Chapter 2
Arrival: Part 2 - Susan and Sarah
The next day I woke up before anyone else. Looking at the pocket watch, I saw that it was hardly six in the morning. It had almost become a habit of mine so I looked over to Edmund's bed to make sure he was alright. He was sprawled across the bed, his head hung a little off the edge of the bed and he was snoring quietly. Shaking my head, I smiled to myself. I knew he was never going to accept that he snored, no matter how many people gave their testament in support of this fact.
Knowing that I was up and awake fully and would not be able to go back to sleep, I went off to the bathroom where I took a quick shower and came out in a far more presentable state. I looked at Ed and decided I did not want to risk my life by waking him up yet. Edmund was farthest from a morning person.
During our camping in Narnia, his morning moods were a great amusement to everyone present and the soldiers found his snaps and growls in the morning quite hilarious. Of course no one dared to laugh at him in face. Oreius had once said that the person who would take up the job of waking Ed everyday should be knighted for his valor but even this offer was not taken up by anyone and I was left with the job.
Smiling at my memories, I went downstairs, going on outside to collect the posts and today's newspaper. Back inside, unrolling the newspaper, I was about to start reading it when the telephone rang.
When I picked it, at first, I was surprised to hear Professor Kirke on the other end but when I heard what he said, I was a bit upset.
Though he talked in a calm voice, I could hear a nervous, or rather, worried edge to his voice. "Oh Peter. I am so sorry to call and disturb you so early in the morning. I just have to tell you that Polly and I won't be able to visit you all yet. Polly fell and broke her ankle. The doctors have told her not to get off her bed until they tell otherwise. She called, late last night, and told me this. We have decided to postpone our visit until she can walk again. I think we both will come the next month only."
I was rather sad to hear this because I had been looking forward to their visit. Nevertheless, I passed Miss Plummer my good wishes. Professor and I talked about some things. He asked how Ed and I were doing in our colleges and was pleased to hear of our progress. He told me how exactly had Miss Plummer hurt her ankle and I once again asked him to pass my well-wishes. Soon after that we hung up.
Once again I went and sat on the living room sofa, unrolling the newspaper but before I could read more than the headline, Lucy and Jill came giggling in the room. They were very much excited about something which they didn't want to tell me. After I told them about Miss Polly's accident and assured them that she was fine, I went to my own room to wake up Edmund.
After entering, I contemplated on how to wake him without being subjected to his early morning wrath. A few minutes later, I had decided what to do. Picking up my pillow, I whipped it across his face which was rewarded by angry grumbling. He turned around and went back to sleep. I hadn't really expected him to wake up at this and the grumble came as an unexpected surprise too.
Tip-toeing up to his bed, I poked him in the side at which my hand was slapped away. I poked him again and said, "Wake up Eddie! We have to do a lot of work today."
He abruptly sat up and, glaring at me, growled something incomprehensible. Or at least glaring was his intention. He could hardly open his eyes and glaring did not have the desired effect when doing so with eyes open only halfway. I suppressed my chuckle and, dragging him off the bed, pushed him into the bathroom.
As soon as he was inside, I sat down on my bed and started chuckling. I was interrupted when Jill poked her head in the room and told me that breakfast was ready.
I came down for breakfast and was amused to see Eustace scowling at Jill and Lucy.
"Morning Eustace." I wished him cheerfully and I too was included in his scowl.
"Is it anytime to wake up during the hols?" He asked mumbling more to himself.
"Actually it is." Lucy said, laughing and elbowing him in the ribs. "It's almost seven-fifteen."
"You are not serious! Are you?" I heard Edmund's voice before he came running into the room. He was still in his dressing robe, his hair in a complete disarray and his eyes were still a bit bleary. In short, he looked horrible.
"La, I am. What happened to you, by the way? Looks like a crow is nesting on your head." Lucy said, confused to see her brother looking at her in wide-eyed shock. I half inhaled the water I was drinking and was subjected to a steely glare from my brother.
"What?" he snapped angrily.
"Nothing. I was just taken by surprise on Lucy's choice of words." I replied trying to put on an innocent face but was unsuccessful and snickered, giving up the attempts.
Ed didn't reply to this and started pacing back and forth between the stairs and the table.
We saw Edmund working himself into a frenzy before he suddenly relaxed and, sitting down on the chair beside me, said, "I guess it is. I think you should hurry up with your breakfast Peter. You have to go and pick up Su and her friend."
