Disclaimer: Narnia's not mine. And neither is Lucy or Marjorie. It's rather heart-breaking. (But Emily is TOTALLY mine! My idea! Whoohoo!)

Author's Note: I was going through the Voyage of the Dawn Treader ( for the eighth time, to be exact) and I was reading the part when Lucy's trying to find the visibility-spell in the magician's book. And I stumbled across this little, forgotton scene in which Lucy sees a spell for knowing what your friends say about you. She says the spell, and then overhears her school-friend, Marjorie Preston talking about her to another girl from school, Anne Featherstone. I just love fleshing out little "deleted scenes" that other writers seem to forget in their fanfics, so I decided to write the story of Lucy's friendship with Marjorie and explore what might have happened after she hears what her friend says about her. Read and enjoy! (And review while you're at it.)

Many, MANY thanks and hugtackles to Val Evenstar, who is now my official beta-reader and helping me to whip this awful story into shape. Thanks Val! You're my hero!

Chapter 1: Valiance

"The last doorway on the left."

Lucy laid a hand on the doorframe.

I'm so nervous…

She hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath to calm the tremors and stepped inside. Her eyes scanned over the strange room, taking in the sight of dusty stacks of books and carved bookshelves towering high above her. She searched for any sign of the mysterious magician the "invisibles" had warned her about, and gradually relaxed. As far as she could tell, the room was empty except for her.

Good.

She looked at the reading-desk in the middle of the room and saw a large, leather-bound book lying on it.

There you are. She knew what to do.

Lucy turned around to close the door behind her. It didn't budge.

She tried again, grunting and pushing at it as hard as she could, and still it wouldn't move. She shoved at it desperately, her movements getting frantic, and finally pushed herself away from the stubborn door in frustrated anxiety. She bit her lip, then took a few breaths to calm down and regain control of herself.

Gently now, Lu…easy does it… focus…oh Aslan, help me!

She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin.

"I am Lucy the Valiant, Queen of Narnia. I will not be afraid."

The sound of her own clear voice echoed back through corridor she had just walked through and faded away, leaving behind a spark of courage in her heart.

I will not be afraid…

If she had thought twice about it, she may have found it foolish to speak so loudly for fear of the magician discovering her. But something in her no longer cared. She slowly turned back and made her way to the reading desk, trying to ignore that huge, gaping door at her back. She gazed at the book again in dismay.

"It's so big! It could take me days and weeks to find that spell; and I already feel as if I've been here for hours."

I just want to get it over with.

But her fears quickly gave way to her curiosity when she brushed her fingertips over the soft, brown leather and felt the sensation of magic tingling under her skin. Her hands trembled slightly in anticipation as she undid the two leaden clasps that held the book shut. It swung open quite easily, releasing the faint scent of crisp, smooth paper. And oh, what a book it was! Every page was covered with clear, graceful handwriting and beautiful pictures in rich colors. There was no title page or title, and the spells began straight away.

Hmmm…"wash hands by moonlight in a silver basin"…

Earlier that day…

"Margie! Maaaargie!"

Marjorie Preston sighed and finished folding her blouse.

"What is it now, Emmy?" she shouted back, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she packed it into her suitcase.

"Help," came a small voice.

She groaned in frustration and left her packing behind…again.

"This had better be good, Emily Jane," she called, as she briskly walked from her room to her little sister's, "because this the third time you've bothered me, the train leaves in half an hour, and I still haven't finished—oh."

There was Emily, grinning up at her with two front teeth missing, standing in the middle of a disaster area. Clothes were flung every which way and hanging out of her dresser drawers, and her suitcase was hardly what one would call "packed". "Stuffed" would be a better word.

"Margie, my thuitcase won't clothe."

"Oh Emmy," she sighed, "you should have asked for help in the first place. You know you're too little to pack your own bags."

"I am not too little!" her sister huffed indignantly, "I am thix yearth old, tho that meanth I'm only four yearth younger than you and you jolly well know it! And I can pack my own bag; I juth need help clothing it."

"Oh I don't have time for this." Marjorie turned and ran to the stairs. "Mum!" she hollered over the banister, "Emmy needs help packing and I can't do it because I have to finish my own packing!"

"Alright, I'll be up in a moment dear!"

"Margie, I juth want—"

"Mum's coming, be patient!" Marjorie ran back to her room and put the last few things into her suitcase. "Alright, what am I forgetting?" She took off her glasses and polished them against her cardigan as she tried to remember what it was. She went through the checklist in her mind.

