The next day was awkward for everyone in the house. The Pevensies row had been left unresolved. Lucy refused to speak to her siblings. Edmund was as usual moody and stony while the older siblings tried their best to act normal.
The Brownings were not having better luck. Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary's argument had gotten worse once Florence learned how Mary had unfairly snapped at a curious Rory. Rory was unsure of how to act after her aunt's words and did her best to stay quiet. Aunt Faryn , bless her soul, was trying to act as a buffer for the family but it's a bit hard when none of the parties involved cooperated.
All in all the situation in the Kirke Mansion was terrible and it was bound to get worse. Macready had talked to the siblings and the house's staff separately and announced that a tour was visiting today. For the Pevensies, it meant to make themselves scarce for a few hours. For the Brownings, it meant extra work for the rest of the day. Keeping the place spotless, having the best snacks for the visitors and fixing the garden to look its best.
The Pevensies left the house to play in the garden, grateful it wasn't raining anymore. They decided to play cricket in an attempt to bond as a family. It was well noticed that it wasn't working. Lucy had distanced herself from the game and instead sat under a tree reading the Professor's fairytale book.
The Brownings were a bit more lucky. All of their tasks were to be performed in different rooms giving them the advantage of a much needed separation. Rory was left to clean the main living room on her own.
Rory was singing quietly to herself as she scrubbed the chimney. In a way she was thankful it was a saturday. It meant she only had to work until lunch and then she was free to go. Maybe she could give Lucy singing lessons in the music room if the tour had left by then. And then meet Peter later that night as usual.
She was startled by the sound of a broken window. She looked up from her place and to her horror not only the window was broken but an armor was destroyed too.
"Oh god," She muttered to herself, " I'm dying, dead! Or worse.. fired"
Rory stood up quickly in a panic. Macready was going to blame the whole incident on her even if there was no logical explanation behind it. The Browning girl bent down and tried to piece the armor back together in desperation. It was futile. Whenever she pieced something it felt down again just as quickly. Maybe she should get glue or tape. That could work right?
She squeaked in fear at the sound of footsteps. She curled up into a ball trying to make herself invisible. She looked up expecting the worst and felt immensely relieved that it was only the Pevensie siblings. Peter noticed the girl's fright and bent down with her. He took one look at the broken window and armor before glaring at his brother.
" Well done, Ed," Peter exclaimed, annoyed as he helped Rory stand up.
"You bowled it!" Edmund argued back with a scowl.
Peter was ready to disagree but Mrs. Macready's angry voice was heard in the background. All of the children shared a terrified glance as footsteps were heard loudly.
" The Macready!" Susan hissed.
" Run!" The blonde ordered. Peter took Rory's hand who still looked shook and quickly ran out of the room followed by his siblings. They ran through the house, looking for a place to hide.
"Come on!" He insisted.
The children continued running frantically. Every door they tried to open seemed locked and the footsteps became louder and appeared to be everywhere.
"Oh we are going to die in a painful way," Rory muttered pessimistically as they tried another door. Mrs. Macready was going to get her fired and in turn use it as an excuse to fire her aunts too.
"Think positive," Peter said breathlessly as they continued running.
"We are going to die in a quick but painful way," She corrected herself.
"No, no, back, back, back." Edmund took the lead as he once again tried to open a locked door. Edmund realized in his panic that maybe he could lead his siblings to the Queen. He felt sorry he dragged Rory into this but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. . Edmund led them into the spare room, conveniently being the only unlocked door. He ran up to the wardrobe and opened the door for his siblings.
" Come on!" He exclaimed.
The remaining Pevensies were uncomfortable. Susan being brave enough to mention it
"Oh, you've got to be joking." She rolled her eyes annoyed.
But as they heard the footsteps closer and closer, the children ran into the wardrobe, the eldest never letting go of the Browning girl's hand. Peter peaked out through the crack in the door, vigilant on the Macready's entrance. Since he saw no one, he and Rory moved further into the wardrobe.
