And so begins the third and final part of the story!
A small warning, this portion contains themes and depictions of abuse which could be upsetting for some people. Please read at your own discretion.
"Are you sure you're eighteen?" the army officer asked, looking up at Edmund skeptically.
"Why, do I look older?" Edmund returned with complete seriousness.
The officer curtly held out his hand, and Edmund handed him his National Registration Identity Card. When he saw the name written inside, the officer looked up at the boy in angry disbelief. "Alberta Scrubb?"
"That's a typographical error. It's supposed to be Albert A. Scrubb."
"Edmund."
Edmund automatically spun around at the sound of his real name, only then realizing his mistake and effectively ruining all of his chances of joining the military.
At the entrance to the building, his sister and his girlfriend stood with bags and boxes in their hands.
"You're supposed to be helping me and Eva with the groceries," Lucy said.
The two men in line behind Edmund started laughing, and the army officer handed back Edmund's Identity Card with a glare.
Edmund turned to leave the line.
The young man directly behind him playfully rubbed Edmund's head, which looked a little ridiculous because Edmund had a couple inches on him. "Better luck next time, eh, squirt?"
Edmund scowled at him as he straightened his hat and walked over to the two girls. He took the box from Lucy's hands, then the three of them exited the building.
"'Squirt'?" Edmund furiously demanded. "He barely had two years on me! I'm a king! I've fought wars and I've led armies!"
"Not in this world," Lucy told him as she and Eva loaded up the bags into the baskets on their bicycles while Edmund secured the box onto the back of his.
"Yeah, instead I'm stuck here, doing battle with Eustace Clarence Scrubb. If anyone so deserved a name."
"Haven't you already seen enough fighting for one lifetime?" Eva asked gently.
"I just wanted to help."
Eva knew what he really meant. He wanted the respect from his peers that he had already earned elsewhere.
Lucy glanced behind Edmund at a beautiful blonde girl only a year or two older than herself speaking with a young soldier. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the two of them rather fancied each other, even more so when the girl slowly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she softly giggled.
Lucy awkwardly tried to repeat the action.
"What are you doing?" Edmund asked.
Lucy quickly turned to Eva and Edmund and put her hand down. "Nothing. Come on then."
Eva looked behind her and smiled to herself when she realized what it was that had captured Lucy's attention.
"Are you coming or not?" Edmund teased, already a good distance ahead of her.
Eva hopped onto her bike and began pedaling after them. "Because you're so eager to get back home even knowing who is awaiting you?"
Edmund rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me."
It had been nearly two years since they had all returned from Narnia; Lucy and Edmund for the second time, Eva for the first. Peter and Elaine had since gone back to stay with the Professor. If he had still been in his mansion where they'd gone to live to get away from the war three years ago, they happily would've invited Lucy, Edmund, and Eva to come with them. As it was, the Professor was now living in a small cottage with an old friend of his and there simply wasn't room for more than four people.
Peter was studying with the Professor and preparing for final examinations, as he hoped to be an educator in the near future, while Elaine worked to help the war effort in any way she could. The Pevensies' mother and father had gone to America because their father had been invited to lecture at some of the universities for the whole of the summer. They'd taken Susan with them as they thought that she was the one who might benefit the most from the trip. Unable to afford taking the other children, Lucy and Edmund were now living with their aunt, uncle, and cousin for the moment. Fortunately, Eva's parents had allowed her to stay with a distant relative in the same area for the summer, but she was out visiting Edmund and Lucy more often than not.
Her relationship with Edmund, having started at the end of their last trip to Narnia, had only gotten stronger in the time that had passed, and just a few months ago, they'd both finally said the one word that changed everything: they had confessed that they loved each other.
Eva knew that many others her age threw around the word 'love' so easily that soon it didn't even mean anything anymore. And if she hadn't gone to Narnia, she probably would've been one of those people too. But they'd both taken their time to say it until they were sure. Eva missed him the second she left his side, even if they got angry with each other neither of them ever even considered ending the relationship, and every day they both helped each other to be better people. If that wasn't real love, then Eva didn't know what was.
Since they'd returned, Eva had learned of nearly every single detail that had happened on the Pevensies' first adventure to Narnia before she'd met them. She used her time now to prepare for the moment they would be called back again as she didn't want to be caught unprepared like last time. Aslan had promised that she would return, and now it was only a matter of when that would be.
