The fire had died, the sun rising when Lilith awoke.
Her head aching yet, once again, she awoke in familiar arms.
She couldn’t remember a single thing after dancing last night, yet she looked around to see each of them safe, scattered around their area and sleeping quite soundly.
She was at a momentary loss at what to do when she realised there was no breakfast to make, yet another thought broke into her mind.
Shit.
She squirmed from Peter’s grasp, hearing him mutter in disapproval, putting a smile on her face as she called work.
“Hi!- Yes, Lilith- I won’t be in today I’m afraid- I’m not sure, just a tummy bug I reckon- ah, ha. Yup- No, no I’ll be fine- Okay, that’s great, thank you!- I’m pretty sure I’ll be in tomorrow- No, absolutely- yep, okay! Thank you! Bye!”
She hung up, turning back to feel fingers twist her hair, “Yes, Magnificent?”
“I was just wondering if there were anymore spontaneous activities you had planned for today, seeing as we’ll all have the day off?”
She thought for a moment, not liking to be the one to disappoint.
“I’m getting a tattoo.” She decided with a nod, “You, and the others, are more than willing to join me. After we go find food, of course. Last night was good- although I don’t remember anything after about 1:30- I want something remember what I DO remember by, though.”
"I need to go to work, we ALL do, it's only my second day!" Susan, and not Sanya surprisingly, spoke up as Lilith announced the plan to get a tattoo.
"You're getting a day off a job you hate." Edmund rolled his eyes. "What do YOU have to complain about?"
"And haven't you wanted to get a tattoo since I showed you some on interest?" Sanya added.
"Pinterest." Lilith corrected- happy to say that SHE had introduced Sanya to that app. "And please, Susan, I called for everyone already."
"Even mine?" Sanya looked perturbed. "She doesn't know about the pregnancy!"
Lilith's mouth fell open. "Oops..." She said guiltily before adding to divert her attention. "Well, have YOU any idea what tattoo you want?"
It was another 2 hours before they reached the tattoo parlour, dodging the route via their respective workplaces.
“Hi.” Lilith spoke as they ducked through the door to be faced with the woman behind the till. It was clearly she, herself, was enthusiastic about her job- her arms alone littered with inked images.
“I booked the long slot this afternoon? Under the name Moore.”
The woman nodded, checking a notepad before, “He shouldn’t a minute, make sure you’re sure of what you’re wanting.” She added, clearly questioning the responsibility of the teens- especially Lucy, in who’s ID she looked over multiple times.
"I'll go first." Lilith volunteered, seeing that everyone else seemed to be building up the courage.
Peter murmured an assent as he continued looking over the pages.
Susan was rubbing the place on her forearm where her flowery arrow would be, and Lucy was trying to decide between 'Lionheart' and 'Valiant'.
Edmund was still staring outside, thinking of the tattoos he'd chosen. He'd chosen three- WARR:OR on his inner arm, a birch leaf on his collarbone and a very aesthetic looking book thingy on his lower back. Too many, Susan had scolded him, but he had too many scars on him anyway.
'You're going to be pushing a person out of your body in 7 months,' Sanya told herself, 'you can let a needle draw a book on the wrist and a word on your collarbone'.
She had just managed to convince herself when Lilith came out, looking a little pale but beaming.
"See!" She said excitedly, showing her forearms to them- one with 'unwithered' on it and the other with 'unwavering'.
Well her title had always meant a lot to her, Sanya thought, as she heartily praised it. It DID look awfully pretty and incredibly badass as well.
"Who's next? There's two artists available." The tattoo woman called out.
"Me." Sanya and Edmund said at the same time, looked at each other in surprise- Susan chuckled- before going into the separate booths.
"Let's see." Sanya stopped Ed just as his tattooing finished, before he could go back to their family. "What'd you get, you were there long."
Edmund showed her his collarbone "It symbolises redemption and protection" he said and she had smiled, "perfect then"; and then his inner arm which Sanya had nearly cried upon seeing "you ARE a warrior, it's perfect, Eddie" "DON'T call me Eddie!"; and then he hesitated.
