Hello my readers sorry it took so long to update. I would like to thank my reviewers your are wonderful. Rember more reviews=faster updates.
thenameless221 :this is good wirfht more
thank you you make me smile
Gentle Blossom :I love it! Please continue. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this ons! Kudos to your great grammar and description.
That's so sweet i'm glad you like it
princess emma of narnia :update asap
I will try
eowyninlove :I love the way she meets Peter:) keep writing!
thank you :)
MCH :Like the way you set this up and introduce us to her family and have her met Peter. Update please.
Thank you and we will do our best.
eowyninlove :so was it the dwarf who got turned into a statue? And if he did then did he get sent to london too since it said she shot a spell toward the remaining figures in the room. I would add another sentence to clarify this but other than that looks good!
In the prologue the dwarf did get turned into a statue, thank you for your input.
MCH More please.
Oooh Tay
princess emma of narnia :update asap
Working on chapter 3
disclaimer: as my friend likes to remind me i don't own Narnia
Chapter 2
I slowly trudged along the street to my first day back at the store. I had a feeling I was in for a long, long day, but at least it would bring home money. I was in no position to complain about a boring job, though I must say I was still tempted. I sighed and flicked a stray piece of my ebony hair back behind my ear. Stormy gray clouds were gathering overhead. Another rainy day was coming. England could never complain about a lack of H20.
My feet carried me to my job, stopping long enough so I could pull open the somewhat dirty door. My boss was actually more drunk today than he'd been last night. Which is saying a lot. Not that I really cared how drunk the guy was - it wasn't like he'd ever be sane enough to realize I had indeed been fired, although the part about my siblings was true.
Somehow, all the boys had managed to get sick at the exact same time, and leaving them alone didn't seem like the brightest idea in the world. After all, as I'd told Maria, boys will be boys. I'd tried to ask for time off to look after them, but my boss wouldn't hear anything of the sort. That night, I'd decided to heck with the boss's orders, I was going to take care of my siblings. That's what family is supposed to do, for heaven's sake! Anyhow, when I'd shown up at the store hours late, my boss had been beyond angry. I must say, if his anger hadn't been directed at me, it would have been quite comical to see his face go through that many shades of red and purple in the span of a few seconds. He'd started yelling at me like I'd started World War III or something, and his breath had reeked of the sour stench of alcohol.
I'd stood my ground the entire time; I was used to an adult screaming at me. Maria did it all the time, though it was usually more directed at the six of us in general rather than just me. I'd flinched a little when he began waving his arms around like a madman, but I still didn't move until he bellowed out that I was fired and ordered me to get out. I'd been a little frightened, but hell would freeze over before I let it show.
That hadn't been all that long ago, but yet here I was, working at the same place once again. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think it's just that I prefer getting money to buy food the honest way. Anyhow, I adjusted my uniform and stepped behind the counter just as my boss stumbled out of the storeroom in the back.
"Good, you're here," he mumbled, completely drunk as always. How that man is even standing right now is beyond me…
I nodded curtly and the day began. It started out slow and dreary, with a steady drizzle of rain lulling me into tranquility. I was sure the day would be one of the most boring days of my life. Clearly, my memory was faulty about working here.
Around noon, a steady stream of people was coming in and out of the store. Even though there were other employees besides me, I was still kept busier than a bee. Someone always needed help reaching this or finding that, plus the obvious need to check out. All the employees were constantly running around, myself included.
There was one lady who seemed utterly clueless as to where to find anything. I momentarily wondered if she even knew where her own face was, but that thought seemed a little mean even for me, so I tried to think nicer of her. It probably wasn't her fault she was so oblivious.
I tried to be patient, but I became increasingly irritable as the day went on. Maybe that's another reason I was fired – I found it difficult to deal with people who were rude and, well, just plain stupid. Someone always needed me, and I began to wonder if they were purposely making sure I stayed as busy as humanly possible. Fetch this, check for that, shelf this, ring up that. It went on and on and as my patience wore down, so did my appearance. At the end of the day, as I was going to the storeroom to put more bread in the bread stand, I caught sight of myself in the window.
Yikes.
This was not my best day. I mean, I don't obsess over how I look, but looking like a bus ran into me isn't on my top list of priorities. My hair was a frazzled mess in its ponytail, my uniform was rumpled and wrinkled, and dust from my previous trips to the storeroom had settled on my face. In short, I was a mess. Oh well, it's not like there's someone I'm meeting or anything.
