Author's Note: Hi there, reader! Thanks for clicking on my story! It's a pretty casual retelling/novelization of the 2005 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie with an OC of mine thrown in there. I have several chapters already written, so if you like this and would like to read more, do tell me in the reviews!

Lionheart

When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone

Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,

The Lionheart will resume her hunt,

And the evil time will be over and done.

In the dark night sky of London, German bombers flew silently, blending in with the dull grey clouds that surrounded them so well that they could hardly be seem from the sea of houses below.

What would later be called World War II had just begun the year before.

Edmund Pevensie watched the planes from his bedroom window, listening to the distant rumbles caused by the bombs dropped far away. The boy foolishly stayed where he was, watching the raid with a strange amusement, not quite understanding how close the bombs actually were.

Since the war had started, Edmund's father was called to serve in the army, leaving Edmund, his siblings, and his mother on their own at home.

Another explosion was heard, and it felt slightly closer as the curtains shook from the tremor.

Suddenly, Edmund's door slammed open, letting in a stream of light from the corridor outside that made the boy squint his eyes and wince, and his mother, Helen, rushed in, her face pale.

"Edmund!" her eyes widened in horror at how close her son was to the window, "What are you doing? Get away from there!" Nails digging into his shoulders, she grabbed Edmund, tugging him from the window and ushered him out of the room.

The ground shook as more bombs struck, much closer than before.

In another bedroom in the Pevensie house, Lucy Pevensie cowered under her blankets while clamping her hands over her ears in vain to block out the sound of the explosions. "Mummy!" she shrieked to be heard over the deafening sound of the Blitz, looking as if she was ready to cry.

Her door swung open, and her elder sister, Susan, arrived with a flashlight. "Lucy, come on!" The older girl grasped Lucy's hand, pulled her out of bed, and the two of them ran through the house, heading for the storm shelter outside.

As the sisters sprinted out into the hot and sticky evening air, their mother followed behind them along with their eldest brother, Peter, who was dragging Edmund along.

Sirens blared from various directions and the smell of smoke was nearly suffocating.

Susan arrived at the shelter first and threw open the doors, allowing everyone to pile into the tiny cellar.

But before Susan's mother could close and lock the doors, Edmund's eyes widened in realization before he broke away from Peter and dashed out, running back to the house.

"Edmund, come back here!" Helen screamed, but her cries were ignored as Edmund disappeared into the dark building again.

Without hesitation, Peter climbed out of the shelter too and took off after his younger brother despite Helen's screams for him to stop.

Back in the house, Edmund had rushed to his mother's bedroom where a framed photo of his father in a military uniform stood on the nightstand. But before he could touch it, there was another explosion so close that it shattered the windows of the house and knocked the boy to the floor.

It was a miracle Edmund didn't get impaled by glass splinters when Peter found him sprawled on the ground, desperately reaching for their father's photo. The younger boy just managed to grab it before his brother shoved him back outside, shells falling and explosions triggering all around them as they ran for their lives toward the storm shelter.

The girls were waiting for them just inside the cellar and screaming for them to run faster. Both boys nearly tripped on the shaky, uneven ground, but at last they ducked into the shelter, and Helen slammed the door shut.

The Blitz forced many mothers to send their children to the countryside where bombings were far less likely to happen, and Helen too had made the decision to put her four children on a train to the rural parts of England.

The station was busy that day, filled with other parents waving good-bye at the children packed into the train.

Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter stood with their mother in the crowd next to the line to board the train, fidgeting with their luggage and trying not to look too sad about leaving their mother behind.

"You need to keep this on, darling," Helen instructed gently while tying a label onto Lucy's coat and then smoothing out her daughter's hair fondly. "Are you warm enough?"

Lucy nodded gloomily and hugged her plush teddy bear closer to her chest before allowing Helen to slowly pull her into a short embrace.

"Good girl," the mother murmured as she forced a reassuring smile at her youngest child and then handed a label to Susan who was able to tie it on herself. Next, she started working on attaching on Edmund's label which was supposed to tell the conductors where the children are to be dropped off in the countryside.

