Thanks for reading on! It really does mean a lot.
So just to let you all know, this story won't just be told from Henri's (Henrietta) perspective. I'll have Peter, Susan's, Edmund's, AND Lucy's POVs as well. I'll focus mainly on Henri, Edmund, and Lucy because those characters are my favs (sorry Peter and Susan) and Henri becomes good friends with Lucy and Edmund.
I just thought I'd let you all reading know about the backround of the name of Henri. I chose it because the name Henry (for a boy) was not an uncommon name back in that time period and Henrietta's nickname, Henri, is used because Henri is very much a tomboy. And this will not be a love story. There's too many of those where the girl falls in love with Ed or Peter. I've thought a lot about having Henri like Edmund, but I've changed the storyline so that doesn't happen. Also, this fanfic is based off scenarios from the book and the movie.
And again, please review review review and check out my Hunger Games fanfic Bring Me Back to Life: The Story of the 66th Hunger Games. Thank you to those who reviewed and such!
Sing Out! 3
SW
Disclaimer: I do not claim copyrights to any part of the Chronicles of Narnia books, including characters and dialogue.
Chapter 1: The Professor and Grumpy Passengers
Henri's POV
"You will not bother the professor under any circumstances. If you need anything, you shall come to me directly," states the housekeeper, Mrs. Macready, firmly. I nod in response.
"Yes, ma'am."
She leads me up a few staircases, down a hallway, and through a door on the right.
"This is your room. I ask that you please stay in here during the daily tours of the house as to not to disturb any of the visitors. All meals are in the dining room on the first floor, and every Monday and Thursday, laundrey is collected by a servant and washed and folded, then deposited in the next two hours."
I nod politely. The housekeeper begins to leave as I deposit my suitcases on my bed. She stops in her tracks.
"And one more thing," she says, "you will have more company tomorrow, for four children will be arriving at the train station in the afternoon."
It is then that she exits for good, closing the door in the process.
I sigh and stare at the two suitcases on my bed. They are both ingraved on the sides.
Henrietta Rodree.
Oh, how I hate my name! I prefer Henri, like a boy, since being a girl is horrid. If only I was named something simple like Anne or Betty or was a boy. Life would be much easier in school.
However, my name was my parent's decision, not mine. And my dad isn't even from England!
Mother moved to America in 1928 with her family. She met dad in a floral shop when she was seventeen. When the Great Depression hit, gramps and gram sent for my mother back in England. Dad decided he couldn't leave her alone in the misery of the Great Depression and moved back with her. They had me a year after coming back here to England. I am an only child.
I open my suitcase and stuff clothing into a chest of drawers next to my bed.
After that's done, I decide to explore the house. It's so large and magnificent! Hopefully I won't run into Mrs. Macready. I've met some stern ladies, but none as orderly and strict as this housekeeper. Another tour group is coming soon ans she told me to stay in my room in order to be out of the way. I can most likely avoid them if I stay in the back hallways I've seen.
I come quietly out of my room and shut the door. I wince as it creaks loudly. I tiptoe down the hallway as soundlessly as possible and head left down some stairs.
There are many historical artifacts and priceless paintings here that would be quite fun to destroy with a cricket bat.
On the bottom floor, I pass a dimly lit hallway and hear a radio on. I turn back around and peer down the hallway. At the end of it is a door with light streaming from the crack at the bottom.
I knock, and, to my surprise, someone answers me.
"You may enter," they say. I push on the door and it opens with ease. It groans even more noisily than the one to my room. I'll bet Mrs. Macready can hear it from anywhere in thise ginormus mansion. She seems to have ears like a bat.
A man with scraggly white hair and a beard sits behind a mahagony desk, listening to an expensive radio. A lamp and many papers scatter the desk. This must be an office. Oh my...the office to the professor!
"I'm very sorry, sir," I apologize, beginning to leave.
"Now, wait a moment," he declares, "Come back in. I wouldn't mind some well-deserved company."
I enter and shut the door.
"You must be one of my borders, Henrietta Rodree."
"Yes, sir," I reply respectfully.
"I would have greeted you myself when you arrived if I hadn't been in a meeting. Do sit down," he offers. I take a seat in an armchair that rests in front of his desk.
