THE GENTLE

Disclaimer: Neither though I would like to think I owned Narnia, I can't because I don't like liars.

Author Note: Also I would like to explain why I'm writing this story. I know there are many Susan stories out there but they are always about the aftermath of The Last Battle, which Susan was treated very unfairly in (she is also my favourite character too!), so I decided to write Susan's story during the evacuation, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, sometime during the Golden Age and a little bit afterwards. Susan has always been one of my favourite child hood characters, I thought she was perfect (I was five for the record) beautiful, kind and a Queen! I have always wanted to write about her adventure and how she became Queen Susan, The Gentle. I'm very nervous about posting this story because I wanted to keep Susan in character as much as I can and I hope for those who are as fond of Susan as I' am, see that I have tried my hardest of keeping Susan and everyone else in character. Also in this story Susan is 13, Peter is 14, Edmund is 11 and Lucy is 10. Also I have found as much information as I can about what it was like for children during World War II so if it isn't completely accurate than I'm sorry but my grandfather who was in WW2 has passed on and I don't know anyone who is old enough to remember anything about WW2. Also this will follow some of the movie and some of the book.

Episode One: A Sister's Task

27 hours, 32 minutes and 14 seconds, that is how long it had been since the last bomb dropped. Susan hadn't been able to tear her eyes away from the clock, even as she sat in Math's, she still watched the clock. Susan figured that was the only thing left, time. Time to wait for that yellow telegram to arrive to tell them they had lost someone they love to the Germans, time to wonder like Susan did, wonder if everything is going to be OK or if it is always going to be like this. She hated it.

She suddenly jumped when she heard the loud ringing of the school bell, indicating it was finally time to go home and wait for the air raid signal to ring throughout the sky and spend yet another night in the shelter, listening to the bombs dropping.

"See you Susan," someone called out as Susan gathered her things, she merely nodded in acknowledgement and walked out of the classroom, scanning the hallway for her older brother Peter, but could not find him but, she figured he had gone with his friends, which sounded very unlike him since he usually waited for her and walked with her to wait for the 'bus'.

She slowly walked out into the burning rubble that was slowly becoming London, she hated seeing her city like this, like it was from a horrible nightmare that she couldn't awake from, she pitied that Lucy's innocence was slowly being devoured by this war, that Edmund's surliness was growing stronger by the passing day because of the absence of their father and Peter's temper sometimes getting the better of him, she felt it was her duty to keep everything realistic and optimistic.

"Su." She heard someone say as she felt a hand on her back, she turned and saw Peter standing next to her, she smiled sadly at him as he lead her over to their bus. Lucy and Edmund were already on the bus, Edmund was sitting at the back with his so called 'friends' no doubt and Lucy would be sitting by herself at the front, reading one of those fairy tales she was so keen about, Susan stopped reading them a long time ago.

Susan watched as Peter paid Bob, the bus driver, the two coins and walked to the centre where he always sat, Susan sat down next to Lucy, who smiled lightly at her. She offered to share her book with her but Susan shook her head and pulled out her English textbook and attempted to read that, instead of looking out the window at the depression that was Finchley.

"Mum said she had something to tell us at dinner," Lucy said suddenly snapping her book shut "I wonder what it is, what do you think it is?" She added. Susan shrugged, truth be told, she didn't want to think what it was. Lately nothing came as a shock, at first everything was a shock, from having to replace the friendly warm curtains with black ones to the first air raid but, now she took everything as if it was nothing important at all.

"Truth be told Lucy, I don't know, it may be a letter from father." Susan replied placing a comforting arm around Lucy, who smiled at the warmth of Susan's arm around her. They both suddenly jerked forward, Susan heard the groans of protest and sighed, she pulled her arm away from Lucy and gathered up her school things as did Lucy and her brothers, they all slowly headed towards the door, they had to wait for a few seconds until Bob managed to get the rusting doors open with a loud screech. Edmund cringed and scowled sourly at Bob, who merely shrugged and slammed the doors shut as they stepped off.

