Reunion

By Yva J.

a/n This story is set right after the end of ‘The Last Battle’ when Lucy returns to Narnia for the last time. I have decided to keep all religious based allegories out of the story, all the while trying to maintain a spiritual sense (specifically in the second part). With that said, this story can be read by anyone and it is a story about the enduring power of love. I make mention of this because of the overt religious allegory that is contained at the end of the Narnian Chronicles, specifically at the time and place that I am depicting in this story. In this piece of fantasy, Lucy and Tumnus are around the same age physically, but more on that in the second part.

This is a Lucy/Tumnus two shot. It started out as a one shot, and then I got inspired to write a second installment to it, which I will post later. As always, there is no intention to infringe on any previously/currently held copyrights with this. This is an amateur story, and my other story will continue once this second part has been added. I haven’t forgotten.

---

He had been waiting for such a long time for this moment; it felt rather like centuries if you wanted to know the honest to goodness truth. The time seemed to have passed by as though in slow motion, yet, he knew that when the moment would arrive, that it would feel as though no time had passed at all. He only hoped that the person he was waiting for would feel the very same way.

He took a deep breath, this literally catching in his throat and emerging as though he had run the hundred-yard dash and was heavily breathing as he had crossed the finish line. His heart felt as though it was hammering wildly in his chest, each beat a pulsating drumbeat of anticipation and nervousness.

It had been close to two thousand Narnian years since he was brought to this new place, his old cave and all his possessions now in ruins in Lantern Waste. Sighing, he remembered how Aslan had come for him in his old cave, the noble lion telling him it was time for him to leave this place and to journey with him to a new home. Arguing with Aslan was clearly out of the question, and somewhere in the depths of his being, he knew that the time had come for him to depart from Narnia and follow the true King to wherever it was he was meant to go.

His new life would start, and yet in the recesses of his heart, he knew that without a certain someone to grace that existence, that time or space would cease to matter to him. Simply put, he would be perfectly content about going away and experiencing the new beginning that had been promised. Perhaps in that, he could forget the past and the separation that haunted him.

It was the day he left the old country when Aslan had prophesized to him that he would once more be reunited with his beloved Lucy Pevensie, Queen of Narnia from the Golden Age. Yet, every day, he waited and hoped for the sign that his dearest friend in all of Narnia would return to him from Spare Oom, and their reunion would take place.

That day had finally come.

He wrung his hands together as he thought of this. What ever would he say? How would he react to her? But, the question gnawing at him the most, how would she react to him? Did Aslan or anyone, for that matter, even know that he was as nervous as a schoolboy at this moment? Did they realize that the feelings he had for Lucy were unlike any that he had ever felt in his existence?

He shook his head as he remembered how Lucy had come into his life and brought warmth, sunshine, and brightness into his lonely and isolated world. She remained his friend even after she had grown up and become a lady. Yet, the day that she disappeared from his life, he feared that his heart would surely break into a thousand pieces. He had wanted to say so much to her, but he never could, something had always blocked him from doing so. Everyone knew of it, even Aslan had seen it.

A stray tear caught in his eye as he remembered those times in his life when he had been too scared or shy to say what he truly felt. He had asked Aslan what was wrong with him, a faun acting this way towards a Daughter of Eve. It seemed so wrong; so unnatural. Yet, all of these questions had been raised after Lucy’s disappearance, when it was too late for him to say or do anything about it. He had more chances bestowed on him in which to tell her what he felt when she was there, but he never did, the feelings he carried remained locked away in the sanctuary of his heart.

It should not happen, he had argued with himself, but yet it did, the feelings that went through his mind and heart were still real and vivid even after all this time had passed. It was in this place, in Aslan’s Country, where he could truly feel the emotion of love vibrating his every sense.

He shook his head as he remembered the wise lion’s words when he confessed what his feelings towards Lucy actually were. He half expected to be reprimanded by the mighty lion, but that did not emerge.

“Your feelings of love are not inappropriate, Son of the Forest,” Aslan had said firmly. “There is nothing wrong with the emotion of love, and the overwhelming love and devotion, which you hold for Queen Lucy is not wrong, it’s quite beautiful. You can look beyond all the things that make you different physically, and see straight into the heart of another. What is there to disapprove of in that?”

“Nothing?” He had replied somewhat hesitantly, but his word had emerged in the form of a question, as opposed to the confident response Aslan had wished to hear.

“My beloved Tumnus,” the wise lion had responded. “Is there truly anything more beautiful and noble than the expression of love? It is far better than that other alternative, is it not?”

The words of the lion had not only been wonderful, but they had emerged so matter-of-fact that Tumnus could not doubt or deny them any longer.

Aslan had said it, there was nothing wrong or inappropriate about his feelings towards Lucy, but the question still lingered: How old would Lucy be at the moment when they were to be reunited? For her an unexplained amount of time will have passed, but for him, it felt like an eternity.

Would her feelings be the same as his?