"I am Professor Kirke," greets the professor. We shake hands.
"Henri," I say.
"Is that what you prefer to be called?"
"Yes, please, professor. It sounds like a boy's name and I'd much rather be a boy than a girl."
"And why is that?" Professor Kirke inquires curiously.
"Well, for one, boys get to wear trousers every day," I explain. He laughs. "And I love to play cricket and what Americans call baseball. The boys at school never let me play with them. Especially this one boy."
"What is his name?"
I remember this bully's name and grimace.
"Edmund Pevensie."
"It's not a ghastly name."
"No," I say, "but he's a ghastly boy."
The rest of the conversation is more cheerful and I tell him all about school and many other things such as my hobbies.
I eat dinner with the professor, then head up to my room to listen to the radio before bed.
More bombings in London. I do pray that mother is safe.
After bathing, I get into bed and stare up at the ceiling.
Tomorrow is when the other four children are coming. I can only hope one of them is not Edmund Pevensie. Ick, what a moody, ruddy boy he is.
*LINE BREAK*
Lucy's POV
"I am so bored!" my brother grumbles.
"Look out the window, Ed," Peter suggests. Susan looks up from her book and rolls her eyes at Edmund.
"What's wrong with you?" she probes at Ed.
"I already said so. I'm bored."
"You could read a book," I recommend, "or sleep. Or walk around the train. Or-"
"I get it, Lu," he snaps.
It's been about two and a half hours since we left the station in London. I know the rest of the ride will feel much longer if Edmund keeps griping like he has been.
"Do you think the professor has a big house?" I say to no one in particular.
"He might," says Peter.
"But he might not. I bet you anything that it'll be a two room shack that smells like manure and we'll have to share our beds with chickens," Edmund announces.
"Chickens?" I say in disgust.
"I'm sure it'll be nothing like that," Susan assures me. "Mum wouldn't send us to a place where we have to sleep alongside chickens."
"If he's a professor, I'm sure his house is nice and clean and chicken-free," adds Peter. I smile in return.
"You never know," Edmund comments.
"Oh, shut up, Ed," Susan tells our brother, not looking up from her book. Peter and I laugh as Edmund looks annoyed. We're all quiet for a moment.
"What if there's another girl staying there?" I ask.
"Then I hope it's not that prat Henrietta Rodree," growls Edmund.
"You mean the girl who lives next door?" says Peter, interested on why Edmund is so biased against our neighbor.
"The one that Peter helped a week ago during one of the raids?" Susan asks.
"Yes, her," Ed says.
"What's the matter with her? She's awfully pretty," I say, not understanding how this girl could anger my brother so very much.
"I don't care if she's good looking or not. She's a right royal pain, she is," Edmund spits.
"What did she ever do to you?" says Susan inquisitively.
"She has always tried to play cricket with me and my friends at school," he complains.
"And that's a problem because...?" says Peter.
"She tries every day! I'll bet she never played once in her whole life and it's quite annoying to have her attempt to join in!"
"I've played cricket before," I chime in.
"Aw, be quiet, Lucy. You're only ten and she's twelve, the same age as me," says Edmund rudely. I stick my tongue out at him and he does it right back. I glance back at the window in hopes to see some animals as we glide through the countryside. Instead, the world is slowing down.
"Hey! We're slowing down! I can see the station!" I cry.
"Everyone get your things," Peter says as the train crawls to a stop.
"Yes, father," mocks Edmund, picking up his two suitcases and stomping past our older brother out of the compartment. Peter sighs and gives me a look that says 'why does Ed do that?' I shrug.
"Do you need some help, Lu?" he asks kindly.
"No thanks, I've got them both." I hold up my suitcases for him to see.
We all file into the hallway, thank the conductor, and step off the train onto the platform.
"I wonder what adventures we'll have here," I say.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'll try to update possibly tomorrow or the next. I've got a lot of things to do tomorrow!
Thanks for sticking with me this far! It truly does mean a lot to the few that have reviewed and so on.
Remember to review all you can (and favorite and follow). I know I keep telling you this, but please check out my Hunger Games fanfic! (Title found at top of chapter in my other a/n.)
Sing Out!
SW