"Ed why must you be so unpleasant to everyone?" Peter asked as the four siblings started walking. Susan and Peter in the center, Edmund on Peter's side and Lucy on Susan's, this was how they walked everyday.

"I'm not, Bob is mean to me too! Why do you always blame me?" Edmund snapped back, Peter opened his mouth to retaliate but Susan hurriedly cut him off.

"He's not Edmund, he's was just wondering why you are mean to Bob, when he is very sweet to us."

Edmund mumbled an inaudible reply before storming ahead of the three siblings and rounding the corner. Susan tried her hardest not to shout at Peter, who already looked guilty about asking Edmund such a question 'it's not his fault, he was just asking a question and it's not Edmund's fault that he is snappy, he just misses father like all of us, Edmund was always the closest to father' Susan thought as they saw their humble Finchley home in the distance.

"Welcome home my dears!" Helen Pevensie greeted warmly as they walked into the front yard, she was waiting on the front step like she did everyday when they would return home from school. Lucy ran forward and embraced her mother tightly, Mrs. Pevensie hugged her back tightly and smiled at her other three children, all whom thought they were to old for their return hug.

"How was school?" She asked as they all walked in. Edmund shrugged and threw his book bag down before walking up the stairs, Susan flinched as heard the slamming of Peter and Edmund's door. She turned to the mother who didn't look exactly sure what to do.

"How about some afternoon tea?"

Susan nodded as did Peter and Lucy, they followed their mother into the kitchen and saw that she had already prepared sandwiches and milk for them. Lucy smiled gleefully and ran and sat down happily at the table, munching into the salad sandwich, Susan sat down next to Peter and bit nimbly into the sandwich.

"How was school?" Mrs. Pevensie as she sat at the head of the table, where their father use to sit 'I wish my commerce teacher hadn't gone to the war, than I wouldn't have to take domestic science.' Susan thought. Commerce had been one of her favourite subjects in school and had been crushed when she discovered her teacher would be going to fight in the beastly war.

"It was fine, except that Joyce Michaels got the ruler across the hand for passing notes, that was horrid!" Lucy replied after she swallowed a mouthful of sandwich, Susan shuddered also, she hated any form of violence and much preferred sorting out disagreements with negotiation, she detested the whole concept of violence.

"Susan?"

"It was fine, we had to cook in domestic science though," She replied looking up from her white china plate 'but of course I burnt it' she added silently and rather spitefully, she hated not being good at everything or in control.

"What about you Peter?" Lucy asked, noticing that Susan no longer wanted to talk, Peter shrugged before taking a swig of milk.

"Stop telling me what to do! Your not the boss of me!" Susan heard Edmund shouting at Peter. All Peter had gone to do was ask Edmund to join them for dinner and of course it had ended in an argument, Susan had offered to do it to avoid confrontation but Peter had insisted he could do it. Susan hated the fact that her family was being torn apart. Edmund and Peter constantly bickering with one another, Lucy becoming detached and rarely smiled anymore, their mother was always nervous and quiet, Susan hated the affect war had on everyone.

She jumped as she heard the slamming of the door and Peter storming down the stairs, Susan stared wide eyed at him. He walked into the living room and took a few deep breaths.

"Susan do you think you could talk to Edmund? He is being a down right evil brute to me," Peter asked calmly, Susan nodded and stood up, placing her English book in the seat she had been sitting in and headed up the stairs, taking a few deep breaths.

"Edmund?" She asked gently, knocking on the door.

"What?" Edmund asked angrily.

"Do you want to join us for some dinner? You must be hungry, you probably haven't eaten anything since Lunch time at school, will you join us?"

Susan stepped back as she heard the clicking of the lock and Edmund stepped out, the familiar scowl on his face. He nodded and walked past her, without saying a word to Susan. She smiled and followed him.

Susan watched awkwardly as her brothers glared at one another from across the dinner table, their mother eating quietly, Lucy numbly biting into a baby carrot and Susan not even touching her food.

