Hide and seek
The next day though did not turn out as Peter had promised. They could not go outside since it was raining so hard that they'd be soaking wet if they went. So instead they were trapped inside, where they just couldn't find anything fun to do.
Susan had pulled one of the big dictionaries from the shelf and had placed it on her dark colored checkered skirt since it was so heavy. She had opened it and was asking some difficult words from Peter, who looked just as bored with it as the rest of them. Edmund had already given up trying to find anything fun in the 'game' Susan had invented and was lying on the floor under one of the chairs doing who knows what.
Amanda was sitting on the sofa next to Susan, wearing one of her favorite dresses, that unfortunately didn't match the mood of the room. The dress was light yellow with small checkered pattern, sleeves that went to her forearm, modest neckline and had a green bow at the waist. But even the bright dress didn't change the fact that she was bored and honestly wasn't listening to a word Susan was saying and was quickly falling asleep on the sofa. And Lucy was sulking by the window, looking at the continuing rain.
''Gas-tro-vas-cu-lar…Come on, Peter: Gastrovascular?''Susan asked as she read the book.
''Is it Latin?'' bored Peter asked.
''Yes,'' Susan confirmed.
''Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?'' Edmund sarcastically asked as he rose from the ground. That woke dozing Amanda up and she quickly hid her yawn behind her hand while Susan angrily slammed the book shut.
''We could play Hide-and-seek,'' Lucy suggested hopefully as she walked next to Peter.
''But we're already having so much fun,'' Peter said sarcastically, making Amanda giggle quietly. Lucy then took her Puppy dog look and shook Peter's arm.
''Please…pretty please…'' she pouted. Peter then smiled and started counting,
''One...two...three...four...'' That got everyone moving. Amanda saw Edmund and Lucy run ahead of her and she decided not to follow them. She had always been really bad at Hide-and-seeks so this time she was determined to find a good place to hide.
''Eighty-four, eighty-five...'' She suddenly heard Peter count. She didn't have much time.
She then noticed a small cupboard and tried to pull the handle and to her surprise it was open. So she squeezed herself between the old brooms and mops and closed the door.
''98, 99, 100... Ready or not, here I come,'' Peter finally yelled and started looking.
''I'm back, I'm back! It's alright!'' Amanda suddenly heard Lucy shout. Amanda opened the cupboard door to see what was going on. Lucy was supposed to be hiding by know, not announce her presence to Peter.
''Shhh, he's coming,'' Amanda heard Edmund hiss to Lucy.
''You know, I'm not sure if you two have quite gotten the idea of this game,'' she heard Peter suddenly say. So Peter had found them. But something was off. Lucy was very good at Hide-and-seeks and would always be one of the last ones to be found, while Amanda was usually the first. So that Lucy wouldn't even try to hide was odd.
Amanda then carefully avoiding the brooms crawled out of the cupboard and went to see what was going on.
''But weren't you wondering where I was?'' Lucy asked
''That's the point! That's why he was seeking you!'' Edmund says. Amanda then appeared from behind Peter.
''What's going on? Lucy why didn't you hide?'' She asked while Lucy looked her like she had gone nuts.
''Does this mean I win?'' Susan says as she walks next to them.
''I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore,'' Peter says to her.
''I've been gone…for hours,'' Lucy then says.
''What?'' Amanda asks. Lucy hadn't been gone for hours, more like three minutes. Lucy then explained how she had gotten into some wintery woods in a magical land called Narnia, through a wardrobe in some storage room. And how she had met a faun and had tea with him and all sorts of tales.
They went to the storage room and saw the big wardrobe. Peter opens the door as Susan spreads the fur coats apart and knocks the back wood of the wardrobe while Edmund knocks the outside back of the wardrobe.
''Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe,'' Susan announces as she gets out of the wardrobe.
''One game at a time, Lu. We don't all have your imagination,'' Peter says to her as they start to walk away from the wardrobe.
''But I wasn't imagining!'' Lucy shouted behind them. That got Amanda thinking; maybe Lucy was speaking the truth, she didn't have the habit of lying. And even if she had imagined the place, she should be allowed to have her fantasies, especially during these grim times. Amanda could clearly remember how Susan, in Lucy's age, had been convinced that there was a pink bunny living under her bed and that she had to save half of her vegetables to it.
''That's enough, Lucy,'' Susan said in a warning tone.
''Susan, let her be,'' Amanda said to her as she walked next to Lucy.
''I wouldn't lie about this!'' Lucy said in a tearful voice. Amanda stood next to her and pulled her into a warm hug, making Lucy bury her head into Amanda's lap.
''Well, I believe you,'' Edmund suddenly said.
''You do?'' Lucy said as she hopefully pulled her head from Amanda's lap.
''Of course, didn't I tell you about the football field I found in the bathroom cupboard?'' He joked making Amanda mad,
''ED!'' She yelled making him shrink a little in fear. He had made the others a little mad too.
''Oh, will you just stop it? You always have to make everything worse,'' Peter said to him.
''It was just a joke,'' Edmund tried to defend himself.
''When are you going to learn to grow up?'' Peter asked
''Shut up! You think you're dad, but you're not!'' Edmund yelled at Peter and ran away from the room. Peter gave a look to Amanda to back him up, but Amanda just shook her head. Edmund may have not voiced it right, but Peter did have a tendency to act like the parent he was not.