Let's see…comb, toothbrush, hairbrush, sketchbook, pencils, picture-books…

"Oh, that's right; my treasure box!" She put her glasses back on and dove under the bed, shoving aside toys and boxes, and pulled out a small, rectangular cigar-box. She carefully stood up and set it on her bed, handling it as though it contained the Queen's crown jewels. She lifted the lid and peered inside, making sure that everything was there; for the contents inside were more important to her than any trinkets the queen could offer.

There was her great-grandmother's sterling-silver locket, an embroidered coin-purse with her initials on it, a seashell from last year's trip to the seaside, various beads and buttons that looked pretty, a coin from America that her best friend's sister had mailed to her from New York, a black-and-white photograph of her with her best friend, Lucy Pevensie, and the friendship bracelet Lucy had made for her last school-term.

Marjorie took out the picture and sat on the edge of her bed as she gazed at it, taking a moment to let the memories flood her mind. She smiled fondly at the friend in the picture; it was only two weeks into the summer and she missed her already. She had never really had any true friends until Lucy came. Oh, how she wished she had the courage and bravery Lucy had! She was the one friend who stood by her when not many other girls would, and was always there whenever she needed someone to lean on. There was something different about her; something she couldn't quite place her finger on. Lucy was so—so heroic.

Hmm, she wondered. Is "heroic" the right word? No, that's not quite it. What's that one word I'm looking for? Her mind drifted back to one particular day in school, when she had been crying in the lavatory…

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Plink…plink…

One by one, the tears fell from her eyes into the sink, where she was cleaning off her muddy glasses.

Plink…

The laughs of the school kept burning in her ears…

"You blind, pathetic, fat girl!"

"Four-eyes, four-eyes…"

She angrily scrubbed harder at the lenses, chocking back the sobs in her throat. The water in the sink grew dark with swirling mud. Suddenly, the door opened.

"Marjorie?"

She jumped and spun around abruptly, then sighed.

"Hullo Lucy," she mumbled.

"I've been looking for you everywhere." Lucy looked at her for a moment and saw the tears, then shut the door behind her and locked it. A frown of concern crossed her face as she went over to her and laid a comforting hand on her arm. "What's wrong, Margie? What happened?"

Marjorie shook her head miserably as more tears filled her eyes and ran down her face.

"There, there," Lucy murmured soothingly, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping them away. "It's alright, I'm right here…" She glanced down and noticed the dirty spectacles she was holding. " Marjorie!" she gasped, "what happened?"

Marjorie sniffed and dashed away another tear. "S-some of the bigger girls were making fun of me…a-about my spectacles. And someone grabbed them and dropped them in the mud…"

"That's horrible! I wish I'd found you sooner."

"It doesn't matter." Her shaky voice became bitter. She turned back towards the bathroom mirror and scowled at her reflection. "I'm just a 'pathetic, fat girl' anyway."

"Marjorie Carol Preston!" Lucy took her firmly by the shoulders and turned her around. Marjorie could feel her friend looking at her, and she slowly raised her tear-stained eyes. A tingling thrill ran down her spine as her gaze met Lucy's intense, compassionate eyes. "That's not you talking, that's them. You and I both know that those things are not true. You aren't skinny, but you're not fat either and you are certainly not pathetic."

Marjorie lowered her eyes.

"Yes I am," she whispered.

"No, you're not!" Lucy gave her a gentle shake. "Don't you dare believe those lies!"

"Than what am I, Lucy?" She looked back up into her face, a look of brokenness in her eyes.

Lucy's voice was steady as she answered, "You are Marjorie, a girl with loving brown eyes, a sweet singing voice and a kind heart. You're the person who can say every tongue twister and knows every cat's-cradle trick in the world. And most of all, you are my friend. Please, won't you believe me…instead of them?"

Marjorie looked back at her in bewildered, hopeful amazement, and then burst into tears again. Lucy pulled her into a tight hug and held her until the sobs went away.

"Oh Lucy," she smiled tearfully, "I don't know what I'd do without you." She sniffed again. Lucy just squeezed her shoulder, and smiled back…

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Marjorie put the photo back in her treasure-box, still thinking of how to best describe her friend.

What is that word? Kind…courageous…true…valor…no, valorous? No, that's not quite right… She stared hard at it before closing the box, racking her brain for that one, perfect word…

And then finally, it came to her:

Valiant! That's the word. Lucy is so—valiant.

Author's Note: Ta-da! The New and Improved (aka beta-d) Version! Hope you liked it! (R&R please...?)