A/N: I'm sorry for the long, long delay! If you have been waiting to read this, I appreciate you not giving up on me!

Chapter 5

The Adventure

"Lucy! Get on!" Hwey hissed. Lucy obeyed immediately. She was barely in the saddle before Hwey took off at full speed.

"Wait! Tumnus!" yelled Lucy. But the mare didn't stop.

"After her!" yelled the centaur. For one crazy moment, Tumnus thought he was talking to him, but then he saw several other centaurs emerge from the woods in pursuit. One grabbed him roughly from behind and tied his hands behind his back. The head centaur moved to stand directly in front of Tumnus. "And who are you?" he asked with a sneer. "Her…bodyguard?" He and the one holding Tumnus laughed, and Tumnus flushed, painfully aware of his small stature compared to the size and strength of the centaurs. But he would be brave, for Lucy's sake.

"I am her friend. I doubt you've ever had one."

The head centaur snorted, and Tumnus received a quick kick in the back of his leg from his captor. He had to struggle to remain standing. Even so, he knew the creature could have easily crippled him, and this kick was just a warning. "You will not speak to your future king in that way, faun," said his captor.

Tumnus was about to spit back a reply, but he realized that backtalk would only get him beaten. If he was going to be of any use, he needed to avoid that. So he settled for standing up straight and looking defiantly at the centaur, hoping that Lucy and Hwey had escaped.

Unfortunately, they hadn't. Hwey was quick, but not quicker than all the centaurs. They brought her back, neighing and bucking, but unable to escape the ropes around her neck. And Lucy—oh the indignity of it!—was being carried over the shoulder of another centaur, her hands bound behind her back. Tumnus jerked against his own bonds, and stamped his hooves, but this only made his captor laugh.

Lucy was not taking this peacefully, either. "You will heartily regret this, I guarantee you!" she yelled. "Have you forgotten how the army of Narnia defeated the White Witch and all her minions? What makes you think your little band of rebels has any chance?"

"Well, we have you, don't we? That gives us some bargaining power," said the leader. "And the White Witch was defeated by Aslan, who hasn't been seen around here in a while." He leaned close to her face and grinned nastily. "I'm really not worried, sweetheart." Then he unbuckled and removed the belt that held her dagger's sheath. The centaur who was holding her handed over the dagger, and the leader used it to cut a handful of hair from Lucy's head. She yelped and Tumnus fought against his bonds again. The centaur holding him hit him on the side of the head, and Tumnus' vision went black for a second. He had to struggle to remain standing.

The leader tied the hair around the dagger belt and signaled to an eagle. "Take this to Cair Paravel," he said, giving the bird a scroll as well. "Tell the king that unless he agrees to our demands, it will not go well for his sister." The eagle nodded and took off.

"Now, boys, let's make camp! Our plan is going very well. I think we deserve to celebrate."

"What of the faun and the horse?" asked one of the centaurs.

"Tie the horse over there," said the leader. "I may find some use for her later. As for the faun…do what you like."

"If any harm comes to the faun, I promise you will receive no mercy!" cried Lucy.

The leader laughed. "We don't need mercy," he said. "We have you." He took Lucy from the other centaur and tied a short rope around her, then tied the other end to his belt. "I have become very fond of you in the short time I've known you," he said mockingly. "I must keep you close."

"You animal," growled Lucy.

The centaur leader snarled and smacked her across the face. "No backtalk, my queen," he said.

Tumnus let out a yell and pulled against his bonds, determined to fight this monster who would dare to harm his Lucy. His captor jerked him back, and Tumnus kicked out behind him, coming in contact with the centaur's knee. There was a snap! and the centaur groaned. He punched Tumnus in the head again, this time knocking the faun to the ground. Tumnus looked up to see a hoof raised over his ribs. He knew this was the end. He heard Lucy scream, "No! Tumnus!" The hoof came down. Pain exploded through his body. Then all went black.

There was something rustling. Someone whispering. And pain. Oh, the pain! Every breath hurt. He needed to stop breathing.

"I think he's coming around!" whispered someone. Something small patted his face. "Faun! Faun! Wake up!"

"Am I dead?" whispered Tumnus.

