Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.

Post Date: 9-6-09

AN: This is my first fic. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to wait until I had a few one-shots under my belt before attempting a multi-chapter story. As you can see, I decided to just go for it and write a multi-chapter story first. With that being said, please bear with me if this story is a bit rocky. Hopefully I will gain confidence and experience as I continue and my writing will get better.

Thank you to those of you who are willing to give my writing a chance. I hope you like the story; even if you don't, please review and tell me what doesn't work and what I'm doing wrong. If you like it, please let me know, but you don't have to. I won't beg for reviews. Okay, I'll end this here and get on with the story…

"Speech"

Thoughts

Chapter One

"Fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-six…" came a young female voice.

The voice belonged to a girl named Susan Pevensie. It was a gray, rainy day, and she was currently playing a game of hide and seek with her three siblings: Peter- the oldest of the four, Lucy- the youngest, and Edmund- who was about a year older than Lucy and two years younger than Susan. Their mother's name was Helen, but she will not enter our story much, for it takes place during the air raids of World War II. Fearing for her children's safety, Helen Pevensie had sent them to the house of a professor who lived in the country. This house, or more precisely, something that was in this house, was what gives us our story.

To better understand what happened during this game of hide and seek, we must go back to the last rainy day Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy had spent at the Professor's house. As it was only their first day at there, they decided to explore, for the house was simply enormous. Many of the rooms they ventured into held nothing remarkable, and the one that is so crucial to our story seemed no different. It held a wardrobe. The only other thing besides that was a dead blue-bottle on the window-sill. Upon declaring that there was nothing of interest in the room, Peter led Susan and Edmund out.

Lucy, unbeknownst to the others, stayed behind and entered the wardrobe. Seconds later, she burst out of it and flew through the door to the wardrobe room. Lucy told her brothers and sister that she had been in a magical wood called Narnia in the wardrobe for hours, and had had tea with a faun named Mr. Tumnus, and that all sorts of things had happened. None of them believed her; Edmund even teased her about it. She was miserable for the next few days. They were bright and sunny, filled with all sorts of things like swimming and fishing and whatnot. Lucy, however, could not properly enjoy any of it.

So this went on until the next rainy day, the day of the hide and seek game that starts our story.

As Susan counted to one hundred, Lucy ran to the wardrobe room. She did not mean to hide in the wardrobe, as that would cause the others to talk about the unpleasant incident again. All she intended to do was to make certain that the land in the wardrobe had not been a dream after all, for even she was beginning to wonder this.

As she touched the handle of the wardrobe door to open it, she heard footsteps in the passage outside, and, thinking they were Susan's, had no choice but to jump into the wardrobe and hold the door closed behind her.

Those steps, though, had been Edmund's. He came into the room just in time to see Lucy vanish into the wardrobe, and lost no time clambering in after her so he might tease her some more about her imaginary country. He could not see Lucy, so he felt around the wardrobe, thinking she had cleverly concealed herself behind the coats. As Edmund continued pushing through the coats, the air around him seemed to grow colder.

That's strange, he thought. Why would it suddenly feel cold inside a wardrobe? Unless… His heart sank as he emerged into a bright winter clearing. Lucy's country in the wardrobe was real after all. He looked about himself and saw a set of footprints leading off into the woods.

"Lucy!" Edmund cried, not wanting to admit he had been wrong, but not wanting to be alone in the snowy wood. "Lucy! I'm here too- Edmund!" Upon receiving no response, Edmund decided to follow the footprints, hoping that they were, in fact, Lucy's. He continued calling out to Lucy, as he walked. "I say Lu! I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I see now you were right all along. Do come out. Make it- oomph!"

"Edmund!" Lucy exclaimed, barreling into him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She looked up at him, smiling broadly.

"Lucy, I'm-," Edmund began.

"Oh Edmund, I'm so glad you're here too!" Lucy interrupted. "I would have waited for you if I had known you had gotten in! Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" She paused for breath, still grinning excitedly.

