A/N: I don't know if C.S. Lewis had conventions for naming his creatures. I had to come up with names for two dwarfs and a dryad in this chapter, so I did my best. And if you're wondering if they'll ever go on their adventure…yes! Just not yet!
Chapter 3
The Market
Tumnus was quiet as they walked toward the market. He would briefly reply to Lucy's exclamations that a certain tree was perfectly lovely, or that she was so excited to be on holiday, but his thoughts were focused inward. He was trying to think of a way to keep Lucy from going to Terebinthia, without being obvious about it. He wanted her to have fun…but even more, he wanted her to be safe.
Lucy called his attention back to her with a tug on his arm. "Where are you, Mr. Tumnus?" she teased. There was that "mister" again.
"I have much on my mind," he replied gravely. "A faun's life is not all fun and games."
Lucy laughed. "That's not what you said yesterday."
Tumnus smiled. "Let me correct myself. A faun's life is not all fun and games when his young queen decides to run away from home and go to Terebinthia." He raised his eyebrows at Lucy, and she stuck her tongue out at him. They laughed.
"There's nothing to worry about," Lucy said. "We'll have a great time."
"But neither of us know much about Terebinthia," Tumnus protested. "We don't know what dangers there might be. And if you're bent on stowing away instead of buying passage on a boat, you can't bring Hwey to carry you quickly to safety if there's a problem." He shook his head. "It's not a good idea to go like this."
Lucy sighed. "You sound just like Peter. He wouldn't want me to go, either. He's always been overprotective."
"He cares about you," said Tumnus. "And I…I also care about you." It had been a long time since he'd said that to her. But she took the statement in stride.
"I know. But I'm not a child anymore!"
"But you are a queen, which makes you a target for anyone wishing to do harm to Narnia. And there are many strong creatures that could overpower you, if they wished. And if some of them came in a group—"
Lucy whirled around to face him, eyes blazing. "Enough!" she said. Tumnus was shocked. Lucy had never spoken to him that way. "I am aware that there is potential danger out there. But I'm not going to hide in the castle all my life for fear of what might happen if I go out."
"Well, no, you—"
"I thought you were my friend, not my guardian."
"Can I not be both?"
"Not today!"
It hurt Tumnus to see Lucy glare at him so. He didn't have the heart to argue any further. He nodded slowly. "As you wish, my lady." Tears began to form in his eyes. And, to his surprise, in Lucy's, also. Her lip trembled; she let out a sob, and threw her arms around Tumnus' middle.
"I'm sorry," she said against his shoulder. "I didn't mean to yell at you."
Tumnus couldn't speak for a moment because of the great lump in his throat. A sob escaped him as well, and he clung to Lucy. When he could, he whispered, "It's okay. I forgive you." Lucy continued to weep for a little longer. Tumnus could feel her tears running down his chest. He stroked her hair and made quiet, comforting noises. Soon she let go of him and found her handkerchief. "Which of us needs this more?" she muttered with a small smile. Tumnus giggled, then Lucy joined in, and soon they were both laughing so hard that more tears joined the first ones.
At last they calmed down and made themselves presentable, then continued to the market.
Queen Lucy was known and loved by almost every creature in Narnia. As they approached the market, animals and people of many species recognized her and bowed, smiling. A few young ones sidled up in a group and shyly handed her some flowers. She thanked them and kissed each one on the head. Tumnus could see, on her face and in her actions, that she loved the people of Narnia as much as they loved her. He felt proud and humble to be walking beside her.
Many of the creatures wanted to speak to Lucy, to introduce themselves, or talk about their families, or give compliments to the kings and queens. After a few minutes, Tumnus realized he'd better do his shopping alone if he wanted to get it done at all. He didn't bother to get her attention first, since she was focused on meeting a female badger and her seven little ones, but he made sure he stayed within sight, in case she looked for him.
