Friends and Foes
Presenting chapter 10, the very last chapter of my story! I'd actually finished this story quite some time ago; I simply hadn't gotten around to posting it until now. I was a little ambivalent, because I was unsure of the response this story would receive—and, also, I was unsure of whether or not this story, as a whole, was good enough to post. But hopefully you guys approve, and above all, I hope C.S. Lewis himself would approve. Anyway, proceed!
Terence © unicorn-skydancer08
Other Characters and Narnia © C.S. Lewis and Disney/Walden Media
All rights reserved.
Chapter 10
Tumnus must have passed out for some time, because the very next thing he knew, he was lying in a soft bed on his back, with something cool and moist placed on his forehead. The first thing he saw was Lucy's lovely face. She was bent over him, looking greatly concerned. "Mr. Tumnus?" she was calling softly to him. "Mr. Tumnus?"
Tumnus merely moaned.
"Are you all right, dear?" Mrs. Beaver's maternal voice asked.
She was there too, and so were Beaver and Fox. They were all gathered around Tumnus in a circle, watching him solicitously.
At first, Tumnus could not understand what was going on, but then, slowly, like water seeping through a hole in a dam, everything came trickling back into memory. He remembered the Northern Marshes…and the citadel…and meeting Ardat…and finding Terence…Terence!
"Terence!" Tumnus gasped aloud. He started to bolt upright.
"Easy, there, old boy," said Beaver mildly, stretching forth a cautionary paw, "you're still considerably weak. Take it nice and slowly."
Tumnus reluctantly obeyed, and raised himself very slowly to a sitting position. Glancing around, he saw that he was in his room at Cair Paravel, and he realized that the cool, wet thing draped over his forehead was a damp rag. Lucy took the rag from him and placed it in a basinful of cold water that rested on a nearby table.
"You gave us quite a scare there, Tumnus," said Fox. "When Oreius and his men carried you here to Cair Paravel, from the looks of you, we were almost certain that you were dead."
"I know you wanted to go through it alone, Mr. Tumnus," said Lucy, somewhat guiltily, "but after you'd left, we sent Oreius and a small group of soldiers out to follow you, just to make sure you were safe." She paused, then added, "It's a good thing they did."
"Terence—where is he?" Tumnus asked agitatedly. "Is he safe? Is he all right? What has become of him?"
"We have already done all that we could for Terence, dear," said Mrs. Beaver quietly, laying her forepaw gently on Tumnus's hairy forearm. "He is no longer in need of our care."
It was just as Tumnus had feared.
"Oh, no!" he groaned, feeling his heart shatter into a thousand pieces. "Oh, please, no!"
Everything around him became blurry and indistinct as hot tears swam in his eyes, and he plunged his face into his hands and wept bitterly. He had been too late. Terence was gone. His best mate, his very closest and truest and dearest mate in all of the world, was gone forever. Oh, this could not be true! It just couldn't!
It was all like a dream, a truly horrible and dreadful dream from which Tumnus desperately wished he could awaken but knew he never would. The pain that overwhelmed the devastated faun was too much to bear; the burden of his loss was a burden far too heavy to carry.
As Tumnus sobbed out his grief and pain, he thought back on all the good times he and Terence had shared: having tea together in Tumnus's parlor, dancing all night in the forest with the dryads, having long talks on the balcony at Cair Paravel, picnicking on the beach near the Eastern Ocean, walking through the Western Wood…times that would never come again, days that were but a mere memory, now, a thing of the past.
It was all over.
"Mr. Tumnus?" said Lucy confusedly, reaching out and lightly touching Tumnus's quaking shoulder. "Mr. Tumnus, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"
The Beavers and Fox were just as bewildered by Tumnus's behavior as the girl was. "What's this, my boy?" questioned Beaver.
"Oh, there, there, now, my dear," Mrs. Beaver soothed, "it's all right."
"No," Tumnus sobbed, without looking up. "No, it will never be all right."
Without Terence, life was hardly worth living anymore. More than anything in the world at that time, Tumnus wished he were dead, too. Death was nothing compared to this burning, agonizing pain that consumed him like fire. He sank his face deeper into his hands and wept harder, his tears leaking steadily through his fingers and sliding off the heels of his palms, dripping down onto his blanketed lap.
Oh, Terence, his heart bemoaned. Oh, Terence…Terence…my dear, dear friend…
"Hey, hey, hey," Lucy crooned, trying to comfort the heartbroken faun. "Come on, Mr. Tumnus, please don't cry. Please, don't do that."
But Tumnus continued to sob, not caring in the very least.
"My word, boy, what a fuss you're making," said Beaver, shaking his head in disbelief. "Whatever in the world are you bawling about?"
At long last Tumnus lifted his head, his face dripping wet. "What do you expect me to be crying about?" he asked Beaver thickly, fresh tears spilling from his eyes and running down to mingle with the old ones. "My best friend is gone, and I'll never see him again."
Now Lucy, Fox, and the Beavers were looking truly puzzled.
"What?" said Fox.
"What are you saying, Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy questioned.
"Terence is dead," Tumnus repeated fervently, the words searing through his soul like a rod of white-hot iron as he uttered them. "I couldn't save him. I tried to heal him with the cordial…but it was too late. And now he's gone forever…and…a-and it's all my fault."
For a time, his companions merely looked at him.
And then, to the faun's utter astonishment, they all smiled.
