Hello all! Welcome to the first story in "The Chronicled Dreams." The story is a revision of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Just a heads up, there will be NO romance in this story. I'm sorry, but this story will be focusing mainly on establishing my OC and her relationships with the Pevensies, Narnia, and Aslan. However, I can promise that there will be romance to come in the sequel ;) Hopefully this story will be of decent length and I hope to have some original chapters mixed in with the original plot.
My OC is a 16 year old girl by the name of Julianna Styles, but everyone calls her Jules. She used to live in Narnia, but when the White Witch rose to power, Aslan sent her back to the human world for her own safety. Now, she lives in London during World War II. Jules is a short, petite girl with long, thick, curly dark hair a little past her hips. She always keeps it in a braid. She has a pale complexion but has some freckles and has dark jade eyes (leaning more towards green than blue. Look it up if you need help to picture it). She has a birthmark of the head of a lion (story cover) on the side of her neck as well.
All right, normally I won't do this, but I decided to for this story so you all wouldn't get confused. I am really aiming for Jules to be a wise, yet innocent girl. She is meant to be a slightly childlike, innocent spirit. She tries to always see the good in people and prefers playing with animals and little girls than talking about politics and current events with adults and teens her age. I wanted to say this because her personality may be hard to pinpoint at first especially because she's a little depressed about not being in Narnia. I'm aiming for slightly conflicting personalities coming from her at first, but it should clear up once they all get to Narnia. I hope this helps :)
~)8(~ is a scene break
This story will be told in 3rd person and not in 1st person.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia
Chapter 1: An Accompanied Evacuation
It had been six months since Jules returned to the human world from Narnia. It was now summer of 1940 and World War II was raging like a wildfire. She knew the US wouldn't get involved for another year and a half, so Europe was on their own for now. Unfortunately, Jules was on her own as well. She'd never felt more lonely than she had in the past six months. She had spent centuries in the company of her people and Aslan, now… she had no one. Jules had never minded being alone, but there was a difference between being alone, and being alone.
Since the air raids were becoming so frequent, Jules knew all of the children in the city were being evacuated to the country, but she was unsure if she should go or not. She had managed to stay undetected for a long time and she liked it that way, but a very large part of her knew that she could very easily be killed if she remained here in London. Jules was about to dig a newspaper out of a trash bin when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey!" it called. Jules turned and saw it was soldier. "What are you doing here? You should be getting ready to be evacuated." Jules stood up and made a break for it. She heard the soldier running and calling after her. However, Jules was very quick, quicker than lots of people. Unfortunately, the soldier caught up with her and grabbed her bicep.
"Let me go," Jules demanded. The soldier merely looked at her.
"Why aren't you on a train to the country?" he asked. "Where are your parents?" Jules didn't answer but was mentally thankful he hadn't noticed her rummaging. She hated doing it, but sometimes, she had to. She also didn't answer because she hated lying and couldn't say her parents were dead when in fact they hadn't even been born yet. The soldier seemed to grow uncomfortable and loosened his grip on her slightly.
"I'm on my own," Jules eventually answered. She didn't make eye contact with him, but she knew he had a sympathetic look on his face.
"Let's get you to the train station," he said. Jules weighed her options. She could either go with him and start a new life for herself in the country, but have no familiarity with anything, or she could run and run the risk of getting killed in a bombing. Jules made her decision. She followed the soldier. She would never get back to Narnia if she was killed. Well, she would, but Jules had no desire to enter Aslan's country just yet.
"Have you got anything?" he asked her. Jules nodded and led him to a nearby alley. She went to the small little place she had made for herself in the past six months and grabbed her rucksack. It was merely a messenger bag with two spare outfits, a journal, a few rations, a canteen, and her stuffed lion. The soldier eyed her sadly, as if finally realizing how bad off she really was. He turned to lead her away, but she stopped him.
"Wait," she said. He looked at her. "I… my job…" Jules had actually managed to find a job. She worked for a little old woman once a week. She came in and cleaned her house for her. She had heard the woman complaining about how tiring the cleaning could be and how companies were so expensive, so Jules offered up her services. The pay wasn't good, but Jules was okay with that. It was just enough to get her by… most of the time. The soldier nodded in understanding and Jules led him to a little home in the heart of London. Jules tentatively knocked on the door and the soldier stood back a few feet out of respect. Within a few seconds the door opened to a reveal a woman with long silver hair looking to be in her mid-sixties. Her brown eyes widened upon seeing Jules. This was the woman she worked for, a widow by the name of Ms. Ghest.