"I'm home!" Lucy called as she stepped inside the door to their aunt and uncle's small house, Edmund and Eva coming in behind her.
The Scrubbs' housekeeper quickly came to the door and took the teenagers' coats from them. "Welcome back, Lucy, Edmund. Hello again, Eva."
"Hello, Elizabeth," Eva greeted.
The 21-year-old quickly put away the coats in the coat closet and then assisted them with bringing in their groceries. "I'm so sorry I couldn't go with you to the market today. Between dusting and changing the sheets and washing the dishes—"
"It's fine, I don't mind helping you out," Lucy smiled. She delivered one of the boxes to the kitchen, passing her uncle in the sitting room who was reading the newspaper. "Hello, Uncle Harold. I tried to find some carrots, but all they had were turnips again. Shall Elizabeth and I start making soup? Aunt Alberta's on her way home."
Her uncle only coughed in response and turned a page in the newspaper.
"Uncle Harold?"
Edmund looked at his uncle in disgust and stuck out his tongue.
"Father!" Eustace exclaimed from the middle of the steps. "Edmund's making faces at you!" Eustace held up a straw and shot a spitball at Edmund's neck.
"Why, you little…!" Edmund growled as he ran up the stairs towards Eustace.
"Father, he's gonna hit me!"
"Edmund, look!" Lucy exclaimed before Edmund had the chance to pound his cousin. She eagerly held up two letters. "They're from Elaine and Susan!"
Edmund, Eva, and Lucy quickly went up to Lucy's room to read the letters while Elizabeth went into the kitchen to start on supper.
Sitting on Lucy's bed, Lucy excitedly opened Elaine's letter first, addressed to all three of them. "'Peter and I send our best wishes. We miss you all dearly just as much as we miss Narnia. Now that we're both eighteen, we recently married privately at the local church, and we can now finally call ourselves husband and wife in public. We told our parents beforehand, and they were disappointed that we weren't having a large wedding that they could attend, but we couldn't tell them that we'd already had the wedding of the century and that nothing here could ever compare. They were hesitant about us marrying so young, but one look at us together told them that we knew what we were doing, and they are all very happy for us. We're hoping to be able to buy a small house of our own in the coming months. You must come visit us when you can. We want so much to see you again. You are constantly in our thoughts. We hope everything is all right over there, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. All our love, Peter and Elaine Pevensie'."
"I'm glad they're officially married here now," Eva remarked. "I can't imagine how difficult it was all this time to pretend that they weren't."
"Elaine's so lucky, isn't she?" Lucy sighed. "She's only eighteen, and she's already married to the love of her life."
"Read Susan's now!"
Lucy carefully opened Susan's letter and began to read. "'I do wish you were here with us. It's been such an adventure, but nothing like our times in Narnia. America is very exciting, except we never see Father. He works so very hard. I was invited to the British Consul's tea party this week by a naval officer who happens to be very handsome. I think he fancies me."
Edmund stood up and examined a painting of the ocean hanging in Lucy's room.
"It seems the Germans have made the crossing difficult right now. Times are hard. Mother hopes you both won't mind another few months in Cambridge'."
Edmund spun around in horror.
Lucy's face fell. "Another few months? How will we survive?"
"You're lucky," Edmund said as he once again sat down on the bed next to her to examine the letter. "At least you've got your own room. I'm stuck with Mullet Mouth."
Lucy sighed and slowly walked to the small mirror hanging on the wall. "Susan, Peter, and Elaine are the lucky ones. Off on adventures."
Edmund fell onto his back on the bed. "Yeah, they're the eldest, and we're the youngest. We don't matter as much."
"But remember, Peter, Elaine, and Susan don't get to return to Narnia," Eva said. "We do. I'd say we're the lucky ones."
Looking at herself in the mirror, Lucy tucked her hair behind her ear again. "Do you think I look anything like Susan?"
"I think you look like Lucy Pevensie which is exactly how it should be."
Edmund put down the letter and sighed. Then he stood up to examine the painting again. "Have either of you seen this ship before?"
Lucy turned and smiled. "Yes. It's very Narnian-looking, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Just another reminder that we're here and not there."
"There once were three orphans who wasted their time, believing in Narnian nursery rhymes," Eustace mocked as he stepped into the room.
"Please let me hit him," Edmund said, taking a step forward.
"No!" Lucy said as she and Eva put their hands on his arms.