"Get back!" Susan fumed.
"My toe!" Lucy exclaimed in pain.
"I'm not on your toe! Move back," Edmund sapped.
" Will you stop shoving?" Peter asked, annoyed.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to ," Rory answered apologetically.
"No it's fine, I thought you were Edmund," Peter replied sheepishly.
The wardrobe seemed endless and as they dived deeper it started to get colder. Finally they seemed to have reached the end but instead Susan, Peter and Rory fell backwards into the snow. Peter was still holding Rory's hand and when he noticed he blushed beet red and let her go. Peter stood up first and helped his sister and Rory stand up.
They took a look around: It was a marvelous white vision. Snowflakes fell softly covering the already white territory; everything seemed to glisten. All of the trees; from pines to oak, to rosewoods, were covered in snow. Rory turned to the youngest Pevensie who was grinning.
"This place is even more beautiful than what you described," Rory marveled as she took a look around.
"Impossible," Susan gasped.
" Don't worry. I'm sure it's just your imagination."
"That's a good one," Rory said high fiving the youngest girl who giggled in return.
Peter shifted awkwardly on his feet. He had been so cruel with his sister, when all she had wanted was to share this magical land with him. Rory and the Professor had believed her. Why couldn't he?
" I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it," Peter stammered apologetically.
"No. It wouldn't," Lucy said but a mischievous grin formed on her youthful features, " But that might!"
Lucy hitted Peter with a snowball straight on his face with a snowball. Lucy and Rory began laughing at the blonde's incredulous expression.
"Think it's funny?" He asked the older brunette rhetorically..
"Hilarious," Rory confirmed, "In fact, Lucy should have another row."
The girls laughed again. Peter used their distraction to their advantage and grabbed two snowballs: one for his baby sister and one for Rory. He hit them both straight on the face and smirked when he heard their surprised gasps.
"Oh it's on Pevensie," Rory muttered, "Lucy, gather the ammunition!"
Lucy dutifully grabbed another snowball and directed it to Peter but this time he managed to dodge it. Instead, the snowball hitted Susan's chest. With a startled huff she too joined the snowball fight. It was Peter and Susan against Lucy and Rory. They continued tossing snowballs to each other, the clear winner was Lucy who was small and quick to dodge nearly all of the snowballs. Susan wanted to hit her youngest sister but she accidentally miscalculated and ended up hitting Edmund in the arm, who up until now he was watching the scene sourly.
"Ow!" He yelped as he rubbed his arm, " Stop it!"
The two eldest Pevensies stopped dead in track. Peter's body tensed in futy and he clenched his jaw the way he did when something frustrated him. Rory felt like she was missing a vital part of the information as the scene unfolded but remained quiet. The constant "don't ask questions' motto her aunts installed on her ran through her head as she watched Peter and Edmund fight.
"You little liar!" The blonde exclaimed furiously.
"You didn't believe her, either!" Edmund tried to excuse himself but Peter wasn't buying it.
"Apologize to Lucy," He ordered seriously. At Edmund's silence, Peter stepped closer to him threathenly. "Say you're sorry!"
"All right! I'm sorry," Edmund muttered half heartedly.
" That's all right. Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending," Lucy grinned triumphantly.
"Oh, very funny," Edmund rolled his eyes annoyed.
"Maybe we should go back," Susan suggested.
"But shouldn't we at least take a look around? Edmund asked eagerly. His mind was already forming different plans to get his siblings to meet the white witch.
"I think Lucy should decide," Peter said. Rory smiled at Peter's way of making up to Lucy. He noticed and smiled back. The interaction wasn't unnoticed by Susan though.
" I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" The little girl cheered.
"Well, then Mr. Tumnus it is," The blonde boy said. He sneaked back into the wardrobe collecting a few coats for himself, the girls and Edmund.
"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this," Susan exclaimed.
She was right. None of their clothes seemed appropriate for a hike in the snow. All five of them were wearing thin sweaters and summer clothes. Peter stepped out of the wardrobe with different sized coats.
