Chapter Twelve
The water dripped down the walls while the centaur guards stood near the stone circle and a rat scampered along the wooden beam on the ceiling. The door opened as Peter and the others walked down the stairs then walked to the stone circle and the centaur guards snapped to attention. Tumnus slowly nodded his head as he slowly walked to the metal grate when he looked down and could barely see the fauns sitting on the floor. The smell coming from the darkness made him back up as he covered his nose then he moved back to the stone circle, looking down at the fauns.
"Hello," Tumnus said while placing his hands behind his back and the growling echoed in the darkness.
"What do you want, Traitor?" one of the fauns shouted.
"I need to ask you something. Why am I a coward? It is true that I am not a fighter, but I will fight if the need arises. Why am I a traitor? If so, who did I betray? Was it the fauns? I have been traveling and all the fauns I have met think me a hero. Is it the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve? If that were true, I would be down there with you or had been executed years ago. Was it Aslan? He told me that if there was any evil in me that he wouldn't have brought me back to life after I was turned into a statue. Have I betrayed the beings or creatures of Narnia? If that were true, no one would want anything to do with me. So, again, who did I betray?" Tumnus asked while Peter, Susan. Lucy, Edmund, Arayna, Tilnus and Tinkleberry walked closer and stood next to Tumnus.
"You have betrayed her!" one of the faun shouted as Tumnus sighed and looked down at his hooves.
"Who is he talking about?" Peter asked.
"Well, um, I think I know. He's talking about Jadis," Tumnus said as their eyes widened and Tilnus' mouth fell open. "Well, it makes sense. I didn't do what she wanted. I didn't give her..."
Tumnus looked at Lucy then looked down as Lucy walked closer and hugged him. He softly smiled at her then placed his arm around her and looked down at the fauns.
"Then that means I am a coward and a traitor as well," Edmund said as he looked down at the fauns and a look of anger filled his eyes. "If you want to kill Mister Tumnus for what he did, does that mean you wish to kill me as well?"
"No, you are a Son of Adam!" the faun shouted while the other fauns voiced the same opinion and Edmund sighed, shaking his head.
"And I was the one who informed Jadis where my brother and sisters were. I even told her about Mister Tumnus and that it was he who let Lucy go," Edmund said when he felt Tumnus' hand on his shoulder and Edmund looked at him then back at the fauns, "So, again, shouldn't I be punished for my part in his capture and for Aslan surrendering himself to her?"
"No!" the female faun shouted from the iron cage as Edmund looked her then looked down at the fauns, placing his hands behind his back.
"Then I think you should rethink what you believe Mister Tumnus is. If he had turned my sister over to Jadis then it would still be winter and we, my sisters, brother and I, would be dead," Edmund said as the fauns became silent and Tumnus smiled, patting Edmund's shoulder.
"I still don't understand why you not turning me over to Jadis would make them brand you a coward and a traitor," Lucy said.
"Remember when I told you that there were those in Narnia that worked for her?" Tumnus asked and she nodded her head. "Well, these fauns were working for Jadis."
"Is this true?" Oreius asked as the female faun lowered her head and he walked to the stone circle, looking down at the fauns.
"Yes!" one of the fauns shouted while Lucy gasped and Tilnus balled his hands into fists. Suddenly the white orb sailed into the air as they backed away from the stone circle and headed for the stairs. The white light swirling under the glass turned blood red as a low moaning sound filled the air and the blood red light grew brighter.
"Cover your eyes!" Peter shouted as they covered their eyes and the blood red light flared while the screams of the fauns filled their ears. After the blood red light faded, they uncovered their eyes and blinked their eyes a few times. The iron cage was empty as a fine dust settled on the floor and Peter, Tumnus, Tilnus and Oreius walked to the stone circle. Torch in hand, Peter looked into the pit, but only saw piles of fine dust when they backed away and the white orb sailed down and landed in Tumnus' hands. Sighing, they walked back to the others as they walked up the stairs and the water dripped somewhere in the shadows.
