~

Light illuminated the room as Adeline opened the curtains. She then turned and began to smooth out the sheets on the beds. The four children were arriving today and Adeline couldn't have been more nervous. In between folding the sheets she would reach up and twirl her necklace, a habit she had developed as a child.

Mrs. Macready walking in pulling on a coat, which was quite an ugly color if she did say so herself. "I'm off," she said, "have everything prepared by the time I get back."

"Yes, Mrs. Macready," Adeline replied, monotoned, rolling her eyes as she did.

The door slammed loudly as Macready hurried out. Adeline finished with the sheets and stepped back to admire her work. Everything was in order, which meant that she now had time to do as she pleased. her grandfather was busy with his studies and wished to not be disturbed so talking to him was out of the question. She couldn't go riding or visit the pond either because Mrs. Macready had taken Rosie. So, she was only left with two options, read or write, what she did almost every day.

Adeline looked out the window, where there wasn't a cloud in the sky, might as well do it outside.

Adeling patted the two large pockets of her pink cardigan, her journal and book were there, as always. She left the guest room and headed down the old halls.

The book in her pocket was her favorite book of all time, "Little Women". Her grandfather had given it to her many years ago, claiming that it was the perfect book for a young lady. Mrs. Macready had disagreed. Adeline had come to love the story with all her heart and had always admired Jo's strong will and strength. She wished she could live up to her and one day fulfill her own dreams of becoming an author. So far all Adeline had written were short imaginary stories that didn't really follow a plot. Unfortunately living in the country didn't provide her with too much inspiration.

Adeline opened the large entrance doors and breathed in the fresh air. Her morale for writing was low so she took out her book. Adeline walked a little way down their humongous lawn where a beautiful willow tree was. Sitting at the roots, Adeline cracked open her book and began to read, her worried and anxiety fading away as she was enveloped into the story.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she was interrupted by the sound of clopping and voices. Peeking out from amongst the roots, she spotted a carriage being drawn by Rosie. Mrs. Macready was controlling the reins and behind her, four heads were poking out from the carriage.

The nervous butterflies from before came back and Adeline's knuckles turned white as she clutched onto her book. She could feel her magic bustling up inside of her and she took a deep breath, pushing the feelings down.

Adeline looked over again to see that the carriage was gone, which meant that it was already parked and that they all must be inside.

She got up and ran around the house to reach the back door. She didn't feel ready to meet the children yet. Closing the door softly behind her she started sprinting down the halls, breaking one of many of Mrs. Macready's precious rules.

There were no noises coming from the house so she assumed that they were already upstairs and taking the main stairwells to her room was better than running through the twisted halls.

Adeline ran into the main hallway suddenly screeching to a stop as five pairs of eyes stared at her from the entrance of the house.

Her breath hitched as Mrs. Macready pierced her with a look of murderous rage.

"Adeline, you know the rules!" she started, "No running in the household."

The brunette nodded, "Yes, I know, I'm sorry."

She didn't continue, her gaze solely on the four children. There were two boys and two girls. The girls were both brunettes with bright eyes, the youngest staring up at her with a small adorable smile. The older one was very beautiful and had a hand on the youngers shoulder.

The youngest boy wasn't paying attention and his eyes downgaze. He had a scowl on his faze and his raven hair was falling into his brown eyes.

The oldest boy caught Adeline's attention. He was the only blond of the group and the tallest. He looked about her age and was staring at her with the most intriguing gaze with his sky blue eyes, much lighter than her own.

They looked proper and tired and just now Adeline realized how atrocious she must look from sitting outside. Absentmindedly she smoothed out her green skirt and white button-up. She also ran her fingers through her long wavy locks, trying to smoothen out the side that wasn't clipped up. She hoped they wouldn't notice how messy she looked.

Mrs. Macready addressed the children, "This is Adeline. She is the professor's granddaughter and has lived here since she was little and knows every nook and cranny of this house so she'll make sure you don't get lost."

Now she knew she couldn't back away from this. Macready would have her head, so Adeline stayed silent and stayed where she was, regretting her choices.

Macready turned and walked up the steps. The children followed with Adeline trailing behind them.

