Lifeline ⤞ Peter Pevensie [Chronicles of Narnia]

ii

A continuous tapping on her window if definitely not the way Fallon thought she would wake up on a Sunday morning.

Groaning, the girl slowly pried her eyes open, expecting the usual, blinding sunlight, but was instead faced by the silhouette of the rain drops falling on her window. It took her a moment to realize that the tapping noise was nothing but the water landing on the glass.

"Well," she mumbled to herself, "at least I went riding yesterday."

She chose to ignore how extremely satisfied Dia was going to be the next day, when Fallon would have to spend hours on end trying to scrape the dirt off her bay coat.

Could have been worse, she thought. She could have been a gray.

Yanking the blankets off herself, Fallon took a moment to realize how strangely warm it was. She assumed the professor had chosen to turn on the fire place for the day. She'd never understood how the warmth was able to stay in her room for that long, but she chose not to question it as she slipped on a pair of trousers followed by a loose, dark shirt, and, yet again, her usual worn combat boots.

Making a mental note to ask the professor if she could buy new ones, she gripped the railing and slid down as per usual, still getting a bit dizzy towards the end.

Once back on solid ground, the brunette headed towards the kitchen, ready for her coffee.

Having drank and eaten her toast –though not after burning her tongue as she did every morning– she chose to wander around the house for a bit, when she heard voices.

"Gastrovascular," she heard Susan say, and peeked into the living room to see the four Pevensies sitting around, the older girl with a dictionary in hand.

"Come on, Peter. Gastrovascular."

Fallon couldn't help a small smile when the boy replied, pure annoyance in his tone.

"Is it latin?"

"Yes."

"Is it latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund said, and Fallon couldn't help the chuckle that fell from her lips.

All four Pevensies turned to her, and she chose to finally walk into the room rather than standing in the doorway.

Susan slammed the dictionary shut, placing it next to her on the couch as Fallon sat opposite to her.

"At least Pretty Boy here got it right," she commented, gesturing towards Peter, who was still slouching in the armchair.

"Pretty Boy?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

She just shrugged, not thinking much of it. It was just a nickname she'd come up with, since the boy seemed to represent one of the usual good-looking guys she sometimes saw those few times she'd been in the nearby town. Blond hair, blue eyes, tall, and, apparently, caring for his siblings. She'd met a few girls in her life that would already be drooling at his feet.

"We could play hide and seek," Lucy suggested, moving from her spot by the window and going next to Peter.

The young girl's innocent suggestion was enough to make Fallon smile. She hadn't played any sort of childhood game for as long as she could remember.

"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Come on, Peter, please," Lucy whined, taking her brother's hand and shaking it as if it would convince him in an instant.

"Pretty please?"

Fallon looked at Peter, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist Lucy's puppy dog eyes.