The sunlight filled the room as the lace curtains fluttered in the breeze and the rainbow flowers gently rocked on the vines. The sounds of morning birds filled the air when the duvet moved back and Tumnus rolled onto his back, breathing in the scent of the rainbow flowers. Yawning, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes when Arayna snuggled closer and rested her head on the center of his chest. His skin tingled from her fingers resting on his skin as he thought back to their wedding night and smiled when he thought about how he nearly fainted during the ceremony. He watched her sleeping when he carefully brushed the hair from her eyes and she smiled, but didn't wake up. She gently stroked his side when he took her hand, wrapped her fingers around his fingers and kissed her knuckles.
The last few years had been the happiest he ever remembered and never regretted one day. There were fights and arguments, but they never lasted long and he did enjoy making up with her. He had decided that the Eye of the Moon was too powerful for him to handle and had sent the white orb back to the Elders. Tyra had sent him a letter stating she knew he would send the Eye of the Moon back and he swore he saw her standing in the corner of the throne room during their wedding ceremony.
Tumnus smiled when Arayna opened her eyes, did a light kiss on his chest and looked up at him. She smiled back as she listened to the gently beating in her ear and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Good morning," she said.
"Good morning," Tumnus said, kissing the top of her head.
"Are you?" Arayna asked as he frowned and looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
"Am I what?"
"Are you going to go look for the White Stag today?" Arayna said and playfully smacked his chest.
"No, I don't think so," he said when the sound of footsteps came closer and he looked at the door, arching an eyebrow.
"No! Stop! Don't go in there!" Tinkleberry's voice shouted when the door slammed open and several little figures ran into the room, heading for the bed. Arayna and Tumnus sat up when the children jumped onto the bed in a large lump and one of the children yelped, causing them to move back.
"Careful!" Tumnus said when the smallest of the children scooted up to him and he held the little, male faun in his arms, "Are you alright, Yannus?"
Three year old Yannus was the youngest of their seven sons and he had the same hair, fur and hide color as Tumnus, but his eyes were the color of Arayna's eyes and Yannus sniffed, placing his head against Tumnus' shoulder.
"I got squished," Yannus sighed as he placed his thumb in his mouth and Tumnus stroked his hair.
"Well you jumped on the bed first," Amnus said. Ten year old Amnus was the oldest of their seven sons and he had the same hair, fur, eyes and hide as Tumnus.
"That is true, but you all know you have to be careful," Arayna said as their sons sighed and Yannus frowned, sucking harder on his thumb.
"Father, can you take us fishing today?" Elnus asked. Nine year old Elnus was their second son and he had the same color hair, hide and fur as Arayna, but his eyes were the same color as Tumnus' eyes.
"Please!" Ionnus asked. Seven year old Ionnus was the third of their sons and he had the same hair, fur, hide and eyes as Arayna.
"Well, it depends on my schedule," Tumnus said as Tinkleberry walked closer and handed him the scroll. He opened the scroll as he looked at his schedule and a small frown appeared on his face. "Let's see, there's breakfast then finishing my inspections then lunch then treaties then dinner."
"So that means we can't?" Ulmnus asked. Six year old Ulmnus was their fifth son and had the same fur, hair, eyes and hide as Tumnus.
"I'm afraid so."
"But we wanted to go fishing!" Wemnus groaned. Five year old Wernus was their sixth some and he had the same hair, hide and fur as Arayna, but his were the same color as Tumnus' eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"But…." Ulmnus said.
"Enough," Arayna said as their sons sighed and Yannus took his thumb out of his mouth and held his hand up to Tumnus. Smiling, Tumnus held Yannus' hand against his chest as Yannus smiled, gently pulling his hand out and placed his thumb back in his mouth.
"Can we go fishing tomorrow?" Ulmnus asked as Tumnus looked at Tinkleberry and gave her a blank look. Tinkleberry removed the scroll from her belt when she opened the other scroll and smiled.
"According to this, all you have is breakfast, two treaty meetings then lunch. The rest of the afternoon is clear," she said, placing the scroll back on her belt.
"Yay!" Yannus said while clapping his hands and Tumnus smiled, kissing the top of his head.
"Can we go fishing in the stream near our house?" Wemnus asked.
"No!" Tumnus shouted as Yanna started crying and crawled to Arayna, snuggling against her.
"There was no need to shout," Arayna said as she rocked Yannus back and forth and Tumnus sighed, picking some lint off the duvet.