"I will have you know, Eustace, that all of our parents are alive and well," Eva said sharply.
"Yes, but they all dumped you off here, didn't they?"
"Don't you ever knock?" Edmund demanded.
Eustace sat himself onto Lucy's bed. "It's my house. I'll do as I please. You're just guests." He looked over at Eva. "I don't even know why you're always here."
"Sometimes I don't either," Eva retorted. "I guess I just love Edmund more than I dislike you."
Elizabeth knocked on the door and stepped inside. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You're always interrupting something," Eustace grumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she sincerely apologized.
"Ignore him," Edmund told her. "Did you need something?"
"If it's not too much to ask, Lucy, I could really use your help making supper. It's getting late, and I'm worried that I won't be able to finish it all in time."
"Oh, so you need help doing what Father pays you to do?" Eustace asked. "Do it yourself, it's your job. Though maybe if someone else helped you, your cooking wouldn't taste so abysmal."
"Lay off, Eustace!" Edmund chided.
"She's not your housekeeper, she's mine, and I can treat her however I want."
"Just because she works for you doesn't mean you should act like she's your slave. You're constantly running her ragged with your selfish demands and then insulting her when she tries to complete them all!"
"Well, if she did anything right, I wouldn't have to keep ordering her around."
"I'd like you to see you do any better!"
"It's all right," Elizabeth said quickly. "My job as a housekeeper is to do what everyone in the house requires me to do, whatever that task may be."
"You shouldn't have to put up with him either way," Edmund told her.
"It's really okay."
"See? Even she agrees with me," Eustace declared.
Edmund glared at him. "Because you'd probably get her fired if she said anything else."
Eva couldn't help feeling somewhat prideful of Edmund's defense of Elizabeth. It wasn't fair that the sweetest and kindest woman she had ever met had to endure such harsh treatment from someone nearly ten years younger than her, but to Eva's constant surprise, it never seemed to truly bother her.
Lucy stared at the painting longingly. "Of course, I'll help you, Elizabeth. Just give me one more minute. I can't bring myself to look away."
"What's so fascinating about that picture anyway?" Eustace asked. "It's hideous."
"You won't see it from the other side of the door," Edmund replied, keeping his eyes on the painting.
"It looks like the water is actually moving," Lucy said dreamily in response to her cousin's question.
"What rubbish, see?" Eustace put in. "That's what happens when you read all those fanciful novels and fairy tales of yours."
"There once was a boy called Eustace, who read books full of facts that were useless," Edmund said, mimicking the way Eustace had rhymed earlier.
Lucy and Eva smiled at his joke.
"People who read fairy tales are always a sort that become a hideous burden to people like me, who read books with real information."
Edmund turned around furiously. "'Hideous burden'? I haven't seen you lift a finger since we've been here. You just make Elizabeth do everything!"
Seeing Edmund's rising anger, Eustace tried to exit the room, but Edmund quickly shut the door before he could. Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, partly because she needed to get back to work and partly because she really didn't want to be around for another one of Edmund and Eustace's fights. But she stopped herself and decided to just wait until they moved away from the door. In the end, it would just be easier. She'd learned that it was nearly impossible to get in between the two boys when they started arguing.
Lucy stepped closer to the painting. The water didn't just look like it was moving. It was moving.
A small trickle of foam poured out of the lower right corner.
"I have a right mind to tell your father it was you who stole Aunt Alberta's sweets," Edmund threatened.
"Liar!" Eustace exclaimed.
"Oh, really?"
"Edmund, Eva, the painting!" Lucy exclaimed.
Eva looked back at the painting and saw several trails of water trickling out of the frame as the water moved the ship closer and closer to them, and her hair blew away from her face with an ocean breeze. "Edmund!" she called.
"I found them under your bed," Edmund continued, not even hearing the two girls. "And you know what? I licked every one of them!"
"Ugh!" Eustace cried. "I'm infected with you!"
Water began pouring from the frame into the tiny bedroom. Lucy smiled with excitement.
"What's going on here?" Eustace asked frantically.
"Lucy, Eva do you think…" Edmund started.
"It's some kind of a trick!" Eustace panicked as he backed up towards the door. "Stop it or I'll tell Mother. Mother! Mother!"
The trickles of water turned into a wave, and Elizabeth's eyes widened in alarm.
Lucy, Edmund, and Eva just smiled at each other broadly.