"Jules?" she asked coming outside a little bit. "What are you doing here?" Jules didn't answer and merely looked over her shoulder to the soldier. Ms. Ghest realized what was happening and ushered both of them inside.
"So you're being evacuated?" she asked. Jules nodded and to her surprise, Ms. Ghest smiled. "I'm glad." There was a tone of relief in her voice that confused Jules. Upon seeing her confused look, Ms. Ghest rolled her eyes.
"Don't give me that look, little lady," she said. "I've been very worried about you. I know you're homeless. The signs are all there. The only reason I didn't offer you my spare bedroom was because I knew you'd refuse no matter what." Jules couldn't help but smile at that. She was absolutely right. "Come here." Jules stepped into the arms of the elderly woman she'd grown incredibly fond of over the past four months she'd been working for her. Ms. Ghest hugged her tightly and the soldier stood by in silence. When the two parted, Ms. Ghest reached over for her handbag. Jules was confused until the woman pulled out her wallet.
"Ms. Ghest-"
"Hush," the woman cut her off. "You're taking it, no arguments." The woman held out some notes for Jules to take, which she did so hesitantly. Jules hugged the woman again in thanks, something that shocked Ms. Ghest slightly. The girl had never been a very affectionate girl and tended to keep to herself. This was the first time she'd initiated a hug and not the other way around. But before Ms. Ghest could hug back, Jules pulled away.
"Stay safe, you hear?" Ms. Ghest said. Jules nodded.
"You, too." The elderly woman smiled and nodded.
"Always. Now, off you go." With that, the soldier led Jules through the city and to the train station. Jules had never been there before in this time, but in her time, the station was never this busy. Never. There were children of all ages here. Jules' ears were filled with the sounds of children's voices, mothers' sobs, and soldiers' footsteps. Indeed there were almost as many soldiers around as there were children. The one who had accompanied her here led Jules to a table and spoke to one of the men sitting there. There were other men and women there writing on labels for children about to be evacuated.
"What's your name?" the soldier asked after a few minutes of conversing with another soldier.
"Julianna Styles," she answered.
"Date of birth?" the other soldier asked.
"November 3, 1923." It wasn't a lie. Jules had been born on November 3rd… of 1997. After a few more questions, the second soldier got up from the table to make a phone call. Jules tugged her bag closer to her, checking to make sure everything was still there and tucking the notes Ms. Ghest had given her into the small, inside pocket. When she was done, the soldier was back.
"Good news," he said. "Professor Kirke will take her." The soldier wrote one last thing on her label and handed that and the ticket to her. She guessed the first soldier had been kind enough to pay her way. She knew he felt bad for her, especially seeing her torn away from what little life she had here in London.
"Good luck," the men told her. With that, Jules was left to her own devices. She pinned her label to her person and walked up towards the train. She was right in time as she noticed the train was due to depart in two minutes. She gave the steward her ticket and climbed on board. Jules wandered through the halls, passing lots and lots of children. If she had to guess, she was one of the oldest on the train, though she had seen some that looked around her age. Jules found an empty compartment in the middle of the train and took refuge in it. No one else joined her and she found herself gazing out the window during the ride. She hugged her lion tight during the ride, whispering prayers to Aslan as she did every day.
"Miss?" someone spoke. Jules looked up and saw an usher looking into her compartment. "If you could find another compartment to sit in, that would be lovely. This one is due to be cleaned." Jules didn't argue and merely stood, picked up her things, and walked passed him into the aisle. Farther towards the back of the train, Jules found a compartment with what looked like four siblings in it. Two girls and two boys.
"Excuse me?" Jules asked quietly. "Can I sit here?"
"Of course," one of the boys answered. He looked like the oldest of the siblings. Jules thanked him and sat near the window on the same bench as him. His three siblings were on the other one. From the looks of it, the second oldest was one of the girls, then the other boy and the youngest was the second girl.
"What's his name?" she heard. It was the youngest sibling. She was looking at Jules's lion.
"Aslan," Jules answered. It was Jules's way of holding onto the Great Lion. She clutched the toy and prayed like Catholics would clutch rosaries.
"Can I hold him?" the girl asked.
"Of course," Jules replied. She gently handed the girl the toy and she immediately smiled. The young girl had her own toy, a dog, with her. Jules noticed that the four siblings had more than her, but still not a lot. One suitcase each. It made her sad to see.
"Why do you have so little things?" the second youngest boy asked.
