Accidentally Falling | Narnia

34 | homecomings

Susan was startled awake by trumpets blowing loudly down by the shore. She groaned inwardly, shoving her head under her soft pillows to drown out the sound.

To say that she was annoyed was a tragic understatement. Even back in England, when she had to get up really early to prepare breakfast for her, Edmund, and Lucy before going to school (because Mrs. Macready was a bat in human form) she was not a morning person. When she got in Narnia, it got slightly better because she didn't need to wake up at six a.m. and if she had to, she merely had to look out of her balcony and listen to the waves lapping at the shore and she'd be fine. But now, she couldn't help but curse mentally as the horn blew hard once again.

Who in their right minds would sound trumpets that loud and in that early in the morning? The sun hadn't even completely risen, she was sure of that. Now, if there was something important happening or a royalty coming she'd understand but--

Susan's eyes flew open.

She quickly got up from her comfortable bed and pulled open the doors to her balcony, squinting against the rising sun in the east to look out to the sea.

And there it was. The unmistakable sail of the Dawn Treader flying with the morning wind.

Caspian.

She immediately ran to her wash room, ignoring the mess of what used to be her bed (which was so unlike her because she was known to be the most organized of the three Pevensies.) She splashed her face with cold water (she wanted to take a bath but her ladies in waiting hadn't prepared the tub because she forgot to tell them last night when they set up her hot bath. And, besides, she had taken a hot bath the night before so she'd figure it would be alright because she was sure she didn't smell bad anyway.) She went to her wardrobe and grabbed the first set of clothes she could get her eyes on. She ran a brush hastily through her raven locks and grabbed a pair of laced white sandals for her feet. She then bursted out of her bedchambers, not even bothering to shut the doors close.

When Susan arrived at the beach, a huge huddle of people were already there. At first she thought that Caspian had already got to shore. There was no way she could see if there was a rowboat already on the beach through the thick crowd of people. But when she got to the front, the others immediately making way when they spotted her, curtsying with the process (she still hadn't got used to that,) the Dawn Treader had just laid anchor an arrow shot away from the shoreline. Two rowboats were now heading to the beach.

Edmund and Lucy were already there when Susan got to the front line.

"Morning, Su," Edmund greeted. When he caught sight of the dark shadows under Susan's eyes, he quietly whistled. "You look horrible."

Edmund looked like he'd been awake for hours now. Back in England, this would have been impossible. If Susan hated having to wake up before six a.m., Edmund loathed it. She almost had to pour a bucket of water on his head everytime to get him off the bed. But here in Narnia, Edmund seemed to almost have no problem waking up early. Maybe because he had swordfighting lessons to look forward to.

Her brother was wearing a blue tunic and brown pants that morning. His hair was blown to one side and his brown eyes sparkled with that mischief he seemed to always have.

"Slept late last night," Susan replied, heaving a series of deep breaths. That would be the last time she'd be running from her bedchambers to shore. Her lungs and sandaled feet were not a fan of it.

Lucy, who was on Edmund's other side, focused on Susan's face too. "Why?"

She, too, looked very awake. The youngest Pevensie was wearing a pink dress. Her hair was tied in braids. As she looked at Susan with twinkling brown eyes and bright face, she looked like she had slept really well the night before. With no irritating thoughts tap dancing in her brain, no looming doomsday decisions making her crazy, and no blonde-haired Kings haunting her dreams.