"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone, sit in Cair Paravel enthroned, the evil time will be over and done" Juliet recited blandly to Jadis as the Queen stood over her in her room.

Years had passed. Juliet didn't keep count anymore. She had sunked deeper into herself, hiding her heart and feelings from anyone. With practice, she had also learned to guard her thoughts from Jadis, still, she feared that the time was coming when the witch would dispose of her. Jadis was coming to realize that she no longed had a firm hold on Juliet. The girl loved no one, and that made her reckless enough to tell anyone of her prophecies. Juliet had earned more than one night without supper as well as many beatings for trying to spread word, for trying to spread hope.

Funny, for she didn't have any of it left.

The silver apple's curse latched firmly on Juliet, sucking out any happiness or hope or love inside her. She was as cold as Jadis herself.

"Do not tell anyone of this prophecy" Jadis warned her. "Or I shall not be so lenient this time"

Juliet nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty"

"I will not tolerate anymore insolence from you, Juliet" The witch told her quietly. "Do you know what they say about you?"

Juliet raised her head, instantly curious. "What?"

"They call you the Cursed Beauty" Jadis said dismissively. "They are making you their figurehead of light and hope. They are making you the figurehead of the rebels"

There was silence in the room as Juliet absorbed Jadis' words. She was becoming a threat. What Juliet was doing, telling the Narnians of her prophecies, out of spite towards Jadis, had made her a figurehead for hope.

"They think to replace me with you" Jadis spat out. She turned to leave, but she paused by the doorway, "Do not make me regret raising you up from the scum that you were before. You are lucky that you are valuable"

Unknown to both of them, a beaver slipped away through a corner, having heard the entire conversation. Despite being in the White Witch's castle, there was a spring in his step.

He could not wait to spread the news to his fellow Narnias.

Soon enough, the evil time would be over and done.


English countryside, 1940

The rain pitter pattered on the window as Lucy made funny figures from the mist. Susan droned on in the background, quizzing Peter from a dictionary.

"Is it Latin?" Peter made a haphazard guess, as he was barely listening to Susan.

"Correct" Susan said, and then she started to find another word.

Peter groaned to himself internally. He loved his sister, but this was one of those times that he couldn't help but want her to shut up. Usually, it was Edmund whom he wanted to shut up.

Edmund's head suddenly popped up from beneath the coffee table, where he was doing who knows what. "That is the most boring game ever invented"

Susan glared at him and slammed the dictionary shut. Lucy however, turned away from the lion she was drawing on the glass and spoke up before Susan could give any retort.

"Why don't we play hide and seek?" Lucy suggested eagerly.

Both Susan and Edmund groaned.

"But we're all tired, Lu" Peter told her. "Why don't you think of another game?"

Lucy pouted. "Come on Peter, please!"

Peter sighed. However, when he turned to Lucy, there was a teasing smile on his face. He could never resist his little sister. "One...two...three"

Lucy squealed happily as she ran out of the room, followed by Susan and Edmund, who did not look at all happy to be roped into the game.

The young girl smiled as she spotted a window with floor length curtains covering it. It seemed to be a perfect spot. Yet before she could reach it, Edmund pushed her aside and dove beneath the curtains.

"I was here first!" He told Lucy.

Lucy only scowled at him before running off to find a better spot. She ran down a couple corridors, trying on doors to see if they were open. Most were locked, until at the end of a hallway, she found one that was open.

Inside the room, there was nothing but a wooden wardrobe, standing against the wall.

"Lucy! I'm going to go get you!"

Lucy heard Peter's voice coming closer, and without any other thought, she hurried to the wardrobe. She left it open however, in case she would be locked in accidentally, and started to back away from the door and deeper into the wardrobe.

She was backing away from the wardrobe for more than a minute now, and Lucy thought that it was an awfully bigger wardrobe than what she had thought at first, when suddenly her hand hit something sharp.

Lucy squealed and turned around, only to see a pine tree covered in snow.

"What on earth?" Lucy murmured as she stepped forward in trepidation, exploring deeper into the wardrobe. Instead of hanging coats however, she was now surrounded by trees, snow coating the ground with more falling. There was a lone lamp post standing in the near distance and Lucy walked towards it.

