Not the best chapter but if I combined them like I had planned initially it would have been 10k+ which wasn't happening. Also, it will be a few weeks until the next. My exams start in nine days so all my focus is on them. They finish on the 18th May so updates will be regular from then on again. The reunion with everyone is the next chapter.
~Caspian~
Being nervous was something I never really felt. When I was younger, it was a lot more prominent. But as I grew up and became the leader I am, anything even remotely close was shut away and hidden behind a façade. However, since I had been in this world, there was no need to force myself not to feel it.
This didn't mean that it freaked me out though, because it did. I have no idea what to expect and I can't even ask Edmund about it. Yes, he has travelled from the two worlds as well, but he had a slight advantage that I did not. He'd stated a few times as did Susan when they were last in Narnia that my world was similar to theirs hundreds of years prior. I'd thought he had been joking at first, but when I started reading some history books in Digory's library, it was painstakingly obvious they were telling the truth.
I think that's what scared me the most now that I really thought about it. I've only seen a few things in this world that I wouldn't have even dreamed possible. What else is there to marvel over? It really should be the impending danger that should set me on edge, but it just didn't. Fighting wasn't something new to me after all. I quickly pulled on some clothes and eyed myself in the mirror. I thought I looked ridiculous, but Edmund had simply stated that if I wore anything Narnian or Telmarine fashioned I would stick out like a sore thumb. If we were going to pull this off, I had to blend in well.
Hence the name change. The first name wasn't horrific as he and Digory chose names similar to our own to make the transition simpler. They'd agreed Casper might be a good one for me. Us Telmarine's had a slight advantage however considering he devised a plan to say we were from the south of a country called Spain, and the names there were uncommon here. So we could use our own. However, so nobody felt left out, we were going to us the fake ones.
It was the surname part that bothered me. Some families in Narnia use them, but they were normally upper class. Not many people knew my own. In fact, I don't think Toma knows it and we used to run around when we were very young kids. It was Athereano, it was difficult to say. Edmund agreed with me on that and after going around us with the more foreign names, decided to weave into the story that we had them changed via something called deed-poll to make them simpler to understand. I had asked him what I should make mine and he had taken one look at me and said Tennyson.
I snorted loud at the reference to my title but he simply shrugged. Until then I thought he was joking but he elaborated by saying it was a known surname in this country, just wasn't heard often. Digory confirmed that for me later in the day. It allowed me to smile deeply as at least I could keep some more of my identity. It was difficult to leave here. Over the last few weeks I'd grown fond of the elderly man and I didn't want to leave the estate. But if we were going to help, we had to leave. Edmund had already stayed longer than he was supposed to be staying.
I jogged downstairs and made my way downstairs where everybody was stationed. Florent and Rincon were beside Digory and silently threatening the others to keep them updated. Edmund was nowhere to be seen. I frowned at that before hearing someone huffing from around the corner. The tall male appeared soon carrying two very large jugs filled with a strange liquid and he nodded a thank you to the elderly. He placed whatever it was down and proceeded to pull him into a tight hug and clap him on the back lightly.
It was clear he almost saw him as a father, and I felt a slight jolt inside. The only fatherly figure I had was my professor and now there was an entire world separating us. I tried my best not to think about the time differences between the two worlds, not even daring to try and guess how long had passed. Once he came out of the embrace, he gave him a large smile before grabbing the large jugs again. What was in those things?
"It's kerosine, it's extremely flammable but difficult to come by. This was the excuse we used to get me out undetected. I need to stick to it so I don't raise any more suspicion than necessary."
I wasn't sure if that was just him reading my quizzical expression or if I had said the question out loud unintentionally. I was just glad to have gotten a response. The fact he had put so much thought just to get up here was ridiculous.
"The carriages are outside and they'll take you to the station. From there, listen to him. We use different travel techniques than you're all used to. You will not see horses or carriages often in this world. Not for travelling anyway. And remember these as well."
He handed us each a small leather booklet. What was this? I opened it up and was surprised to see a picture of myself on there. Everyone else was looking at it strangely as well. I read it in a bit more detail and saw that it said 'resident of Tooting'. Where was that?
"Tooting was a small area in London, but it was one of those that was deserted completely. Nobody will question you on this and it means we can get down quickly. If we leave in the next hour, we'll be just outside the city by tonight."
My eyes widened at this and I eyed Glenstorm weirdly. We'd been shown a map of this country and there was nearly three-hundred miles between here and London, how would we get down in only a matter of hours? I decided not to speak up on the matter, not wanting to waste more time than was necessary. Edmund was struggling a little with carrying the two large jugs, but that was expected considering he was sorely injured recently.
I ended up taking one from him and huffed at just how heavy they really were. I wasn't going to bother complaining. The carriage was outside waiting for us with the same woman I've seen occasionally around the manor- and Edmund occasionally rolling his eyes at. The pair clearly had some history and I assumed it wasn't great considering he sometimes muttered annoyingly under his breath. We were given a few bags filled with coins so we could get food on the journey down.
Only ten minutes later we were bundled together in a small carriage on our way somewhere. I took in the scenery around me, knowing this was likely going to be the last time I saw it. I wonder what cities were like here? It took almost an hour to reach what I assumed to be our destination but something confused me. There was nothing here. Just a few metal rails on the ground and a platform at either side. Edmund walked over to a signpost to check something before walking back over.