"I'll just smash the rotten thing!" Eustace exclaimed. He rushed up to the painting and yanked it off the wall.
"No, Eustace! No!" Edmund yelled as the three of them tried to keep Eustace from destroying the painting.
"We can't stop it!" Lucy cried.
"Get off me! Get off!"
"Let go of it, Eustace! Put it down!"
"Get off it!"
"Let go!"
With water still pouring from the painting and with three people stopping his efforts, Eustace was unable to hang onto the frame. It fell from his hands and continued to engulf the entire room with water. By now, it was nearly up to their waists.
Elizabeth frantically waded towards the door and tried to turn the knob, but she found with horror that it wouldn't budge. She pounded on the door to try to alert Harold downstairs to come up and try to open it before they drowned, but she knew it was a useless effort. A bomb could go off outside and the man still wouldn't look up from his newspaper.
A strong current pulled everyone beneath the water, the objects inside the room floating all around them.
When the current lifted, they all swam up to the shining light above them.
Lucy was the first to break the surface. "Edmund!"
Edmund's head popped above the water and he gasped for breath. "Eva?"
Eva surfaced next to him. "Are we…?"
Eustace and Elizabeth came up at the same time, and to their shock, they were now in the middle of an ocean rather than inside a tiny bedroom in a tiny house.
"What's happening?" Eustace exclaimed. "Where are we?"
But there was no time for explanations because heading straight towards them was the gigantic ship from the painting. Not wanting to be crushed by the ship or captured by the people on it, everyone frantically began swimming as fast as they could in the opposite direction.
"Eustace, swim!" Lucy cried.
"What's going on?" he yelled again.
"Eustace, come on!"
"Come on, move!" Edmund yelled.
"Keep swimming!"
Several men dove off the side and started swimming towards them. Eva didn't know who they were or who the ship belonged to, but she did not want to consider what might happen to them if they were caught. Even if they truly were in Narnia again, not everyone was kind. They all had more than enough proof of that.
Lucy felt hands on her waist and prepared to fight back as best she could while treading water.
But then a very familiar voice said kindly, "It's all right! I've got you!"
Lucy turned around and smiled. "Caspian!"
"Lucy!"
"Edmund! Eva! It's Caspian!"
Edmund and Eva stopped their frantic swimming and looked back at the people who had dived off the ship.
"Who's Caspian?" Elizabeth asked.
"He's a friend," Eva smiled.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, we met him the last time we were here!"
Elizabeth decided now was not the time to ask how Edmund, Eva, and Lucy possibly knew someone from the world inside the painting or how they had somehow been to the place before.
A few of Caspian's men swam over to them. "It's all right, everyone," one of them said. "You're safe now."
"Are we in Narnia?" Edmund asked.
"Yes, you're in Narnia," Caspian laughed.
One of the men tried to assist Eustace over to the ship, but he just thrashed around and wailed, "I don't want to go! I want to go back to England! I'm going back to England!"
"Eustace!" Elizabeth called. "Just let him help you. It'll be all right."
"And how would you know?!"
"I won't let anyone hurt you, okay?"
"As if I would trust you!"
Another one of Caspian's men swam up next to Elizabeth. "Don't worry about him, miss. We'll get him up to the Dawn Treader eventually."
"The Dawn Treader?"
"The name of King Caspian's ship, of course!"
Not only did Lucy, Eva, and Edmund somehow know this man, but he was also a king?
"Allow me to help you."
Despite Elizabeth telling Eustace that it was okay for him to let the men help him, she still recoiled a little when the sailor reached for her.
The sailor just smiled kindly. "Don't worry, miss. You'll be safe on the Dawn Treader. I give you my word."
She supposed that if Edmund, Eva, and Lucy trusted these men, there was no reason for her not to as well. She took a breath and allowed the sailor to help her swim over to the ship. "What is your name?" she asked.
"Ryland, miss. Pleased to meet you."
When they made it to the side of the ship, two other men lowered what looked like a tiny wooden swing with two thick red ropes attached to its sides.
"Here you are now. Just position your feet onto the platform and then hold onto the rope." Ryland stood on the wood next to her and tightly clamped his hand around her waist. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Hold on."
The swing lifted into the air, and Ryland tightened his hold on her to keep her from falling off. Two other men on the ship used hooks to pull the platform in and allow the both of them to dismount safely onto the ship's deck.
Another sailor draped a thick blanket over Elizabeth's shoulders.
