that for some reason, the hug could have lasted for even two more seconds.
A/N: Thanks for reading, man! Review if you want! :) Thanks again.