Kind and Brave // Tales of the Traveling Queen Book 1

1) .It Begins.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tuesday," she says.

I nod once in return and turn to look out the window, not wanting to talk anymore.

I used to be a talkative person. I used to smile all the time. That's all I would do, smile and talk to people. It was one of my favorite things to do, especially to my mother. However, the war that I knew was coming came, and with it came the bombs. My mother and I didn't have enough time to get to the shelter. I escaped with a couple broken ribs and a broken ankle, but my mother did not. They couldn't even find her body. I was left alone, without even the dreams to comfort me. When she left, they did too.

The train rockets back and forth as we trudge along. My stomach grumbles and I can't help but wish that I had brought some type of food with me. Instead, I sit in silence, trying to push away my hunger. However, it isn't for very long because I feel a tap on my shoulder. Since it is Lucy trying to get my attention, I turn to her willingly. If it were any of the boys, I might not have. When I do turn, Lucy sits there staring at me, a smile on her face and a sandwich in a hand stretched out towards me. She knows I am hungry and is offering me her sandwich. I shake my head. I can't possibly take it.

"Please," she insists. "I have two. I'm not going to eat this one."

"I'm allergic to peanut butter," I lie.

That makes Lucy giggle. "It's not peanut butter. It's ham and cheese." She then puts the sandwich in my hand before I can say anything else and turns back to her own sandwich.

I look over between Edmund, Susan, and Peter in surprise, but they don't meet my eyes as if they all expected Lucy to do something like that to a complete stranger. Deciding that, I look back out the window and eat my ham and cheese sandwich, spirits slightly lifted. My lips even threaten a smile, so I let it happen. It's just a small one, but it feels comfortable to me, almost like returning home to a warm fireplace after being out in the snow all day working. I can tell Lucy's looking at me, trying to see my expression, but I continue staring out the window at the open country, no buildings in sight, keeping my small happy moment to myself, knowing the moment won't last long.

*~~~~~*~~~~~*

I don't realize I've fallen asleep till I'm being shaken awake by a warm hand. I'm disappointed to realize that, again, there were no dreams. My eyes pop open to see Peter smiling down at me like a normal person rather than a nervous one. I wonder what the sudden change was, but I don't dwell on it as I let the boy help me up and grab my trunk from underneath the seat. It isn't a fancy one, but large enough the fill the few things that survived from the bombing, one of them being a phone book that contains only one number. Usually, I won't find something so simple of any importance, but it is the last reminder I have of my mother. Everything else was burned or in a million pieces.

"Are you alright, Tuesday?" Peter asks from the compartment doorway.

I realize I've zoned out looking at my trunk. I glance up at him quickly and nod, following him out. I only hope this is my stop. I will hate to have missed it. I see that the rest of the train is empty and know this must be the right one. I wonder why the four siblings are going with me. Perhaps we are all going to be neighbors for the duration of the war? I take a step from the train and onto the old platform and realize how abandoned it is. The only ones standing here for what looks like miles are the four Pevensies and I. Other than that, there is no one. Not even someone to pick us up. There is a toot of a horn and the train pulls a away, leaving us completely alone. Lucy waves me over to her and I decide it's probably better than standing awkwardly there with Peter so I move over to her.

"What does your tag say?" she asks.

"I didn't get a tag," I tell her honestly. "I'm going to a friend of my mothers. She ... well, she didn't make it through a bombing. I'm alone now." I don't know why I'm being so open with Lucy, but it almost feels relieving so get the words out. Almost like closure. I'm surprised I don't burst into tears right there.