Instead…it was just the opposite. From the second the children woke up, it had done nothing but pour outside. Which meant they were all stuck inside with nothing to do.

After spending the morning trying to come up with ideas to pass the time, they finally all gathered in the common area.

Susan pulled a dictionary from one of the bookshelves and sat down on the couch. She opened the huge book to a random page and scanned it. "What language do you think 'merriment' is derived from?"

"I think that's…French?" Elaine guessed.

"No, it's German. Let's try another one."

This continued for at least an hour with each person trading off who found the word and who guessed its origin.

It didn't take very long for it to become extremely dull and repetitive.

Edmund took to fiddling with the bottom of one of the chairs, Lucy stared out the window as if she could make the rain stop if she looked at it long enough, and Elaine scanned the other bookshelves for absolutely anything more interesting than the dictionary.

"Gastrovascular," Susan read.

Peter leaned his head back and sighed.

"Come on, Peter. 'Gastrovascular'."

"Is it Latin?" he guessed.

"Yes."

Edmund came out from underneath the chair and smirked. "Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?"

Elaine and Peter laughed lightly. After all, he wasn't wrong.

Susan slammed the book closed.

"We could play hide-and-seek," Lucy offered with a smile.

"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said sarcastically.

"Come on, Peter, please! Pretty please?"

Elaine couldn't help but let out an amused scoff when she saw Lucy give him her best puppy-dog eyes. That girl had her brother wrapped around her little finger.

Peter smiled at his little sister. "One…two…three…four…"

"What?" Edmund groaned.

The eldest Pevensie stood up and covered his eyes as he faced a large cabinet. With a new game started, the other four children quickly got up and raced out of the room to find a place to hide.

After searching around for a few seconds, Elaine decided to hide behind one of the long curtains that was able to hide her feet. She listened as the numbers got higher and higher. Peter was certainly kind to give them to the count of 100. She would've only gone up to 50.

It was probably going to take Peter a while to find everyone. This place was enormous. Depending on the others' choices of hiding places, it might've taken her an hour to find each person.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Peter called.

Suddenly, Lucy's voice shouted eagerly, "It's all right! I'm back! I'm all right!"

Elaine frowned. If the girl was going to coerce them into playing hide-and-seek, the least she could do was actually play the game the way it was intended.

She could make out Peter say, "You know, I'm not sure you two have quite got the idea of this game."

Elaine abandoned her place behind the curtain and headed in the direction of the voices.

"Weren't you wondering where I was?" Lucy asked.

"That's the point!" Edmund said. "That's why he was seeking you!"

Susan came up behind Peter and joined the others. "Does this mean Elaine and I win?"

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore," Peter told them.

"I've been…gone for hours," Lucy frowned.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Come on! Let me show you!" She quickly led them back to the room she had just come from. "I found a spare room with a beautiful wardrobe in it. But it's not just any wardrobe. If you walk inside of it, there's an entire wood on the other side! It's called Narnia and it's been winter there for 100 years, but it's never Christmas. And I met a faun named Mr. Tumnus. He's really nice and he helped me when I was in trouble."

Elaine looked at the other Pevensies in disbelief. Did Lucy always come up with stuff like this? It was more creative than Elaine would expect from someone Lucy's age, she'd admit that, but she couldn't have finished their game of hide-and-seek first before creating another one?

Lucy excitedly opened the wardrobe's doors. "Here, see for yourself!"

Susan pulled back the coats, but she only saw the back side of the wardrobe. She quietly knocked on the wood while Edmund knocked on the other side of it.

"Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe," she said to her younger sister.

"One game at a time, Lu," Peter told her. "We don't all have your imagination."

The older Pevensies and Elaine all began to leave the room, but Lucy quickly pleaded, "But I wasn't imagining!"

"That's enough, Lucy," Susan gently scolded.

"I wouldn't lie about this!"

"Well, I believe you," Edmund said.

"You do?"

