Set in the old BBC version 1988.
Susan always felt in a different, indefinable way about Peter. When he tells her that he is adopted, that feelings clear up.
Disowner; Narnia and all her delightful creatures aren't mine. Exept for a few characters, later in the story.
This one might be a little... stupid, because I'm not that good at slightly intimate scenes, but I did the best I could.
Dittany: THANK YOU :D Oh my god, it's so nice to have people actually say that my stories are good. I write a lot of fanfiction, but this is the first one I publish in here.
KibumiWong: Thank you for putting me in your favs (: I wish I could read your stories, but I'm not really.. familiar with your language (:
Carmel12373: thanks
Deitra: Well, that's your opinion. I absolutely adore the BBC version (: But I'm glad you like it anyway.
HanyAny: Oh yes, I love Susan being the little mum! And Edmund as such an annoying little kid; don't you just adore him that way:P
Aminuleen: Hmm, sounds good. Actually I already wrote the chapter, but I'll see what I can do.
Coveredclouds14: "I'm sure whatever you decide to do will be simply superb" I love you, yes I do!
II. In which Lucy discovers Narnia a bit and Susan discovers Peter a bit
"And ofcourse it would rain, wouldn't it?"
Edmund walked away from the window and sat down on the old couch. Susan walked up to Peter.
"Peter, listen to me –" Peter walked away from her and patted Edmund's head.
"We could still explore!" he said, completely ignoring Susan, "We'll explore the house."
"Yes!" Lucy said. She liked to explore, whether it were the grounds, the woods, the fields or this big old house. She grabbed Susan's hand, and dragged her behind her. The house was even bigger than the kids would have expected. There were a lot of bathrooms, some old study's with dusty books, and enough spare bedrooms for all of Lucy's friends, she thought. Then Peter discovered a door, with stairs behind it, that lead to the attic. The attic was fantastic. It was big, with all sorts of rooms. Everywhere were boxes, there were strange paintings, a piano, a closet with weird clothing. And in the back of the attic, there was another door. They got through the door and came into an empty room. Okay, it wasn't completely empty, there was this big wardrobe. Lucy thought she heard Susan tell Peter they needed to talk. Since when did Peter and Susan fight? They never did!
"There's nothing here, let's go on," Peter said, and they walked back through the attic. But Lucy stayed behind. She thought it would be worthwile to look inside the wardrobe. It wouldn't hurt, would it? So she got in, leaving the doors open. She didn't want to get herself locked up in a wardrobe. In the wardrobe hung lots and lots of fur coats. Lucy loved fur. She went further into the wardrobe (where it got darker and darker), only to discover more and more coats, made of this wonderful fur. Then, out of nothing, there was a tree. And another one. It was cold, and there were actually snowflakes coming from the air.
"How funny," said Lucy, and she put on a fur coat, "Now I get to explore a wood after all!" She walked further through this forest and then came on a lovely open spot, with a lamppost in the middle. Lucy turned around, and through the branches she could still see the wardrobe.
"I could always get back if I get in trouble," Lucy told herself, and so she walked up to the lamppost. She looked up to it.
"In the middle of the wood?" she said on a slight mocking tone. Then she turned around and saw this man. Or at least the upper half looked like a man. His legs were those of a goat and he had this tail, which he wore over his arm to prevent it from dragging through the snow. In his arms he had three packages.
"Excuse me!" Lucy said.
"Goodness gracious me!" the man exclaimed and he dropped all of his packages, "You scared me!"
"Are you a faun?" Lucy asked interested. The man's eyes widened.
"Yes," he said, "Yes, I suppose I am."
He started grabbing his packages from the ground. Lucy helped.
"Thank you," the Faun said. He walked in a circle around her, took a good look at her.
"Am I right thinking that you are a – a daughter of Eve?" he asked then. What a weird question to ask, thought Lucy. She wondered how she got into a situation with a Faun, asking if she was someone called Eve's daughter.
"My name is Lucy," she said, to clear up the misunderstanding. The Faun took another good look at her.
"But are you – forgive me – are you what they call.. a girl?"
Lucy giggled at that second weird question.
"Ofcourse I'm a girl!" she said, and she repressed a loud 'Duhh!'. What a silly Faun, she thought.
"A human?" he asked, with a look as if that meant a whole lot.
"Yes! Girls are human!" Lucy said. She got a little irritated by now. Suddenly the Faun looked very pleased to see her.
