Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia (and neither does my sister!).
A/N: This fic, unlike any other fics you will find on my profile/list of stories, was not written by me. It was, in fact, written by my sister, Lu. This is her first fic, and as she is not an avidly obsessed writer like myself she decided not to get her own account. For the time being. However she would be most grateful if you would review.
This story takes place in LWW when Lucy goes back into the wardrobe for the second time. In the book, we hear it from Edmund's POV where he meets the Witch. But what happened in the meeting between Lucy and Tumnus? Read on to find out.
His Own Time
Lucy watched the candle flame flicker as the clock ticked away the endless minutes of the night. Finally, she was mostly certain everyone was asleep. She quietly slipped into her boots and robe and took the candle from the bedside table. The air in the corridor was much cooler, but it felt thick with mystery.
Lucy headed straight for the wardrobe as carefully as she could. The walk through the quiet corridors was rather scary, especially in such a giant house. Left…right…another right…yes, there it was; the wardrobe room. The door clicked open and she tiptoed across the room.
She paused for half a moment, and with a rapidly beating heart, pulled open the door and peered in. The fur coats rippled as a stiff, cold breeze flowed out of the wardrobe and extinguished the candle's flame. Lucy's face lit up; it was really there! She stepped into the wardrobe and pushed back the coats, making her way toward the snowy wood. On her first visit, Mr. Tumnus had pointed out the way to his cave using landmarks to help her. She made her way through the thick snow and trees, and almost cried with joy. She hadn't found out!
She burst through the door into the cozy cave.
"Mr. Tumnus!" she cried joyfully.
"Oh, Lucy!" he called.
He ran in from the kitchen and grasped her in a gigantic hug.
"You're safe!" gasped Lucy after being released from the bear hug. "Oh, I hoped 'she' wouldn't find out!"
Then Lucy and Mr. Tumnus sat down in the comfy chairs by the fire and began to talk over lemon tarts and milk.
"…so after I got back to the spare room, I tried to tell my brothers and sister about Narnia, but they wouldn't believe me," Lucy cried. "So I tried to show them. I took them to see it; to show them the wood and everything, but this time it wasn't there. It was odd, but I suppose you can't just go into another world every time you want to. Oh, Mr. Tumnus, what should I do? They think I'm crazy!"
"It appears," Mr. Tumnus began slowly, "you have a frustrating situation on your hands. My own brothers (I had three) used to pick on me because I was the youngest. But I think the best thing to do is to wait and let Aslan show them in his own good time."
This started Lucy in a stream of questions about Aslan, and then about the White Witch. Why was she trying to kidnap humans? Why did she call herself the 'Queen of Narnia? And why, of all things, didn't Aslan make her go away? After a while, their conversation drifted to pleasanter things such as Silenus and the wonderful summer days of Narnia.
"Mr. Tumnus," she asked, "where did you learn to play your pipe?"
He sighed at the memory and then replied, "When I went to one of the dances at Dancing Lawn, there was an elderly faun there who was playing his pipe. I was very interested, and I watched him for a long time. He took notice of me after a while, and I asked him if he would teach me to play. He taught me a few simple tunes, and let me play for a while when he went to get some grapes from Silenus."
Darkness crossed Mr. Tumnus face as he continued. "That was the day the White Witch attacked. The faun came back from talking to Silenus and was just beginning to play his pipe again when she rode in. He shoved the pipe in my hand and… well, you need not hear the rest," he finished.
There was silence for a moment and then Lucy asked, "Mr. Tumnus, would you teach me how to play?"
Mr. Tumnus smiled and pulled down the box from the mantle. He taught her his favorite tunes from many of the Narnian dances and when they finished, he was surprised at how well she'd done. After they were quite through, he went into the kitchen and brought out tea and a lovely sugar-topped cake.
Much later, Lucy sighed peacefully and said, "Thank you for teaching me how to play your pipes, Mr. Tumnus! It's such fun! And thank you for the tea and cake, but I'm afraid I must go home now."
Mr. Tumnus sniffled and dabbed his eyes with his handkerchief, but replied, "You're most welcome, Lucy. Do you need me to show you the way back?"
"Oh, I believe I can find it, thanks. Goodbye, Mr. Tumnus!" she called after hugging him tightly. (She couldn't have known it would be her last hug to him for a long time.)
She waved and then was gone. Mr. Tumnus watched the sweet little girl, the only warmth he had in this cold, barren country, tiptoe through the woods, and then she was gone.
As Lucy was walking back to the wardrobe, she noticed something beyond a group of trees. What was it? It couldn't be…
"Edmund!" she called, happiness filling her from head to toe. "Oh, you got in too! Isn't it wonderful?"
"Where've you been?" Edmund asked, annoyance showing plainly in his voice.
Lucy could tell something wasn't quite right, but she continued.
"I've been with Mr. Tumnus! He's fine! The White Witch hasn't found out anything about him meeting me!"
"The White Witch?" Edmund questioned, looking uneasy. "Who's she?"
As Lucy explained, she happened to look around and she noticed the sleigh marks in the snow. Surely 'she' hadn't come—Lucy didn't finish her thought. She didn't even want to think about it. She could ask Mr. Tumnus later. After explaining about the White Witch, she inquired, "Are you all right? You look awful."
"Well, what do you expect? I mean, it's freezing! How do we get out of here?"
Lucy grabbed his hand and said, "Come on."
She led him beyond the group of trees, around the lamppost, and through the wardrobe As she ran to Peter's room to tell him the wonderful news, she wondered if this was Aslan's chosen time to show them the wonderful snowy wood of Narnia. What great adventures they would have! How fun it would be for them all be in it together!
Later, as she lay in her bed wondering how the others could have been so wicked as to disbelieve her again, she heard an echo of Tumnus voice, whispering, "In His own good time…"
Fin.