Chapter Two: Train Ride

After being alone with her thoughts for about ten minutes, Lily decided that it would probably be best to get away from all the worrying she was doing. Instead, she turned to look out the window and pass the time in the same manner as her brother. There wasn't much out there for them to see, but on occasion one of the siblings would spot and farm with a herd of cattle or sheep walking around. To keep themselves entertained, they would have a contest to see who could count the most livestock before the farm disappeared from sight. It wasn't the most exciting game that the two have ever played, but it kept their boredom away for at a little while.

"I don't think I've ever been this bored before," Lily muttered under her breath, leaning her head back against her seat and looking away from the window. With a sigh, she turned her attention to her brother sitting across from her and noticed that he too had looked away from the window. His attention now was being help by the ceiling.

"Really? But the counting game was so much fun," Georgie replied sarcastically, straightening up slightly so that he was now facing his sister. "Maybe it's because I kept winning that you don't like it."

Lily rolled her dark blue eyes before meeting her brother's gaze. The two siblings then had a staring contest, neither moving for fear of blinking first. They used to do this when they were younger as a way to decided who was able to do something or get something first. Usually, it was over something small like who got to have a story read to them first at night. Often times, Lily was the winner.

"You're not going to beat me this time," Georgie said slowly though his eyes had begun to water slightly.

Lily just smirking slightly, not even bothering to respond. She had to concentrate if she wanted to win. Seconds ticked by and it quickly became harder and harder for Georgie to keep his eyes open. When a gentle knock came from the door, Georgie was so surprised that he jumped slightly and blinked causing Lily to smile.

"Maybe next time, little brother," she teased as she got up and walked to the door.

Pulling open the door she was greeted by two girls with maybe three or four years age difference between them. They had similar dark blonde hair that fell to their shoulders in tight curls and green eyes.

"Hello, can I help you?" Lily asked, speaking to the oldest girl.

"Hello, we were wondering if we might join you? Everywhere else seems to be full and we would like to stay together if that is possible," she said, gesturing to the girl next to her and a little boy that had been hiding behind her back but was now peeking his blonde head around.

Lily smiled before stepping aside to make room for them. "Not at all, please come in," she said before turning around and taking the empty seat next to her brother.

The two watched as the new group of siblings walked into the compartment and began placing their bag in the overhead basket. After receiving an elbow to the chest, Georgie offered to help lift them up but the oldest girl declined with a quick 'no thank you'. Once all three bags were put away, the blonde siblings took a seat with the little boy in between his two sisters.

After sitting there a few minutes in an awkward silence, Lily decided to my polite conversation.

"So, what are your names?" she asked, once again addressing the oldest girl.

"My name is Jessica, Jessica Miller. This is my sister, Jane, and our younger brother James," Jessica said, pointing to each in turn. "What about yourselves?" she then asked, looking back at Lily.

"Well, my name is Lillian, but you can call me Lily if you'd like. And this is my brother, George, though he also goes by Georgie," Lily replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The conversation ended there are Jessica turned towards her younger siblings and began having a hushed conversation with them.

The boy, James, looked to be frightened, probably confused as to what exactly was going on. Lily tried to place a welcoming expression on her face to make him feel more comfortable, but he didn't seem to care. Lily and Georgie met eyes for a moment before looking away in different directions, unsure of what to do now that they were no longer alone in their compartment. In the end, they just took to looking out the window once more. The only sound coming from the train as it chugged along.

An hour passed before there was yet another knock on the door. Both Lily and Jessica turned to look at the shadowed figure through the glass before Lily got up and once again opened the door.

"Hello, Miss. I'm here to check yours and the other children's labels," he said, a kind smile poking through his thick broom like mustache.

Lily nodded her head and stepped aside so that he could enter their compartment. He started with the Miller children. They all stood up and turned so that he could better look at the labels that were attached to the front of their clothes.

"The three of you will be getting off at the next stop," he said, smile still in place as he gave little James a light pat on the head.

Jessica just nodded her head before taking her brothers hand and sitting down. He face was calm, but Lily could see in her eyes that she was scared. Maybe she didn't know entirely what was going on either? She looked like she was no more than ten.

Next it was Lily and Georgie's turn.

