The Untold Tales of Tumnus and Lucy

Part Five: Tradition of Scarves

Notes: I own nothing. This came about from my own deep love for scarves and Tumnus combining into one thing.

Lucy watched as Tumnus carefully folded his red scarf, a look of adoration upon his face.

"You really like your scarves, don't you, Mr. Tumnus?"

He nodded, placing it on the table by the door, and joined her by the fireside. "Have I not told you of the Faun tradition?"

Shaking her head, she took off her crown before clasping her hands in her lap, "Will you tell me?"

"Of course," he leaned back in his chair, a nostalgic air coming to his voice, "At the time of a Faun's birth, or rather, the the knowledge of an approaching birth, the Faun's parents choose two Colors from The Eleven. Each Color represents one trait that each parent wants the child to have during life. From then on until birth, the parents each make a scarf for the child; one for everyday use and the other to be used for formal occasions. A year after the child is born, he or she is presented with the scarves. When they get older, they are taught the care and keeping of them, and also how to add to the length of them, if they would want it longer for any reason."

"What are the Eleven Colors What do they mean? And it doesn't seem fair to only have just the two."

He smiled, having expected these questions. He stood and pulled out a drawer from a nearby desk and produced a piece of parchment. Taking his seat again, he read from it: "'The Eleven Colors and Traits are as follows: Truth is brown, Loyalty is silver, Bravery is yellow, Humor is orange, Optimism is black, Faith is red, Patience is white, Humility is gray, Forgiveness is purple, Gentleness is green, and Sincerity is blue.' As to why there are to be only two colors, that's just the way it is."

Lucy went into a thoughtful silence, "But doesn't your green one have yellow tassels on it?"

"It does. On the formal scarf, you can add a little of another Color, but it's a rare practice for parents to do so." The Faun smiled fondly at the portrait of his father, "That was my father's scarf. I suppose he wanted me to be gentle but with a touch of bravery."

"Do you ever wish that they had picked other colors?"

"When I was little, yes. I always wanted blue because it was my favorite color then. I wasn't paying any attention to the traits, just the colors."

Lucy went silent again, "I really like this tradition."

He grinned, "I'm glad."

"Could I see the list? I'd love to tell the others."

"You can have it. I was brought up to remember what they were."

With a promise to meet again the next day for tea, Lucy set off for Cair Paravel, her mind already at work.

Once back at Cair Paravel, she found a silver dress that she had outgrown, Edmund's old black vest, Susan's purple shawl that she had discarded one day in hopes of mending but never got around to it, and a sleeve of Peter's shirt that had been ripped off accidentally in a tussle. For white, Lucy used an old handkerchief, for gray a stocking, orange was a rag that she had found one day and brown was part of a pair of trousers of Edmund's. Red, green, and yellow were other scraps of cloth that she found in her sewing basket, and not having enough thread, she decided to knot the pieces together into a makeshift scarf, smiling while she worked at the thought of Tumnus's face when she would give it to him.

The next day at tea, she pulled the garment wrapped in brown packaging from behind her back, and grinned at the look of curiosity that crossed his face as he delicately took off the paper. Taking the long band of multicoloured cloth out, his eyes became misty and he choked back a sob, "Lucy..."

"I just thought that you had all the qualities already, so why not have a scarf to represent it?" Her own eyes were forming pools of tears, and she grinned and hugged his waist, before standing back to admire the effect. He really did wear it well, and the smile on his face made it all the better.