"We leave in twenty minutes. We will be going via Leeds and Manchester, two large cities. That way you can get used to the size of cities here. London is a lot larger, though. This way you can see how bad it actually is. From here, we go straight to Leeds, then we'll stop and get something to eat as it's a two-hour journey providing there are no interruptions. After that we will interchange to Manchester Piccadilly, and finally from there we will go to Slough. The final being a town a few miles from Hillingdon which is where we will be entering the city. From there, we will walk. I don't plan on entering the city today, we will do so tomorrow so we have the full day to do so."
My eyes widened as I took in the information. That was a lot thrown at us in one go. We talked for a little but a loud screeching noise made me freeze in shock. What was that? Edmund chuckled softly under his breath.
"That is a train, the method of transport we will be using. It is the quickest way to get down there."
I looked around for the strange contraption and I soon spotted it. A monstrous machine was slowing down the metal rails that were on the ground, coming to a stop right in front of us. Edmund pressed a button and the door opened, signalling us all inside. Despite the nerves I felt at the foreign machine, we all stepped inside. At least I wasn't the only one who appeared hesitant. We followed into a compartment, surprisingly all of us fitting easily, and eyeing the local weirdly.
He simply muttered it would take too much time to explain, which silenced us all. One way or another I was getting it out of him. I jumped a little when it started moving but much to my delight I barely felt a thing. I looked out the window the entire time, shocked at the speed we were travelling. At some point, a man came to the door asking for tickets. We all followed Edmund's lead by showing the 'proof' of our residence. His eyes widened in surprise before nodding and leaving to go to another compartment.
We passed through what I assumed to be a few towns, the buildings surprising me. How advanced this world was still surprised me. An hour into the journey, Edmund pulled out a map of what I assumed to be London along with a pen. That was something I didn't find odd as we had similar devices to write with. From the concentrated expression he wore, I knew he was planning out our entrance in meticulous detail.
Slowly, I found myself finally relaxing. I wish there was a way to keep track of the time whilst in here so I had an idea of how long it would actually be. I guessed it to be approximately an hour and a half before I spotted Edmund standing up, letting us know we were coming into Leeds any minute. We were in a tunnel now and I won't lie by saying the darkness freaked me out a little. I was already extremely on edge considering this world was hundreds of years more advanced than my own.
I noticed we were beginning to slow down and a couple of minutes later we had stopped. Edmund gave us a small nod of his head that was our cue to get out. I had picked up that the doors did not remain open for long so we all rushed out. A lot of people had gotten off here but that wasn't surprising. He'd told me the population of Leeds was just under half-a-million which astounded me. The entire population of Narnia was around that so for that to be in one city was insane to me.
He led us up stairs which was a bit awkward for us considering the two heavy jugs we were carrying. I can't even remember what he said was in these, just that it was extremely flammable. I know from personal experience how helpful fire is in a revolution, so I made certain not to accidentally spill anything. My mouth fell open at the amount of people that were inside the building we were in, and I wasn't the only one. Luckily, we caught ourselves and pretended like this was all normal to us.
Although, on the sly I did look around. To my left were a bunch of signposts with what I assumed to be possible journeys, to my right were more platforms filled with people, and in front of me there were some odd looking gates. I let Edmund go first so I knew how to act in this situation. He showed that same residency thing as he had in the carriage and we all scrambled to get our own. The person who seemed to be checking everyone nodded at us and we were let through.
Edmund stopped to look at one of the signposts, assumedly looking for Manchester. He told a The next was leaving in a few minutes but there was another in less than an hour, so we decided then to get something to eat. He led us over to a bunch of tables and stated it would just be best to get sandwiches as it was likely we would have no idea what food you got here. Once again, he made sure to run the entire plan over with us, ensuring we knew exactly what we were doing. Mercy would not be accepted in this world in times like this, so it had to go perfect.
Even if it went perfect, it was still extremely risky. The journey to Manchester took just over an hour if my estimations were correct. From what I saw of the city when we were coming in, it was at least twice the size of Leeds. How big was London then? I didn't bother saying anything on this, knowing it would probably be best to keep quiet on something like this. It was beginning to get dark, and I knew it would most likely be nightfall by the time we arrive in Slough.
Once we were boarded at an interchange, he opened his map of the country and showed us exactly where we were and where we were headed. There had to be at least one-hundred miles between where we were currently and our destination. This country was huge compared to Narnia. I must've said this aloud because he snorted in amusement and stated this was one of the smallest countries in this world. A few of our entourage closed their eyes and fell asleep, but us who were still awake weren't speaking.
The thought of what we were willingly entering weighed heavy on us. Occasionally I glanced at the others, but mostly I analysed the map of the city which Edmund was now looking at again. I spotted a large black line directly splitting it in two, and I couldn't stop myself asking then.
"Oh, that's the Thames river. It almost splits the city perfectly in to a north side and a south side. Luckily it tends to stay as that but occasionally somebody does cross it. We won't be doing that. In fact, here."
He cut off and grabbed his own again, opening it up further to reveal what I assumed was the north-west. He didn't remove the lid, but used it to point out the areas we were going in through. Again, I was surprised with how many areas there were in the city. He'd scribbled an oval shape, one half on each side of the river, and he explained that was where rogues stayed. People who refused to retreat when the revolution began who remained above ground. He led us through the route we were going to be taking and I realised why he wanted to dedicate an entire day to get in to Finchley, it was going to take at least seven hours to get there if we weren't interrupted by anyone. Before I knew it, we were coming to a stop again and the ancient King gave us a stern look. A look we had all seen on numerous occasions but never imagined he would wear in his world. It was happening.
Tomorrow, we would be in the city and then there would be no escaping.