A/N: This is one of my shortest chapters, only about 1,400 words...but hey, I've been extremely busy! I almost didn't get this chapter out, but I decided not to sleep tonight! My future chapters should be at least 2,000 words, most likely more than that. I hope you enjoy this short bit!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC, Luna Pevensie, and her kitten, Stellaluna.

Chapter 4

Word Count: 1,671

Lucy and Luna stepped quietly out of the wardrobe, Edmund following closely behind. He stared at the back of Luna's head in confusion. He wondered why she hadn't said anything to Lucy; he could have sworn she had seen him being taken by the Queen, or the White Witch, whomever she was. That was the flash of red he had seen, right? Luna's vibrant hair? As he was sifting through his thoughts, Lucy skipped into Peter's room and jumped onto her older brother's blanket-covered form.

"Peter, Peter wake up! It's there, it's really there!" She exclaimed excitedly, bouncing and full of energy. Peter rolled over yawning, still half asleep.

"Lu, what are you going on about?" He asked, blinking his eyes open slowly.

"Narnia! It was in the wardrobe, just like I said!" Lucy replied in a matter-of-a-fact tone, before she jumped on the bed. Susan trudged in sleepily, joining the rest of her siblings.

"Oh Lucy, you must've been dreaming again." She sighed, rubbing at her eyes.

"No I wasn't, I saw Mr. Tumnus again!" Lucy pouted, "Oh, and this time Luna and Edmund were there too." Peter turned to his younger brother, who looked both embarrassed and shocked to be put on the spot..

"You saw the faun?" Edmund was about to speak when he was interrupted.

"Well, he didn't actually go there with me," Lucy explained, "Speaking of, what were you doing Edmund?" His two older siblings turned to stare at him with their eyebrows raised, awaiting a logical explanation. Luna stared silently at her feet. Edmund gulped, his dark eyes widening before thinking of a quick response.

"Um, well, you see...I was just playing along," Edmund sneered, "You know how children are, they don't know when to stop pretending." He sat down on the edge of Peter's bed, looking away guiltily when he saw Lucy starting to tear up. She let out a muffled sob and ran off, closely followed by Susan. Peter shoved Edmund onto the bed harshly and followed suit. Luna sat down beside Edmund, taking Stellaluna from her shoulder and stroking the small black kitten.

"Why did you lie to them?" She asked quietly, even though she already knew the answer. Edmund put his head in his hands and sighed.

"You know why. I didn't want to but-"

"But you didn't want them to know you got all friendly with the White Witch." Luna finished quietly. Stellaluna pawed at Edmund's hand and he took the hint and pet her gently. "They won't get mad, you didn't know that she wasn't who she said she was." Luna whispered into the feline's black fur. "It's not as if you were conspiring with her or anything."

"I just didn't want Lucy to be mad at me." Edmund sighed, trying his best to ignore the second part of his twin sister's response.

"Yeah, well how did that work out?" Luna scoffed, before getting up and leaving the room, Stellaluna hopping off Edmund's lap and waddling behind her.

Lucy ran through the hall, silent tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. She hit something soft and heard an "oof!". She looked up and saw the Professor smiling down at her, and she hugged his midriff tightly, her tears flowing even faster.

"You children are just one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stable- oh Professor!" Mrs. Macready was busy scolding the children for running in the halls when she witnessed Lucy bumping into the professor. "I told them you were not to be disturbed." She glared at the sobbing redhead and gave a slight bow of her head to the older man.

"Oh, it's alright Mrs. Macready - I'm sure there's a completely logical explanation, but I do believe that this little one-" He looked down at Lucy and smiled, a genuine smile, "Is in need of some hot chocolate."

"Yes, yes, of course sir, Professor, sir." Mrs. Macready stammered. She turned toward Lucy and slowly extended her wrinkled hand. "Come on, dear." She said an unusually gentle tone. The two headed down the spiral stairs towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, the Professor turned towards the two eldest Pevensies, clearing his throat when they turned away to leave. At the sudden noise, they swiveled back around to see the older man retreating to his office. They took the hint and followed him into his office. The Professor sat down at his desk and lit his pipe before speaking to Susan and Peter.

"You seem to have upset the internal balance of my housekeeper." The Professor spoke in a soothing tone, his eyes downcast at a silver ring on his right hand. Peter looked over to his sister and back at the Professor.

"We are very sorry sir, it won't happen again." He promised, trying his best to project the responsible father-figure he saw himself as.

