Honesty and Trust | Edmund Pevensie

❉ Chapter 5: The Professor's Office and A Game ❉

The Professor's House, England ~ September 27, 1940 ~ 4:49 a.m.

We walked into his office, and it smelled like smoke. The professor sat down in his office chair, and put stuff in pipe. We just stood by his desk, hoping the chat wouldn't be long.

"It seems you have upset the delicate balance of my housekeeper," The professor said calmly.

"We're very sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Peter said, and tried to take me and Susan's hands. Susan didn't let him though. She felt as though she needed to tell the professor the real reason why Lucy was acting like that.

"It is Lucy, sir. Our sister." Susan said.

"The weepy girl?" He asked.

"Yes, she's upset." Susan replied.

"Hence the weeping," The professor said quietly with a small smile on his face.

"It's nothing," Peter said, still trying to get me and Susan out. "We can handle it."

"Oh, I can see that." He said sarcastically.

Susan found the courage to speak what Lucy has been talking about. "She thinks she's found a magical land, in the upstairs wardrobe."

The professor looked up, suddenly interested in what she had said. He got up from his desk and walked over to Susan. "What did you say?" He asked, putting an arm around Susan, leading us to the couches and armchairs.

"The-the wardrobe..." Peter started, and but then said. "Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside."

"She won't stop going on about it!" Susan exclaimed.

The professor's eyes went to mine. "What do you think, dear?" He asked.

"I went into the wardrobe with her, this morning." I replied.

"You did? Do you see anything? A witch?"

I was stunned. "No. Only a Faun."

"Maybe she left-" He mumbled to himself.

"Lucy said Edmund want too," Peter said.

"What was it like? For Edmund? Lucy?"

"Like talking to a lunatic!" Susan said.

"No, no, no, not her, the forest." The professor said, correcting her. I looked over at Susan, and she rolled her eyes.

"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asked, not believing why this conversation was going this far.

"Well, you don't?"

"Of course not!" Susan exclaimed, getting more annoyed by the second. "I mean, logically, it's impossible."

"What do they teach at school these days?" The professor mumbled to himself again.

"Edmund said that Lucy and Alice had only been pretending." Peter said. At that, I thought about myself yelling at Edmund. Was that right? Or should I not have let my anger get the better of me?

"And he is the more truthful one, is he? And Alice?" The professor asked.

"No," Peter said with a sigh. "This would be the first time. But Alice, she has never told a lie."

"Well, she's not mad and she's not lying, so you must assume she's telling the truth." He said plainly, lighting his pipe.

"Your saying he should just... believe her?" Peter asked, curious of his response.