Wait…darn it all! Peter! I'd only just met the guy, but I didn't fancy the idea of looking like a train wreck when he got here. How much time did I have? I threw my glance up at the clock. An hour! I had one hour before that boy got here, and if I didn't get my silly little self home as quickly as possible, I'd look ridiculous.
With that thought in mind, I slipped out the back door and flew down the street towards home, the light rain no longer falling from the grey sky. I skidded to a stop on the wet concrete sidewalk in front of the door at the back of the hotel, arms flailing and hair flying. Throwing open the door, I raced up to the room I shared with the girls and freshened up.
I frantically combed my frazzled hair and straightened out my uniform, determined not to be late. I'd been the one to suggest Peter and I meet up, after all. Ugh, where was my common sense? I'd almost robbed the guy; did I really think we could be friends? Whatever, he didn't know that. And I had no intention of telling him. It had been a pure accident.
By now I'd managed to make myself at least some semblance of presentable, and I slipped out of the house as quietly as I could, careful not to wake Maria. She always had to have an "afternoon nap" right about now. She always gave some excuse like needing more "beauty sleep," or something along those lines. I will never understand how Charles doesn't see through her…love is blind, I guess.
A shy, hesitant sun began to peek out from behind the clouds as I scurried back down the street, slipping every now and then in the occasional puddle left over from this morning's rain. The air smelled and felt damp, and yet everything felt fresh.
I had a feeling Peter would be here any second, so I headed around to the back door. I walked into the store at the same time Peter did, but he came through the front door. Luckily, he hadn't noticed me yet, so I took a minute to catch my breath. I wasn't out of shape, but it had been quite a run from home to here, especially with the wet and slippery sidewalk to slow me down.
Peter was looking for me though, so I forced myself to stand up straight and walked casually over to him.
"Hey there." I waved at him as he turned around, a smile on his face.
"Hey. So, when do you get off work?"
My gaze flitted over to my boss, who was currently having a rather animated conversation with his whiskey bottle. Fighting the urge to laugh, I turned back to Peter.
"Now."
He looked a little skeptical though, so I rolled my eyes and headed over towards my totally sober boss. That was sarcasm, by the way.
"Alright, I'm done for the day, okay? Hold down the fort until I get back tomorrow morning." Mr. I'm-so-wasted-I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-is-going-on just grinned at me, and I took that as an 'Okay, you can go.' Why was it that I complained about my boss being constantly drunk? I don't think I ever want to find a competent boss. Ever. Okay, maybe sometime, but right now I was perfectly content with the one I had. More than content, actually. My boss didn't even seem to realize I'd run home and gotten myself cleaned up.
Shaking my head to myself, I walked back over to Peter. He raised his eyebrows in mild amusement as I walked past him and out of the store. I turned halfway around when he hesitated to follow.
"You coming, or what?" I threw him a flirty grin, to which he responded with one of his own. My smile grew a little when he followed me out of the store, heading in the direction of the park.
"You know, I don't really know that much about you." I met Peter's inquisitive gaze with a twinkle in my eye.
"You know my name."
"And that's hardly anything."
"What do you want to know?"
"Well…do you have any siblings?"
"I have five foster siblings." I paused to take in the beauty of the park. The grass was green from all the rain and the leaves of the trees were only just starting to turn. The air was still slightly humid, but it had a slight chill to it, though not enough to make it uncomfortable to walk about in short sleeves. The sun continued to play hide-and-seek like Lily was fond of doing, its warm rays only gracing a few lucky patches of earth. Paths wound their way around the park and surrounded the pond that sat towards the center of it all. Older men sat on the benches reading the newspaper, mothers watched their rowdy children play tag on the grass, and some of the young girls wove daisy chains for their hair.
My gaze traveled upward to see a robin returning to its nest carrying small twigs in its beak. I let a tiny smile twitch on my lips at the tiny, orange-chested bird carefully added the fragile bits of wood to its nest, its beak arranging them until they were just so. Seemingly satisfied with the day's work, the robin perched in its bed of twigs and began to preen. So simple, the life of a bird.
"What are their names?" Peter's voice called me back from my world of daydreaming.
"Hm? Oh, there's Ted, Lily, Marshall, Robin, and Barney. Ted's the youngest, and also arguably the sweetest. He's five. Lily's six, and her red hair really isn't a lie. She loves to play hide-and-seek, and she's really good at it too. Marshall is her twin, but he's more like a laid-back teddy bear. Robin…well, she's just really ambitious for an eight-year-old. And that brings us to Barney, the ten-year-old evil genius. But I've been doing all the talking, haven't I? What about your family?"
