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The now seventeen-year-old Artemis groaned and lifted her pillow from under her head, to on top of it. She was interrupted from her reading session in the library by an irritated Mrs. Macready raising her voice whilst explaining the house rules to unknown guests. Artemis slowly rose from her cross legged position on the floor and rushed over to the hallway, where she saw Macready talking to 4 young children.
She flinched a bit when Macready loudly explained, nearly screaming. ''No touching of the historical artifacts!'' Artemis leaned against the door, not taking any action to release them from Macready's hellish house-tour. She let out a chuckle when she saw the four children stare at the piqued woman with wide eyes. ''And above all, there shall be no disturbing of the professor!'' She adjusted her round glasses atop her nose before slightly stepping aside, indicating the professor's study was right behind her. She signalled the siblings to follow her once again as she walked to the left, before the group left her sight, Artemis heard her name being called by Macready. ''Artemis! Stop standing there and do something useful.'' That comment made her sigh and roll her hazel eyes. The four orphans, she assumed, all looked back over their shoulder and saw the red haired girl standing against the door jamb.
She soon disappeared back into the room, though, trying to get her focus back in the story she was reading; Near to the Wild Heart. It was about a young woman, called Joane, who was in a mode of existential contemporaries. She ponders the meaning of life, the freedom to be one's self, and the purpose of existence. It almost makes you feel like you're traveling through time, with all the flashes from the girl's childhood to her present and her young adulthood. Artemis had read nearly every book in professor Kirke's library, yet this was one of the few she hadn't come across yet. Maybe that was because this book was still fairly new; it had only been published a few months before.
A couple hours had passed already and the Pevensies were together in the boys' room when the bell was tolled, indicating dinner was ready. Artemis moved a different piece of paper on the page she had just read and closed the book. Whilst re-adjusting her skirt a little, she made her way to the dining room and she sat down at her usual seat, at the head of the table, across from the professor's seat, who would join her for dinner on most days. Minutes had already passed and Artemis heard the children talking loudly and laughing together in the hallway. The happy sounds all died out when they arrived to the dining table and they saw Artemis sitting there. They quietly found their ways to a seat and sat down, not exchanging any words anymore.
The youngest girl was the first one who spoke up, ''I'm Lucy, what's your name? Oh and I'm nine years old!'' She asked politely as her sister's eyes studied Artemis. ''I'm Artemis.'' She nodded lightly. She didn't like the idea of new people in the house, especially a family. It was just a reminder to her of all she had lost already. The blond boy was now the one to speak, ''I'm Peter, I'm sixteen years old, nice to meet you'' He announced, before he nudged his younger brother, who was sitting next to him. ''Edmund'' The darker haired boy mumbled, his head hanging low.
The older, dark haired girl cleared her throat, trying to take the attention away from Edmund. ''Well, Artemis, you have a beautiful name. I'm Susan and I'm fifteen years old, it's very nice to meet you'' Artemis didn't know how to reply, she hadn't actually talked to people her age in years; she was pretty isolated in her new home. But she was completely fine with it, that gave her the time and opportunity to do everything she wanted and needed to do without being stuck with others. Well, that was all about to change and unfortunately, Artemis knew that and she was not happy about it.
The little girl, sitting only a few chairs away, frowned, before raising her voice again: "why are you unkind? You seem very nice, but you do not act that way. Do you not enjoy other people's company?'' She, only moments after those questions left her mouth, let out a small cry of pain, ''Ow, Ed! That hurt!" Her hand shot down to hold her shin as Peter smacked, not too hard though, Edmund on his arm.
The chaos that had erupted between the siblings was immediately hushed when the professor entered the room and loudly cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. ''Now, my children'' he stepped forward, standing behind his own chair, his hands resting on the backrest. ''My granddaughter, here, oh she is not unkind at all. She is by far the kindest girl I have ever met in my life, and my life already consists of many, many years. She has been through a lot, before she lived with me, so don't be too tough on her.'' He looked at Artemis with sympathy in his eyes.
Her father told her that when she would continue her life in England, she would be known as professor Kirke's granddaughter, as it would be quite odd if she said she was from Narnia. Her hand slowly moved up to her chest, feeling if her necklace was still hanging there. She breathed in deeply before standing up and she looked at the children and then at the professor, before she shook her head.
''Now if you'll excuse me, I don't think I'm hungry anymore.''
