Old Places, New Faces, tag: Jane; open

[Lucy Pevensie]

“I’m in Narnia.” Lucy couldn’t help speaking the words aloud in her wonder and delight, even though she was alone.

Only fifteen minutes before, she and her brother had been in the middle of a shipboard battle. While the fight had nothing to do with them, they had been forced to fight for their own protection. Lucy had been fighting her way to the hold and relative safety when the tugging started. The pull of magic gave her much relief, for she assumed that she and her brother were going to be yanked back home to London and safety. Instead, she’d found herself in the middle of a forest, her brother nowhere in sight. She’d been worried about him when he didn’t appear next to her, and had begun to walk around in hopes of finding him. She still hadn’t found him, but within a few minutes of her search she at least realized where she was. She was indeed home – just not the home she’d expected.

After speaking out loud to herself, Lucy felt rather foolish for a moment, but she quickly got over that emotion in her excitement to be back in the country where she’d spent most of her life. Here, she was a queen, not just a schoolgirl people tended to look down on or baby. Here, she had made fine friends and had had exciting adventures. Here, she was away from dreary England and the horrible war. Here, there were majestic trees and sparkling lakes, not ugly grey buildings often blackened by bombs.

Lucy wandered more slowly through the tall trees now, just enjoying being back. She wondered how long it had been since her last visit, for though it had just been a few months in England, it could have been much longer in Narnia. She hoped her friends were still around, and rather thought they might be, for she had just seen King Caspian a month ago…. or had she seen him decades after now, since they’d traveled to the future? No matter. Lucy had long ago accepted that she wouldn’t ever understand the way time worked.

After a few more minutes of wandering aimlessly through the forest, Lucy found herself in a clearing, under a deep blue sky with a smattering of white clouds. Ahead of her on the flat grassy area were stone ruins and a small hill. Aslan’s How, she thought reverently. It was here where the Lion had died for her brother’s sake, and here where he had come back to life so gloriously. Then, over a thousand years after Aslan's resurrection, this place was transformed into a bloody battleground. But even then Aslan had come through for them, helping her fellow Narnians to win their freedom from the oppressive Telmarine rule. It was indeed a special place, and Lucy steps slowed even further as she made her way to the sacred mound.

She didn’t get too far, however, when a sound behind her made her turn around quickly. Was someone there? Perhaps it was a friend!

[Jane]

Jane weaved her way through the snow-struck trees, looking for a way out- or anything really. She was getting quite scared. One second she was just playing around in her room- the next she was... here. With her Neverland history, she knew very well that there were other, unexplainable worlds, but at least with Neverland, there were people there to explain it to her. Here, she was wandering alone. It was like a nightmare, but the nice land was somehow calming.
Jane came to a clearing. She gasped when she saw a girl there. She'd been expecting and hoping to see someone, but after wandering aimlessly for hours, she'd began to lose hope.
Though, she was certainly glad to see the girl. She had short, dark hair, much like herself, and seemed to be about the same age as well. She looked much more normal than anyone she'd seen in Neverland. "H-hello," Jane said, partially hesitant because while the girl looked nice, this was still a strange world.
She looked around the area. Mysterious trees and broken, but cherished-looking stone. She was suddenly struck with curiosity. "I'm Jane," she added hopefully. Maybe the girl was just as lost as her, though. She honestly hoped not- where would that leave her search?

[Lucy Pevensie]

Lucy gave a start as she noticed that the person who had made the sound was a human – a girl around her age in fact. Assuming that not too much time had passed since she’d last been in Narnia, seeing humans here was a rare occurrence, now that most of the Telmarines had left. But even more surprising was the fact that the girl did not look like a Telmarine or an Archenlander or anyone else from this world. She was dressed rather like Lucy, actually, and her hair was cut and styled in a fashion that brought London more to mind than Narnia.

Lucy wondered for a moment if she was wrong, if perhaps she really had gone back to London and not Narnia. But a quick glance behind her showed her that to be impossible. She was in Aslan’s How; she couldn’t be mistaken about that.

The other girl spoke up then, her words coming out rather hesitantly. She seemed to be rather confused. Her own confusions about this girl’s origins set aside for now, Lucy smiled back at the other girl. She was never one to miss the chance of meeting a new friend.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jane! I’m Lucy." She reached out to shake the other girl's hand, then added, "Actually, here it's Queen Lucy. But you can just call me Lucy.” Lucy's tone was matter-of-fact, not proud or condescending. She mostly gave her title so that Jane would know who she was, in case they happened to have any of the same friends. But before she could ask about particular friends, she had to know: “Are you from around here?"