"I have three younger siblings. Susan's the oldest after me, and then there's Edmund, and Lucy's the youngest. Susan's very logical and practical, but she's strong. Edmund is loyal, brave, and pretty reasonable too. He can be a bit of a jokester at times though. Lucy has the most faith of all of us, and she's adventurous too. Oh, and she loves animals."
"They sound wonderful."
"They are. Hopefully you can meet them soon, if you like."
"I wouldn't mind that in the slightest." A pause followed as we headed towards the pond.
"What's your favorite color?" Silly question yes, but I wanted to get to know him.
"Hm…red, I guess. Yours?" He looked a little confused that I'd asked about favorite colors, but he played along.
"Blue. Not a dark blue though, a forget-me-not kind of blue." I stopped talking as I admired the sun glinting off the smooth glass surface of the pond, broken only by the occasional cattail. I glanced at Peter out of the corner of my eye, furrowing my brow in confusion when he bent down. But my confusion gave way to a smile as Peter held up a pale blue flower with four petals.
"This kind of blue?" My brown eyes met his crystal blue orbs as I accepted the flower. I nodded and let my gaze fall to the ground, feeling a slight blush creeping up into my cheeks.
Oh for goodness' sake, shake it off!
Following my own advice, I brought my eyes back up and continued walking around the pond.
"So...what do you plan on doing once you graduate?"
Peter paused for a second to think before answering.
"I was thinking about a career in medicine, but I haven't quite gotten everything figured out yet. What about your plans?"
"Um…" Contemplate that very question? "I haven't given it much thought to be honest. I want to go back to school eventually and get a stable job, and then I guess I'll see where life goes from there." My gaze was briefly claimed by some guy with the biggest hair I've ever seen in my life. "Hey look over there. I think that guy has enough hairspray for an entire circus."
The brief sense of triumph that swept over me when Peter chuckled quietly was quickly replaced by thoughts of how dorky that must have sounded. We walked and talked a little more before we noticed how dark it was getting.
"Shoot, I'd better get home." Hopefully Maria hadn't done anything terrible to the kids. Peter nodded and offered to walk me back. I hesitated a second, wondering if it was a good idea. I didn't like people to know about my…family situation if I could help it. But I had a feeling I'd be able to gently shoo him off before it got to that. And so, I accepted his offer.
All too soon, we arrived at the hotel. Charles was working the door. Thinking fast, I planted a quick kiss on Peter's cheek and said goodbye. I almost giggled when I saw the tips of his ears turning pink as he said his own goodbye before walking off with a little smile on his face.
Once he had turned the corner, I turned and walked up to Charles to say hi. He didn't respond with words; he just gave me that infamous we're-going-to-talk-later look. Grinning to myself, I nodded in understanding and headed back to our quarters.
I took care to not make a sound as I snuck in and closed the door behind me. No one was in the common room, and the place was dark. Maria and the kids were probably sleeping.
I went to the room I shared with my sisters, changed out of uniform, and got ready for bed. It was strange, the house being so quiet. I was used to enough noise to wake the dead, and now it was utterly silent.
Just as I was about to lie down and fall asleep beside Robin and Lily, Charles came in and motioned me out to the common room.
"Who was that young man?" His voice wasn't accusatory, it just sounded like a protective father's.
"That was Peter. I met him the other day, but he'd just a friend. We were just walking around the park and talking."
"And that's where you got that flower, yes?" Amusement and also care twinkled in his warm brown eyes as my gaze flitted down to the little four-petal flower I still held.
"Um, yeah…no biggie though."
"Ah. Okay, I get it. You like him, but you don't want to tell me anything. Do you want me to leave?"
"Oh no, I don't like like him, it's not like that. There's really nothing between us, I promise. Besides, I'm not the romantic type."
"Alright sweetie. Goodnight then." Charles grinned and hugged me goodnight before we both went off to our respective rooms.
I was careful to not make a lot of noise getting into the bed with Robin and Lily, even though they were, as per usual, taking up most of the bed. I gently planted a goodnight kiss on each of their foreheads before letting my head fall back onto what was left of the pillow.
Sleep had almost claimed me when a sinister whisper wove itself through the silence of the night. I shot up in my bed, my blood turning to ice inside my veins. I couldn't quite make out what the heck the whisper was saying, but it was creepy – with a capital 'C.'
Almost afraid to listen, I strained my ears to try and hear. I was instantly sorry.
"Come home…"
What in the name of heaven almighty?
I fought the urge to shriek bloody murder. It was like something out of a bloody horror story! I gulped and slid down under the covers, curling up into as small a ball as I could. My heart pounding loudly in my chest, I waited and prayed for sleep to come. And eventually, it did.
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