Hello again everyone! Sorry again for the delay. Real life really sucks, don't you know? I'll try to be more prompt with the updates so then every author's note won't start with an apology! I've already started work on the next chapter, some of you may (hopefully) be pleased to know! My thanks as always to those of you who leave a review and add this story or the others in this series to your favourites or alerts. You're all wonderful! Enjoy this chapter, because things are going to start to take a very different turn after this. And they may not all be good...
Riverlily176: Sorry for taking so long on the update! And don't worry, I'm far from finished yet!
Sarahmichellegellarfan1: Glad you did :) Thank you!
Lairyfight: I always get a little sad when writing Susan. Part of me always wants her to suddenly change and announce her complete faith in Narnia again, but sadly this is not to be :( I have a feeling you won't like Tom's dad much more after this chapter! I'm afraid you won't see much of that in this chapter, but perhaps in the later ones! Thanks again for your awesome reviews :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Keep Calm and Be Ninja: Thanks for all of your reviews! Glad to know you're enjoying it!
HeartArcFantasy21: I'm glad you do! And don't worry, I'd imagine you could write better than me if you wanted. All you need is practice! Thanks for reading! Dea de Verum: Wow! That's what I call commitment! Thank you so much for taking the time to read it all! It's interesting that you should ask that, because it was something that I considered doing early on when this story started. However, I have since decided not to do such a thing. The reason being that the world of Narnia and the England attached to it are different to the ones in the world that we live in, because the Pevensies and other such characters don't really exist (even if we like to pretend that they do!). I'd imagine in the world that they live in that the Narnia books don't exist, and subsequently neither would C.S Lewis, because the events are real and lived. It's also to do with a story line that I have planned for later on, but no spoilers!
The next day turned out to be a miserable one. A storm had slammed in to the southern coast of England, and we were caught right in the middle of it. The rain and wind howled outside, but it was not enough to cause even the slightest wobble in the giant structure of the house. Everyone was restless after a long and slightly boring day of being stuck inside, so that evening we contented ourselves to sit in the parlour we had all reunited in on the first day and make our own entertainment.
Of course, the radio was quickly switched on and everyone was dancing. Or taking the mick out of those who couldn't. While I still wasn't very good at dancing the jitterbug, the teasing had stopped after Peter and I demonstrated the waltz. Despite not having danced as much as we used to, it didn't have any effect on the fifteen years of practice that we'd had.
We jokingly took our bows as we finished, everyone applauding and laughing about how I didn't have two left feet after all.
Without warning the lights switched off, plunging us all in to an almost darkness as the fire popped and cracked in the hearth and cast dancing shadows along the walls. I heard Kathleen shriek in surprise and Elizabeth, who was standing next to her, almost fell over with shock.
"Are you trying to make me deaf, Kathleen?" Elizabeth grumbled, rubbing her ear with a glare towards Kathleen, who simply shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
"Tom, what happened?" Ben asked.
"The power must have gone out," Tom said, running a hand through his hair. "I'll see if I can find some candles," he added, rushing from the room and opening the door to reveal the pitch black hall way. The high pitched, almost hysterical, voice of Tom's mother found it's way through the dark to the parlour, and Tom answered her calmly as he disappeared in to the cavernous darkness.
I jumped when I thought I had caught a glimpse of an all too familiar tall and ghostly white figure in the darkest corner of the room. I wasn't sure why, although it probably had something to do with that horrid dream I'd had when I was pregnant with the twins, but I had always associated the darkness with her, as if she could suddenly materialise from it and return to make my nightmares a reality.
"Are you alright?" Peter whispered.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied.
Peter didn't look too convinced, but he didn't pursue the matter. There was no point in telling him about what I'd seen anyway. It had just been a trick of the light.
Tom returned with an armful of candles and a box of matches. Everyone eagerly jumped up to help Tom set them out and light them, although Jack nearly set fire to the room at one point.
"Very atmospheric," Elizabeth said after we'd finished.
"Yes, but now the radio isn't working," Ben complained, turning the dials in a fruitless attempt to make it work.
"Well then, we'll just have to do what people did before radios," said Tom.
"Which is what?" asked Charlotte.
"Make our own entertainment," Tom replied with a grin.
"Martha can't dance at the best of times. Would it be wise to have her dancing by candle light?" Jack asked innocently.
"I didn't mean dancing. We could tell stories," Tom suggested.
"But not ghost stories, please!" insisted Martha, still trying to hit Jack with a cushion.
"Since Kathleen and Anna are the resident English students, I think it's only fair that one of them starts," John suggested with a cheeky smile.
"Oh no, not me! I'm rubbish at story telling," Kathleen insisted.
"Go on, Anna. I've read a f-few of yours, and you're b-brilliant at it!" Alice insisted.
"I thought we weren't mentioning that, Alice?" I joked.
"We weren't?" she replied with feigned innocence and a mischievous grin.
"Tell us a story about wars and battles," Jack said eagerly.
"No, something about fairies and wood spirits," Kathleen interjected.
"We all know there's nothing better than a story about Kings and Queens," Martha said.
