THAT EVENING... 1942
Lucy jumped excitedly into the bedroom and turned on the light. She jumped on Peter, "Peter, Peter wake up! It's there, it's really there!"
Peter groaned and rolled over, still half asleep, "Lucy, what are you talking about?" Edmund and Susan entered the room. Edmund shrank and sulked against the wall.
Lucy squealed, "Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe, like I told you!"
Susan rolled her eyes, "Oh Lucy, you've been dreaming."
Lucy looked at her, "No I wasn't, I saw Mr. Tumnus again! Oh, and this time," She nodded her head shortly, "Edmund went too."
It was silent for a moment as Susan and Peter looked at him. Edmund looked like a dear caught in the headlights. Peter looked at him, "You saw the faun?"
Lucy shrugged for him, "Well, he didn't actually go there with me..." She squinted at Edmund, "Actually, what were you doing Edmund?"
Edmund's mind was going a million miles a minute, "I-I was just playing along. I'm sorry Peter, I shouldn't have encouraged her. But you know what little children are like these days, they don't know when to stop pretending." He looked smugly at Lucy.
Lucy began to cry and ran out of the room. Susan and Peter ran after. Peter shoved Edmund over on his way out. "Ow," he cried.
Lucy sobbed as she ran down the hall when she ran into an old man. He looked startled as he looked down at her. She looked frightened but then she just started crying again and hugged his waist tightly. Susan and Peter caught up and froze when the saw the man.
They heard Mrs. Macready's voice coming up the stairs, "You children are one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stables-" She gasped in shock at seeing the man with the children, "Oh, Professor! I told them you were not to be disturbed."
The old man looked undisturbed and said lightly, "Oh, it's alright Mrs. Macready – I'm sure there's a logical explanation. But I think this one needs some hot chocolate."
Mrs. Macready nodded frantically, "Yes Professor." She took Lucy into her arms gently, "Come on, dear." She took Lucy down the hall.
When Susan and Peter turned to go they heard the deep clearing of a throat. They turned and followed the Professor into his office. The old man sat at his desk and took some tobacco out of it's silver apple case and put it in his pipe. He began to speak, "You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper."
Peter had a blank look, trying to dissuade him, "We're very sorry sir, it won't happen again." He gently grabbed Susan's arm and tried to tug her out the door.
Susan took her arm out of his grasped and turned to the Professor, "It's our sister sir, Lucy."
The Professor looked at her through his spectacles, "The weeping girl?"
Susan nodded, "Yes sir, she's upset."
"Hence the weeping," the old man replied shortly.
Peter tried to grab Susan's arm again, "We can handle it!"
Susan pulled herself out of his grasp again as the Professor retorted sarcastically, "Oh, I can see that."
"She thinks she's found a magical land in the upstairs wardrobe." Susan revealed.
The Professor's face morphed into one of wonder and shock, "What did you say!"
"The wardrobe upstairs," Peter answered wearily, "Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside." He and Susan sat on the couch and the Professor sat in a chair across from them.
"What was it like?" He asked in awe.
Susan exclaimed with scandalized eyes, "Like talking to a lunatic!"
The Professor looked frustrated with her, "No, not her – the forest!"
The children looked at him shocked. Peter gaped, "You... you're not saying you believe her?"
The Professor looked confusedly at them, "Well don't you?"
"Of course not," Susan exclaimed, "Logically it's impossible."
The Professor looked disheartened as he leaned back, muttering, "What do they teach at schools these days?"
Peter looked up, "Edmund said they were only pretending."
The old man gave him a condescending look, "And he's the more truthful one is he?"
Peter faltered, "No... this would be the first time."
"Well then," The Professor began, "if your sister isn't lying... and isn't mad then logically," He gave Susan a look down his spectacles, "we must assume she is telling the truth."
Susan gasped, "You mean we should just believe her?"
The Professor gave her a look that said it was obvious, "She's your sister, isn't she? You're family! It's high time you started acting like one!"
CRICKET
Peter joyously commented on the game with the ball in his hand, "Peter winds up, goes for the bowl!" He wound up and threw the ball. Edmund wasn't paying attention – gazing at the house – so the ball hit him in the leg making him cry out, "Ow!"
Peter grinned, "Whoops!" He chuckled, "Wake up, Dolly Daydream!"
Edmund squinted in the sunlight, "Can't we play hide and seek again?"
Peter three the ball up in the air and caught it, "I thought you said that it was a kid's game."
Susan chimed in from behind Edmund, "Besides..." at his reproachful look she tried a fake smile, "We can all use the fresh air."
Lucy was still pouting under a tree, to herself as Edmund scorned, "Not like there isn't air inside."
"Are you ready then?" Peter interrupted.
"Are you?" Edmund smacked his bat on the ground and got ready to hit the ball.
Peter pitched the ball, hard, and Edmund whacked it. But he whacked it too hard for it soared through the air and crashed into a window.
UPSTAIRS
The four of them looked down at the broken window and toppled over suit of armor on the floor. Peter glared accusingly at Edmund, "Well done, Ed!"
"You bowled it!" Edmund accused.
