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Rating: K+
Genre: T/L romance with a dash of UST. Or vice versa? Oneshot.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tumnus, Lucy, or Narnia. Walden, Disney, and/or C.S. Lewis have/has that privilege.
Author's Note: My first finished T/L fic. (Lucy IS older.) Hopefully it's not too sappy. I think it's sweet. :) R&R, if you please!
Lucy sighed contentedly as she gazed at the fireplace. She pulled the burgundy mantle up to her chin.
Tumnus had never seen anything so beautiful in all his years. Her face was aglow with firelight. She stared absentmindedly at the flames, and Tumnus was reminded of that day so long ago when he first took tea with the fair daughter of Eve. He blushed and looked at his hooves. He had yet to fully forgive himself for what injury he had briefly intended for her back then. He looked up at her.
She was looking at him now, studying him through half-open eyes. She had such a peculiar look on her face! "What is it, dearest Lucy?" Tumnus asked.
"Why do you sit on the cold floor? Do come and enjoy the fire!" she said, making room beside her on the couch.
"Dear friend, the cold floor poses no threat to my furry haunches!" He said with a chuckle. Besides, he thought, I can admire you much better from here.
But she had risen from the couch. Now she came over to him, grabbed his hands, and hoisted him off the floor. "Well, I would prefer your haunches next to me than across the room!" she said as she pulled him onto the couch.
"Now, now, that can hardly be a proper thing for a queen to say!" he said with a smile. In truth, he didn't mind her less queenly moments any more than he minded the way she was now snuggled cozily against him, her head resting just beneath his whiskered chin.
"Propriety is relative, I should think," she mumbled into his chest.
Well said, he thought. A comfortable silence settled over them. Tumnus was content to listen to the sound of Lucy's breathing and the occasional crackle of the fire.
"Tumnus," Lucy ventured, "could you tell me a story, please? I will very soon be asleep and would like to have a lovely story to give me lovely dreams."
Tumnus sighed. "A lovely story, you say?"
"Yes," Lucy yawned.
"There is one story I know of that is particularly lovely. But I don't know if I should tell it to you."
She craned her head back to frown at him. "You must tell it! You must!"
As he looked in her pleading eyes, he knew in his heart that she was right. She had to hear this story. He brushed a coppery strand of hair from her face. "As you wish."
Tumnus cleared his throat and shifted his legs so one hoof rested on the opposite knee. Lucy put her head back on his chest and drew closer to him so that his arms completely encircled her quite relaxed form.
Tumnus began. "Once upon a time there was a faun."
Lucy looked up at him incredulously. He smiled and continued anyway. "This faun was not a good faun. He was, in fact, in the employ of an evil witch who by a spell kept all the land in the icy grip of an eternal winter. Every living creature feared this witch. Some, including the faun, deceived themselves into thinking that by following her orders, they could ensure their own safety. The faun was told that were he ever to see a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve, he was to deliver it to her immediately."
"One day, while walking the woods near his home, he saw a very strange being indeed! At first he was frightened by this creature, though he should not have been, for she was a small thing and very kind besides. They introduced themselves, and the faun learned that he was talking to a Daughter of Eve! He invited her back to his house on the premise of tea, toast, and sardines, though he was really contriving to kidnap and take her to the White Witch."
"So arm-in-arm they walked back to the wicked faun's house. The Daughter of Eve told him of the mysterious land of Spare Oom. At his home, they ate and talked. The faun was delighted to make a new acquaintance. After all, he lived in an isolated cave and was terribly lonely."
Tumnus paused. His tone darkened. "But then the faun remembered that he must give this creature over to the White Witch. If he did not, he would be turned into stone or even killed! He took out his flute and began to play a tune that lulled his captive into a deep, enchanted sleep. As he watched her, he soon began to wonder what the witch wanted from this little creature. She did not appear evil or malignant or threatening. Actually, she was kind and gentle, and the faun wasn't sure if he wanted her to fall into the witch's hands."
"He realized that he had finally made a friend, only to betray the poor, sweet thing three hours later. The guilt seeped into his heart, and he regretted his horrible treatment of his new friend. He saw himself for the selfish, self-serving, and bad faun that he was. When the Daughter of Eve awoke to the sound of his crying, he explained to her the horrible thing that he was doing. Did the girl loathe him for this injustice toward her? No, she did not. She convinced him to let her leave, and he saw her safely back to Spare Oom."
"Yes, he did, because he was good, sweet faun at heart," Lucy added, punctuating the statement with a yawn.
"She was a good, sweet girl. She gave the distressed faun her handkerchief before she said good-bye."
Tumnus continued with his story. He related, in detail, the pair's second meeting. He described the faun's imprisonment and how he was turned into a statue. He talked of how the girl helped a great lion in the war against the self-proclaimed Queen of Narnia. He recounted their tearful reunion and the battle against the witch's minions.
"The witch lost the war and her life. The faun was redeemed, the girl and her siblings crowned as kings and queens of the land. On the day of her coronation, her friend the great lion left, but the faun was there to return her handkerchief and to start acting like a true friend again."
Tumnus looked down at Lucy. She was fast asleep, her eyelashes still against his chest. He slowly, carefully removed his hoof from its resting place. Then he slipped his left arm under her legs. She did not stir. Nor did she stir when he gathered her in his arms to take her to her own bed. "The story did not end there for these two friends," he murmured.
He stepped quietly into the hallway. No one seemed to be awake. No one should have been awake after a party such as that. Still, he went very slowly and made little noise. The torches were mostly out, so Tumnus relied on the dull glow of the sconces to light his way. He shivered when he came to the great staircase. It was rather drafty tonight. He hoped the cold would not rouse Lucy. He ascended the staircase and turned into a side corridor. Before long, he was at her bedroom door. A hoof nudged it open, and he entered, grateful of the carpet and its muffling effect. He put her down on the large canopy bed and fetched a blanket to cover her. She looked so peaceful, so sweet as she lay there. He threw the blanket over her and tucked it in.
He knelt by her bed. "The story did not end there for the girl and the faun."
His voice was barely a whisper now. "The Daughter of Eve, Queen of Narnia, grew from a young girl into an older girl and then into a beautiful young lady. She traveled to other lands, fought all kinds of evils, and nobly ruled her people. The faun, meanwhile, visited her frequently. The two became very close friends."
He paused. "Gradually, the faun realized that the beautiful young queen was more to him than a close friend, even a best friend. He knew in his heart that he…he loved her."
Tears welled up in his eyes. "The faun loved her very, very much. How could he not? She was kind, selfless, just, joyful, and undoubtedly the loveliest creature he would ever see in that land or any other. And she was his loyal friend through good and evil, his dearest friend. He would love her first and foremost and forever. But he could only wish that she would do the same. She was a queen, after all. He was only a faun."
He sighed. "But no matter what, she would always be his beloved…Lucy."
He rose from her bedside. Tumnus gently laid a kiss on her warm, smooth forehead. "The end."
He got up to leave. He slowly padded toward the door. He stepped into the dark hallway and turned to look at her. "Sweet dreams, my dear."
The door closed. And somewhere in her sleep, Lucy smiled.
---"The end."---