𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

Christmas dawned on the Pevensies ridiculously fast. It wasn't snowing but it certainly wasn't sunny. Ed was the first to wake in the house. The six month old baby was sleeping soundly in his cot in the other bedroom, Rum was fast asleep at the end of Ed and Philly's bed, and Phillis slept with her lips parted lightly. He wanted to wake her, but he daren't ruin the peaceful moment. Probably the first peaceful moment the household had seen since Enoch had been born. Phillis stirred, turning her head slightly. She was now turned away from Edmund, but she couldn't have been cuddled any closer to the man. It was about nine o' clock and already Edmund could hear the laughter of the three sisters next door. He couldn't wait until Enoch was that age.

When they entire household had woke, they ventured downstairs to exchange gifts. Enoch, of course, was too young to appreciate the presents. Edmund had gifted Phillis a hefty stack of books, which she was extremely grateful for. The wireless hummed quietly in the background, the voice of famous artists bouncing off the walls of the living room. Phillis had bought Edmund a new electric torch, a pair of shoes and a lovely green sleeveless sweater. They'd met with their families a couple of days before Christmas, and exchanged gifts then. Susan and Lucy had picked out a gorgeous maroon dress with the most amazing floral pattern on it. Freddie and Rose had bought Phillis a new typewriter, which she simply adored.

Christmas had always been better as a child. Both Phillis and Edmund could agree on that. But Christmas was just different now. They had a child of their own and they lived in their own house, with their own pet and had their own jobs. Growing up in Narnia had been completely different to this. Their job had been sitting around and ordering people about all day; which didn't really feel like work at all. Money had never been an issue for them, growing up in London or growing up in Narnia. But they'd felt the hardships of rent and debt once Enoch had been born. But, somehow, having him there made everything better. And Phillis and Edmund knew they had each other, and that was all they could ever really ask for.

Soon enough, Christmas was over. Enoch was fast asleep in his cot, Rum was passed out at the end of the bed, Phillis was getting stuck into one of her new books already, and Edmund was admiring her. It was all the same. But Christmas always reminded Phillis of the Swords of North and South and how she'd found it hard to adapt to never using them. But they'd managed - they always did. "Think how long it's been since we first went to Narnia," Edmund sighed, running his hand along her scarred stomach.
"Nearly eight years now," she hummed, turning to look at him.
"Everything's changed," he told her. "When I first went into Narnia, I could never see myself marrying you."
She laughed, "You were the most irritable boy I'd ever met."
"Am I?" he smirked.
"Most definitely," she nodded, kissing him passionately. "It's weird to think that I've actually spent, like, 30 years with you. But to anyone else, it just looks like six."
The couple often had chats about Narnia before they went to sleep. They promised to one day tell Enoch about it, when he was old enough to understand. It was hard, though, because Edmund and Phillis hadn't been old enough to understand when they first got chucked into Narnia. But they were terribly grateful for it, nonetheless.

Phillis rocked back and forth with Enoch in her arms in the living room. Rum watched from his spot on the sofa. Edmund had his arms around Phillis, dancing to the calming voice of Vera Lynn. The clock struck midnight, which meant not only a new day, but now a new year. 1948. This was the year Phillis told herself she was determined on writing her book. She was going to get it out there for the world to see. The content family watched from their window. They admired the stars flooding the night's sky. The vast ocean of sparkling constellations and glinting stars. Her stars.