"Of course! Didn't I tell you about the football field in the bathroom cupboard?"

"Oh, will you just stop?" Peter demanded. "You just have to make everything worse, don't you?"

"It was just a joke!"

"When are you going to learn to grow up?"

"Shut up! You think you're Dad, but you're not!"

Edmund angrily stormed out of the room.

Susan turned to her brother and looked at him hardly. "Well, that was nicely handled."

She too left the room as Peter awkwardly stared after his two siblings.

"But…it really was there…" Lucy quietly insisted.

Peter looked at her sadly. "Susan's right, Lucy. That's enough."

The eldest boy slowly walked out of the room.

"You believe me, don't you, Elaine?" Lucy asked desperately before the girl could leave with the others.

Elaine turned back to the ten-year-old girl. What was she supposed to say? She wanted to let Lucy be a kid as much as she could and she wanted to be able to fuel her imagination, but from the look on Lucy's face, she didn't want Elaine to tell her that it was her imagination too. She desperately wanted—no, needed—someone to believe her.

Elaine didn't want to earn the ire of the other siblings by giving in to her bizarre fantasy and she had a feeling Lucy would be able to tell if she was just patronizing her.

"I…I like the idea of it," she said softly. "That there's another world we could go to that's better than this one. But…it's just not possible. I'm sorry, Lucy."

She finally left the room, feeling guilty for crushing the young girl's spirits. She could admit that she really wanted the whole magical wood in the wardrobe to exist, but aside from it being physically impossible, she'd run out of hope of things getting any better long ago.

When she reached the common area, Edmund was the only one inside.

He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, I suppose you're here to tell me how I make everything worse too, aren't you?"

Elaine crossed her arms. "Actually, I thought your joke was rather funny. The timing could've been a little better, but—"

"Because all I do is screw up, right?"

"No, you—"

"It's not like I asked for our father to go to war! I didn't ask to be sent away with siblings who hate me."

"They don't hate you, they just—"

"Oh, so you're defending them! Even after what you just saw for yourself! Even when you heard the way Peter talks to me! We shouldn't even have to be here! Dad wouldn't have made us go!"

"I know, I miss my parents too."

"Please, being an only child, they probably smother you. I bet you're all too happy to leave them!"

Elaine glared at him. "Do not talk about my parents like you know them."

"Don't assume that I miss mine! If they really loved me, they wouldn't have sent us away!"

Elaine felt a lump in her throat that she forced back. "Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you do, but at least I'm trying!"

"Trying? You've barely said a word since you got here. You think you're better than us, don't you?"

"No, it's not that, I just—"

"I don't care! You're not better than us! You're certainly not better than me!"

"And how exactly do you decide that?"

"If anyone makes things worse around here, it's you! Just do us all a favor and leave us alone!"

"Gladly!"

Mrs. Macready angrily strutted by the common area. "What did I say about shoutin' and runnin'? You're all carryin' on like this is a playground! Keep it down! I won't have you disturbin' the Professor!"

The elderly housekeeper continued on her way as Edmund stormed out of the common area.

Elaine clenched her jaw. Was she honestly supposed to stay in a house with a girl who was apparently hallucinating and a boy who liked to blame everyone else for his problems?

She knew she should've handled that conversation a lot better, especially since she was older, but she had never been great at keeping a level head in an argument. Her mother had always said that it would get her in trouble one of these days.

She didn't want to completely wreck every relationship she had hoped to make with each of the siblings, but she also wasn't sure she would be able to keep her temper under control if Edmund continued to treat her so poorly. And certainly not if he continued to disrespect her mother and father.

Couldn't he see that they were all struggling with the same situation?

For the remainder of the day, Elaine decided to read her father's book in the common area, hoping that reading something her father cherished would be enough to calm her down from her argument with Edmund.

She hardly noticed when Peter stepped inside the room until he sat down on the chair across from her.