I froze with my fork midway to my mouth. Shaking my head vigorously, I said, "No way! You are going. Not me. We had decided. I go to pick Lucy, Eustace and Jill and you go to receive Su, her friend, Professor Kirke and Miss Polly. I'll never make it to the station in time." I was appalled. The station was at least forty minute's walk away.
Much to my irritation Edmund just shrugged and said, "That's not my problem. You were supposed to go and pick up Lucy, but you didn't. I did. So it's only fair that you go instead of me." He simply continued to eat while I suddenly lost my appetite.
I finally said looking at Jill and Lucy, "I am not going alone. One of you will come with me. You decide who."
Jill and Lucy both had clean plates. They looked at one another before Lucy suddenly and hurriedly helped herself to another serving of scrambled eggs. She quickly took a spoonful in her mouth and, gesturing helplessly, said, "I am eating."
Jill glared at her but Lu didn't care. Ed smacked Lucy on the back, saying, "That's my girl, sister."
Jill snapped at me. "Fine. Let's go. NOW!" With that she stomped out of the room onto the porch.
I reluctantly left my half eaten breakfast and followed her out. Walking down the path to the front gate, I realized Jill wasn't following me as I had expected. I turned around and saw her looking at me expectantly.
"What?" I asked her annoyed.
"You don't really think you are going there on foot." She looked at me scowling.
"Oh!" I said taken aback. She was right. I remembered how tired Jill and Eustace were when they had arrived here yesterday. "All right. Wait for me. I'll take Dad's car."
She looked at me warily and asked, "Do you know how to drive?"
"La of course. I do." I asked her pretending to be offended but in reality I too was not very confident about my driving skills. Still Dad had taught me to drive and those three or four times I had driven, I had managed to get back in one piece.
I went in the garage and drove Dad's car out to where Jill was waiting.
"Hop in." I said gesturing for her to get inside.
It took us just near about thirty minutes to reach the Finchley Railway Station. We went inside and waited near a newspaper stand for a few minutes before the train pulled in with a loud whistle and lots of noise and clattering.
People were getting down the train. Jill and I looked around. Somehow while I awaited Susan, I realized how much I had actually missed my sister. I didn't really need to, as I was taller than most people, but still I waited for her, standing on my tip-toes.
I spotted her soon enough and while waving my hand, called out to her, "Susan! Here!"
Jill saw me making my way over to Susan and followed me. Susan was waiting for us with a big smile on her face. Seeing that smile again made me realize that I had missed her terribly.
I reached her and without paying attention to anyone near us, quickly embraced her in a huge hug and place a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Ugh! Peter!" Susan playfully pushed me off and rubbed her forehead.
"Oh, come on Su. Lucy and Ed are waiting for you anxiously." I said taking the small bag she was carrying.
"Wait. I will introduce you to Sarah. Sarah?" She looked over her shoulder at a girl standing at a little distance, looking at some magazine she had in her hand. When Susan called, she looked up at us and smile. She was just what Lucy had said, she would be like. With light blonde hair, green eyes and a fair face, she looked nothing unusual but still gave off a creepy feeling.
Sarah came to stand beside Susan just when Jill reached us.
"Peter, this is my friend Sarah. Sarah, my brother, Peter." Su said gesturing with her hand.
I smiled and shook hands with Sarah. Then I introduced Jill to them. She looked in awe at Su and her friend.
"I guess, we should get going. We are the only group left." Jill said and after taking one or two small bags from Susan and her friend, started leading the way towards the parking lot. Susan and Sarah took other smaller belongings and followed Jill. I picked up their bigger bags and suitcases and brought up the rear.
While we were walking to the car park I looked at Sarah several times. There surely was something strange about her.
The ride home was short and very jerky. It was jerky because I couldn't help glancing at Sarah now and then and every time I did so, I bumped the car against something or the other. After the seventh bump, Susan asked me sweetly, trying not to offend me, "Peter are you sure, you can drive?"
I looked at her and said, looking at her incredulously, "Of course I can. And what if I couldn't? You don't have many other options."
I shouldn't have turned to look at her because I bumped again against a nearby car and saw all three exchange glances.
Soon we were at the house. I stopped the car just inside the front gate and they all got out. After I drove the car back in the garage, I started struggling and tugging their luggage back. I hadn't realized exactly how heavy those bags were until now.
Just as I got out of the garage, Ed came to my rescue and took half of my burden. He was clean and dressed, his hair was brushed and he looked far closer to human than he had looked in the morning when I had left the house.
