Chapter Two: Ever the Same

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." ― Albert Einstein

Violet's POV

A few days after the raid, we were brought to the train station. We were being evacuated to the country.

"Alice, you will look after the others?" Mom asked her imploringly.

"Of course." Alice replied, holding Zoe close to her, "Nothing is going to happen to them."

"Be good girl and stay out of trouble, Zoe." Mom kissed her head.

"I'll try." She replied sadly.

Mom turned to me and Jane, "Mind your manners while you're there, girls." She hugged us, we agreed to behave. It was the least we could do for her.

The goodbye wasn't tearful for us or for her. We knew we would come back, but to what, we were unsure. We knew this was for this best. I think Jane and I were more annoyed than sad, we didn't want to move overseas, and now we were being moved again; and with each move, our family got smaller. The way this continues, soon it will just be Zoe. There was one slight upside to this move though, the Pevensies were going to the same area of the country with us. At least with this move, we knew someone, and hopefully, together, we'll all be able to make it through this.

We got on to the train and went into the first compartment we could find that wasn't crowded. We shared the compartment with two little boys who couldn't be older than Lucy. They were so small. We let them have the window seats, so they could at least look out the window. From the looks of their tags, they had a much longer trek than we did.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked Zoe, seeing her stand up when the train stopped for the first time.

"I'm gonna go look around." She answered.

"What-" I started to ask her.

"I promise I won't get off the train." She assured Alice, "And if I go too far down and forget the compartment number, I'll ask for help."

"Alright, but try not to stray too far." Alice agreed, "And if you forget the compartment number and you run across the Pevensies first, stay with them. Peter has already been made aware that we're both getting off on the same stop. He'll look after you until you can get back to us."

"I will." She nodded, "Thank you!" She left the compartment as the train started to move again.

"Why did you let her go?" I asked Alice surprised.

"She would go if I agreed or not." She replied, "I was surprised she even asked."

Zoe's POV

'Okay, this was a very good and very bad idea.' I thought twenty minutes into my journey around the train. I was caught by one of the attendees, how was I supposed to know we weren't allowed to leave our compartments once the train started moving. The man took hold of my arm and started to escort me to a compartment.

"Wait!" I struggled, "Let me go!"

He ignored me and continued to drag me down the hall.

"Can't you hear me?!" I cried, "Let me go!"

The man stopped and turned, causing me to turn with him. It was Peter, who had spoken up, stepping out of his compartment.

"C'mon Zoe, you've been out of the compartment long enough." He told me. I looked at him surprised. The man let go of my arm and I ran to Peter. He kneeled down to meet my eye level, and asked quietly enough for only me to hear him, "Did you really think I was going to let him take you away?"

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head.

"Where are your sisters?" He asked.

"I forgot which compartment they were in." I answered.

He nodded in understanding, he wasn't very surprised that I was out. He had known me long enough not to be. "Why don't you stay with us until we get off?"

I nodded. He led me into the compartment.

"Zoe, what are you doing here?" Lucy smiled.

"Got lost." I replied simply.

"One of the train attendants was going to take her to a random compartment." Peter added.

"You shouldn't have been wandering around the train." Edmund told me as I sat down across from him.

"I got bored." I responded.

"You could have looked out the window or talked to one of your sisters." Susan pointed out.

"Why would I want to do that?" I asked tilting my head. Susan's jaw dropped in surprise at my answer. Edmund bit back an amused smile. "Either way, they were all kinda busy: Alice was reading a book, Jane was writing, and Violet had just gotten out a magazine when I left."

"What kind of magazine?" Lucy asked.

"Sports." I replied simply. After I responded, Susan and Peter started to read, Lucy read Susan's book with her. Edmund and I looked out the window and watched as we went through the towns, once in a while sparking a small conversation with one another.

The train stopped again a couple of hours later and we all got off.

"She didn't cause you guys too much trouble, did she?" Alice asked us as they came over to us. She handed me my luggage.

Peter shook his head, "Not at all."

"Peter had to get her from a train attendant who was going to take her to compartment, so she wouldn't roam around the train." Susan told them. Violet opened her mouth to speak, but Jane spoke up instead, pulling my coat from Alice's loose grip.