"Why can't we go there?" Elnus asked.
"Daddy isn't allowed near that stream or your grandfather will paddle his bottom," Tinkleberry said as she slightly smiled at Tumnus and he gave her a stern look.
"Why would he do that?" Ionnus asked.
"Because I nearly drowned in that stream and your grandfather forbids me to go near it," Tumnus said when Yannus crawled back to him and Tumnus wrapped his arms around him.
"Then we no go there," Yannus said, leaning against him and Tumnus kissed the top of his head.
"We haven't been to the lake in a long time," Arayna said.
"Can we go there, Father?" Ionnus asked.
"Yes, we will pack a basket and have a picnic near that large willow tree," Tumnus said with a nod of his head.
"Can we climb those large rocks?" Ellnus asked.
"Only if you take Yannus with you," Arayna said and their sons groaned.
"Do we have to?" Wemnus asked.
"Yes!" Arayna and Tumnus said together.
"But he won't be able to climb the rocks," Ionnus said.
"That's 'cause I got short leggies," Yannus said as he pouted and Tumnus softly smiled.
"That you do," Tumnus said while gently rocking him back and forth and Yannus placed his thumb in his mouth.
"We will talk about this tomorrow," Arayna said as the children got off the bed and Tumnus and Arayna got out of bed. Tumnus walked to the stand where the dark green scarf with the white lining and gold fringe was hanging when he took the scarf off the stand and held the scarf in his hands.
"Whose turn is it to help Daddy get dressed?" Arayna asked while she walked closer then turned and looked at the children.
"Me!" their sons said at once then started shoving each other.
"Enough!" Tinkleberry said as she took the small scroll off her belt, opened the small scroll and looked at the small scroll then at the children. "According to this, it's Yannus' turn."
Tumnus knelt down as Yannus took the scarf from Tumnus and Tumnus helped him place the scarf around his neck and shoulders. Standing up, Tumnus ruffled Yannus' hair as they walked to the door then left the room and the lace curtains fluttered gently in the breeze.
Tumnus held Yannus in his arms while they walked down the hallway when they stopped in front of one of the paintings and Yannus placed his head on Tumnus' shoulder.
"Who's that, Daddy?" Yannus asked while pointing to the painting and Tumnus looked at the painting. A female faun dressed in a white robe and the white robe was lined with runes in gold. In her hands was a white orb and the hood of the robe was lowered, showing her smiling face and her hair spread across her shoulders. Two more female fauns wearing white robe with hoods and runes lined in gold were barely visible behind her as Tumnus locked eyes with the female faun and smiled.
"That is Tyra," Tumnus said.
"Who is she?" Ionnus asked.
"She is one of the Elders."
"I know who they are," Ellnus said.
"She's very pretty," Ollnus said.
"Yes, she is," Tumnus said with a nod of his head.
"What is that in her hand?" Amnus asked.
"That is the Eye of the Moon," Tumnus said as they headed down the hallway then stopped while the soft sound of hooves filled the air and Tumnus sadly smiled. Slowly coming down the hallway was Tilnus and he held the carved, wooden cane in his hands. Tilnus had suffered a small stroke a few years ago and was slightly paralyzed on his right side. He softly smiled at them when Arayna took his hand and they walked to the large, ivory doors. The centaur guards stood at attention as Tumnus smiled at them while Yannus looked behind him and blinked his eyes a few times.
"Daddy, where did Tinkleberry go?" Yannus asked as Miser Tumnus turned slowly around in a circle then looked at him and sighed.
"I don't know," Tumnus said when something moved in his hair and the children giggled, seeing the Tinkleberry peeking out from behind his right horn.
"There she is!" Yannus said as he pointed and Tinkleberry crawled through Tumnus' hair, leaned down to look into his eyes and waved at him, making Tumnus laugh. The centaur guards opened the large, ivory doors as Tumnus, Arayna, Tilnus and the children stood in the doorway and one of the centaur guards thumped a wooden stick on the floor.
"High Advisor Tumnus and family!" the centaur guard said as Tumnus and his family walked in the dining hall and the centaur guards closed the large, ivory doors behind them.
The End...