The heard the shuffling of feet. Susan gasped, "The Macready!"
Peter commanded, "Run!"
They kept running up the stairs until the got to the spare room. Edmund ran to the wardrobe and opened the door, looking back at his siblings, "Come on!"
Susan huffed, "You have got to be joking."
Peter groaned, "Just go!" They all shuffled into the wardrobe, pushing fur coats and each other out of the way. The griped at each other as they struggled to the back of the room until both Peter and Susan fell butt first into... snow?
They looked behind them as they stood and saw a Winter Wonderland. Susan gasped, "Impossible!"
Lucy slowly walked backwards, looking at them smugly, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just your imagination..."
Peter looked at his youngest sister sheepishly, "I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it?"
Lucy frowned – suspiciously – and said, "No, it wouldn't." Peter and Susan's faces fell when Lucy suddenly grinned, "But this might!" She nailed Peter in the face with a snowball. He grinned surprised at her and rushed to make a snowball and throw it back at her. Soon Susan joined in the laughter and snowball fight.
Susan caught Edmund in the arm making his cry out, "Ow!" He rubbed his arm, "Stop it!"
Peter's face morphed into a glare when he realized Edmund lied, "You little liar!"
Edmund glared back, "You didn't believe her either!"
Peter's jaw clenched, "Apologize to Lucy." When Edmund just looked at her Peter took a step forward threateningly, "Say you're sorry!"
Edmund backed up, "Alright!" He looked at Lucy, "I'm sorry." It was not a very sincere apology.
"That's alright," Lucy answered anyway, "Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." She looked at him smugly.
Suddenly they heard a voice – a girl's voice – say, "I hear voices coming from where the entrance is... Come on, Jo!"
Suddenly two – identical – girls broke the line of trees. Richelle wore light blue jeans, a green thermal with a blue tank top and dark blue sneakers. Jo was wearing her hair in a pony tail, long dark jeans, a dark red T-shirt with a black long sleeve shirt under it and brown hiking boots.
Lucy gasped excitedly, "Richelle!" She ran over to the girl in green and blue and wrapped her arms around her. Richelle laughed and wrapped her arms around the little girl. She looked at her twin and said, "This is Lucy. The little girl I told you about."
Jo smiled and nodded before looking at the others, "Oh..." When she caught eyes with the oldest boy she could have sworn she'd seen those twinkling blue eyes somewhere before. She just shook that thought out of her head and looked away.
Peter cleared his throat, "Lucy." Lucy started, as if just noticing that they all didn't know each other, "Oh, Richelle, this is my brothers Peter and Edmund and my sister Susan." Lucy smiled a toothy smile and gestured to Richelle, "This is Richelle. She was here with me the first time I came to Narnia."
Susan's eyes widened, "You were here too?"
Richelle nodded, "Yup. And then I told my sister Jo and she came back with me..."
Susan looked at Jo, "You believed her?"
Jo gave her a confused look, "Of course I did."
"You didn't think her story was just a little bit improbable?"
Jo scoffed, "Of course I did. I thought it was crazy from the beginning. But I still believed her."
"Why?" Susan asked scandalized.
Jo gave her a stern look, "Because I'm a good sister."
Susan huffed indignantly, glaring at her as she said, "Maybe we should go back."
Lucy looked so sad as she clung tighter to Richelle. Edmund stuttered, "Can't we at least take a look around?"
Richelle – ever suspecting – trained an eye on him as Peter grinned at his youngest sister and said, "I think Lucy should decide!"
Lucy's face lit up as she looked up at Richelle who smiled and asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Lucy nodded frantically and looked up at Peter, "We'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"
Peter smiled and nodded, "Well Mr. Tumnus it is!" He walked into the wardrobe again and pulled out some coats.
"Peter, those don't belong to us," Susan scolded.
"Well I don't think the professor will mind. And if you think about it logically," Peter paused handing a coat to her, "we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe." He handed a coat to Edmund.
Edmund frowned, "But that's a girl's coat!"
Peter shrugged, "I know." Edmund grudgingly took the coat with a pout. Peter handed the last coat to Jo and froze when their hands met. Jo yanked hers away and shrugged the coat on. Peter sagged and began to walk with his siblings.
Richelle and Lucy giggled and lead the way in the snow. Susan and Edmund sulked behind them and Peter and Jo walked silently in the back.
Peter sighed, "You're awfully quiet."
Jo shrugged, "Well we don't know each other."
Peter slowly nodded, "True."
Jo looked at him before she rolled her eyes frustrated at herself and breathed out harshly, "I think you were a little harsh on your brother. Just from one eldest to the other."
Peter frowned, "You're twins. You're hardly considered the eldest."
Jo glared at him, "She's still my baby sister and I'd never treat her like that."
"Like what?" Peter snapped, "You don't know anything."
Jo glared even more and stopped walking. Peter walked a few steps more before he noticed she'd stopped and turned to her. She crossed her arms angrily, "Nobody likes being treated like a stupid kid who can't do anything right when all they want is their father." Peter saw something in her eyes flare up before they died down to a dull pain, "Take it from someone who knows." She stomped forward and eventually caught up with her sister, leaving Peter in the snow.
