The Last Seer | Peter Pevensie

Chapter 5: The Wood In the Wardrobe

The next day, everyone was awoken by Joanna. She decided that it would be best to distract everyone immediately after the events of the previous night. Edmund groaned at her, refusing to answer her calls to get up.

Susan was happy to see that she wanted to help and was proud of her for letting the radio go. As of late, her and Peter had not been found near that thing. Good riddance.

Once everyone was up and dressed, they headed into the small town just down the road. Mrs. Macready gave them a list of groceries that were needed, complaining that she hardly got any help around the house. Peter offered to take that chore off her hands, and actually produced a smile from the woman.

Lucy and Susan lead the way, chattering about everything. Joanna was relieved that no fighting had ensued, yet; she was determined to keep it that way. She walked between Edmund and Peter, hoping to keep the tension low and out of the picture. So far, it was working.

The small town was buzzing with activity and talk. Fresh food stands lined the road and the smell was so intoxicating, Joanna could hardly stand it. She pulled her messy black hair into a ponytail and began to investigate what foods were around.

The people of the town were friendly and offered free samples of anything that interested the children. Lucy was immediately enticed by the horses that stood tied up to the sides of the buildings, so Peter took her to pet them. This left Edmund, Susan and Jo to the work of finding groceries.

"Why do we have to do this?" Edmund grumbled as he prodded at the various fruits.

Susan rolled her eyes, "It's the least we can do for the person housing us during the war,"

"We weren't sent away to do chores-"

"Be thankful you've got a bed to sleep in, Ed." Joanna snapped, tossing him an orange. He barely caught the fruit and glared at the older girl.

"You sound like my mother," he groaned.

"You say that to everyone that talks to you," Joanna retorted with a smirk in his direction. He too was smirking, keeping his eyes focused on the fruits. Susan and Joanna looked to each other with chuckles, glad to have kept his temper at bay.

Just across the street from the fruit stand was a boutique that immediately piqued Susan's interest. She insisted that they go over to see what was available. Of course, Edmund complained about going into a girl's store, but was dragged there nonetheless. Joanna was ecstatic to see the good quality of the clothes, especially for the hard times they were in. What drew her in was a pearl necklace, displayed at the back of the store. She ran her fingers along the white stones, imagining how elegant they would look with a dress.

Susan came up behind her with a gasp, "Oh, it's darling!"

"You think so?"

"Of course!" she responded with excitement, "It's too bad that we can't afford such things, right now. I would have snatched that up,"

Joanna looked back to the necklace with admiration, "It is too bad, I would have bought it for my mother."

Susan walked away with skirts and dresses to try on while Edmund and Joanna lingered around the store. Surprisingly, Edmund was drawn to the small selection of men's clothes in the back. He picked up a navy blue, velvet cap that hung on a rack. Joanna smiled as he tried it on, obviously pleased with how it looked.

"Edmund, you look so handsome in that!"

The boy immediately blushed and put the hat back, adjusting his shirt and looking around some more. The smile on his face stayed, though.