I am, as it is bliss to be,
Still and untroubled. Now, I see,
For the first time, how soft the day
O'er waveless water, stirless tree,
-

"No, silly girl, no." Edmund shook his head, and Sanya threw a leaf at him. "Jules Verne did not invent science fiction."

"That's what Ms. Potts was saying!" She said, scratching at a cluster of pimples on her forehead. "With Journey to the Center of the Earth-"

"Actually, his first novel was-"

"Ed!" Sanya cut him off, half-annoyed and half-laughing. "Stop being an ass and tell me what the right answer is. There's only so much I can research in the library, I tell you the librarian hates me-"

Edmund had to shake his head at that, "How can anyone hate you?"

Something seemed to wilt in Sanya for a moment.

They were killed not half a year after you abandoned them, by forces you might have saved them from. If only you had remained with them.

Her children.

The dalliance with the Faerie Queen.

The Sphinx. Laash.

The faerie.

A few of the many reasons to hate her.

"B-because," She forced herself to come back to normal, before Edmund could realise what was happening, "because not everyone is you- and you, my darling, look at me with le vie ane-"

"La vie en rose."

Sanya bit her lip, "Say some more things in French."

Edmund laughed- it had been a fairly recent development, how much she liked it when he spoke French. He'd never spoken French in Narnia, as far as he could remember- he wasn't even that fluent in it, but it somehow really excited her.
"Just stick with the English, Moonshine. French class still not going well?"
To be honest, French wasn’t his favourite subject, though he spoke it well enough- but it was much worse for Sanya, as it was a difficult language belonging to an entirely new world that she was having to study. She was already bilingual, and a third language was simply too much bother.
Not that she had expressed that bother to him- but he knew her well.

"Ugh." She groaned, and threw herself against the grass, flat on the ground. Not even Edmund speaking French would keep the horrible emotions inside her at bay. "Nothing is going well! Nothing! I've been in the Headmistress's office two hundred and thirty-six times in the past fourteen months! Half my classmates refer to me as mud-girl when they think I don't hear! And I almost got stabbed with lacrosse sticks because I brought the most adorable adder baby to breakfast-"
She hadn't wanted to complain to him. She always did her best to keep her- grievances about her new life away from Edmund, or anyone else, choosing to push them in a deep, dark corner of her mind instead. That corner of her mind was getting rather crowded, being chock-full of her old issues as well- but it was still better than dumping it all on the people who cared about her.

"They call you what?" Edmund's eyes were wide- and furious. "What the fuck?"

"It's not the worst thing they call me. Or the other coloured students in the school." Sanya replied, looking away from him for a moment. There were only three other people in the school who were not 'white'- a Korean-British girl in third form, and two black girls, one in second form and one in upper fourth. There had been another girl- from China, she thought- but she had graduated the last year.
She had never spoken to them, and none of them had ever made an effort, either- but there was an unspoken, silent, passive camaraderie between the four, regardless.
"Did you hear about the adder-"

"Your love for dangerous animals is something I'm used to." He waved her off- he still remembered how she'd wanted a dragon. "But, Moonshine, why haven't you told me that the other girls had- that they have been racist to you?"

Well, what would he have done, if she had told him? Written them a strongly-worded letter?
"Husband." His wife said patiently, though she felt very far from it. "I appreciate it, but I can fight those battles."

"I'm not asking to fight them for you." He said, looking down at her- she still lay on the grass, inkstained arms outstretched, like some fallen flower. Her eyes were still as bright as chestnuts, even in this shadowy copse of solitude. "I'm just trying to support you."

For some reason, that upset her. It shouldn't have, because it was the right thing to say, and if Sanya had been even the least bit clear-headed, she would've just crawled into his lap and kissed him.
"Maybe you can support me by holding a seminar where you teach the faculty of St. Finbar's that my name is Sanya, and not Sanya-" for fuck's sake, "oh, I mean Sienna!"

