my king (peter pevensie)

o n e

I closed my book, the afternoon sun warming my face. The Professor had most recently given me The Hobbit to read, and it was by far one of my favorites.

I made my way inside from the yard, and saw Mrs. Macready sitting at the dining table on the phone. She seemed to be having an important conversation, and I knew to disturb her would be suicide.

Walking past her, I proceeded upstairs to the Professor's office. We usually had a cup of tea and chatted about my most recent read before dinner. His door was slightly ajar, and I quietly pushed it open. When I entered, I found the Professor with his nose buried in some work.

"Professor?" He jumped a little in his seat; I had obviously startled him. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, I can come back if you're busy." I said.

"No worries! Come in Reya. I was just finishing up some work." I sat down in the chair across from his desk, as he pulled out two cups that had tea bags in them. He poured some hot water from a tea kettle that he kept beside his desk.

"How are you liking Bilbo?"

"Oh Professor! I absolutely love the story! Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin... the whole lot. I just met Gollum, he's a creepy little guy isn't he? Oh and-"

"Professor?" I was interrupted by Mrs. Macready knocking on the door. She evidently had finished her call. "Oh Reya, I didn't know you were in here." She said, giving me a disdainful look.

My parents had both died when I was just a baby, and the Professor graciously opened his doors to me. He has never told me how my parents died or how he knew them, but I would forever be indebted to him and his kindness. However, Mrs. Macready has had a distaste for me from the first moment I arrived in the house, and it had only grown over the years.

"I was just leaving." I said sheepishly.

"Nonsense." The Professor interrupted, and motioned for Mrs. Macready to sit in the chair beside me.

She sighed, but obliged. "I have some news from Finchley sir."

"From the Pevensies?" The Professor asked, with a hint of excitement in his voice. I had never heard the Pevensie name before, but whoever it was seemed to be special to the Professor.

"Sir, things are bad in London. The Germans have been bombing the city, and their house was almost destroyed. Helen asked if we could provide a safe house for the children until the war is over."

"Hm." The Professor stroked his beard. "I don't see why not. What do you think Reya?"

I was startled the Professor had asked my opinion on the issue, and Mrs. Macready was obviously not pleased. "If you don't mind me asking, who are the Pevensies sir?"

"Oh pardon me! They are my sister, Helen's, children. Lucy is 10, Edmund is 12, Susan is 15 and Peter is 17, like yourself. They live in Finchley, London. I think it would be good to have some company around here, no?"

I frankly did not want any new children around here, certainly not four of them. I liked the quiet, and they could be brats for all I know. "Yes sir." I said, forcing a smile.

"Then it's settled. Let Helen know immediately."

"Of course sir." Mrs. Macready left the room, and I faced the Professor.

"Have you ever met these kids sir?"

"I met Peter and Susan once before Lucy and Edmund were born, a little before we got you. But ever since then, our schedules have never seemed to line up. I've been asking for them to visit for years, but a family of six is quite difficult to wrangle." I smiled with him. "I think it would be nice to see them again after all this time."

"Alright sir. When should we be expecting them?"

"Well, it's about a days ride on train and wagon to get here, so probably two or three days from today."

Two days! That was not much time. "Thank you Professor. I'm going to head to my room before dinner, if that's alright."

"Of course Reya. Thank you for your thoughts." I gave the old man a small smile, and headed up the stairs to my room in the attic. Even though there was plenty of rooms in the house, this was by far my favorite one. While it was a little drafty in the winters, and a little warm in the summers, it was quite cozy. It had a small window in the front, that let in plenty of light to read. The professor even built a bench for me in between two bookshelves that was the perfect place to curl up with a blanket and a warm cup of hot chocolate in the winter.

I sat down on my bed, placing The Hobbit on my nightstand. I didn't know what was to come when the children arrived in the coming days, but all I knew was everything was about to change.