"The professor is unaccustomed to having this many children in his house and as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shouting," she gave the older girl a pointed look. "or running," here she glared at Adeline who gave a sheepish smile, causing the youngest girl to giggle softly. Mrs. Macready continued, "no improper use of the dumbwaiter,"

The oldest girl reached the top of the first level of steps and reached out towards the bust of some famous poet.

Adeline hesitated, "I wouldn't do that if I were-"

"NO touching of the historical artifacts," Macready shouted, startling them all. The three other siblings looked at each other, trying not to laugh, and Adeline herself had to cover her mouth in fear of letting out a snort.

"And above all," Mrs. Macready said, standing at the top of the stairwell, "there shall be no disturbing of the professor."

Mrs. Macready motioned for Adeline to come and she slid past the four children. "Adeline here will take care of you. If you need anything you will ask her. She will make sure that everything is in order."

She addressed Adeline, "Take them to their rooms." And with that, Macready departed, leaving Adeline with four children.

Taking a deep breath, Adeline fiddled with her necklace, "Well," she began, "Since you already know my name, I would love to know yours."

"I'm Susan," said the oldest girl, "and this is Edmund." she pointed to the younger boy with a scowl.

"My name is Lucy," chirped the smaller girl, reaching out her hand. Adeline took it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Lucy."

"I'm Peter." the blond boy said, stretching out his hand as well. Adeline took his hand as well. It was warm and a bit calloused but he was very gentle with her sending shivers up her arm. When he let go she quickly retracted it, feeling heat rising up to her cheeks.

The four children looked at her for what to do next.

"Well then," she clapped her hands loudly, "off we go."

The Pevensie's followed her in silence, admiring the many artifacts in the house.

"So," Adeline began, as she lead them to down the hall to their rooms. "Where are you from?"

"Finchley," Peter responded immediately, "This is our first time in the country."

Adeline glanced back with a smile, "I do think you're going to like it here. It's peaceful and there's no one else around. We also have a huge property, so there's plenty of places to go exploring."

They reached a smaller hallway that was designated for guests, and where Adeline had been earlier. She pointed down one side of the hall, "Boys rooms are down there," then to the other, "and girls are this way. If you need anything, I'm just upstairs."

The children turned to leave but before they could she let out a cry. "Oh, and dinner is at eight so don't be late."

The children nodded and split up to their rooms. Adeline made sure they were alright before hopping back down the stairs and to the kitchen. Closing the kitchen door behind her she rested her head against the door. Remembering back to her attempt at small talk she cringed. She was never good at starting conversations and today proved that. She rubbed the small pendent at her throat between her fingers, praying for good luck before throwing on an apron and getting to work.

~

Dinner was a quiet affair. Nobody spoke and even if someone did want to say something they didn't want to say it in front of Mrs. Macready who was watching over them like they were planning on setting the house on fire.

After dinner and her chores, Adeline headed to her room exhausted. It had been a long day and sleep sounded better than ever. She flopped herself onto her bed, too tired to change. All this excitement was too much for her. Her magic had been wanting to burst out all day and keeping it in had worn her out.

A knock on the door startled Adeline and she jumped out of bed and opened it. It was the youngest girl, Lucy, she recalled.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

"Oh, um... hello," Adeline said hesitantly. "Is anything wrong?"

She shook her head, "No. I just came to ask if you wanted to come to our room and chat. We weren't able to talk much during dinner and I was hoping to know you more."

Adeline blinked, caught off guard. Her plan this entire time was to avoid the children at all costs. But it seemed that that would not be possible.

"Alright." she agreed, Adeline held out her hand and Lucy grabbed it. They both walked downstairs and into the girl's room.

When they entered, Susan was unpacking things from their luggage and Peter and Edmund seemed to be listening to a small radio on the table.

"Look who I brought," announced Lucy, causing everyone's heads to turn. "I thought we could all talk and be friends."

Adeline gave a small smile, "Yes. Lucy brought me down here so that we could all know each other better. Since we're going to be stuck in the same house anyways for God knows how long."

Susan spoke first, "Well Lu, I think that's a good idea. Here, come have a seat." Susan sat on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Lucy sat down as well and Adeline was sandwiched between the two girls.

