August 10, 1941; Sunday
“Race you to the end of the field!” I shouted as I encouraged Fledge into a run.
Eamon spurred Frank, and we were off. When Fledge and I were halfway across the field, I looked back to see where my brother was. He was only a few lengths behind me and gaining. I faced forward and gave Fledge encouraging pats. The race ended in a tie, and we dismounted and began to walk the horses so they could cool down properly.
“You’re a good racer, Belle,” my brother commented.
“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Thanks. So where did Miss Polly go before we headed to the barn?”
“She went to town to get our mail. It is the tenth of the month,” I answered.
“That’s right.” Eamon fell silent for a while, and by the time he spoke up again we had silently decided to mount and ride the horses back to the barn at a walk.
“It’s a shame what happened to Father,” he said quietly.
I nodded. “It makes you feel real lonely, doesn’t it?”
Eamon nodded silently. “I never thought he’d die like that – drowning on a sinking ship. And now that they’re both gone…”
Frank and Fledge came to a stop. I looked into my brother’s green eyes – his injured eye having healed a while ago. “And now that they’re both gone, you’re wondering what’s going to happen to us,” I finished for him. My brother nodded.
We encouraged our horses back into a walk. “It was hard for me when my Narnian parents died, as well, but I got through it, with Aslan’s help. Their deaths helped prepare me for when my husband was taken unexpectedly from me and my children. When Amesh left us, I was able to comfort my children as Aslan did me.”
My brother shook his head. “It’s so weird to hear ‘husband’ and ‘my children’ come out of your mouth, Belle.”
I closed my eyes, raised a shoulder to my chin, and smiled. “Get used to it.”
My brother laughed at my antics. The horses then huffed – saying that they wanted to do more than walk – so we spurred them to a trot for the last few metres before bringing them to a stop before the barn. We rubbed down Fledge and Frank, gave them oats, and put them back out to pasture. We were returning to the house when Helen and Miss Plummer arrived home. The two of us helped Miss Polly detach Helen from the buggy and set her out to pasture.
“There’s news for you, Swan,” said Polly. She had become quite fond of calling me by my Narnian nickname.
“What is it, Miss Polly?” I asked.
“The air raids on London have ceased. School is beginning again on September first.”
I was silent. While I knew the bombings had to come to an end sometime and I would have to go back to school, I hadn’t expected it so… soon. Then my mind went to how much it would cost to go to school, especially with Mother dead, Father lost at sea, and Eamon, for now, without a job. Miss Polly seemed to have anticipated my worry.
“You’re going to Saint Finbar with a full-ride scholarship, partially because your brother and father were military and partially because your mother is gone,” Polly said as she handed me the paperwork confirming what she said.
I smiled warmly. “Did you get this for me?”
My caretaker nodded. I threw my arms around her neck. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
“You deserve it, my Queen.”
We pulled apart from our hug.
“I guess this means we need tickets back to Finchley,” Eamon said.
Miss Polly shook her head. “I got them for you.” She handed them to my brother, and then handed me another set of tickets. “And those are to get you to school, Swan.”
Eamon and I looked at each other in shock. “Miss Polly, we can’t let you do this,” I said for both of us.
“Oh yes you can, and you will, your Majesty. I can’t let the two of you go off without a way to get home and to school, now can I?”
I smiled widely. “I suppose not.”
“Now you two get inside so you can get packed!” Miss Plummer mocked scolded, putting her hands on her hips.
“Yes ma’am!” Eamon and I said.
-x-x-x-x-x-
August 31, 1941; Sunday
“I don’t want to go, Eamon,” I complained as we walked down to the train station that would take me to London.
He put his arm around me. “Come on. Queen Swanwhite doesn’t want to go learn about a new and different country? That doesn’t sound like you, sister.”
I sighed through my nose and looked up at my brother. “I would’ve done that at Miss Polly’s house.”
“But that wouldn’t have given you much interaction with the people.”
“I don’t care.”
Eamon gave me a sideways look. He probably figured out that I didn’t want to leave his company, and that I was a bit nervous about attending the boarding school, hence why I was resorting to adolescent tactics.
“I’ll be fine, Belle, and you will too. Just remember to let Jesus take care of your problems,” he told me gently.
A small smile played on my lips. “I shall. I’m also going to write you every week,” I stated.
My brother smiled. “I’d expect no less from you.”
He handed me my suitcase, and we hugged before I entered the train station. I gave the conductor my ticket before I boarded and found a seat. Quite a few kids got on the train to go to London for the boarding school while I waited for the train to start – which wasn’t long. I attempted to find some of my friends in the numerous faces that passed by, but I saw none.
The train pulled into London thirty minutes later. When I disembarked, I looked up at the sun to check the time. I had an hour. Being careful of the crazy traffic, I crossed the street and headed towards the subway station. Upon entering the station, I gave my ticket to the ticket master and then descended the stairs to find a place to sit while I waited.
At the train platform, there was a bench to the immediate left and right of the stairs. I chose the bench to the left and put my suitcase up against it. Kids were sitting up and down the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. I took out The Scarlet Pimpernel – which Miss Polly gave me before we left – and picked up where I left off. About twenty minutes before the train was due, out of the corner of my eye I saw two boys set their things down at the bench opposite me. A slight turn of my head helped me to determine that it was the Pevensie boys. Narnia seemed to have changed them since I saw them last.
“I’m going to tell Lu where we are – she’ll tell Susan,” the younger one said.
“Alright, Ed,” the elder replied.