"Are you okay, Zoe?" Jane asked, helping me with my jacket.

I nodded, "Yeah."

She looked up at Peter, "Thank you for look after her."

"It was no trouble really." He replied quickly, turning slightly pink.

We heard a car come by and we all raced to meet it, but it passed us by.

"The professor knew we were coming." Susan stated.

"Perhaps we were incorrectly labeled." Edmund suggested.

A horse and cart came by and stopped in front of the eight of us.

"Mrs. McCready?" Peter asked her. Alice, Violet, Jane and I sat down since this was obviously not the person we were staying with.

"I'm afraid so." She answered, "Is this it then? Haven't you brought anything else?"

"No Ma'am, it's just us." Peter responded.

"Small favors." She grimaced, looking at the state of them. She looked passed the Pevensies and at us. "The four of you girls," Mrs. McCready said to my sisters and I; we looked up at her confused, "Are you the Porter sisters?"

"We are, Ma'am." Alice answered, standing. We hesitantly stood up as well.

"Mr. Thatch and his wife have recently moved." Mrs. McCready stated, "The Professor has decided that the four of you will also be staying with us."

Jane, Violet, and I looked at each other surprised. Alice was unfazed

"That was very kind of him." Alice told her.

"C'mon, we don't have all day." She told all of us. We quickly put our luggage in the cart and piled in. We drove away from the train station and to the Professor's home.

Jane's POV

"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to having children in this house and as such there are a few rules that will need to be followed." Mrs. McCready stated as we walked into the mansion, "First off, there'll be no shoutin', or runnin', or improper uses of the dumb waiter." She list off. Susan started to hold out her hand to touch one of the busts on the stairs. "No touchin' of the historical artifacts." She scolded Susan. Edmund and Zoe chuckled quietly. Peter and Violet started to silently chuckle as well. It wasn't often Susan did something wrong. "And above all, there'll be no disturbin' of the professor."

We followed her up the stairs and through the second floor hall.

"You boys will take these two rooms here." She stopped abruptly. Peter and Edmund each went into the room to set their luggage down and unpack. "The Pevensie girls will take the two rooms across from them." She told us, Susan and Lucy went into what I'm only guessing would be Lucy's room for our duration here to get her settled in. Mrs. McCready looked at my sisters and I, "Two of you will take the rooms next to the boys and the other two will take the two rooms next to the girls. You may decide amongst yourselves which, I have work I must get back to." She left us to make our decision.

"Jane, you and Violet take the rooms next to Susan and Lucy." Alice told them, "I'm going to set up Zoe in the room next to Edmund's and I'll go into the room next to hers."

Violet and I nodded, I took the room next to Susan since I didn't mind her as much as Violet did and she took the room next to mine. Alice and Zoe went into the room next to Edmund's, so they could unpack.

I walked into the room that I would be occupying for a while and looked around, there wasn't much to it, not that I really needed anything more than a bed, a dresser, and nightstand. The room had those and a closet. It also had a desk with a small shelf for books at the top of it and a matching chair. The bed was massive, it took up quite a bit of the room. There was barely room for anything else. I put my suitcase on the bed and started to unpack.

Alice's POV

Zoe's room was a little massive for her, but it was definitely better than being in the city right now. She had room for the few stuffed animals she brought with her and a few more if she had managed to pick up a few while we were living here. She had closet and dresser. There were a few books in the nightstand drawer: Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina, Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, and Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. They were all relatively new and obvious that they were expecting young children. There a small book case as well that was filled with books on the shelves:

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

- The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

- The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

- A Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

- Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie

- Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

- Complete collections of Hans Christian Anderson and Grimm Fairytales

- Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

- The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

There were several other books, but those seemed to stick out in my mind. They weren't ours and I couldn't see Mrs. McCready buy us anything. This had to be from the mysterious Thatches or the Professor. It was obvious who ever these books belonged to they were expecting a little girl, many of them were too new for whomever they belonged to have had them for a while. I pulled out Alice in Wonderland, but just when I was about to open it and flip through the pages, Susan knocked on the door.

"Mrs. McCready told us to tell you that dinner's ready." She told us, before looking around the room. The books caught her eye like they did mine. "Did you bring those from home?" She asked confused.

