(A/N)- I'm still working on 'Dimensional Dismay', but I'm taking a little break. Umm ... this one's a bit fluffy, but not too much. I hope.
-Chapter 2- Losing Hope
The next morning she awoke abruptly and unpleasantly to the god awful sound of the metal tray of the so-called food clanging loudly on the ice floor. It wasn't as if she was going to eat it anyway. Thus far, she hadn't been hungry. Well … at least not 'very' hungry. She assured herself she could last a few days. She just simply took a sip of milk before the damned thing eventually would freeze.
Rubbing her forehead in frustration, she heard someone speak, and it caught her by surprise for a second until her memory came to that she remembered about the unfortunate newcomer.
"I'm sorry about last night," he murmured, warily biting into the strange black crusty thing that they referred to as food.
"That stuff tastes like total crap," she warned, rubbing her eyes. She went to sit up and her back went all stiff and she cursed, cracking it.
"Do you forgive me?" he asked, probably desperate not to lose someone he could converse with.
Her bright green eyes glared at him through the shadows, "Of course; if I didn't I wouldn't have talked to you." She said, pulling herself a bit closer.
He hesitantly took a small bite out of the food. She watched in disgust as he swallowed a piece, "You're right," he said, "It tastes like crap," he said with a nervous laugh.
"I wasn't lying. It's your fault you didn't believe me." She said.
"Well … it tastes like crap, but that's all we're getting …" he said, shrugging.
"What's your name, anyway?" she asked suddenly.
He swallowed another piece forcefully, "Tumnus," he replied.
"I'm Hazelle." She introduced.
He stopped eating, "… That's a faun name. Are you a faun?"
"Of course I am," she said with a frown.
"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "I just can't see you- it's rather dark …"
She scooted closer, sliding her hooves across the ice and pulled herself up near the icicles. He saw her much clearer, now that she was in the pale sunlight that filtered through the icicles.
She was most definitely a faun, with dark ebony hair down to her shoulders, short round-tipped horns, and ears that hung at the sides of her face, instead of outward like most fauns had. Freckles dotted her pale and worried face, which held several scars and healing cuts, possibly inflicted upon her, either during her stay or when she was caught.
She smiled meekly, but her eyebrows still showed the sadness she held for having to stay in a place like this. Short, uneven bangs shadowed her bright green eyes. She looked like she was starting to get malnourished, but not severely yet.
"If you don't mind me saying, you're rather lovely, …" he said in a low tone, looking away with a blush. She snorted with laughter at his embarrassment.
"You're not so bad yourself, despite your injuries," she said with a grin.
A smile steadily spread across Tumnus' shy face.
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Hazelle woke up that night with a start. It was because Jadis, the White Witch, was yelling in anger at someone- though she was pretty far away, possibly in her throne room, her voice always managed to pierce through Hazelle's dreams.
She had been sleeping against the floor, using her hands as a pillow. The circulation had been lost through her palms from the weight of her head, and she rubbed them, both to keep warm and to keep the blood flowing through them.
She looked over to see if Tumnus had been awakened. He was leaning against the wall next to the icicle bars, looking up through the high window at the moonlight. She saw his eyes glistening with tears as he stared intently at the moon. She didn't want to ask him what he was upset about, since she feared he'd snap at her again. Instead she brought up something- something that she'd have had nightmares about for the couple weeks she'd been imprisoned here.
"I'm worried that my time is going to come." She said quietly. Tumnus looked over.
"Why? How long have you been here?" he asked.
"About two weeks," she replied, lying down on the floor again, looking up at him through the ice shards.
"Well … you shouldn't worry so much."
"I'm not worried so much but I'm worried about how they'll rid of me," she said.
He sighed deeply, "I believe we'll be turned to stone." He said flatly.
Her brows furrowed, "What makes you so sure?"
He looked down at his hands, fingering with his red knitted scarf, "Didn't you see the statues outside?"
That hit her. He must be right … there was an extraordinary amount of statues in the courtyard of the castle. They couldn't all possibly have been sculpted by hand … she could remember noticing how detailed they were as that bison-man dragged her along the snow, up the stairs, and into the castle …
"It probably hurts a bit to be turned to stone," he said, "But when Aslan rises again, I'm sure he'll be able to return everyone back to normal."
She half-laughed as she sat up. He whipped around, glaring darkly at her.
"You defy Aslan?" he asked stiffly.
She shook her head, "No. But where is he? Why is he taking so long? If Aslan is our ruler, and the most powerful creature alive, why can't he take down the White Witch?" she asked, a tear running down her cheek, "I cried out for help, and he didn't come. I was attacked out there by a pack of wolves. I'm now trapped, awaiting my cruel fate."
"He is on his way- I'm sure of it," Tumnus comforted, his anger dissipated by her tears. "We just need to have faith,"
"Faith," she spat through her tears, "A load of crap. Even if he were around, even if the White Witch hadn't taken over the lands, he'd never come when I called for help. No one ever did. That's the price you pay for being an oddball. You're not only outcast by your family, but you're ignored when you desperately need help." She wiped her tears with her clammy hands, shuddering. It was the sudden realization of all this that upset her. She never rounded it all up before like this. Admitting it to someone made it even truer. She wasn't only going to die; she was going to die in pieces rather than peacefully. She always hoped that when her dying day would come, that life would have been good to her, one way or another. She couldn't think of anything good in her life.
"You're not being ignored," he insisted, "I know I've only just met you, but … y'see, I'm an outcast as well." He admitted, "Self-inflicted this position on me," he said with a half-laugh, "I preferred to be alone a lot, but … I had faith in Aslan. I prayed that I would find a friend. And I did, a young daughter of Eve. I didn't turn her in to the White Witch, and that landed me here. But as long as she's safe, I'm happy about what I did. And Aslan will surely save me for it. He'll save everyone, just wait and see."
"He won't save me." She replied solemnly.
"Yes he will."
She shook her head sadly, and dragged her shackled hooves back into the darkness of her cell to try to conceal her shame she held for her life.
(A/N)- Yeah, I know, angsty :-P So sorry ... I hope it's not too angsty ... no flamers please. Review if you'd like.