Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own characters and plots. The original universe and everything in it belong to C. S. Lewis. All photos used of film characters belong to Walt Disney Pictures. The content I have written is fanfiction and its only purpose is to inspire creativity and to further immerse oneself in the universe C. S. Lewis has created.

"Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny."

- C.S. Lewis, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950)

Chapter 2 – Through the Wardrobe – September 1000 – Narnia

The following evening, after supper, Pippa was in the library alone reading one of her favourite novels by Charlotte Brontë; Jane Eyre. With a hot cup of tea in her hand and a warm shawl around her shoulders, she sat by the crackling fire reading about the great romance between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. She felt the need to be alone as the Pevensies currently weren't speaking to each other and Pippa simply hated confrontation and such nasty tension between family members.

A sudden wave of sadness washed over her as she thought of all the times she had fought with her brothers, and how after a fight they always raided their mother's kitchen for the sweetest snacks to share in secret. Now they were off fighting in the war whilst she was sitting by a warm fire doing nothing to help them. She felt so helpless and scared, and it was making her increasingly frustrated. As she started to tear up, she decided to quietly hum one of her favourite lullabies to calm herself down. She had learned from her mother that this was an effective way to calm oneself and others when one felt scared, sad or lonely.

Blow the wind, blow;

Swift and low;

Blow the wind o'er the ocean.

Breakers rolling to the coastline;

Bringing ships to harbour;

Gulls against the morning sunlight;

Flying off to freedom!

"You have a lovely voice." Pippa turned around in her chair startled, almost losing her grip on the handle of her teacup and spilling its content all over her dress. She wondered if Peter had been standing in the room for long.

"Oh, thank you." Pippa said shyly, blushing at his compliment.

"I really mean it though. Have you been singing for long?" Peter asked, sitting down in the chair opposite hers.

"Before the war I sang in a choir actually." Pippa responded quickly, not meeting his eyes out of embarrassment. Peter could tell he had made her uncomfortable.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." Peter said seriously. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped. I was just curious about you is all, because you haven't really said much, and Susan told me where I could find you." He rambled on, feeling quite embarrassed himself.

"I suppose I haven't really told you anything about myself, have I?" Pippa said to reassure Peter. She found that his nervousness made her even more uncomfortable than before.

"It's quite alright if you're shy! You don't have to." Peter said hurriedly, his concerned gaze making her blush furiously.

"I'm not really shy." She explained. "I just have a hard time making friends is all." Peter looked at her expecting her to enlighten the previous statement. "People think I'm odd." She clarified. "They think my family is odd too. Mostly because we cannot afford the best clothes, and because we spend a lot of time traveling. My parents are preachers." Pippa explained before pausing to take a sip of her tea. "Traveling to foreign countries makes one less English they think. Therefore, people prefer to talk about me behind my back rather than talk to me directly I suppose." Pippa avoided his gaze and fiddled with the hem of her dark blue dress to keep herself occupied.

"How does that make you odd?" Peter inquired curiously. "If anything, I'd say it makes you and your family an interesting bunch." Pippa sent him a peculiar look. "More so than any other boring, stiff, English snobby family I mean." He clarified.

"Like yours?" Pippa smiled teasingly. Peter surprised by her joke, let out a loud laugh and grinned at her. His smile made Pippa feel warm on the inside and encouraged her to continue their conversation.

"I honestly don't know how that makes anyone odd." Pippa admitted. "I have just gotten used to everyone whispering behind my back, so I suppose I don't really care to make friends anymore. But it's nice to meet people who don't know anything about me or my family. Makes one able to reinvent oneself, wouldn't you agree?"

Peter nodded. He was no stranger to wanting to be someone other than a boring, ordinary schoolboy from Finchley.

"Besides," Pippa continued. "I've never met anyone who share my interests."

After a moment of silence, Peter turned to her. "Tell me an interest of yours then."

"Well, I love to read." Pippa said, running a hand over the cover of the book in her lap.

"Me too!" Peter exclaimed enthusiastically. "See, there's something we have in common already!"

Pippa raised a questioning eyebrow, whilst smiling at his enthusiasm. "Really? You enjoy romance novels too?" She asked with a giggle, showing him the cover of her book.

"Weeell..." He drawled. "More like automobile magazines, really." He said seriously. Their eyes met in all seriousness, before their smiles grew wider and they both burst out laughing. After they had quieted down, Pippa settled more comfortably in her chair and adjusted her glasses.