"No! Of course not!" whispered the voice. Tumnus managed to open his eyes. In the moonlight coming through the trees he could see that he was talking to a rabbit. "Hold still," said the rabbit. "My husband's just about got the ropes chewed through. Do you think you can walk?"

"I can try," said Tumnus, though he felt very unsure about the idea.

"Good," said the rabbit. "We need you to untie the horse so she can go for help. There's a village of centaurs about ten miles from here--good centaurs--who can fight these rebels better than any of the rest of us."

Tumnus felt the ropes around his wrists come loose, and he slowly sat up, fighting back a moan. "Lucy," he said. "Where is she?"

"In the tent with the leader," said Mr. Rabbit. "Don't worry, she is unhurt. But I don't think we could free her without waking everyone up. I think they all passed out from drinking, but still…we shouldn't risk it. Now quickly, untie the horse."

Tumnus stood up, feeling nauseous, and staggered. "Careful there!" whispered one of the rabbits. He slowly made his way to where Hwey was tied up.

"Thank goodness!" she said when she saw him. "I was afraid they'd killed you."

"So was I," said Tumnus.

"Can you untie this rope?" asked Hwey. "I couldn't get my head around far enough to chew through it."

Tumnus pulled at the knot, but it was tight, and he was weak from the pain. After a few seconds, the frustrated Mr. Rabbit said, "Lift me up, I'll do it." Tumnus gingerly bent down and picked up the rabbit, who had the rope cut in two minutes. "Boy, my teeth are going to be sore in the morning," he grumbled.

Mrs. Rabbit gave Hwey directions to the centaur village, and she took off, her hooves muffled by the wet leaves. "Now you, faun, come with us," said Mr. Rabbit. "If any of them wake up, it would be no good for you."

"But Lucy…" said Tumnus.

"We cannot help her now!" said Mr. Rabbit. "When the other centaurs come, they will free her. And I'm sure someone will send word to the castle, as well. The best we can do is wait."

"But I can't leave her," said Tumnus. "I love her."

Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit exchanged a look. "We all do," said Mrs. Rabbit. "She is our queen. But look at yourself! You can barely stand. What do you think you can do for her?"

"I don't know," said Tumnus. "But I'm not leaving."

Mr. Rabbit let out a sigh. "Would you at least hide yourself?" he asked. "There's a thicket just over there. You can keep watch without being seen."

"Very well," said Tumnus.

"I will stay with him," said Mr. Rabbit. "You go gather the neighbors. If anything happens before the centaurs arrive…maybe we can do something." Mrs. Rabbit nodded and hurried off.

Mr. Rabbit and Tumnus concealed themselves in the thicket. Immediately, Tumnus began gathering all the stones he could find into a pile. "What do you think you're going to accomplish with those?" asked Mr. Rabbit.

"If Mrs. Rabbit were in trouble, would you just sit down and wait for someone else to rescue her?" asked Tumnus.

Mr. Rabbit sighed. "No. I guess not."

"Then leave me alone."

The rebel centaurs had indeed drunken themselves into a stupor, and consequently did not wake up until they were being attacked. The good centaurs had the initial advantage, with the element of surprise, but the rebels were strong fighters, and desperate. They quickly showed themselves to be a match for their attackers. The leader tried to flee with Lucy, but he was quickly chased down. One of the good centaurs took Lucy carefully in his arms and ran with her toward his village.

"Lucy!" cried Tumnus.

"Don't worry, she will be safe now," said Mr. Rabbit. "Provided that these rebels are defeated."

Tumnus tried to aid the fight with his pile of stones, but his injury made his throw weak, and the stones were not big enough to do more than annoy anyone. He buried his face in his hands, sinking back down in the thicket. "Stupid faun," he muttered. "Why did I go along with her on this 'adventure'? Why didn't I make her go home?"

"Ah, don't be too hard on yourself," said Mr. Rabbit with a chuckle. "Who could ever make a woman do anything?"

The battle went on for some time, but eventually the rebels were defeated. Those who still lived were tied up and made to lay on the ground. "Now we will wait for the Kings and Queens to decide what to do with you," said the leader of the good centaurs.

Hwey had been quick to head toward Cair Paravel after talking to the centaurs at the village. In fact, Peter and Edmund had already ridden out with a small army, having received the eagle's message and deciding that they would definitely not agree to his demands. Hwey met them a couple of miles from the castle and led them to the rebels' campsite. When they arrived, the kings told their army to take the rebels into custody, and they were escorted back to the castle prison.

