Disclaimer: Narnia, Susan, and anything you recognize belong to C.S. Lewis.
o
o
o
Susan found herself underneath a giant daffodil. That was strange enough, but, not only was it a twenty-foot flower, it was a twenty-foot flower with steps cut into it.
She knew this wasn't Narnia, so there was no reason to stay long. It was getting dark. She began to switch rings, but something stopped her. She heard voices.
A little girl's voice, coming from the huge blossom overhead, begged, "Please, please read us a story, Daddy! Please."
"All right, sweetheart. Gather round, children. What chapter were we on?"
"Chapter twelve, Daddy! You know that!" chorused five or six small voices.
The man's voice began to read, probably from some children's book, but Susan had stopped listening. She had decided that these people sounded normal enough, and that she would ask them where she was.
Of course, to talk to them, she had to find them. She started up the narrow, winding steps that twisted around the stem of the daffodil.
It took a good deal longer than she expected. "I'm too old for this," Susan panted, as she reached a sort of landing at the back of the blossom. There was now only a short, straight flight of stairs between her and a yellow curtain, which seemed to be where the voices were coming from. She sat down to rest.
Almost unwillingly, she began to listen to the story. Something about it had been bothering her, but she had been too busy climbing to hear any of it. What she heard now both shocked and saddened her.
" 'Sir,' said Tirian, when he had greeted all these. 'If I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?' "
Where was Queen Susan? Susan wanted to know, too. She had buried Queen Susan so deep, she was not sure she could find her again.
" 'My sister Susan,' answered Peter shortly and gravely, 'is no longer a friend of Narnia.' "
Narnia. She had forgotten Narnia, and Aslan. That's what she had been missing all these years...
" 'Yes,' said Eustace, 'and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says, 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.' ' "
Funny games? Was the Stone Table a "funny game?" Was the Battle of Beruna? Peter's duel with Miraz? How could she have said that?
" 'Oh Susan!' said Jill. 'She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up.' "
Nylons and lipstick. What was that in exchange for Narnia? For her relationship with her family? Susan realized that she had paid too high a price to be "grown-up."
" 'Grown-up, indeed,' said the Lady Polly. 'I wish she would grow up. She's wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can.' "
Susan was beginning to feel horribly guilty.
" 'Well, don't let's talk about that now,' said Peter. 'Look! Here are lovely fruit-trees. Let us taste them.'
"And then, for the first time, Tirian looked about him and realized how very queer this adventure was."
And Susan realized how very queer her adventure was. She was in some unknown world, where nothing should be familiar, yet here was someone reading about people she knew talking about her. She stood up and climbed the short flight of steps.
"The chapter's over, children. It's time for bed," said a woman's voice.
"Oh, Mama, can't we stay up and hear one more chapter? Please?" begged one of the children.
The man's voice laughed. "I want everyone in their hammocks by the time I'm done counting, or I won't read any more tomorrow night, either. One. Two. Three. Four..."
There was a scramble of small feet, and then the sound of ropes creaking as the children tumbled into their hammocks.
Susan looked for a place to knock. She couldn't just walk into these people's home, but neither the curtain nor the wall looked solid enough to make much sound. "Hello?" she called nervously.
The woman's voice answered her. "Come in."
Susan opened the curtain and stepped through.
o
o
o
Further Disclaimer: The "bedtime story" was taken directly from chapter 12 of The Last Battle. The giant daffodil belongs to me, or rather to the people I made up.
o
animegirl-mika and fledge: You can see that I've got some ideas of my own. Whether they are good or bad remains to be seen, but I think I'll use them first, since I already have most of the story planned out. Thank you both for the suggestions, anyway. Susan can't use the rings to get to Narnia, since the Narnia she is thinking about has been destroyed. (The first dry pool was Charn. The second was Narnia.)