CH. 2 Good Bye, Maybe for Forever

We stood on the train-station and were taking good bye with Mrs. Pevensie. Around us there were many women with their kids, watching them as they got on the train. They were evacuating all kids from London under 18 years, and were just some of them.

I had no idea about how many was going, but I was glad Peter wasn't older than 17, or he should stay and go to the war with the rest of the men. I swallowed and saw at him. He wasn't looking at me, but his mother.

My thoughts went to Dad. I hadn't heard from him since that day he left, but that wasn't more than I expected. I knew that if he had died, I would have got to know. They would have send me a letter where it was written. I had heard from Susan that one of her friends got a letter like that.

I turned my attention back to the Pevensies.

"You need to keep this on, darling", Mrs. Pevensie said to Lucy as she secured her label. "All right?" Lucy didn't answer, but I didn't blame her. I could see she soon would begin to cry. "Are you warm enough?" Lucy only nodded. Mrs. Pevensie took her into a warm embrace and whispered: "Good girl."

Lucys eyes watered, but her mother did as if she didn't see it. Instead she reached a label to Susan, and then to Edmund who looked as if he didn't really care.

"The countryside is boring", he muttered.

"Boring and safe, Edmund", Susan replied.

"If Dad was here, he wouldn't make us go", Edmund continued arguing.

"If Dad was here, the war would've been over and we wouldn't have to go", Peter said, looking at his younger brother. I swallowed and thought again about my own Dad. What if he had been there? What if he did not go to the war? Would I then be standing here, missing him? Probably not.

"You will listen to your brother, will you Edmund?" Mrs. Pevensie interrupted something what could've turned out to be a bad arguing between the two brothers.

Edmund didn't answer, but after knowing him for twelve years, I had learned that as usually meant nothing but "yes".

I watched as Mrs. Pevensie gave first Edmund, and then Susan a warm hug. Then she turned to Peter. He was as high as her, but still there was something – not a young face – that made it possible to see he was still only a boy.

"Promise me you'll look after the others", Mrs. Pevensie whispered. "And Catharina too."

"I will, Mum", Peter only answered, and in his voice I could hear so many feelings that I couldn't even describe them.

I thought she would send us on the train, but she let go of Peter, looked around and spotted me standing a bit behind.

She took me into a warm embrace and held me. First I was only surprised, but then I laid my forehead on her shoulder and felt tears running down my cheeks. She held me until I stopped crying, and then patted me on my back and let me go.

She sighed.

"Well, off you go." We gathered our luggage, not very much, but still something, and walked toward the train. I didn't look at any of them, just followed my own feet. It felt as if something inside me just had broken into a billion pieces and could never be fixed again.

It was hard to think about, that just 24 hours earlier I had a home, a place to live, and a place to wait for Dad in, but now it was gone. During the night it was reached by a bomb, and when we woke up in the bomb-cellar that morning, it was nothing left but ruins.

First I only cried and cried, but then Peter suddenly found something on the ground outside the low gate. It was the wooden-box Dad gave me. When I got it back, my heart felt much lighter, and I had hugged Peter.

"Catty, come on!" I saw Susan waiting for me and I realized I had stopped. I hurried after her until we found Peter, Lucy and Edmund waiting outside a small compartment. It was empty.

"Where have you two been?" Peter asked with a worried look in his face.

"I was just waiting for Catty. We don't want to loose her, do we?" Susan replied and nearly pushed him into the compartment, then me and the two youngest Pevensies before she followed and closed the door behind her.

Peter helped his siblings putting their suitcases up on a shelf over the seats. I tried to put my own up on the shelf, but didn't reach up.

"Do you need help?" Peter asked. He didn't even wait for answer, just took my suitcase and lifted it up on the shelf. As he touched my hand, something went through me and I shivered.

I fell down into one of the seats, right beside the window. Peter sat down in front of me, but didn't look at me. What happened when he touched me? Why did I felt like I felt? I couldn't explain it.

With a small sigh I took up the wooden-box and saw at it. It wasn't big, in fact not bigger than my hand. Around the edges there was metal, and it was a keyhole on the front. The only problem was, Dad didn't give me the key. I had no idea if he had it or not, but I hadn't got it.

I saw up from it just as the train began to move. It rolled out from the station and I could see all the faces watching it, hoping the children inside would be safe from the bombs.

I swallowed when I saw Mrs. Pevensies face, searching for us. In some seconds our eyes met and I saw something that looked like a small smile on her lips. Then she was out of sight and we didn't know if we would see her again alive.

I lowered my head and saw down on the box. There was a small picture on the top, and even the picture was enough for me, though I still wanted to know what was inside the box.

The picture was of me and Dad when I started at school, and under it there was written three words.

My Little Princess.

I closed my eyes and tried not to cry, but by trying not to, it only got harder to hold them back.