"Well, it's your turn now." She declared. "Tell me more about you and your family."

A few days later, Pippa lay in bed. As she was trying to fall asleep, she thought of how she felt at ease after her chat with Peter in the library. She had learned a great deal about the Pevensie siblings from him, and she felt more confident than ever that her time with them would be enjoyable as she felt more relaxed in their company. Pippa had learned that she and the proud, know-it-all fifteen-year-old Susan both loved reading romance novels, studying geography and drinking a cup of chamomile tea before bed. She had also learned, after spending an afternoon with her and Lucy, that although Susan could appear snobbish and rude, she was quite sweet, and it was obvious how much she cared for her siblings.

Pippa's newfound confidence also had her try to approach Edmund a few days after her afternoon with the girls, but her attempts of starting a conversation were quickly rebuffed. Peter had told Pippa that the fights between the two of them had begun when the war broke out and their father was sent away. Pippa felt both sorry for Edmund and slightly annoyed at his childish ways to deal with the loss and pain. Then she had remembered that he was only thirteen and probably shared her feelings of helplessness because they were children and could do nothing but wait until the war was over. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small voice whispering from above her:

"Susan? Pippa? Are you awake?" Pippa kept her eyes closed. It was as if Lucy did not actually want to wake them, but only check to see if they were asleep. Pippa opened her eyes slightly and quickly put on her glasses to see Lucy slipping through the door with a lit candle in her hand, closing the door softly behind her. No doubt headed to the kitchen for a biscuit, Pippa assumed as much. She carefully removed her glasses and rolled over in her bed, breathing in the scent of the newly burned candle. She fell asleep not long after.

After what felt like mere minutes, Pippa was abruptly awoken by the slamming of the heavy wooden door in the boys' bedroom. In her barely awake state, she could hear the loud voice of an excited Lucy, as well as Peter's hushed voice. She groaned as she sat up, noticing how Susan had just gotten out of bed too, fastening her dressing gown and rushing out the door. Pippa flung herself out of bed and quickly dressed in her robe before following Susan.

"Oh, you've just been dreaming Lucy…" Pippa could hear the motherly, soothing tone in Susan's voice as she was trying to calm the excited Lucy. As she entered the room, she could see Lucy and Susan standing by Peter's bed with Edmund lurking in the corner. She adjusted her glasses to see more clearly.

"But I haven't!" Lucy exclaimed loudly, and Peter shushed her in an attempt to keep her from waking Mrs. Macready.

"I really haven't! I saw Mr. Tumnus again, only this time, Edmund went too!" Lucy yelled with a grin. All heads turned towards Edmund, who seemed to want to disappear on the spot. Pippa thought he suddenly looked very uncomfortable, as if he was about to tell a really big lie.

"You saw the faun?" Peter asked hesitantly. Everyone was looking at Edmund expectantly as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to find the words, before shaking his head firmly. Susan was about to speak up when Lucy interrupted her.

"Well, he didn't actually go to Mr. Tumnus' house with me, he…" She trailed off with a curious look on her face.

"Where did you go Edmund?" Lucy asked. Susan glanced at her little sister in despair. Edmund's sulky face suddenly perked up and he sent Lucy a very superior look, almost as if he was years and years older than her, and much smarter.

"I was only playing along. I'm sorry Peter, I shouldn't have encouraged her, but you know what little kids are like these days." Edmund said with a truly nasty smile on his face. What a mean bully, Pippa thought angrily.

"There's nothing in that wardrobe really. Lucy's only pretending to gain attention, and like all other small children, she doesn't know when to stop." Edmund stated.

Lucy grew awfully red in the face, burst out crying and ran out of the room as quickly as she could. Pippa didn't hesitate in following little Lucy and ran after her with Susan following closely. Peter stayed behind to scold Edmund loudly, his voice echoing through the corridors. When the girls finally caught up with Lucy she was still crying, but also hugging an old man with a very large white beard and moustache. A pair of small glasses, not unlike Pippa's own glasses, were resting on his nose. It was Professor Kirke, who they had met just three days earlier.

"I have had it with you children! One more shenanigan like this and you'll be sleeping in the stables!" Mrs. Macready yelled as she burst into the hallway looking very dishevelled. "Oh! Professor, I'm so sorry, I told them you were not to be disturbed, I told them many, many times…" Mrs. Macready apologised horrified.