"If you'll be quiet, I might have a story that everyone will like," I said with a smile.
It's funny how that line works on both young children and teenagers.
A hushed silence fell over the room as everyone looked at me expectantly, waiting for the story to begin. I paused for a moment, suddenly nervous and wishing I hadn't said anything. I was about to tell my friends what they would never know to be the really story of our lives and everything that we went through. This would be the closest that Peter and I would ever get to telling them about Narnia. How could I ever explain what a truly wonderful, magnificent, extraordinary and magical place it is in one simple story?
"Mummy, will you tell us the story about how you met daddy?"
"Please, mummy! It's my favourite!"
I could recall how I had told our story to Emma and Josh as their bed time story an infinite number of times. They had always loved it the one hundredth time just as much as the first. Perhaps the way I had told it to them would be the best way to tell our friends.
"A few years ago at the start of the war in London lived five children. Their names were Adam, Amelia, George and Mary, who were brothers and sisters, and their friend Maria. They had to be evacuated from the city after all of the bombings, because their parents wanted to keep them safe," I began.
I'd had to hold back a knowing smile as Peter coughed subtly to cover his laughter. He knew as soon as I used our middle names what story I was going to tell.
"The children ended up living with an elderly but kind man who lived in an enormous house, with no company except for his grumpy housekeeper," I continued. The room was silent save for the crackle of the fire and the fierce storm that still raged outside.
"Our story begins long before the dreary Tuesday afternoon that found the children bored and trapped inside because of the rain. Mary, the youngest of the five, claimed to have found an extraordinary snow covered land in the back of an abandoned wardrobe, where fauns, centaurs and talking animals lived. Adam and Amelia, Mary's oldest brother and sister, thought she was only playing a game that had gone too far, while George enjoyed making fun of his younger sister. Their friend Maria wanted to believe that Mary was telling the truth, but she didn't see how it could be possible.
"It so happened that after George had knocked over an old suit of armour in the house that the children found themselves trying to escape the housekeeper at every turn and corner of the strange house. And so, with the abandoned wardrobe their only sanctuary, our story begins on the snow covered outskirts of Lantern Waste in a land called Narnia."
It took two hours for me to tell our story, and our friends remained silent throughout, not one of them daring to speak and interrupt.
"With the White Witch dead and never to return, the Narnians rejoiced. Their kingdom had been returned to them, and peace was restored at long last with the end of the Hundred Year Winter. The five children were crowned as the new monarchs by Aslan himself; Queen Mary the Valiant, King George the Just, Queen Amelia the Gentle, Queen Maria the Noble and High King Adam the Magnificent. And with this, the Golden of Age of Narnia began, an era to be remembered until the end of time itself."
There was silence for a few moments as everyone stared at me with anticipation. But when they realised that I wasn't going to continue, the room erupted with several indignant protests.
"You cannot end there!" Kathleen exclaimed.
"Well? What happened next?" Elizabeth encouraged eagerly.
"Did they stay in Narnia forever?" asked Jack.
"Did Adam and Maria fall in love and get married?" Martha added.
"Those are stories for another night," I said with a wicked smile.
Everyone groaned and protested loudly, Kathleen throwing a cushion at me in her annoyance, but I refused to divulge any more.
"This is going to kill me!" Elizabeth groaned.
"Can't you tell us now?" insisted Charlotte.
"Absolutely not. It would ruin the suspense," I said firmly with a hint of a smile. "And I think it's time for us to leave anyway," I added.
"Says who?" Ben asked with confusion.
I nodded my head in the direction of the door where one of the house staff had entered through some time ago. I think I was the only one to notice his presence, but I had continued with the story regardless.
Tom jumped to his feet, looking surprised.
"Sorry, Clarkson. We'll go upstairs now," he apologised.
"Not to worry, Master Thomas. I was rather enjoying the young lady's tale myself, if I may be excused for lingering and eavesdropping," Clarkson said with a hint of a smile.
"Not at all, Clarkson. We've kept you up longer than we should have. Goodnight, my friend," Tom said, the rest of us standing and beginning to follow him from the room.
"And the same to all of you."
We all went upstairs laughing and trying to keep each other quiet, which only made us laugh even more. The boys insisted on walking us girls to our rooms; a suggestion met with only token protests.
Peter and I waited until everyone had said goodnight to one another, ignoring the sly grins from Jack and Ben.
"You've got two minutes, Pevensie!" Jack called over his shoulder as he and the other boys walked down the corridor to their own rooms.
"I'll be there in a minute, Alice," I assured my friend as she gave me a pointed look. Her only reply was an amused smile before she shut the door to our room quietly behind her, leaving Peter and me alone in the corridor.
"You should write that down, you know," Peter said nonchalantly.
"Write what down?" I teased with a smile.
"The story. I think it would make for a good book or two...or three," he replied with a smirk.
"Or seven."
"You could call it The Chronicles of Narnia."
"Very original title."
Peter paused for a moment, his smile slowly fading.
"You made me realise that I miss Narnia more than I care to admit," he said quietly.
"We all do," I said. "But we'll go back someday."
