TWO OF A KIND
Here we are again! As my birthday was yesterday, this marks my first written piece at my new age. Just so you know, I'm now 22. (Dang, I'm getting old! I've almost reached a quarter of a century!) My birthday was kind of quiet and not very eventful. Still, you're not 22 every day. And while the day itself may be over, the celebrations continue to go on!
Characters (excluding Terence) © C.S. Lewis and Disney/Walden Media
Terence and Story © unicorn-skydancer08
Song © Annie Lennox
All rights reserved.
Chapter 6
By then, Tumnus had essentially cried himself out. He never would have realized it was possible to have wept this much, especially in the space of one day. He felt completely worn out, as if someone had opened a spigot in him and drained him. In the warmth of Terence's arms, the faun found himself beginning to slowly nod off.
Terence could tell his friend was exhausted, and so he quietly helped Tumnus to his hooves, letting the faun lean against his shoulder for support.
Without a word, he guided his companion to the bed, and obligingly pulled back the covers himself when they reached it. Tumnus was only half-aware of Terence laying him down gently on the feather-soft mattress, which was heaven to his weak and aching body. Terence tucked the faun in like a child, and even covered him with an extra blanket and adjusted one of the pillows to make sure Tumnus would be comfortable. After he had done this, he tenderly smoothed back the faun's curly hair some, before he turned to leave.
Before he'd taken two steps, however, Tumnus said thickly, "Terence."
Immediately, Terence stopped and gave his mate his full attention. "What?"
Holding out a hand beseechingly to the youth, Tumnus implored, "Please stay. Don't leave me alone. Will you stay, Terence? Please?"
Terence smiled, a look of brotherly tenderness emanating from his eyes.
"All right," he said softly, as he took Tumnus's outstretched hand. "You talked me into it, mate."
Luckily, there was another chair available, near the bed, so Terence drew it up just a little further before he eased himself into it, so that he was next to Tumnus's head.
There, he sat very quietly, his hand still clasping Tumnus's, while Tumnus felt himself sink into the soft depths of sleep. At length, Terence began to sing to him. The youth had a superb voice, somewhere in the high range, enhanced by his lilting accent. The song that he gently crooned as he kept Tumnus company was rather simple, but overpoweringly sweet:
"Lay down your sweet and weary head,
Night is falling; you have come to journey's end
Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before
They are calling from across a distant shore.
"Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away.
Safe in my arms,
You're only sleeping.
"What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea, a pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home.
"And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass—
"Hope fades into the world of night,
Through shadows falling out of memory and time.
Don't say we have come now to the end
White shores are calling; you and I will meet again.
"And you'll be here in my arms,
Just sleeping.
"What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea, a pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home.
"And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
Gray ships pass
Into the west."
Tumnus was already lost in sleep by the time Terence reached the end. The faun's eyes were closed, his breathing slow, deep, and even.
Even so, Terence stayed with him.
When Tumnus came around some hours later and woke up, he did not open his eyes right away. Though he could sense it was morning, he still kept his eyes closed. It was all a dream, he thought. Terence coming back to me, in the form of a man, was nothing more than a wishful fantasy. He could feel someone's hand on his, and figured Lucy, Susan, or somebody else must have kept watch over him. His heart sank like a stone; he knew it was too good to be true, seeing Terence again and all that.
He'd dreamed of Terence many times before, but if actually meeting with his old mate had all been a trick, a false impression…he would surely die on the spot.
However, when Tumnus did ultimately find the courage to open his eyes, he saw none other than Terence himself, in his human shape, sleeping peacefully in the chair next to him. The youth's head tilted slightly to one side, and his hand, though its grip had loosened, still covered Tumnus's protectively. At first, Tumnus was surprised.
Then, for the first time in ages, pure joy swelled up within him, like a balloon.
So, it was true, after all!
Terence was alive and well, and he truly had come back. Tumnus nearly pinched himself, just to be sure that he was awake, that this was the real thing.
At that moment, Terence began to stir. The young man let out a faint yawn as he shifted his position on the chair, and he lifted both his hands to his face and kneaded his eyes tiredly. When he dropped his hands a minute later, he still looked significantly drowsy, but a genuine smile graced his lips when he saw Tumnus.
"Well, hello, Tumnus," he greeted the faun good-naturedly. "It's about time you joined the world of the living."
"How long have I been asleep?" Tumnus asked. Slowly, he struggled to a sitting position, causing his blankets to fall into a heap in his lap.
"Long enough," said Terence, noting the flood of golden light streaming in through the window.
Tumnus estimated it must be at least seven o' clock in the morning, perhaps a quarter past that. That meant he had to have slept for nearly twelve hours.
"Believe me, mate," Terence said, "when you sleep, you sleep like a rock. I doubt a blast of thunder would have woken you up."
"And you stayed with me the whole time?"
"Of course. You didn't think I'd simply take off and leave you in your condition, did you?"
Touched, a smile spread over Tumnus's face, and though he did not weep, at least the way he'd wept before, his eyes still brimmed with moisture.
"Oh, Terence," was all he could find to say, a catch in his voice.
Indeed, only a real friend would have done what Terence had done.
"Now, you're not going to get all syrupy on me again, are you?" Terence half-teased. "You keep this up for much longer, and you're going to drown the whole castle."
Tumnus laughed, heartily and vigorously, the first time he'd done so in longer than he could remember. "Perish the thought," he chuckled thickly, as he dabbed at his eyes.
Terence stood up and stretched, feeling rather stiff, which was typical for someone who'd spent the whole night in a chair. Tumnus eased out of bed and stood on his own hooves, feeling a great deal better than he had in ages. He felt relieved, revitalized, and, surprisingly, hungry. His appetite had come back, full force, and he felt he could eat a griffin.
"I hope you weren't bored to death, Terence," he said, "keeping an eye on me all night."
"You snore," Terence replied, an amused twinkle in his eyes. "And you talk in your sleep."
"Really?" Tumnus wasn't sure whether to believe this or not. "What do I say?"
Terence stroked his beard. "Ah, nothing of great importance. Just how lovely you think Lucy is, as well as how great and wonderful you think I am, and how you wish you were more like me…"
"You big liar! I never said anything of the kind!"
"How would you know?" said Terence slyly. "You've never actually heard yourself converse in your sleep, have you, mate?"
Tumnus narrowed his eyes and leveled off his ears in annoyance, but then he couldn't help himself, and broke into another laugh.
"Well," he smiled, "I can certainly see you have not lost your wit, Terence."
Terence grinned back. It felt wonderful to gibe with each other again.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door. "Tumnus?" Lucy's concerned voice called from the other side. "Terence? Is everything all right in there?"
"Everything is fine, Lucy," Tumnus called back. Upon saying this, he knew it with all his heart to be true.
"It's nearly the breakfast hour," Lucy informed them. "Will you be able to join us?"
"Don't worry," Terence answered her, "we'll be out shortly." He turned to his mate, and said, "What do you say, Tumnus? You in the mood for eating?"
"Yes, I am," Tumnus admitted. "Quite famished, really."
Terence could tell from the sight of the faun that he hadn't eaten properly in the last few days. Having traveled a long distance, the young man was feeling rather ravenous himself.
"But I think it'd be a good idea to freshen up a bit, first," said Tumnus, raking his fingers somewhat ruefully through his mop of hair.
"Oh, yes, that's a very good idea," said Terence, with a not-so-subtle hint of shrewdness, and Tumnus gave the boy a shove.
"You imp!" Tumnus chided. His tone was stern, but his eyes, which until now had resembled poorly lit tunnels, were all but aglow.