Disclaimer: If I owned Narnia, why would I be writing fanfiction?
Author's Note: Well, this is rather different. 'Tis about everyone's favorite faun, Mr. Tumnus. I thought perhaps I ought to get away from Ed and…um…trains, for a while. –grins— So, this shall be a series of short one-shots about Tumnus, provided I get around to doing the next few. –laughs sheepishly— As always, please read and review. I'll give you my tasty homemade brownies if you do. So without further ado, I present to you, (for lack of a better title):
Tea with Mr. Tumnus
By Theophila
For the 15th time that month, Tumnus the Faun found himself sitting in front of the fire with a rather worn copy of Is Man a Myth? on his lap. He tried to read it fairly often, just to refresh his memory, so that he would know what to expect when he came across a Son of Adam—that is, if he came across a Son of Adam. Tumnus truly hoped he never would. That was, in fact, why the cover of Is Man a Myth? was so worn: he attempted reading it every other day, but he always became so depressed at the idea of turning in one of these delightful creatures that he could hardly read another word.
But today he was determined to finish the book. He managed to struggle through the penultimate chapter, "The Wonderful Ways of Man, or Characteristics of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve and How One Might Go about Identifying Them." For the first time, he came to the last chapter, which was entitled: "Our Concrete Conclusion, or Why We Can Be Sure That There Is No Such Thing as Man and Never Was." Upon reading the title, Tumnus' eyes popped out and his jaw dropped. What! No such thing as man? What a relief! For you see, Is Man a Myth? happened to be one of those stuffy old books that takes quite a long time to get to the point, and up till now Tumnus had been under the assumption that Man existed.
Well, Tumnus decided with a good deal of excitement, there's no reason then to just sit at home now. Now that he knew for certain that there was absolutely no chance of coming across a Son of Adam (or a Daughter of Eve) in the woods, he did not have to worry. You see, Tumnus had not only been staying inside because of the cold weather, but also because he did not want to have to turn anyone in to the Witch, especially their future kings or queens. And of course if he were to come across a human, he would have to do so. The things she would do to him if he didn't obey…! Tumnus shuddered. No matter. He wouldn't have to disobey, because he would never meet a human. He no longer had to avoid going out. He could have friends again.
Tumnus quickly got up and threw his scarf around his neck. He hastily packed some jam in some plain brown paper, to bring to Mrs. Beaver. She was, after all, ever so fond of jam. And maybe, just maybe, then the Beavers would forgive him, and not think him a traitor. Because he certainly never intended to join the Witch's side, oh no. Still, a faun's got to take care of himself, and if he hadn't submitted to her authority he would be nothing more than an oversized paperweight right now. Oh, well, he needn't concern himself with that now that he wasn't afraid of meeting a human in the woods. He could visit his old, dear friends, and be happy. And perhaps he would even bring someone home with him, for tea.
Just before he left, he pulled up an extra chair to his little table. One for me, he thought, and one for a friend. Tumnus picked up his umbrella, flung his tail over his arm, and adjusted his scarf. Next moment he was out the door.