Edmund blinked at her, and he looked more perplexed than angry.
"Pardon? But the name on your records is Sanya," as it should be, because that was her name, "why would they-"

"Because they've never heard a name like mine! They can pronounce Worcestershire sauce perfectly, but 'Sanya' is apparently impossible!"

"You also pronounced it perfectly, by the way."

"I know. I practiced it a bit." She blushed a little, before shaking her head. "I just- I- I've been here for over a year, Ed! I have no love for the institution, or the people inside it, but the least they can do is get my name right!"
She pulled herself upright, and fiddled with the buttons of her blazer- she wanted to take it off, but it was too cold.
It hadn't rained yet, though. Sanya was certain that the clouds were saving the downpour for after dusk.
She'd been able to tell when it would rain, in the other world, where she had had the ability of hydrokinesis, and some more. She still could tell- but they were more predictions than pronouncements now.
"Half the teachers call me Sienna- it's a pretty name, but I have a name. And after-" leaving her home, leaving everything, "after coming here, it's the only thing of my own that I have, and even that they're taking from me- I won't have anything-"

You'll always have me, he wanted to say. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, and let her know that she wasn't alone, and that he'd be with her, whatever her fight.
But he didn't, letting her continue her tirade instead.

"And on top of that," there were several layers below it, too, but she was feeling impatient with her own furious rambling, "skipping horrible extra classes to meet my husband for our anniversary will probably end up in getting ten demerits and no weekend privileges for two months-"

"Moonshine," Edmund thought, the more he heard about how things were for her, that she deserved to punch whoever she liked, for the person definitely deserved to feel such violence, "I know it's hard, believe me, but you just have to learn to live with these people-"

She inhaled sharply- and clenched her fists, tight enough that her bitten nails dug into her skin.
"I came to this world, a whole new world, to live with you." It had all been for him. "For you, because I love you. Not to spend time with a crochety old grandmother, and certainly not to study under tosspots parading as teachers!"
General Ainaah had been so much better than them. They weren't even on the same level, though both had taught or were teaching her.
She missed him. And sword-fighting.
She missed too many things.

'Tosspot' was a very English word. She certainly had been keeping up with her research.
"Moonshine-"

"Don't Moonshine me." It didn't work when he was so clothed- and she was so incensed! "I just- I feel so ANGRY- and I've felt anger before, and rage," even before Neráida, she had felt it, "but now I just- I want to hit something, all the time, and I know I can't-" she wanted to, though, so very much, "I can't muster up the patience or the- the compassion anymore, because what I feel foremost is this anger, which keeps building up every single day- and I don't know why, I never had such an issue before-"

"Sanya." He said softly, laying a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, her eyes stormy, but her shoulders sagged under the calming pressure of his touch. "Breathe. Count to ten- and breathe."

Ten seconds later, she exhaled.
"Sorry." She said, taking his hand off her shoulder and kissing his palm. "I didn't want to- well, to let it all out like that. Just- everything has been pretty stressful, and I am less capable of dealing with things than I ever was."

"Well, to be fair," Edmund began, apparently serious, "in Narnia, you had an excellent way to release stress."
And he winked.

Sanya stared at him for a moment, gobsmacked.
Then she let out a loud laugh, the sound ringing through the silent forest.
"Stop making me blush while I'm in the midst of an angry outburst."
It was amazing. She had wanted to- to tear down this forest, too, raze it entirely- but one flirty joke from Edmund, and she was giggling as though being entertained by a hundred jesters.

"No, I don't think I will." Edmund replied with a grin, as she moved closer to him, swinging her legs around his waist and positioning herself into his lap. "You were done with the outburst anyway- and I like making you blush. And laugh."

"And turned on?" Sanya raised her brow at him, though the effect was diluted by the wide smile on her face. "I didn't even know fourteen-year-olds could be turned on."