"Well, that is delightful. Delightful! I have never seen a human before. Let me introduce myself," he stuck out a hand, "My name is Tumnus, and..." he suddenly stopped in the middle of that sentence, pulled back his hand and looked suspicious at hers.
"How did you get into Narnia?"
"Narnia? What's that?" Lucy was curious about mr Tumnus' talk, but at the same time very irritated at the fact that he kept on saying strange things.
"Well, it's where we are," he said, as if she was dumb, "This is the land of Narnia." He walked up to the Lamppost.
"All that lies between the Lamppost, and the great Castle of Cair Paravel, at the eastern sea."
Lucy thought that sounded beautiful, but still silly, since she didn't knew what he meant.
"The castle of what?" she asked a bit rude.
"Cair Paravel," mr Tumnus answerd, "I don't think She should worry, you are only by yourself. And you? Are you from the wild woods in the West?"
Now Lucy lost him. Who was this She he was talking about? And she didn't come from the Wild Woods in the West! She was from London! But Lucy had this preminition he wouldn't know what London was.
"No, I came through the wardrobe in the spare room," she told him instead. He looked puzzled.
"Oh dear, if I only worked a little harder at geography when I was in little Faunat school. You may find me very ignoring, but I've never heard of the city of War-Drobe nor the land of Sparer-Oom!"
"It's just back there!" Lucy said, and she pointed at the direction where she had just come from, "It's summer there."
She found it very funny to step from a (rainy, but that's beside the point) summerday through a wardrobe into cold winternight, where she had to wear a furcoat. Mr Tumnus looked her in the eyes with a wry smile and a sad frown.
"And winter here," he said with a joyless grin, "It's been winter in Narnia for–" he thought for a moment, but didn't seem to remember the numbers, "-ever so long."
Lucy nodded understanding. She had always liked the winter, with the snow and the cold weather, but enough is enough. Mr Tumnus seemed to wake up from his dreamy thoughts and a sneaky glance shone in his eyes.
"And we shall both catch cold if we stay here talking in the snow," he said, "Daughter of Eve, from the far land of Sparer-Oom, where eternal summer reigns around the grand city of War-Drobe-"
Lucy giggled. Mr Tumnus was the funniest Faun she'd ever met! But then again that was logical, because after all he was the only Faun Lucy had ever met.
"-how would it be if you came and had tea with me?" he asked. Lucy hesitated. Something told her not to trust this nice Faun,
"...but I've never taken tea with a Faun before," she thought out loud.
"Well then!" said mr Tumnus. He let Lucy hold his packages and put up an umbrella against the falling snow. Lucy still hesitated, and then decided she needed to be a reasonable nine years old.
"Really, I suppose I should be getting back," she said.
"But it's just around the corner! And – and there will be toast! And.. and sardines. And cake!" Mr Tumnus offered Lucy an arm. Well, it wouldn't hurt just to eat a piece of toast, Lucy thought. I will be gone before I can even spell the word trouble. T-R-O-B-E-L... see? So she took the arm, and let mr Tumnus lead her to his house.
It was a cave. A very cozy cave. Mr Tumnus took Lucy's jacket.
"Make yourself at home!" he said, while he put the kettle on the fire. Lucy walked through the room, and looked at the table with all the snacks on it. She smiled hungry and then walked towards a cupboard with books in it.
"Nymphs in their ways," she read, "Is Man a Myth?" Lucy decided these books were strange.
"Ready!" mr Tumnus called. Lucy walked back to him. He stood next to the table.
"Such a cozy house!" Lucy said sincerely, "And that really is a wonderful tea!"
"Do sit, do sit!" mr Tumnus said, and Lucy sat down in an easy chair. Mr Tumnus put his own cup of tea next to his own chair.
"One for me, and-" He reached her her cup of tea and a little plate with a few snacks, "-one for a friend."
Lucy took a bite of that wonderful toast he gave her, and then looked up to mr Tumnus, who sat down in his own chair.
"So, what's it like living in Narnia, mr Tumnus?" Lucy asked.
"Life was beautiful here once. Midnight dances in the forest. The Nymphs, who live in their waves, and the Dryades, who live in their trees, would come and dance with us! The Fauns, I mean. And the feasting, and the treasure haunting, and those summers-" mr Tumnus' gaze was lost in his nostalgic memories, and Lucy took another few bites, "Those long, long summers. And the woods were green, and the whole forest would be given up to jollyfication for weeks!"
"But why isn't it like that now?" Lucy asked. Mr Tumnus' eyes were sad again.