"No. But I'm sure the professor won't mind us using these," He said as he started handing out
the fur coats to each one of them,"Anyway, if you think about it logically, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe. "
When he reached Edmund, Peter shoved him a coat harshly. His anger toward him had not dissipated in the least.
"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund complained.
"I know," Peter smirked.
He walked away to help Lucy put on her coat. Rory eyed the younger boy unsure of her place. Edmund was murmuring profanities and cursing Peter under his breath. Rory approached him, trying to make him feel a bit better.
"If you want we can exchange coats," Rory offered as she took off hers, " Wouldn't want your manliness questioned."
For a moment, she thought Edmund would refuse but he eventually took it. Edmund gave Rory his and thanked her quietly. As they dressed, Rory couldn't stop thinking about the strained interaction between the Pevensie brothers. She might have no idea what happened between them but she can only assume it was bad.
"Just remember clothes don't make a man, actions do," Rory advised simply and walked away to Lucy's side. The Browning girl might be a meddler but she had preservatives skills. She wasn't going to stick around to listen to a snappy pre-teen spiteful remark.
Once the group was dressed for the occasion, they began trekking the woods. Lucy was taking the lead excitedly sharing facts about Narnia Mr. Tumnus had shared with her on previous trips. The group stopped when they reached a lampost but none of their reactions were quite as strong as Rory.
She eyed the object between narrowed eyes. It somehow felt as if she had seen it before in a dream. She could remember crying and wolf snarls. Rory's thoughts were interrupted by Lucy nudging her to continue walking.
The children continued their trip into the woods enjoying the beautiful scenery. At some point, Peter had joined her side but the Browning girl barely noticed, too busy trying to remember more about the old lamppost they saw earlier.
"Thank you," Peter whispered.
Rory frowned in confusion but it was clear she was also amused by the situation.
"This is starting to become a habit," She said. Now it was Peter's turn to be confused. "You thanking me and me having no idea what I did to deserve it."
Peter laughed as he scratched his neck nervously.
"For believing Lucy," Peter explained, " And your advice. You were absolutely right. The professor told us something similar last night but I was just too thick to see past the 'rational' point of view."
Rory shrugged. Before the Pevensies moved with the professor she only rarely heard compliments. The professor did a few times, whenever she did well on her lessons. She suspected her aunts rarely complimented her because she reminded them of her parents. But now this guy had taken it upon himself to flatter her and it made her nervous.
"Well you did call me Rory the wise," She joked but squeezed his shoulder in comfort to show her gratefulness ,"Maybe you should listen to me more often."
"Maybe," Peter agreed but there was a mischievous spark in his eyes, "But not all the time. You do constantly predict your death and make unsolicited jokes."
Rory gasped as she shoved him in mock anger. Peter pretended to stumble but his pretense turned out to be real as he ended up falling down from a hill. Rory's laughter echoed through the woods. Peter remained on the floor laughing. Rory jumped down to join him and extended her hand to help. He took it but instead of standing up, he tugged Rory to join her on the floor. They continued laughing as they rolled on the snow.
The remaining Pevensie's eyed the interactions with different feelings. Edmund was disgusted. Someone actually liked his brother? And someone as nice as Rory? That was totally gross. Lucy on the other hand was delighted. Rory was so nice to her and her family. If she dated Peter perhaps one day she could officially become part of the family. Susan, however, was unamused and Lucy noticed that.
"You don't like Rory?" Lucy asked her sister.
"Not that I don't like her," Susan tried to explain herself, "It's just not the best time for Peter to begin courting someone."
Susan frowned. Peter had terrible timing. How could Peter be thinking about a girl when their father was fighting in the war and their mother was back at home. And how was their relationship going to work? Once the raids were over, Peter would return to Finchley and the girl would remain in the country. Besides, the Browning girl had no regards for properness and manners. Everyone in the house, excluding Mrs. Macready, knew about the teens unchaperoned secret rendez-vous at night.
