Further Up & Further In

Heart of Flesh

A The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe AU in which Susan follows Lucy into the wardrobe instead of Edmund.

Thanks to @ReadingForTheFandom for making the above moodboard, inspired by this story!

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As soon as Lucy reached the wardrobe she heard steps in the passage outside, and then there was nothing for it but to jump into the wardrobe and hold the door closed behind her. She did not shut it properly because she knew that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe, even if it is not a magic one.

Now the steps she had heard were those of Susan; and she came into the room just in time to see Lucy vanishing into the wardrobe. She decided at once to follow, not because she thought it was a particularly good place to hide, but because she hoped to talk Lucy out of chasing after her imaginary country. She opened the door. There were coats hanging up as usual, and a smell of mothballs, and darkness and silence, and no sign of Lucy. "She thinks I'm Peter come to catch her," Susan said to herself, "and so she's keeping very quiet in the back." She began feeling around for Lucy in the dark. She had expected to find her in a few seconds and was very surprised when she did not.

 "Lucy?" Susan called. "Lu! Where are you? I know you're here." There was no answer. As she sighed, she noticed that her own voice had a curious sound to it, as if it were in open air instead of a cupboard. She also noticed that it was unexpectedly cold; and then she saw a light. Thinking she had gotten turned around, she went towards what she thought was the open door of the wardrobe, but instead of finding herself stepping out into the spare room she found herself stepping out from the shadow of some thick dark fir trees into an open place in the middle of a wood.

She now remembered how unpleasant she had been to Lucy about her "imaginary country" which now turned out not to have been imaginary at all. Thinking she must be quite close, Susan shouted, "Lucy! I'm here too! It's Susan, I'm here!" Hearing no answer, she added, "Oh, Lucy! I'm sorry I didn't believe you! I see now you were right!"

Still there was no answer.

 "Just like a child," said Susan to herself, "Sulking somewhere, and won't accept an apology." She looked round her again and decided she did not much like this place, and had almost made up her mind to go home, when she heard in the wood a sound of bells. The sound came nearer until there swept into sight a sledge drawn by two reindeer.

 The reindeer were so white that even the snow hardly looked white compared to them; their branching horns were gilded and shone like something on fire when the sunrise caught them. Their harness was of scarlet leather and covered with bells. Driving the sledge was a fat dwarf who would have been about three feet high if he had been standing. He was dressed in polar bear's fur and on his head he wore a red hood with a long gold tassel. His huge beard covered his knees and served him instead of a rug. But behind him, on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different person: a great lady, taller than any woman that Susan had ever seen. She held a straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head. Her face was white –not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar, except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects, but proud and cold and stern.

 "Stop!" said the Lady, and the dwarf pulled the reindeer up so sharp they almost sat down. "And what, pray, are you?" said the Lady, looking hard at Susan.

It took a moment for her to register that she was the one being addressed. "I- I'm- my name's Susan," she stammered, and then, considering the crown, added, "Your Majesty."

 The title seemed to appease the woman slightly, but her glare didn't falter as she repeated. "What are you?"

"Please, your Majesty, I don't know what you mean."