She touched the post, surveying her surroundings. It seemed as if the wardrobe was awfully big that it housed another land, or she was just no longer in Professor Digory Kirke's house anymore.

The sound of foot steps made Lucy turn in its direction and she screamed at the sight that she saw.

It was a half man, half goat - or according to her lessons in mythology, a faun. He was carrying a few packages under his arm while he held an umbrella against the snow. A warm red scarf was thrown around his neck.

However, once he spotted Lucy, his packages and umbrella fell to the ground as he screamed as well. The faun scrambled to pick them up, and cautiously, Lucy walked over and started to help him.

"T-t-thank you, miss" The faun said in a stuttering voice. "I must beg your pardon. I was only surprised to see you. I have never seen any dwarf around these parts, or a dwarf as tall as you are"

Lucy stepped back. "I'm not a dwarf!" She said, "I'm a girl!"

The faun stepped back as well. This time, his eyes had grown wide. "A girl, you say? You are a daughter of Eve then?"

Lucy shook her head in bewilderment, "Well, my mum's name is Helen"

"Oh, please forgive me!" The faun interrupted her."My name is Tumnus, Mr. Tumnus"

Lucy smiled and offered her hand for him to shake. He didn't seem to be at all bad. "My name's Lucy!"

Mr. Tumnus stared at Lucy's hand for a moment, confused on what to do with it.

Lucy sensed his confusion. "Oh, you shake it" she told him, giggling.

Mr. Tumnus took Lucy's hand and shakes it vigorously, earning only more giggles from the young girl.

The fawn cleared his throat, "Now, Miss Lucy, I would like to invite you for tea in my home?"

"Tea?" For a moment, Lucy looked doubtful. Her mother had always warned her to never trust people she had only met.

Mr. Tumnus nodded, "Yes, tea! My home is only a little off the way over there"

"It seems to be that this wardrobe is awfully big!" Lucy exclaimed. "To have this woodland and a fawn in it!"

The fawn stared at her curiously, "What do you mean, Miss Lucy? What is this wardrobe that you speak of?"

Lucy frowned, "The wardrobe in the Spare Room! That is how I got here!"

Mr. Tumnus shook his head, "I know not of any Spare Oom. You are in Narnia now"

"Narnia?" The girl's eyes widened. "What's Narnia?"

"This entire land is Narnia!" Mr. Tumnus told her. "Now I will tell you more later at tea, but now, the snow is falling even faster, we must hurry quickly"

Lucy looked back where she came from hesitantly before turning to face Mr. Tumnus, "Will there be sardines?"

"Lots and lots"


Later, in the fawn's home, Lucy sat comfortably in a chair while Mr. Tumnus bustled around the hearth.

"Is it Christmas time here, Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked him curiously. "But I don't see any decorations"

Mr. Tumnus turned to Lucy with a sad smile. "Ah, no, my dear. It is not Christmas. It is always winter here, but never Christmas. There has been no festivities here for a long while now"

"Oh, but that's horrible!" Lucy said sympathetically, "Why is it that it's always winter?"

"It is the Queen's doing" Mr. Tumnus said mournfully. He sneaked a glance out of the window before speaking once again, as if he was frightened of something, "She has cursed Narnia to forever have winter"

"How could she do that?" Lucy asked, but Mr. Tumnus brushed away her question.

He smiled and presented to Lucy his wood pipe. "Now, Lucy, would you like to hear a tune? I am sufficiently good in playing"

Although Lucy was a little troubled that the fawn did not bring up more about the Queen, she put it aside. She thought that maybe her new friend was uncomfortable of talking about the Queen, who did not seem to be at all to be a nice person. Instead, she nodded eagerly at Mr. Tumnus, "Oh please!"

Mr. Tumnus smiled and without any other words, started to play a song. It was a haunting melody, and Lucy was enchanted with it. Soon she started to grow drowsy. She tried to keep her eyes up, but the fire was so warm and she felt very comfortable that she couldn't resist it anymore. Before the song could end, Lucy was fast asleep.


Thank you all for reading! Do please review : )