Tumnus watched her walking down the hall with Edmund. He loved the way her head tilted back slightly when she laughed, or the way her smile overtook her whole face.
He desperately wished he was the one walking with her, and not Edmund.
But seeing Edmund was better than the princes she occasionally spent the day with.
Tumnus knew High King Peter was trying to find a husband for his little sister as he had with Susan. But every suitor that he brought around Lucy turned down.
For what reasons, Tumnus didn't know. It wasn't because they never talked, Tumnus and Lucy talked almost every night as the sun set, nor was it the fact that Lucy didn't seem to have anything to say. The truth was, she seemed to be shying away from the subject.
Not once had she really talked about it with Tumnus. She told him how she felt about this prince and that prince, but she never told Tumnus how she felt about the whole thing.
Along with not wanting to talk about it, Tumnus noticed Lucy spent a lot of time staring at him.
Did he dare to hope that she might be attracted to him? No, he mustn't think that.
She could never be attracted to him, he was a faun, not worthy enough to undo the slippers from her feet. But yet, he hoped and prayed continuously that she might one day, miraculously, see him as more than just a friend.
But in his heart of hearts, Tumnus knew that day could never be. She was royalty, he was nothing.
He would never be allowed so close as to feel her hand in his, to see her gaze linger on his face lovingly.
Never would he know what it was like to love, and be loved.
She was an angel, and he was nobody. He was a faun. Fauns only danced with druids. Never with the Queen of Narnia.
Ever would Tumnus have to hide amid the shadows, gazing out to Lucy's pretty face.
She would talk to him as a friend. But only as a friend. Never more.
Oh Lucy, couldn't she see that he loved her?
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Lucy walked with her brother, arm in arm.
Oh how she wished that she was walking with Tumnus.
But she wasn't. Instead, she was with Edmund, talking about the latest suitor that Peter had brought to her.
His name was Karnin and he was a short, stuffy man. Although much older than Lucy he wasn't old. But he was too old for Lucy.
She didn't like him at all. One thing she couldn't stand about the man was the superior air he always seemed to carry around.
As Lucy and Edmund walked down the hall, they passed Lucy and she could see him watching her, but it seemed to be that of a friendly greeting from a friend.
"At least if you marry Karnin, you'll always be taller. So then you won't have to obey his every command. He'll be inclined to get you everything you want!"
Lucy pulled her attention away from Tumnus and laughed.
"Yes! Your right Ed! He has money, that's for sure."
But money wasn't what she wanted. She wanted love. She wanted Tumnus to notice her in a way that friends would never notice one another. She wanted to be more than just a little girl to him.
She didn't care for fine things. Nice dresses and balls in her name and lots of maids.
But to be loved by somebody, forever. That's what Lucy wanted more than diamonds and sapphires. No ruby's amount could ever be greater than that of love.
Oh Tumnus, why couldn't he tell she loved him?