She'd had a hard day. Nothing was going her way; or so it seemed.

She had spent hours agonising over a single letter, her frustration building rapidly as she sat at a loss for how to start it.

Then there was Edmund, and Lucy, full of energy.

(Susan liked her alone time. She needed it. She craved it. She had to be able to switch off for an hour. Simply to read, and breath, and relax. This was even more crucial to the teenager maintaining a decent mood since her coronation. The endless duties and responsibilities of being High Queen of Narnia were taxing to say the least.)

Throughout the day, her younger siblings had made it impossible for her to get any peace. Then, when she had finally had enough of them disturbing her she didn't deal with it appropriately, much to Peter's dismay. She snapped at them, and they all noticed that her mood was worse than it had been for a long time.

At supper, things had only worsened. She had developed a headache. It pounded, relentless, in her head as the other three Pevensie children laughed and joked. She remained silent, offering little more than a few small, fake smiles and a grunt every now and then. When Peter had finally asked her what was wrong, she had snapped once again. With a raised voice, she'd exclaimed "Nothing, Peter! Can't I be left alone for A FEW MINUTES!?" Her hands had shot out in despair, and she as soon as she had finished her little outburst, she immediately closed them again, bringing one to her forehead and resting heavily on her dainty fingertips and sighing, "Sorry."

Peter and Edmund had raised their eyebrows high, their forks paused mid-air, as they turned their heads to Susan. Lucy's face displayed both fear and confusion, as she wondered what on earth had got into Susan to make her act this way.

"Susan." Peter's voice was firm and unnerving as he stood up from his chair. "Can I have a word with you in private, please?"

"Not right now, maybe later." She sighed. She was in no mood for a talk with Peter.

"It'll only take a second." Peter insisted. Susan, knowing he wouldn't give up, had quickly risen from her seat and dropped her napkin carelessly on the table.

The two had had a short conversation in the next room. Peter had informed Susan in no uncertain terms that she was to control herself and treat others with respect. If she was in a bad mood, she couldn't allow herself to let it affect others around her. Instead, he instructed, she was to talk to him about it or excuse herself until she could behave properly. He would not tolerate these kind of outbursts, even from her.

She had barely responded...simply nodding and catching his eye every so often. Her arms had been crossed across her chest, her lips jutted out ever so slightly and her face the picture of insubordination. Her leg shook and her heels tapped with impatience.

Although he never showed it, Peter was taking note of her body language. He saw this as a major portrayal of her disrespect for him, something he did not take kindly too. He knew he treated Susan as his equal. They acted as Mother and Father for their siblings and were a unified pair, most of the time. He began wondering if Susan needed his guidance like Lucy and Edmund did. Perhaps she wasn't so mature after all.

And so, he had finished his lecture with, "Su, I've never had to do this with you before so please don't let me have to do it again. I prefer for us to be on the same page, you and me. But right now, you're acting like a child, not a High Queen. Now, do you need to take ten minutes by yourself before rejoining us?"

Wanting to prove she was, in fact, NOT a child, and she was not going to be patronised, Susan replied, "No, thank you. I'm fine." Her eyes were full of defiance, her blood quietly boiling at being told off by Peter. She was not used to being reprimanded like this. Her and Peter were total equals, in her eyes. Embarrassment fuelled her anger. He had hurt her pride, and for that she wouldn't forgive him any time soon.

They had returned to the table, and Peter had initiated a simple conversation. Susan once again didn't contribute, which earned her multiple warning glances from her older brother. When she'd known he was watching, she had stabbed forcefully into a carrot and proceeded to put the fork between her teeth, pulling the food off in one rapid motion. She kept her eyes fixed on him the entire time. She could tell he was becoming more and more vexed, but she felt no reason to change her mood to please him. She was angry with him, for treating her like a kid, and wanted to let him know. He'd never disciplined her before, so of course Susan was unaware of the danger she was in. Their plates were cleared swiftly and the small talk continued between Peter, Edmund and Lucy.

Peter seemed alert and focused on the conversation, but inside his mind was racing. He couldn't understand why, after the conversation they'd had, she was still being so moody and childish. It didn't dawn on him that she was acting this way to anger him on purpose, as he wasn't used to being disobeyed.

Just then, a servant had entered the room carrying the siblings' desserts. Lucy stuck her head up, flashing a brilliant smile, as she tried to see what they were having. The servant bent down, pushing a plate onto the table gracefully. Suddenly, the plate being pushed towards Edmund had knocked into a glass. The glass had tipped, spilling juice across the table and into both Susan and Lucy's laps.

Susan had stood up, dramatically, sending her chair backwards and tipping it up.

"THIS DRESS IS NEW!" she shouted it. The servant winced and bowed their head. She immediately felt guilty, but her rage was still pulsing through her veins, and it seemed to take control. She stood, breathing heavily, fists clenched.

Lucy placed her hand tenderly on the servant's arm, and offered them a small smile. She couldn't stand Susan speaking to them in such a way and wanted desperately to cheer them up.

Peter rose up and jumped to the servant's defence. "It was an accident, Susan! What is wrong with you today? I am more than fed up of your foul mood. You CONTINUE to be rude and disrespectful, despite me speaking to you." He was seething. "Well...maybe, maybe you need to be spoken to again! Go upstairs, please. I'll be up shortly."

The scene strongly resembled common encounters which took place in the dining room. However, Susan and Lucy were usually the ones sat quietly at the table whilst Peter rebuked Edmund. Susan couldn't help but make this connection, and a wave of embarrassment had knocked her like a ton of bricks. Her younger siblings were watching her be scolded. What would they think of her now? They would surely lose respect for her after seeing her be treated the same way they were! Peter was dragging her down to their level.

"STOP PATRONISING ME, PETER! I will leave, but I will go where I please. I request that you leave me alone for the rest of the evening." She had headed for the door, but was caught firmly by the arm. "Take your hand OFF me." She'd fumed.

Peter's voice was quiet and deadly, "I will stop patronising you when you stop acting like a selfish child. Now...Go. Up. Stairs." His eyes sparkled with rage. The siblings had stared at each other intently, until Susan finally jerked her arm from his grip. She could feel the fear coming from her younger siblings, as they sat, speechless at the table. "NOW!" The children both jumped and winced as this.

"I don't want to have this argument here, Peter. You're scaring them." Susan spoke in a low, angry voice, throug gritted teeth.

"I'm scaring them?!" Peter couldn't believe his ears, she was the one scaring them, not him. "I don't want to do this here either, so don't make me. Go upstairs. We will continue this up there."

Finally, Susan gave in. She'd stomped from the dining room and marched up the stairs. She had planned to have it out with Peter, but didn't want to scare the younger ones any further. She'd decided she would wait until they were alone, and following his orders seemed to be the only way to get that.

She'd sat patiently on her bed, waiting for his arrival.


Again, please review or PM me if you enjoy it and I'll get to work on chapter 3!