"I don't think love is something you can schedule," Lucy reminded her practical sister as she watched how her serious and mature brother laughed with Rory in the snow.
Susan's frown deepened. Love? For christ sake, they met weeks ago. It was too soon to fall in love as she eyed her brother completely smitten by the girl. She rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was going to suggest but it was the lesser of two evils.
"Alright," Susan called the laughing teens, "We have to go to the... um ...Mr. Tumnus house?"
The eldest teenagers stood up quickly, wiping the snow from their coats.
"Right," Peter said as if remembering he was in a magical land about to meet a faun.
"Why don't you lead the way Lucy?" Rory asked, shaking the snow out of her curls.
Lucy grabbed Peter's and Rory's hand and began leading them to Tumnus cottage. She started chatting excitedly about her friends and how nice her visits had been as the group continued walking through the woods.
"...lots and lots of lovely food, and we'll have lots and lots of..." Lucy ranted but then froze dead in tracks. Everyone noticed that the cozy cottage they heard so much off had a
broken down door.
"Lu?" Peter asked tentatively.
Lucy gasped and ran towards the cabin.
" Lucy!" Peter called her and jogged behind her. The rest of the children followed them.
If the outside looked bad, the inside was nothing to be compared too. Every single item in the house was destroyed. Whether it was furniture, books or kitchen items. Whoever sacked the place had no mercy. He wanted to erase the faun's existence.
"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked, devastated.
The group of five examined the house. Edmund accidently stepped on a broken picture of a faun. He could only assume it was Tumnus' father or another ancestor. He stepped away as quickly as he could with a small sense of guilt. Had he caused it? No , the Queen was a good woman. She had promised to make him a king.
Peter noticed a notice stamped on one of the house's wooden columns. He quickly ripped it from the wall. Everyone realized what Peter had found and all of them huddled closer.
"The Faun Tumnus is hereby charged with High Treason against Her Imperial Majesty,
Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans. Signed
Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long Live the Queen." Peter read.
"You know? For a secret police, they are really terrible at keeping it secret." Rory remarked nervously.
Her attempt at humor was ignored. Not that she expected a reply. She tended to make stupid one liners when she was scared.
" All right. Now we really should go back," Susan suggested.
"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
" If he was arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do," Susan reasoned.
"You don't understand, do you? I'm the human!!! She must have found out he helped
me!" Lucy exclaimed borderline crying.
"Maybe we could call the police," Peter said stupidly.
He clearly wasn't thinking straight as he listened to his baby sister's distress. Rory suppressed a snort, now was not the time to laugh at Peter's denseness. However, Susan stared at him incredulously.
"These are the police," Susan rolled her eyes.
"Maybe we could ask someone else for help. His friends or something, " Rory suggested panicking over the little girl's sadness.
"Don't worry, Lu. We'll think of something," Peter comforted Lucy.
" Why?" Edmund asked. For the first time speaking out since they began their trip to Mr. Tumnus. Everyone stared at him but he did not falter.
"I mean, he's a criminal!" Edmund tried to defend himself but Peter just shot him a dirty look.
Peter looked ready to tackle his brother but before he could, a small little pstt startled the group. The children looked around and noticed an open window where a single red Robin was perched on the tree's branch. And if Rory wasn't going crazy, the little bird had just called them.
"Did that bird just "psst" us?" Susan asked bewildered.
Bravely or stupidly , depends of how you see it, the group decided to step outside the house and follow the Robin. The small bird flew away, leaving the children alone or so it seemed. There were rustles heard from the bushes.
Peter stepped forward, as always trying to protect his family. Lucy and Susan huddled closer together. Noticing Rory's hesitation, Lucy pushed Rory towards Peter, making her part of the small squad of protection they created. Edmund remained close by Tumnus's door. He didn't want to seem like a pansy , so he just crossed his arms and watched the scene unfold warily.
The rustling became louder. Peter's stance took a more threatening pose, ready to do anything necessary to protect the girls and his younger brother. A beaver jumped in from the bushes. The entire group relaxed at the sight of the seemingly harmless animal.
