September 8, 1940; Sunday
“Annabelle! Get to the shelta!” my mother screamed.
Bombs were falling and taking out houses all around town. I quickly grabbed my box with my Narnian rings before running towards the back door. The explosion of a bomb falling nearby threw me to the floor. I felt Mother’s hands help me up, and we both ran outside where there were screams of neighbors and their children. Another bomb fell a few blocks away making the earth shake violently. Mother and I fell instantly to the ground. We scrambled to our feet and finally got to the bomb shelter. Mother dropped what she was carrying and slammed the door shut.
This was the second day in a row of bombings. The first bombing killed many people and destroyed as many buildings, including houses. I was beginning to wonder if the bombings would continue, and if they did, for how long? I was also afraid of what would happen if they did continue.
Mother came to the back of the shelter with me, which was only a few feet from the door. She sat down next to me and spread the blanket she had brought over the both of us. I leaned my head on her shoulder, and she began to stroke my head in a comforting way.
“There, there now. Them bombs can’t get us now. You’ll see, darlin’. You’ll see.”
Though I was scared, I smiled to myself. Mother’s attempts to sooth me were based on the idea that I was a young, innocent, and inexperienced girl. Something I was not. Still, I think her rambling was as much to reassure herself as to calm me down, so I let her indulge. Besides, she was my mother.
Mother then began to sing a favorite hymn of ours, “I heard the voice of Jesus.”
“I heard the voice of Je-sus say, ‘Come un-to me and rest; Lay down , thou wea-ry one, lay down thy head up-on my breast…’”
I soon began to remember going around Narnia and teaching her people a similar version of the song. Good memories began to flood my mind. I smiled and fell asleep.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Snow was everywhere. The rivers and ponds were frozen, and snow was falling from the sky.
This doesn’t feel right, I thought to myself.
Then, I saw a Wolf pack stalking a Faun. I frowned, not understanding. The pack then broke into a run to catch the Faun, and the Faun began to run, too. Sadly, the Faun didn’t have a chance, for he was elderly. The Wolves surrounded him as he trembled in terror.
One Wolf stepped out. “You, Faun Lengale, are charged with praying to the beast, Aslan, and singing songs of his praise,” the Wolf said roughly. “Now walk with us to the Queen’s castle, and if you attempt to stray away from us, we will kill you.”
The group began to walk away. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened in shock. “My people are going through this? And some have even betrayed their fellow Narnians! Oh, Aslan! What will happen?”
As if He heard my prayer, the image switched to Jadis’ castle. Her courtyard was filled with stone statues, and at one point I thought I recognized a pair of Wolves. Carefully, I studied a few statues. They were Narnians, and I had a feeling I was about to learn how they became this way.
I moved towards the entrance of the ice castle and saw Jadis for the first time. She was tall, pale, and beautiful, but there was an air of evil about her. In her right hand, she held a crystal wand with a metal handle. In front of her was the elderly Faun I saw the Wolves take. Jadis struck him across the face with the back of her hand, and I desperately tried to cry out “NO!” as he fell to the ground, but I was mute. The Faun crouched to get back up when Jadis stabbed him, turning him instantly to stone.
I wanted to cry. I was very upset that Jadis hated Narnia and Aslan so much that she’d do this. Jadis then said something to the Wolves, and they headed in my direction – out to get another Narnian brother. I looked into the Wolves’ eyes, desperately hoping that I didn’t recognize the glint in the eye that Shream and Famina’s children and grandchildren inherited from them. Ten Wolves passed by me, and none had the glint. Then the eleventh walked up to me and stopped. It was Trem, one of Riker’s sons. I began to weep. One of the Narnians I loved dearly, and whose Father and Grandparents had protected me, defected?
I mouthed his name. Surprisingly, Trem raised his head and looked nearly as startled as I was. He must’ve seen the tear tracks on my face, for he drooped his ears.
“Why?” I mouthed.
He bowed his head. “To survive.”
“Wolf! Who are you talking to?” Jadis yelled, for she did not see me.
“No one, my Queen,” Trem said with a hint of disgust.
“Then join the others. You have work to do.”
“Yes, my Queen.”
Trem walked off to join the other Wolves. Before he disappeared, he gave me one last, sad glance before quietly saying, “Long live Aslan.”
-x-x-x-x-x-
I woke with a gasp and tears were already streaming down my face. Mother was still asleep, so I slowly maneuvered myself into a position that would allow me to cry and not disturb her. I wept hard. I wept for my country and her people. I wept because I couldn’t be there to stop what Jadis was doing.
But you know what, Swan? I asked myself. It is Aslan’s will that this be done. That’s why He brought you to Narnia, to prepare them for this time. Trem will be alright, and the Faun didn’t deny praising Aslan. Not to mention that Aslan was kind enough to keep you informed about Narnia – others may not be so fortunate…
I then heard a gentle chuckling in my head and instantly knew Aslan meant to stop my rambling. I felt a bit silly, for I was doing what Mother was doing earlier. Also, I could almost hear Aslan say, “You’re very correct in your thinking, Daughter. Now sleep.”
I obeyed the command.
-x-x-x-x-x-
September 14, 1940; Saturday
“Do you ‘ave everything, dearie?”
“I believe so.” I went over my mental checklist. Clothes for all seasons, toiletries, rosary, Bible, hymnal, my rings, and the house and Eamon’s mailing addresses. “Yes, Mother. I have everything.”
“Good. I ‘ave your ticket and tag – I’ll give ‘em to ya at the station. Let’s get goin’,” Mother said.