''Well, that was nicely handled,'' Susan said sarcastically to Peter and walked away too.
''But…It was really there…'' Lucy whispered tearfully as she had once again buried her head in Amanda's lap.
''Susan's right, Lucy. That's enough,'' Peter said and walked away, making Lucy cry even more since nobody seemed to believe her. Well almost nobody.
''Lucy,'' Amanda said softly. Lucy raised her head and looked at Amanda's smiling face after hearing the voice. ''Tell me about it. Narnia, what was it like?'' Amanda asked with a sincere voice.
''You believe me?'' Lucy asked
''Why not? I believe that the world is full of wonderful things humans just can't explain,'' Amanda said. They sat down to the dusty floor and Lucy started telling her about the snow covered forest, the lamp post she found, the faun Mr. Tumnus and the tea with him.
''That sounds such a beautiful place,'' Amanda finally said.
''It was. If only I could take you there,'' Lucy said with a sad tone as she looked at the wardrobe.
''Maybe someday you will. Come on, I think it's time for dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starving,'' Amanda said as she rose from the floor, making Lucy laugh. They then headed down to have their dinner.
XXX
That night Amanda and Susan were awoken by Lucy's shouts in Peter's room. They got up and put on their dressing gowns; Amanda's was deep purple while Susan had a dark grey one. They quickly walked to Peter's room's door and looked inside to see Lucy waking Peter up.
''Lucy it's middle of the night. Why are you still up?'' Amanda asked as she tied her gown.
''Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe, like I told you!'' Lucy said as she turned to look at Amanda and Susan, who got into the room. Edmund was already standing in front of them in the room.
''Oh Lucy, you've been dreaming,'' Susan said as she walked at the end of Peter's bed.
''But I haven't! I've seen Mr. Tumnus again! Oh, and this time, Edmund went too,'' Lucy said making everyone look at Edmund.
''You saw the faun?'' Peter asked Edmund little unsurely. But Edmund just shook his head.
''Well, he didn't actually go there with me…What were you doing Edmund?'' Lucy asked him. Everybody was once again looking at the boy.
''I-I was just playing along. I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her. You know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending,'' Edmund says as he sits on the chair. Those words made Lucy cry and run away from the room.
''LUCY!'' Amanda yelled after her. ''Well done you three. You just have to crush little girl's dreams,'' Amanda said very sternly to her siblings as she ran after her little sister. And seeing this Peter and Susan followed her.
Amanda ran after Lucy and finally saw her hugging the Professor in the hallway. Peter and Susan soon came behind her.
''You children are one shenanigan shy of sleeping' in the stable…oh, Professor! I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed,'' Mrs. Macready says as she ties her dressing gown.
''It's alright, Mrs. Macready. I'm sure there's an explanation. But I think this one is in need of some hot chocolate,'' the Professor says as he gives Lucy to Mrs. Macready.
''Yes, Professor. Come on, dear,'' Mrs. Macready says and guides Lucy away. Amanda was ready to explain and even ask some advice from the Professor, but Peter and Susan apparently did not have these kinds of thoughts since they were trying to leave until the Professor stopped them.
They follow the Professor to his study, where he sits down on his chair and starts to load his pipe.
''You seem to have upset the internal balance of my housekeeper,'' he says to them.
''We are very sorry sir, it won't happen again,'' Peter says and is about to leave, but Amanda stops him,
''It's about our sister Lucy. The little one you saw,'' she says.
''The weeping girl?'' The Professor asks.
''Yes, sir. She's upset,'' Susan confirms a little ashamed.
''Hence the weeping,'' the Professor states.
''It's nothing. We can handle it!'' Peter says and tries to leave again, but Amanda pulls him back and gives him a mean glare, that makes Peter stay right where he is.
''Oh, I can see that,'' the Professor says a little sarcastically.
''You see she found this magical land…'' Amanda starts.
''Thinks she found it,'' Susan corrects her, making Amanda roll her eyes.
''Anyway, she thinks she found it in the wardrobe upstairs,'' Amanda says little sarcastically. That makes the Professor to stand up.
''What did you say?'' He asks as he got in front of them.
''The wardrobe upstairs. Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside,'' Peter says as they all sat down on the couch while the Professor sat on the chair across them.
''She won't stop going on about it,'' Susan says to the Professor.
''What was it like?'' The Professor asks curiously.
''Like talking to a lunatic!'' Susan cries.
''No, not her, the forest!'' The Professor corrects.
''According to Lucy, there was a winter going on,'' Amanda says surprising Peter,
''You're not saying you believe her?'' He says to Amanda and the Professor.
''You don't?'' The Professor asks.
''Of course not. I mean, logically, it's impossible,'' Susan answers.
''What do they teach in schools these days?'' The Professor mumbles to himself.
''Edmund said they were only pretending,'' Peter says.
''And he's usually the more truthful one, is he?'' The Professor asks.
''No, usually not,'' Amanda says sadly.
''So, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically…we must assume she's telling the truth,'' the Professor says as he starts to smoke his pipe.
''You're saying we should just believe her?'' Peter asks
''She's your sister, isn't she? You're a family. You might just try acting like one,'' the Professor says. After that conversation they went to look for Lucy and found her in the kitchen with Mrs. Macready and a half full of cup of hot chocolate in front of her. And after Amanda made Peter and Susan to make up with her, they all went somewhat happily to bed.
