Hello, all you fine people out there! How are you all? I know I'm feeling good, because I woke up at six in the morning to type this! Well, actually, I have to get up at six every morning for school, but still…. I am so thrilled by the responses I have received from just the first chapter of this fic, so I will keep on writing! Er, typing, I mean.
As a reply to Shawcross Gal's question, I'm not yet sure if this will turn out to be a Tumnus/Lucy thing or not, but since I'm not very good at writing deep romance I think it will be more of a very close friendship between the two. Although you never know…. The pair is definitely cute. And this chapter is kind of slow, but it will pick up near the end. I just realized that you can't put little emoticon smiles in here. Aw… Oh well. On with the story! And thank you, Sanaryelle, for putting this with all the other 'Fun With Fauns' stories!
Arrele: Sigh…. If any of us owned Narnia…. I wouldn't be saying this.
Oh, and as a reminder, it is slightly AU if you think about it, since the kids are just newly crowned and will stay as kids throughout the whole story. It's just easier for me that way. Okay, on with the story again!
It seemed like a lifetime before the sun rose to the Faun, but in reality it had only been a couple of hours. As soon as the light started to pour through the window curtains Tumnus left his room in favor of the outdoors, where he could clear his head a little. The prospect of talking to Aslan made him nervous, but instead of being nervous because of how great the lion was, it was the kind of nervousness one got when they knew they had done something wrong and were about to tell someone about it. But Aslan already knew of Tumnus's previous employer and seemed to forgive him about it, so why did the idea of talking with him seem so impossible?
Tumnus inhaled deeply, taking in all the summer smells and sights. This made him feel a lot better, better than he had felt when he was back in his room. He hadn't slept since Lucy came to talk to him, too shaken by the dream to sleep peacefully. Without thinking about it he found himself walking towards the beach, drawn to the soothing sounds of the waves breaking upon the sandy shore, water sparkling from the sunrise. Normally he did not appreciate getting sand in his fur (Is that what it is? Or is it hair? I don't know….) but today he didn't care.
He was staring out to sea when he heard footsteps behind him. Thinking it was Lucy, he turned, saying, "Lucy, how lon-"
It was Aslan.
Immediately Tumnus dropped to one knee, saying, "My Lord," without a second thought. He had meant to talk to the magnificent Lion, but not so soon! His eyes stayed fixed on the sand as he waited for a response.
"Rise, Tumnus. There is no need for formalities this early in the morning." Aslan said gently. Tumnus slowly rose to his hooves, looking uneasily into the Lion's eyes. Both stood in the sand, waiting for the other to speak as the waves continued to break upon the shore.
Finally Tumnus couldn't wait any longer and said, "Lord Aslan, I have been meaning to speak to you…" he trailed off, seeming unsure of how to put his thoughts into speech.
"About your reoccurring nightmares." It wasn't a question.
"Y- yes. They're horrible, and I've done everything I could to drive them away, but after a few nights they keep coming back. Last night it was so bad that I woke up Lucy and the others, and I certainly do not want that to happen again. Now that they're kings and queens of Narnia, they need all the sleep they can get." He was straying from the point, and Aslan knew it.
"Your nightmares aren't the only thing that's troubling you. What else is it that's keeping you up at night?" They were walking along the beach again, away from the castle, neither having a specific destination in mind.
"I'm… I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed for working with the White Witch and being unfaithful to you and all the Narnians. And yet Lucy doesn't hate me for working with the enemy, and neither do you, and I don't deserve that." Tumnus was looking at the sand again, tears of shame threatening to fall from his eyes.
"Did you join her ranks because you wanted to? Or was it out of fear?" Aslan asked seriously.
"I- I was afraid. Terrified. I couldn't tell her 'No' out of fear of turning into stone, but I guess that happened anyways no matter what I did." Tumnus couldn't tell where the conversation was going, and he looked at Aslan questioningly.
"And did you join my side out of fear?" The Lion prompted.
"No… I joined because it was the right choice…" It suddenly dawned on him that he truly was faithful to Aslan, and he would always be accepted. He didn't have to worry anymore about being a traitor to Lucy or anyone else, he didn't have to be ashamed for his wrongs in the past, and that lifted a great weight off his shoulders.
Aslan chuckled at the Faun's awe. "Now, is there anything else you want to tell me about?"
Tumnus started to shake his head, but he suddenly asked, "And the nightmares?"
"I think the best thing would be to tell Lucy how you feel. Your nightmares seem to stem from your anxiety." Tumnus brightened at Aslan's response and started to head back to the castle before the Lion was done. Aslan smiled and shook his maned head, watching the Faun go. There was something else afoot, but for now he would not trouble the Faun with his superstitions until something happened.
By the time Tumnus reached the castle, everyone else was awake and getting breakfast ready. He knew that Lucy was going to be looking for him, so he hurried inside as fast as he could. But after a few minutes of searching for her, he couldn't find her anywhere. Her siblings were gone as well. A helpful centaur told him that she had seen the children head into the forest earlier, so that was where he went.
A light breeze ruffled his hair as he walked past the trees, causing his ears to twitch. He was painfully aware of how similar the scene was to his dream, but he tried to push that thought out of his mind and focused on finding Lucy. The trees were of no help to him, unfortunately, and he found himself back at his still destroyed home. Repairs hadn't been made yet.
"Lucy? Are you in there?" He called, casting a glance inside. Something moved in the corner of his eyes, quickly moving out of his line of vision. He turned and looked out into the trees. "Hello?"
A snarling wolf burst out of the bushes, snapping jaws aiming straight for the Faun's face. Tumnus yelped and ducked, hearing a loud crash behind him as the wolf collided with something inside his home. Without sticking around to see what it was, Tumnus ran as fast as he could, not looking back. When he reached the lamppost he stopped to regain his bearings.
"What in Aslan's name…" He muttered, eyes searching the wood for any sign of the wolf. Just when he started to relax he heard a snarl behind him and came face to face with the wolf. Tumnus recognized it as one of Jadis's wolves, causing his heart to pound. This day was not going well.
"Wh- what do you want?" He breathed, backing up against the post in a vain attempt to stay out of reach of those slobbering teeth.
"I want your blood, traitor!" The wolf snarled, fur raised and eyes glowing. Before the wolf could strike, however, Tumnus bolted into the woods again, dodging trees and bushes nimbly and with unusual speed for one of his stature. A chilling howl broke the silence of the forest.
"Leave me alone!" Tumnus yelled, blindly sprinting through the trees. He wasn't aware of where he was going until he ran into something hard and fell onto the floor, skidding a few feet before coming to a halt in the silence.
Groaning, he raised his head and opened his eyes, not believing what he was looking at.
"Where… am I?" He was staring at a wardrobe with it's door ajar, and through it he could see the forest he had just run through.
Heh, bet some of you weren't expecting that! I know I wasn't! Wait…. Oh, if any of the characters seem OOC, let me know right away so I can fix it. And if you have any questions I will try my hardest to answer them without giving too much away. I will try to update as fast as I can, but I do have school so it is difficult sometimes. Please review!