"What happened to not telling any of us what happens?" Peter asked with a wry smile.
"Did you ever doubt that we'd go back?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.
Peter grinned.
"No."
"One minute, Pete!" Jack's voice hollered down the corridor, followed by Ben's distinct laugh and what sounded like a scolding from Tom and John.
"I think it's time for us to go," I said.
"Goodnight," Peter laughed quietly, kissing my forehead.
He put his arms around me and pulled me close against him, as if he wasn't ready to let go just yet. And to be perfectly honest, neither was I. The fear of another nightmare about Jadis had been growing in my mind since the blackout, and I didn't think that Alice would be able to understand the problem let alone sooth it.
"Thirty seconds!" Ben yelled.
I sighed as Peter pulled away. He looked unsure about whether he should be annoyed or amused.
"See you in the morning," I said quietly, opening the bedroom door and shutting it quietly behind me.
Alice had already lit some candles and was removing the pins from her hair, allowing her curls to tumble freely down to her shoulders.
"Are you sure that was t-two minutes?" Alice teased with a grin, turning to face me. I laughed, shaking my head.
"It was only a minute and a half. I counted," I joked. "We might have got longer if I hadn't been cornered in to telling that story."
Alice laughed, a mischievous look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I c-couldn't resist. But Anna, that story was s-simply magical!"
You don't know the half of it.
"I'm glad you liked it."
"No, seriously. It f-felt so...I don't know, it felt so r-real."
It is, Alice. More than you'll ever know.
We all fell asleep that night enchanted by Narnia's mesmerising magic, and for the first time in a long time my memories helped sooth me to sleep rather than keep me awake all night. I needn't have worried about a nightmare of Jadis. But the magic was shattered like a broken mirror the next morning when Alice and I woke to the sounds of angry voices and a heated argument in the room below us. From the sounds of the voices, I guessed that it was Tom and his dad.
"What's going on?" Alice asked groggily, sitting up in bed as I pulled the covers over my head.
"I have no idea and I'm not sure I want to know," I mumbled.
"I am your son! Not a business deal for you to negotiate with!"
"And I am your father and you will do as I say!"
"I'm not going to give up Alice for some girl I barely know simply because you want her family's money!"
I immediately sat up at those words and glanced at Alice, who looked as if she were frozen to the bed.
"You are of noble descent, Thomas! I won't have you marry some common London girl!"
"Why not? She's a better human being than you or half your kind will ever be!"
"How dare you!"
"We shouldn't be l-listening to this. It's n-none of our business," Alice whispered, biting her lip.
The door to our bedroom began to open and we both jumped at the sudden intrusion. We relaxed when we saw that it was Charlotte, who looked pale and tired.
"Just checking that you two are ok," she said listlessly.
"Is this...normal?" I asked hesitantly.
"You mean the fighting? More or less. Uncle Lawrence never took kindly to Tom being one of the few rebels in the family that refused to be his doormat. But the argument about Alice is a new thing," Charlotte said, giving Alice an amused smile.
"When is this going to stop, dad? How many more lengths must this family go to just to please you? Charlie died doing it. But I certainly won't give up the girl that I love for it."
Alice gasped, her eyes widening as her hand flew up to cover her mouth and Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Alice stared at me, as if asking for confirmation of what she had just heard, and I gave her a reassuring smile despite the argument that continued below us.
"Your brother died giving his life for his country-"
"No, dad. He gave his life trying to make you proud of him! Nothing that we did was ever enough for you! It didn't matter a damn that Charlie was a successful lawyer with your idea of a perfect fiancé and his whole life ahead of him. You pushed him in to signing up and now he's dead because of it! You're the reason I lost my brother! And you don't care that he's dead, because in your eyes that makes him a failure! I'm proud of my brother and what he did, but I won't be as foolish as he was. I won't give up my life just to try and make you happy, because it will never work!"
"I'm sure Charlie would be thrilled to hear this," Charlotte said dryly.
"How dare you-"
"How dare I? How dare I? You're the one who has made this family's life a living hell! Not me!"
"Where are you going?"
"Away from you!"
A door was slammed a moment later and heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. They then proceeded to thunder down the corridor towards the boys rooms, but Charlotte stopped them as she called after Tom. He stopped and turned to walk towards her, coming to a rest a few feet outside the door.
"I suppose everyone's awake now?" Tom asked stiffly.
"You could have woken the dead," Charlotte replied flatly.
"Thanks, Char," Tom said caustically before turning and walking away from her.
"Tom-" Charlotte began, but her cousin ignored her and continued down the corridor.
There was a pause before Alice got out of her bed and hastily put on her dressing gown, tying it tightly and running a hand through her tousled curls. "
Where are you going? I don't think Tom will want to talk to anyone," asked Charlotte when Alice began to walk determinedly towards the door.
Alice stopped and looked at Charlotte and me with a focused stare.
"Tom's not g-getting away with telling his f-father that he loves me, but not s-saying a word about it to m-me," she said resolutely.
Charlotte and I grinned at each other.
"So does that mean this is finally happening?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
Alice had the grace to blush, but nodded all the same.
"I think we've w-waited long enough."