This single, solitary, question continued to ravage the faun’s very thoughts, even as he left his home and walked slowly towards the meeting place. He had heard all the stories; Aslan’s country was to be the new Narnia, the new place, where the Great Lion would forever be revered as the one true King. This was a moment that even Tumnus had come to understand, and had embraced with all that was inside of him. This was truly the reality, and now a moment that he had anticipated for thousands of years was upon him. Lucy would return, and she would forever be a part of his existence.

How wonderful is that?

Yet, there was still more that was going through his mind when he looked around the area and could see some of the other creatures of Narnia waiting as well. Some he knew, some he did not, but from the anticipated whispers that that were heard all around him, he concluded that all of them must have heard the news as well and were anxiously waiting for Aslan and the other Kings and Queens to arrive.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched and waited among the throng of his people for the sky to open up and for his beloved to step into this new world.

---

As she stepped into the new Narnia, Lucy’s eyes widened at the sheer color and light that filled her. It was as though everything around her was new and alive, that her heart fluttered and raced in distinct harmony with everything and everyone.

She had made it back home to Narnia, but anything that happened in the wake of her return happened in a literal haze. In hindsight, the eighteen-year-old was not really sure if all these things had truly transpired at all.

She had shaken so many hands and embraced so many friends that she had lost track of everything that was happening around her. This seemed so strange for her, but one pair of eyes she could not forget, for they would stand out in her heart and mind even after he had vanished in the crowd. He was, after all, her oldest and dearest friend, and even after she had been pushed further along the throng of greeters, his familiar and loving eyes would not be forgotten, even though she could no longer see him.

Where did he go? She asked herself, but instead of seeing her beloved faun, she stood face to face with Aslan who told her that she and her brothers would be staying in Narnia forever and deep inside, these were truly the words her heart longed to hear.

Although, the lion’s words had lifted her spirits higher than she could have imagined, there was a bitter sweetness, which remained. Susan was not with them; her sister had drifted so far away from Lucy, that they had become virtual strangers. This often happened with sisters, and lurking in the recesses of Lucy Pevensie’s heart, a tinge of sadness remained. She would not see Susan for a long, long time, but this time it was Susan’s choices not Lucy’s that had instigated this.

Ironically, realism was a trait Susan was known for, but yet it was here where Lucy’s own sense of realism had affirmed for her that she and Susan had never truly shared the closeness that their two brothers shared. Now, the distance of time and space between the two sisters affirmed this tenfold.

Shaking her head, Lucy dismissed the thoughts of her sister as her feelings shifted once more to the matter at hand. She had returned to Narnia and from what Aslan had conveyed to her and the others, they now had an eternity of experiences together. This had to have been the most wonderful thing that she could have imagined, but yet, her thoughts seemed grounded. Even after she had completely dismissed her sister, her mind became once more centered on someone whom she knew she loved dearly. It was only at that moment, that she realized that she had to find him and tell him everything she carried in the recesses of her heart. Too much time had passed, and too many things were left unsaid.

For a split second, she remembered having greeted the faun, but this had come about rather quickly, the embrace lasting only seconds. As quickly as the moment had come, it was gone, passing by in a literal blur. It was expected, as she had been swamped with greetings and happy reunions with her other friends. Yet, these small dialogues with them were not to be compared to the moment when she had seen her first Narnian friend amongst them.

A swell of joy had filled her, and without even a moment’s hesitation, she suddenly recalled the day when she had met the faun as a small child. The day by the lamppost seemed as though it had been molded into the present moment and Lantern Waste was as real at that moment as it had been back then. It was in those memories that she recalled how she had scared the daylights out of him at the lamppost, but also how he had affirmed that he did not intend to scare or frighten her. Even today, she still giggled nervously at the memory of asking him ‘what are you?’.

Sighing, she politely excused herself from her brothers, parents, cousin, and friends, and separated herself from the still growing throng of greeters. She needed some time alone, to realize what had happened to her, and come to grips with the realization that she would never again have to return to England. Her heart literally swelled with joy as she thought about endless days in Narnia, walks in the forest, and teatimes that she would have with those whom she loved most in the world.

Yet, now that she was separated from everyone else, she longed for nothing more than a few moments with her oldest and dearest friend. Internally, all she wanted to do was to wrap her arms around him as far as they would go, hold him, kiss him, and make sure he was truly real. She had dreamt of this moment so many times before, and now, she wanted nothing more than to know conclusively that he was there with her and not a figment of her imagination.

She wanted to touch him and make sure that he was the reality and this wasn’t just another flight into the fantasy. She shook her head as she recalled how her brothers and sister believed that she had made Narnia up in the beginning. Now, her brothers were with her and there was no way to dismiss it as mere chance.

For whatever reason, she pulled up the sleeve of her dress and pinched her arm. “Ouch!” she muttered as she clamped her eyes shut and then opened them and took in where she stood. “OK, this is real enough,” she whispered as she rubbed her upper arm, her eyes literally dancing as she took in her surroundings. Everything was brighter, bolder, and more beautiful than anything she could have even imagined.

Moments seemed to pass by in slow motion, and taking another look around, she spotted a figure that was quickly leaving the group, a red colored scarf visible for miles around and she immediately knew who it was.