"Country's boring," Edmund commented quietly.

Having finished tying on her own label, Susan looked at him exasperatedly. "Boring is safe," she pointed out.

A sour and slightly bitter expression found its way onto Edmund's face, and he refused to meet her mother's eyes as he mutter, "If Dad were here, he wouldn't make us go."

"If Dad were here, then the war would be over, and we wouldn't have to go!" Peter replied and not without a layer of harshness in his voice.

"You will listen to your brother, won't you, Edmund?" Helen asked gently. When Edmund didn't answer and just looked off to the side, she swallowed and attempted to give him one last hug, but the boy quickly pulled away, still not looking at her.

The hurt that flashed in his mother's eyes went unseen by Edmund.

Helen moved on from her youngest son and now directed her attention to the eldest, Peter, and squeezed his hands in hers. "You will look after the others, won't you, dear?"

Blinking back tears, Peter squeezed back, "I will, Mom."

Satisfied with his response, Helen genuinely smiled and addressed her first daughter, "Susan…"

Susan had been looking at her feet while her mother was speaking to Peter, but upon hearing her own name, she lifted her gaze.

"Be a big girl," the mother patted her cheek as Susan sniffled and smiled weakly. At that moment, Helen heard the whistle that signaled the train would be leaving soon, and she drew in a quick breath to compose herself before nodding to her children, "Alright. Off you go, then."

Without another word, the four children picked up their luggage and slowly shuffled into the line to board the train.

After one of the conductors checked their labels, the Pevensies stepped into the crowded cart, and by a stroke of luck, found a compartment that wasn't already stuffed full of other children. All four of them piled together near the window like all the other kids on the train and waved good-bye to Helen.

The train then left the station with a toot of its whistle.

The train dropped off Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter at a dingy platform called Coombe Halt. Other than the four of them, it didn't seem like there was anyone else nearby.

The air was fresher and crisper this far out in the countryside, and the quietness was eerie to the children who were not used to it, having spent their whole lives in the city. A dirt road ran by the side of the platform, and it led in both directions to nothing but farmland as far as the eye could see.

The children heard an automobile coming toward them along the dirt road, and they quickly gathered their things and got down from the platform to stand on the side of the road.

Lucy waved at the driver of the automobile, but he didn't even look at them as he drove past, tires thumping over where the railroad tracks cut through the dirt path.

The Pevensies watched the automobile until it was out of sight, all four of them feeling quite uncomfortable being in the countryside with no idea where they were supposed to go. They had been expecting someone to pick them up.

"The professor knew we were coming," Susan said, furrowing her eyebrows.

Edmund fumbled with the paper attached to his coat and tried to read it, a frown etching onto his face. "Perhaps we've been incorrectly labelled…"

Peter turned his head to gaze down the road when the sound of hoof beats caught his ears, and a white horse emerged from over the crest of a small hill, pulling a large wagon.

A stiff looking lady with a pair of glasses perched on her nose was handling the reins, and she stopped in front of the children, side-eyeing them with a hint of distaste.

The children stared back at her; Susan and Peter exchanged uncertain glances. "Mrs. Macready…?"

"I'm afraid so," the women answered drying, looking the Pevensies over. "Is this is then? Haven't you brought anything else?"

"No ma'am," Peter muttered. "It's just us."

Lucy nodded at the woman helpfully.

Macready raised a single thin eyebrow at the youngest girl and said in an unreadable tone, "Small favors." With a roll of her eyes, she jerked her head at the back of the wagon, motioning for them to get on.

The professor's house came into view after a bumpy and awkwardly quiet ride. It was a large, stone building that looked majestic as if it's been there for decades.

