Peter had gone into his and Edmund's room while I dug through my trunk for the storybook I brought. My fingers finally grazed the smooth cover and I pulled it out from under some of my dresses. The cover was a sky blue with delicate vines engraved around the edges. Small lines of gold circled the vines and seeped into the title. There was also a picture of a delicate fairy sitting on a small mushroom beneath the gold letters.
I smiled as I ran my fingers over the book. I've had this forever, my mother left it to me before she and dad left for a trip they would never return from. The thing about this book however, is that it had the true stories along with the child friendly ones. In other words, it had the villain's perspective and not just the hero's.
I sat on Lucy's bed and flipped to my favorite story, the tale of Maleficent. A drawing of a beautiful woman with high cheek bones and piercing blue and green eyes filled the first page of the chapter. Unlike the villain in Sleeping Beauty, this Maleficent had a set of huge gorgeous wings that flanked her sides. They were spread out behind her, extending off the page. She wore a floor length, slimming gown and held a glowing green staff.
I remembered how I used to tell my mother that she looked like Maleficent. This would always make her laugh, she often responded by taking us to a mirror and holding the picture next to each of us in turn. I found it curious how alike the picture and my mother looked. Me on the other hand, the only trait of Maleficent that I possessed was the blue and green eyes that shone like gemstones, along with her goddess like height. My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock and my head snapped to the door. Susan stood in the frame with a teary eyed Lucy, who held a small mug. I smiled brightly and said "Ready for the story, princess?" Lucy laughed and waddled over to the bed where I was sitting
After Susan and I tucked her beneath the covers and sat on either side of her, I began to explain my story choice. No sooner had the title left my lips when the door connecting our two bedrooms swung open. Peter and a very sour looking Edmund walked in and slumped on the end of the bed. Peter shoved his shoulder and Edmund mumbled. "I'm sorry for yelling earlier." Lucy smiled and said "It's ok Ed, but since you were mean, you have to listen to y/n's story to make me and her feel better." I opened my mouth to protest but decided against it, Lucy was a bright little girl.
Peter laughed and leaned against the wooden bedpost. "Well, go on." Susan said with a smirk. I cleared my throat dramatically and said to Lucy. "Now, you know the story of Sleeping Beauty, right?" She nodded enthusiastically and I smiled. "Well, this is the other side of the story. The true version." Lucy's eyes widened with wonder and Edmund huffed. Which earned him a slap and glare from Peter. Trying not to laugh I explained the background for the story before opening the storybook, revealing the picture of the famous villain. Lucy's mouth dropped open and she exclaimed "She's gorgeous!" She stared at the picture for a while before looking to me, "You have the same eyes you know." I was taken aback by the comment but managed to plaster on a smile. "Why thank you m'lady, shall we begin?" Lucy nodded once more and I began the story.
I read the story with enthusiasm to make Lucy smile and even acted out a few sections with Susan and Peter. Edmund refused to participate but I could tell he was secretly interested. We got through the nearly the whole story without incident until it came to waking Aurora from her death like sleep. Lucy squealed and said "True loves kiss!" Everyone laughed at her excitement as she assigned roles to her trio of actors. "Peter, you can be Prince Philip, Sue, you can be one of the three fairy aunts and y/n, you can be the princess!" Peter and I glanced at each other nervously as Susan clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was actually Maleficent's love that saved Aurora. I looked at Lucy, trying to protest but she had a sneaky glimmer in her eye. She knew exactly what she was doing. Going along with it, Susan walked over and placed my hands in Peter's. I blushed at his touch but tried to hide it by looking away. He laughed awkwardly as Lucy began to read. "Princess Aurora had fallen into a deep sleep at the hands of Maleficent. Now, she awaited true love's kiss to wake her from her slumber." She looked up and raised her eyebrows. I paused, unsure what to do and then realized, she wanted me to be asleep. I swooned dramatically and collapsed, Peter caught me and held me at a low angle. Copying the illustration in the book. One hand was around my waist and the other was still holding my left hand, my right was positioned in the classic damsel in distress place across my forehead. I felt Peter laugh with me and before we could continue the scene, (To Lucy's disappointment and Edmund's relief.) Mrs. Macready called us for dinner. Peter pulled me to my feet and I felt colder now that he had let go of me. Susan once again giggled at the two of us before ushering everyone downstairs.
After the meal, everyone gathered upstairs and Susan convinced Lucy to get ready for bed instead of finishing the story from earlier. I was thankful for this and sat on my bed, combing my hair while Lucy brushed her teeth. Susan and I were already finished with our night routines and waiting for Lucy so we could tuck her in as she requested.
