Chapter Four

Hey guys thank you for my first two reviews on the story on this story. Thank you particularly to Moonlight Willows for her lovely review. if you have read me stories regularly you know try to post at least once a week. Unfortunately last week I was very late in posting because I sent in my first draft of my PhD (very exciting!) and my tutor claimed she hadn't seen it which sent me into major panic that I'd missed a deadline before she got back to me saying it had been put in the wrong pile. I do apologise but unfortunately sometimes my writing does come second and that was one of those weeks. Therefore I'm posting one day early this week. Please review and as always enjoy

Love C.J.

Victoria found herself sat on the edge of the large bed in her room. She first felt her neck for the necklace but it wasn't there. She looked wildly around the room before reaching for the brown paper searching it for any sign for where it had come from: there was none.

She widened her search for anything, her shoes she'd kicked off in anger upon entering the room, her half unpacked bag, the now cold cup of tea sat upon the beside table and a pile of books on her dresser. Nothing had changed from when she'd left the room nearly half an hour earlier.

"Hello Victoria." Lehzen opened the door with a tray in her hands.

"Lehzen!" Victoria cried out "I'm so happy to see you how long have I been gone? Have you looked for me?"

"What do you mean?" Lehzen asked her brow furrowed in confusion as she sat the tray on Victoria's crowded dresser. "You came into the room less than a minute ago. I saw you walk up the stairs."

"Yes, of course erm I must have looked at the clock wrong."

"Are you ok?" Lehzen asked her face and voice a mask of worry.

"I'm fine."

"Ok," Lehzen nodded unconvinced. "There is some chicken sandwiches on the tray, best I could do I'm afraid Cook let me pillage them she thinks they're for a cat."

"Thank you Lehzen." Victoria smiled weakly.

"I have to get back to the kitchen, are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes I'm fine don't worry about me."

"Ok." Lehzen replied her voice betraying the fact she wasn't entirely convinced. She shut the door behind her. Victoria hadn't eaten since breakfast at school that morning but she wasn't hungry. Her entire mind was consumed with the questions that now buzzed around it.

"How could Lehzen think I had only been gone a minute? I wasn't. I know I wasn't," she repeated. She turned around to look at the brown paper and the red jewellery box. Laying back on the bed she began to think.

"Vic," came a knock on her door hours later. Henry entered the room without being invited in.

"I've managed to smuggle you some..." He tailed off his sister was sat on her bed with staring at the small red jewellery box as though it held all the answers to the questions of the world. "Victoria?" He asked concerned "Are you ok?" She looked up.

"Oh hello Henry how was dinner?"

"Fine," he dismissed the question. "What are you doing?" She didn't asked for a second.

"Do you promise to believe me whatever I tell you?" Henry was now at the age where he was skeptical of tricks.

"No," he scoffed.

"Henry this is serious," Victoria snapped. "You have to believe me."

"In what?" He asked angry at her rebuttal.

"I have been out of this world."

"What do you mean?" His voice mellowed a little as curiosity crept in.

"I have been somewhere where kings still live in castles and are guarded by knights."

"The past?" Henry asked.

"No somewhere called Narnia, but I can't find it on any map and I think I got there by magic."

"Vic you've only been in this room for a couple of hours."

"I know but Lehzen came up to bring some food. She said she walked up the stairs behind me but I was gone for nearly half an hour I think."

"So time moves differently too?" Henry asked.

"I don't know."

"How did you get there?" Henry asked.

"Magic, I think. I put on this necklace and found myself there."

"Can I see it?" Henry asked excitedly.

"No," Victoria said crestfallen. "I was wearing it but someone took it whilst I was there."

"Really?' Henry asked his voice becoming sceptical.

"Henry it happened you know I don't make things up."

"You've got to admit Victoria it is rather convenient."

"Henry don't speak to me like this."

"You're not mother." Henry shouted running from the room.

"Brilliant." Victoria said to the empty room "just brilliant."

Henry stomped back to his room, if he hadn't been at Great Aunt Ursula's he would have slammed the door. But as it was even in his rage he could see what problems that would cause. He flung himself on his bed unbuttoning his uncomfortable shirt.

"What did Victoria expect him to think? He wasn't a kid anymore and he wouldn't be enamoured with her stories all the time. She wasn't mother and she couldn't tell him what to do." His temper turned from focused anger at his sister to rage at his situation. "Who else had to spend part of their holidays in an old, stuffy house with people who treated them like dirt or children?" He turned over on his bed kicking his shoes off. Moments later Henry fell asleep.

Victoria sat on her bed early the next morning. She had slept badly, waking up at regular intervals. At five o'clock she had given sleep up as a bad job and was now working her way through 'Little Dorrit'.

Henry was stood outside his sister's door at just gone seven o'clock. He knew Victoria, she would be awake if not dressed at least reading. "Come on Henry you fool," He said to himself "be a man and apologise." He knocked gingerly on the door.

"Come in?" Victoria asked curious. It was too early for Lehzen, her brother was still furious with her and no one else ever ventured up to the cold top floor.

"Good Morning Victoria." He brother replied politely, a little too polite for him. Henry sounded like a boy should when being introduced to his headmaster.

"Morning Henry," she replied.

"I am here to apologise." He said glumly staring at his feet. "I know you weren't lying. You don't lie. If I hadn't been such a rotten sport yesterday I could have seen it."

"Apology accepted." She smiled "I am sorry too. I haven't meant to be taking mother's role."

"That doesn't matter now," Henry waved it away. "Vic you have to listen to this. I think last night I went to Narnia."