Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Moores and Maggie. C. S. Lewis owns the rest. :)

A/N: Okay, so I know the first chapter is pretty lame, but it will get better (at least I like to think so :P) I know Narnia's not even mentioned in the first chapter, but it's coming so just hang on! Rated T just to be on the safe side. Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Exploration and Things

She stared out the window, tracing her fingers lightly on the glass. Lost in her thoughts, she thought of everything that was being left behind. Her mum, the few friends she had, and the only home she had ever known. A single tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away, hoping no one had seen it. "Why does it have to be this way?" she asked herself. Her little brother's voice tore her out of her thoughts.

"Lizzie?" he asked softly as he moved closer to her on the train bench. She put her arm around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder. "When will we be able to go home?"

"I don't know, Ben. I hope it's soon," she replied.

Lizzie looked around the small train booth. Her older sister Anna was reading Pride and Prejudice, while her older brother Thomas was reading a sports article. Everything seemed normal, but it was not. They, too, along with just about every child in London, were being sent to live with someone out in the country to get away from the air raids. Their father had left a year ago to serve in the war as a pilot, and Lizzie missed him terribly, as the two of them were extremely close. She fingered the locket that hung around her neck. Her dad had given it to her the day he left.

"You know, it's not fair that you were always his favorite. Why didn't he spend as much time with me?" asked Thomas in a snobby voice, with a look on his face that matched it. He had apparently seen her touch the necklace.

"Maybe if you weren't so beastly to everyone, people would actually want to spend time with you." Lizzie snapped back.

"Oh, yeah? Well than how can he stand to be around you?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Anna broke in. "You're acting like children half your age. Mum said to behave, and that includes all of us!" Silence once again took command in the booth, and no one spoke again for the rest of the trip.

At the station, a few children got off the train, including Lizzie and her siblings. A middle aged couple and an elderly lady stood on the platform.

"Who did you say we are staying with?" Lizzie whispered in Anna's ear.

But before Anna could reply, the elderly lady approached them.

"Well! You must be the Moore children! My name is Polly Plummer, but you can call me Aunt Polly. You all will be staying with me for a while. My automobile is this way, if you'll bring your luggage." The children piled into the car, Anna in the front seat with Aunt Polly, and Lizzie sandwiched between her brothers in the backseat. Right away Anna and Aunt Polly struck up a conversation, already feeling quite comfortable with each other. Meanwhile, in the back seat, all was quiet.

"Is everyone alright back there? You're awfully quiet." said Aunt Polly after a few minutes. "Silly me for asking such a question!" she exclaimed. "I'm sure you all are exhausted after your trip. As soon we get to my place, you all can go right to bed and get some rest." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Does she think we're babies or something that we need a nap?" he whispered in Lizzie's ear. She glared at him.

A short while later they arrived at a decently sized one-story house. Lizzie thought it looked like a cottage that you would go to on summer holiday. Inside it was very cozy, but nothing fancy. Aunt Polly proceeded show them to their rooms.

"I hope you enjoy your stay. Please make yourselves at home. We are so glad to have some children around to bring a little life back into things," Aunt Polly said with a pleasant laugh.

"We?" Anna asked with a quizzical look on her face. "We thought you lived by yourself."

"Just me and Maggie. She's my maid. She's probably in the kitchen making supper. You'll have to meet her later, as she doesn't like being disturbed while doing housework," said Aunt Polly, laughing again. "Well, I suppose I should let you get settled in. Supper will be at 5:30." With that she left the children in the hallway.

The girls were sharing a room directly across from the boys'. As they unpacked, the two didn't say much. It didn't take them long to finish, since they hadn't brought much. It was now 3:30.

"Well, should we go see if the boys are done?" asked Anna.

"Yes, let's," replied Lizzie.

The boys were done, and sitting on their beds. Ben was playing with his army men. Thomas was staring at the ceiling. Both looked at the girls as they came in.

"What should we do? We have two hours until dinner," said Ben.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm pretty tired. I'd like to just rest for awhile," said Anna.

"So she's already brainwashing you, eh?" said Thomas.

"If you can't say anything nice…"

"Don't say anything at all. I know, I know. You don't have to remind me," said Thomas, finishing Anna's sentence for her.

"You sure don't act like it," Anna retorted as she and Lizzie walked out of the room.

