Once a Queen

Coombe Halt

Standing at Coombe Halt Station, the Pevensie siblings looked around uncertainly. It definitely didn't look like this station was kept up well through the years, Elise noticed, glancing at the peeling paint and cracked wood.

Suddenly hearing a car coming down the road to their left, they all grabbed their bags and rushed down the steps, expecting the vehicle to stop and greet them. Instead, all they got was a loud honk and dust in their face as the car drove on past them.

"The professor knew we were coming," Susan said, although it wasn't very confident.

"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labeled," Edmund piped in, examining the card pinned to his coat.

"Hold on, shhh," Elise told her siblings, holding up one finger as she stepped out into the road, looking down the direction the car had come from. Very faintly, she thought she could hear the sound of hoofs.

"Come on, hup! And whoa. Whoa."

A sour-looking woman pulled up beside the Pevensies, sitting upon a horse-drawn cart of sorts.

"Mrs. Macready?" Peter asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so... Is this it, then? Haven't you brought anything else?" Mrs. Macready asked, looking down at their luggage with distaste.

"No ma'am. It's just us," Peter replied, looking around at his brother and sisters.

"Small favors," Macready sniffed.

After the five siblings had piled onto the cart, Macready had driven them to the professor's mansion. Elise had never seen a house so big before in her life. She was sure that her brothers and sisters felt the same way, based on their awestruck looks as they walked into the house.

"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to havin' children in this house. And as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shoutin'. Or runnin'. No improper use of the dumbwaiter." Macready listed off until her eyes got wide and horrified. "NO touchin' of the historical artifacts," she barked at Susan, who had just come very close to touching a marble head of a man. Peter and Edmund snickered behind Elise, who turned sharply and gave them both a smack on their heads. She turned back just in time to hear Macready's last rule.

"And above all, there shall be no disturbin' of the professor," she said quietly but with a very commanding tone.

Elise followed Macready along with the rest of her siblings, until she reached back for Lucy's hand and noticed that the little girl wasn't there. Hurrying back to where they had just come from, Elise found her youngest sister staring at the professor's door.

"Lucy," Elise whispered. Lucy jumped, not hearing her sister approaching. Giving a small smile of amusement, Elise held out her hand and, with one last glance at the door, Lucy took it.

Later that night, Peter had turned on the radio and tuned it to listen to updates on the war raging on around them.

"German aircrafts carried out a number of attacks on Great Britain last night. The raids, which lasted several hours-" the announcer's voice was suddenly cut off as Susan stood and turned the radio off, giving Peter a pointed look as she tilted her head towards Lucy.

"The sheets feel scratchy," the small girl whimpered, trying hard to snuggle into her comforter. Elise, who had been reading, got off of her bed and joined Lucy on hers, holding the smaller girl close.

"Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon," Susan said softly, reassuring Lucy.

"Yeah, if home's still there," Edmund cut in with a roll of his eyes. Elise couldn't believe his absolute ignorance and blatant disregard for Lucy's feelings. Annoyed, she grabbed a pillow and tossed it at his face, which he managed to dodge.

"Isn't it time you were in bed?" Elise asked, trying desperately to get Edmund out of their room before he caused more trouble.

"Yes, MUM!" the boy sneered, only fueling Elise's anger.

"Ed!" Peter shouted, glaring down at his younger brother, who finally sat down with a huff. "You saw outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's going to be a great day. Really," Peter said, smiling at Lucy. Giving a small smile back, the younger girl turned in Elise's arms and snuggled into the older girl's shoulder.

Knowing she would still have trouble soon falling asleep, Elise offered another story to her youngest sister, hoping to ease her fears and worries a bit by distracting her. Lucy gratefully said yes, and Edmund sneered.

"Stories are for children," he scoffed, obviously not wanting to stay and overhear the kid-ish tales of magic and wonder, though he remained where he was.

"You don't have to listen if you don't want to, Edmund," Elise said, giving him a gentle look. "Though I doubt you'll ever be too old for fairytales with your eldest sister," she teased, opening the book she had read on the train to the correct page and beginning to dive back into the story.

Edmund and Lucy listened intently, Peter having gotten into his own bed and turned out the lamp, leaving the only light in the room the dim candle by which Elise whispered the story to. Susan too had been rather exhausted, not lasting very long listening to her sister's soft voice. Long after everyone else had fallen asleep, Elise continued to read, fascinated by the book. She was a lover of fairy tales, but even she knew when enough was enough. She blew out the candle and laid the book on her nightstand, slowly drifting off into her dreams.