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.

Tumnus's POV

After I kissed her cheek, I quickly left the room. 'What am I doing? She could never love a faun like me. I must be out of my mind! She's so beautiful, sweet, kind, and talented! I've never heard a voice that even compared to hers! But why bother chasing after something that I can never have? Well, she did say that she cares for me. Maybe she will someday love me as I love her. I loved her from the moment I found her by the lamppost. I looked at her face as those angelic eyes closed and I wanted her.' These were the thoughts that ran through my head as I collected and washed the dishes. After I put the dishes away, I checked on Charlotte. She looked so peaceful, but then I saw that she was shivering. I had to get her warm, fast, and the blankets weren't helping. That's when I remembered the offer she had made. So I did what I thought was best. I climbed in the bed next to Charlotte and pulled her shivering body close to mine. I put my arm around her waist and set my hand on her stomach just as she had done earlier. Then I received some reassurance that my actions when took my hand and held ever so close to her. I then thought I saw a smile form across her face, but it might've been my imagination. That's when I fell asleep. My dreams that night, for the first time in 10 years, were not about Lucy, but about Charlotte. In my dream, we were walking through the woods and it was springtime. She was wearing a green dress, which complimented her reddish-brown hair. It was starting to rain, so I opened my umbrella and we huddled under it. I put my arm around her shoulders and she flashed me one of her dazzling smiles. She snuck her arm back around my waist while I took advantage of the moment and kissed her cheek. She laughed as we continued walking. After a few minutes of walking, talking, and planting kisses on each other's cheeks, we came to a rather large puddle. Charlotte started looking for a way for us to get around. It didn't seem so deep, so I handed her the umbrella and swept her up in my arms. I carried her while I walked through the puddle and a little further on before setting her back on the ground. The rain had stopped, but I kept the umbrella open to keep the sunlight out of Charlotte's eyes. She began to spin the umbrella around and turned to face me. Then I felt her lips touch mine. I leaned down to give her better access to my lips. It was pure magic, and then I woke up. I could still feel the tingling in my lips from her sweet, gentle kiss. I looked over to find her still fast asleep, but still holding my hand. I managed to release my hand and then got up to greet the day. 'She probably is tired of wearing the same clothes. Maybe I should walk her back to War Drobe.' So I decided that Charlotte should get herself some clean clothes from Spare 'Oom. I was folding all of the scarves that Lucy had made me when I had an epiphany. 'What if I were to go and get some of Lucy's dresses from Cair Paravel? Charlotte would be pleased that she needn't have to go home, and Cair Paravel isn't that far from here. That's exactly what I'll do.' I found some paper and wrote Charlotte a quick note. As I placed it on the side table, I heard Charlotte sigh. I smiled, picked up the empty box and my umbrella, and went out the door. It wasn't snowing, so I didn't bother opening the umbrella. I had always enjoyed the solitude that the woods offered, but now it seemed that solitude just wasn't enough anymore. I came to Cair Paravel sooner than I thought, and I saw the sun peeking up over the ocean. The castle had been deserted ever since the four royals had left Narnia. I set my umbrella by the front entrance and hurried up to Lucy's bedchamber. Upon entering the room, memories flooded my mind. Afternoon teas by the fire, rides and walks over all of Narnia, and deep conversations about every little thing. I put Lucy's three everyday dresses, 2 pairs of boots, and her hairbrush and comb set from the vanity and set all of the items gently in the box. I then left the castle and hurried home to tend to Charlotte. As I closed my front door, I heard Charlotte getting out of bed. I began walking towards her at a quickened pace, hoping to get to her before she caused further injury to herself.

"Here, let me help you."

"No, Tumnus, my ankle is feeling much better today. It doesn't even hurt when I move it." I didn't believe her, and she knew I didn't. "Trust me, Tumnus. You won't always be around to catch me when I fall."

"Okay, Charlotte." Her last words seemed to hang in the room for a minute. I just stood there and watched her walk across the room into my open arms.

"See, I told you I could do it." She stood there, with her arms around my waist, giving me an 'I told you so' look.

"I can't believe it. You just walked across the room." I knew that she was waiting for me to hug her back, so I just put my arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. We stood there for a while, with her head on my shoulder and my head resting on hers.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. It's just that I haven't met someone I could depend on in a long time. I've had to learn how to be independent."

"It's all right. I'm not mad." I kissed her forehead to prove that I wasn't mad. "I brought you something. I didn't feel like you should have to go all the way back to War Drobe just to get clothes to meet the Beavers in. so I went to Cair Paravel and got some of Lucy's dresses." As I lifted a blue dress from the box, I saw Charlotte's eyes widen.

"Oh, Tumnus, it's beautiful! It's just what I need. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Then, without warning, Charlotte threw her arms around my neck and landed a passionate kiss in the same place she had in my dream. After figuring out what she was doing, I really began to enjoy the moment. So much so that I threw the dress on a chair and lifted Charlotte off the ground. A few seconds of pure bliss later, Charlotte pulled away and I gently set her down. "I'm sorry, Tumnus. That kiss was meant for your cheek, but I guess my aim was a little off. I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable or obligated about doing anything, such as kissing me back." Then she grabbed the dress and went to change. 'She didn't even get the boots or brushes, but she did seem awfully embarrassed. Maybe I should talk to her about it.' Just then Charlotte came out of the room, got a pair of the boots and the brushes, and headed back toward the bedroom. I followed her, but she shut the door before I could stop her. So I politely knocked.

"Charlotte?" I thought that I heard the sound of someone crying on the other side of the door.

"Yes, Tumnus?" her voice cracked as she uttered those few simple words.

"May I come in?"
"Just a moment." I heard her rushing around for what seemed like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes. I had been leaning against the door and almost fell on top of Charlotte when she opened it. "Come in."

"Are you all right? I thought that I heard you crying." I glanced at her face and noticed that her eyes were puffy.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes, couldn't be better."

"Well, do you need anything? Because if you don't, I need to finish getting ready." She seemed anxious to be rid of me, so I decided not to press the matter any further.

"That's all I needed. I'm going to go make breakfast now." As I turned to leave, she didn't stop me like before. I paused for a moment, waiting to see if she would. I looked back and she seemed preoccupied with getting her boots on, so I left.