"It's quite alright Mrs. Macready. I'm sure there's an explanation for this." The Professor reassured his housekeeper.

"Now, I do believe this young lady is in need of a cup of hot chocolate." He said, guiding Lucy into Mrs. Macready's waiting arms.

"You three." Professor Kirke pointed to the two older girls and Peter, who had just joined them after scolding Edmund. "In my office please."

Pippa, Susan and Peter were led from the hall by Professor Kirke and into his study. The room was larger than any office Pippa had ever seen before. The grey stone walls were decorated with tall bookshelves, paintings and tapestries woven in delicate patterns. All around the room were curious artefacts and trinkets of all sorts and sizes. There was a lit fire in the fireplace, and books, paper and ink splattered everywhere Pippa looked. She thought the Professor must have been up all night to make this kind of mess. The elderly man sat down behind his large, wooden desk and began stuffing his pipe. As he lit a match to his pipe to smoke his tobacco, Peter began to speak:

"We're terribly sorry for disturbing you Professor. I assure you it won't happen again." He grabbed Susan gently by her arm and began lightly pulling on her to lead her out of the room.

"Well, in any case you seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper. What say you in your defence?" The Professor replied sternly, but Pippa could see in his blue eyes, partially hidden by his shiny spectacles, that he wasn't angry at all.

"It's our sister sir, Lucy." Susan said quickly before Peter could pull her out of the room any further.

"The weeping girl?"

"Yes sir. She's upset." Susan explained, fiddling with her hands nervously. The Professor raised a bushy white eyebrow at her.

"Yes. Hence the weeping." The Professor commented dryly. Peter exchanged glances with Susan looking for support before turning towards Professor Kirke.

"It's nothing sir. We can handle it!" He said hastily, not wanting to involve the Professor any further.

"Oh yes, without question." Professor Kirke shot back sarcastically, a small smile playing in the corner of his lips. Susan glanced at Peter before she stepped closer to the Professor's desk.

"Our sister thinks she's found a magical land." Susan said with a tired voice. The Professor chuckled humorously.

"In the upstairs wardrobe." Pippa commented from her place beside Peter. The Professor stood abruptly from his brown leather chair and walked over to them with his eyes wide open in curiosity and disbelief.

"What did you say?" He asked intrigued. He led the Pevensies and Pippa over to a large leather sofa and sat down heavily in an armchair opposite them. The three children sat down; Pippa sat closest to the Professor with Susan next to her.

"Uh, well, Lucy thinks she's found a forest in the upstairs wardrobe. She won't stop going on about it." Peter said wearily. Professor Kirke studied the children closely.

"Well? What was it like?" He asked eagerly after Peter stopped talking.

"Like talking to a lunatic!" Susan exclaimed, looking at the Professor with her pleading bright blue eyes.

"No, no, no… Not her! The forest!" Professor Kirke said, almost slipping off the edge of his seat in eagerness.

"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asked bewildered as he exchanged looks with Susan and Pippa. "It doesn't make any sense whatsoever!" He continued, now convinced the Professor was pulling a prank on them.

"And logically it's impossible!" Susan said, her frustration evident in her voice. "Besides Edmund said they were only pretending."

"And Edmund is usually the more truthful one of those two?" The professor looked at each of the children in turn through his spectacles. The three children shook their heads.

"No?" Asked Professor Kirke. "Well then logically we must assume your sister Lucy is the one telling the truth. Unless you're telling me she's as mad as a hatter?" He asked in all seriousness. You're the one who's as mad as a hatter, thought Pippa to herself. She agreed with Susan that there was absolutely no way there could exist a forest in a wardrobe.

"Well, what are we to do then?" Pippa spoke quietly.

"My dear child, have you ever heard of behaving like a family? You could try protecting one another… Goodness me, what would your parents say?" Professor Kirke asked sternly as he studied the children once more. He leant back in his armchair, smoking his pipe before ushering them out of the door claiming it was time to get some more sleep. Pippa, Peter and Susan walked as quickly as they could back to their sleeping quarters, and thus they could speak in private.

"This is complete nonsense. The Professor must've lost his mind!" Susan declared as soon as they were back in the girls' bedroom. Lucy was still not back from the kitchens.

