Wunderkind ❄ A Chronicles of Narnia Tale {Wattys 2018}

Lucy and the Wardrobe

The next few days were, as you might expect, absolutely dreadful. The weather was horrible for a couple of days, raining so thickly you could see neither the mountains in the distance nor the trees in the garden. Even when it cleared up, Ruth stayed inside.

Mrs Macready did get fed up and attempted to quite literally drag Ruth outside, claiming that for her to stay strong and healthy she must spend several hours in the sun a day, then snapping that it was silly and childish for her to be in such a sulk. Ruth decided that she would be silly and childish, and screamed and cried and made such a fuss that the housekeeper was quite frightened that she had taken a funny turn, and ordered Ruth to stay inside after all. She was only to leave the bedroom to use the lavatory or to eat, and even then she stayed silent and sat as far away from the Pevensies as she possibly could.

At one point she heard them rushing about, then Peter counting. He got to ninety-two, then one of the doors down the corridor opened and a small voice shouted, "I'm back! I've come back, it's all right!"

Lucy raced down the passage, her shoes clicking on the wooden floor, and stopped only when Edmund chastised her. "Be quiet, he's coming!"

"You know, I'm not sure you two have quite gotten the idea of this game. You're not supposed to wander around while I'm trying to find you, Lu," said Peter, laughing.

"But weren't you wondering where I was?" said Lucy in a small voice.

"That's the point," said Edmund, "that's why he was seeking you!"

Another pair of footsteps came up the stairs. "I think I've won, then."

"But I've been away for hours and hours! Didn't you wonder where I was?"

Ruth looked up, her eyebrows knitting. What on earth was Lucy talking about? Up till now she had been furiously trying to read her book, getting more and more frustrated at the disturbance, but she was so puzzled she forgot all about her sulk and came and stood in her doorway. The Pevensies stood at the end of the passage, looking at Lucy. The little girl tugged on Peter's sleeve, as if trying to make him understand.

"I went through the wardrobe, the one in the spare room, and I found a magical world called Narnia! I even met a lovely Faun named Mr Tumnus. He made me tea and sardines – and then I must have fallen asleep. I've been gone for hours, really, I have!"

"Silly Lu, if you want us to believe you, you'll have to wait a bit longer before coming out!" said Peter.

Lucy huffed, as if surrounded by the most silly creatures in the world. "I'll show you, come on!"

So they all trooped into the spare room, with Lucy in the lead, pulling her older brother along behind. Even Ruth followed, looking awfully confused (and with a tiny, terrible part of her wanting to see Lucy make a fool of herself). They parted the coats in the wardrobe, even rapped their knuckles on the back panel, but sure enough, no magical land.

Peter turned and smiled. "Jolly good hoax, Lu. You really had us for a moment there. Now come on, hadn't we better do something else if you don't want to play hide and seek?"

Lucy shook her head adamantly. "But I wasn't lying! Narnia really is there, you just weren't look hard enough. That's what you always do – you try to act grown-up to make me look silly." She stepped inside, covering herself in the coats, and held out her arms. Not a moment later there was a thud as she bumped into the back of the wardrobe.

"Oh, Lu. That's enough, all right?" said Susan, helping her out. "You've had your joke, but I think you've gone far enough."

"It really was there, just a moment ago! Really truly!" Lucy looked to Edmund for help, but her brother simply shrugged. "Quite batty, ten to one it's this country air. Driving her quite mad."