The girls returned to their room, put on some more comfortable clothes, and got in their beds. Lizzie lay there, unable to sleep. Anna, on the other hand, had no problem, and fell asleep quickly. Lizzie listened to her steady breathing for about half an hour before she decided to get up and explore the house. She got up and pulled on a sweater before quietly slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her. The door to the boys' room was slightly ajar. Lizzie peeked in and saw that they were both asleep as well.

She went down the hall and tried to open the door of the first room she came to. It was unlocked. She went in, and saw that it was another bedroom. It was obvious that someone lived in that room. Lizzie guessed that it was Aunt Polly, so she left and closed the door.

The next room she tried appeared to be a library or a study. There were bookshelves lining the walls, and a desk in the middle of the room. Lizzie walked over to one of the bookshelves and started looking at the titles. The books had strange titles, like Magical Worlds: Do They Exist? and The Difference Between Magic and Sorcery. She pulled one off its shelf and started flipping through, but then declared it 'boring' and put it back. Seeing as there was nothing interesting left in this room, she moved on.

She found the next room to be another occupied living space, presumably the maid's, so Lizzie decided to leave that room alone. Just as she was about to try the handle of the next room, she heard voices nearby, so she quickly but quietly snuck back to her own room. Finding her sister still asleep, she crept into bed and stayed there until it was time to wash up for supper.

"Did you sleep?" asked Anna as she combed her hair in preparation for supper.

"Nope. But you sure did," Lizzie replied, having just washed her face. Anna laughed.

"I guess I hadn't realized how tired I was. Anyway, I wonder what we'll do while were here? All the way out in the country like this, there can't be a whole lot to do."

"I don't know. I've been wondering the same thing myself. After all, it's not like there's many other people to do things with."

"Well, by any means, I'm sure we'll have a good time."

"Yeah, but I just hope that we're not the only ones who have a good mind about it."

"I know what you mean."

Supper was a wonderful time. The food was delicious, and it gave the children a good chance to get to know Aunt Polly and Maggie. Aunt Polly was definitely very talkative, as was Maggie. They were both eager to learn everything about the children.

"So do you all like school?" asked Aunt Polly.

"Well, all but Thomas. He hates it, but the rest of us love it," replied Anna.

"I love school! It's so much fun to learn everything and make new friends," Ben said with much enthusiasm.

Maggie chuckled. "And what's your favorite subject?"

"Oh, I like all of them. But science is definitely the best. And math is second," replied Ben.

"What kinds of things do you young people do in your free time?" said Aunt Polly.

"All sorts of things, but it depends on the season," Thomas said.

"Like in the winter we like to go ice skating and sledding," said Ben.

"And in the summer we like to play cricket and go swimming," Anna added. "And what about you? What do the two of you do for fun?"

"Oh, we're too old to get out and do much of anything these days," said Aunt Polly with a laugh.

Maggie nodded in agreement. "We just stay around here and mind our business."

"What kind of business?" asked Ben.

"Ben! You know better than to go asking questions like that! If they wanted to tell us, they would do so without you asking," Anna said.

"It's all right dear. It's just us. We don't mind curious children, do we, Polly?" Maggie said.

"Oh no, of course not! I guess you could say our business is keeping up the house, gardening, and such," said Aunt Polly. She then turned to Lizzie, who was sitting next to her. "Are you alright, dearie? You haven't said a word the whole meal!"

"Oh I'm fine thank you," Lizzie replied with a smile.

"She's usually the quiet one of the bunch," said Anna with a smile.

"But not always! Sometimes she's the most talkative!" said Ben.

"Well. I suppose I'll start cleaning up," said Maggie as everyone rose from the table.

"Lizzie and I will help," Anna said.

"Heavens no! You're guests here! No, I can take care of it. Thank you, though, sweetheart," Maggie replied.

After supper, everyone went to their own room to relax. Anna continued reading her book, while Lizzie laid on her bed and thought about everything that had happened in the last few days. She thought about the raid, when she and Anna had gotten caught out of the house. Lizzie now had a nasty gash on her face from a piece of flying debris, though Anna hadn't received any injuries.

That night, Lizzie lay awake, unable to sleep once again. She thought about the library she had found, and the curious books on its shelves. "I wonder what it all means?" she thought to herself. "Perhaps I'll ask Aunt Polly about it in the morning."