"Edmund!" the older girl scolded. Jules wasn't offended and merely looked at Edmund with a small smile on her face. However, she didn't answer.
"Sorry about that," the older girl said to Jules. "I'm Susan. This is Lucy and that's Peter. The little girl waved and the older boy looked up briefly from his book to give her a small smile. "That's Edmund." The younger boy merely continued staring out the window.
"I'm Jules," she answered.
"Like pretty stones?" Lucy asked. Jules smiled laughed lightly.
"Close," Jules said. "It's short for Julianna."
"That's pretty," Lucy complimented. She handed Aslan back to the girl and looked at her. She looked older, like Peter, maybe 16. Her hair was dark brown, thick, and curly. It was currently braided down her back, but Lucy could tell it was very long; maybe a little past her hips. Her skin was pale and she had some freckles, just like Susan. She seemed to have a birthmark on the side of her neck as well… or it was dirt. The girl was rather ruffled looking. Her eyes were a dark jade color. The five kids fell silent for the rest of the train ride. A little over an hour later, the five of them were getting off at Coombe Hart Station. It looked like it was in the middle of nowhere and Jules watched as the train sped off, leaving them behind. Suddenly, there was the sound of car. The four siblings grabbed their luggage and rushed off the platform. However, the car merely drove past.
"The professor knew we were coming," Susan said as Jules joined them.
"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labeled," Edmund suggested.
"I don't think so. When I was getting my label, one of the soldiers said Professor Kirke could take me," Jules said. "I guess we're staying together." Lucy and Susan looked happy about that. Peter didn't give a reaction and Edmund scowled. The five kids turned to the right when they heard an approaching horse. There was a woman driving a cart coming towards them. She stopped and looked at the five once she got there.
"Mrs. Macready?" Peter asked her. Mrs. Macready was Professor Kirke's housekeeper and she looked like a very stern woman.
"I'm afraid so," she answered. "Is this it, then? Haven't you brought anything else?"
"No, ma'am," Peter asked. "It's just us."
"Small favors," she said. She motioned for the five to get into the back of the cart. The Pevensies did, but Mrs. Macready stopped Jules.
"I take it you are Miss Styles?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Jules answered.
"And you haven't brought anything else either?"
"No, ma'am. I…" Jules trailed off at seeing the Pevensies looking at her, but she continued when Mrs. Macready raised an eyebrow. "I haven't got anything else." The siblings gasped quietly and Mrs. Macready frowned.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to get you some things," she said. Jules nodded in thanks and climbed into the back of the cart, avoiding the gazes of the four Pevensies. She sat next to Susan and Mrs. Macready started off. After a little while, they approached a large, secluded manor.
"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to having children in this house," Mrs. Macready said when they went inside. The Pevensies gawked at the house, but Jules stayed neutral. The manor was lovely and everything, but she had grown accustomed to luxury back in Narnia. "And as such there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shouting, or running, no improper use of the dumbwaiter, NO touching of the historical artifacts!" Mrs. Macready's voice had risen at the end of her sentence because Susan had reached out to admire a marble bust. "And above all, there shall be no disturbing of the professor." Mrs. Macready continued and showed the siblings their rooms. Lucy and Susan would be sharing and Peter and Edmund would be sharing as well. Jules got her own bedroom. When Mrs. Macready left, Jules was left to unpack the very little she had. When she was done, Jules sat on the bed, wondering how long she was going to be there. Not in the professor's home, but in the human world.
~)8(~
In Lucy's room, Peter was listening to the radio and looking out the window. There was talk about all the recent German air raids, but the talk was abruptly cut off when Susan turned off the radio. Peter gave her a look and she gestured to Lucy. Peter immediately felt a little guilty. He knew he shouldn't be listening to that around his youngest sister. However, he offered no words and joined Susan at Lucy's bedside.
"The sheets feel scratchy," Lucy said.
"Wars don't last forever, Lu," Susan assured her. "We'll be home soon."
"Yeah, if home's still there," Edmund said sarcastically as he walked into the room.
"Isn't it time you were in bed?" Susan asked.
"Yes, mum!" Edmund mocked.
"Ed!" Peter scolded. The boy had enough decency to look ashamed of himself, if only mildly. Peter turned to Lucy. "You saw outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here." Lucy didn't look reassured. "And Jules is here. She seems nice," Peter added. He had to admit, he felt a little sorry for the girl, having had to admit what she did. Peter should've guessed she was homeless. Her clothes were worn, her hair unkempt, and her skin slightly dirty. But, now knowing she didn't have anything but what she brought… it made Peter feel sorry for her. Especially with how insensitive Edmund and Mrs. Macready had been.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed. She had smiled at little bit at that.
