Chapter Two is up! This one is about Susan, and it was hard to write her as a little girl. I wanted to get her practicality, but also the passion that a child has. After all, Lucy is her sister.

Chapter Two: Susan

A seven-year-old Susan frowned up at her school teacher.

"I'll be careful! I promise!"

The teacher, Mrs. Halloway, laughed lightly. "Of course you will, Susan, but you still have to wear the smock. You don't want to get paint on your new jumper, do you?"

Susan stuck out her lower lip pitifully. "No… but it's so dirty! Besides, no one will be able to see my new clothes!" She twirled around, dark hair whipping at her face. Susan giggled as she stopped, swaying dizzily. "Please, Mrs. Halloway?"

The teacher shook her head firmly. "You have two choices, Susan. You can wear the smock and paint, or you can choose not to wear the smock. If you choose not to wear it, you cannot paint."

Susan huffed, staring longingly at the colorful paints. "But I love painting, Mrs. Halloway."

Mrs. Halloway said nothing, giving the girl a chance to choose.

Finally, Susan sighed, giving in. "I guess I'll wear it." She fumbled with the paint-spattered apron. "It's still ugly."

The older woman laughed, pleased that Susan had made the right decision. She moved to help the girl with the knots and said, "Don't worry, Susan, you look lovely. Just like a true artist."

Susan shot her a skeptical look before skipping toward her classmates. "At least Edmund's not here to make fun of me," she muttered, glancing down at the yucky smock.

She quickly forgot the smock, though, as she became immersed in painting. Despite her desire to stay clean, she was quickly streaking color across the page, ignoring the smock and her rainbow-colored fingers. Who cared about something like that? Susan was going to make a masterpiece. She grinned happily, envisioning her mum's reaction when she saw Susan's work of art. Unconsciously, she stuck her tongue between her teeth as she splattered paint on the paper.

"Whatcha drawin', Pevensie?"

Susan was startled out of her trance by Charlie Phillips, one of the nastiest boys in her class. She glanced up at his squinty eyes and tangled brown hair briefly before turning back to her painting. It just had to be perfect. She felt a tap on her shoulder and sighed exasperatedly.

"What is it, Charlie?"

He wrinkled his nose. "That's an ugly painting, Pevensie."

Susan felt heat rush to her cheeks, and she jumped to her feet, little fists balled before she could thing better of it. "It is not!" She cried, drawing glances from the other students and her teacher. She lowered her voice. "What would you know about painting," she asked coolly, temper calming. "You always use clay." She inclined her head toward a pile of mismatched pieces of clay.

He flushed, misunderstanding her observation as an insult. Glaring at his classmate, Charlie swiped his hand through the paint and splattered it at Susan.

The girl yelped, jumping back as her control disappeared and her temper flared. "You…. You… you just wait, Charlie Phillips!" She pointed her finger at him, unable to vocalize her anger.

He laughed cruelly. "Why should I be scared of you, Pevensie? You're a girl and a goody-goody. "

In the back of her mind, Susan observed that Mrs. Halloway was busy elsewhere. She could slap the boy if she chose to. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and sat down. "I may not be able to do anything here, but I'm going to tell Peter."

Charlie paled slightly, attempting to maintain his intimidating demeanor. "So?" He scoffed. "Your brother's as big a scaredy- cat as you. He'd never dare to mess with me." Charlie puffed up proudly, although now Susan wasn't looking at a scrawny seven-year-old. Instead she found herself staring at a tall, dark-skinned man with an unattractive leer plastered across his face.

"King Peter would never dare to challenge the might of Calormen." He spat the words at Susan.

Susan drew herself to her full height (noting somewhere in the back of her mind that her full height was much taller than usual). Her black hair fell down her back, and her purple skirts swished around her ankles elegantly. "You will watch your tongue, Rabadash," she hissed, eyes focused on his devious expression.

He scoffed at her. "Need I remind you where you are, Queen Susan?"

His obvious mocking of her title infuriated her further and she whirled away from him before he could say anything else. She stared out over all of Tashbaan, her nose catching the scent of the exotic Calormene flowers that clung to the stone. They bloomed vibrantly, and she closed her eyes, gathering herself. She had picked this tower for her painting for its wonderful view-- and the hope that Rabadash wouldn't find her. Her eyes flitted to the unfinished painting of Tashbaan, and her face hardened as she turned back to Rabadash.

"You underestimate the power of my royal brothers," she said coolly, thinking of all the other times Peter and Edmund had protected her and their country.

Rabadash's face contorted, but he was cut off as someone else joined them.

"Susan, Charlie, is everything all right?" Susan whirled around to face Mrs. Halloway, feeling the sticky paint that she knew spotted her face. Charlie said nothing and skulked away before Mrs. Halloway could make any more comments. She gave Susan a confused look, and the younger girl offered her a falsely confident smile.

"Do you like my picture, Mrs. Halloway?" She gestured toward the splotchy flower on the paper.

Mrs. Halloway clasped her hands together. "Why, Susan, it's lovely! I've never seen such a flower before. Did you invent it?"

Susan bit her lip in brief confusion, feeling as if she had seen that flower somewhere. She frowned, trying to remember where she had seen such an exotic flower. Certainly not in England! Deciding she must have invented it, she smiled up at her teacher. "I'm giving it to my mum."

Mrs. Halloway patted Susan's dark head. "She'll love it, dear." Her attention was quickly diverted as she heard a cry on the other side of the classroom. "Do excuse me, Susan." She moved away from the girl, crying, "No, no, Alexis! That paste is not for eating."

Susan giggled and then glanced toward where Charlie was molding his clay into the shape of a donkey. For some reason, this struck her as incredibly funny, and she clutched her sides, giggling madly. Finally, after several reproving looks from Mrs. Halloway, Susan was able to calm down and focus on making the finishing touches to her flower. She tilted her head to the side, biting on her lower lip as she surveyed her painting. Her eyes strayed back toward Charlie's donkey, and she clutched her sides, attempting to ward off the coming giggles. Charlie would make a donkey. She grinned, wiping her colorful hands on the smock.

"Just wait 'til I tell Edmund and Lucy," she thought happily. "They'll love that."

Let me know your thoughts! Oh, and I definitely don't own this. Next chapter, Edmund!