"Now it is winter," he said, "Endless winter. And it always will be unless – and until y-"
He looked again at Lucy with a completely new expression, and Lucy wondered what made his moods change so quickly. And why, in god's name, did he constantly not finish his sentences? Mr Tumnus put down his tea, and grabbed something that looked like a siameze flute. Then he started playing this wonderful melody. Lucy looked at the fire, and her eyes started to fall shut. Just a little nap, she told herself, and then she fell asleep. She dreamed of the green woods, and the feasts and the treasure haunting Mr Tumnus had told her about. Then she saw a Unicorn and the Nymphs and the Dryades and the other Fauns and she danced until she felt like her feet would fall off. It was all so beautiful and happy that Lucy groaned when she found herself woken up again. But then she remembered where she was.
"How long have I been asleep?" she stood up and started searching for her furcoat, "I must go home. The others will be wondering what happened to me!"
And then they will not see me as a reasonable nine years old, she thought grumpy. This wasn't what she had in mind at all when she stepped into Narnia. She found her furcoat hung over a chair, and started walking to the door, when she heard a loud sob. She turned around. Mr Tumnus sat in his chair with the flute in his lap, crying.
"Mr Tumnus! Whatever is the matter?" she asked lightly shocked, while she was walking back to him.
"Oh dear, oh dear," mr Tumnus mumbled neuroticly, and then he started crying out loud.
"Don't! Please!" Lucy siad, she was never good at handling crying people, "What is it? Do tell me."
She pulled out her handkerchief, and started wiping away his tears. Her mother had done that a thousand times to her. And always she had stopped crying when mother did that. Mr Tumnus didn't stop, and Lucy again got irritated. She didn't know what to do, and before she could stop herself..
"Mister Tumnus, will you stop it at once!" she exclaimed with a strong voice. It worked. He stopped sobbing.
"My old father would never have done a thing like this," mr Tumnus mumbled in that neurotic tone again, and he looked up to the painting above the fireplace, "I, I am – you see, - I'm a very bad Faun."
"I don't think you're a bad Faun," Lucy said smiling and she shook her head while she sat down on her knees, "I think you're a very good Faun. You're the nicest Faun I've ever met!"
But then again, he is the only Faun I've ever met, Lucy thought, but she didn't say it. Mr Tumnus sobbed again.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew," he said, "I've done a very bad thing. I'm taking service under the White Witch. That's how bad I am. I am in the pay of the White Witch."
Lucy looked at him. It sounded like he was talking about a very important thing.
"The White Witch? Who is she?" asked Lucy. Again mr Tumnus looked at her as if she was dumb.
"Who..? She, who has all Narnia under her spell! It's she who makes it always winter here. Always winter, never christmas. Think of that!"
Lucy didn't want to think of that. She found that a terrible thing to think of.
"How aweful," she said, "But what does she pay you for?"
"I- I'm a kidnapper,"
Lucy chuckled. That sounded so funny. But mr Tumnus seemed serious.
"Would you believe that I'm the kind of Faun to meet a poor, innocent human child in the wood, pretend to be friendly with it, and invite it home to my cave, all for the sake of lulling it into sleep and handing it over to the White Witch?"
No, Lucy wouldn't believe so.
"Oh, but I'm sure you wouldn't do anything of tha-" Her eyes widened with fear as she read mr Tumnus' eyes. God, it was her!
"Yes, you are the child," he said, "I had orders from the White Witch that if ever I saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I had to catch them, and spell them with my flute and make them sleep and hand them over to her!" Lucy stood up as fast as she could. Trouble, T-R-O-U-B-L-E. She had to get out of there.
"But you haven't," she said slowly moving to the door, "You've told me."
"But if I don't, I'm sure she'll find out!" he said with a rather paniced voice. Lucy had a hard time not to panic herself. Be cool, Lu, the last thing we need here is panic, she told herself, "She'll have my tail cut off, and my horns sawn off, and my beard plucked out," he was in a state of frustration and mere panic. Lucy took a few deep breaths and moved closer to the door, ready to run whenever he decided he wanted to hand her over to that Witch anyway. But mr Tumnus just mumbled on about his fate when the White Witch would find out, "-and if she's extra and specially angry with me, she'll turn me into stone."
Lucy had almost reached the door.
"I'm sorry," Lucy said as politely as she could, "I am sorry, but please let me go home!"
For a minute mr Tumnus looked as if he was going to attack her. Then he sighed.
