The Last Journey To Narnia

Chapter Two : Conviction

"Are you going to leave me here by myself?"

Susan's voice echoed in every corner of the house. Edmund was sitting on a chair in the kitchen with a boring face while Peter and Lucy were trying to make Susan react once and for all. The High King was leaning his back on the wall beside the fridge and the young Lucy was standing up, facing Susan with such bravery that made her deserve her royal title.

"You are not going to do this again, Susan." Lucy said with a firm voice. "You're trying to be the victim on this matter to make us stay here."

"I'm talking about making a difference between dream and reality, between truth and lie! We can't keep this discussion for the rest of our lives!" Susan cried.

"Here she goes again..." Edmund muttered.

"I refuse to live a lie while believing the truth in my heart." Lucy said firmly. "You've forgotten about Narnia, but Narnia would never forget you. They loved you."

"Let's be realistic!"

"There were four thrones in Cair Paravel, Susan. Not three, four. You sat on one of them for plenty of years, by the Lion! How can you be so cruel with the ones who swore loyalty to you?"

"I cannot believe you still even talk about this." Susan told them. "I thought you'd quit on it..."

"Do you think we love to talk about this in secret?" Edmund said from his chair. "It's like we can't even talk in our own house, hiding from you."

"You... you hide... from me?" She paused and frowned, perplexed. Peter and Lucy exchanged looks.

"We can't even mention Narnia in front of you." Edmund said. "What did you expect?"

Susan's eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm your sister. Why, all this Narnia-nonsense is splitting us! We are family, not a club where you can dismiss me."

"You've done that yourself, sister." Lucy said.

The youngest ones were really angry for the fact that Susan dared to deny and insult Narnia, such a beloved treasure to them. Peter, knowing that this was pulling Susan away from the train they'd take to go to the Professor's house, walked and leaned a hand upon his favorite sister's shoulder.

"Enough, Lu." The girl sighed and went to sit beside Edmund, though she wasn't giving up but planning some other way to make her sister believe again. Peter pressed his lips together. "I don't mean to offend you when I say I was not planning to invite you to come, Su."

"Why would she want to come, anyway?"

"Ed!"

"Let's be realistic!" He cried in a perfect imitation of his sister but none of them laughed, including him.

"Fellows, we better stop this!" Peter used his authoritarian voice to calm them. He was surprised, though, that Susan was still standing there. He had expected her to run away, as usual.

"Peter..." She began with her pretended-grown-up-voice. "You're older than me... how come you believe this... this fairy tale?"

The boy searched for some sort of sign in her face that revealed she was hiding the truth... but only in that very moment he realized she truly didn't believe that Narnia was the solid and real kingdom they used to reign. She wasn't pretending. She believed her own lie.

No. it was useless. He should have known it... or maybe he had, but he couldn't accept that his sister Susan, the one who played hide and seek when they were five or the only one who enjoyed to hear his terrible bedtimes stories, was gone... and replaced by this mature young woman who had no idea of the great queen she had been once.