Disclaimer: I am not C.S. Lewis and nothing in the Narnian world belongs to me.
The next couple of days found Airies sitting in front of the wardrobe, speaking to it and hoping that Aslan could hear her. She also continued her practice of influencing the wind. Some days were easier than others, in which she would be able to create wind storms with just a thought, and other days were much harder, leaving her frustrated and angry. Anali always said that the other elements would be harder to control, but this was getting ridiculous.
When she was not practicing, Airies spent her time with Lucy, telling her stories of Narnia. It was nice to be able to share her life with someone who was closer in age to herself. She and Lucy became fast friends, which did not make Lucy's siblings happy. Just yesterday, Peter had confronted her about Lucy.
"I don't appreciate you filling my sister's head with nonsense!" He shouted at her after cornering her after supper one evening. Airies had begun to take more of her meals with the rest of the house's occupants.
"Nonsense?" she scoffed.
"It isn't fair to her. It's hard enough already, with the move here. Once she realizes that this world, this Narnia, isn't real… I don't know what it will do to her."
He sounded so defeated, it made Airies feel quite bad.
"Peter, trust me, I know exactly what it feels like to go through what you're going through. We don't know each other, but please try and trust me. This is good for Lucy, to believe in something. And if you can't trust me, then trust Lucy. She's you're sister, right? You'refamily, so maybe you should try to be on her side rather than against her."
Something she said made Peter's facial features soften, and he backed away from her enough for her to slip past him and leave the dining room.
Airies walked through the house now, sulking a little. Lucy had told her of the White Witch and how it was always winter in Narnia now. Narnia was losing this war, and Airies felt incredibly guilty. She should be there fighting against the Witch. She had to get back there soon. As she was thinking this, she came across Edmund sitting alone in the room that he shared with Peter. He was sitting on the windowsill bench, staring out at the yard, and when Airies knocked on the door, asking his permission to come in, he did not even acknowledge her. She entered the room anyway, figuring that since he had trespassed on her once, that it was only fair that she do it to him.
"Edmund, are you alright?"
He was staring as if he was not seeing the yard in front of him, but something else entirely.
"You've been there too," Airies stated, not really sure herself as to how she knew that, but Edmund nodded in response.
"I lied to them. I followed Lucy. She was going into the wardrobe, and I followed her, thinking it would be funny to trap her. But there was no end, and I was… I… and then Lucy was exclaiming I had been there too, and I just… told Peter I was only playing along. I thought I was going crazy, and I got scared, and now Peter hates me."
He spoke as if he was a record player, the words flowing out of his mouth as if he really had no control over them. His hands were resting in his lap, and Airies felt a strange pull to take hold of them in her own. He seemed so lost, and she wanted to help him and be there for him. She had not felt this way in a long time, had not cared about anyone in a long time.
"It's just so hard," he continued, looking out the window, "having to be sent here away from my home, away from everything I know."
"Ed, believe me when I tell you that I know exactly how you feel. But at least you have your family," she told him.
"How could you possibly understand what I'm going through?" he spat, but Airies could not blame him for being rude. She was in exactly the same spot as he was.
"Because you and I, we're not so different. I've been away from my family much longer than you have, and I'm still not used to it. I had no one, I have no one. You have a brother and sisters who love you. Trust them, and everything will turn out alright."
"And what about you?" he asked, finally looking at her.
"You can have me too, if you want. Maybe we can help each other."
Edmund smiled at her. "I think that's good."
Later that day, Airies sat alone out in the grounds, reading under the shade of a tree. The rest of the Pevensies had been in the library, but one chose to join her now. Peter walked towards her and when she looked up he asked, "May I join you?" while motioning towards the ground.
"Oh, uh, sure."
"I wanted to ask you something," he stated once he made himself comfortable, and Airies nodded for him to continue. "Something you said yesterday stuck with me. It was something that the professor had said to me as well. Which leads me to ask, how long have you been here?"
"Three years," she answered.
"And what happened to your family?"
Airies slowly shut her book, and sat up straighter against the tree. "War," she said shortly.
Peter looked away from her and looked out over the hills. He was silent for quite a while, and Airies waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts.
"How do you manage?" he asked quietly.
Airies tried to chuckle but what came out was a scoff. "I don't."
Peter's composure lacked for just a moment before he wiped the emotion from his face. It was in that moment that Airies realized how alike they were. Both torn from their homes as their loved ones fought a fight that seemed impossible to win. It was not fair, to either of them, but especially not to Peter. He did not sign up for any of this.
"I wish I could say that it gets easier, because I know that's what you're looking for. But I can't lie to you. You don't deserve it. It doesn't get easier. But stick with your family, and together you will get through this and return home."
Peter just shook his head.
"I'm not ready for the responsibility of taking care of my siblings. I don't know what's right for them."
For the second time that day, Airies felt the urge to physically connect with someone, and this time she acted on it. She leaned forward and rested her hand against Peter's knee.
"Yes you do. Trust yourself, Peter. You are stronger than you think."
Hesitantly, Peter covered her hand in his.
"How do you know? You said it earlier, I don't know you and you don't know me."
"Call it women's intuition," she said with a smirk, to which Peter rolled his eyes. But despite that, he squeezed her hand briefly, letting her know that he appreciated it.
"Peter! Are you ready? We're all set up. Oh! Airies, we were going to play a game of cricket. Do you want to join?" Susan came running towards them, causing them to quickly jump back to their original seating positions.
"Oh, no thank you. But I'll see you all at dinner."
Airies returned to the house, and just as she made it up to the library, something came crashing through the window: a cricket ball. Judging by the shouts that she could hear from outside, it had been Edmund who hit the ball. Soon enough, four shouting voices paired with four siblings came running into the library.
"I didn't mean to!" Edmund shouted at Peter, who just threw his hands up and shook his head.
"The Macready will have your asses," Airies said, and not even seconds after they all heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Run!"
The four Pevensies and Airies all ran out of the library in a flash. They ran throughout the halls of the house, but it felt like wherever they turned, the Macready was right behind them. The children found themselves in the spare room before any of them knew what was happening. Edmund was the first one to go over to the wardrobe.
"Come on!" he shouted, gesturing towards the open door.
"You've got to be joking," Susan exclaimed, but Peter just pushed her towards the wardrobe. He made sure his siblings were all safely inside before he placed his hand on the small of Airies' back and led her inside. He kept the door slightly cracked, because it would not be sensible to shut them in a wardrobe completely, and pushed them all back as far as they could go… and then they kept on going until Peter was toppling out of the back of the wardrobe and into cold, wet, fluffy snow.
Peter scrambled to his feet and looked around. As he, Susan, Edmund and Lucy took in their surroundings, Airies moved away from them. She could not believe it. The realization that she had made it to Narnia, finally, was too much for her, and she was overcome by tears that brought her to her knees in the snow. A feeling of happiness spread throughout her body, and around her the wind picked up, sending the snow to gently drift around her in spirals.
She was home.