"I'm sorry for not believing you, Lu. And a good bit more for teasing you about it," Edmund said. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Lucy turned around and bent down. She put her arms behind her back as she straightened up.

"I don't know, Ed," Lucy replied. She then threw a snowball at Edmund's face. "But that might be a start!" Edmund gave a yell, and the two began a snowball fight. Edmund let Lucy hit him most of the time as a sort of apology for being so beastly to her over the past few days. They didn't notice that someone was approaching through the trees.

"Daughter of Eve!" came a cry. Lucy turned. "Lucy- why have you come back?"

"I- I had to know whether you and the whole of Narnia were a dream or not," Lucy said to the man- or Faun, Edmund supposed, seeing as from the waist down the speaker looked like a goat. 'This must be Mr. What's-his-name, that faun Lucy said she had tea with the first time she came here,' Edmund thought.

"But you know how dangerous it is for you to be here-," the faun paused, looking at Edmund. "And now you have brought a Son of Adam too! If the White Witch finds out you are here, she will have both of you killed!"

"Please Mr. Tumnus," Lucy said. "I missed you and wanted to make sure you were all right." Mr. Tumnus (for that was the faun's name) sighed worriedly.

"Very well," he relented. "Who is this Son of Adam?"

"My brother, Edmund," Lucy told him. Mr. Tumnus smiled anxiously at Edmund and nodded.

"You have your sister's nose," Mr. Tumnus said kindly. "It-"

He broke off suddenly. A rustling, jingling noise could be heard in the distance. Mr. Tumnus looked positively horrified.

"It's she!" he cried. "Quick, quick! Get yourselves back to Spare Oom!" Edmund looked puzzled at this.

"That's what he calls England! Come, we must hurry!" Lucy said. She grabbed Edmund's hand and began running. They ran back the way Lucy's footprints led, and soon they arrived back at the wardrobe. They barreled through it and tumbled out onto the floor. Lucy looked up at Edmund and began bawling.

"Lu! Are you alright?" he asked. She wrapped her arms around him and spoke into his shoulder.

"Oh, Edmund, if it was the Witch, she has probably arrested him, or done something terrible to him!" Lucy cried. She sat back and buried her face in her hands. Edmund offered her his handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Lucy accepted it gratefully. "Thank you Edmund. I gave mine to Mr. Tumnus…" She trailed off, tears building in her eyes again.

"Don't worry, Lucy. I'm sure he'll be alright," Edmund murmured comfortingly. He hugged her as she shook with renewed weeping.

As she sobbed, Edmund thought about how he could explain this to Peter and Susan. He could always pretend that he had been teasing her again, but looking down at his already miserable younger sister, Edmund didn't want to cause her more sadness.

I guess I'll have to tell them that Lucy was is right, Edmund thought. That there is a wood in the wardrobe. Though they might think I've gone crazy too, then…

Just then the door opened. Peter and Susan burst into the room. Peter saw that Lucy was crying and looked at Edmund angrily, seeming not to notice that he was comforting her.

"What did you do now, Edmund?" Peter snapped. "Haven't you bothered Lucy enough the past few days?" Edmund opened his mouth to deliver an indignant reply, but Lucy beat him to it.

"Leave Ed alone!" Lucy said, gulping and trying to hold back her tears. "I'm not crying because Edmund was bothering me!" She wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. Peter frowned disbelievingly.

"Well, if Edmund didn't make you cry, then who did?" Peter asked.

"Mr. Tumnus, the faun I was telling you about," Lucy said. She faltered, tears again coming to her eyes. "I think he's in danger."

"And how would you know this, Lucy?" Susan said.

"Because I went back," Lucy said, wiping her eyes again. "And this time, Edmund went too!" She looked expectantly at Edmund. Peter and Susan looked at him too.

"Well, Ed," Peter said. "Is this true?"

I think I'm going to end Chapter One here. A couple places didn't flow as nicely as I wanted them to, but I did as well as I could…

Anyway, please review! Even if it's a flame!