First chapter of 2011 goes to my faithful readers :)

CHAPTER 4

Lucy stared at the two teenagers arguing near the train platform.

"You didn't bring her coat?" Susan yelled.

She was a rare beauty with a thick mane of black wavy hair and aqua eyes. Usually, these eyes would enrapture but now, they were furious, glaring at the the other teenager who was staring back just as furiously.

"Well, if somebody hadn't been hogging at the orphanage, I would have remembered!" Peter said. He, on the other hand, was a good-looking boy with sunny blonde hair and sparkling eyes. Even with his fringe, Lucy could see his eyes glittering maliciously.

Her thoughts were broken when a train approached the platform fastidiously without signalling its arrival.

"Susan," Lucy thought. She was standing too near the platform, she wouldn't pull away in time...Susan seemed to be frozen with fear, and Lucy was too far away to do anything.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and pulled her away just as the head of the train passed her. Lucy gasped, and turned to look at Peter, who had both hands on Susan's shoulders.

"Are you suicidal? What were you thinking!" He cried. Then, noticing their close contact, he pulled away uncomfortably. Susan cleared her throat and waved Lucy over, still looking shell-shocked. Reluctantly, she walked to Peter's side. Noticing that she was sullen, he stooped to her eye level and rubbed her hair affectionately.

"Don't worry Luce. It'll be fine." Susan pulled her into a brief hug and then led her to the train. While Peter loaded her luggage, she took a last glance backwards at her hometown. Honestly, she didn't really miss anything here. What saddened her, was that she would never go through that magical wardrobe again. She might as well be saying goodbye to Edmund forever.

She felt her heart tighten painfully and turned away before Susan or Peter saw the tear that ran down her cheek.

14 HOURS LATER

Susan had lied. Lucy had met their caretaker and she was every bit as terrifying as the orphanage.

She lay in bed, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. She saw Susan and Peter enter her room awkwardly. Susan nudged him forward and he shot a panicked look. Rolling her eyes, Susan sat and smiled beautifically at Lucy.

"How do you like it here?" Lucy was tempted to tell her the truth.

"You don't like it, right?" Peter interjected. Susan clucked her tongue in annoyance. "Peter!"

Lucy nodded slowly. "You'll hate school more, unless you're a brainiac like Susan." Susan beamed.

"School?"

"You'll be enrolled in two days." That excited Lucy a little. She stole a glance at Susan. Secretly, she wanted to be like her- beautiful, smart and kind. She really liked Peter too. With his friendly demeanaour and sunny smile, he was all too pleasant.

Hopefullly, things go well at school. Then maybe, she'll have something to look forward to for once in her life.

10 YEARS LATER

"Susan, come on! Hurry!" Lucy cried. She manouvered through the crowd, seeking Susan out. Then, she pulled her to the direction of the train station.

"Lucy! What's going on?" She demanded, annoyed that her uniform was now out of place from running.

"Look!" They had joined a crowd and some boys were cheering. In the middle, two boys were fighting.

"Lucy, please don't tell me Peter's there." A head full of sunny blonde hair appeared and he was buttling another red-haired boy in the stomach.

"He is, as usual." Susan shook her head in disapproval. A split second later, someone from the train station separated them and hauled Peter away.

Lucy ran to Peter and looked for any injuries. "I had him! If only I had a second, I would have..." He grumbled incoherently. A second later, Susan appeared beside him. "No! Third fight this week Peter! That's enough."

Sensing a fight about to ensue, Lucy cleared her throat. "The train's arriving in three minutes. We'd better go." That seemed to distract Peter and Susan. It didn't work as well as Lucy had hoped for, though.

The moment they reached the platform, Susan started glaring daggers. Peter turned his crystal blue eyes towards her, daring her. "What?" He said.

"You know what! I told you to stop! Yet, you fight!" Peter rolled his eyes childishly. "Oh please...I barely scratched him." Susan smacked him on the head. "Owwww! That hurt!" He rubbed his head furtively. Susan crossed her arms, satisfied.

Lucy laughed despite herself. "Hey, wasn't it ten years ago that we first boarded the train to London?" Susan said softly. They turned to her, surprised at that revelation. Lucy felt a distant memory threatening to resurface. Too late she stopped herself. A memory of a young boy of ten years appeared in her mind. An influx of emotions churned in her at once. She realised that she missed Edmund, perhaps too much for her own good.

Lost in her memory, she didn't see the train arrive nor Susan calling to her. All she could feel was the slight tremor that ran up her arm, causing her to shiver. Her skin tingled and her hands became too clammy for London weather.

Something doesn't feel right...something's wrong...Glancing around furtively, she felt her eyes widen when they saw the back of the platform open up to a portal. The dark background of the brick wall tore apart to allow streams of sunlight to filter through, bit by bit. She was engulfed in warmth.

Amidst this, she felt Susan grasp her arm and tug her towards the train. "Luce, what are you...Oh my god." Her grip slackened and fell away in disbelief.