His thoughts went back to the problem of preventing Lucy from going to Terebinthia. Obviously the direct approach hadn't worked, but he didn't want to do anything underhanded, either. Then, an idea flashed into his mind. Camping! If they walked across Narnia and spent the night under the stars instead of riding pell-mell to the port that afternoon, perhaps Lucy would be satisfied, or her family would find them, before they left familiar land. Tumnus was very pleased with this idea. It had come to him like a gift from the Lion. Or it could have something to do with the fact that he had been unconsciously staring at an outdoor cooking kit for several minutes. Either way, it seemed likely to do the trick. And if not, perhaps Hwey could think of something. Tumnus continued his shopping.
He was trying to select a cheese when he heard an angry male voice. His first thought was for Lucy's safety. Where was she? There! And the owner of the voice was yelling at her!
Tumnus raced over, ready to defend his queen with fists and hooves. But as he reached her side, she turned and smiled at him. "Ah, there you are!" she said calmly. "Mr. Bloffin here," she indicated the angry dwarf, "was just telling me about a situation that has come up."
"Just come over here and look!" Mr. Bloffin exclaimed. Tumnus wondered what was going on. Mr. Bloffin took them to a table where several beautiful swords were displayed for sale. Mr. Bloffin drew a sword from the scabbard on his belt, which didn't seem to alarm anyone but Tumnus. The dwarf laid the sword on the table. "Now compare this sword to that middle one," he said. Tumnus examined them and saw that the design was almost identical, although Mr. Bloffin's sword seemed to be slightly better crafted.
"I see your point," said Lucy. "Where is this merchant?"
"Probably run off, the coward," said Mr. Bloffin. But then another dwarf approached them, looking nervous, and prodded along by a faun.
"Mr. Tollut?" Lucy asked. The new dwarf nodded, not looking her in the eye. "Mr. Bloffin believes that you are copying his sword designs without his permission," Lucy said. Her voice held no accusation. "What do you say?"
Mr. Tollut wrung his beard silently for a moment. He looked into Lucy's eyes and lost whatever resolve he might have had. "I can't lie to ya!" he said. "I used his designs for some of my swords. But that doesn't mean he should get all the profits from 'em! I worked hard to make those swords, even if I didn't design 'em!"
Lucy nodded. "I understand, and I agree with you. But you mustn't copy someone else's work and pass it off as your own. You will give him one-third of the profits from selling the swords that are his design. And any swords you make in the future will be of your design, or you will get permission to use someone else's design." Mr. Tollut nodded glumly. "I have spoken," Lucy finished.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Mr. Bloffin.
Mr. Tollut still looked glum, but he managed a "Good day, Your Majesty" before going inside his merchant tent.
"Well-handled, Your Majesty," said Tumnus softly, smiling at her.
Lucy smiled. "I enjoy helping my people like this—being among them, working with them. Not sitting in the castle writing up legal documents."
"You have a gift for it," Tumnus agreed. "Do the others realize that?"
"They should, I'm their sister," said Lucy.
"Perhaps they haven't thought about how you can make the best use of your gifts."
Lucy nodded. "Perhaps. I can talk to them about it."
"Does that mean you're heading back to Cair Paravel?" asked Tumnus. He tried not to sound hopeful, but failed. Lucy gave him an exasperated look.
"Not right away." She shook her finger at him, smiling. "You're trying to avoid an adventure, Mr. Tumnus!"
Tumnus pretended to be ashamed of himself. "Well, it was worth an attempt. But if I must go, I need to finish my shopping."
Most of the creatures who wanted to speak to Lucy had done so by this time, so she was free to walk around with Tumnus. She told him about some of the conversations she'd had, and he was pleased to hear the happiness in her voice. "There was one odd little fellow, though," she said. "A rabbit. He came up to me and said, 'Beware the evil lurking in Narnia!' And then he hobbled off. I asked the others what that was about, but they said the poor thing's a little off in the head." She laughed. "I suppose, to a rabbit, a great evil would be a shortage of vegetables."