When the found Mr. Tumnus' house Lucy saw the busted door and gasped, running forward. Richelle ran after her, "LUCY!"
Everyone followed into the house. Every piece of furniture was turned over and ripped. Books were knocked out of their shelves and onto the floors. Shreds of fabric and paper littered the floor and walls. Lucy and Richelle looked around in disdain as Lucy whispered, "Who would do something like this?"
Edmund took a step and stepped on something glass. He looked down upon hearing a crack and saw a picture. Peter noticed a piece of paper tacked on the wall and took it down, "The Former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, also to comforting her said Majesty's enemies, harboring spies and fraternizing with Humans. Signed Maugrim, captain of the Secret Police, Long live the Queen."
Lucy had tears running down her face and Richelle was hugging her to her body. Susan's eyes widened, "Now we really should be going."
Lucy gasped, "But we have to help him!"
Peter shook his head, "It's out of our hands Lu."
Jo scoffed, "No it's not! You just don't want to help because you can't stand the fact that Lucy was telling the truth!"
Peter glared, "There's nothing we can do!"
Lucy shouted, "You don't get it do you? We're the humans! Richelle and I; he helped us!"
Peter sighed, "Maybe we should call the police..."
Susan thrust the paper towards him, "These are the police!"
"Besides," Edmund chortled, "Why should we help him? I mean, he's a criminal!"
"And his crime was helping us escape with our lives!" Richelle snapped.
Peter sighed, "Don't worry Lucy, we'll think of something."
Suddenly they heard an urgent whisper, "Psst!"
They all looked at the window and saw a little bird on the window pane. Susan's eyes bugged out, "Did that bird just 'psst' us?"
They all followed the bird outside. They heard a rustling from the bushes. A beaver poked it's head out and started crawling towards them. Their shoulders sagged with relief as Lucy sighed, "It's a beaver."
Peter approached the beaver, clicking his tongue and extending his hand, "Here, boy, come here..."
The beaver stared at his out stretched hand and sat upright, "Well I ain't gonna smell it if that's what you want."
They all flew back a step in surprise. Peter looked at his family in shock before looking back at the beaver and saying, "Sorry."
Lucy began to giggle but the smile dropped off her face when the beaver asked, "Lucy Pevensie? Richelle Miller?"
"Yes?" Lucy whispered as Richelle just nodded. Mr. Beaver handed her a handkerchief. Lucy grasped it, "This is the handkerchief I gave to Mr. -"
"Tumnus." Mr. Beaver finished, "He gave it to me just before they took him."
"Is he alright?" Richelle asked.
Mr. Beaver looked around, suspicious, and murmured, "Further in." He scurried off.
Susan grabbed Peter by the arm, "Peter, think about what you're doing."
"She's right," Edmund agreed, "How do we know we can trust him?"
"He says he knows the faun," Peter shrugged.
"He's a beaver," Susan's eyes bugged, "...he shouldn't be saying anything!"
Mr. Beaver poked his head out, "Is everything alright?"
Peter looked back at him, "Yes. We were just talking."
Mr. Beaver looked around, sniffing, "That's better left for safer corners."
Lucy took a step forward and looked up and around, "He means the trees."
Jo looked at Richelle and gave you a 'seriously?' look. Richelle nodded, "She's serious."
They all started following the Beaver until they found a small dam through the cliffs under a bridge. Mr. Beaver murmured, "There it is. Home sweet home."
"Oh, what a beautiful dam Mr. Beaver," Lucy exclaimed, holding Richelle's hand. Richelle smiled.
"Merely a trifle," Mr. Beaver muttered abashedly.
"No," Richelle said quietly, "It's home."
Jo froze in her step at the word home, making Peter bump into her back. Jo muttered a sorry and walked on. Soon they were met by a female voice, "Is that you Beaver? If I find out you've been out with Badger again I'll..." She stopped walking when she saw the children, "Oh, they're not Badgers. I never thought I would see this day..." She bounded excitedly. But then she turned to Beaver and smacked him in the arm, "You couldn't give me ten minutes warning... look at this fur." She picked at her fur worriedly.
"I would have given you a week if I thought it would help," Mr. Beaver answered, hobbling forward.
"Well you must be cold and hungry," Mrs. Beaver said to the children, "Let's get you inside for some food and civilized conversation."
Richelle and Lucy were the first inside, followed by Peter and Susan. Mr. Beaver hobbled in after them but Edmund faltered in his step when he saw Jadis' castle... right where she'd said it would be.
Jo put a hand on his shoulder, "You okay?"
Edmund started at her voice and said in a harsh voice, "Fine."
Jo sighed, "Look... I know how it is when someone tries to boss you around when they don't have any right to... you just can't let it get to you."
Edmund stilled at her words, taking them to heart. He wondered if she did know what he was going through. But he shook those thoughts out of his head. Jadis was the only one who could help him. He shook off her hand and walked into the dam. Jo sighed and walked in after him.
Let me know what you think!