" It... It's a beaver," Lucy said.
Peter relaxed a bit but he was still a bit cautious. He approached the beaver with tentative steps.
" Here, boy," The blonde called the beaver as he clicked his tongue, "Here, boy."
Peter was now standing directly in front of the small little animal with his hand extended. The beaver seemed most displeased at Peter's offer.
"I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want!" It said.
The older kids all jumped out of shock. Susan in particular was the most distressed as she eyes the beaver with wide eyes. Lucy on the other hand was laughing at her brother's sheepish expression.
"Oh! Sorry," He stammered uncomfortably.
" Lucy Pevensie?" Mr. Beaver asked.
Lucy's laughter was cut short. The sound of her name startled her out of her amusement.
" Yes? " The little girl questioned.
Mr. Beaver handed her a handkerchief, that by Lucy's reaction it was very familiar to her.
"Hey, that's the hankie I gave to Mr. Tum..." Lucy remembered as she took her handkerchief delicately.
"Tumnus. He got it to me just before they took him," Mr. Beaver informed them solemnly.
"Is he all right?" Lucy asked, frightful of the answer she'd receive.
Mr. Beaver looked around before gesturing to the kids to follow him through the woods.
"Further in," He said simply as he scurried off.
Peter took his younger sister's hand and decided to follow Mr. Beaver. Rory shrugged and followed them too. She was in a magical land. What was the worst that could happen by following a Beaver? Besides, the Snow White movie she saw a couple of years back showed that animals were good. However, Susan and Edmund were not pleased in the least. Susan grabbed Peter by the arm.
"What are you doing?" Susan asked him, alarmed.
"She 's right. How do we know we can trust him?" Edmund seconded her, gaining very surprised looks from all his siblings.
"He said he knows the faun," Peter explained simply.
"He's a beaver. He shouldn't be saying anything!" Susan exclaimed.
"There shouldn't be magical lands hidden in wardrobes either," Rory reminded her gently.
"Exactly," Peter said triumphantly, " It's only logical that the same rules won't apply in our world and here. I say we trust the talking Beaver and hear him out. Perhaps he has valuable information. "
"That sounds so weird and yet makes so much sense," Rory commented, scrunching her nose cutely.
Lucy nodded, showing her agreement with the Browning girl and oldest brother. Edmund was still not convinced but shrugged. Maybe he could use this as an opportunity to lead them to the Queen. Susan, however, looked ready to snap. Fortunately Mr. Beaver decided to interrupt their conversation before it got out of hand.
"Everything all right?" He asked as he eyed the children's tense posture.
" Yes. We were just talking," Peter said diplomatically, trying to diminish the argument's seriousness.
"That's better left for safer quarters," Mr. Beaver said.
Everyone except Lucy looked confused.
" He means the trees," Lucy explained, eyeing them warily.
That was all the explanation Peter and Rory needed. They quickened their pace and started following Lucy and Mr. Beaver. Edmund and Susan shared an exasperated look before following their siblings and the Browning girl.
"Reprimanded by a beaver Peter Pevensie," Rory tutted as she shook her head in a weird but accurate Mrs. Macready impression.
"I'd like to see you react better," Peter retorted with a grin.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Rory said dramatically, " I would've been more polite."
Peter let out a strangled gasp as Rory catched up with Lucy giggling. He watched her walk away with a dopey smile. Edmund, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, snorted at his brother's lack of response. Susan was still fuming and had trailed off at the back of the group.
"Following talking animals," Susan mumbled to herself angrily, "What has the world come to."
Soooo... what do you guys think? They are finally in Narnia. Yay! This is when things start getting interesting plotwise and for our main couple Peter and Rory. I can't wait for the Sleeping Beauty plot to intertwine with Peter and Rory's love story.
So, I'm going to try an update another chapter before I leave for vacations next week. Thank you for reading this book, it means a lot to me. Have a great day :)