"What a dry life you had before me, my wife." Edmund teased, wrapping his arms around her.
Although they would find themselves- alright, they would put themselves in such positions often enough, they had not gone further than exchanging a few kisses.
Fine, Sanya had gone so far as to unbuttoning his shirt a couple of times. Maybe a dozen times. But, in her defence, he'd either been speaking French, or running a hand through his hair, or just calling her Moonshine.

And, yes, he'd put his hands inside her shirt once. Or, it could have been eight times.
In his defence, though- well- she didn't like wearing bras. She'd been fine with the brassieres back in Narnia- but bras were the corsets of this time and world, and she'd hated corsets.
Nothing else, though.

"You had sex one time before me!" She retorted. "It wasn't as though you were some- some- give me an example of someone who's had a lot of sex?"

"Us?"

She gave him a look, though the effect of that was reduced as well, because of how red her cheeks were.
She couldn't even remember what she'd been angry about- anger, and everything bad, it just slipped away from her like the water from the beach at low tide, when Edmund was near. Her anchor.

"Zeus, then?" Her husband suggested. "He's sort of your great-uncle, though, so probably shouldn't use that."

"Regardless of past endeavours and other partners we may have had." She started pointedly. He knew she'd slept with other people, years after his disappearance, back in their world. He didn't know the exact number- not that the number was very high- but he knew. "I think it's safe to say that none of them were the right fit for us."

"Yeah." Edmund nodded at her. "We're both- flawed people-" to say the least, "but together, we're the perfect fit."

"Imperfectly perfect fit." Sanya amended, and he tilted his head at her. "The concept of perfection, it's just- it rubs me the wrong way. It doesn't exist."

"Hm." Edmund said absently, reaching a hand up to pull the ribbon out of her hair. Her dark hair fell out of the ponytail as he did so, and the waves tumbled down, cascading past her shoulders and down her back. "Feels like I'm looking at something quite near to it, though."

Sanya's eyes grew tender, and she leaned in, pressing her lips to Edmund's.

Their second first kiss had been back in June, on the last day of school. They'd been so happy that they were to spend the whole summer practically as neighbours- her grandmother lived in Finchley, too, just a couple of streets away from the Pevensies. They had known they would live close-by before that day, too- but in that moment, the joy had been too great and the love too deep- and they had kissed.

After that, they kissed often. And she loved all their kisses.

But these kisses- these slow, tender kisses, as though they had all the time in the world, and only each other to be with- like they truly were the fairytale their children had said they were- it made her feel like Edmund was the only real thing in all the worlds. They were her secret favourite.
"Ed." She murmured into his mouth, and she pressed herself closer to him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He whispered back, and his fingers went into her loose hair, caressing gently. He almost forgot that it was winter, when she was there. His warmth. Everything about her warmed his heart, his soul. "Even if you thought Jules Verne invented science fiction."

Sanya pulled her mouth away immediately, her eyes slits.
"Ass." She said again, lightly slapping his shoulder. "Who is it then?"

"Not so quickly." He shook his head, his dark eyes twinkling. "But I'll give you a far too easy hint. I gave you her book for your-"

"Mary Shelley!" Sanya burst out immediately- he'd given her Frankenstein for her birthday, along with a small bouquet of roses. "But I would have thought it would be horror- oh, oh, because Frankenstein is a mad scientist?"

He laughed, grazing his lips along her jaw.
"I was clearly right when I called you the Sherlock Holmes of Rihaaya."

"Oh, please. We both know you'd be the Sherlock between the two of us." Sanya was- well, she was stupid. Apart from reading books, she had no intellectual pursuits, and it wasn't as though she was academically inclined or street-smart.
Then again, she had tricked the Faerie Queen. No one else could say that.

"Perhaps." He was more perceptive than his generally oblivious wife- obliviousness did not really help in the field of detective work. "But Sherlock would be nothing without his Watson, my dear Watson."

