Tranquility

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Chronicles of Narnia related, but I do own Natalie and Orecar

A/N: There is mild language in this chapter!


Boston, Maine, United States, 2013:

Natalie...

Natalie Valentine blinked in confusion, looking around the bus she stood in. 'There it is again,' she frowned to herself. For the past week she had been hearing a very soft whisper, seemingly at the back of her mind, nudging her. She thought of seeing a psychiatrist about it at first, thinking she was going insane, but for a reason she couldn't explain it just didn't seem wrong. Already the memory of the fleeting whisper was leaving her, as though it were a dream. She focused back to her surroundings.

'Four-fifty for gas? I'm glad I don't own a car!' Natalie mused as the bus stopped at a light. 'What on Earth?' She frowned in confusion, her eyes widening in alarm. She could have sworn she saw the reflection of a lion in the bus. She turned sharply, almost giving herself whiplash, but saw nothing, just the confused looks of the other passangers. 'I must really be losing my mind!' She shook her head in disbelief. Perhaps it was a reflection of some advertisement? Or a trick of the light? Yeah, that must be it! Something felt odd about that day, that was for sure.

Natalie jumped slightly, her hand tightening on the bar she held, as a sudden vibration on her hip alerted her that there was a message on her phone. 'Keep it together, Valentine!' She scolded herself. She took a breath and got the device out of her pocket, sweeping her thumb across the screen to unlock it. 'I still don't understand why I don't just remove this reminder...' she thought bitterly as she glared at her phone. In bold letter, the phone told her that today was the anniversary of her family's death. She must have set it years ago to remind herself about them. It had been eight years since they had died and she became an orphan. It had been two years since she became independent, and three since people stopped approaching her. She thought it would get easier with time, but each year was still just as difficult as the next.

It wasn't as though no one ever tried to approach her, she wasn't a disagreeable or unlikable person and she was never mean to anyone, but she just didn't let anyone get close to her if she could help it. Natalie preferred to stay alone, refusing to go through what she had gone through as a child, losing the people she loved the most. No, she would not bring her bad luck upon anyone else. Too many times after the tragic accident that left her orphaned did she lose friends, so she didn't pay them any attention and soon people simply stayed away. 'I wonder what it'd be like if the world really had ended last year, like the Mayans predicted?' she mused sardonically. Natalie sighed woefully and tightened her coat around her, it was unusually cold for the beginning of autumn.

Natalie worked two jobs in a row, just so she could pay for her meager living arrangements in the cheapest part of Boston. She hadn't thought that was even possible for there to be this much trash and broken roads! Boston? Dirty? But then, she supposed every city had its poor parts. She had seen very beautiful parts of her fair city, of course, not that she thought she'd ever be able to live there.

It was a long night of hard unforgiving work at the firm that she worked as an administrative support for, her last job in the early morning. The other job she had was equally as depressing, a call center for a cable company that seemed to hate their employees as much as their customers. She was just about to clock out and run to the bus stop to try to catch a ride this time, when her boss suddenly asked for her, calling her into his office. 'What now?' Natalie sighed inwardly and went over to the office.

"Ms. Valantine, please, close the door and have a seat," the old man said. Natalie stiffened at the man's tone but did as he asked and sat down. "How long have you been working for us?" he asked.

'Oh wow, really? This can't be good!' She thought feeling the trickle of panic rising within her, her heart hammering away in her chest. 'How long have I worked here? Isn't that what they asked when...' she didn't let herself finish the thought and wondered exactly how long she really had been there. It seemed like forever! 'Since I was sixteen...' She remembered, recalling when she first fought her way into independence from her life at the orphanage, and managed to get this job over more qualified people. "Two years..." Natalie answered dutifully.

"Ah, yes, two years. You've worked hard for us for those two years," he smiled. It did not reach his eyes. If anything, her boss seemed impatient, upset, as if something more important than her was on his mind. "While you were a great employee to have in our roster, you see- well. Look, I'll be blunt with you, you deserve that much. The thing is, Natalie, the economy has not improved any, this firm is a bit over its head right now with all the expenses and salaries it has to pay for the senior members... I'm afraid we'll have to let you go," her former boss told her. Natalie sat there, speechless. She lost one of her jobs. She lost one of her JOBS! While she could understand that times were tough, and it wasn't easy to run a small business like that - she lost her job!

"Sir, please, I can't- I need this job, it's the only way I can pay for my apartment!" Natalie tried to reason with him. She had a few options after this, beg to become a janitor or maid for some sleazy motel, or live in the streets. It was the only way she could afford her apartment.

The old man pinched the bridge of his nose, staying silent for a moment. Natalie wrung her hands and bit her lip nervously. What would he say? "Look, I like you, kid, so I'll make you a deal. You'll keep receiving a paycheck for the next two weeks, to help you out in finding a new job... how does that sound?" he asked, his tone hinting on condescending.

Natalie could only stare incredulously. 'That's the legal course of action!' She thought angrily, keeping a growl from escaping her. 'Patronizing, egoistic, self-center, pompous bastard!' She screamed inwardly. "Thank you, sir," she answered morosely.

"Well good! It's settled then! Here, I took the liberty of finding you this box, please be sure to thoroughly clean out your desk," he had a look of relief in his round face, as if she were a burden he was removing. "Take care, Ms. Valentine."