Macready opened the front doors, leading the Pevensies into the grand entry hall of the mansion. "Professor Kirke is not accustomed to having children in his house," she spoke loudly, her voice echoing a little. "And as such, there are a few rules we need to follow." Turning around to face the guests, she paused briefly while bringing them up the main staircase, glaring at them suspiciously before resuming climbing the steps. "There will be no shouting—or running. No improper use of the dumbwaiter. No touching of the historical artifacts!" she all but shrieked just as Susan was about to touch the nose of a marble bust that stood nearby."

Susan froze before slowly retracting her hand back, biting her lip.

Edmund tried to hide his snickers.

"And above all…" Macready lowered her voice dangerously as they reached the top of the staircase and passed a tall black door. "…there shall be no disturbing of the professor."

Through a low hum of statics, the radio played the news about another recent raid in London as Lucy lay in bed and picked at her comforter distractedly, trying not to pay attention to what the news reporter was saying.

"The sheets feel scratchy," she voiced her observation sadly.

It was nighttime, and the four Pevensies stayed in the large room they were given to sleep in during their time with the professor.

Susan sat at the foot of Lucy's bed and smiled reassuringly, "Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon."

Just as Lucy was about to smile back in appreciation at how her sister was attempting to comfort her, she was interrupted by a rather unpleasant comment from Edmund.

"Yeah, if home's still there," the boy muttered sarcastically.

Rolling her eyes at Edmund, Susan gave him a most agitated look, "Isn't it time you're in bed?" she question in an identically dry tone.

"Yes, Mum," Edmund answered mockingly.

Peter raised his voice, "Ed!"

Edmund let out an exasperated breath, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he turned his back to his siblings and crawled into his own bed silently.

Peter turned to Lucy, eyes earnest, and said softly, "You saw outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's going to be great. Really."

Lucy cracked a little smile, feeling slightly better.

Lucy stared blankly out the window where the rain was coming down in sheets so thick, she could hardly see what was in the distance. So much for doing whatever we want, like Peter had said yesterday. She was so very bored, and the game her siblings had come up with to entertain themselves was utterly useless at satisfying her desire for some fun.

"Gastrovascular," Susan read slowly from an old dictionary. She looked up at the other children expectantly and when no one said anything, she sighed, "Come on, Peter! Gastrovascular."

Peter was sprawled ungracefully in an armchair, and sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "Is it Latin?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"Yes."

"Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund called from where he was wedged underneath a chair, having resorted to counting fuzz balls under it in his desperation for something to do.

Susan wasn't amused with his joke and moodily slammed the dictionary shut.

Sensing that the dictionary game was getting trashed, Lucy got up from her seat at the ledge next to the window. "We can play hide and seek," she suggested hopefully.

Peter exchanged glances with Susan, "But we're already having so much fun."

"Come on, Peter, please!" Lucy grabbed her brother's arm and shook it.

Edmund did his best not to roll his eyes.

The youngest Pevensie made a sad pleading puppy face at Peter and lowered her voice, "Pretty please?"

At last, a smile that Peter couldn't hold back spread across his face as he looked at his sister, "One, two, three…"

Lucy squealed with delight and instantly ran out of the room as Peter got out of chair and faced the wall, continuing with his counting. Susan and Edmund gazed at each other with matching reluctant eyes before dragging themselves up and hurrying out the door also, not wanting to lose either despite their lack of enthusiasm for the game.

The three siblings skipped all around the professor's mansion looking for good hiding places while Peter's voice echoed throughout the halls. Coming across a large chest sitting in the corridor, Susan was relieved to see it emptied of contents and quietly stuffed herself inside just as Peter counted up to thirty. Meanwhile, somewhere on the other end of the house, Lucy and Edmund found themselves in the same hall way. The boy ducked behind a set of draperies which he apparently "got to first" while Lucy kept running.

The youngest Pevensie eventually came to a door that was unlocked and quickly went through it, hoping for the best since Peter was almost done counting to a hundred.

The room was quiet except for the buzz of a fly by the window, and it had nothing in it save for a large and dirty white sheet covering a large boxy object at the back of the chamber.