"But where is Queen Lucy?" asked King Peter.

"Here I am." Lucy was riding toward them on the back of the centaur who had carried her to safety earlier.

"She threatened to put me in jail if I didn't bring her back immediately," he told the kings with a small smile. "Something about a faun. I brought her back as soon as I got word that the rebels were defeated."

Lucy dismounted. "Tumnus? Tumnus!" she called, looking around.

Tumnus stood up and came out of the thicket, embarrassed to be hiding. "Here I am."

Lucy turned and saw him, and her face lit up with joy. "Tumnus!" She ran to him and hugged him tightly. Tumnus tried to stifle his cry of pain, but was not quite successful. Lucy pulled back, eyes wide. "You're hurt! I'm so sorry, I forgot...Edmund! Where's my cordial?"

Edmund dug the crystal bottle out of a saddlebag and brought it over. "Tumnus," he said. "Thank you for your help."

Tumnus shook his head. "I'm afraid I didn't do anything, Your Majesty."

"Nonsense," said Mr. Rabbit. "He's the most loyal subject there is, by my reckoning. He refused to leave the queen, even though he was helpless."

Tumnus scowled at this, but then Lucy's grateful face made him smile.

Edmund laid a hand on Tumnus' shoulder. "Then we would love to have you come stay at Cair Paravel as an honored guest. Take some time to recover from your...adventure."

Tumnus smiled and nodded. "I'll consider it. Thank you, Your Majesty." Edmund wandered off and Tumnus turned his attention back to Lucy. "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?" he asked.

"I'm fine," said Lucy impatiently. "You're the one who's hurt. Now, hold your arm up a bit." Lucy dipped her finger in the cordial and smoothed it gently across Tumnus' side. At first, Tumnus could only feel the pain of his injury. But Lucy applied the cordial two more times before she was satisfied with his healing, and on the third application he was very aware of her fingers on his skin. His breath caught, and he hoped she wouldn't notice the goose bumps that had suddenly appeared on his arms. Lucy put the stopper in the bottle and wrapped it up in a cloth. "All better?" she asked him.

Tumnus nodded. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her.

Lucy laughed. "Yes! Did you not believe me the first time?"

"It's just..." Tumnus took her hand in his. "I was so afraid for you. I kept thinking they would do something horrible to you." A lump came into his throat. "And I just couldn't bear it if--" He couldn't go on. A tear ran down his cheek.

"Hey, hey," said Lucy soothingly. She stroked his face. "Don't think like that. They barely touched me. I'm fine." She smiled. "Tired, but fine."

Tumnus nodded, and tried to smile. Lucy grinned and threw her arms around him once more. Tumnus was happy to return the hug this time. They held each other for long seconds. When Lucy pulled back, they locked gazes, eyes mirroring the other's happiness and relief. And then, without a thought, Tumnus kissed her.

As soon as he had done it, he had plenty of thoughts, from "What an idiotic thing to do!" to "Finally!" to "What will she think of me?" As the thoughts vyed for primacy, Tumnus looked at Lucy with his mouth hanging open, apology in his eyes. In Lucy's eyes he saw surprise, confusion, but also...was she pleased? She didn't seem angry, at least not yet. Tumnus stepped back a little and waited for her to speak.

"Lucy! Are you ready to go?" Edmund was calling.

Lucy looked to the rest of the party, who had packed up and mounted, then back to Tumnus. "Drat," she muttered. "You will come to Cair Paravel for a visit, as Edmund suggested?" she asked Tumnus. He hesistated. "Please?"

Tumnus nodded. "I'll be there tomorrow."

Lucy smiled. "Until then." She brushed her fingers along his arm. "Take care of yourself." She turned and almost ran to Hwey, not looking back.

"Mr. Tumnus." The voice near his ear broke Tumnus out of his reverie. He turned to see King Peter, who looked rather angry. "Did Lucy not tell you that she is engaged to be married?"

A/N: Okay, you probably hate me for that ending. There is a sequel to this story. It is called "Give Me One Reason," after the Tracy Chapman song, which could give you an idea of the plot. (See my profile to find it.) And I will try not to take so long to finish it as I took for this chapter!