Tumnus stared at them. How could they possibly be smiling, especially at a time like this? Didn't they realize Terence was gone for good? Shouldn't they be just as shaken about the young man's death as he himself was? But before Tumnus could say anything out loud, light footsteps sounded outside the room, and a familiar voice said, "Tumnus?"
Tumnus froze, not daring to trust his ears.
It couldn't be…it wasn't possible…was it?
Very slowly, Tumnus turned his head toward the door.
And there, in the doorway, as if by magic, stood Terence—alive and well. His face still sported a few minor scratches, and there were a few discolored spots where the bruises had been, but otherwise he looked like his old self.
Tumnus could not believe it. He blinked a number of times, then rubbed his eyes to make absolutely certain they weren't fooling him.
They weren't.
"T-Terence?" the flabbergasted faun stammered.
A handsome smile graced Terence's handsome face. "Tumnus," he said again, his voice filled with kindness, his deep lazuline eyes shining with love and affection.
Tumnus continued to stare at his friend for a minute more, and then, realizing this was no joke, that it truly was Terence, and that he was truly alive, the faun's whole composure turned to soup. "Oh, dear Terence!" he said with a sob, tears of gratitude and relief replacing the tears of sorrow and heartache on his cheeks.
Terence made a prompt beeline to the bed, and no sooner had he taken a seat on the soft mattress than Tumnus seized him and pulled him close, hugging him with binding strength, never wanting to let the young man go for even a second. He buried his head thankfully in Terence's neck, positively bawling like a baby.
He knew he should try to control himself, but he honestly couldn't; feeling Terence's warmth and solidity was simply too wonderful for words.
All he could do was cry, and hold on to his beloved friend.
Terence sat perfectly still and allowed Tumnus to sob all over him, completely disregarding the fact that the faun's tears were staining his clothing and deteriorating the expensive fabric.
When Tumnus finally managed to calm down somewhat, he pulled back just enough to face Terence directly, unable to hold back a laugh, even though tears continued to pour down his face. Only a moment ago, he had felt like his whole world had ended; now, the world seemed a thousand times brighter and a thousand times more splendid than before.
"Are you all right?" Terence asked him at length. "What are you so weepy about, mate? Are you really that happy to see me, or did something happen?"
Tumnus's smile faded as he recalled how he knelt in the dungeon in Ettinsmoor with Terence in his arms, how cold Terence's body felt, how Terence lay so perfectly still. The faun didn't know what had happened, how Terence could be alive—but he was quite sure his friend had died back there, when Ardat struck him down.
"Terence…I…" the faun faltered. "I…I…I thought that…that you…you…"
"That I what?" Terence queried.
Tumnus swallowed hard, then managed to say what he intended to say out loud: "I thought that you were dead."
At first Terence looked confused, but then comprehension dawned on his young, attractive face, and all he could say was, "Oh."
To be truly honest, he himself didn't know what had happened, either.
All Terence could remember was rushing in front of Tumnus to protect him when Ardat aimed his sword at the faun to slay him, and then he remembered indescribable agony as the blow fell—and the rest was all a big blank. Whether he was dead or alive, he did not know.
He did remember a soft light, and a soft voice speaking to him, though he couldn't quite distinguish the words. And the next thing he knew, he found himself in Cair Paravel, with his friends looking after him.
It was truly puzzling.
"I tried to call for you, but you wouldn't answer me," Tumnus said, choking up as tears began to flow down his face afresh. "I was so sure that I'd lost you forever…and I…and I…"
Terence raised a hand for silence. "Say no more, Tumnus," he said quietly. "Whatever happened to me, whether or not I was indeed dead, your guess is as good as mine. And, quite honestly, I really doubt it matters. I'm here, and you're here, and that's the important thing."
Tumnus knew he was right.
"Oh, Terence," he sobbed, bringing the youth back into his arms for yet another hug, "forgive me for taking you for granted. I beg you, please, forgive me. You mean so much to me; you're my best friend, my very best friend in the whole world, and I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm sorry I failed to tell you that before, when I had the chance. Oh, Terence, can you ever forgive me?"
"I already have, mate," Terence answered softly, unable to hold back a few tears himself. "And can you forgive me, for not being more considerate of you, for acting like a complete idiot?"
Tumnus eased his grip on the young white-haired human enough to look into his face once more. The faun smiled through his tears as he replied benevolently, "Of course, I forgive you, Terence. Like I told you before, you're my best friend. And true friends forgive one another."
Warmth flooded Terence's heart. It was now his turn to pull Tumnus into an affectionate embrace. Tumnus came willingly, and he closed his eyes and rested his head against Terence's chest, listening with joy to the strong, steady beating of Terence's heart.
Lucy smiled as she regarded the touching scene between the two friends. Fox and the Beavers smiled as well. Without a word, Lucy eased a bit closer to the faun and the young human, and Tumnus, sensing her presence, slipped a free arm around the little girl and clung to her also.
"Thank God for you, Tumnus," Terence murmured into the faun's gold-brown curls. "I wouldn't exchange our friendship for anything in the world."
"Neither would I, Terence," whispered Tumnus fervently. "Neither would I."
A few days later, Tumnus set to work on a brilliant new thesis.
Only this time, it was a thesis concerning the subject of love, sacrifice, forgiveness, selflessness, and the true meaning of friendship.
~ THE END ~