After a few minutes, she wandered back into our room, her slippers sliding across the floor. I set down my brush and walked to her bedside with Susan, who kissed her forehead lightly. I pulled her covers up to her chin and smoothed her hair. "Will you sing to me, y/n?" She asked with puppy dog eyes. "Maybe another night darling, I'm pretty exhausted from acting today." Lucy giggled and said, "Peter almost kissed you." Susan laughed as I blushed and said "No he didn't, he was just trying to make it look real." "Well he sure wants to." Lucy mumbled into her pillow. I laughed and stepped back to my bed, "Goodnight Lucy, Goodnight Sue." "Goodnight." They said in unison. Lucy was still giggling about Peter and I's almost kiss while I waited for them to fall asleep.
Once deep, slow breathing filled the room, I slipped out of bed and into my dressing robe, which was a midnight blue and made of a silk like material so it flowed when I walked. I slipped out of the door and made sure the coast was clear before heading down the stairs.
"Where are you going?" I jumped at the voice, spinning around on the stairs, I stepped on the hem of my robe and toppled backwards. I braced for a painful fall that never came. Someone had grabbed by wrist and had pulled back upright. "I thought you would be asleep by now." The voice said again. "Sleep doesn't come easily to me, Peter. I was going to go outside instead." The blond boy stepped into the soft moonlight on the landing, still holding my wrist. "It's not safe out there by yourself, please, just go back to bed." Peter's eyes glistened, I wanted to protest but I couldn't seem to find the right words. Instead, I just nodded and let him lead me back to our rooms.
"I appreciate your concern Peter but, I'm not a little kid, I can take care of myself." I said. Leaning on my bedroom door as he reached for the handle of his. "Doesn't mean I can't save you every once in a while." He said with a smirk. "From what?" I replied with a laugh. Peter just shrugged and looked at me one last time before saying "Goodnight, y/n." His low voice sent sparks through my body and I took a minute to respond. After I managed to say goodnight, I slipped back into my room and practically fainted on my bed. The image of Peter's smile danced through my mind and distracted me so much, I didn't notice Lucy's empty bed next to me.
After maybe two or three hours, Susan and I were awoken by a light flicked on in the boy's room followed by muffled yells. We glanced to each other and reluctantly got out of bed. Susan rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door.
Lucy was jumping on top of a very exhausted looking Peter yelling about someone named Mr. Tumnus and something called Narnia, while Edmund sulked in a corner with his eyes on the floor. Susan managed to pull Lucy off of her brother while I went to Edmund's side. "Hey." I said softly, "What's got Lucy so riled up?" I studied Edmund's face, trying to seem as nice as possible and realized, he looked to be my age, I'd always thought he was a few years younger. I snapped out of my discovery when he finally answered, "I don't know, she's still rambling about make believe land."
Susan had calmed Lucy down and gestured to me that we were going back to our room. I put a hand on Edmund's shoulder, expecting him to shy away from my touch but he didn't, "I best be off to deal with that, you get yourself back to bed alright?" He nodded and I got up to leave, but not before sharing an apologetic look with Peter, who was getting up and trying to pull himself together. Raised voices could be heard once again but from my shared room this time followed by a slamming door. Peter and I rushed out into the hallway just in time to see Lucy crash into a very old man with a blinding white beard.
"My goodness! What ever is the rush at this hour?" He says with a kind chuckle. I hear Lucy sniffle as a disturbed Mrs. Macready joins the party. "Mrs. Macready, I do believe this little one could do with a nice mug of hot chocolate." The professor nods with smile and Lucy takes the old woman's hand and they disappear down the stairs. "Susan, Peter, if you will meet me in my office." The old man turns and begins to hobble towards a large oak door. Susan follows immediately while Peter hesitates, looking between me and his sister. I reach for his arm and give his hand a light squeeze, smiling to give him the ok to leave. He blushed and tried to hide his face which made me smile more and once again I felt a shiver run through me when he let go.
I was left alone in the hall. Deciding talking to Edmund wouldn't be the best idea at the moment I descended the stairs and crept out into the night. The air still smelled of fresh rain and sent a chill through my thin attire. Ignoring the cold, I went to the tree I had sat beneath the night before. My feet were soaked from the wet grass but strangely, when I sat down, the space underneath me was dry. Warm almost. I shrugged it off and leaned back against the rough bark.