"What?" Sanya asked, seeing he was looking shifty. "Here's mine." She added, thinking he was being hesitant about asking to see hers.
She pulled down her top a little to show the single word 'courage' on her collarbone before turning out her wrist and shoving it in Ed's face.
"You've got to be joking." He said flatly as he saw that last one, before turning back and slipping his shirt off him.
Sanya nearly knocked down the box with all the needles. "What are you- oh."
They had got the same tattoo.
They immediately decided never to tell the others but as soon as they had gone back out, Lucy had screamed, "SHOW THEM!" and they then had to endure ten whole minutes of cooing of 'soulmates' from all of them- Susan seemed to be contributing most to while the time because her turn was next.
"Wish me luck." She said, sounding a little nervous.
Sanya patted her on the arm. "They'll be gentle."
"Oh, shut up."
“What did you get, Lu?” Edmund queried as his younger sister and brother appeared.
“Lionheart.” Lucy replied softly, but with a smile as she held out her forearm.
Peter did the same as Susan looked at his expectantly, revealing a familiar looking sword outline.
“He wanted something simple because he chickened out.” Lucy giggled.
“I did not!” The blond defended himself, but couldn’t help be amused as his brother snorted.
Lilith paled once again slightly as she inserted her card into the machine to pay, watching the total flash up, yet she brushed it aside- it’d been worth it.
Their budget may have not agreed, but the cursive on her forearms did.
“McDonalds?” She half joked as they left the shop, deciding the crisps and leftover Oreos may NOT have been the most substantial breakfast.
"Are you- are you CRYING?" Haz asked Sanya as they passed through the Great Hall, looking around.
She shook her head, trying to hide her sniffling. "No. But it's just so beautiful, I want to go to Hogwarts."
He wanted to shake her- oh fuck her hormones- but he just squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "That's one of the great pains of life. We all want our Hogwarts letter but we don't get it."
"Do you WANT to make me cr- is that the Sorting Hat!?"
"Your one is non alcoholic, I made sure." Haz said as he sat down with two butterbeers.
Sanya grinned at his thoughtful gesture, thinking how weird he must feel to be on a date with a pregnant girl 6 years younger than him. "Thanks... is it really made of butter?"
"Only one way to find out, Nya." He said and was about to raise his glass to his lips, when Sanya's hand touched his and he jumped, sloshing the butterbeer all over him.
"The fuck?" He groaned, looking down. "These were designer."
"Your best friend is a billionaire, you're a big shot model and you have loads of money, despite Uni dues." Sanya rolled her eyes. "You'll be fine. Also, you don't feel... odd about this?"
There was no way he could argue with that.
“But still... it’s my favourite top. Anyways-“
He wanted to ask about her life BEFORE this past few weeks. Her aspirations back then, her favourite places to go and- Her friends and her family. Yet, these did NOT seem good questions to ask an incredibly hormonal girl on a date.
“So, I’m always iffy about my house. You’re pretty clearly a Gryffindor, from what you’ve told me. As are the rest of your lot seem to be too. I want to know what you think about me- sort me.” He challenged her, putting his butterbeer down and crossing his arms on the table, intrigued about her thoughts.
Haz hoped she wouldn't think bad that he hadn't a response to her question- he had no idea what to say.
It was like he hadn't even heard her last few words, Sanya thought despairingly as she gazed at him analytically.
Kind, loyal, yep. Cunning and ambitious, not so much, so not Slytherin. He didn't seem very knowledge seeking or creative or wise, so that ruled out Ravenclaw... well, he WAS creative but not... not in the normal, public way.
"Probably a Gryff too. Or like, a very confident Hufflepuff. Probably the latter." Sanya replied, taking sips of her own butterbeer and thankfully not vomiting on him.