Being the oldest, Lily went first. Standing in front of the man so that he could look at her label, she stood as still as possible and watched his face. He studied it for a second before turning to Georgie and looking at his.

"Right, the two of you will want to get off two stops after next," he informed them with a quick nod of his head. "You all have a fine day now," he added before letting himself out of their compartment.

After a few minutes of once more sitting in silence, Lily decided that she would try again at making conversation with the Miller siblings before they left. "So, do you know who it is that you will be staying with?"

Jessica did not answer, however, and instead decided to just shake her head. Lily bit down on her bottom lip before turning her attention to her hands in her lap.

After maybe ten minutes, the train began to slow and the Rivers' siblings watched as Jessica grabbed the bags from the overhead basket before handing them off to both her sister and younger brother. She then took both of their hands before starting for the door.

"Goodbye," Lily said as she opened the door.

"Goodbye," Jessica replied before turning around and walking down the hall, the door closing with a faint click behind her.

Georgie quickly jumped to the now empty seat before looking out the window, scanning the small crowd that had gathered on the platform.

"There they are," he said after a few seconds, pointing out the window.

Leaning forward in her seat so she could get a better look out the window, Lily followed the direction Georgie pointed in and found the siblings. They were standing in a large group with the other children that had gotten off. An older woman holding a clipboard stood in front of the group, taking names. Every once and a while, she would call out a name and that child would move to stand next to her. Jessica and Jane soon joined that group while their little brother went to stand next to a stern looking woman, watching his sisters with a frightened expression on his face. Lily and Georgie continued to watch as the woman grabbed his arm and started to pull him away. Lily leaned back in her chair, not wanting to look anymore. Georgie, however, continued to watch until the train started to move again.

Once the station was out of sight, Georgie leaned back.

"Why didn't they stay together?" he asked, looking at Lily.

Lily looked back at him, thinking about her answer before speaking.

"Maybe that lady only had enough room to take in one child." She tried to keep her voice even.

Honestly, Lily had no idea why the Miller children weren't staying together. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed Georgie's label, studying it carefully. She then looked down at her own and saw that they were both going to the same place. Being unable to hold it in, she let out a small sigh of relief.

The two sank into another silence while they waited for the train to reach their stop. When it paused again at the next stop to let off more children, Lily avoided looking out the window. She merely closed her eyes and waited for the train to begin moving once more. Georgie noticed that his sister was sitting a little stiff but decided not to comment on it. Instead, he continued to look out the window even long after the train had started moving again.

"Ours is the next stop," Lily said, trying to relax into the train seat.

Georgie just nodded. The train continued on the track for another thirty-five minutes or so before it started to slow. Both Lily and Georgie rose from their seats and grabbed their bags before waiting for the train to stop completely. Once it has, Lily walked over to the door and opened it before leading the way down the hallway.

Stepping onto the platform, there were surprised to see that it was empty, no woman with a clipboard waiting to check that they were in the correct place, no people waiting to take them to their home. It was nothing like the other stops. A few other children got off the train as well, but that was it. Lily couldn't help but feel more than a little confused. She had thought there would at least be one person waiting for them. After sitting in the station for a few minutes, the train slowly started to move again, gaining speed and leaving Lily and Georgie stranded on the little platform with the other children.

Lily slowly turned around to take in her surroundings and noticed that the other children who had also gotten off the train looked just as confused as she did. There were four of them in total, two boys and two girls, and that all bore a sort of resemblance that could only mark them as siblings. Two of the children looked like they were close to her in age, but she couldn't tell for sure. And although he was shorter than her brother, the youngest boy appeared to be around Georgie's age. The other girl, Lily could tell, was the youngest of the bunch because of how small she was.

They seemed to notice her staring at them, all for sets of eyes turning to her almost as one, so she gave them a meek sort of smile before turning to face her brother. She couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable and could only hope that the person they would be staying with would come and collect them soon.

Authors Note: And chapter two! I'm just going to say this now, there are tweaks in the coming chapters, but not as much as when they all actually go to Narnia. I think you'll all like those add-ins. Anyway, thanks so much for the review: Kate07, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, and Gentle Blossom. It's nice to know that there is a mix already of new and old readers. Hopefully I don't disappoint you! Thanks so much for reading this chapter and I'll talk to you all Monday when I repost chapter three!