[Jane]

Lucy. She looked quite young to be a queen, but she was very friendly. Her accent sounded quite like her own. Though, it wasn't just that. Her short, dark hair and brown and green attire was familiar as well. She couldn't be lost too, Jane decided. She seemed much too sure.
She smiled back, from her manners and heart. "N-nice to meet you too, Lucy." Jane's smile faded as she looked around again. The snowy, prickly leaves felt too real for this to be a dream. Just when she thought she'd finally figured out all of these magical worlds.
"Um, I'm not sure," Jane admitted. She was starting to feel foolish for stuttering. She stepped closer to Lucy, feeling a sense of trust with her. "I was playing in my room and.. now I'm... here." Her mind lingered on that word. She hated feeling so lost and uncertain. The girl's face was assuring, though.
"Where is here?" Jane asked. It couldn't be Neverland or anything. She knew Neverland. She remembered some of the lost boys chatting about the possibilities of other magical worlds, but she never thought that much of it. She loved the magic of other worlds, but right now, she just longed to be home, where she knew where everything was and why. She was quite glad to have Lucy there, though.

[Lucy Pevensie]

Jane looked really confused and hesitant, and Lucy soon got the impression that the other girl didn't know what was going on. When Jane told how she'd gotten here, Lucy's impressions were confirmed. Lucy was rather disappointed that that meant she couldn't pump the other girl for information, but she wasn't too upset, because she was excited to be able to show off her Narnia.

"I got here just the same way! Well, I wasn't playing in my room, but I was with my brother in London when I was suddenly pulled to a ship, and then from there I was jerked here. Say, are you from London, too?" If Jane were from London, or at least England, that would explain her appearance. And perhaps Lucy had just met someone who could be her friend both in Narnia and in London!

"This is Narnia! I've been here twice before, actually. It's a magical place, really different from where I'm from. The animals talk, and they don't have electricity, and the time runs differently." Lucy's face lit up as she spoke, and her hands gestured enthusiastically. She loved to talk about Narnia, though usually she was a bit hesitant to talk to new people about it, in case they didn't believe her. But Jane was here, she had to believe her.

((Crappy post, sorry!))

[Jane]

Jane smiled, relieved to finally know what was going on. While she was hesitant at first, she was glad she'd ran into Lucy. She'd never met a queen, but Lucy was giving her a good image of them. "Why, yes," she answered, not one hesitation. She was knowing, but still friendly. "Are you from London as well?" The girl certainly seemed the part- accent, clothing, and all.
Narnia. Jane chewed on the information. She'd always wondered what animals were thinking. There were endless mermaids and fairies in Neverland, but she'd never seen one talking animal there. However, the times running differently sounded rather confusing. Nonetheless, Jane couldn't help but feel curious about this world. "Ahh, thank you!" she said gratefully.
She looked again at the ruins behind Lucy. While this land was new to Jane, it certainly seemed like it had been around for a long time. It had to be for Lucy to know so much about it. Her head began to flood with questions. She had to stop herself and look back at her new friend.
"What is that from?" she asked, gesturing towards the ruins. She wasn't sure if it was best to ask that first, but it was the best she could think of without sounding too foolish.

( That's fine! I liked yours. )

[Lucy Pevensie]

Lucy smiled as the other girl confirmed that she was indeed from London. How exciting! “Yes, I am!” she answered Jane’s question. “Well, Finchley, actually. But London’s close enough.” While Finchley was where she was from, however, it wasn’t home. Only Narnia held that title. She loved England, and her friends and family there, but it was nothing compared to Narnia, especially now. “I’m so glad to be back, here, though, and away from London, where there’s that dreadful war going on,” she said to Jane. Oh she so hoped the war would be over quickly, so that her father could come home!

Lucy’s grin grew wider as Jane simply said “Thank you” to the information Lucy gave her. She acted like Lucy had just told her what time it was, not like she had told her she was in a magical land that most people thought impossible. The girl didn’t seem at all disbelieving, just grateful for the information. Lucy couldn’t help wondering if this was Jane’s first magical journey, or if she was as experienced as Lucy in traveling by magic.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jane asked about the ruins. “Come on! Let’s get closer,” Lucy suggested, as she began walking to the mound. Here was as good a place as any to start her tour of Narnia for Jane. She figured she’d start heading towards Cair Paravel, as best as she could remember the way. She didn’t know how far they’d get on foot, but hopefully they’d soon run into a Narnian, who could help them out.

As they walked, Lucy explained, “This is Aslan’s How. It’s a very magical place, or at least, it was.” She didn’t know if the magic was still there, now that the Stone Table was broken. It was still an important place, though, because of all that had happened there.

The mention of magic brought back to Lucy’s mind her question about Jane, and so she decided to ask it. “Have you ever been to a place where there was magic before?”