Once a Queen

Evacuating London

"Alms for the poor. Alms for the poor."

"Hurry, this way!"

"God bless you, sir."

"Children and evacuation staff... Attention, would all parents ensure that their children have the appropriate identification papers."

All the overlapping conversations and sounds were beginning to overwhelm Elise Pevensie, who preferred to sit alone in a quiet atmosphere.

The Pevensie children were in a bustling train station with their mother, waiting to board a train that would take them far, far away from their home in Finchley, to go live with an old professor where they could be safe.

Elise's mother's quiet and gentle voice stuck out to her, as she addressed her youngest child.

"You need to keep this on, darling. All right? You warm enough?" she asked. Lucy, trying to be brave, which made Elise so proud of her, nodded to her mother's question.

"Good girl," Mrs. Pevensie smiled, noting Lucy's stoic expression.

"If Dad were here, he wouldn't make us go," Edmund grumbled.

Elise looked at him disappointedly; she knew that Edmund missed their father terribly, and that he didn't feel like he belonged with his siblings.

"If Dad were here, it'd mean the war was over, and we wouldn't have to go," Peter retorted, upset by Edmund's lack of thought.

"It'll be alright, Edmund. I promise, okay?" Elise whispered to him, punching Peter in the arm at the same time. She hated when the two of them fought, and often tried to be the mediator in their arguments.

Edmund merely scoffed and moved farther away from her, which honestly hurt Elise. She tried not to show it as their mother continued her rounds, saying goodbye to all her children.

"You will listen to your brother, won't you Edmund?" Mrs. Pevensie asked, trying to give her son a hug, which was rejected as Edmund turned away. With a sad look on her face, she moved on to Elise.

"Please try to keep them all together, Elise," her mother told her quietly.

Elise gave her mother a small, sad smile. "Always, mum," she replied.

Mrs. Pevensie grinned proudly at her oldest daughter, and brought her in for a quick, loving hug.

"Promise me you'll look after the others," her mother said, now moving on to Peter.

"I will, mum," Peter said seriously.

As her mother finished talking to Peter, the train conductor began yelling, "All aboard!" and Elise couldn't catch what she said to Susan before they all picked up their bags and headed towards the train.

Susan, ever the logical one, grabbed Edmund's hand, while Elise grabbed Lucy's, afraid of losing anyone in the busy station. Edmund, however, seemed to believe he was above that.

"Hey, get off. I know how to get on a train by myself. Get off me!"

Susan rolled her eyes at her younger brother and dropped his hand harshly while Elise turned to glare at the boy, which he retaliated with by sticking his tongue out at her. Fuming, Elise opened her mouth, ready to rebuke Edmund when she was distracted by the woman asking for their train tickets. Expectantly, everyone turned to Peter, who had been entrusted with them. But, seeing that he was distracted, Susan reached over and snatched the tickets from his hands, which jerked him back into focus.

"That's right, on you go," the lady said, waving them on.

Elise thanked the lady briefly before directing her siblings towards the train. Feeling resistance behind her, Elise turned to see Lucy stopped, looking back at their mother in the crowd of family members.

Trying to comfort her little sister, Elise kneeled down next to Lucy and looked her in the eye.

"Come on, Lu, we've got to stick together now. Everything's going to be alright. It's gonna be fine... It's gonna be fine," she said, standing back up and leading Lucy to where their siblings had stopped to wait for them. With a small smile from Elise, they all turned to the train and began boarding.

Knowing the train would be leaving soon, they all hustled over to the nearest window and stuck their heads out, waving wildly to their crying mother, shouting, "Goodbye," and "I love you!"

None of them wanted to stop waving, but once the station began to fade into the distance, Elise pulled back from the window and grabbed hers and Lucy's luggage.

"Come on, then. Let's find us a seat."

Following her direction, Susan, Edmund and Peter grabbed their suitcases and managed to find a suitable compartment quite quickly. There were only two other children in there: a young boy and a girl, obviously siblings.

The train ride was long and filled with silence other than Elise's soft voice as she read to a drowsy Lucy. Unbeknownst to her, Elise's soothing vocals managed to sway the ever gruff Edmund into a short nap before the train stopped at their station.