"That's not really true- and stick to Moons- oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, her head tilting up to the sky. "It's going to rain!"

"Yeah, you said- rather obvious, the sky has been bleak all day-"

"No." She rolled her eyes, getting off him and standing up, before extending a hand to help him to his feet. "Right now. It's going to rain-"
A raindrop fell from the skies, splashing down on her warm cheek- she instinctively closed her eyes, feeling the coolness of it- it was a much more pleasant cool than that of winter.

"Oh." His eyes widened again, and he looked to her, "We should get back to-"

But her eyes were still closed, as more drops of rain fell, blurring the forest-cocoon of green they'd spent the last few hours in.
"I love the rain."

"Me too," if it was warmer weather, he would've loved to stay out and get soaked in the rain with Sanya, "but we will catch hypothermia if we stay out in the rain in bloody December!"

Sanya was almost swaying now, feeling only the soothe of the raindrops- and her mind started to flicker back to past memories.

She could almost imagine that she wasn't in this awful England, the land without magic, in a time where she knew nothing and had nothing; and she could remember a time, in another life, where her parents and brother and children and country were alive, a time when she held her baby girl close, and watched the rain with her.

Sel, Sel. Oh, little Sel-Sel. She would say, kissing her daughter's soft hair. Do you like raindrops more or icicles?

Selene's tiny face would pucker into a frown, in deep thought.
Both are very nithe, Amma. And pwetty. She'd say, nestling further into her mother's warm embrace. But rain maketh me more happy.

Rain made Sanya happy, too. She watched it endlessly, since she had been small. She would toddle out away from her parents whenever she heard the pouring of rain, and find her way to the nearest window or balcony- she would spend hours sitting in the balcony, and hearing and looking at the rain. She had even set up pots in her own balcony, once, so she could collect the rain that descended from the Heavens.

"Sanya!" Edmund tugged at her sleeve, and Sanya started, jerked uncomfortably out of her wandering wonder. "Are you okay-"

"Yes-" what a lie, "yes- sorry-"

"Alright, come on, Hendon is closer, you can stay there till the-"

She turned to him- he was looking at her, and there was plain concern in his eyes. For her health? Or her sanity?
"N-no, no-" She shook her head- she didn't think the rain would cease before morning-

Oh, but that would mean she'd be able to spend the night with Edmund!

No, but it was unlikely she'd be able to sleep in even the same wing as her husband.

She probably ought to go back to Finbar's. It was probably around tea-time, and she liked the cakes that was served during it- usually, it was vanilla sponge cake, for they were the cheapest.
She didn't mind, for she loved vanilla.

"I'll go back to mine." She began to lead him out of the forest- she was holding his hand tight more for herself, than for him. It wasn't quite dusk yet, but the rain had made the sky even darker- and she was still really scared of the dark. "I don't mind some rain."

"Are you sure- I can stay with-"

"Yes, I'm sure, and no, you go!"
He had to get out of it, as soon as possible- she knew how against the cold Edmund was.
"Bye-" She leaned up and kissed him quickly, as they reached the field outside the forest, the bright lights of the two schools now visible, "and I'll come to you as soon as I can!"

"Happy Anniversary again, Moonshine!" Edmund said, and then he was running to his school.
Away from her.

Rain fell in torrents around her, over her, making her finally shiver- but Sanya did not care. She watched her husband run, further and further away, his slender figure transforming into a small, stick-like, shadowy figure in the dim light of the rainy evening.

She shivered again, but it wasn't because of the cold. It was because she was thinking of when he'd gone away from her and their children, chasing that stag, and she remembered her grief when she had realised he was not returning home.

It was different now. He would come back. He wouldn't leave her.

Not again. Never again.
-

"Sanya! Why are you wet?"

"Lucy!" Sanya was, obviously, shocked as her sister-in-law jumped in front of her, seemingly from nowhere. She'd been hoping to sneak into the Dining Hall undetected- the hallways were all empty, meaning it definitely was tea-time. "I was outside- it's raining- but why aren't you at tea?"

