Dying Here or Dying There - Part 2
Lucy Pevensie was sitting in the chambers she shared with her sister, any trace of tears shed prior gone. Her arms were crossed in defiance, and her elder sister was standing opposite her, by the door, garbed in full battle regalia and a pleading look.
"Lu, please, just stay here and keep out of trouble, alright? This is the best idea we-"
"No it's not! You could come up with a much better idea if you just stopped and thought about it, Susan! You're smarter than this! Aslan -"
"Isn't here, Lucy. He isn't here and we don't know if he will be. I have to go now - stay out of trouble.. Lucy!" Susan's voice took on a reproachful note at the end, for her younger sister had let out an irritated huff and rolled her eyes at the way she was dismissed.
Not that Lucy being dismissed was a foreign thing to the youngest Pevensie - in fact, she was quite used to it by that point, but she'd just about had her fill of it. Susan waited a moment for a response; receiving nothing but a sharp glare, she sighed and left.
Instantly, a twang synonymous with the closing door jolted through Lucy's heart - one of regret. What if Susan didn't make it back? What if Peter didn't make it back, and the last thing she'd done was to contradict his plan in front of everyone? What if - Lucy jerked her head sharply to shake off the morbid thoughts. She shot out of the room as if she'd been stung; the door slammed into the interior wall with a loud bang, but she didn't stop to shut it.
As she ran for the how entrance, the eery emptiness of the place made the back of her neck prickle. There were very few creatures remaining huddled inside, most of them female. They were clustered together, all productivity halted, whispering in worried voices. Lucy wove through a group of such whispering creatures that were blocking her path, and one of them let out a small sound of surprise as the girl pushed past.
"Your maje-"
The rest of her words were lost as Lucy raced past, shooting upwards and out into the darkness outside the how. Her eyes searched frantically, locking onto a tiny pinprick of light she could make out on the horizon. Her face fell. She was too late, they were gone already. She still had a horrible feeling - almost like the White Witch had come to life and was breathing on the back of her neck. Of course, part of that might be the chilly night air that had descended down upon them; Lucy wrapped her arms around herself in a hug-like way, took a shuddering breath, and darted back inside.
She shot past the bewildered group of remaining creatures once more, running blindly to wherever her feet decided. It was until she saw the stone table that she realized where she'd run to. The pounding of her feet slowed as she found herself once again sitting in a heap on the floor beneath the carving of Aslan.
A single torch lit the room, casting a flickering shadow of Lucy against the wall. She breathed a sigh, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against the cold stone. When she spoke, her voice was a mere whisper.
"Please.. Keep them safe, even if they don't believe anymore.."
Okay, that's where this little *now* two-shot ends. I'm not going into when the others return, it's really complete now. On the bright side, I have some story ideas for CoN and other categories, including a different Narnian oneshot with our favorite Lucy that should be up shortly. :) As always - reviews loved, critique welcome, flames will toast my marshmallows, and thanks for the feedback from part one!
