𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

1949 dawned on the family as fast as they'd stumbled into the wardrobe nine years before. Rain poured from the clouds. Perhaps it was a sign that the year to come would be a bad one. But nobody was thinking about that.

The curtains of Edmund and Phillis' room were drawn back and the entire family was curled up in their bed. Enid was nestled between her parents, and Enoch lay on his father's stomach, giggling at the silly faces that Edmund was pulling. Enid's tiny fingers were curled comfortably around Phillis' little finger. Rum purred happily at the end of the bed. Phillis lay on her stomach, grinning down at Enid. It was moments like these that filled Phillis with warmth and certainty. "Do you have to leave?" Ed asked.
"Yes. Believe me, I wish I could stay here forever. Just us. But I have a very important meeting to attend," replied Phillis. "And I have to drop these two off at Susan's house. You're going to meet our families."
Edmund sighed, checking his watch. "Speaking of which, if I don't leave soon I'll miss the train."
Carefully, he lifted Enoch off of his stomach and climbed out of bed.
With that, the entire family slowly got out of Phillis and Edmund's bed.

They stood by the front door, bidding each other farewell. "I'll see you tonight," Phillis smiled, kissing Edmund.
"I love you, darling," he nodded, looking to his son and daughter next.
"I love you too," she grinned.
And he was gone. He hurried along the street, before taking a turn and dashing towards the train station. Phillis slipped into a coat, placed a sleeping Enid in the pram and managed to balance Enoch on her hip. She wasn't necessarily in a rush, so she managed to get to Susan's house in about ten minutes. "Thanks for looking after them," the younger brunette said.
"Please, I feel like I haven't seen these little angels in ages," smiled Susan.
"I'll be back in a couple of hours," said Phillis, wrapping her coat around herself tightly.
"Take all the time you need. Good luck!" grinned Susan.
"Thank you, Su!" said Phillis.
The thing with Susan, was that, as most teenagers did, she went through a phase of obsessing over every little thing that came with adulthood and the sudden bubble of freedom. And, Phillis had to admit, she also went through a phase like that. However, she was too busy enjoying her simple life with Edmund to care that much about everything Susan was trying to introduce to her and Lucy. It had all started when they were last in Narnia, really, when Phillis became scarily obsessed with how she looked and sounded, as opposed to how she felt in herself.

See, with Susan, she had the chance to enjoy her youth as an attractive brunette after Elmer passed. Of course, she wasn't ready to meet anybody new, but she would take whatever she could when it came to her advantage in life, with her being a gorgeous, white woman. But then, she sort of settled after a while. After her little brother was the first of the Pevensie siblings to have a child, it sort of brought her back down to Earth. Susan got a decent job, spent more time with her family and she'd rather spend an evening at home now.

Maybe she matured too much. She grew into a lovey young woman, but then she just sort of stopped having fun. For example, she looks back on that stupid game she played with her siblings and the Opals when they were evacuated during the war. You know, the one where they became kings and queens. Oh, they'd had such fun playing along with each other. Friendly beavers, talking animals, big battles. Gosh, they'd been so creative. But, of course, it was all a silly game that they played to pass the time at Professor Kirke's and help ease the strange constant tension hanging in the air with the world at war. Susan smiles whenever she thinks about all the fun they'd had when they played 'Narnia'.

Phillis had a meeting with a publishing company. In her leather satchel, she had her book. It was only loose pieces of paper that stacked up and slipped into her satchel.

When she arrived at the headquarters of the publishing company, she was directed to an office at the end of a long and narrow hallway. The big door had a small golden plaque on it, with the words:

John L. Rovers
HEAD

Phillis knocked on the door and a deep voice called for her to enter. She smiled at the bald man sat behind a large mahogany desk. His walls were covered in bookshelves, which was sort of expected considering he was 'head' of a big publishing company. "And you are?" he said, sounding bored already.
"Phillis Pevensie, sir, lovely to meet you," she held her hand out towards him, but he dismissed her.
"No need for contact. Take a seat, please, Mrs. Pevensie," he said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
She nodded, sitting down hastily. There was a small wireless on one of the shelves behind him, which was playing quietly in the background. "Let's see it, then. The book," he held out his hand.
She pulled the large stack of papers from her otherwise empty satchel and placed them in John Rovers' hand. He slipped on a pair of spectacles and read the first chapter in silence. "The Cherry Blossom Tree and What Came to Be of It? That's quite a lengthy title for a chapter, don't you think?" he looked up at her.
Phillis lowered her gaze. The man intimidated her beyond belief. "Perhaps," she nodded, swallowing the knot at the back of her throat, "but that's the beauty of it, I think, sir."
"I see," he hummed, not sounding too impressed.
It took him five minutes to speak again. "I like it," he said and the long sigh of relief that left Phillis' lips explained whatever she must have felt in that moment. "I'd like to publish it. Under a different name, mind."
"What?" Phillis breathed, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Yes. A different name. Your husband's perhaps? You see, Mrs. Pevensie, it's proven that books by female authors aren't as popular as books by male authors. We'd be happy to publish your book, as long as you select a new masculine name," John Rovers explained.
"I see," Phillis nodded slowly. She just wanted her book to be published. At this point, she didn't care if it wasn't to be under her own name. She was about to agree when something on the wireless caught her attention. "A railway accident happened mere minutes ago in one of London's train stations. Thus far, few survivors have been found. Both passengers and people waiting to board the train were killed. It is said that the train lost control when it went around a bend too fast."
Phillis stood up, grabbing her coat and her book, stuffing it into her satchel. "Mrs. Pevensie?" John furrowed his brows.
"My family was on that platform."