Lucy awoke to the sound of jingling bells.

Her eyes fluttered open, and her heart made a little jump at the sudden and lovely realization that it was Christmas morning.

"Oh!" she cried, scrambling out of her bed and flying to the window. She drew back the curtains, and was met by the wondrous view of snow-covered palace grounds, a red sleigh just disappearing out of the courtyard gate.

She let out a squeal of excitement. "Susan! Susan look! It snowed, it snowed! And Father Christmas has been here!"

There was a soft rustling from across the room, as Susan rolled over, presumably glancing out of her own window.

"Come on come on come on!" squeaked Lucy, darting to the door of their room and pulling on her stockings before slipping out into the hall.

"Lucy, wait!" called Susan, now actually making an effort to get up. But Lucy was already in the next room, waking up her brothers.

By the time Susan caught up, wearing her slippers and dressing gown, the other two Pevensies were very much awake, and Edmund and Lucy were practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"Good, now everyone's up," said Edmund, "Let's go eat!"

Lucy giggled, dashing down the stairs after her brother, while Peter and Susan followed at a more reasonable pace.

Downstairs, the castle was alive with commotion. Creatures of all sorts were bustling here and there, some with parcels, others with food, and all with songs and laughter. The children had never seen happier people in all their lives- and with good reason. This was the first real Christmas that Narnia had had in over a hundred years. For many, it was their first.

And now every creature was putting traditions back into practice which had only been spoken of in hushed tones for as long as they could remember. It was truly a thing to celebrate, and the children were thrilled to share their own favorite Christmas traditions with their friends.

No-one in Narnia could remember whether Christmas Trees had been in use before the witch's reign, but as soon as Lucy described the beauty of an Evergreen strung with tinsel and lights, one of the younger dryad girls volunteered at once.

"Oh, it smells lovely down here!" exclaimed Susan.

"Like warm sticky-buns!" added Lucy, taking a good long breath through her nose.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," said a voice behind them - which turned out to belong to a pudgy badger who had just come from the kitchen. "In the meantime, I think Tumnus is waiting for your Majesties in the great hall."

"Mr Tumnus is here?" asked Lucy, a huge smile spreading across her face. "But he must have travelled such a long way!"

"Come on," said Peter, taking his youngest sister's hand. "Let's go and see!"

The two of them dashed off, with Susan following, and Edmund took a detour through the kitchen to 'see about everything'.

"Mr Tumnus!" squealed Lucy, running to greet her friend the moment she saw him. "You came!"

"Well, I couldn't miss our first Christmas, now could I?" asked the faun, ruffling Lucy's messy red curls. Her hair had grown longer since she'd been in Narnia, but today she looked just as young and rosy-cheeked as she day the day the two met.

She smiled her sweet babyish smile, as if she couldn't possibly hold another ounce of happiness. "Oh then you must meet the Christmas Tree!" she said, letting go of Peter's had and taking Tumnus'. "She's lovely. She's just over here!"

Peter watched them go, taking in the feel of the whole room. The great hall was richly decorated, and there was a good deal of bustle here too. The air rang with merry songs - some old, and some made up on the spot - and in the center of the room, stood the Christmas Tree.

Being a young Fir, she was just a little taller than the centaurs (of which there were several), but the shining parcels and packages piled around her, and the candles carefully tied to the ends of her bows were enough to make you quite starry-eyed all the same.

Once Susan had caught up, she and Peter followed Lucy to the tree, which was currently being introduced to Mr Tumnus. And a few minutes later, Edmund reappeared with a handfull of sticky buns, which he shared with Lucy.

"Shall we open some presents now?" asked Peter.

"Oh, do let's!" said Lucy, sucking some frosting off of her fingers. "I've spotted some of ours over there!"

"There are so many," said Susan, bending down to pick up a silver box. "Oh, Edmund I think I see one of yours."

"Where?" asked Edmund, jumping past Susan and looking where she pointed.

"Bring it out here, Ed," said Peter, stepping back to make room on the floor.

"I've got it!" said Edmund, heaving a large, brightly wrapped box into his arms and making his way back out of the pile.

"Oh, Edmund! It's your first present from Father Christmas!" said Lucy, reading the words written on the top of the package.

The raven-haired boy flopped onto the ground and tore into the wrapping paper, tossing some of it at his sisters, who squealed and swatted it away.

"A chess set!" exclaimed Edmund as soon as it was opened, lifting a thick, checkered glass board for inspection, eyes sparkling. "And look Peter, solid gold pieces!"

The blonde boy leaned in to have a look, picking up a golden knight. "The eyes are made of rubies," he said, taking a closer look. "Ed, this is marvelous!"

"We must have a game," declared Edmund, setting the board and beginning to assemble the pieces.

"I suppose in the meantime," said Susan, grinning at Lucy, "We should open ours."

"Oh yes!"

The girls giggled, plopping down beside the tree and picking up the brightly colored packages, checking the tags and handing parcels to each other.

Talking animals darted in and out, calling their greetings, and sometimes coming back around to do it again, and one of the talking mice stayed to watch the chess game.

Lucy unwrapped a beautiful ornament, carved like an albatross, and Mr Tumnus helped her hang it on the tree. The first thing Susan got was a silky yellow dress, which Lucy had picked out herself, and then the girls spent quite a long time talking about all the things they would do at the dance that evening.

Finally, breakfast was served in the Dining Room, and the kings and queens abandoned their gifts to enjoy the morning with their people.

It turned out to be the very best Christmas that Narnia had ever had, and to this day, it is said that they celebrated it so well that the festivities lasted for an entire week.

AN: Merry Christmas Whisper!