Autumn Montis lived with the hardships of growing up during World War II.
It seemed as if the entire country was in a state of panic after the attack on Pearl Harbor not that many months ago. Autumn knew there was a war going on in Europe and the Pacific. But no one ever thought that it would reach them, on the other side of the planet. After that day, things changed drastically and soon enough, the United States declared war.
A month after the attack, Autumn's elder brother Henry enlisted in the army and was shipped off overseas, leaving Autumn with an absentee father and her mother's tombstone, marked with the date of death the same as Autumn's birthdate.
After about a year of this, Autumn became used to this life in which she did all her homework, payed attention in class, and was terrified whenever news of the war played on the radioーwhich was quite frequently mind you. Her thoughts would always drift to Henryーwas he even still alive? Letters from him were scarce and Autumn wasn't entirely sure on which front he was fighting on.
To avoid all the news of the war and the sinking feeling she felt every time she thought of her brother, Autumn read. In a way, she preferred to hide in her room lined with books that could allow her to escape into a world that wasn't her own.
Most days were the same. Go to school, do her homework, listen to the radio, read, eat dinner in silence with her fatherーif he did come to dinner that dayーthen read some more. But that day wasn't like the others.
It was a crisp October afternoon and the leaves outside were now different shades of yellows, oranges, and reds, all blending together to create a stunning picture of a small side street in Boston.
And there was Autumn Everett, laying on her stiff bed in a cramped apartment on the third floor of a shabby building, rereading Gone with the Wind for the fiftieth time. That was, until something suddenly broke her away from her reading.
Autumn had just begun the second chapter of the book when she heard what sounded like whispering coming from her tiny closet in the corner of her bedroom.
At first she ignored it, assuming that it was probably someone on the street having a loud conversation. But as the whispering grew louder, Autumn realized that the voices truly were coming from her closet. She slowly made her way to her closet door, leaving her book resting on her pillow.
Autumn knew that in books, this was probably the part where a monster would suddenly jump out of the closet and eat her. Although she loved to read, Autumn highly doubted that was going to happen.
When she reached the door, the whispering continued. Despite how hard she strained her ears, she couldn't quite make out what the voices were saying. She couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was hearing things.
Hesitantly, Autumn placed her right hand on the cold doorknob. She felt a small tingle reach her fingertips, peculiar but somehow reassuring. She contemplated pulling her hand away but the curiosity was too much to bear. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open in one swift motion.
A blinding white light instantly met Autumn and she felt herself falling to the ground. As her body hit the wooden floor, Autumn could have sworn she heard a lion roar. Before she could even stop to think about it, everything went dark.
The four Kings and Queens of Narnia were finishing breakfast when when they were notified of Narnia's newest arrival.
Oreius, a centaur and a Narnian general, stepped into the Royal dining room. For a second, he stood at the entrance of the room and observed the four young monarchs.
At the head of the table was High King Peter. He was now a young man, with neat blonde hair and a warm smile, his blue eyes lit with laughter as he talked to his siblings. Seated on his right was King Edmund who was now nearing adulthood, his dark brown hair falling slightly over his dark brown eyes that contrasted against his pale skin. Across of him was sat Queen Susan. The eldest queen was undoubtedly beautiful, with flowing dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a slender figure. As she talked to her siblings, she radiated elegance and grace. Finally, next to her was Queen Lucy. She had now left childhood and entered adolescence, her long golden brown hair cascading down her back, her blue eyes were filled with joy and her fair skin was dotted with freckles.
After his brief observation of the royalty of Narnia, Oreius approached the High King, his back straight and hooves echoing across the stone floor.
"Oreius, what brings you to us this fine morning?" Peter asked as the four siblings turned to look at the centaur.
"Sire, one of my scouts has come across something quite interesting this morning in the Western Woods." Oreius answered in a deep voice.
"And what would that be?" Edmund asked, surprised that Oreius himself had come to tell them about it.