"Thanks," Natalie said sarcastically, holding in her urge to snatch the box from his hand and storm out like a child. At least, she thought as she cleaned her desk, he hadn't been a complete bastard about it. That, and at least she had no sad goodbyes to say to any of her colleagues. When she was finished, she checked her thin, analogue watch. "I can do it, I can make it this time!" She muttered to herself and grabbed her bag and her box before flying out the door, not caring if she got looks from anyone. She panted as she ran down the streets, glad that at this late a night, or this early in the morning, whichever way you looked at it, there was hardly a soul in the streets. "No! Please stop!" Natalie cried as she watched the bus slip through her fingers once more. A bellow of smoke spewed from the exhaust at the back of the bus, but Natalie managed to quickly spin around, escaping most of the fumes. She coughed from the bit that managed to sneak past her and sat down at the bench. "Shit," she sighed wearily.

Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. "What?" She said aloud, seeing a fuzzy reflection of that lion again on the window of a store. She turned once more, slower this time, but saw nothing on the street across from her. Turning back to the window, whatever it was, was gone once more. 'Okay, it's just my nerves getting to me,' she sighed. 'Or maybe the fumes from the bus exhaust are messing with my head,' she mused.

After catching her breath, Natalie stood once more and made the long walk back home, shivering in the cold with each step. What would have taken ten minutes, took her an hour. It was so late in the night that no one was there to greet her at the desk. The kind old front desk lady was the only person that Natalie ever actually smiled and greeted. She felt a pang of loss when she did not see the gentle woman, but knew the poor women was asleep after a long day of work herself. "Good evening, miss," a warm voice spoke from behind Natalie, making her hold in a gasp of surprise as she spun around to see who was there.

It was a janitor she had never seen before. The man smiled kindly and picked up a book that flew out of her box as she turned. He handed the book to her. Up close, she could see the crinkle in his eyes as he smiled. He had the strangest, prettiest eyes she had ever seen. His eyes were almost like amber, bright brown, or golden, like his hair. The only part of him that wasn't golden was part of his facial hair, that was white. The man almost looked like a lion with a mop of golden hair and white whiskers. That had to be coincidence, right? She blinked back to focus and nodded at the man. "Thanks... well, goodbye," Natalie said with another curious look, and turned to head up the stairs.

"Hold on a moment. I'm sorry, miss, but I can not allow you to head up the stairs just yet. There was a spill and I need to clean it up first," the janitor said.

"Oh, well, I'll use the elevator then," Natalie shrugged, but paused in her steps when he spoke again.

"I'm afraid the elevator is out of order," he said regretfully.

"Then how am I supposed to head to my apartment? Do you expect me to sleep down here?" She snapped, flinching at her own rude tone. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't take my frustration out at you. I've just... had a long day, is all," Natalie sighed. Why was she telling this to a stranger, she thought. Somehow, it just felt like a natural thing to do - as weird as that was to her.

"Yes, I know," the man said sadly. Natalie frowned and looked up at him questioningly, but before she could ask what he meant, he pointed across the room. "There is another way home, through those doors there," he told her.

"What? There's no other... door?" Natalie blinked in surprise at the door across the way. 'That door wasn't there before,' she thought warily.

"Here, let me unlock it for you," the man said, walking over and taking the large wheel of keys from his deep pockets. Natalie walked over slowly, unsure of the situation. "Go on in," the man said with a smile.

"Um..." Natalie stalled, unsure of what to do. Was this guy for real?

"Go on," he repeated, his expression seemed to soften at her hesitation. Something about his eyes, those brilliantly bright almost golden eyes told her she was safe to trust him.

That didn't stop the niggling, annoying doubt from bubbling up within her, though!

Natalie knew she shouldn't do this, she knew it! But she... just had to see where this went! She placed her purse in the box and the box on the bench she sat on, then took her first steps toward the door. Wasn't this exactly how most horror films began? Some strange guy offers you an alternate route home or something and the dumb victim takes in, only for the guy to turn out to be some psycho? But no, for some reason, the only impression she got from the stranger was a sense of utter benevolence.

"Trust me, it will lead you home," he said in a cryptic sort of way. "Do you trust me?" he asked gently. Natalie gazed into his soft eyes and tilted her head to the side in thought. Again, she knew she shouldn't trust this man, this stranger she had never seen before, that led her to some strange door... but... she also knew she did trust him. In fact, though he was a stranger, she felt like she knew him, felt like she could always trust him.

'Home? Somehow I don't think he's talking about my apartment. What could he mean by that?' she wondered. "I do trust you," she finally declared, earning a kind smile from him. She took a breath and stepped to the door. "But what is this? Another elevator or-" Natalie's eyes widened. Where had the man gone? He had been standing behind her just a second ago. She frowned in confusion and turned back to the door. As she opened it, she felt a strong pulling sensation lure her through. She should have been panicking, but she felt at peace as she let it pull her in. A bright light surrounded her, causing her to shut her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she was in... a forest? "What in the hell?" she thought aloud and whirled around to head back out... but the door was no longer there.

A loud rustle behind her alerted her that she was no longer alone and she whirled around once more. There, before her, stood something straight out of a fantasy novel. This thing was half horse, half muscular man and it stared at her curiously. "Who are you?" he asked her. "What are you doing in Narnia?" Now, Natalie was never one to feel light headed or startled easily, but this time, her mind became utterly blank and the light faded from her eyes. The last thing she felt was her body slumping and collapsing on itself, and the last thing she saw before the world went black was the hooves of the creature before her...

It was an honest to God centaur!

TBC...


End A/N: I decided to post the first two chapters instead of waiting for people to review the first, so it makes up for the shortness of the first chapter. This chapter was a little longer than the first chapter, so it's better, yes? So what did ya think? I hope this chapter wasn't too boring! Let me know what you thought!