"Tomorrow's going to be great. Really," Peter said.
~)8(~
However, tomorrow was not great and Lucy looked out the window sadly as the rain fell. She had woken up to see it was raining and had hoped it would let up, but there was no such sign. It had only begun to fall harder as the day wore on.
"Gastrovascular," Susan said. She was reading out of a huge dictionary. "Come on, Peter. Gastrovascular."
"Is it Latin?" he asked.
"Yes," Jules said not looking up from her drawing. She was scribbling away in a sketchbook with pencil.
"Is it Latin for, 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund mocked with a small laugh. Susan huffed and closed the book.
"We could play hide and seek," Lucy suggested brightly.
"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said. Susan and Jules gave him scolding looks.
"Come on, Peter. Please!" Lucy cried grabbing his arm. "Pretty please?" She unleashed a pair of puppy dog eyes that Peter was not able to resist.
"One, two, three, four…" Peter began counting and Lucy beamed. She took off running, grabbing Jules on her way. Jules stumbled to keep up with the little girl. She was surprisingly fast.
"Lucy, let's hide there," Jules said as they saw a curtain. It was big enough to hide the both of them. However, both of them were pushed out of the way.
"I was here first!" Edmund insisted standing where they were about to hide. Both girls huffed and took off running again. Lucy tried a door, only to find it locked. So Jules tried the next door down and she and Lucy went into the room. However, they both curiously found it completely empty except for whatever was being covered by a sheet at the end of the room. Both the curious girls approached and tore the sheet off to reveal a large wardrobe. Jules froze upon seeing it, but Lucy was still curious. She opened the door and a couple mothballs came rolling out. Peter was still counting and Lucy stepped into the wardrobe.
"Wait, Lucy," Jules said. She had a funny feeling about the wardrobe, but since Lucy went in, she had no choice but to follow. However, the wardrobe was just a wardrobe. It was full of coats and Jules could barely see anything around them. Lucy was being super silent and wasn't moving around at all. Jules's feeling about the wardrobe, the good feeling, didn't subside. She was about to ponder it when Lucy darted past her and out of the wardrobe.
"Lucy?" Jules called. Lucy ignored her.
"It's all right! I'm back! I'm all right!"
"Shut up, he's coming!" Edmund hissed. Jules ran up at the same time as Peter.
"You know, I'm not sure you three have got the idea of this game," Peter teased lightly.
"Weren't you wondering where I was?" Lucy asked.
"Um, Lucy?" Jules said gently. "We're playing hide and seek. Of course he was wondering where you were." Lucy looked horribly confused and that only served to make Jules frown.
"Does this mean I win?" Susan asked coming up.
"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore," Peter said.
"I've been… gone for hours," Lucy spoke up. Everyone turned to her with confused eyes. She was what?
~)8(~
Susan walked into the wardrobe and pushed aside the coats. She knocked on the back of the wardrobe and heard Edmund knocking on the other side. Susan sighed and looked at her sister.
"Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe," Susan said.
"One game at a time, Lu," Peter said gently. "We don't all have your imagination." He, Susan, and Edmund began to walk away.
"But I wasn't imagining!" Lucy insisted.
"That's enough, Lucy," Susan said sternly. Jules frowned at her tone.
"I wouldn't lie about this!" Lucy cried. Jules put an arm around the distressed girl and Lucy relaxed a little.
"Well I believe you," Edmund said.
"You do?" Lucy breathed, relieved to hear that someone did believe her. But she was also a little wary since it was Edmund who had spoken up and he was notorious for his teasing.
"Yeah, of course. Didn't I tell you about the football field in the bathroom cupboard?" Edmund snickered and Jules scowled as she saw tears fill Lucy's eyes.
"Oh, will you just stop?" Peter said. "You just have to make everything worse, don't you?"
"It was just a joke!"
"When are you going to learn to grow up?"
"Shut up!" Edmund yelled. "You think you're Dad, but you're not!" Edmund stormed out.
"Well that was nicely handled," Susan said sarcastically. She, too, left the room.
"But… it really was there," Lucy said quietly.
"Susan's right, Lucy," Peter said. "That's enough." With that, he walked away, leaving Jules to comfort the upset girl.
Hello everyone! Here's the first real chapter of the story. I hope you all like it! If any of you have questions (for me or my characters) just leave a review or feel free to ask me on tumblr!
Cheerio!
