So how did you all like the last two chapters? I'm sorry it was so short. I'll try to make them longer in the future if I'm not too busy with school work and job. Please try and review though. I'm really happy to hear back from all of you.
Also I'm making this clear to everyone. I know Peter was younger in the books but I'm making him 16 in this story. Susan is 14, Edmund is 12, and Lucy is 10. I hope you all are okay with these changes
I was listening to "Beautiful Disaster" by Jon McLaughlin. Hope you all like it.
"Get up, girl. You have a lot of work to do today." A voice woke me from my slumber. Sitting up from my hunched over position on the desk, I manage to suppress a groan. My back was aching and my head felt dizzy. "Is it time to get up already?" I ask with a yawn.
Granny sighed at my lack of manners while prying open the shelter's doors. "Yes, it's time to get up. I need you to go to the local market and see if anyone is still open. I have a list. Try and be back by lunchtime." She said while handing me a small pouch on change. That was just like Granny, straight and to the point.
"But it's so early. Why can't I go near noon?" I say while tugging my shoes onto my feet.
"Don't complain, Joan. I would go but I have to make breakfast." Taking the money, I take one last look towards the children sleeping on the beds and floor. "I'll be back soon." I tell her while tucking the pouch in the pocket of my dress.
Granny nods while ushering me out the door. "Make sure to stay out of trouble, no talking to strangers and try to stay on the main road."
I made my way out of the stuffy shelter, shielding my eyes from the bright morning sun. 'Why does she have to worry so much? I'm not a child and can take care of myself perfectly fine.' I think, listening to the sound of birds nearby. Passing the orphanage, I make my way to the front of the building where I could properly see the damage of last night's bomb raid.
Debris from an apartment building covered the middle of the road, making it almost impossible for automobiles to get through. I could see a few of the soldiers running around while assessing the damage and checking to see if there were any casualties amongst the rubble. Things in London had become extremely difficult and complex.
"Ma'am, this area is closed off at the moment. You'll have to wait with the others or take an alternate route." A man says making me back away a few feet. Already there was a small group of people waiting to get past. "No, you don't understand. I need to get to the market." By the time everything was cleared up it would be noon. I couldn't afford to wait that long.
The market was near the center of London. It was made up of make-shirt shops that were put up and taken down each day by merchants. Most of the city relied on it for food and clothing while the war was taking place. Eventually the number of stalls began to decrease, as it had become more dangerous to sell things in the city.
"I'm sorry, Miss. You'll have to take an alternate route." Was his only reply.
Defeated, I slowly lower my arms to my side. Looking around, I tried to find a road that would lead me to where I wanted to go. My search proved unhelpful since all of the quickest ways were either blocked off or destroyed. The only way was through the alleyways which were almost completely destroyed from the bombs earlier this month.
Granny had practically forbidden me from going in there. The buildings were said to collapse any day now making it dangerous to travel through. 'Well what Granny doesn't know won't hurt her.' I think with a small smile while ducking into one of the nearby alleys behind me.
I could already hear the chatter of people and shouts from the soldiers start to fade away as I made my way deeper into the maze of alleyways. There was absolutely no turning back, knowing that I'd be found out by Granny if I did. This was harder than I thought. A lot of the debris and rubble blocked the way which resulted in me climbing over it or finding another way around it.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" I hear someone shout causing a feeling of panic to overcome me. I soon relax once I hear laughter coming from behind the remains of a wall.
"I really scared you, Joan." I roll my eyes when I see my friend emerge from their hiding place.
"Yeah, right. Don't do that again, Atticus." I say while lightly shoving him with my shoulder when I passed.
Atticus merely chuckled while jogging to catch up with me. "Heading to the market? That Granny of yours is a slave driver." He asked after noticing the list in my hand.
"She means well and yes, I am headed to the market. I just can't wait for this war to be over." I reply while pulling myself up onto the pile of rubble and remains of automobiles, Atticus following close behind.
"You're just a kid though. She should give you a break." He tries again, but he eventually saw that talking to me was a lost cause since I didn't respond. "Oh, you missed the other day. A couple of friends and I managed to give Mrs. Johnson a good scare."
This sparked a little of my interest. Mrs. Johnson was probably one of the toughest woman in London and it took a lot of effort to frighten her. She ran a profitable food stand at the market along with her husband and two children, Katherine and Derek.
"That's impressive. I was starting to think nothing could scare her." I say while swinging my legs over the side of an automobile to get down. Atticus laughed at this, a form of pride reflecting in his eyes. I shake my head as I continue on.
"You really should have been there. Henry and Blair were really looking forward to seeing you… we all were really." He added.
I sent him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Granny doesn't let me out of the building after dark. I'm assuming you went late?" The smile on Atticus's face answered my question.
"That's right. We waited till she was closing shop." I looked to Atticus, his eyes glazed over as if he was recalling the event. Some things never changed.
I start to run ahead before quickly glancing back at him. "C'mon, Atty, it'll take forever to get to the market at the pace you're going!" I yell, giggling as I see a smirk form on his face.
