Annabelle's pov

Ms. McCready led us up the stairs and to our rooms. We ended up in a common room that had three doors leading to other rooms.

"Boys sleep in there." She pointed to the door on the left. "And girls are next door."

The siblings started towards their rooms but I stayed back, knowing Ms. Teller must've told Ms. McCready about my nightmares and that I wasn't to share a room with anyone else.

"Miss. Rox, you'll be right through there." She pointed to the door to the right.

"Why does she get a separate room?" Edmund asked. I looked down at my feet but remained silent. Ms. McCready, who I believed to be very much like Ms. Teller before now, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I've separated you all in order to make you feel more comfortable as you get used to living here. If later on you want to change room assignments, go right ahead." The Pevensie children nodded with no argument and continued to their rooms. I gave Ms. McCready a nearly silent 'thank you' before walking to my own room.

The room was exquisite with deep red walls and silk curtains. Amazing artwork hung on the walls with different sculptures perched on small podiums. My new bed was small, but bigger and softer than mine at the orphanage. The sheets, while slightly scratchy were warm and welcoming.

I kicked off my shoes and placed them neatly by the bed before pulling a nightgown from my small bag. Like all of my things, it was old and ratty with a hole in the seam of the arm. The hem was yellowed from dirt stains. It looked so out of place from the room around me.

But so did I. My knotted hair. My unhealthy frame. My dirty hands. My tired face. All these were scum that one would wipe off the bottom of their shoe.

Nonetheless, I changed my clothes and settled into bed. My eyes drifted shut and I fell into another restless sleep.

"Annabelle! Annabelle, come on!" Peter shouted. I stood frozen in my spot, staring the ever closer sleigh. Peter grabbed my wrist and pulled.

"It's her! We have to hide!"

"It's not her." I whispered.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not her! I remember this. Who ever is on that sleigh, it isn't the White Witch!"

"What do you mean you remember?!"

"It was a dream! I dreamed it. This exact moment..." The sleigh came closer and closer until it stopped directly in front of me, inches from my face.

The reindeer snorted and its breath billowed out of its mouth as a cloud. A figure emerged from the sleigh and Peter pushed me behind him.

A man, with a long white beard stood there, his hands on his hips and his brow drawn up in amusement.

"You're not the White Witch." Peter stated. The man laughed with joy, his eyes crinkling shut as his laugh echoed into the still air.

"No my boy, I am not. Though in my defense, I've been using one of these, longer than the Witch." He said, motioning to the sleigh.

I let out a smile, almost instantly realizing who he was.

"Merry Christmas, sir!"

Then in an instant, the world changed. No longer was I in the freezing cold, but hiding in the woods at night, wearing a deep red dress with a gold cloak. Lucy and Susan sat next to me.

Before us was a stone table with a wicked woman standing on top, her face pale as snow and her lips blood red. And her eyes were black as though no soul was inside her. Around her was an army of creatures, from dwarves to hags, minotaurs to Cyclops.

And in front of her, tied down and shaven was a magnificent lion, a sad look in his big gentle eyes.

Dread built up inside me as the army began ominously stomping their feet and staffs on the stone floor, the rhythm quickening. They let out roars and screams, battle cries. Dread built up inside me as I caught a glimpse of a knife in the woman's hand.

Her lips moved, but I couldn't tell was she was saying. Then the knife pludged deep into the lions side. He let out a slight groan before growing still, his eyes closing.

"The great cat is dead!"

"No!" The scream ripped from my throat and I jumped forward.

"Anna! No!" Susan cried, reaching out to grab me, but I was faster.

"Witch!" I spat, drawing my sword. All eyes turned to me. The woman laughed with no emotion.

"Face me!" I pointed to each creature around me, looking for a challenge.

"Kill her." The woman said simply.

There was a battle cry from one of the creatures then they were upon me.

My screaming woke me up and I shot out of bed, drenched in sweat. There was a moment of silence as I sat there shaking, trying to get a grasp on reality.