Curious as to what odd room she had stumbled into, Lucy slowly made her way over to the sheet and grabbed one end before holding her breath and pulling the fabric away to reveal what it concealed. Her eyes widened with awe and a smile stretched across her lips.

It was a wardrobe made from dark wood and reached from floor to ceiling with curved, intricate designs carved on the door. Something about it gave off a sense of wonder, and it excited Lucy.

The girl pulled the wardrobe door open gingerly, letting a few moth balls roll out before shooting a mischievous look over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her before stepping into the wardrobe. Leaving the door open a crack so she could see outside, Lucy felt quite good about herself for finding such a great hiding place and thought that she would win the game for sure.

"Eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five…" Peter's voice was faint and distant now.

Feeling the soft furry coats behind her, Lucy began to slowly move towards the back of the wardrobe, her confidence growing as she kept backing up into the wondrously large closet.

The air was strangely chilly and windy, and it smelled fresh, nothing like the old dusty scent of a large and old cupboard. And for some reason, the wardrobe was still decently lit despite Lucy only leaving a tiny crack open at the door.

Suddenly, her hand touched something cold and wet, and she let out a startled gasp before slowly looking over her shoulder to see what something of that texture could be doing in a wardrobe.

There was snow gathered on the edge of what looked like a tree branch and as Lucy raised her gaze higher, she saw that it was connected to a trunk that supported a medium sized pine. Beyond it, there were even more trees and a brilliantly blue sky hung over it all, creating the image of a winter wonderland. Snowflakes fell lazily but densely, and the forest ground was already covered in at least ten centimeters of snow.

This is an awfully big wardrobe, Lucy thought as she gazed at the sky and trees with large smile, eyes glittering with awe. After a moment, she looked back in the direction she had come and could still see the vertical strip of yellow light coming from the other side of the door. The exit isn't going anywhere, she thought as an excuse for her to keep walking deeper into the forest and explore more of this enormous wardrobe.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Lucy suddenly saw something that glittered in the sunlight on the ground, and she curiously walked over to it and dug it completely out of the snow.

It was a plain silver ring with a single diamond embedded in the band. Someone must have lost it, but what would anyone be doing in these woods? Lucy dusted off the snowflakes from the ring and slipped it into the pocket of her skirt.

Her shoes and socks got wet from the snow and her thin sweater wasn't nearly enough to keep her warm, but Lucy was able to ignore all of this easily as she became more and more enchanted with her discovery. A few minutes after she started walking through the woods, a single lamp post came into Lucy's view at a clearing ahead.

It looked so lonely, the post covered in a thick layer of frost, a tiny flame burning in the lantern at the top which cast it's warm and yet eerie yellow light on the snow surrounding its base.

Lucy stood beside it and glanced up at the illuminating fire while touching her fingers to the freezing cold column, leaving behind three little dots where the heat from her hand had melted the frost.

Crack… Crunch…

In panic, Lucy whirled around upon hearing was sounded like someone walking in the snow nearby.

Crunch… thump-thump…

She attempted to hide behind the lamppost but it was far too skinny to conceal her.

Then, out from behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, a little man with a scruffy goatee, carrying an umbrella and a few brown packages like he was just through with Christmas shopping, emerged. He had a crown of fair curly hair and rather large ears. And the oddest thing about him was that from the waist down, he had goat legs.

Lucy screamed when she saw him and curled up behind the lamppost in fright.

The little man also yelped in terror, clearly startled by Lucy's shriek, and ended up dropping all of his things. Then, he, like the girl, retreated behind something—in his case, a tree—to hide.

For a moment, neither Lucy nor the man with the goat legs dared to come out of their hiding places, but finally Lucy, astonished that the strange man was just as scared as she was, worked up the courage step out from behind the post cautiously. She kept her eyes on him as she slowly bent down and picked up one of the wrapped packages he had dropped.

"Er… ahh—I, uh…juh—um…" the man stuttered when he saw Lucy dust off the snow from his parcels and hesitantly got out from behind the tree also, taking a few steps toward her.

