Ruth's Magpie

Chapter 37: Friendly Camps and Flower Crowns

RUTH:

"You have to eat something, Ed," I said gently, holding a bowl of soup out to him. He tried to slam his door in my face, but he slammed it on my foot instead. Leaving my foot there, I set the bowl down and attempted to force my way in. But he was no longer a little boy, and he managed to wiggle my foot out and definitely close the door. The soft click of the lock sealed my fate on the other side of the door.

I numbly grabbed the bowl and walked away as calmly as I could manage. I made my way back to the kitchen, setting the bowl down gently before slamming my head into the table violently and bursting into defeated tears.

"Ruth?" Susan called, entering the kitchen and rubbing my back gently. "It's not your fault."

"I'm not making anything any better, either!" I cried.

"Nobody is asking you to do that."

"But I'm the oldest other than Peter, I should be able to look after everyone else just like he does."

"We don't need two Peters."

I sniffled and looked up. "What?"

"Let me say that again. We don't need two Peters, Ruth. I know you love him, Ruth, and we all do, very much. But one Peter is all we need. We need one Peter, and one Ruth, not two Peters."

I sniffled again, trying to catch my breath. "But what have I ever done that's special?"

"Ruth!" she exclaimed with a slight giggle. "What have you ever done? Think about it. You were the first to find Narnia, weren't you?"

I nodded reluctantly.

"And you saved Edmund!"

"Not really," I replied slowly. "I was just a distraction."

"Fine, then, you distracted the Witch and saved my brother's life in the process by accident. Don't!" she said, holding her hand up to stop my argument. "I'm not done yet. You also came back and saved the other three when we were poisoned. You talked to the dwarves about the hole, you've given each and every one of us amazing birthdays every year, you were instrumental in planning Tumnus's wedding, you made baby blankets for all 23 baby beavers, and I could go on from there. Remember when I was away and, in the middle of the night, Lucy started her-"

I laughed and cut her off. "I get it, I get it. I guess I'm not Peter."

"And you don't need to try to be. We have one Peter, and that's enough. Sometimes more than enough," she added with a wink.

"Did I hear my name?" Peter himself asked, sauntering into the room.

"Yes, I was just telling Ruthie that she doesn't need to be just like you in order to matter."

"That's exactly right," he agreed, resting his hands on my shoulders as he kissed the top of my head. "Trust me when I say I could never love my twin as much as I love you."

I blushed. "I could easily say the same. I, for one, am glad I'm lucky enough to have the one Peter."

"You two are too cute!" Susan gushed, her hands flying to her cheeks.

I smiled up at Peter, who was already smiling down at me. His hands moved to my ponytail, and he fiddled with my hair for a couple of moments.

"How did the meeting of the security council go?" I asked nervously, my mind returning to the matter at hand.

"No sign of anything so far. But then again... we don't know what to expect. We don't know how it will be used, what specifically it does, nothing like that."