"Girls!" Lucy heard Peter huff. Then, he cursed and stilled beside Susan. Drawing her gaze away, she saw that both Susan and Peter was also flustered at this impossible sight. "Quickly, link hands!" Lucy instructed. Just as Susan's fingers curled around Peter's, a strong gust of wind blew past them and their train disappeared. The portal opened even wider and the brick wall finally crumbled completely.

They stood completely frozen, afraid to venture. That was, until Lucy made a run for the portal. "Hold up! Careful!" Lucy ignored them, too excited to contain. She scaled past the portal, followed by Peter and Susan. They were immediately bathed in sunlight and a halo of warmth. Lucy felt sand beneath her feet and looked down to see specks of quartz, mica and feldspar underlying the layers of soft sand. She kicked off her shoes and shot a playful look at them.

Peter shrugged off his blazer and Susan untied her hair. The stretch ahead was completely barren but along the shore was the most magnificient sea Lucy had seen. It was pale blue and seemed to stretch on forever. She could see the edge of the sea meet the fiery red setting sun to cast a glow. Seagulls soared across the sky, an impossible array of diverse colours. Parts of it was splashed with hues of purple, orange, pick and peachy cream.

"Cannonbomb!" Peter bellowed then made a beeline for the sea and made an expert dive. "Me too!" Susan yelled but then took a tumble and landed face-first in the water. Casually, he swam to her and picked her up by the arm while she sputtered water.

"Always trying to be the best, eh?" He said, while pushing her hair out of her face. Embarrassed, Susan diverted her gaze somewhere else. Before she could formulate a witty comeback, Lucy herself jumped into the water.

"Where are we? This place is fantastic!" Susan commented happily, wading in the water.

"Yeah, where are we? Lucy?" Peter continued. They turned to stare at her. Gulping, Lucy forced herself to keep calm.

"I don't know." She laughed shakily. When they had completely looked away, she whispered, "Narnia."

AT THE KINGDOM

A messenger burst into the royal study, back bowed and shaking furiously.

"What do you want?" King Miraz demanded, appalled that he had been interrupted.

"I...I...com..come" Said messenger stuttered, trembling with age. His white hair was pulled back into a ponytail but some strands had fallen out, framing his weathered face.

"Get out! You're wasting my time." King Miraz fumed.

"Father," The room fell silent instantly. "Have patience." The messenger turned towards the soft voice at the corner of the room.

A young man with dark wavy hair and sultry eyes stood, wearing armor and impressive medals of honour. One might perceive him as a valiant knight. But when he looked up and the messenger fully saw him, all perceptions were washed away.

No man in Narnia could match Prince Edmund in appearance. Indeed, the rumours had not been mere talk. Narnians have spoken of his beauty and allure more than the messenger could count.

The prince had walled himself in the castle grounds for years so seeing the man he had turned into became the talk of the land. However, there had also been rumours that he was as tyrannous as his father and would oppress the Narnians like his father, King Miraz had done, for almost twenty years.

"You're right, son. Perhaps it is important news." Then, King Miraz turned his gaze to the messenger.

"Narnian spies have spot...spo...spotted three Outsiders on the shh...shore of the Narnian Sea." He glanced quickly at Prince Edmund and continued. "Your orders, King Miraz?"

The king unsheathed his sword and placed its tip on the messenger's chest, prodding hard. "Son, I'm entrusting you the task of exterminating the Outsiders." The messenger trembled and looked helplessly at the prince. "I would be honoured, father."

"Before you embark on this journey, I have two pieces of advice for you." King Miraz twisted the sword around, causing the messenger to bleed. "One: Make sure you kill them all."

"Two: Don't show mercy. Let them die miserably." He shoved the sword deep into the messenger's chest, causing half of the sword to protrude from behind. Then, he withdrew and caused him to collapse in a dead heap on the floor. Blood stained his ragged shirt and the floor. Edmund cringed.

"I understand, father. It shall be done." With that, he whirled around and went out of the study. He shut his eyes when he passed the dead body. He hated killing, hated the sight of death and smell of blood. But it was his duty to serve Narnia and he would do whatever it took to fulfill it. Granted, it would be his first time killing Outsiders, and not enemies of Narnia. It wouldn't be difficult, though.

When he found them, he would kill them all. Then he would return in glory and deal with the guilt alone.

Hey! Just to clarify, I breezed through a lot of scenes so now, it's 10 years later. Lucy is 18, Edmund is 20. Susan and Peter are older, perhaps 21 or 22. I hope you understand what I'm writing haha :) And thank you for all the reviews! You can refer to iTeribithia's video on YouTube. (I stopped at 1.15mins) I hope you like this update cos it's 2.46am now and I have school tomorrow GAH! P/S: Someone pm-ed me and asked about my age. Um, I think I'd rather keep it anonymous :P LOL. SORRY! Read & Review!~

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