He nodded, accepting the answer, “I’ll take it. And- I don’t feel weird about this... not really... I mean you DO have a second person growing inside you- which IS weird. But not bad weird. It’s pretty cool.” He decided, confident with his answer he’d had chance to mull over as she’d analysed him.
“It’s a shame we didn’t come near Christmas- they cover practically everything in snow and do the Great Hall out all festive.”
"I think weird but not bad weird describes us pretty well." Sanya laughed, placing her hands on the table. "And as for that last, you've got to bring me- and the baby too- here on Christmas as well."
"It's a date." He said, shyly placing his palm on top of one of her hands, feeling relieved when she didn't throw her drink in his face- AGAIN. "With a baby. When ARE you due?"
"Uh... " Sanya thought. "I'm about 8 weeks... that's two months... so 7 more months... and that's October? Early November? I have no idea, basically."
Haz rolled his clear blue eyes at her. "Such a knowledgeable person, Rowena Ravenclaw would be proud."
"I'm a Gryffindor." She muttered angrily before he spoke again, more hesitant and awkward than he'd ever been with her.
"Can I ask questions? About you? It's fine if I can't... I don't want you to blow up at me."
Thankfully, her pregnancy hormones seemed to be having an off day. "I won't. Shoot, anything, I'm an open book." She indicated the tattoo on her wrist.
“Who WERE you? Where did you live- and who with? And how did you meet your little tribe- why’re you so close to them? And- in fact... . that’s probably enough for now... .”
She blinked at the rapid influx of questions.
"I've been Sanya Reza everywhere," She said, laughing a little at his surprised face. "I was a student at St. Finbar's and used to live in Finchley after I shifted from India. I met E-Edmund at a school book festival and we got together and we went through a lot." She said in a subtle way, remembering that he didn't know about Narnia. "Not just him and I, all of us. So that's why the whole tribe is so close knit. Anything else, Curious George?"
“More about the ‘a lot’.” He replied quickly, “You don’t see groups THAT tight knit around here- seems like you lot’d DIE for each other- Ben told me of their reactions when they couldn’t find you at the club. Lilith nearly killed him, rest either nearly joined her or had a heart attack- it’s gotten me fascinated.”
Sanya squirmed in her seat. She never was good at holding in secrets... she used to be called the broadcasting channel in school, after all.
"We would die for each other." She said, looking down at her drink. "And what we've gone through together, no one else has. No one."
Haz scoffed, thinking she was exaggerating, "you don't KNOW that-"
"Do you know anyone else who's been to a fantasy land with medieval rulers and mermaids and centaurs and talking animals and... sea serpents?"
She should have her mouth sewn shut.
He looked at her, half expecting to give her a signal her joke was over- but there wasn’t one.
“I- well- no... I haven’t. How, say, did you get to this fantasy land?” He queried, sceptically, taking another sip of his butterbeer.
"The first time, it was in a train station. The wall melted away and we were suddenly there." Sanya said, utterly straight faced and true. "And the second time, the bathtub overflowed and I started swimming in the water and came up on the surface in the ocean there."
She was incredibly imaginative, if all this WAS made up, he decided, doing his best to find ways to catch her out.
It took him a few moments to formulate a way to do such.
“And how long were you lot there, then? Either times?”
"The first time, a week." Sanya smiled absently at the memory. "The second it was... how far along was I... about 5 months, give or take. But no time crossed at all here in our world, so we came back exactly as we left."
Well, damn.
Turns out the fact that he’d known for a fact that Lilith certainly HADN’T been in another world 5 months was no longer a viable point.
He shrugged, “You’ve got the whole story covered. What exactly did you DO there, then? Ate with Kings and Queens, rode centaurs and swam with mermaids?” He asked, only half teasing with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn’t ride centaurs- but we did ride griffins- and I wish I'd swum with mermaids." Sanya said longingly. "They were pretty... anyway, no, the first time we had to regain Narnia- that's the name- from some... colonisers, I guess you could say, and the second time we were to find some lost Lords of the place. As for eating with Kings and Queens-" She had a smirk on her face. "We all ate with each other and WE are the Kings and Queens so... yes."