"Thanks, Ed." I said and then grunted under my breath at the heavy weight of the bags. How come had I so easily carried these bags at the station? Then I remembered. Sarah had been carrying two big bags and Susan had carried one though a relatively smaller one. Now all of them had been left to Ed and me.
Still somehow we managed to drag them inside where Lucy asked us to leave them in the Dining room and come into the parlor. As I was entering the parlor, I saw Jim, our gardener; take the bags one by one up the stairs to the girls' room.
In the parlor, Eustace, Jill and Lucy were sitting with several glasses of lemonade kept on the table. I gratefully picked a glass and sat down beside Edmund who had likewise picked a glass.
"So, what did you think of Sarah?" Eustace asked no one in particular.
"I have already told how she seemed to me the first time I met her." Lucy said, taking a sip of her lemonade. "This time also she gave me a strange creep."
"I don't know. She seemed perfectly alright to me." Jill said shrugging her shoulders.
"Me too. I don't think there was anything queer about her." Eustace agreed.
"Really. Sorry but I beg to differ." I said shaking my head in disagreement. "She is strange, but in a queer way."
"Yeah. I agree." Lucy chimed in.
"What do you mean? I don't understand what you are trying to say." Jill said, her brows furrowed in confusion.
It was clear Lucy wouldn't be able to explain it, so I did, "She is different. It's confusing. I mean, she is strange, but in a way we are familiar with…" I don't really think I was able to explain the feelings properly but it was close.
"Maybe…forget it. I'll tell how she seemed to me after I see her." Edmund said before chugging down the entire lemonade in one go. "Anyway. I am just happy that Su is back home. I had missed her so much but I realize it just now."
I smiled as his words had just echoed my thought.
"I too." Lucy agreed and I nodded. "Okay, now I am going to help them unpack. Come on Jill. "
Lu and Jill were at the door when they ran straight smack into Sarah who was just entering.
"Whoa!" Sarah said steadying Jill. "Easy there."
"Yeah. Sorry." Jill said a little sheepishly.
Lu and Jill came back to sit in the room followed by Su and Sarah.
Ed stood up and greeted Su enthusiastically before Su introduced Ed to Sarah. Then something strange happened. No one else noticed it but me because I was looking at Ed and Sarah's face.
At the instance of their brief handshake, Ed's face was filled with pure terror and Sarah's face had something I couldn't read perfectly. Was it fear? Or guilt? Or nervousness?
After that instant, both their faces cleared. Sarah proceeded to sit between Lucy and Susan while Edmund made a hasty and lame excuse, which even Susan could see through, and left the room.
No one else seemed to have noticed his discomfort.
A few minutes later, I too excused myself out of the parlor and rushed towards our room. Somehow I knew that was where I would find my brother. I was right though I didn't like what I saw.
Ed was sitting on his bed. He had his legs curled up against his chest so that his chin rested on his knees. But that was not what worried me. His eyes were shining with unshed tears and he was shaking uncontrollably.
I ran over to him and had my arms around his shoulders within seconds.
"Ed, what happened?" I asked grabbing his shoulders and shaking him a little though that attempt was futile as he was already trembling.
He sniffed and hid his face against my shoulders. I could feel the tears that brimmed over his eyes, dampening my shirt but I didn't care.
"Eddie. Tell me. What is the matter Ed?" I asked him again. His behavior alarmed me. Ed was not one to show his emotions so openly. He had always managed to hide his emotion even when he had been very much distressed.
"Pete. I...I'm…scared." He stammered but I could see he was well on his way out of the emotional outburst he was in. Still I was shocked to hear my brother say this. I had heard him say this sentence only once before and that was a time I did not want to think about.
Somehow I managed to control my own emotions and ran a hand through those raven black hairs of my brother to console him. "Tell me Ed" I said, continuously running my hand through his hair.
"Its-Its…Sarah." He again sniffed and didn't continue.
"What about her Ed? She is strange, I agree, but why are you so scared of her?"
On my question he rubbed his face against my shoulder wiping away any tears that was on his face. When he pulled away I did not see what I had expected. I had expected a calm and grave face of King Edmund the Just. At the least, I had expected some degree of calmness on his face but all of those were amiss.
Instead I saw Edmund Pevensie. Not the nineteen year old, sneaky, clever and brave Edmund Pevensie but my little, frightened brother Edmund Pevensie.
And that Edmund Pevensie looked up at me with frightened eyes and whispered, "She looks like Jadis."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next three chapters are up!