I quickly moved my head back to face my book before Ed – Edmund I think was his full name – turned back around and headed up the stairs. After Edmund left, I looked back over at his brother. He was sitting casually on the bench, but there was a tension in his being as he surveyed the platform. His gaze finally rested on my side of the platform, and I caught his eye. The moment I looked into his eyes, I knew he was my High King. I inclined my head to him, and my King’s brow furrowed. It furrowed even more when he took a good look at me – he probably began to recognize me from the portraits that hung in Cair Paravel. My King would have said something, except three older boys had also caught sight of me and quickly approached and surrounded me – cutting me off from my King.
“I thought I recognized you, Annabelle,” the leader said with a sneer. It was Jason, Bethany’s twin brother. “My, you’ve gotten pretty. Hasn’t she, boys?”
“Oh, yeah,” said the larger one of the three.
“Definitely,” agreed the other.
I put my book down and folded my hands in my lap. “And what’s that to you, Jason?”
“It means that I can now take you as my girl,” he answered.
I narrowed my eyes. Jason was beginning to walk a fine line on my temper. “There are two flaws with that idea. One, you cannot take me as your girl without my consent or the consent of my brother, for I am a person and not an object. And two, I would never be your girl.”
Jason gave a short, mocking laugh. “I must talk to the one-eyed giant if I want you to be my girl? That’s ridiculous. If I want something, I take it,” he said leaning close to me. To prove his point, he grabbed my left wrist.
My heart began to race. I sent up a quick prayer as I leaned near Jason’s face. “My brother’s eye has healed nicely, thank you. And what makes you think you can take me without a fight?” I asked.
My enemy smirked. “You’re not the fightin’ type.”
A satisfied glare appeared on my face. “Well that’s where you’re wrong.”
The next thing Jason felt was my hand delivering a stinging slap to his face. He reeled back a bit, and his buddies stared at me in shock. I held my hands in fists, ready to defend myself.
Jason had almost regained his original position when my High King firmly said, “Leave her alone.”
Jason reeled to face him. “Why do you care, Pevensie?” he asked angrily.
I looked at the blonde. He had shed his coat, as if expecting a brawl. The High King stood opposite my enemy and his buddies, giving no signs of cowering before the three.
“She is an honourable lady and should not be talked to in that manner.”
“How would you know, Pevensie? You don’t even live on the same side of town as she does!”
“That does not mean that I have no knowledge of her, Davies,” my King replied.
What pushed Jason over the edge at that moment, I don’t know. Regardless, Jason tackled the Pevensie boy, and his buddies joined in. I would’ve tried to help my King, only numerous kids noticed the fight and ran to crowd around and watch and encourage it. Not too long after the crowd had gathered, another boy – Edmund, I realized – joined in the fight. I could hardly bear to stand and watch, and I only did so in case there was a chance I could jump in and help. When Jason and his bigger buddy dragged my King over to the train tracks and tried to smash his face down, tears sprang into my eyes. Many times in Narnia had I witnessed my people scare ill-intentioned suitors off, but nothing like this had ever happened.
“Oh Aslan,” I whispered. “Make it stop, please!”
A whistle sounded and I sharply turned my head towards it. Everyone was running to get away from the soldiers coming to break up the fight. Someone pushed by me hard enough that I fell back onto the bench. A single tear ran down my cheek as the soldiers pried the boys apart.
I looked up just in time to see one soldier yell at my King, “Act your age!” There was a pain in my heart at those words, for they would only add to the High King’s current anger.
“What happened, Peter?” Edmund asked as he sat next to his brother.
“Nothing,” the High King replied harshly as he stood up and walked towards the tracks.
“Peter,” Susan said gently, trying to draw an answer from him.
My King was silent a moment. “He pushed me.”
My own jaw dropped and I turned my head to face the siblings. Why is he lying?
“So you hit him?” asked the younger girl, whom I guessed was Lucy.
“No, he tried to make me apologize, that’s when I hit him,” Peter answered.
“You could’ve walked away,” Susan pointed out.
Peter winced slightly. “I know, but don’t you get tired of being treated like a kid?”
“We are kids, Peter,” Edmund reminded his brother.
“Not really, Ed,” Peter replied a bit bitterly. “It’s been a year,” the High King continued as he went to sit down. “When do you suppose we will go back?”
“Whenever He calls us,” Lucy said as she began to rub her brother’s arm in a comforting way.
“And until then, we should accept the fact that we live in England, and that even when we do go back, we won’t stay there forever,” Susan said practically, folding her arms in front of her.
The whistle of the train blew and the tracks began to rumble. I quickly put The Scarlet Pimpernel away and picked up my suitcase. Kids filled the train platform, but there was still plenty of room to mill about.
Just before the train entered, I heard Lucy cry out in pain and saw that she had jumped up from the bench. Peter, Susan, and Edmund then followed in suit and grabbed each other’s hands. I took a deep breath and smelled the scent of summer mixed with a salty tang. The Pevensies seemed to flicker, and they had walked back to where they were first standing. I blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. When my eyes were closed, this is what I saw:
A Telmarine Prince running for his life, blowing Susan’s horn when he was in the depths of the forest. The Pevensies arriving at the sadly ruined Cair Paravel. The Pevensies and the Prince meeting up. An attack on a castle that went sour, and an attempt by Jadis to come back to Narnia. A duel, a battle, and the return of Aslan. Finally the Prince was crowned King of Narnia, and the Pevensies returned to England – Peter and Susan never to go back to Narnia again.
I opened my eyes, a little overwhelmed. Recovering fairly quickly, I got on the train just ahead of the Pevensies. It was going to be an interesting year at boarding school.
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