Adeline wrung her hands. "So..., you said you were from Finchley? What is the city like?"

"Boring," replied Edmund not tearing his gaze from the radio.

Peter hit him on the shoulder, causing Edmund to wince dramatically, "What he means," Peter said, turning to look Adeline in the eye, sending a small shiver up her arms, "is that there isn't too much happening besides the war. Everyone has their own lives, and people just go their separate ways."

"Oh," Adeline gave a small laugh, "Well then I'm glad I'm not missing out on much."

Lucy tugged on Adeline's sleeve, getting her attention. "How old are you?" she asked, changing the subject, "I'm ten."

"I'm sixteen," Adeline responded. She booped Lucy on the nose, sending the girl into a fit of giggles, "And I refuse to believe you're only ten. You're too smart for your age."

"Peter's sixteen too," Susan pointed out, "I'm fifteen and Ed's thirteen."

Adeline twiddled with her necklace, the movement catching Susan's eye, "That's a very beautiful necklace."

She smiled sadly, "Thank you. It was my mothers."

"Does she live in the country with you?" asked Lucy innocently.

Adeline smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen into the little girl's face, "No. She died when I was little."

"What about your father?" Edmund asked, now paying attention.

"Him too. My grandfather told me it was a disease that had skipped over me." She gestured to the room, "I've been here for as long as I can remember."

Peter shuffled in his seat, the mention of family seemed to weight on his shoulder, "Our dad is fighting in the war and mum is still at home."

"I'm so sorry," Adeline said sympathetically, "I'm sure the war will be over in no time and you'll be able to go home."

Edmund huffed, looking bored, "So what should we do in the meantime."

Adeline straightened, thankful that the conversation had steered from families and sad thoughts, "As I said earlier, there are a lot of places to explore inside and outside the house. I would love to show you some of my favorite."

"Yes please," Lucy peeped.

"Besides that, we have a very big library and a couple of chessboards in the sitting room."

"What do you do?" Peter interrupted, "When you're bored."

Adeline pulled out her copy of 'Little Women' from her pocket. "I read. 'Little Women' is my favorite and I tend to always revert back to it no matter how many times I've read it. And," she pulled out her journal, "if I'm not reading, I'm writing."

"You write?" Susan asked surprised, "What are you writing?"

Adeline flipped through the pages of her journal the scribbles upon scribbles, catching both Lucy's and Susan's eyes, "Nothing important, just short stories, thoughts, whatever comes to mind."

"Can I read it?" Lucy asked.

Adeline reddened, "Maybe one day. I don't have any good ones and I'm sure you won't be able to read my messy handwriting."

"Promise?" persisted the short-haired girl.

"Promise."

"Goodness," exclaimed Susan, sounding like an older woman, "Look at the time. Lu, you should be in bed."

At that, Peter stood up and picked up the little girl. Lucy let out a squeal of delight as her older brother laid her down in her bed. Adeline's heart warmed at the sight and she let out a small laugh as well. 

She knew that this was her cue to leave and she walked to the door, but before she could grab the handle herself, a bigger hand got it for her. She looked to see that Peter had rushed over and was opening the door for her.

"Thank you." She stammered.

"You're welcome," he said softly, giving her a small smile. 

"Goodnight everyone," she called out to the room, receiving ones from the girls in return. The door shut and the voices muffled. It was quiet in the halls as Adeline made herself up to her room. This day had been quite strange. At first, she was very nervous, but now she just felt excited. 

Her magic was ecstatic as well and she pushed it down again, sending a wave of exhaustion over her. 

Adeline could ponder more about her feelings tomorrow, but now sleep was the most important thing on her mind.

~

March break just started for me and where I live we're getting two weeks after the break off which means that I'll have plenty of time to write. So stay tuned everyone. 

This also took such a long time to post because I was having trouble writing the dialogue without making it too choppy or cringy.

I also would love to hear more from you guys so I'll be asking questions here and there for you to answer if you want

~ Who is your favorite character from Narnia (it can be from the movies or the books), and why?~

Until next time,

StoryTeller5678