Mr. Tumnus had many relatives and since the Winter passed, most of them were rewarded for their courage in war by the High King Peter himself and became the royal guards. They happily watched over the safety of the kings and queens, even if there was no real threat to them, as every single creature in Narnia seemed to adore their new rulers (at least that's what they thought). But they remembered that the times were not always as good to them and, similar as Mr. Tumnus, they never forgot a danger can come out of nowhere. So one late morning, when one of the maids, who was also a faun, spotted a white fox in queen Lucy's bedroom, she grabbed the creature by the tale, tied up to the bed with her own belt and raised an alarm.

"What were you doing in the queen's bedroom, traitor?" The fauns surrounded the fox and shouted one through another. "How did you get here?" "This is..." Mr. Tumnus' uncle was the chief of Cair Paravel Guard and he frowned, looking down at the animal that was now curled up and stared at the floor."

"He looks like one of the old spies of the White Witch. Lock him up!" He ordered and the fauns grabbed the fox and started to carry him to the dungeons, where after the war all the suspects used to await the trial.

"You don't understand; I must see queen Lucy immediately! I have a very important message." The fox yelled desperately, but the fauns didn't pay attention to the words. There was a great antagonism between the fauns and white foxes, since many of them used to be indeed on the side of the White Witch. Mr. Tumnus' uncle could swear he had seen that particular fox before and he was going to interrogate him personally. But before they passed the hall and got to the cellars, the gate opened and king Edmund, queen Susan, prince Corin, and their escort with Mr. Tumnus on the front walked in. There was such a crowd in the great hall that both sides got blocked. If one looked at the king and queen more closely he could see that they were in a great hurry and it didn't seem like the journey to Calormen ended happily, to say the least. King Edmund was angry and concerned and queen Susan's face was red from a long crying. Their company was also showing visible signs of exhaustion.

"You need to rest, sister," Edmund said to Susan and turned towards the fauns. "By Aslan's Mane, what is going on here?" He stared at the fox.

"He broke into queen Lucy's bedroom." Explained the maid.

"Did he really?" Edmund gazed at the fox again and if the circumstances were different, he would be amused. But it wasn't a day for amusement, so he felt mostly irritated that such non important things are coming in his way.

"Your Highness!" The fox yelled, looking at him with hope. "Archenland is under attack!" He shouted before the faun manage to gag him. Edmund gasped.

"Let him speak!" He ordered and to the fox's relief, the ties got loose and he could stand on his own legs again, although his entire body was shaking.

"The Calormenes! They are attacking Anward at this very moment!"

Suddenly there was lots of noise around them since everybody started to repeat and discuss the news.

"Silence!" Edmund yelled. He turned back to the fox.

"How do you know that?"

"I have..." He hesitated.

"He is lying, your Highness." The fauns surrounded him again. "How can he know what is going on the other side of the mountains when he is here, and still didn't explain what he was doing in the queen's bedroom! Do you think you can get free by telling us stories?" He wanted to slap the fox but Edmund stopped him.

"It is not a lie, unless more creatures came up with the same story today, which is unlikely. When our ship docked, there was a stag awaiting us on the pier. He also said about the attack on Anward. Prince Rabadash showed his true face in his hometown and we have barely escaped ourselves," he added and asked the fox with a gentler tone.

"Tell us more. How many Calormenes? What did you see exactly?"

"I... didn't see them personally. But I have heard about it! I swear it's true!" The fox waved his tail trying to avoid the touch of the fauns that wanted to grab him again as the chief didn't intend to leave such an offence unattended, no matter what circumstances occurred.

"He still didn't explain us why he broke to the queen's bedroom. I am asking you for the last time...," in this moment queen Lucy came in. The fox twitched, freed himself from the fauns and jumped in her direction.

"Your Majesty! Help me, please!"

Lucy gasped and paled, but quickly controlled herself, thinking that they probably caught him in the wardrobe after he had passed the mirror. Which led to a question, why the maid, or the guards were searching through her wardrobe. Lucy decided to leave that matters for later, now she focused on saving Tom, who in the meantime clung to her, trying to hide in her arms. She took a deep breath.