Like I feared, the bombings had continued every night since the Saturday prior. Mother, along with hundreds of other mothers in London and the surrounding towns, decided to send their children off to the country where there were no bombings. I packed as much as I could in my small suitcase.
Mother and I quickly walked down to the train station in the centre of town. When we arrived, it was very crowded with children and their mothers.
Mother handed me my tag, which I promptly attached to my coat. Once on, I took a look to where I would be going. My card said:
Destination: Goosey Station
Caretaker: Polly Plummer
Looking back up at Mother, I saw that her eyes were filled with tears. I grew sad, for I sympathized with her – seeing her daughter off and not knowing when she’ll see her again. It was also saddening to realize I was just beginning to understand her, and now I was forced to leave. Mother pulled me into a hug; tears welled in my eyes.
“I’ll miss you, Annabelle,” Mother said shakily.
I sniffed in an attempt to keep my tears at bay. “I’ll miss you too, Mother.”
The call for “All aboard!” prompted us to pull apart. We exchanged kisses and blessings before Mother handed me my ticket. I picked up my suitcase and proceeded to follow the stream of children heading for the train. Ladies in uniform helped guide us all to our appropriate cars. Behind me, I heard an annoyed voice of a younger boy loudly say, “I know how to get on a train by myself!” I promptly ignored the shout, though I felt a bit sorry for whomever he was with, and headed for the train car I was to get on.
After stepping onto the car, I considered going to find a compartment, but then I thought of Mother. Like the other children, I pushed and shoved, though I said “Excuse me,” to get to the closest window so I could search for my loved one. Somehow, we managed to catch each other’s eye instantly. I began to wave to her, and she waved back. Feeling too pressured, I gestured that I needed to go, and Mother nodded. I bent my middle and ring fingers, forming the “I love you” sign. Mother returned the sign, and I left the window to make room for another child wanting to wave to his mother.
I traveled down the car a ways so that most of the kids could get a spot close to where they were now. I chose a compartment to my right, put my suitcase on the rack above the seat, and sat down next to the window. For a few minutes, I sat looking out on the other side of the tracks before there was a jolt from the train starting.
As we started out, I watched the door of the compartment out of the corner of my eye. Almost immediately after I started watching, I saw a group of four children enter the compartment across the way. The eldest girl, who was at the end of the line, looked to be about my English age of twelve. She turned her head in my direction as she waited to go in, and I politely smiled at her. The girl smiled back before she joined her siblings. I continued to watch as they settled down for the ride to their station. Randomly, I felt a bit of Narnian Magic at work, and the feeling confused me until the thought dawned on me that the four across the corridor might be the ones who were supposed to fill the four thrones in Cair Paravel. A light, cheery feeling rose in my chest, for I knew the evil time would soon be over.
Suddenly, my compartment door opened. I looked up, very startled, and saw that it was Emma.
“Emma Nadine! You nearly scared the life out of me!”
“I figured as much, seeing that you were staring off into space,” she said with a mischievous smile.
“I was thinking.”
“What about?” my friend asked as she put her suitcase on the rack.
I waited until she sat down next to me before I answered her question. “About the four children over there.” I pointed to where they were sitting.
“I only see three,” Emma said.
“The fourth is on the other side.”
“Oh. Why were you thinking about them?”
“Because I think they are the ones that will end Jadis’ terrible reign.”
Emma looked across the aisle. “How can you tell?”
I shrugged. “I just feel it.”
“I think I recognize the older girl. That’s Susan Pevensie, right?”
“Yes. I don’t know her personally, though.”
“Me, neither. Are you going to talk to her?”
“Well, not now. That would be awkward, and it’d probably cause them to think I was insane. I will talk to them at the appropriate time.”
“And when would that be?” Emma asked, to my annoyance.
“Whenever Aslan tells me to. You can be really nosy, good friend,” I told her.
“I know,” she said with a smile. “But ‘good’ friend?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s an expression.”
“Not an English one.”
“Obviously, else you wouldn’t be making a fuss over it.”
“Could you explain how you came to use it then?”
“It’s just habit. Whenever I spoke to my subjects and I didn’t use their name, I would call them ‘good’ or ‘dear.’ For instance, if I was talking to Riker, my Wolf guard, I might call him ‘Good Wolf.’”
“Oh, okay.”
There was a bit of silence between us, so we watched the scenery pass by our window. As I watched I noticed how, through what I thought was the “dullness” of England’s landscape, I saw Aslan’s Magic at work. It was no wonder, for He was here as well as in Narnia.
All too soon, or so it felt, I heard the call for Goosey Station. “Oh, I have to get ready to depart. Will I hear from you?” I asked Emma.
“I hope so. Who are you staying with?”
“A Miss Polly Plummer,” I said as I reached for my suitcase.
“Okay. I’ll look up her address, and I’ll try to send you a letter next week.”
“Alright. God Bless. Stay safe.”
“You too. God Bless.”
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
I made my way to the train car’s exit, following behind two younger children who were in the same compartment as the Pevensies. I stepped off the train and began looking for Miss Plummer. I wasn’t sure what type of lady to look for, though I reckoned an older lady.
“Annabelle?”
I turned towards the sound of my name. A lady in her late fifties or early sixties came walking up to me. She was of average height and weight, and she had wispy white hair. On her nose were a pair of glasses connected to a golden chain, and she wore a simple, deep green dress.
“Yes?” I asked.
“I am Polly Plummer. You’ll be staying with me.”
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