April's POV; Fall of 1943; April is 18 and Peter is 17

(A/N: Hello! I usually don't place a note at the beginning of a chapter but I have two great pieces of news to share with you! #1: Happy writing Narnia Anniversary to me!  It was today, April 24, four years ago in 2015 that I posted the first few chapters of Book one in this series, Traces of Narnia, online. It was a huge leap for this social media shy brand new writer. #2: This book is finished! My goal was to finish it by today and I DID IT! There are 4 more chapters after this one. I will post one each week. I hope you enjoy it!)

Clang, clang...clang, clang. Clunk.

April winced at the clunking sound as she rounded the corner of Peter's University on the common greens area known as Lincoln's Inn Fields. She skirted around a crater created by a bomb a couple of years ago. The sword club was hard to miss and she smiled at how similar it sounded to the training yards at Cair Paravel. Here though there were no satyrs and centaurs barking orders, no fauns dodging sword blows. There looked to be six or so young men grunting, and swinging and smiling. And, yes, there was another similarity to Narnia, Peter.

What a magnificent sight he was. She smiled at her own pun. Strong arms wielded the broadsword like the well-practiced warrior he was, sweat caused his blond hair to cling to his forehead, and his look of concentration and focus honed through hours of training.

Others were watching him as well. A talented newcomer would always attract attention, but Peter had a presence about him, with or without a sword that drew others in naturally. She spotted a blanket and sank down to the ground with a sigh. Her meeting at the Opera House had been tedious and she was glad to be free for a few hours before the evening performance.

"Well, hello there."

A female voice broke through her thoughts and she blushed as she realized there was another person sitting on the blanket.

"Hello. Pardon my rudeness, I was..."

"Overcome. Yeah, I saw that. I mean, there is a good reason. Handsome young men fighting with swords. What's not to make a girl swoon?"

April giggled and studied the girl who had spoken so openly. Red hair and blue eyes with a slight Scottish accent spoke from a pleasant face with a broad smile. April liked her immediately.

"April Pevensie, Peter's wife," she said nodding toward the men.

"Ah, 'tis good to meet you. I'm Rebecca Polston, Scott's wife."

April shook the extended hand and glanced back at the men.

"Peter seems to know his way around a sword."

April couldn't help the wide smile that bloomed on her face. "Yes, it is a passion of his. He has been practicing for years."

Just how many years, she could never share. The thought of it made her smile grow deeper.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Scott too. Like, little boys, they are out there. He loves for me to come and watch, so here I am. But, I always bring a book just in case."

She held up a dime store paperback and grinned. April smiled at her. She was sure watching the 'boys' play could get tedious.

"Whew. Finally!" Rebecca murmured and April looked up realizing it was suddenly quiet. The six men dropped to the grass around them drinking greedily from canteens scattered around.

"Hi Love, glad you could make it. Meeting go all right?" Peter panted out beside her.

"Yes, I'm glad to be here though. It is a beautiful morning. I was surprised to see the sun shining."

"Us too. Never fun to fight in the rain." A voice sounded to her left from a brown shaggy-haired boy.

"Aw, that's yer favorite excuse for losin' all the time." Came a laugh and a reply to her right from the man sitting next to Rebecca, she supposed was Scott.

"Oy, but we've done that!" Another voice joined in.

"Even in the snow!"

At that, they all laughed.

Scott introduced her around the circle. Everyone seemed nice and she was suddenly very glad Peter had come. He needed men around him. He was used to that comradery not only from Narnia but also from his boarding school.

"Did you hear? They finally named the mascot for the school?" The shaggy-haired man whose name was Liam chimed in.

"Humph," Scott replied grumpily. "A beaver! How and why I will never guess."

Peter and April shared a look and a grin and then Peter laughed out loud.

"Come, Peter, do tell..."

"Well, in my experience," Peter paused for dramatic effect and had the whole group waiting to hear what kind of experience he could have had with beavers. April giggled and Peter's smile grew. "Beavers are very industrious, they are excellent builders, and make really good friends."

"What?!" The man she thought whose name was Garrick exclaimed as he spat out his water in laughter. "Good friends? Are you daft, man?"

"Maybe a little," indulged Peter. "In all seriousness why wouldn't the beaver be a good mascot? They are known for their foresight and hard-working behavior. Isn't that what they force us to do in Macro Econ. 101?"

The group laughed and nodded.

Garrick added, "Wait until you get to statistics! Whew. You'll want to build a lodge and go hide in it especially if Dr. Williamson is your prof."

The good-natured banter continued for a few minutes and April was happy to see Peter relaxed and smiling. She caught Rebecca's eye and was given an eye roll for effect at something that one of the men had said. April liked Rebecca more and more. She was sassy and seemed fun. It made her think of Cassidy, her roommate from the ballet school. She missed her. Cassidy had auditioned for a traveling ballet troupe and was currently in America dancing her heart out.

The group parted ways soon. April and Peter made plans to have Rebecca and Scott over for dinner on a Monday night soon. She felt so grown up, inviting someone over to dinner at their home.

Peters finger intertwined with hers as they walked back to their flat. She gave his fingers a squeeze, not needing words to say that she had a good time and she was happy that he was happy.

~~0~~

That Monday night came very soon and they had a great time with the other couple. Scott's sense of humor was dry and witty. Rebecca matched it with her sarcastic barbs and good-natured ribbing. April had never known a couple as quite as outspoken as they were. Peter seemed to sit back and relish the bantering. She knew he missed that with Edmund. It grew a little awkward when they were asked how long they had been married. To April and Peter, their marriage began in Narnia, but that was hard to count. Then came the questions of how old they were. That was even harder to describe, well, without laughing anyway.

Scott kept saying Peter seemed to be so much older than he was. After a few rounds of the card game Bridge, they left with April promising to get them tickets to a ballet soon. It was good to have friends and it was fun to have friends that were a young married couple as well.

~~0~~

October quickly turned to December and soon Peter and April found themselves at their first Christmas together. Peter's siblings stayed at his parent's house but it was decided the actual celebration would happen in their tiny apartment since Peter's mother and father were still out of the country. It was so good to have Lucy, Edmund, and Susan with them. There wasn't much for food or gifts, but there was plenty of laughter and fun.

A/N: Another snapshot for you...We will be fast forwarding soon. Thank you for reading!