A/N: Okay so here is Chapter 3! I hope I get more reviews lol. I hope everybody has a Merry Christmas!

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"Between that patch of trees, maybe?" Lucy whispered, pointing a finger towards the spot. The night sky made it completely hard to see, and the only bit of light was the centaur's flaming torches and the pale moon above.

It had been nearly a half hour now that they had been searching for Tumnus, when suddenly Mr. Fox , who had been helping them greatly in their search came running swiftly towards them with a look of determination in his eyes.

"Your Majesties, Its Tumnus! He's not three yards from here." He said quickly before beckoning them to the awaited place.

"Is he alive?" Edmund was the first to ask; but the fox did not here him, for he was to concentrated on bringing them to the faun.

Lucy's heart pounded in anticipation. Had they been to late? Could he have lasted all this time?

A few more obstacles of bushes, trees and rocks, and they spotted his helpless form.

Lucy ran straight for him and a wave of relief washed over her to see that he was still alive. He stared up at her, his blue eyes held a tortured gaze and tears fell down his cheeks. Lucy laid the torch ,she had been carrying, down on the ground.

"It's alright…" She started, taking a hand and brushing his tears away.

" It's alright now." The little girl couldn't help but cry as well. It was much to hard to watch her dear friend go through such pain.

Tumnus tried to speak, but all that came out was a fit of coughing.

A centaur carefully placed the fragile faun on top of one of the horses back.

"He's burning up, my king." He noted to Peter, shaking his head somberly.

Peter nodded, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with so much responsibility.

"Gallop back than or he hasn't a chance." was his reply. With that, after the children mounted their horses, the beasts made quick time back to Cair Paravel, clinging to what little hope they had left for their friend.

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"Open the doors!" Peter called as they reached the castle's gate.

Immediately, the guards did as they were bid and hastily opened the entrance.

Mrs. Beaver was waiting for them inside. " Hurry! Come with me!" She cried, leading them to one of the many extra rooms in the castle.

It held a large bed in the middle of it, and the Beaver had already prepared a table of various supplies that she'd need for Mr. Tumnus. Many candles lit up the room and a warm fire was going as well.

After Mr. Tumnus had been gently placed on the soft, down bed, Mrs. Beaver's nursing skills kicked in. Tumnus tossed and turned in agony. He had never felt so much pain in his entire life. It felt as if fire was burning his skin off and he felt as if the wounds on his body would never stop bleeding.

"Mr. Tumnus, try to stay still for me, dear." Mrs. Beaver said in a comforting tone. " I'm trying to help you."

The faun stopped his struggling slightly and caught a tiny glimpse of Lucy staring at him with a very concerned expression on her face. Her hands were folded tightly together like she about to pray and she had them placed under her chin.

Tumnus looked up helplessly into Mrs. Beaver's face.

"Please…"he whispered, "She can't …s-see me like this…"

Mrs. Beaver nodded sadly and gestured for Peter to lead Lucy out of the room.

This did not go well with the young queen, however.

She begged and pleaded to stay until both of her brothers had to drag her away.

Susan followed behind, and led the sorrowful girl upstairs to her quarters. "Mrs. Beaver will take good care of him." She tried, her own voice not sounding confident to her ears.

Lucy looked up at her sister. " He needs me, Susan." She choked in reply.

Susan nodded. "Maybe so…but Mrs. Beaver needed…well…some space to work, and we were crowding her."

Lucy sighed heavily as they entered her room. Susan helped her out of the tattered and bloody dress and found a crisp nightgown in one of the many dressers they had.

"I'm not going to bed, Susan!" Lucy said sternly. She was never one to get very cross, but It was bad enough that they had dragged her away from Tumnus and if they even tried to send her to bed…

"No. It's alright. I just wanted you to get out of that dress." Susan replied, placing the garment over the little queen's head. When she pulled it down over Lucy's head she noticed the little girls eyes beginning to redden again. "No more tears now, Lu." She said in an attempt to console her sister.

"…Is he going to die?" Lucy questioned sadly. Susan bit her lip and there was a long pause. "I don't know, Lu…I really don't."

There was another bit of silence before either girl spoke. "I wish Aslan were still here." Lucy whispered sadly as the girls made their way back down the stairs.

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Tumnus cried out in pain, unable to hold in his suffering any longer. Mrs. Beaver placed a paw on him gently. "Don't give up dear." She spoke gently. "You've got a little girl out there who loves you more than anything in the whole world." (Now Mrs. Beaver considered that comment to be slightly exaggerated, but what she didn't know was that Lucy truly did love him more than anything. She had never known a more caring, loving friend in any other creature, beast, or human.

Tumnus' fever continued to climb during the night. Mrs. Beaver had been able to stop the bleeding, but the faun still lay in a very critical state. He was much to weak from all of the blood loss, and the fever was not any where near breaking.

The tired beaver came out of the room with an unreadable expression as the children all waited for the latest news.

She smiled slightly. "You may see him now…if you wish."

Lucy bounded from her chair, forgetting sleep completely( she had been very exhausted only seconds before.) As she did so, Mrs. Beaver decided to tell the older children what was really going on.

"He…well…He is trying to pull through, your majesties. But he did lose a great amount of blood…It really Is just a matter of time and faith to see if he can fight this."

Peter placed a hand on his forehead in a distressed manner. "Thank You, Mrs. Beaver." He said quietly.

Edmund stood up. "We've got to keep looking for that cordial!" He cried in desperation.

As exhausted as they all were, the children's hope that Tumnus would live was much more important than a thousand nights of sleep.

If they had to, the entire Christmas Eve night would be spent searching for that little bottle.

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Lucy approached Tumnus' bed, each step closer to him made her heart that much heavier. She immediately noticed he was asleep, and for once, his face was not twisted in pain at the moment.

When she finally reached his side, she gingerly touched his bandages, sad to see so many of them but glad no more blood seeped from his terrible wounds.

She bit her bottom lip and slowly moved to whisper in his ear. "Please don't give up, Mr. Tumnus." More tears began blinding her vision. "I have a present for you." She choked.

The young girl pulled a small picture she had painted only hours before their fateful walk.

"I made it 'specially for you."

In the picture she had painted the lamppost and there first encounter there. It was quite advanced for a child her age (though she couldn't tell).

"I wanted to give it to you tomorrow for Christmas…but…but…" Lucy couldn't speak anymore. She wept openly and ran her fingers tenderly through the faun's curly brown hair, stroking his horns as well.

After what seemed like hours, Lucy's feet began to feel weak and tired. She would not leave Tumnus though…not for the world.

She slowly walked around on the other side of the bed and crawled on top of it. Scooting closer to him, she nestled into his arm and embraced him warmly. "It isn't a very Merry Christmas is it?" She whimpered. The faun remained still as she talked, but she somehow knew, or at least hoped that he could hear her. As exhaustion finally took over, she felt a tiny bit of peace envelope her in knowing that she was finally with her dear friend, that weather he live or die, she'd be there for him.

Susan opened the door to peek inside the room, only to find the adorable sight of her tender hearted sister curled up next to Mr. Tumnus fast asleep. The painting at the foot of the bed made the scene all the more special. It should have been a happy moment for Susan, but the fact still remained that Tumnus could die at any time…and in that sense, the moment seemed more bittersweet and tragic than anything else.

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A/N: Alrighty! There is chapter 3. I am going to STRIVE to put up chapter 4 tomorrow..considering its very Christmas based..umm read and review I suppose.

Did you guys think this chapter was okay? I really want to know. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you all SOO much for your reviews, by the way. They are the reason I stay up until 2:00 am finishing up Chapter 3. You guys rock!