Entrancement
Roocersoc
"...dear Lucy..."
The words bounced around in her head, echoing constantly to the point where she threw her favorite perfume bottle against the wall of her room. With a childish huff she had listened to the chief maid scold her for damaging the wall.
"The wall? I just broke my favorite scent bottle," she thought scathingly. Even though she was a Queen, people still seemed to enjoy scolding her. Her elder brother yelled at her just last week for deliberately stepping on his cape's train.
Yet...her eyes trailed to the dark haired faun beside her, he caught her eye and smiled sweetly. It disturbed her to a point, despite the small voice in the back of her head saying she was flattered. Her best friend, one that had been their for her through adolescence and seen her at her worst, was now positively smitten with her.
"Is it just my luck? That the one who falls hard for me isn't the one I want? By the Lion...Forgive me Aslan." Lucy thought reflexively, hoping the Great Lion heard her request.
Although...he had been kind to her about her rejection, she had told him to give her some time. Tumnus nodded, as if he had expected this.
"...Take your time...I'm in no hurry..."
He had given her a soft smile, this one friendly and pure, with a deep bow, he turned and walked out of the library, his hooves clicking loudly. Lucy had given one last look behind her, hoping Prince Teris had not seen the exchange.
Teris was nowhere in sight.
If anyone had noticed, they would have seen Lucy walk with a quiet sway she did not usually possess, in truth, she had not even noticed until Susan pointed out fondly Lucy's sudden change in posture. Susan joked kindly that she too had walked that way when she had been in love.
She had walked stiffly back to her room.
Lucy looked down at where her plate should be, it had been taken away from her when she had gotten lost in her thoughts. Tonight is the celebration for Prince Teris's agreement to sign the peace treaty. Creatures danced joyfully in the true formal dance, while others sat and enjoyed the music.
Tumnus, sat and enjoyed her, to which she was not surprised.
Queen Lucy sighed; she was not angry with Mr. Tumnus, it was not his fault. She was angry at herself, if she had not accepted that concoction...
"I now have to deal with the fact my best friend now has some strange desire for me."
A voice cut through her thoughts.
"Queen Lucy, would you care to dance?"
Lucy looked up, as if coming from a sultry haze and Tumnus felt the room grow warm. Shaking his head, he extended his hand; she hesitated before she took it. Lucy cast one glance behind her, hoping to catch view of Teris, but he was talking with his ambassadors. "Teris," Lucy thought sadly.
With an excited tug, Tumnus led her to the floor.
"Oh dear, what if he thinks I'm interested? It's Mr. Tumnus...we dance all of the time..."
So what is so different now?
The walk to the dance floor seemed long, Tumnus almost tripped over his feet, giving out a yelp. His hand swung through the air and collided with a crystal bowl of wine, sending its contents to the floor. People snapped their heads up at the high-pitched shriek.
For the first time in three days, Lucy laughed.
He held her close and held her tight the entire dance, as if she would blow away if he released her. The dancing had slowed; couples of all kinds were beginning to join in the unfamiliar dance Queen Lucy and Mr. Tumnus had begun.
The band noticed the change, and as if from an age ago, begun a sensual song, filling the air. The earthly song bringing even Queen Susan and her conservative husband to the floor.
Lucy looked up from Tumnus's chest, realizing she was still in motion. Tumnus noticed her gaze, and dipped his dark head to Lucy's ear.
"See what you've done, my Queen, never have I seen such dancing," he whispered, his eye catching the glint of her bright hair in the orange glow of the candlelight.
"Really? People back in my home country do this all of the time when a slower song is played," she replied quietly, thoughts of Tumnus's collision with the crystal bowl still in her mind. He pulled back, looking at her incredulously.
"Do Narnian people know of such intimate customs?" The thought has crossed Lucy's mind before. Tumnus spun her slowly and gracefully, her pale pink dress fluttering around her, its fabric hovering a moment before settling.
"Well, I've danced like this before." Tumnus said wistfully, looking off into the distance. Lucy pondered about his reply for a moment, her hand absently stroking the leather of his tunic. He had fashioned the tunic a while ago, when Lucy had insisted on him wearing some form of clothing in the wintertime. Now, he wore it to formal events.
"I do not understand humanity's obsession with concealing their body, you look similar to us, am I not right?"
Lucy's lips stretched into a smile as Tumnus's confused and reluctant face flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, something crossed her mind.
"If you have never danced like this before, then how did you know how to-" he gave her a mischievous look that made her throat tighten. He always gave her the impression of a sneaky boy, with his rounded face and bright eyes.
"You, my dear, led the dance first. When you began to stop, I took the lead, you could say," he whispered, looking down at her; he had heard Lucy say that phrase before, its texture strange on his tongue.
Lucy only watched him. His face glowed handsomely in the dimming light, and for a moment, Lucy could see the absolute love Tumnus had shown her not even a day ago. Her lips formed a small smile.
"You could say that, I suppose."
2
How was that? The movement was too choppy for my taste. This one was a lot shorter than the first one. Tumnus has been under the… liquid for only a day, which was in the morning. Lucy is reacting as a woman (might) possibly if a man was in love with her; she is noticing things about him because she never thought of him as a potential partner. It will be better next chapter. So, forgive the OCCness, Lucy will be back to her smiling self soon, but...it is fun giving her a snappish, love sick mind.
Tata.
Roocersoc