Work Text:
“What if they missed the train?” Clemens whispered to Susan.
She cuddled the rabbit to her chest. “You know they didn't. They wouldn't. Mother and Father are on this train too, we can see all of them at once.”
Self-consciously Susan adjusted her hair as they stood at the platform. She hadn't parted with her siblings on the best terms, after all. They still wouldn't leave off about Narnia…
“We’re all settled now, Lucy!” Susan cried, exasperated. “We’re supposed to act like adults, not hang on to silly childish things anymore. Leave off your dreaming and focus on school. Your final year is coming up, and then what will you do?”
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave Narnia behind? It’s more real than anything here ever has been, and we’ll remember that even if you've forgotten!” Audax puffed up angrily and slapped at Clemens with his tail before Lucy scooped him up and they left.
That had been months ago, and Lucy and Peter hadn't talked to her since. Edmund had dropped her a line every now and then, letting her know how they others were doing, but even he hadn't come by her tiny little flat to visit. He was the one who’d told her about the dreams, how they’d be leaving with Professor Kirke and Polly and Eustace, and when the train would be coming back. Susan knew he hoped that getting all of them together might cause a reconciliation, and she hoped he was right. She missed them, Lucy most of all.
A whistle jarred Susan from her reverie and made her glance up. Her grip tightened on her daemon as the train roared into the station. Despite their anxiety, she couldn’t help beaming. Her smile quickly faltered when she saw how fast the train was going. It should be slowing down, it shouldn't--
Susan and Clemens screamed.
They rushed toward the wreckage. Surely it wasn't that bad, surely… Susan stumbled to a halt as the dust settled and golden motes began to drift out of the windows. Maybe she hadn't seen that here in England, but she knew that golden rain all too well. It was too late, she knew, she felt it.
Susan dropped to her knees, dropping Clemens and sobbing, fury and sorrow at war in her chest. It wasn't right, there should have been something she could do, she’d never be able to--
Next to her, Clemens shuddered and changed.
As she wept, Susan felt a huge weight at her side, and a rough tongue licked the side of her face. “We have to be brave now, Susan. For their sake.”
She looked up at Clemens, and saw someone else for an instant, someone ancient and wise, and lost to her now. “How did you…?”
He shook his head. “I guess we weren't as settled as we thought we were.”