"Well, ofcourse I will," He stood up and walked to Lucy, who was completely thrown off by this acute change of mind, "I must, I see that now. I didn't know what humans were like before I met you. Now that I know you... Ofcourse I can't give you up to the Witch!"
Lucy sighed deeply and layed a relieved hand on mr Tumnus' hairy arm.
"But we must be off at once!" he said, "I'll bring you back to the lamppost, and I hope that you can find your own way from there. Back to err, Sparer Oom and err – what was it? – War-Drobe?"
Lucy nodded and smiled.
"I think I can," she said, and they went outside. It had stopped snowing.
"We must go very quietly," mr Tumnus said softly, "The whole wood is full of her spies. Even some of the trees are on her side. Come."
And so they went back to the lamppost. It was shining bright and yellow against the pitch black nightsky, and it made the snow on the branches glitter.
"Daughter of Eve, are you sure you can find your way from here?" mr Tumnus asked. Lucy looked behind her. She could see the inside of the wardrobe.
"I think I can see the wardrobe door," she said.
"Then be off to home as quick as you can," mr Tumnus whispered, "And – can you ever forgive me for what I was going to do?" Lucy nodded.
"Yes I can. You won't be getting in trouble on my account?"
"No, no, certainly not," mr Tumnus said, while straightening his back and smiling at her, "Farewell, daughter of Eve. May I keep the handkerchief?"
"Ofcourse," Lucy laughed, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye," mr Tumnus said. Lucy turned around and started running throught the bushes, back to the wardrobe.
"Peter, we need to talk," Susan said to Peter. Peter ignored her again, and turned to Edmund and Lucy. Susan got pretty tired of Peter ignoring her, and right now, there was nothing she wanted more that punch him in the face. What did she do to him anyway? He asked her if she ever thought of him 'different', and she just told him the truth. The truth is no crime, right?
"There's nothing here, let's go on," Peter said. They went back to the attic. Edmund saw a painting of a man with a huge mustache, and immediatly ran up to it.
"You must stop ignoring me," Susan whispered annoyed. Peter was just about to say something when Lucy stormed in.
"I'm back! I'm back! I've come back!" she yelled, "It's allright, I'm back."
"Back? What are you talking about?" Susan asked, and she looked at Peter. He was just as surprised as she.
"Haven't you all been wondering where I was?" Lucy asked. Is this some kind of joke, she thought.
"You've been hiding?" Peter asked, "Poor old Lu, nobody even noticed!" Edmund and Peter laughed. Lucy didn't understand. She had been away for at least half the day, and nobody had noticed?
"I've been away for hours!" she said to Susan.
"She's crazy," Edmund told Peter.
"But, it was just after breakfast when I went into the wardrobe. I was there for hours and I had tea-"
"Don't be silly, Lucy. We've only just came out of that room a moment ago," Susan said, throwing a look at Peter and Edmund who were making fun of the little girl, "You can't have been in there more than a few seconds."
She threw Peter a look that told him he and Edmund had to stop laughing at Lucy. He winked at her and smiled a little naughty. What the- is he flirting with me, Susan asked herself. This was weird. He still felt like her big brother, but he also felt like 'just-a-friend' and at some other side as a complete stranger. Now, Susan had always liked strangers.
"She's just making the story up for fun, aren't you, Lu?" Peter said to the little girl.
"No - I'm - not!" Lucy got frustrated, "It's magic! It's a magic wardrobe. There's a wood inside it, and it's snowing. And there's a Faun in there who I had tea with. And a Witch! And the place is called Narnia. Come and see!"
"Had tea with a WHAT?" Edmund said amused, and he laughed at her in her face. Lucy felt hurt. Susan threw Peter a look for moral help.
"Let's take a look," he said. Edmund agreed silently (at 'let's' Peter had punched Edmund in his ribs with his elbow), and they walked back to the wardrobe. Lucy opened it.
"Now, go and see for yourselves," she said. Peter and Susan went in, and Lucy resisted the urge to lock them up in there. Maybe she would have done it if Edmund was going to, but he stayed out to tease her.
Susan sighed. It was really a huge, dark wardrobe, but she couldn't see a forest. Outside they heard Edmund making fun of Lucy again. Then suddenly, among the soft feeling of fur, Susan felt Peter's warm breath against her skin. His soft lips were in the back of her neck. Susan shivered, she liked that pleasant stranger Peter had turned into.
"I'm sorry for ignoring you," he whispered.
"Forgiven," Susan replied.
"Good," was the answer. So they walked further, all the way back. And then, behind the last row of nice, soft furcoats...