"Thank you," she said politely as she began to wring out her wet hair.
Meanwhile, Caspian and Lucy arrived on deck first, and one of the sailors wrapped a blanket around Lucy.
"That was thrilling!" Lucy exclaimed.
"How in the world did you end up here?" Caspian asked.
"I have no idea."
"Caspian!" Edmund called as he and Eva stepped on the deck.
Caspian turned and smiled broadly. He walked over to the both of them and draped a blanket around Edmund's neck while one of his men handed a blanket to Eva. "Edmund, Eva. It's great to see you two as well."
"We've missed you so much," Eva smiled.
"And I you."
"Didn't you call for us?" Lucy asked him.
"No. Not this time."
"Well, whatever the case, I'm just glad to be here," Edmund smiled.
"Me too!" Eva laughed.
That was when Elizabeth stepped onto the deck.
Caspian had heard tales of people falling in love at first sight, but he had never truly believed in it himself. At least, not until this moment. He wasn't sure if he could call the sudden flutter in his chest 'love', but he definitely felt something very strong and enamoring spark inside him upon laying eyes on their new arrival.
Elizabeth froze in the act of wringing out her strawberry-blonde hair when she caught Caspian's eyes. Now that they were both out of the ocean, she could see for herself that this land's king was a very attractive young man.
She nervously cleared her throat and broke eye contact with him.
Caspian stepped over to her. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance."
Elizabeth politely curtseyed before him. "My name is Elizabeth, Your Majesty."
Caspian bowed at the waist. "I am Caspian X. Welcome to Narnia."
A loud scream behind them alerted everyone that Eustace was now onboard the ship.
Elizabeth quickly turned around to see a large mouse perched on Eustace's chest.
"Now calm down, sir!" the mouse said calmly.
"Get that thing off me! Get that thing off me!" Eustace yelled, whacking the mouse away.
The mouse quickly composed himself and scurried away from the frantic boy.
Elizabeth whipped the blanket off her shoulders and rushed over to Eustace as he coughed up the water he'd accidentally swallowed. "It's okay! It's okay! I'm here! You're all right!"
"Get away from me!"
Eustace frantically pushed Elizabeth away from him, and she fell backwards onto the deck.
The men surrounding them took several steps forward, some of them looking ready to toss Eustace back overboard.
Ryland knelt down and helped Elizabeth stand back up before handing her her blanket again. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, thank you," she answered. "But I'm more concerned about him."
"If he's able to push both myself and a lady away when they're only trying to help, I'm sure he'll be fine," the mouse said curtly.
"Reepicheep!" Lucy exclaimed.
Reepicheep looked up and saw Lucy smiling at him. "Oh. Your Majesties, my Lady," he acknowledged as he bowed to Lucy, Edmund, and Eva.
That made Elizabeth stop short. 'Majesties'? 'Lady'?
"Hello, Reep," Edmund said. "What a pleasure."
"The pleasure is all mine, sir. But first, what to do about this…this hysterical interloper?"
Finished with his coughing spell, Eustace wildly pointed at the mouse. "That giant rat thing just tried to claw my face off!"
"I was merely trying to expel the water from your lungs, sir."
Eustace stood up in shock. "It talked! Did you see…? Did…did anyone just hear that? It just talked!"
"He always talks," one of Caspian's men said to him.
"Actually, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick," Caspian joked.
Reepicheep turned to him. "The moment there is nothing to be said, Your Highness, I promise you, I will not say it."
"I don't know what kind of prank this is, but I wanna wake up right now!" Eustace cried in hysterics.
"Perhaps we could throw him back?"
Lucy looked over at Edmund and Eva to find them looking at each other and seriously contemplating it. "Edmund! Eva!"
Eustace started crying and quickly strutted over to the other side of the ship. "I demand to know, just where in the blazes am I?"
"You're on the Dawn Treader," a minotaur answered. "The finest ship in Narnia's navy."
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open. She'd read stories about such creatures, but it was one thing to read about them and another thing entirely to see one in person.
The shock of seeing a minotaur in real life sent Eustace over the edge, and he passed out and fell to the deck. The crew members laughed, and even Elizabeth let out a tiny laugh and quickly put her hand to her mouth to hide her smile.
The minotaur turned to Caspian. "Was it something I said?"
"See to him, will you?" Caspian ordered with a smile.
"Your Majesty."