Don't say anything, she thought to herself. He probably doesn't want to talk about it. You'll only make it worse.

"So…about earlier…" Peter started.

Elaine looked up from her book. Well, if he wanted to start the conversation, she wouldn't stop him.

She softly closed the book. "I know it's not my place, but don't you think you were a bit hard on your siblings? Maybe we could've just…indulged Lucy for a little while? What would've been the harm?"

"Lucy has to learn that she can't just do whatever she wants and expect all of us to follow her lead."

"I suppose, but what about Edmund? He was only making a joke. You didn't have to be so rough on him."

"But he's always doing that. He just says and does things without thinking. Back at home during one of the raids, he ran back inside just for a picture of our father. I like that picture too, but he almost got us both killed trying to get it."

"He's also only thirteen years old."

"That's old enough to know better."

"So you made perfect decisions all the time when you were thirteen?"

Peter looked at her hardly. "You've known my siblings for a day. Don't tell me how I'm supposed to look after them."

Elaine scoffed. "I was just trying to give you an objective opinion."

"Let me worry about my brother and sisters."

Elaine stood up from the chair. "You know, I agree with Edmund. You're trying so hard to be their father, but you're just not! They don't need you to be their father, they need you to be their brother."

Peter bolted up. "I am being their brother! You don't even have any siblings! You have no idea the position I'm in right now!"

"You're right, I don't, which is why it might be good to have someone else's point of view, someone who's not as close to the situation as you are."

"We don't need you!"

Elaine closed her mouth and picked up her book.

Peter realized what he had just said and sighed. "Elaine—"

"Right. Well, none of us want to be here, and I can see that I'm just interfering with things that aren't any of my business. So I think it would be best if you just stay with your family, and I'll stay with mine, and we'll just get through this separately."

She quietly exited the common area and returned to her bedroom.

Once there, it took all of her willpower to not slam the door. In frustration, she picked up her hairbrush and threw it at the opposite wall. Bitter tears stung her eyes.

She picked up the picture of her mother and father. "I'm sorry, Mum, I really did try. I just want to go home. I hate it here. Nothing makes any sense. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Elaine took a deep breath and looked at her mother's eyes filled with overwhelming happiness. What was it like to know that you were loved by someone in such a pure and beautiful way?

She could almost hear her mother saying, "It's been a day and a half, Elaine. Give it some more time."

She didn't want to give it more time. Why bother? It wasn't like things were going to change any time soon.

"The youngest girl, Lucy, said that she found a magical wood in the wardrobe here. As wonderful as that sounds, that's clearly impossible, but she just seemed like she whole-heartedly believed it was true. And when I didn't believe her, I felt guilty. What does that mean?"

Her body fell back onto the bed as the picture rested on her chest.

"Why did you have to send me away, Mum? Why did it have to be here?"

Some time in the middle of the night, Elaine heard loud shouting coming from Peter's room.

"Peter, Peter wake up! Peter, wake up! It's there! It's really there!"

Elaine groaned and tossed her pillow over her head.

"Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe, like I told you!"

Good to know Lucy was still going on about that.

"Oh, you've just been dreaming, Lucy," she heard Susan say.

"But I haven't! I saw Mr. Tumnus again! And this time, Edmund went too!"

That made Elaine sit up a little. Could it really be true? Was there actually a wood inside of the wardrobe somehow?

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Elaine put on her robe and slowly made her way to Peter and Edmund's bedroom.

"You…You saw the faun?" Peter asked.

"Well, he didn't actually go there with me," Lucy said. "He…What were you doing, Edmund?"

"I was just…playing along," Edmund said smugly. "I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her, but you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending."

Just as Elaine made it to the bedroom, Lucy burst out in tears and raced past her and down the hallway. She started after the girl, Peter and Susan close behind.

When they finally caught up with her, they stumbled upon a rather awkward sight. Lucy was hugging the Professor as he stood there with his arms out, not knowing what to do with the child latched onto him.