"Fine, then. Race you to the corner!" And so we started racing down the streets of London, laughing the whole way.
We had managed to get most of the shopping done within an hour, leaving us plenty of time to roam around the streets of London.
"So are you going to tell me what you're upset about?" I hear as Atticus matching his pace to mine, taking a bite out of the bread he had recently purchased at Freya's food cart. I looked into his eyes and saw that he was actually worried about me.
Letting out a deep sigh, I answer, "I can't take it anymore. I need to get out of here." I stopped walking to lean back against an iron gate, setting the bags I had received at the market near my feet. Atticus seemed confused by this, giving me an incredulous look, before copying my actions.
"You've tried to do that for years, Little Red. We've talked about this before." He answers, the mood turning serious from his tone.
"I can't let her keep me locked up forever." I say.
"I know that's what you want, Joan, but where would you go?" he asks.
"I have a friend who works in America. They write me letters telling me all sorts of amazing things. I want to go there someday. First, I need to get out of here." I say while kicking a rock into the middle of the cobblestone street.
Sighing, Atticus looked to the sky with an expression I couldn't read. "I've actually been thinking about leaving London, too. The war's getting worse and it's only a matter of time before they ship us off to live with some strangers."
This caused my eyes to slightly widen. "It wouldn't be so bad. I mean, at least we'll be out of London." I voice my thoughts.
"Like that's any better." I hear him mumble but decide to ignore it.
"Do you think you'd miss it?" I ask him. He gave me a puzzled look but didn't answer right away.
"Miss what, Red?" He asks, starting to use my old nickname from when I was younger.
"All of this. London, the people, and the times we spent here. Would you miss it?" I repeat myself. I started to fiddle with my necklace while waiting for an answer.
"Not particularity." He states. I look at him and instantly could tell that he was lying. I didn't question him about it, knowing he would feel abasement if I did. "What about you? Think you'd miss London?"
"Pass." I merely say smiling. Atticus laughed and set a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"You're by far the strangest girl I've ever met." He says, more to himself than me.
"As long as we're being honest with one another, you're probably the strangest looking boy I've ever met." I laugh when I get a good look at Atticus's face.
"Oh, shut up." We soon erupted into laughter, holding onto one another for support.
"Thanks for talking with me, Atty." I say, using his old nickname from me.
"It's fine. What are best friends for?" This caused me to smile. He then gave me a large grin while pushing himself off of the gate.
"We better get you home, Red. Who knows what your grandmother will do to you if you're late." He says, picking up a few of the bags off the ground before we started walking back to the orphanage.
"I'm sure she won't mind."
"Where have you been, girl?" Granny yells as soon as I enter the house.
I roll my eyes before replying, "It's okay, Granny. I'm just a few minutes late. I was walking with Atticus. He helped me get through the alleys -"
"You were with that troublemaker again? I told you not to go near him and you disobeyed my orders. I told you to stay on the main road!" She says. I watch as she points her finger accusingly at me, a disappointed look in her eyes.
"He's my best friend. Also the road was blocked off, there was no other way." I say simply, walking over to the wooden table to set down the food and supplies. It had been awhile since Granny had been this upset with me. 'When will she see that I'm capable of doing things on my own?'
"Well, you could have come back home and told me." Was her reply.
"It doesn't really matter what I do because either way you'll just end up yelling at me again. I'm back home, isn't that all that matters?" I ask while pulling out the food I had bought at the market, setting the ration books on the table.
Just as Granny was about to reply, a knock came from the door. She let out a deep sigh before giving me a stern look. "We'll talk about this later." She says before leaving to answer the door. Her temporary absence gave me time to think. I let out a slight noise of frustration before slowing my pace as I continued to unpack the food.
'Try and stay calm, Joan. Fighting won't get us anywhere.' A small voice in my head tells me. I never really liked fighting, even if it was over something silly. I was brought out of my thoughts when Granny entered the room again.
"What happened? Who was at the door?" I ask suddenly concerned when I see the look in Granny's eyes. She didn't answer as she hauled herself to the table and finally collapsed in one of the wooden chairs. I became extremely worried after seeing this.
"Granny, who was at the door?" my voice was slightly raised as I pleaded for her to tell me what was going on.
"Those were a couple of soldiers. They told me that you and the children would be evacuated tomorrow morning." She informs me. I didn't know what to say.
"Where will I be going?" I ask calmly, straightening my posture.
"You'll be staying with an old friend of mine, Professor Kirke. He lives in the country and you should be safe there. You'll be leaving on the train tomorrow with the rest of the children. You best pack your bags before bed. I'll be going up shortly to tell the others." She says giving me a tired glance.
I nod slowly, our argument forgotten, and make my way to the stairs. As soon as I left the kitchen I could have sworn I heard the sound of faint sobs. It made me feel guilty about fighting with her in the first place, she was only looking out for my well-being.
Knowing that I couldn't change the past, I make my way up to my room.
This chapter was a little longer than the first. I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way since I had already started on it this morning. I'll try and update soon but I expect to see reviews soon. I think next chapter I'll have Joan meet the Pevensies.