"Oh-" Lucy Pevensie shrugged, smiling, "emergency Photography Club meeting."

The 'Indian' frowned, "There's a Photography Club?"
She knew what photography was- though, admittedly, the concept was hard for her to understand. It was capturing real-life moments on some sort of paper (film, she remembered) whenever the capturer wanted- and the films (not the same as the paper) that played at cinemas were like moving photographs.
The only ways to capture moments that she'd known of were by painting or writing. It was rather- fantastical.

"Oh, Sanya." Lucy laughed, and then grabbed her hand, leading her to the Dining Hall. Her sister-in-law left watery footprints as they walked, the water dropping from her hair and clothes down to the floor. "You've been here over a year. Surely, you know what clubs there are?"

Sanya snorted, "I hardly even remember this school’s full name- you expect too much from me. And I didn’t even know you had a- a photography- um- tool.”

"A camera." She emphasised the word- she knew how important Sanya learning all the terminologies of this world was. "And- well, no, I don't. But Dad said he'll get one for me on my birthday."

She gave her a look, consequently almost walking into a wall, "Your birthday isn't for another eight months."

"I know! By then, I'll be in fourth form- and, technically speaking," Lucy looked rather guilty, and bit her lip, "Photography Club is only supposed to be for fourth-formers and up-"

Sanya laughed, "Lucille Rachel Pevensie, did you hoodwink your way into the club?"

"No!" She turned red, just as they reached the door of the Dining Hall. The chatter and din inside it was so loud, they'd been able to hear it two hallways away. "I just- well, I heard that they were having difficulties in finding inspiration and ideas- so I dropped in one day with some helpful suggestions."

"And, in exchange for these helpful suggestions, you asked for a place in the club?"

Lucy's blush gave her the answer.

Sanya was amused. She couldn't imagine that Lucy had practically blackmailed her way into the club- blackmail, that included helping them! Such a Lucy-like spin on the whole concept of blackmail.

"Sanya! Lucy!" Ms. Evelyn Potts, Sanya's form-mistress and English teacher, came out of the Dining Hall, biscuit crumbs all over her brown blouse. "Why in the world are you not inside? You know tea is compulsory. And why are you drenched, Rainsford? Don't tell me you were outside in this weather-"

"I don't like tea." Sanya wrinkled her nose, ignoring the teacher's concern. A little bit of damp clothing wouldn't kill her. "Why do you all not have mango juice? I think that's far superior."

"Don't talk so high-and-mighty, Rainsford, or you might be in for another suspension." Potts was easily the most patient of all the teachers who'd dealt with Sanya, but even her patience was wearing thin. At least she pronounced the girl's name right, the few times she referred to her using it. "Go on, get in."

"Where are you going, Ms. Potts?" Lucy asked cheerfully. "Surely you are not done eating yet!"

"Oh- no, Lucy, but I've just had a telegram, and I must respond quickly. It's from my parents- about my brother." She looked down at the ground, and both the girls were reminded that her brother had been off fighting in the war for the past year. "I can only hope that it's something positive- hopefully an honourable discharge-"

"My father was honourably discharged last year." Lucy said, and smiled kindly at the teacher, patting her arm. "We'll pray for your brother, miss."

Sanya resisted the urge to make a face.
Instead, she spoke, trying to be nice, because she knew what it was like to lose a brother. She had consciously left Sameer and abandoned him, yes- but in doing so, she had lost him for good, and that was not something she had ever wanted.
"We can hope, Ms. Potts." She said, tucking her arms behind her back. "All the best."

"Thank you- Rainsford, Lucy." She nodded at the two, a shaky smile on her face, before turning and walking away.