"Yes, I'll say so too!" Peter concurred. "So, we're agreed then?" Peter asked Susan. "We'll speak no more of it." Susan nodded in agreement.

"Speak no more of it?" Pippa asked confused. "But the Professor said-"

"No offence Pippa," Peter interrupted. "but this is a family matter. We'll handle it our way."

"Of course." Pippa said quickly, a familiar feeling spreading through her chest and in her stomach. The feeling of rejection. She understood that he meant well and had every right to tell her to stay out of their business, yet his words reminded her that the Pevensie siblings were not her family or her friends. She couldn't help but feel hurt and lonelier than ever.

"Well, it's time for bed now." Susan stated before she yawned loudly. They all bid each other goodnight and Peter left the room swiftly. The two young girls climbed into their own beds and moved around a bit to get comfortable. Pippa removed her glasses and turned off the paraffin lamp without saying another word, hoping that sleep would claim her quickly.

For the second time since they arrived at Professor Kirke's mansion, Pippa were avoiding the Pevensie siblings. It had only been a day since their chat with Professor Kirke, but everyone had been surprisingly quiet. Edmund was still walking around with a frown on his face, Lucy was still miserable after Edmund's nastiness and Pippa was trying to keep away from the siblings, not wanting to involve herself any further into their family matters. It bothered her that the only solution at hand was to keep away, but Peter and Susan had made it very clear to her that her opinions were unwanted. Come to think of it, what bothered her the most was the fact that she wasn't brave enough to speak up for herself when she felt mistreated. She had never had the courage to speak up; not to her classmates when they made fun of her and not to her brothers when they went off to war without even discussing the matter with her first.

After breakfast was spent in silence, Pippa once again retreated to the library. She knew she would not be disturbed there, seeing as the Pevensies were all outside enjoying the fresh air. She walked over to one of the large windows overlooking the garden and spotted Peter, Susan and Edmund playing a game of cricket. She could see clearly from where she stood that Susan was terrible at it. However, Pippa could also hear from their shouts and comments that despite their lack of skills, Susan and Peter were over-enthusiastic about the game. No doubt trying to cheer Lucy up. Evidently, they were failing miserably at it, as Lucy sat silently in the shade of a large tree, ignoring the game and trying to read. The expression on her face mirrored someone who had just eaten a bowl of sour lemon slices.

Pippa retreated to her armchair and her book. She was currently enjoying a chapter in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She had already read the book two times, but she never got tired of reading about the secret love affair between the beautiful Daisy Buchanan and the dashing millionaire Jay Gatsby. "She had caught a cold and it made her voice huskier and more charming than ever and Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor." Pippa read the passage in a whisper, tracing the words on the page with her index finger. Oh, to love someone the way Gatsby loved Daisy, Pippa thought dreamily, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the plush cushion of the armchair.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of glass being shattered into pieces, followed by the echoes of items crashing into each other and breaking apart. The sudden noise startled her. She threw her book away in an instant and ran out of the library as quick as she could, curious to see what had caused the disturbance. After exiting the library, she ran towards the dining hall when she saw the backs of the Pevensie children disappearing up a staircase and into a sitting room. Pippa followed them into the room and gasped when she too could see the damages the Pevensies were inspecting. There was glass everywhere from a broken window, a dismantled suit of armour, a cracked lamp and a cricket ball laying on the floor.

"What happened?" Pippa asked in horror. Susan opened her mouth to answer her question but was interrupted by the angry, high-pitched voice of Mrs. Macready.

"What on earth is going on up there?!"

"Run!" Peter shouted and hurried out of the room. Pippa followed him reluctantly, the other three following close behind. They ran up a small staircase, into a narrow hallway and entered a room full of stored antiques. Peter shut the door quietly and put a finger to his lips to shush his siblings and Pippa as they listened for Mrs. Macready's footsteps.

"Phew, I think we're safe for now." Edmund sighed in relief. Then they heard the scuffling of a pair of feet, and Mrs. Macready's heels creaking across the floorboard.

"Oh no!" Lucy squeaked. They burst out of the room and into the hallway once more looking for a new place to hide. They ran down another set of stairs and into yet another narrow hallway. Susan tried the first door, but it wouldn't move. Edmund had already pushed open the second door.

"Come on!" He said before entering the room. Pippa followed him with Peter, Susan and Lucy pushing on her back to hurry inside. As soon as Pippa stepped over the threshold her eyes widened at the sight of the great wooden wardrobe before her.