"The others didn't know what he was talking about?" asked Tumnus.
"No. They just seemed a little embarrassed about him. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
Tumnus knew which rabbit she was referring to. He was an elderly chap, and known for saying things that made no sense. The last time Tumnus had greeted him, the rabbit had asked how his son, the badger, was doing. Lucy was probably right; it wasn't anything to worry about.
They finally made their way to the cheese merchant's tent. As the merchant was wrapping up their selection, a pretty dryad whom Tumnus knew quite well approached them.
"Tumnus!" she cooed, stroking his arm. "How delightful to see you!" Then she realized who was standing next to him. She bowed prettily. "Your Majesty. It is an honor to have you visit us."
"I am very much enjoying it," replied Lucy, but her tone didn't match her words. Tumnus looked at her and saw that she was frowning a bit. He was about to ask if she was all right when the dryad began speaking again.
"Tumnus, do you think we'll have time for another gathering before the snow comes? I really can't decide who's the better dancer, you or the faun Rinnulus!"
Tumnus laughed. "Nonsense, Rhianna! You know I'm the better one! I danced with you five hours without stopping that night, and I know Rinnulus can't make it past three and a half." Tumnus heard a small odd noise from Lucy's direction, but he was too interested to hear the dryad's response to find out what it meant. The dryad looked at Lucy, though, and began to laugh. Then Lucy also began to laugh. Tumnus looked back and forth between them, bewildered.
"What's so funny?" he asked. This only made them laugh harder. Tumnus felt very uncomfortable. "Are…are you laughing at me?" he asked. They laughed even harder. "Stop that!" he cried. They didn't stop. The dryad began to make strange gasping noises as she tried to catch her breath, and Lucy lost her balance and staggered into a table. The poor faun was overwhelmed by this. "What in…? I don't know what's going on…but I'm going home!" he said, and took his cheese. After a few seconds, Lucy caught up with him, calming down at last. Tumnus waited until she was no longer breathing heavily, and said, "Dare I ask what that was about?" He was feeling rather testy about it by this point.
Lucy patted his arm. "My dear Mr. Tumnus, that was most unlike you." She deepened her voice to imitate his. "Nonsense, Rhianna! You know I'm the better one!" Then she started giggling again. Tumnus felt rather offended.
"She is a dryad. I am a faun. That is what we do," he said, trying to sound dignified.
"Hmm, all right," said Lucy, but she was still grinning. Tumnus decided the best course would be to change the subject.
"I have an idea that might…add to your adventure," he offered.
"Oh? What's that?"
"I thought…it's been a while since I've spent the night outdoors. And this is the perfect time of year for it. And I thought you might enjoy it, if…I don't know if you like that sort of thing, but—"
"It sounds lovely," said Lucy. "But I don't know if it's safe to sleep outdoors in Terebinthia. If you want to do that, we'd better stay in Narnia overnight and press on tomorrow."
"An excellent idea," said Tumnus. He could barely keep himself from skipping. His plan had worked! "I know a great spot, several miles to the north."
"I think we'd better move more to the east, to be close to the port in the morning," said Lucy.
"Oh, but, this spot I know, it was where my father took me camping when I was very small. I…I'd like to share it with you." This was true. Tumnus had thought of taking Lucy there for a long time, but there had never been a good opportunity.
"Oh, I see," said Lucy softly. "I would be honored to stay there. Hwey can get us there in only a few minutes, I'm sure."
Tumnus frowned. "I'd rather walk, if you don't mind." This was also true. Tumnus had never gotten a taste for riding horses. "The journey there is part of the fun."
Lucy smiled indulgently. "If you insist."
They soon arrived at Tumnus' home. Lucy was fairly dancing with excitement. "I'll gather the supplies," said Tumnus. "It will only take a few minutes, and then we'll be off."