We're the youngest

Harsh Reality

"I found the food!" Lucy said excitedly as she ran into her and Susan's room. The boys were already sat with Susan in the corner, deep in discussion.

All of them still seemed far too shocked to process much.

"How did talking to the professor go?" Susan asked.

"He understood everything....he has a lot of faith if he's believing us. to anyone else we'd sound mad" Peter said smiling a little.

"So you told him everything, about how amazing Narnia was?" Lucy asked as she sat down next to Susan, leaning into her sisters embrace.

Peter glanced over at Edmund who had his arms crossed and his head down.

"Almost everything" Peter said, is voice changing from confused to a voice of realisation. He hadn't realised it before, but clearly Edmund didn't want anyone else to know about wha he did when he first went to Narnia, but he also knew that he hated when people worried about him.

"When do you think we'll go back?" Lucy asked, breaking the few seconds of silence.

"Who knows.." said Susan sadly.

"Maybe never" Edmund muttered and everyones gaze went on him.

"That's highly negative Edmund" Susan said.

"Yeah, i know but it could be the truth" He said honestly.

Lucy looked like she was about to cry.

"Surely you don't believe that" Lucy said in disbelief.

"I don't want to believe it, Lu" Edmund said with a sad smile. Peter just nodded in understanding, having a similar dreaded feeling.

"Why don't we try and take our minds off of this" Susan suggested and glanced at the cricket ball Edmund was still holding.

"Oh, you're on" Edmund said, always up for a challenge. He smiled and raced out of the room, Susan and Lucy following close behind.

Peter shook his head laughing a she ran outside to join the others.

....................................

The game of cricket was short but they managed to enjoy themselves. No matter how hard they tired though, they were all  still thinking about Narnia and there was the nagging question of whether they'd go back.

"This is hopeless" Edmund quietly to himself, but Peter heard him.

"What is?" He asked and Edmund looked at his brother as he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Pretending like we all aren't thinking about Narnia" Edmund said bluntly "we should all just stay in denial forever" Edmund said sarcastically as he threw the ball on the ground, almost like he'd given up. He treaded across the grass and to a nearby tree. He was tall enough to reach the first branch and sat on it, looking out at the small lake.

Peter moved to follow Edmund but Susan grabbed his arm.

"Just leave him for a while...maybe that's what he needs" Susan said and Peter slowly nodded as they both headed back inside.

Lucy had been observing from a distance and she saw Peter and Susan walk off and then she saw Edmund sat up a tree, alone.

She walked over slowly and looked up at the branch he was sat on.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, her vice quiet but loud enough for Edmund to hear.

"Go away" He muttered, not taking is eyes off of the river in front of him.

Lucy was taken aback by his sudden reaction and the tone of his voice. It was very unlike him.

"You may have fooled Susan and Peter but you can't fool me" Lucy said "I think we both know that the last you need right now is to be alone"

Edmund sighed but he knew that his sister was right, his family had always brought him back up, they never dragged him down.

"Are you sad about Narnia?" Lucy asked, being as intuitive as ever. Edmund shrugged.

"Yes but....it's just...ever since i got back here i....i've been feeling angry and emotional and....even cruel" Edmund said "But i've tried to ignore that and keep being happy but i....it's like the old me is trying to take control. Lu, I can't be that person again. I can't be the boy who hated my family" Edmund said sadly.

Lucy understood more than anyone and she just nodded. She was a lot better at understanding her brother than most people. She went over and attempted to climb the tree, mainly so Edmund wouldn't be alone.

"Lu.." Edmund said in a questioning tone "You're too small to climb trees.." He reminded her.

"I don't care, you shouldn't be alone" Lucy said determinedly and Edmund smiled at little. His sister was the bravest out of the four of them, that's what he'd always thought.

"Come on Lu...you shouldn't..you could..."

before he could say anything else Lucy's foot slipped and she skidded down the tree and to the grass below. Edmund sat upright and looked down to see his sister, crying.

He jumped down from the branch, running towards her.

He could tell that Lucy was holding back tears but she couldn't help but cry. He saw that her knee was bleeding and that she must've scraped it on the tree as she'd skidded down.

"It's okay Lu, I can make it better" He reassured her as he helped her up and headed back inside. He knew his sister was prone to accidents because she wasn't as careful as she should be.

"No more climbing trees until you're at least 5 foot 2" Edmund said which made Lucy giggle a little.

"Alright" She promised.