The door opened and Peter Pevensie stood there.

"Are you okay? I heard a scream." He asked. I ran a hand through my hair.

"Um..yea. Just a dream. Did I wake you?" Peter shook his head.

"Not at all. I was in the common room reading. Couldn't sleep."

"Was it about the war?" He asked. I was silent for a moment.

"I...I guess so...it was a bit weird..."

"Wanna talk about it?" I drew my knees up to my chest and considered this. For a moment, I felt like I could tell Peter anything. But a small part knew he would think I was crazy.

"Not really..." I muttered. He nodded and for a moment, I thought perhaps he was going to stay, but he merely smiled kindly.

"Well...goodnight then, Annabelle." He shut the door, leaving me in darkness.

I laid back down and closed my eyes. Immediately I was thrown into a nightmare. It all was a jumbled mess. I saw a battle field. A stone table with blood dripping from it. A magnificent sword. Screaming. Crying. Menacing laughter.

I woke with a start, slapping a hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming. I glanced at the small, ticking clock on the nightstand, finding that it was only six in the morning. I sighed, thinking it best not to try and go back to sleep, and pushed the covers away from me. I stood up out of bed and slipped on my robe and a pair of slippers. Walking out into the common room, I saw it was empty.

I suppose Peter has gone back to bed. I thought, slightly disappointed, though I wasn't entirely sure why. I wandered over to the bookshelf and plucked out a novel then I curled up on the couch and began reading.

I must've dozed off slightly, because I was suddenly woken by four hushed voices.

"Maybe we shouldn't wake her just yet." Peter.

"But it's nearly time for breakfast." Lucy's voice came next.

"We could at least get her to move to her bed. It would be far more comfortable." Susan said.

"She didn't sleep well last night, we should just let her rest." Peter again.

"How would you know that?" Edmund snapped, not keeping his voice down.

"Shhh!" Susan scolded.

"I came out here last night and..she was reading." I heard the hesitation in his voice, but the others didn't seem to catch it. I was just glad he didn't say anything about my nightmare.

"Well then...I suppose we should just let her sleep then." Susan agreed.

"A little late for that." I muttered. I opened my eyes to see the four Pevensie's standing by the fireplace.

"Sorry to wake you." Peter said awkwardly.

"It's no bother. Is breakfast almost ready?" I asked, sitting up and running a hand over the back of my neck as I had slept on it wrong. Lucy nodded.

I excused myself quickly and went to my room to get dress. I pulled on my ratty clothes. The skirt which used to be black had faded to grey while the shirt had a stain down the front. I pulled a sweater over my head to hide it, noticing there was a hole in the sleeve.

Then I slipped on my socks and shoes, which no amount of polishing could cover up the scuff marks along the entire shoe.

When I emerged from the room, I found the others had waited for me. Together, we walked down the many stairs, finally reaching the kitchen. There was an assortment of bread, cheese, and jams. A plate of eggs sat in the middle and a pitcher of milk was next to it.

The four dove in while I grabbed the smallest bit of toast and three pieces of cheese. Sitting down on the opposite side of the table, I ate my meger helping in silence.

"Is that all you're having?" I looked up to see Lucy had taken the seat in front of me. I swallowed and nodded, biting into the piece of toast. Lucy frowned and leaned across the table, placing her bread on my plate.

"Oh, no thank you..really. I'm not that hungry."

"You should be eating more than that." Susan commented, walking over to sit down next to Lucy. She too, leaned over and placed some cheese on my plate.

"Go on. Eat." She said. I looked down, feeling like a child in all of this and ate a piece of cheese. In the end, I ate my three pieces and my toast.

Before Susan or Lucy could insist I eat more, I stood up and left the table.

I sat in the common room, watching the rain pour down outside. Everything around me was silent except for the continuous patting of the rain on the window and roof.