"You children are one shenanigan shy of sleepin' in the stables!" Mrs. Macready said as she furiously approached the group. She froze at the sight of the Professor and Lucy. "Professor. I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"It's all right, Mrs. Macready," the Professor said gently. "I'm sure there's an explanation. But first of all, I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate."

Mrs. Macready took Lucy from the Professor and led her in the direction of the kitchen. "Come along, dear."

The older ones tried to get back to their rooms, but the Professor cleared his throat, and they stopped.

"Come with me then," he said.

Peter and Susan followed the Professor, but Elaine figured that she wasn't part of their family so she didn't need to be part of this conversation.

However, when she turned to go back to her bedroom, the Professor firmly stated, "You too."

Elaine sighed and followed after Peter and Susan.

The Professor took all three of them to his office, and they awkwardly stood in front of his desk as he began to stuff his pipe.

"You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper," he said to them.

"We're very sorry sir," Peter said quickly. "It won't happen again."

He tried to pull Susan away, but Susan took her arm out of his grasp. "It's our sister, sir. Lucy."

"The weeping girl," the Professor stated.

"Yes, sir. She's upset."

"Hence the weeping."

"It's nothing," Peter insisted. "We can handle it!"

"Oh, I can see that."

Elaine decided right there that she rather liked the Professor.

"She thinks she's found a magical land," Susan explained. "In the upstairs wardrobe."

The Professor froze and looked at them curiously as he got up and came around his desk. "What did you say?"

"Um, the wardrobe upstairs," Peter said. "Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside."

The Professor led them over to his sofa and they sat down on it while he sat in the chair across from them. Elaine made sure to put some distance between her and the two siblings.

"She won't stop going on about it," Susan added.

"What was it like?" the Professor asked.

"Like talking to a lunatic!"

"No, no, no, not her. The forest!"

All six of their eyes widened at his words.

"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"You don't?"

"But of course not," Susan said. "I mean, logically, it's impossible."

"What do they teach in schools these days?" the Professor muttered.

"Edmund said they were only pretending," Peter told him.

"And he's usually the more truthful one, is he?"

"No…this would be the first time."

"Well, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically…we must assume she's telling the truth."

"You're saying that we should just believe her?"

"She's your sister, isn't she? You're her family and her friend. You might just try acting like one."

Elaine didn't know if she would consider herself Lucy's 'friend', though the girl was the Pevensie she disliked the least.

"I think it's now best you all get some sleep."

Peter and Susan slowly got up from the couch and exited the Professor's office.

"Wait just a moment," the Professor called before Elaine could leave as well.

Why did people keep calling her back at the last second right before she was free? Elaine reluctantly turned around as the Professor returned to his desk.

"You don't seem to enjoy it here, do you?" he asked with a small smile.

"With all due respect, sir, you don't exactly seem to want us here either."

"What makes you say that?"

"We've been here for two days now, and you haven't even shown yourself to us. If Lucy hadn't woken us all up, how long would it have been before we actually saw you?"

The Professor smiled somberly. "I've lived here alone for a long, long time. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not used to having guests, especially ones so young."

Elaine awkwardly looked at her feet.

"It would be in your best interest to try to get along with the people you're staying with, don't you agree?"

"I tried. But…they don't need me."

"It's only been a couple days. Who's to say it can't get better? Who's to say that it's not you who needs them?"

"I don't need them anymore than they need me."

"Usually, it's when we think we don't need people that we really need them the most."

"Professor, we've already decided that it's just best if we get through this separately. But…I appreciate your concern. Is it all right if I return to bed now?"

"Yes, of course."

Elaine turned to go.

"But child, things have a way of working themselves out. Just not always the way you expect."

The young girl froze in the doorway. Her heart panged painfully as she recalled her mother saying the same exact thing.

But he said it differently from her mother. He said it with a glimmer in his eyes as if he knew something she didn't.

She just wished she could believe it.