"What in the world is going on here! Edmund?! Susan? I didn't expect you return this soon. What's wrong?"

Again everybody started to talk at the same time. Queen Susan burst into cry, Mr. Tumnus, with an expressive gesticulation started to tell her that apparently prince Rabadash wanted to imprison Susan and force her to marriage and they had barely escaped on ship, while the chief of Cair Paravel Guard demanded an immediate investigation on the fox and wanted queen Lucy to check her chambers to make sure nothing from her jewelry was missing. All of it sounded at once, so for a moment Lucy thought that they demanded an immediate investigation of Rabadash hiding in Lucy's bedroom and the fox tried to force her sister to marry him on the ship.

"Everybody just shut up! Now!" Despaired Lucy yelled so loud that even Edmund gasped and stared at her in surprise. But it worked. Taking a deep breath and composing herself she spoke quickly with a tone of someone who better would not be disturbed.

"First of all. I know this fox! You should listen to his warning in the first place. My troops and I have been training for weeks and are ready for battle. Which means, we can head to Anward now! Edmund! You can tell me the story later. Susan, I also think you need some rest. Any questions?"

There was such a power emanating from her that not only Mr. Tumnus, but even Edmund didn't oppose. Still holding Tom in her arms, Lucy turned back to the door and rushed to find her troopers to give the proper orders. As she parted from the others and was sure she wouldn't be heard, she whispered to Tom to run to the forest and return to the Sanctuary as soon as possible. When the fox disappeared in the bushes, Lucy turned around and to her surprise she found Corin that apparently followed her unnoticed and looked after the fox. Lucy frowned. She didn't even think about him and was about to order the boy to come back to the castle immediately when Corin ran close to her and with a silent, whisper like voice, said:

"So, is he going to ask the White Witch for help?"

If Lucy had something in her hands she would have certainly dropped it, luckily she didn't, so she laughed loudly, as if she heard a good joke, seeing her soldiers coming back to the field.

"Corin, this is not the time for jokes," she said hoping desperately that Coring really joked, or even if he had heard something it was no more than rumors. The boy however was serious and also looked around, checking if they were not heard.

"I am not joking. Lucy. I know. You can trust me."

Lucy paled. She almost lost control like before with Mr. Tumnus. Cursing in her thoughts, she tried again. "How did you come to such a ridiculous idea?" She really hoped she sounded convincing.

"Alright." Corin sighed, not willing to back off. "Let's say, I have noticed you have a secret a long time ago, but I have never said anything to anybody, hoping that one day you can trust me. Alright? You can trust me."

The boy's tone was very serious and sad. Lucy hesitated. How it was possible that from the all people that child could know? Was she not careful enough? She was thinking in panic and the young prince closed to her again.

"I know she is alive. I know, Lucy, and I didn't say it to anybody. Is that not enough for you to believe me at all?"

"What made you think that?" She pulled him to the distant corner of the field. The troops were gathering and she could be called any minute now. Corin also turned around, but seeing that he won, he couldn't refrain a proud smile.

"Alright." He started cheerfully. Way too cheerfully as for the situation, Lucy thought. "So, it all started from our trainings. I was trying to remember everything you told me, to learn, you know." He was speaking quickly and enthusiastically. Lucy calmed down. At least he didn't seem shocked like Mr. Tumnus. "After a few days I couldn't not notice that you were doing extra trainings, without me. It was obvious." He underlined the last word. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"There were some techniques you couldn't manage at first, even you, remember? Like the speed of shooting in motion, that was so tiring. And the next night - boom! You were a master in it. So I was sure there was someone else there, who trained you. I just didn't know, who. I was suspecting one of the centaurs, at first, or Mr Tumnus, he was always so devoted to you. So I started to discreetly follow you to figure that out. And that was the most puzzling, since I couldn't find anyone like that. Instead, I noticed you were disappearing from the castle for hours and reappearing again, although nobody could see you coming back.