There was a slight breeze that rustled the branches and the sound of swaying leaves erupted in my ears like a symphony. I closed my eyes and focused on everything I could hear. The grass harmonizing with the dancing tree branches, soft hums of crickets, the occasional buzz of a bug flying past me, and the hypnotizing sound of far off howling every once in a while. Strange, I didn't know there were wolves or coyotes out here. I focused on the musical arrangement of the country side and allowed my mind to wander. Remembering Peter's touch, his arm around my waist when we acted for Lucy, his hand in mine before he went to speak with the Professor, my hands on his chest when he pulled me into a surprise hug. I smiled at that memory but my eyes snapped open when a heard a voice above the breeze, low and smooth. "I thought I might find you here."
I smiled and closed my eyes again. "You've got to stop doing that Peter." I heard him laugh and felt his arm brush mine as he sat down next to me. "How was the professor?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Way better than I thought he would be honestly. He just asked us about Lucy's imagination and it sounded like he believed her." Peter chuckled and shook his head. I opened my eyes and turned to him, once again hypnotized by his piercing blue gaze. Peter leaned casually against the tree and twirled and blade of grass between his fingers on his left hand, which was resting on his knee. He caught me staring and I quickly looked away, focusing on the grass as it moved with the wind.
"So," he said awkwardly, "Do you like it here? With us?" He hesitated before he said us, as if he wanted to say me instead. "Yeah." I smiled "It's so much better than my uncle's." "What was it like with him?" Peter pushed, just trying to keep the conversation going but my smile disappeared in an instant and I froze. Peter turned to me after a moment of silence and realized what he had said was a bad choice. "y/n, I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." "It's fine." I cut him off. Trying to steady my quaking voice.
To be truthful, I hadn't thought about that terrible man since I arrived. "It was awful with him Peter. Most days he pretended I didn't exist. Others he would get black out drunk and scream at me for hours. He's only hit me once or twice, I do my best to stay away from him." I said sadly, staring at my lap. "y/n, I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Peter sounded generally concerned and moved closer to me. I shut my eyes again as a tear rolled down my cheek. Peter reached out his hand and I took it willingly, squeezing it as more and more tears came. "Peter?" I tried to speak but the word came out like a raspy whisper. "Yes?" He moved even closer, desperate to comfort me. "Can I tell you something? You mustn't mention it to everyone else." "Of course." I took a shaky breath and told him what had been a heavy weight on my chest since the day it happened.
"They day of the bombing, my uncle...he-he locked me in my room." The tears were flowing like a river now. "He said his job gave employees extra money if a family member passed in a bombing. I thought I was going to die Peter. It was the one time that I was completely helpless." I collapsed into his shoulder and he pulled me close. Wrapping both of his arms around me. I cried as quietly as I could and huddled against Peter's strong, warm frame. He traced my back and shushed me gently, we sat there in each other's for a while before Peter whispered that we should go inside. I nodded and gratefully took his hand as he helped me off the ground. I wiped the tears off my cheeks and smiled softly a Peter before we walked back into the towering house, hand in hand.
The next day was beautifully warm and sunny. Peter, Susan and Edmund were playing cricket while Lucy and I chatted on a picnic blanket. I wore a slimming button up dress that fell just above my knees and was the same shade as the Lilac I spun in my fingers. I was watching Peter throw the small ball to Edmund over and over again while Lucy spoke. Out of no where she smacked my leg.
"Ow Luce! What was that for?!" I said rubbing the area of exposed skin that stung and began to turn slightly red. "You were staring at your true love." She giggled and I rolled my eyes. "We're just friends Luce, don't get your hopes up." Lucy smiled and said "I can't wait to bring that up at your wedding." I punched her shoulder playfully and got up on my knees to tickle her sides. Her laughter rang like a joyous bell and I couldn't help but beam at the sound.
Suddenly, our happy little moment was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass, followed by a large crash. Everyone looked at each other before racing inside to inspect the damage. A very expensive looking metal suit of armor lay in a disgruntled heap on the floor. "Well done, Ed." Peter said, sounding very disappointed. "You balled it!" Edmund snapped back before he was silenced by Mrs. Macready's approaching footsteps. All of us froze before bolting up the stairs.
Edmund grabbed Peter and led him toward the room with the wardrobe. We crashed through the door and Edmund rushed to the only object in the room, opening the door and motioning for us to get in. "Well, come on!" He said. "You've got to be joking." Susan huffed before Peter ushered us in, away from Mrs. Macready's fast approaching stomps. The door was left partially open, only foolish people would close it all the way. Everyone began to complain and shove, that small wardrobe was filled with cries of discomfort. "Luce! Get off my foot!" "Stop shoving!" "Ouch! Susan that's my arm!" The siblings and I bickered for a few moments be fore we all collapsed in....snow?