"No, they were here when we got here." I answered.

"Jane's got a writing desk filled with paper, notebooks, pencils, and pens in her room and Violet has sporting equipment and magazines in her room." Susan listed off, "Where did they come from?"

"I couldn't tell you." I replied, sort of wondering what was left in my room, if there even was anything. "I don't know."

"How weird."

"Yeah, it is." I agreed, "I'm gonna go put my stuff in my room and I'll be down in a moment."

Susan nodded and headed out.

"Go ahead down, Zoe" I told her, "I'll be down in a bit."

"Alright." She shrugged and headed out the down. "Someone left a bunch of stuff in my room." I heard her say to someone.

"Really?" I could hear Lucy's reply, "Like what?"

"Books from what I can tell." She replied.

I shook my head as I picked up my luggage and went into my room, what greeted me when I went inside was the largest and most diverse collection of books I had ever seen in my life. The walls, from the floor to the ceiling, were lined with bookshelves; there was a ladder by the door to reach the upper shelves.

"What the…" I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence. I had never seen so many books in my life. When over by bed and set down my luggage on it. There was a small book lying on the pillow, it was Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale that my parents had read to me when I was little. I opened the cover of the book and there was an inscription: 'To my princess, I know these gifts do not make up for everything, but I hope it is a start. I'll be with you and your sisters soon. Love always, Dad.'

I read over the inscription multiple times, there was no denying it was Dad's messy and tight handwriting. I just couldn't believe or figure out how he did it. I put the book back down on the bed and went to join my sisters and the Pevensies.

"Did you have a bunch of stuff in your room?" Violet asked me as I sat down.

"Uh, yeah." I nodded, "I have my own personal library."

"Who would-"

"It was Dad." I cut her off before she could ask.

"What?" She asked confused.

"One of my books had an inscription in it." I told her.

"I see you have found the gifts left in your rooms." Mrs. McCready commented stoically as she sat down.

"Well, they were kind of hard to miss." Violet replied sarcastically.

"You would do well to remember to mind your attitude and your tongue." Mrs. McCready scolded her. Before Violet could open her mouth to retort, but Mrs. McCready continued, "Your father was a friend of Mr. Thatch's and both men knew the Professor well. When Mr. Thatch had to leave, your father asked the Professor to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The Professor obliged the foolish man's request-"

"Our father is not foolish!" Jane snarled, she may be the quiet sort, but when it came to family, she would pull out all of the stops, quiet and shy or not. "He's brilliant. We wouldn't be in this godforsaken country if he wasn't. We would be safe at home in California and not here!" She stood, "Maybe you should mind your attitude and your tongue when you speak to someone and remember you who you're speaking with when you say things like that."

"How dare you." Mrs. McCready stood, "Haven't your parents ever taught you to respect your elders?"

"No." Jane replied soundly, "I was always told us to respect people who deserved my respect. I've lost my appetite" She left the table and went back upstairs to her room.

"Jane!" Violet called after her and followed her twin up the stairs.

"I'm sorry for my sister's behavior." I apologized, "We've been through a lot in this past year."

"Alice?" Zoe tried to get my attention.

"Just eat, Zoe." I replied, "We can talk about it later."

"Okay." She agreed. The rest of the dinner, we ate in silence.

After dinner, I got Zoe into bed and checked on Violet and Jane were already asleep on Jane's bed. I didn't see a need to wake them, so I covered them with the blankets and turned out the light. Violet could sleep in her bed tomorrow night.

"Are they alright?" Peter asked as I passed him on the way to my room.

"Yeah." I answered, "Mrs. McCready just struck the wrong chord."

"That's good." He replied, "I was worried about he-" He stopped and corrected himself, "them."

"If you like her, Peter, maybe you should try talking to her." I suggested. I had seen the way he had looked at her when she wasn't looking. It was almost kind of sweet.

"What do I say?" He asked.

"Anything." I smiled, "Except for what Mrs. McCready said, don't say that."

"I don't plan on it."

"Goodnight, Peter." I gave him half a smile and went to my room, shutting the door behind me. I picked up the book on my bed, placed it on the nightstand and then got ready for bed.