"Well, Sire, a girl was found unconscious at sunrise in the middle of the forest." Oreius answered instantly, watching the monarchs for their reaction.
"Is she from Archenland or Ettinsmoor?" Susan asked gently, her soft voice ringing throughout the room.
"Your Majesties, I do not think so. I believe she is not from Narnia or its surrounding kingdoms." When the four monarchs looked at him questioningly as he continued. "Her clothes makes her look like she is… well… from another land."
At once the Kings and Queens' eyes widened and they all made their way to the door. Passing Oreius, King Peter turned to him. "Where is she now?"
"The Infirmary Wing, your Majesty." Oreius answered instantly, watching as the monarchs ran out of the room and for a brief second, they looked more like children than they did Narnia's Kings and Queens.
After running for a few minutes through the castle, the four Pevensie siblings came to a halt outside the doors of the infirmary. Looking briefly at each other, they pushed the doors open and walked in.
A young faun was hovering around a bed at the far end of the large room and the Pevensie's could only assume that was where the girl was.
As Autumn's eyes started to flutter open, she began to hear a conversation happening around her.
"What happened?"
"She was found unconscious in the Western Woods. There seems to be no signs of any sort of injury." A soft, masculine answered close by.
Finally, Autumn opened her eyes fully and she was met with the sight of five figures, none of whom seemed to realize that she was awake yet. At first glance they all seemed to be human, but as Autumn's eyes began to adjust to the light, she realized that that was not entirely true.
The figure closest to her at first looked like a man, but as she blinked a few times, Autumn suddenly realized that horns were sticking out of the man's blonde curly hair. He look almost like a faunーbut that couldn't be right! Nevertheless, the more she examined the horns, the more sure she was they were real.
As the other figures came closer, Autumn realized that there were two more men and two womenーas far she could see, they looked human. The first one to reached Autumn was a girl who looked to be two or three years younger than herself with golden brown hair and light freckles on her fair skin, concern adorning her young face. The other woman, only a few steps behind her, was beautiful, with dark brown hair and a slender figure donned in a silky blue dress. After the two women, a tall man walked forward, golden hair shining and bright red tunic making him look almost regal. The last man was several paces behind the rest, almost as tall as the latter with dark hair and eyes contrasting against pale skin.
Autumn became suddenly aware that she had no idea where she was. Glancing around the room, Autumn noticed that she was sat on a cot, two other cots on either side. The ceiling was tall, the floor a shiny wood and the windows tall and grand. Apart from that, the only source of light other than the sunlight streaming through the towering windows was a couple small candles throughout the room. Autumn inwardly frowned. No electricity? If she didn't know any better, the decor of the room and the clothes of the people around her look almost...medieval.
Autumn scrambled as far away from the people as she could while still staying on the cot. Until she figured out where she was and how she got here, Autumn was not going to relax. Scanning her options, Autumn realized that the door was on the other side of the room and the only thing she could use as a weapon was one of her shoes.
The eldest of the group, the man with golden hair, strided forward and Autumn instantly recoiled in fear. Was he going to hurt her? As the man took another step closer, Autumn instinctively scrunched her eyes closed and held both of her hand in front of her.
What happened next, Autumn wasn't entirely sure. All she knew was that suddenly, a kind of warmth that she had never felt before coursed through her body, starting in her heart and ending in her fingertips. The next second, Autumn heard a loud thud from the other side of the room. Curiosity getting the better of her, Autumn opened her eyes to see what had caused the sudden sound and what she saw surprised her greatly.
Laying on the other side of the room was the man with golden hair, the two women and the man with dark hair rushing to his side. Autumn could faintly hear him reassuring his companions that he was fine as he slowly rose from the floor.