Lucy knew that it was rude to stare, but it was so hard not to look at the goat legs and cloven hooves. "Were you hiding… from me?" she asked quietly as she handed him the package.

"Uh… no," he replied, fidgeting with his umbrella with one hand and clutching his parcel to his chest. "I just—I—I didn't want to scare you," he admitted, lowering his head a little while walking over to gather the other things he had dropped.

Lucy smiled, thinking to herself that the man in front on her isn't as frightful as she had first thought. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

"Well, I'm a—I'm a faun," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And what are you? You must be some kind of…" he gestured at their big height difference, "beardless dwarf?"

"I'm not a dwarf!" Lucy cried with a combination of amusement and exasperation. "I'm a girl! And actually, I'm tallest in my class," she informed proudly, retrieving the last of the faun's parcels and returning them to their owner.

Eyes suddenly widening with interest, the faun lowered his voice, "Y-you mean to say that you're a daughter of Eve?"

Lucy frowned, "Well, my mum's name is Helen—"

"Yes, yes, but you are, in fact," he paused, "human?"

The faun's behavior was starting to worry Lucy just a little, "Yes, of course…"

An emotion flashed across the faun's eyes that was difficult to read, and he looked over his shoulder nervously as if making sure no one was watching them. "What are you doing here?" he asked, voice wavering slightly.

"Well, I was hiding in the wardrobe in the spare room and—"

"Spare Oom?" the faun repeated in fascination. "Is that in Narnia?"

Now it was Lucy's turn to perk up with interest, "Narnia? What's that?"

The faun smiled uncomfortably, "Oh dear girl, you're… you're in it." Judging by the look on Lucy's face, he must has realized that the girl had still had no idea what he was talking about. Eager to explain, he pointed the tip of his umbrella at the lantern they stood under, "E-everything from the lamppost all the way to the castle of Cair Paravel on the Eastern Sea…" He waved his umbrella in the general direction of what was probably the east, "Every stick and stone you see, every icicle, is Narnia."

Look off into the distance dreamily, Lucy muttered dreamily, "It's an awfully big wardrobe…"

"Wardrobe…?" the faun whispered to himself, not quite understanding what Lucy was talking about. But he only wore a puzzled expression for a moment before quickly wiping it away and forcing a smile, "Um… I'm sorry. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tumnus."

Lucy broke into a crooked grin, "Pleased to me you, Mr. Tumnus! I'm Lucy Pevensie." She held out her hand expectantly.

Mr. Tumnus stared at it with confusion.

Realizing that he didn't know what to do, Lucy quickly explained, "Oh, you shake it."

"… Why?"

Lucy thought about it momentarily before coming to the conclusion that she didn't know either. "I… I don't know," she exclaimed, a frown coming onto her face. "People do it when they meet each other."

Tumnus chuckled nervously, but nonetheless reached out and shook Lucy's hand awkwardly, making the girl giggle. "Well, Lucy Pevensie," he address in a light and cheerful tone as he opened his umbrella and held it welcomingly over both their heads, "from the shining city of War Drobe, in the wondrous land of Spare Oom, how'd it be if you came and had tea with me?"

Delighted by the invitation, Lucy smiled, "Why, thank you very much! But I… probably should be getting back…" She subtly glanced back in the direction she had come.

"But please, it's just around the corner," Tumnus responded a little too quickly, but caught himself before he did anything else suspicious. "And there'll be a glorious fire and—and toast and tea and cakes…" He smiled hopefully, "And perhaps we'll even break into the sardines."

Lucy smiled apologetically, "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on," Mr. Tumnus insisted, bouncing a little where he stood. "It's not every day I make a new friend."

Not being able to refuse when the faun was looking at her with such earnest and expectant eyes, Lucy decided that staying for a little while wouldn't hurt. "Well, I suppose I could come a little while if you have sardines…" She linked arms with Mr. Tumnus and huddled under the umbrella with him.

"By the bucket load," he added, smiling down at the girl, and then they went on their way.