"Gosh, I hope her brother gets home safe." Lucy said, watching her go. Everyday she, and everyone else, woke up hoping that they would get news that the war was over, or close to it. When schools had reopened after their time in Professor Kirke's house, she had thought that the war was winding up- and even when her father had returned from war.
But it wasn't. Two years later, and it still raged as horrifically as ever.
"I can't imagine..."

"I can." Sanya said shortly, and walked inside the Hall, away from Lucy.

She ignored the way that everyone turned to stare at her, sopping wet and walking in just as tea was winding up, and she held her head high, apparently uncaring.
But she couldn't help her palms feeling clammy, from anxiety, and the way her very bones seemed to turn inwards- and she felt more and more panicky about being the centre of attention.
Being the High Queen of Rihaaya was one thing. Being the resident rebellious freak, with 'unnatural' brown skin, was something entirely different.

Susan had told her that, when she'd first joined St. Finbar's, almost six years ago, that there had been four long tables in the Dining Hall, one for each Tower, with the house-mistresses sitting in the middle of each table, and the students on either side.

Then, when the school had shut down during the war, the arrangement had changed, and now the Dining Hall had much smaller and more numerous tables, not too different from picnic tables, with only one long table at the head of the room, where the teachers sat.

Sanya didn't sit with her classmates or dorm-mates, and she never had- she always showed up early so she could find an empty table, and her surly face would keep away anyone who dared to approach the table. Sometimes, it made her sad, illogically so, that she was perennially alone- but usually, she was glad that no one was bothering her.

But, today, she was late, and every table- from the table that the teachers sat at, to the ones for the students, ranging from the tiny first-formers to the bitchy-looking final years- was full.

And they all looked at her so rudely, without any shame; only one person, as far as she saw, seemed to have some kindness- the Korean girl in third leaned over to scold her gawking classmates, and they all quickly looked away.

As though she was some deformed show-pony. It made her so angry!

She should just snatch a slice of cake and walk out, and eat in the library- the librarian was also at tea that day, which meant she would not be yelled at- it would be better than sitting with her flighty, horrible class-

Oh!

There was a girl sitting at one of the tables in the corner- just one girl, with long brown braids, and her head bowed as she bit at a pastry.

Sanya hoped fervently that she wasn't a chatterbox and that she would have some quiet- before grabbing three slices of cake and a fork from the food-desk, and then making a beeline for the table.
She said nothing as she sat down, in the chair furthest from the girl's, and not even when the girl looked up, staring at her quizzically.

She just focused on the sponge cake. She couldn't eat, sometimes. After so long in Neráida, her body felt strange about eating normal, and it actively rebelled against it. But she had been practicing since she had left that realm- training her stomach to accept the food it should, and it had been working recently.
The cake was delicious- it practically melted in her mouth, the cooks must have been in a good mood-

"Hello."

Damn it. Why were all her hopes dashed!?
Sanya looked slowly up from her food, to see that there was a tiny, trying smile on the girl's face.
Sighing internally, she nodded back, "Hi."

Her voice was deep, but wavered with nervousness, "My name is Bonnie. Berkeley. Bonnie Berkeley."

"I'm Sanya." She replied- so much for hoping for quiet. "Sanya Re- Pe- um, Rainsford."
Bonnie was pretty. But, somehow, she did not feel very flustered, unlike how all the pretty girls in the school- and there were many- made her feel. Perhaps it was because Bonnie herself seemed so flustered and nervous and skittish, there seemed no space for Sanya to feel it, too.

"Nice to meet you, Sanya." Her smile grew a bit, but was still tentative. She had a wide mouth, and Sanya thought her grins would be something radiant. "Are you in fifth?"

"Lower fourth." She wasn't surprised she'd assumed that. Even with all the weight she had lost and the age she had become during her- her metamorphosis in Neráida, she was still hefty and looked a year or two older than her actual age. "Are you in fifth or sixth?"

Fiddling with one of her braids, she nodded, "Lower sixth, yes."

