the girl from archenland | narnia

Chapter Eleven

Nenya spent the remaining hours of the night sleeplessly tossing and turning in her bed. Everything was an absolute disaster and she didn't know how to fix it.

She didn't go down to breakfast the next morning, instead, she lay in her bed, hoping she might be able to snatch a few minutes of sleep.

When someone knocked on her door she ignored it, pulling one of her pillows over her head and burrowing deeper under her blankets.

Whoever it was kept knocking though.

"Go away!" she yelled coming out of her blanket cave momentarily.

"I brought you breakfast."

It was Peter.

"Go away!" she yelled again. "I'm not hungry!" her stomach growled as she said it but she refused to let him in.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Nenya burrowed back into her cave and slammed the pillow over the entrance. "Go away!"

She heard the footsteps fade as Peter walked away but she didn't come back out.

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She didn't crawl out of her bed until several hours later when Lucy came to the door with lunch, a hot bowl of soup and some fresh bread.

Lucy left as soon as she delivered the food but Susan came to sit with Nenya while she ate. The two girls sat on the bed, Nenya cocooned in her blankets at the head and Susan at the foot, several books in her hands.

"Is the soup good?" Susan asked after a few minutes of sitting silently.

Nenya nodded, continuing to eat.

Susan sighed. "Can we talk about last night?" she twisted the fabric of her dress in her hands, an anxious habit of her's.

"Sure," Nenya said, not wanting to drag out the conversation more then she needed to. "I guess we have to talk about it."

"Well," Susan started. "I know Peter came up earlier, But-" she said quickly as Nenya opened her mouth to speak. "If you aren't ready to talk to him it's alright. I understand." she twisted the fabric tighter.

"He and Edmund haven't made up yet either. I.. I don't know what to do." Susan said, her voice a bit shaky. "it's not your fault!" she said quickly. "I just don't know what to do. I hate it when the boys fight. And now you're in the middle of it too."

Nenya took a deep breath. "Just.. don't let them get to you. You can't force them to make up."

"They are my brothers!" Susan burst out. "I can't help letting them get to me. I hate when they fight and I feel so horribly useless. I should be able to do something about it."

"You can't," Nenya said shrugging. "You have to let them sort it out. If you force them to make up then it won't be sincere."

"I know..."

Nenya put her empty dish down. "Then just let them be. It's the only way we'll ever solve anything with them. Besides," she frowned. "Clearly getting in the middle of it is dangerous."