“Mr. Tumnus,” she whispered, and broke into a run to catch up with him. “Mr. Tumnus,” her voice emerged somewhat louder as she stumbled and dodged past the others and tried not to lose sight of him.

She continued running after him. “Mr. Tumnus, please stop,” she finally shouted over the throng and several heads turned, but she paid them no mind, she ran straight to the faun, straight into his arms. From there, she buried her face against the softness of his red scarf and began to cry softly, the words simply not coming.

---

She stood for several moments holding him, but finally she managed to regain control of her emotions and spoke. “Thank heavens you stopped,” she managed once her crying had subsided, a streak of moistness was left against his scarf. The faun seemed not to mind this, he merely smiled at her, his hand touching the top of her head, but he wordlessly waited for her to continue speaking.

“I didn’t know if I could have caught up with you, you run faster than a gazelle during a hunt,” she said laughing nervously as she felt the words literally rushing out of her. She backed away from him as she rested her hand over her heart, but she wanted nothing more than to look at him, to see him standing before her.

Her eyes were filled with joy, but there was also something in her gaze that Tumnus had somehow forgotten whenever he would look at her. The overwhelming love she seemed to emanate flowed out of her like water from a fountain. How could he have forgotten this?

He took both of her hands in his and looked down at her, a small laugh escaping him as he realized that she was still shorter than he was, and her age was that of a young woman, and not a little girl. He too was young again, his blue eyes merry, and the realization of their similarities in age flooded over each of them.

Yet, through all those years, he was still completely captivated by her eyes. There was something that dwelled in them that emanated both innocence and wisdom, newness and maturity, as well as happiness and joy.

She once more meshed her face against him, this time; she felt the soft bareness of his chest. Somewhere amidst all this emotion came even more tears, and Tumnus felt them against his skin and backed away from her, his hands gently taking her face in his as he tipped up her chin, and smiled down at her, his fingertips now rubbing the moisture away. “Why do you cry, dearest Lucy?”

“I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again, Mr. Tumnus,” she cried brokenly as she reached up and gripped one of his hands tightly in her own. The grip she had on him growing tighter by the minute until the faun unconsciously cringed.

“It’s all right, I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere,” he managed to speak as he looked down at his hand and noticed that his fingers had started to turn blue.

Lucy followed his gaze and seeing his hand, she loosened her hold, but she did not fully let go. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you,” she whispered softly.

“I know,” he said smiling slightly, but started to lead her away from the group of Narnians and into a crop of trees where they could be alone. There he stopped and with his hand still holding hers, he pulled her gently into his embrace and held her, his face meshing against her flowing dark brown hair.

They remained standing there for several moments, lost in the silence of the moment until he raised his head and began to speak. “It has been so dreadfully long since last seeing you, dearest Lucy,” the faun said softly. “I must remind myself almost constantly that this moment is real, that you are truly here. I cannot let go of you for fear that if I did, you would vanish before my eyes.” These words had been rehearsed in his mind countless times, but this time, their emergence was completely genuine and filled with so much love that Lucy thought that her heart would surely explode with joy upon hearing them.

“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered. “I never forgot you, even after all this time had passed. Then I returned to Narnia and I never saw you there and it tore me to pieces. My heart ached to see you every time, but I never told anyone of my feelings, not my brothers or my sister, not anyone.”

“Neither did I, there was only one who knew,” he said softly. “When I first came here, Aslan promised me that I would one day see you again, but I didn’t dare to hope. I feared that it was just a dream, that you were a dream that would disappear come the dawn’s first light.”

She released his hand and began to wipe the tears from beneath her eyes and he retrieved a small, white piece of cloth and unfolded it before reaching over and wiping her eyes with it. She looked up at him and noticed that he was smiling down at her, not as a guardian or simply a friend, but as more, much more that she dared to believe or even hope for. It was at that instant that she realized what everything had meant.

They would have an eternity together.

These words remained unspoken, but she could see, amidst the tears that still were forcing their way out from the corners of her eyes, that he remained standing before her. He had once again folded the handkerchief and tucked it under his scarf.

Wordlessly, the faun wrapped her securely in his arms and held her, one of his hands stroking the back of her head. Carefully, she too wrapped both of her arms around him, her eyes shining with life, love and all the things that the faun had forgotten only to rediscover on the day he had met her for the very first time.

As their embrace ended, he reached out and touched the side of her face. She raised her head and looked deeply into his eyes, the words still not coming. She simply stared at him, caught up in her own memories.

After several moments had passed, she began to speak. “You don’t know how much I had prayed for this moment to come, when we could be together, and never be separated again; not by time, space, formalities, or even another world. I just wanted to be here with you, together, the two of us, forever.”

Tumnus’ heart soared, his thoughts returning to the conversation he had with Aslan, and it was at that moment that he realized that the love he carried for her was not wrong, but right, and that Aslan had conveyed this to him in so many ways.

He kept his hand gently pressed against one side of her face, but began to speak. “That’s what love is,” he whispered. “That is what Aslan promised us, and this is the first day of that eternal promise. Now the reality is the dream, my dearest, and that dream has come true.”

With that, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her waiting lips.