"What are you talking about, Corin?" Lucy asked again, still trying to keep a neutral tone. It was impossible for him to see the gate after all, so how? But Corin surprised her again.

"So one night I was extra careful. I saw you entering your room and I went there a few minutes later. You were not in there. I decided to wait. I hid myself under your bed. I almost fell asleep in there, but in the middle of the night you came out... of your wardrobe! I could see how you took off your shoes, you kicked them under the bed so I could touch them, and they were wet and cold. So I made sure you had an ability to go to some other place using your wardrobe."

"You should be punished for sneaking into other people's room in the first place. Corin, what in the world were you thinking? You merely didn't notice me coming back and in the dark it only seemed like I appeared out of the wardrobe." Lucy stated stiffly. But the boy looked at her knowingly as he wasn't done yet.

"Of course, so as soon as you went for breakfast I jumped in there to check, but I couldn't find anything. Except a big mirror behind your dresses. That mirror was cold as ice. How could that be?"

Corin broke, seeing on Lucy's face that he finally got her attention. Lucy stared at him with wide open eyes and looked if she was fighting with herself, to believe him, or not. So he continued quickly.

"And then, you got your cold."

"My cold?!" Lucy startled. The young prince grinned triumphantly.

"I heard the medic, everybody was so surprised, because as they say, for the last fifteen years nobody has ever got a cold in Narnia. So how could you? I was asking myself. I couldn't figure it out. But finally I did. Partly because of King Edmund. No, he doesn't know," he added quickly, seeing Lucy's panic on the face. "But Edmund was mentioning the Witch quite often. And everybody was always getting upset about it.

"Of course, we were. Everybody is," Lucy added. But Corin smiled at her and shook his head.

"Yes, but you were getting upset differently. You were furious at your brother, not the White Witch. I could see that. Besides, once, I have heard Susan talking about you and your new dresses with king Peter. She said if she didn't know better, she would swear you were in love. I could also see it. You were as distracted and glowing as your sister was, but there was nobody around you who would explain that. You know, I always see other people's moods, because nobody pays attention to me. I wanted to talk to you already during the tourney, but there was so much going on, and I needed to make sure. I didn“t want to follow king Peter the other day. What I really wanted was that you all would think I did follow him, so nobody would look for me, and then I would hide and follow you wherever you were sneaking into. But that didn't work out, so I decided to wait until we come back from Calormen. So much happened there, I tell you! We needed to protect queen Susan and everything, so I forgot all about it for a while, but I reminded as soon as I saw this white fox. Come on, a white fox here? The guards are right after all. He must be coming from her."

Corin's words fell deeply in Lucy's heart. How careless she was! To not notice the most obvious, to underestimate the boy like this. She thrilled.

"Corin, listen to me, it is important. Nobody can know, do you understand?" She whispered, afraid of every tree, every piece of bush maybe hiding a Talking Creature. At that time Lucy didn't know about the Talking Mice yet, if she did, like it is said in the other Chronicles, her fear would have been much bigger.

"I haven't told it to anyone, so why should I now? I was just hoping that one day you would take me with you. You know, to where she is. How do you get there, anyway?"

"You really felt the mirror cold as ice?" She replied with question. The boy nodded.

Lucy smiled, relieved. That meant the boy indeed didn't feel any hatred towards Jadis. And why should he? She realized Corin was born three years after the war. All he heard were rumors and myths. It also meant, her heart jumped at that thought, there could have been more and more people who wouldn't hate Jadis. Or the children, ready to forgive her. And one day... She felt so excited she wanted to hug the young prince out of joy.

"Forgive me, my friend. I highly underestimated you." She confessed, but at the same moment they both heard the centaurs' call.

"The troops! We need to get ready!" She hesitated.

"I am going with you!" Corin insisted. Lucy looked worried.

"Corin, king Edmund will never agree to take you to the battle, you know it!"

The boy however was prepared also for this.

"But I can at least ride with you to the border? Come one, please! And on the way you can tell me more."

Lucy sighed. He didn't give her choice. They both rushed through the field.