The box slipped out of my fingers and a put my head in my hands, shaking with silent sobs. Someone laid an arm carefully around my shoulders and held me close, comforting me.

Slowly my sobs became sniffs, then my breath turned heavy and I fell asleep.

"Catty", someone whispered in my ear. "Catty, it's time to wake up." I groaned and turned over on my back with an arm over my eyes.

I heard someone giggle and moved my arm so I could see a bit. Over me I again saw Peters face. He was smiling.

"Come on, you've used my lap as a pillow long enough", he said, grinning down at me. Fast I sat up.

"S-sorry!" I stuttered. Susan and Lucy burst into laughter. I felt my cheeks grew warm. "Sorry", I whispered again.

"It's okay", Peter smiled. "You've been through a lot, and just to have said it, I would rather have you sleeping with your head in my lap than Susan or Lucy." The two girls stopped laughing.

"That means?" Susan asked with a dangerous tone in her voice.

"It only means, my dear sister, that you're turning in your sleep nearly every fifth minute!" I started to laugh, and so did he too. It felt good to laugh, but then my thoughts went to the war outside the train and I stopped.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked. Being only nine years old, she could sense much more than other children at her own age.

"I just thought about Dad", I muttered and looked out the window. The compartment became very silence when we all stopped laughing.

Soon the train stopped by the train-station where we were supposed to get off.

First I couldn't find my box, but then Lucy found it under one of the seats and I putted into my suitcase where it probably would be safe.

Edmund jumped over on the platform followed by Peter who held Lucys hand so she should not trip. Then Peter turned to Susan and reached out for her hand, just like a gentleman. When Susan was 'safe' at the platform, he turned to me. When I laid my hand in his, I felt it again, that feeling I had on the train when he helped me with my suitcase.

I took the last step, down on the platform, and the door closed behind me. Then the train rolled away and we was left on the train-station.

When I looked around, I saw that it didn't look much like a train-station at all. In fact it was just a platform besides a dirty road and a set of stairs at the side. There was two rusty benches and a sign where the name of the 'station' was written. I started to wonder what kind of crazy, old man was living here where it seemed so empty.

Not a very rich, I thought sarcastic. But on the other side, he had a housekeeper, so maybe he had a huge house somewhere on the countryside?

Totally silence fell over the platform as we watched the train disappear.

"I'm hungry", Lucy muttered, looking down at her own feet.

"Didn't you eat your lunch at the train?" Susan asked and saw at her younger sister.

"Only half of it. The rest I thought I might save for later, and then I forgot it in the compartment!" I could hear she again was close to begin crying, so I opened my suitcase and took up the only thing I had left of food. A small, red apple.

"Take this", I said and reached it to her. Lucy saw up at me. Then she took it.

"Thanks", she muttered before she sat down on the stairs and took a piece of the apple. I closed the suitcase with a small smile. There was again silence on the platform, only broke by Lucy eating the apple.

Suddenly I heard a car. Peters expression told me that he too heard it. We collected our suitcases and hurried down the stairs. The car only passed us, and the man sitting in it didn't even look at us.

"Maybe there is no Professor", Peter muttered.

"Or he could've got the wrong date." Susan gave him a look which clearly said: Don't say things like that when they're listening.

Clipp clopp, clipp clopp.

"Do you hear that?" I asked. "It sounds like a horse!"

"I can't believe an old Professor coming with a horse", Susan began when a white horse pulling a carriage. An old strict-looking woman saw down at us when the horse stopped. I swallowed.

"Mrs. Macready?" Peter asked and sounded quite uncertain.

"I'm afraid so", the woman only answered, considering us. I exchanged glances with Susan. "Is this all you've brought with you?" Mrs. Macready suddenly spoke.

"Yes, ma'am", Peter replied, though he now didn't sound as uncertain as before.

"Small favours", she remarked and gave a nod to the carriage. Peter lifted the suitcases up behind Mrs. Macready before he helped Lucy up. Edmund refused help, but it ended with Peter lifting him up. Then Susan was helped up, and again Peter reached for my hand.

I placed myself beside Edmund, but it wasn't much space, so I was squeezed between Peter and Edmund who did his best not to touch me too much.

We continued, mile after mile until we came to a small town.

"Now it's just two miles left", Mrs. Macready announced when we drove through the town. I sighed and closed my eyes in some seconds. It came a small bump and I fell backward, over the edge of the carriage. Strong arms held me around my waist and I winced in pain. In some seconds all went black. Then I was lifted back into the carriage.

"Catty, are you okay?" Susans voice was worried when she lent over me.

"I... I don't know", I gasped.

"Mrs. Macready", Peter said. "Catharina is hurt."

"It have to wait until we get to the home", she only answered.

I hope you like what I've written. I'm still working to get better, and would be very happy if you told me about things I could've done better.

Besides, this is the first FanFiction I'm writing, so again, I really, really hope you like it.