"You might know Susan Pevensie, then." She said- she didn't want to talk, but the girl was obviously trying to be nice. And she hadn't said, like every other person in the school, 'oh, you're the Indian one!' "She's in lower sixth, too- South Tower?"
She knew full well the conversation wouldn't last for long. She was very dull.

"I'm in East- sorry, I don't think I know her." She said, shaking her head. "I've seen a- a Lucy Pevensie in Art Club- are they related?"

Heavens, how many clubs was Lucy in?
"Sisters. Lucy's in North Tower- she's a third-former."

When they had all arrived at school last year, her first time, Sanya had thought that Lucy would be in first, since she was two years younger than Ed, who'd then been about to begin in third form.

Soon, though, she had found out that her younger sister-in-law was in second.
Peter had explained why- because she had turned twelve before the end of August. It was why Edmund was currently in Lower Fourth, and not in Upper- because he'd been born after the end of August. If he'd been born just a week earlier, he would have been going into Upper Fourth- but he hadn't. He was, consequently, among the oldest in his class.

It hadn't made any sense to Sanya, though she had pretended to understand.

Ultimately, Edmund had had to make a chart for her.

___________

Children born between September 1st, 1930 and August 31th, 1931- First Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 11-12 years old

Children born between September 1st, 1931 and August 31th, 1932- Second Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 12-13 years old

Children born between September 1st, 1928 and August 31th, 1929- Third Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 13-14 years old (Lucy, 09.07.1929)

Children born between September 1st, 1927 and August 31th, 1928- Lower Fourth Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 14-15 years old (Edmund, 05.09.1927 and Sanya, 20.01.9̶8̶9̶ 1928)

Children born between September 1st, 1926 and August 31th, 1927- Upper Fourth Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 15-16 years old

Children born between September 1st, 1926 and August 31th, 1927- Fifth Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 16-17 years old
Children born between September 1st, 1924 and August 31th, 1925- Lower Sixth Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 17-18 years old (Susan, 16.02.1925)

Children born between September 1st, 1923 and August 31th, 1924- Upper Sixth Form in Sept1942-July1943, aged 18-19 years old (Peter, 26.04.1924)
___________

The chart confused her, too. The whole thing was complicated- why did they not go the simple way and call it classes, ranging from Class 1- for the little kids, the five-year-olds just starting school- to Class 12, for the seventeen-year-olds about to head to university?

Still, the chart made more sense than Peter's explanation of 'because that's just how things are, Sanya, now shut up and go away, how does it matter to you what age students go to uni at-'

The confusion was partly because she had read that university students were eighteen or nineteen when they started university- so how was it possible that the final year of school had students of the same age as the first year of university?

Edmund had shrugged, and said that upper sixth wasn't compulsory. Most students skipped it, choosing to attend university directly after lower sixth, thus often known only as sixth form, sans any prefix.

Peter had decided to take it, though, as had plenty of his classmates, because the extra year would give them the time they needed to prepare for getting into good universities. Susan was planning on taking the extra year, too, because she had no idea what to do after school- but Edmund had already decided that lower sixth would be his final year in school, after which he'd get into some university or the other for law.

Which meant it would be Sanya's final year in school, too. The only reason she was still sticking around, voluntarily, was because he was here- it certainly wasn't because she liked studying.

Anyway, the trouble with the forms was related to age, and thus to maths, and Sanya disliked maths, so she tried to keep the confusion out of her head.

"Oh. She's quite- energetic." Again, the same nervous smile. "Thank you for sitting with me, by the way. I'm- I'm somewhat new."

She blinked, and could not stop herself from saying, "You started school so late?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I was- in another school, before I joined St. Finbar's, in March- as a fifth-former. I know it was only a few months before term ended- and, of course, everyone already had friend groups- but I didn't realise how difficult it is to make friends in fifth form. And lower sixth, too."

"It's not easy to make friends in any form." Sanya shrugged. "You still have a few months- and another year, if you go for upper sixth. You'll find a friend."

