Chapter 1: The Courtyard
A/N: So sorry, anyone who had alerts on this story, that it took so long, and that this is so short! Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement.
After a light breakfast, Lucy retreated to the upper courtyard. The sun was almost fully risen, but it had only just begun to reach over the courtyard walls, bathing the place in a rare, ethereal light. Pillows of autumnal fog hung low over the dewy grass, making Lucy's haunt look like a lonely fairyland. Lucy sat quietly on a bench, after spreading a blanket over it to protect herself from the seat's chill stone. Pulling a small book from her pocket, Lucy breathed in a stream of mossy air and sighed, content in her solitude. For a few hours, she was undisturbed, but eventually she heard soft footfalls upon the dirt walkway. It was Susan.
Lucy saw her coming and remembrance of her nightmare bubbled in her brain like a fountain of acid. She turned back to her book.
As Susan approached her younger sister, she hesitated slightly. Lucy had been unusually terse and distant at breakfast, even as Edmund delivered a hilarious account about his stay in Archenland; she'd avoided all conversation and eye contact, especially with Susan.
"Uh, Lucy," Susan finally began, "Aren't you going to get ready?"
"For what?"
Susan's eyebrows lifted. "For the ball tonight."
"Ball!" Lucy's book snapped shut as she quickly stood.
"Only the ball for the Queen of Terebinthia," Susan replied sarcastically. "How do you forget these things?"
"I don't care for balls." Lucy's words were clipped.
"I live for them," Susan giggled.
"I see that every day," Lucy muttered, and she started to wander into a cluster of trees.
"Well, see what you will, but I won't have you looking like a ruffian before the Terebinthans," Susan declared.
Lucy whipped around and faced her, one hand against a tree trunk. "Ruffian!"
"Just get ready as soon as you can, Lucy," Susan turned away impatiently and marched back inside.
Lucy stormed up a tree trunk and slumped in its branches, fuming. Unloveable ruffian.
"We'll see who the unloveable ruffian is, Su," she hissed.