Autumn, on the other hand, was not paying much attention to the man on the other side of the room. Had she been the one that did that? But that didn't make sense, she hadn't even touched him! But when she had raised her hands and felt the unfamiliar warmth, the man in front of her had beenーthrown?ーto the other side of the room. Autumn stared at her hands. They looked no different than how they had looked every other day of her life. What did this mean?
Autumn was quickly brought out of her thoughts when she noticed a sudden glint of silver. Looking up, Autumn realized that the man with dark hair was pointing a sword at her chest, his eyes menacing. Autumn was quite sure that if she did anything he saw as wrong, the man would not hesitate to plunge the sword through her.
"Honestly, Edmund!" Autumn turned her head as she watched the youngest girl shake her head disapprovingly at...Edmund.
"You saw what she did, Lucy!" Edmund nearly shouted, sword still firmly in hand, "She can wield some sort of magic!"
Huffing in frustration, the elder of the two women strode forward, yanking the sword out of his hand. "You're scaring the poor girl!" Autumn watched the exchange with wide eyes, still afraid that this woman would strike her with the sword instead. Relief washed over her as the woman set the sword down on the cot next to them, out of arm's reach.
The dark haired woman's face was gentle as she looked curiously at Autumn, "Sorry about that." The woman gave her a kind smile, "Now what is your name?"
Despite the woman's apparent kindness, Autumn was still weary of the people in front of her. What if they were just feigning kindness? Seeing the distrustful look on her face, the youngest girl stepped forward, "I understand if you're frightened but there's no need to be. I'm Lucy and these are my siblings, Susan," The regal looking woman set Autumn another reassuring smile, "Peter," Autumn shifted uncomfortably at learning the name of the man she had somehow hurt, "and Edmund," The man had now sheathed his sword, but continued to look at her warily.
"My name is Autumn," Her voice cracked slightly and Autumn wondered how long she had been asleep, "Autumn Montis,"
The youngest girl, Lucy smiled brightly at her words, "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Autumn Montis,"
Autumn watched the group of people in front of her with interest, noting that theーfaun?ーhad now left. As the four siblings continued to simply stare at her, Autumn decided to ask what she had been itching to say.
"Where am I?"
The blonde haired brother, Peter, chuckled at her words, "Well, you're in the grand kingdom of Narnia!"
Autumn furrowed her brows in confusion, "Narーwhat?"
"Narnia," The tall woman named Susan replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Aslan's finest creations, if I do say so myself,"
Autumn was growing more confused by the second. "NarーAslーwhat?" Autumn let out a sigh of frustration, "I'm confused,"
"You mean you aren't from Archenland or Ettinsmoor?" The young man named Edmund spoke up, distrust evident in his posture, "You really don't didn't know where you are?"
"Archensburg and Ettinsland?" Autumn was truly bewildered at this point, "None of you are making any sense!"
The four siblings turned to each other, worry etched on their faces. The youngest, Lucy whispered to her siblings, "Do you think she's from home? From Earth?"
"Earth! Yes!" Autumn nearly clapped her hands excitement, "Now you're making sense!"
"You're from Earth?" Lucy asked with wide eyes.
Autumn nodded feverently in confirmation, "Yes!" Autumn suddenly paused, confusion hitting her, "Are you implying we're...not on Earth?"
"We're in Narnia," Lucy explained slowly, "We're in a different world. Somehow you got here from Earth."
Despite the girl's attempt at an explanation, Autumn was still on edge, "H-How though? Last thing I remember was being in my bedroom in Boston,"
"Boston? America?" Susan asked, surprise evident on her beautiful features, "Well that explains your accent,"
"I could say the same thing about all of you," Autumn murmured, calming down slightly. Perhaps it was the shock setting in, but she was slightly reassured by their knowledge of her origin city.
"Let's say you are telling the truth and I am in...Narnia," Autumn looked at the four siblings, talking slowly, "And why am I here?"
The group of siblings exchanged glances with each other, waiting for someone to have an answer. Peter was the first one to speak up. "We have no idea,"