"It's our sister, sir, Lucy." Susan wrung her hands nervously. Professor Kirke raised his eyebrow inquisitively, removing the sleek pipe from his mouth.

"The little one, the one who was weeping?"

"Yes sir," Susan nodded, glancing over at her brother, "She's very upset."

"But, we can handle it, of course." Peter blurted, kicking his sister's foot and receiving an angry glare.

"Oh, I can see that." The Professor murmured under his breath.

"You see," Susan began, "She thinks that she's found a magical land in the wardrobe upstairs." At this the Professor's eyes shot upward, and he peered into the dark blue eyes of the eldest Pevensie girl.

"What did you just say!?" The Pevensies took his tone as one of amusement and shock, rather than surprise and repressed joy.

"The wardrobe upstairs, Lucy believes she discovered a forest inside." Peter chuckled. The Professor leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. His expression changed from his normal, seriousness to an intrigued and almost childish excitement.

"Tell me, what was it like?" He inquired, taking a slow puff from his pipe.

"Like speaking to a lunatic!" Susan cried, looking at the man in bewilderment.

"No, not your sister," The Professor waved this off nonchalantly, "The forest, what was that like?" Susan and Peter looked at each other, amazed that this man seemed to believe the fantasies of their preteen sister.

"You- you aren't saying that you seriously believe her?" Peter asked, completely baffled.

"Well," The Professor stroked his graying beard in thought before meeting his gaze with that of the blonde Pevensie, "don't you?"

"Well, logically it couldn't possibly be there!" Susan practically shouted. She too was perplexed by what the Professor was insinuating.

"And," Peter added as an afterthought, "Edmund told us that they were only pretending!"

"And he's known for being the more truthful one, is he?" The Professor questioned cryptically, as though he already knew the answer to this.

"Well, no, err...this would be the first time…" Peter started to reply, only to be interrupted by the strange man sitting across from him.

"And did anyone else believe Lucy?"

"Well, Luna did say she saw it, and she didn't agree with Edmund when he said it was just a game…" Susan trailed off, her eyes growing wide.

"Well then, if your sister isn't lying, and she isn't mad, then logically the only explanation is that she is telling the truth. She is the truthful one, isn't she?" The Professor adjusted his spectacles and removed the pipe from his mouth. "You are family! It's high time you start acting like one!"

"Peter winds up and goes for the bowl!" The eldest Pevensie yelled enthusiastically while miming a dramatic pitch. The 3 eldest siblings had decided to get a breath of fresh air and ventured outside to play one of their favorite games. Currently they were enjoying a game of cricket. Peter released the ball, which rolled smoothly across the groomed grass before traveling up Edmund's leather shoe and hitting Edmund in the leg.

"Ow!" He grumbled, grabbing his sore shin. "Can't we just play hide and seek?" He pleaded.

"We all remember what happened last time." Peter muttered. Susan shot an icy glare at her older brother. "We could all use the fresh air." Edmund rolled his eyes and smacked his bat on the ground in the same matter as one would do to provoke a friend.

"Do your worst!" He shouted at Peter, the familiar smirk washing over his face once again. Peter wound up and pitched the ball as hard as he could. Edmund heard the crack of the bat when it made contact with the ball, and then a crash as a jagged hole appeared in one of the upstairs windows.

"Oh no!" Susan cried, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. The three siblings rushed upstairs to find shards of broken glass scattered on the windowsill and floor, as well as a fallen suit of armor that had been hit by the cricket ball.

"Well done, Ed!" Peter scolded. "Look what you've done!"

"You bowled it!" Edmund protested.

"Guys," Susan hissed, hearing the familiar footsteps, "Mrs. Macready is coming!"

"Run!" Peter whispered, following his sister and younger brother into the room closest to them. Edmund ran into the room and spied the wardrobe.

"Come on!" He opened the large wooden doors.

"You've got to be joking." Susan whined. Peter's impatience got the best of him, and he pushed the two inside, closing the wardrobe doors behind them with a slam. The children backed up, only to find there was no back, and in the darkness they tripped over each others' feet, falling backwards. The opened their eyes to see Lucy's bright blue eyes staring down at them, Luna helping her twin brother up to his feet. Susan and Peter looked around, Edmund already familiar with the mysterious land.

"Where...where are we?" The brunette asked shakily.

"Well, where do you think silly?" The two eldest Pevensie siblings turned to see Luna standing behind Lucy, her hands planted firmly on her hips. She smirked at them in an Edmund-like fashion before replying, "Narnia, of course."

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