She nodded, accepting her words, before asking, "Do you have friends?"

It wasn't spoken snidely- or even curiously- it sounded as though she was concerned.
Sanya had an insane thought that her mother had sometimes sounded like that.
"No." She supposed she had the Pevensies- but they were not exactly friends. "I don't."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Sanya did not understand why she was sorry. It wasn't as though Bonnie had anything to do with it. "Solitude suits me."

Her eyes softened, and she pushed away her plate. It looked like it had been a parcel from home- the school had never served pastry that had more than one thin layer of cream on it, as far as Sanya could remember.
"That sounds sad."

Her fingers curled into a fist around her fork, "Yeah, well, I snog my boyfriend when I feel sad, so I don't really care what you think."
Bonnie's face fell, and Sanya immediately felt bad. That had been undeservedly rude.
"Sorry." She hadn't apologised and meant it for a long while. But she did mean it now, because Bonnie was- she seemed nice. And she had pronounced her name right. "That was mean."

"I've heard worse things." She shrugged as well- she smiled again, but without the flicker of anxiety. "You have a boyfriend, then?"

She nodded- she had expected her to blow up at her. The girl must be quite tolerant.
"Yes-" a husband, actually, "his name is Edmund, and he's in Hendon House. He's Susan and Lucy's brother."

"Have you been together long?"

That- was a complicated question, and yet again related to maths, because of the concept of time.
But it was a question she had been asked before, by her insipid and inquisitive dorm-mates, so she knew what to answer.
"In the best way possible," Sanya held back a smile, "it feels like it's been a thousand years."

-
-✧･: °*✧*°:･✧-
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Gemma Arterton as Ms. Evelyn Potts

-

(Need her to break a few more noses)
-

BONNIE BERKELEY, MY DAUGHTER.
I won't lie, there is some of me in Bonnie. There's a bit of me in most of the recurring characters in this book, to be honest. I've never done that before- split parts of me to put into characters. I feel very Voldemort-ish, ha.

Oh, and Ms. Potts’s brother will be fine. Pretty sure I never bring him up ever again, but he's fine. A bit injured and banged-up, but otherwise he is a-okay.

The whole chart with the ages and the form/year/class distinctions in school- somewhat based off the Enid Blyton books and somewhat off my own life and somewhat my imagination. Most of the book- 99.8%- will be ABSOLUTELY historically accurate, but there will be some minor details I may tweak for the good of the story.

Speaking of tweaking details- I changed the birth-years. Edmund, who was born in 1930, according to books- is born in 1928 here, Lucy was supposed to be in 1932, but she's now in 1930- and so on. This is PURELY to make sure that the events of movie!VOTDT (those set in England) take place before the war is over.
I may also change some medical stuff later on, but I am NOT changing the duration of WW2 and making it even longer. Just- no.

Better things now.

Lucy and her clubs will also be a running gag throughout the chapters they're in school 🤷‍♀️ girl's enthusiastic, some things don't change.

Edmund and Sanya having their own spot, to be away from others and with each other, just basking in their togetherness ahskkskd I can't, okay. I just can't.
🎶Can you two always be this close? 🥺 🎶

Is that- oh, wait, yeah.
Edmund saying 'silly girl' and talking in French is hot, right. It's not just me and Sanya who think it?

Oh, and Sanya says 'a whole new world'- which, lmao.
(If you don't know why lmao, then think of who Sanya's faceclaim is. Think of which role the faceclaim is most famous for. And now remember which romance song of the movie that the role is in is absolutely iconic.)

Also, Sanya says 'imperfectly perfect fit' which is a reference to an ABSOLUTELY LOVELY song that coffeedvodka wrote for Edmanya <3

https://youtu.be/goTE57q_n-o

And, as always- I humbly and unashamedly ask you to vote on the chapters, and perhaps comment, too :)