"Quick! There's nowhere else to hide!" Edmund said and climbed in.

"There's no way I'm going in there!" Susan protested.

"There's no time!" Peter said as the sound of footsteps came closer and closer. Lucy, Susan and Pippa all climbed in after a few seconds of doubt. There truly was nowhere else to hide now. Peter was the last to climb in. He held the door closed without shutting it as he listened for the sound of footsteps.

"Get back!" Peter whispered, trying to move away from the half-closed door of the wardrobe.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" Susan complained.

"Mothballs, no doubt." Pippa said, feeling the smoothness of fur against her hands and cheeks as she stumbled backwards.

"Ow! Get off my foot Edmund!" Lucy complained loudly.

"I'm not on your foot! And stop shoving me Peter!" Edmund protested.

"You're the one shoving!" Peter shouted. Pippa gasped in amazement, as she could feel something rougher than fur against her fingers. Was that sunlight coming from over there? She wondered.

"Oh, it's cold!" Susan said before tripping over Peter's feet. The two of them stumbled to the ground. "Oh!" She gasped. "I'm sitting against … a tree I think."

The five children moved further in-between the tree-branches until they all stood, knee-deep in snow, deep within a forest. Susan and Peter each took a few steps into the white landscape.

"Impossible..." Susan gasped. Pippa was without words as she too stepped further into the woods. She ran her hand down the bark of an evergreen pine tree before touching the cold, wet snow.

"Don't worry. It's just your imagination." Lucy said looking quite pleased. The three eldest children all turned to look at her, feeling horrible for not believing her.

"I don't suppose sorry quite covers it?" Peter asked with regret. Lucy smiled big.

"No, it doesn't." Lucy said rather seriously. "But this might!" She shouted happily, chucking a large clump of snow at Peter's face.

Peter, Susan and Pippa laughed and began to throw small amounts of snow at each other. Peter then threw his body at the branch of a spruce tree in an attempt to bury Lucy's petite body in snow but ended up burying Edmunds naked ankles and shins instead.

"Stop it!" Edmund complained loudly. He was just as cold as the rest of them in their thin woollen clothes.

"You little liar!" Peter accused. "You said Lucy was only pretending! You have to apologize to her, right this instant!" Peter demanded. Edmund said nothing, only shivered and pulled on the sleeves of his sweater. "Say you're sorry!" Peter demanded once more, much louder this time.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" Edmund called out in Lucy's direction. Lucy said nothing at first before smiling slyly.

"It's alright. I suppose I was only pretending to gain attention!" She said, mocking Edmund's false statement from the night before.

"Very funny." Edmund glared at his siblings, still freezing and feeling quite stupid for being called out on his lie.

"Well, what do we do now?" Susan asked. "Perhaps we ought to go back?" She suggested, not at all feeling comfortable in this strange new place.

"I say we ought to at least look around first." Pippa said. "We could pretend we are Arctic explorers." She added, looking at Lucy with a big smile that was returned by Lucy in full.

"Yes! And I would love for you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" Lucy beamed in excitement.

"Couldn't we go exploring somewhere else first?" Edmund said hopefully. "Perhaps over there, where the two mountains meet?"

"No, I think Lucy has earned the right to decide where we explore first!" Peter said dismissively.

Edmund rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

"Great! That's settled then!" Peter declared. He turned back and pulled a few coats off the pegs in the wardrobe and handed them out to the others. "Don't suppose the Professor minds us borrowing these for a while. After all, we're not really taking them out of the wardrobe."

TO BE CONTINUED.

Based on 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (1950) by C. S. Lewis.

Based on 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (2005) by C. S. Lewis (Andrew Adamson, Mark Johnson, Phillip Steuer, Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures).

Songs for this chapter:

First Trail – Kristoffer Beijer

The Stars Are Awakened – Kristoffer Beijer

Scottish Lullaby – From the Scottish Highlands

From Western Woods to Beaversdam – Harry Gregson-Williams

Peter Pevensie – Born 19th of January 1924 (16 years old)

Susan Pevensie – Born 2nd of June 1925 (15 years old)

Edmund Pevensie – Born 6th of March 1927 (13 years old)

Lucy Pevensie – Born 25th of December 1929 (10 years old, turning 11)

Philippa Copland – Born 7th of July 1924 (16 years old)