Part Two of

The Narnia Trilogy:

When Children Cry

My first fanfic, so be merciful, I beg of you!

SUMMARY:

Part One: Basically, Tumnus' story of his friendship with Lucy.

Part Two: Their friendship after Lucy becomes Queen Lucy the Valiant of Narnia.

Part Three: Lucy and Tumnus reunite many years later, and how their friendship progresses into love.

And then we'll have a little Epilogue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lucy or Tumnus or Narnia. In Book Two, I do, however, own my own character (sort of) who is the Dryad Chrystmay (fashioned after a friend, IridescentEpiphany), and I'm even in control of my own plot-line!

Chapter Twelve:

Tumnus's New Home

'Oh, please stay at Cair Paravel Mr Tumnus!' begged Lucy in such a way that made Tumnus want to laugh out loud (but didn't, because that would be unkind to his friend). 'Oh, do, do, do!'

Tumnus smiled at the Daughter of Eve. 'I would, Lucy dear, but it's much too big for the likes of me. I think I'd be more comfortable in my own little house.'

'Mr Tumnus, you aren't going back to your old home, are you?'

The smile on the faun's face abruptly vanished. 'No, Lucy. I am not.' His house was rather beyond repair, being so greatly destroyed by the Witch's wolves.

'Oh, good,' said Lucy. 'It was far too far away from Cair Paravel. Visiting would be a pretty kettle of fish.'

Tumnus smiled. The little girl wouldn't understand, and he did not wish to reproach her for it. He'd grown up in that little hovel, he'd Indeed she had a point. Visiting would be such a hindrance to their friendship if he'd lived so far away.

'But Lucy, I've found a lovely den that is not such a long way from here,' said Tumnus.

'Oh! Is that why you're leaving today?'

'Yes it is.'

Lucy smiled with relief. 'I'd thought you were going away. That is, very far away for a very long time.'

Tumnus grinned. 'Now why would I go do such a thing when I have friends like you right in Narnia?'

'You tell me why.'

'I wouldn't, that's why.'

'Good!' And the small queen flung herself at Tumnus and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tumnus laughed out loud and spun her around. They spun for a lovely long time, laughing and smiling. When Tumnus set her down, she smiled a little dizzily.

'Now then!' said the faun. 'I'm sorry Lucy, but I really must go. I have a den to attend to, and I'd like it to be all right before nightfall.'

'Oh, do let's!' cried Lucy joyously. 'Might I come with you?'

Tumnus held the little girl's hand. 'I can't very well say "no" to a Queen of Narnia.'

The little girl frowned. 'I'm just Lucy, Mr Tumnus,' corrected she, sounding a little hurt.

'You'll never be "just" anything,' said Tumnus wisely. 'You'll always be someone out of the ordinary; that's the true Narnian in you. But you'll still be Lucy to me.'

Lucy grinned ear to ear. 'Dash the formalities!' she shouted.

'Dash the formalities indeed!' Tumnus said with a decided nod.

'May I?' asked Lucy, a hopeful expression on her face.

Tumnus laughed. 'You needn't, but you're welcome to.'

Lucy smiled and stretched her arm up to give three hard taps on the brass doorknocker. 'I should like to do that every time I come by!' she exclaimed. 'It is such fun, don't you think so, Mr Tumnus?'

Tumnus nodded agreeably and opened the door. 'But sadly, Lucy, I'll never need to knock on my own front door.'

There was an impish gleam Lucy's eye. 'That's the beauty of it! Because you live here, you can knock on it all day if you like.'

Once again Tumnus laughed out loud and stepped into the foyer. 'It's a bit smaller than my old den. Come in, come in.'

Lucy carefully set a foot on the doorframe, then came in. 'Oh, it's absolutely lovely!' proclaimed the girl at the very sight. It was indeed quite lovely, and very cosy as well. What with the walls being brown and the carpet dyed a deep green colour, it almost seemed as though one was walking through an indoor forest.

With childlike excitement, Tumnus lead her through the tiny den. 'See, this will be the kitchen: I'll have the cupboards over here – yes, on this wall – and the table over there, with the chairs . . . And the parlour, right through here. Yes, and right by the hearth I'll have the chairs, then another table over there, and candelabra on these walls . . . Then the bedroom is there, and I'll have the teapots there –'

'Mr Tumnus,' Lucy interrupted. 'Where will you put your books?'