Caspian climbed up the steps that led to the helm and turned to address the ship. "Men, behold our castaways. Edmund the Just, Lucy the Valiant, High King and Queen of Narnia; Eva the Lion-Hearted, Lady of Narnia; and their friend, Miss Elizabeth."
All of the men, the two minotaurs, and the mouse got down onto one knee before their King, Queen, and Lady. Elizabeth looked around her and quickly curtseyed herself.
So not only had she been transported to some vastly different world where minotaurs existed and mice were capable of speech, but Lucy and Edmund were royalty and Eva was a noble here?
Suddenly, Elizabeth couldn't blame Eustace for fainting. Her head was spinning as well and she felt like she should sit down.
When everyone rose, she took a tiny step forward. "If it's all the same, Your Majesty, I would like to be the one to care for Eustace."
For a brief moment, Caspian looked surprised, like he couldn't possibly understand why she would volunteer to look after someone so incredibly disagreeable. But then he quickly composed himself and answered, "Very well. But I think we should get you into some dry clothing first."
It had never occurred to her that they might want her to change. She had just assumed that the blanket would be used to keep her warm until the clothing she currently had on was dry.
"I believe Cassia left behind some clothing from our last voyage together that she won't mind any of you borrowing. But I'm afraid there is only enough for two of you. One of you will have to borrow some clothing from one of our sailors. Edmund, you can have some of mine."
"Elizabeth and Eva can use Cassia's clothing," Lucy said. "It'll probably fit them better anyway."
Ryland stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I have some spare clothes and boots that should fit you well enough."
"That would be wonderful, thank you."
After Ryland had provided her with a vest, shirt, pants, and shoes, Caspian led Eva, Lucy, and Elizabeth into his personal quarters. "We'll put all of you ladies in here. There are two beds, one for me and one for Cassia, that you all may use."
"We can't kick you out of your own room!" Lucy insisted.
"The only other option is bunking with the men down below, and I would never allow for three young ladies to not have their privacy. I will set up a hammock below and join the others. Cassia's things are in the drawer underneath the bed. I'll allow you all a moment to change. Then Elizabeth, you may tend to Eustace in the lower quarters where Jemain is seeing to him now. Lucy, Eva, when you're finished, I would like all of us to meet in the Chart Room."
After retrieving some clothes for himself and Edmund, the young man left to allow the ladies to change out of their wet clothing.
Eva opened the drawer beneath the second bed and pulled out the two outfits Cassia had thankfully left behind. "Which one do you want, Elizabeth?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter to me," she answered. "I'm fine with either."
The little moment Caspian and Elizabeth had shared when she'd first set foot on the ship hadn't escaped Eva's notice, so she decided that she would give Elizabeth the more flattering skirt while she wore the breeches. Since she'd be the one to fight if the occasion called for it (which considering the Pevensies' history with Narnia, there was bound to be fighting at some point), it made sense for her to wear pants anyway.
Along with the black breeches, Cassia's outfit also contained a puffy long-sleeved green shirt with a black corset and black laced boots that nearly went up to her knees.
The other outfit was a long blue skirt with a three-quarter-length white shirt, a maroon corset, and a pair of dark brown boots.
After each of the girls had changed into their new outfits, their hair had mostly dried as well. Lucy tied her chestnut locks into a low ponytail hanging over her right shoulder, Eva tossed her black curls up into a high ponytail with a couple of loose pieces hanging around her face that weren't long enough to be tied back, and Elizabeth left her straight strawberry-blonde hair resting around her shoulders.
"I swear, Lucy," Eva remarked, "you can even make a man's uniform look fashionable."
"I feel a little ridiculous," she admitted.
"Don't be. Amazingly enough, it suits you." She turned to Elizabeth. "Are you sure you want to go look after Eustace instead of joining us in the Chart Room? We're not in England anymore. You don't owe him anything here."
"I'm sure," Elizabeth smiled. "As the only other person who hasn't been here before, he'll probably feel more comfortable being tended to by me instead of a minotaur."
"Even if that's true, he certainly won't thank you for it. The word 'thankful' isn't even in his vocabulary."
"I don't want to do it to be thanked. I want to do it because I know it's the right thing for me to do."
"You're too kind, Elizabeth."
"Well, admittedly, it will also allow me to have a few moments to process everything. Where exactly are we? Did we somehow travel into the world from inside the painting?"
"No, that was just a way to transport us here. You're in a land called Narnia."