He spluttered slightly, “You lot? Kings and Queens? Oh, come on Nya- what d’you take me for? The oldest of you lot is what-19? 20?”
"Well, you are a bit stupid but I'm being true-thful." Her lips twitched. "And TECHNICALLY, Peter is 35, Su is 33, Ed is 31 and Lucy is 29. They spent 15 years there way before I went. And as for Lil and I... I guess we were thought to be fit to be Queens."
He shook his head, “I’m pretty sure you’ve lost it. I’m tempted to call them up- see if your stories match.” He tested, sliding his phone towards her on the table, “Unless you’ve any other proof?”
"You can ask Ben." Sanya replied, thinking hard. "Also, Edmund can speak Mermish, Kelpie and Archenlandian- and a bit of Calormene. But you'll just think those are made up, so by all means, call."
He narrowed his eyes at her a moment, “Ben hasn’t been answering his calls much- it’ll have to be your posse. It’s a Saturday, I’ll be surprised if they aren’t all together... stuck by the hip, you lot are.” He muttered, bringing up Lilith’s number and calling.
"Who's- Lucy- the little one? Yeah, I had a question... about this place she told me of- Narnia- OW SOFTLY, MY EARS, KID, MY EARS... ... Magnificent, Gentle, Just, Valiant, True, Unwavering?... ... Lion God?... ... ... what the f- okay, I won't swear- wait, like a basilisk? A real STAR? A ice witch? Like in Frozen? Yes, yes got it... thanks, er, Lucy."
He hung up and looked at Sanya, who was looking smug and he had a sudden urge to drag her into the bathroom and do unspeakably creative things to her.
"Well?" She prompted and he reddened suddenly. "What did she say?"
“A lot. Someone should write a book about it- or multiple.” He spoke, sliding his phone away. “So. A Queen, huh? What am I to address you as- your highness? Am I to BOW to the rest when I see them?” He asked, again, only half joking.
"Your Majesty for Kings and Queens actually." Sanya replied before bursting into laughter at the incredulous look on his face, already planning how to write the story inwardly... she had always wanted to be a writer. "You don't have to treat us different or address me as anything but Nya or Sanya, though I have to say hearing 'my Queen' or 'your Majesty' from your mou- from you sounds good."
He smirked, “Noted. Anyways, this place shuts in an hour.” He announced, draining the rest of his drink and climbing from the picnic bench, “You done?”
"Yeah." She said, standing up fast and as a result getting a little dizzy.
"You alright?" He asked once she sat back down again.
"Just a little... spinny." she stood up again, slower. "Anyway... " she looked at him in a way which made him feel like he had had firewhiskey and not mild ol' butterbeer "where do we go now?"
“Oh, Haz called earlier!” Lucy spoke up as the first episode of Game of Thrones finished- a TV show Lilith reckoned they’d appreciate.
“I thought I heard the phone when I was in the showe-“ Lilith began, but Edmund cut her off, “What did he say? Is everything okay?”
“Sanya’s fine. He was just asking if Narnia was real.” Lucy replied, shifting slightly from where she was curled up in the corner of the sofa.
“Narnia? Why would she tell him about that?” The Just replied, somehow offended.
“It was SORT of a big part of her life.” Susan replied pointedly, taking another piece of popcorn, “He’s not a bad person, I don’t see why he can’t know.”
“Yeah, but- he’s not- it’s just not necessary.” Edmund decided, his brows furrowed as he turned his eyes back to the TV.
“Just because he knows, it was still you she went through it all with.” Peter spoke, surprising them slightly.
Lilith looked to him, quite sure that his words had been thought out much before this moment. He accepted her subtle hand in his.
Edmund gave a quiet, disgruntled grunt, “Next episode.” He muttered.
The others gave one another glances, yet soon the theme tune began and they settled back to their show.
Sanya came home late and it was for that lateness- and the fact of WHY she was late- that she was hoping no one would be up.
But someone was.