Tumnus stiffened, and it took a bit of a silence before he answered. 'My books . . . they're gone, Lucy. The wolves tore up nearly everything.'

A deeply apologetic look seeped across Lucy's face. 'I'm so sorry, Mr Tumnus. I didn't know.'

Tumnus didn't seem to hear. 'What they didn't rip to pieces is in the parlour. Just a few rugs, a chair or two, and my tea-set. I might have a painting or so, but it's all gone.'

This hollow bitterness was more than Lucy could bear, and she attempted to change the subject. 'What will you do with that room, there?'

Tumnus came to attention on the immediate. 'Where?'

'Just there, through the white door.'

'Lucy, don't be stupid, there isn't a white door anywhere in the –' Tumnus put his hand to cover his mouth. He blinked guiltily. 'Lucy, I'm sorry. Lucy!'

For Lucy was staring at the floor, with tears in her eyes. 'I'm not stupid,' she said quietly. 'I'm not, Mr Tumnus.'

'Oh, Lucy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it.'

'Then why did you say it?' Her voice had cracked, and Tumnus knew that she was weeping steadily. He'd nearly forgotten of the sensitivity of children.

Tumnus knelt in front of her and took her hands. 'I'm sorry, Lucy. I was angry. But I wasn't angry at you, and I shouldn't have said that.' Still, the girl wouldn't look at him. 'Lucy, please don't cry. Oh, Lucy.' Tumnus hugged the girl close to him, and she didn't struggle against it as she sobbed into his shoulder. From his pocket, Tumnus pulled out the neatly folded handkerchief that Lucy had given him months back. Dabbing Lucy's eyes, he whispered, 'It's a good thing that I carry this with me. We two just seem to be blubbing all over Narnia, don't we?' That allowed a shaking giggle to escape Lucy.

'Yes, we do,' she agreed.

'I'm sorry I called you stupid.'

'That's all right, then. It's just that everyone called me stupid when . . .' Lucy bit her lip. 'When they didn't believe me. When they didn't believe me about Narnia.'

'Oh,' said Tumnus quietly, and then he understood why she'd reacted so dramatically to his insult. In order to make her cheer up, he asked softly, 'Now, where's that white door that you were telling me about?'

Lucy pointed at it, and Tumnus leapt up in surprise. 'By the Lion, it is a white door! Goodness me, why I hadn't noticed it before now! You were right, Lucy.' The Queen smiled. 'But I could've sworn it wasn't there before,' Tumnus continued.

'Let's have a look,' said Lucy, and stepped forth with her hand on the door-knob before Tumnus could stop her.

'By Jove!' cried out Lucy, choosing one of Peter's favourite exclamations.

'What is it?' Tumnus asked anxiously, but stepped into the door before she could answer. His mouth dropped open as he gazed about at his surroundings.

Timidly, Lucy said, 'You were right, too, Mr Tumnus. I don't think this was here before.'

There wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind that Lucy was again correct. For as he looked right and left, he was filled with this great sense of impossibility. This was . . . This was a library. Shelves lined the circular room, filled to the brim with both new and familiar titles. Light streamed in from curtained windows around the chamber, and there were three chairs and a fireplace at one end of the room. An altogether beautiful and intricately woven rug (that he presently took no notice of) was beneath his hoofs.

'How –' began the stunned faun, but Lucy rushed at him with a slip of paper she'd found on one of the chairs. In loopy calligraphy and violet ink, it read:

Better late than never!

Father Christmas

Lucy and Tumnus shared the day drinking tea in the library, each of them paying no notice to the sinking sun beyond the windowpanes. It was when Tumnus looked up from his book (long after night had fallen) that he smiled at the girl in the chair opposite from him. She didn't see it, though, because her head had drooped onto her shoulder in blissful sleep.

Taking care not to wake her, Tumnus lifted Lucy into his arms. She was incredibly light, which was lucky, as it was a good five minutes' walk to Cair Paravel. When he'd arrived, the High King Peter and his other sister came rushing into the Great Hall and Susan cried, 'Oh, the poor dear!' before Tumnus could shush her. With special caution, Tumnus handed the sleeping Lucy into her brother's arms.

'Thank you Tumnus,' whispered Peter. 'for bringing her home.'

'My pleasure,' smiled the faun, and kissed Lucy softly on the forehead before departing.