"As three of you already know, I have some important news to tell you all," Helen started, her voice quiet and reserved "I'm sure you all know that in a few days time children are going to be evacuated to the country and-" She started to say but Peter abruptly cut her off.

"I'm not being evacuated, who will look after you?"

"Don't question me Peter!" She said, her voice sounding confident and stern "you are all going, I know you may not want to and would much rather stay here with me but, I know it is for the best of all of you and I know you all know that too!" She said before picking up her half eaten plate and walking over to the kitchen, Peter glared down at his plate and Edmund merely glared at his plate in a similar fashion, while Lucy look bewildered but all Susan could think was 'she's right!'.

Susan hurriedly ran up the stairs as she heardthe bombs starting to drop in the distance. She had almost screamed when she heard the dreaded air raid siren filling the room, she swung open the door, a flashlight poised tightly in her hand, she searched for the book she had been reading and found it. She hurriedly spun her torch around and saw Lucy, crying in bed and her hands covering her ears 'Lucy!' Susan thought.

"Lucy come on!" She said before grabbing her hand and hurriedly yanking her out of the bed and dragging her down the stairs, she saw her mother and brothers running towards the back door and hurriedly followed them, as she ran out into the night sky, she looked up and saw the light of the bombs being dropped onto her precious London.

"Hurry!" She screamed as they ran for the shelter, she suddenly heard Edmund shut.

"Wait, dad!" He tore back into the house, their mother turned around shocked as Peter shouted something back but, Susan was listening, all she was focused on was that glinting silver door, she hurriedly ran down and swung open the door.

"Come on!" She shouted above the loud bombs dropping, their mother turned, Lucy with her and lead them into the shelter. Susan and Lucy fell onto the bed, Lucy trembling as Susan cradled her lightly in her arms, their mother stood at the shelter door waiting for the boys to return.

Susan watched shocked as Peter pushed Edmund harshly onto the bed "Why can't you think about anyone but yourself? Your so selfish, you could have gotten us killed!" Peter shouted angrily, Lucy whimpered in Susan's arms and covered her mouth, while Susan looked on helplessly

"Stop it!" Their mother said to Peter before turning to Edmund and picking him up, hugging him gently and kissing him atop the head. Peter glared at him while Susan tried her hardest not to shake 'I have to be brave for Lucy!' she thought determinedly.

"Why can't you just do as your told?" Peter asked quietly before slamming the door shut. He, without another word, climbed onto the top bunk and climbed under the covers, Susan wanted nothing more than to pull him down and slap him for being so foolish and yelling at Edmund like that.

"Susan can you help Lucy get into bed?" Mrs. Pevensie asked quietly, Susan and stood up as did Lucy, she slowly prepared the bed for Lucy to climb into, sniffling quietly. She tucked her in comfortingly and brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and smiled warmly at her, fixing Charlie, so he rested in Lucy's arms 'it's my task to look after her, now and when we are in the country, that is what mother would want' Susan thought as she slowly took off her jacket and climbed into the bed next to Lucy.

Susan hadn't thought Edmund selfish at all for running to save their father, she had thought him brave and as she lay in bed, Lucy laying beside her, clutching Charlie, her stuffed dog tightly to her chest, Edmund was asleep on the bunk with his mother, clutching the photo of their father tightly to his chest, a frown on his face, Susan couldn't help but think 'what did we do to deserve this?'.

So what did you think? I gathered as much research as I could about life for children in World War II and found some very interesting things and I know this may seem a little rushed but trust me it isn't, only this part is, the rest will be nice and slow and long. This is my first attempt at tackling how Susan might have felt during everything, I don't know if she is out of character or not because I had to compare the Susan in the books and the Susan in the movies, which was a very difficult task and I combined them both a little and I can only hope you can see that.

Also this will follow the book and the movie! So some bits will be from the book and some will be from the movie and sometimes even combined, I really did love the movie and I love the book just as much, so I couldn't possible choose which one to follow which is why I decided to do both, I will also add in little moments that weren't in the book or in the movie, just from my mind.

Well that all from me, the second part should be out shortly and I hope you liked it ! Ciao Jess.