Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia or any of its inhabitants, and I don't own the Pevensie children either. The only characters in this story that I own are Charlotte and her parents.

Chapter 1: What led me to Narnia…and to Tumnus"

My name is Charlotte Lucille Smythe, and I am now officially alone in this world. My mother, Patricia, died during childbirth and my father, Kenneth, abandoned me after she died. My grandmother, Lucy, felt bad about what her son had done, so she took her granddaughter in. She and her 3 siblings raised me the same way they raised their own children. But all good things must come to an end. Uncle Edmund died when I was 7, and Aunt Susan followed him two years later. Uncle Peter had a stroke when I was 15, and I saw the only man I'd ever regarded as a father figure slowly slip away. At least Grandma Lucy stuck around to see me graduate in Oxford. So here I am, a twenty-two-year-old girl Brit who is officially alone. Grandma Lu (I always called her that) left everything she owned to me, including her house. Uncle Peter had inherited it from a Professor Diggory many years ago and left it to Grandma Lu when he died, who left it to me. Just then, when I was remembering all this, I remembered Grandma Lu's old saying: "Never let the past keep you from enjoying the present." It was almost as if she was whispering it directly in my ear. So I decided to get up and begin exploring my grandmother's room. It was hard to go through her possessions because it felt like I was grave robbing. Then something under the bed caught my eye. It was a box of scarves that Grandma Lu had knitted. Anytime you saw Grandma Lu, she was knitting up a storm. Written on the box was the strangest message: "To: Mr. Tumnus". I grew up hearing stories about Narnia and Mr. Tumnus, but I never believed that my great-uncles, great-aunt, and my grandmother were rulers of such a country. Anyway, I began looking through the box, and it was filled with beautiful, elaborate scarves. I then stumbled upon an envelope that had my name on it. It was a letter from Grandma Lu. In the letter, Grandma asked me to deliver the news of her death and the box of scarves to her beloved faun friend. I then noticed another envelope in the box, but the letter said that that letter was for Mr. Tumnus. She also asked me to watch over the faun, because she was worried what he might do if left alone.
"How do I get to Narnia?" I stupidly asked myself, but the letter answered my question. It said to "just trust your heart and go through the wardrobe in your room." 'Wow,' I thought, 'the entrance to Narnia has been right in front of me the entire time.' I then glanced at the clock and it said that it was 10 o'clock in the morning.

"Well, no time like the present." I said to the room as I picked up the box and headed to my room to prepare for the journey. I began by packing my over-sized purse with my jacket, just in case it was winter in Narnia, and then folded all of Tumnus's scarves neatly. Then came the task of clearing a path to Narnia. 'I have too many clothes', I thought as I cleared the way. Once that was done, I picked up my purse and the box and was about to step into the wardrobe when it hit me. 'How would I recognize Tumnus?' Grandma Lu had described him many times before. She always said that he had chestnut eyes, curly brown hair and fur, and he might be carrying an umbrella. She also said that if it were cold, he would be wearing a red scarf. I stood there, remembering her words and thinking about how I should go about telling Tumnus of his dearest friend's passing. When I reached the back of the wardrobe, I noticed that my clothes had turned into the branches of pine trees. I then looked at the floor and saw patches of snow. That's when I stopped, took out my jacket, and put it on. The cold wind was already making me shiver. I walked on through for about another few seconds when I saw a lamppost just sitting there in the middle of the woods. It seemed strange to see a lamppost that wasn't on a street corner. While I was pondering the situation, I heard a noise from somewhere in the woods, and it sounded like it was coming closer. I was starting to get scared. I'd never really been in the woods before. Then, all of a sudden, I saw a mysterious figure approaching at a hurried pace. I was so frightened that I screamed, dropped my purse and the box, and fainted right there in the snow. However, before I closed my eyes, I saw someone in a red scarf coming towards me. That's when I knew that I had found my grandmother's dearest friend. When I awoke, I was in a cave lying on a bed. 'This must be his house,' I thought, 'but how did I get here? The last thing I remember is seeing his scarf.' I tried to get up, but my ankle started throbbing. I yelped from the pain and he came running, more like trotting, to my side.

"Are you all right?" he asked, with a worried tone to his voice.

"Yes, it's just my ankle." I answered, pointing at the source of the pain.

"Here. Let me take a look." He calmly said as he removed my shoe and sock and began examining my foot. His touch was so gentle. It was almost like he had been a doctor at some point in time.

"Are you Tumnus? Lucy's Tumnus?"

"Why, yes. Yes, I am," he said with a smile. I then understood why he had been so close to my late grandmother's heart. "How do you know Lucy?"

"Lucy's a relative of mine. I had a box with me when I came from Spare 'Oom. Do you know where it is?"

"After you fainted, your foot hit a rock. I brought you here first, than went back for your things." He was so considerate, so sweet. I could see why Grandma became friends with him.

"Well, could you bring me the box, please?"

"Of course, Daughter of Eve," he said politely as he left the room. It took me a minute to remember why he had called me that. He then returned with the box and set it down in my lap. As he turned to leave, I touched his arm and he turned to face me.

"Please stay. I have some things for you. They're from Lucy."

"All right, then, Daughter of Eve, if you insist." He sat down on the end of the bed with an expectant look in his eyes.

"First things first, call me Charlotte. It is my name, of course. Secondly, thanks for bringing me here and getting me the box."

"You're welcome, Dau-Charlotte."

"Thirdly, before I give you the contents of this box, there's something I should tell you, and I will perfectly understand if you get upset. Just remember that I'm here for you."

"Okay, then." He still had a grin on his face, but I could tell that he was confused. I just stared at him for a minute, so I would always remember him like this. Before his world fell apart.

"All right, when I said that Lucy was a relative of mine, that was true. She was my grandmother."

"That's great, but what do you mean by 'was'?" I could see the grin fade as confusion overtook the joy he had had inside of him.

"Well, when I say 'was', I mean that…ummm…I don't know how to tell you this, but…Lucy died three weeks ago." As soon as the word 'died' escaped my lips, I saw tears form in those sweet eyes. That's when I did something that nobody had done for me: I comforted him.