Point of View of Master Tumnus, the faun.

It was a grand party – if you liked grand Calormene parties which personally, I did not. I would much prefer a moonlit Dancing Lawn in Narnia to this marble palace. I would prefer the cheerful melodies of faun's flutes and dwarves drums to this foreign solemn music. I would prefer the lively folk dances of Narnia to these slow and solemn Calormene dances. My hoofs were definitely weary of these marble floors. I longed for the green grass and cool forests of Narnia. But I smiled politely and made small talk as expected of a close advisor to the Narnian Kings and Queens.

I had served my sovereigns for the past fourteen years with joy and pride. Queen Lucy was my favorite, of course. I would lay down my life in a heartbeat for the valiant lovely youngest queen. She was compassionate, a good friend, a ray of sunshine in any room.

Peter the High King I had admired from the first moment I saw him exhausted after his battle with the White Witch. From the moment, he was crowned King Peter took his responsibilities seriously. I admired King Edmund for different reasons. Like me, he had made foolish choices to serve the White Witch. Like me, he paid for his mistakes. In his case, of course, Aslan paid the ultimate price. King Edmund was a good man, determined to be fair at all costs and determined to not be led astray again.

Queen Susan was always a little bit of a mystery to me. I remembered her beauty, her courage in the courtyard after I was unfrozen by Aslan. I remember how protective she was of her younger sister and how worried she was about her brothers. Once queen, she was sensible about what needed to be done to rule a country, to run a castle. Her beauty flowered over the next few years. She enjoyed beautiful clothes and fine jewels and the flattery of kings, princes and knights. But it was hard to see into her heart. Queen Lucy was joy, King Peter was nobility, King Edmund was just. Queen Susan was a mystery – gentle and beautiful but what was in her heart?

Queen Susan smiled merrily as she danced with Prince Rabadash. She looked beautiful in a blue dress with a silver crown on her head. The sapphires in her earrings and necklace matched her lovely blue eyes. The queen seemed to be having a wonderful time in Calormen. The handsome Prince Rabadash was madly in love with her. I wasn't sure if Queen Susan was just enjoying the attention and luxuries of the Calormene court or was falling in love with this prince.

I was puzzled why Queen Susan was allowing this prince to court her. Was she seriously considering leaving fair Narnia to come live in this sweltering city? Prince Rabadash had seemed courteous and noble when he visited Narnia but here he seemed impatient and even cruel. I was developing an active dislike for the prince.

King Edmund made pleasant small talk and danced with several different Calormene and Narnian ladies. He always kept an eye on his sister. I thought perhaps he was searching for a clue as well.

Tarkaan Chlamash sat down next to me. "You prefer not to dance goat foot?" said the Tarkaan.

I smiled and replied "I do love to dance noble Tarkaan but on the grass not these marble floors."

The Tarkaan nodded and said "Our dances are more formal than those I saw at Cair Paravel."

I laughed and said "Yes and those dances at Cair Paravel are more formal than those dances on the Dancing Lawn in the midst of the woods. But I miss both."

Tarkaan Chlamash asked "What of your beautiful queen – will she be content to leave the wild barbarian dances behind and come live in Tashbaan?"

I smiled at the memory of Queen Susan and Queen Lucy joining in last year's Great Snow Dance with fauns and dwarfs dancing in the moonlight. This dance was a great celebration on the first night of the full moon with snow on the ground. The dancers moved in elaborate figures while dwarves threw snowballs between the dancers. I remembered Queen Susan's laughter when a dwarf missed and a snowball hit her stomach. The dwarf had been so embarrassed.

I looked at Chlamash and said "Queen Susan will decide if she wishes to wed your prince but Narnians would mourn her absence and our dances would not be same without our gentle queen."