Then once again, the world transformed around me.

I stood in a river next to Susan and Lucy, staring out at the mountains in the distance. Susan and Lucy were laughing next to me, but I found myself focusing on my own thoughts.

Suddenly I was splashed with cold water. I shrieked in surprise and turned to see Lucy with a guilty look on her face. I laughed and splashed her back, catching Susan in the line of fire as well. They both shrieked and laughed as we continued to splash in the water.

When we were out of breath, we climbed out and Susan reached for her towel.

A wolf jumped out with a snarl, causing us to scream. I immediately reached behind my back for my axe, realizing it was missing. Susan glanced over at the table where we had placed our things and three the towel at the wolf before sprinting towards it.

I grabbed Lucy and pushed her up a tree before following close behind. Susan blew into her horn, the sound echoing into the sky.

"Susan!" I screamed as a second wolf moved to attack her. She moved quickly and I reached a hand down, pulling her up into the tree.

Both wolves jumped and tried to bite at our feet. I heard splashing and saw Peter running through the river, his sword at the ready.

A great lion followed behind as well as an army of centaurs. The Lion pinned a wolf to the ground.

"Stay your weapons! This is Peter's battle." He bellowed. Peter pointed his sword at the wolf as it circled him. It spat insults at him, one after the other.

"You might be a man, but you're going to die...like a dog!" The wolf leaped and tackled Peter to the ground.

"Peter!" Lucy, Susan, and I screamed, all of us jumping from the tree.

"Annabelle?" I jumped slightly at Peter's voice as I found myself back in the common room.

"Yea?" I asked, seeing him and Susan looking at me.

"Did you want to play?" Susan asked as though she were repeating it for the thousandth time.

"Oh, um..sure." I said even though I had no clue what they were playing. Susan smiled and opened the large dictionary on her lap.

I very quickly regretted my decision to play as Susan read out different words and we had to guess the meaning. Peter was lounging on the couch, his head lolling to one side. Edmund was lying on the floor. Lucy sat at the window sill. I had moved to a chair and tried to get in the game, but found myself zoning in and out.

"Gastrovascular." Susan read put slowly. When no one answered, she looked to Peter.

"Come on, Peter. Gastrovascular." He swung his head around to look at his sister, his eyes about to droop shut.

"Is it Latin?" He asked boredly.

"Yes..."

"Is it Latin for worst game ever invented?" Edmund joked. Susan scowled and slammed the book shut.

"We could play hide and seek..." Lucy suggested, walking over to Peter.

"But we're already having so much fun." Peter drawled out, looking at Susan who glared at him.

"Come on Peter, please! Pretty please?" She sent him sad eyes and he looked at her.

"One, two, three..." A smile spread across her face and she took off. Edmund and Susan sighed and jumped up. Peter stood up and faced the wall as he continued to count.

I stood up and ran from the room after the others. I ended up running with Susan all the way to a small wooden chest. She crawled in as I hid around the corner behind a giant tapestry.

While it was an awful hiding place, I didn't mind. A smile was present on my face, signifying my first ever experience playing hide and seek.

"80, 81, 82, 83..." Peter's voice echoed though the hall ways of the mansion. It was the only sound in the entire house.

"98, 99, 100...ready or not here I come!" His voice was drowned out by another much louder voice.

"I'm back! I'm back! It's alright!" I emerged from my hiding spot as Lucy shouted through the house. Susan opened the chest she was in and sat up, sending me a confused look.

Together, we walked down the stairs where Edmund, Lucy, and Peter were standing.

"Does this mean we win?" Susan asked.

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore." Peter said. Lucy looked at all of us, her eyebrows drawn up in confusion.

"But I've been gone for hours..."

We all followed Lucy as she went on and on about some winter wood hidden inside a wardrobe. It's name was Narnia. The name to be sounded familiar but I figured it must have been from a children's book when I was little and maybe Lucy's imagination was a bit better than mine.