Audience with the High King

By: Yva J.

This story was written for someone on a group I recently joined. It is a Tumnus / Adult Lucy story, which I never thought I’d get into writing, but when I so thoroughly enjoy writing these, it’s hard to stop. I’m putting a T rating on this, but it is 100 percent fluff.

Enjoy. And I do give out chocolate chip cookies for reviews.

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“She has literally been walking around the castle as though in a daze, surely you have noticed...” High King Peter spoke over tea one afternoon. He offered the steaming pot to Tumnus and watched as the faun gingerly poured some of the substance into his cup. The faun’s blue eyes darted to another part of the room, all the while trying not to say a word in response to Lucy’s eldest brother’s remarks.

What would he say to that anyway? His face flushed slightly, but the room was dark enough to conceal the pink tinge that had shadowed his features.

He was not about to admit a thing, so instead of speaking, he concentrated his attention on the small pitcher of milk that was on the table. Slowly, he reached over, grabbed the handle, and added a generous quantity of it to the cup only stopping when the king impatiently called his name. “Mr. Tumnus?”

He shyly looked up and could see that the king was now regarding him through extremely critical and annoyed eyes. Peter pointed and Lucy’s oldest and dearest friend lowered his head and recognized what the High King was trying to make him aware of. Without warning, the faun blushed. The milk he had added to the cup of tea had proven a mistake, for his cup of tea was now beige in color and the white colored liquid had overflowed the cup and a small puddle was on the floor in front of his hooves. He took a deep breath as he jumped up and raced to retrieve a towel.

“A thousand pardons, Your Majesty,” the faun managed as he got down on the ground and began to haphazardly wipe away the spilled milk. “My father used to say ‘we must never cry over spilt milk’.” His words emerged feebly, and he was not sure what Peter’s reaction was, nor was he all that willing to find out.

The High King’s eyes rolled as he watched the faun, but no words emerged.

For his part, Tumnus sighed, his thoughts literally racing. That was rather silly, he chastised himself. He finished the task, tossed the towel, and scrambled back over to his seat and looked over at the king, all the while not really sure why it was Peter had even asked him to take tea with him in the first place.

“What is going on?” Peter asked, his voice taking an almost demanding tone. “Mr. Tumnus, you are acting like you’re walking on eggshells here. What in the name of Aslan is going on?”

Tumnus swallowed. “What should be going on, Your Majesty?” The faun asked softly.

“I mean what I asked,” Peter said. “You have not ceased in speaking the same language as I, but yet you are acting quite oddly. My little sister is behaving as though she drank and entire vat of love serum. Mr. Tumnus, I implore you, as Lucy’s friend, but also as a noble and loyal subject, to tell me what is going on?”

Tumnus closed his eyes for a moment and replaced the teacup he had been holding and slowly he began to rub his hands together. The truth was always the easiest, but how would the High King take the truth? If he knew that the faun and his youngest sister were meeting in secret, then he would surely react as older brothers generally do.

“Well, Sire, it’s like this,” he began, but he found himself not able to continue. How could he tell Peter what was in his heart? It was enough that he had told Lucy, but now he had the High King looking at him expecting some sort of response, but the words were literally caught in his throat.

“Is Lucy in love?” Peter asked, thus breaking the awkward silence that had consumed both of them.

“Love?” Tumnus stammered insecurely.

“Yes, she’s been walking around as though in a trance. If she is in love then it might very well explain everything that is going on with her,” Peter said. “You are her best friend, perhaps you know who has stolen her heart.”

Tumnus swallowed. “I would know?” He squeaked.

“Mr. Tumnus, you’re not making things very easy,” Peter said with obvious exasperation. “You’re Lucy’s best friend, you probably are the one whom she tells everything to. It would stand to reason that you would know what is going on with her. Yesterday, she was looking at some yellow oil paints and she said all giggly-like, ‘it’s like sunshine in a tube’. That’s just not normal.”

Tumnus shook his head. “I can tell you that I do know that Her Majesty is in love, but I cannot say specifically who the lucky suitor is. It would break a promise that I made to her some time ago. Please understand, she is a young lady, and if I betray the trust she has in me than all would be lost.”

Peter could do nothing further but nod, but the teatime proceeded in silence until Tumnus stood up to go. As he started towards the door, the High King spoke. “Mr. Tumnus?”

“Yes?” The faun stopped walking.

“If you happen find out who has stolen my sister’s heart, would you be so kind as to inform me?” Peter asked.

Tumnus swallowed, but with a shrug of his shoulders, he quickly left the room without offering Peter any sort of audible answer.

Once the faun was gone, Peter stood up and stole his way to the door.

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Out in the hallway, a rather frazzled Tumnus emerged from the room where he had met King Peter for tea.

As he made his way down the hall, he found himself literally bowled over by Lucy who seemed rather relieved to finally have found her missing friend. Apparently, the young queen had been looking for him everywhere and when she finally did spot him; she raced up to him, her arms flying as they captured him in a backbreaking embrace.

“My dearest, Tumnus, the most lovely and wonderful faun in all of Narnia.” She kissed his cheek as she ran her fingers through his beard, the curly locks of hair winding gently around her fingertips. “Where have you been? We had a date in the garden and when you didn’t show up, I became worried.” She pouted sweetly at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief, and he immediately could tell that she was not angry, but rather relieved that she had managed to find him, as there was concern etched in her teasing words.

“Your brother, His Majesty the High King, invited me for tea, it would have been inappropriate of me to have refused,” he said with a soft chuckle as she continued playing with his beard. He noticed that it was obviously her most favorite thing about him and he seemed to enjoy the attention as well, although his next question implied otherwise. “Lucy, why do you keep doing that?”

“Why not, my dearest?” She crooned softly as she raised her head and began to nibble on his left ear. “I wouldn’t be doing that if I didn’t like you, and you know perfectly well that I simply adore you.”

“Lucy, please stop that, my ears are dreadfully ticklish,” Tumnus sputtered softly trying all the while to keep the laughter out of his voice. Once she stopped this action, he looked down at her. “Now then, my dearest, if you don’t wish for the others to know of our affections for one another, then it would be a good idea for us to go elsewhere to continue this little discussion. At the very least, I must say that is not advisable for us to display our feelings towards one another so overtly.”

“When are we going to tell the others about us?” She asked softly as she released her hold on him. “I want to shout it from the highest mountain in Narnia that I love you. It’s only right, isn’t it?”

“I do not know, you are a queen, and I am a mere faun,” he said softly as he touched one side of her face, and she found herself covering his hand with her own and smiling at him.

“If that’s all it is about, then I’ll renounce my throne right here and now. I don’t want to be queen anymore if it means that I must give up on us,” the young queen said matter-of-factly and Tumnus could instantly tell that she was being one hundred percent serious.

“I do not think that you should do that, and I don’t think the others would expect that of you,” he said gently.

“Perhaps,” she whispered, her hand still stroking his, but her voice was laced with insecurities.

“What is it?” He asked gently, but somewhere he could almost tell instinctively what it was that made her so dreadfully afraid.

“I’m wondering how my siblings will react to this news. I mean, sure, Susan will be fine with it, she has after all suitors coming out of her ears,” she stopped speaking when she noticed the quizzical expression that crossed the faun’s face. She smiled at the fact that he had never heard such statements before, and internally, she reminded herself that she ought to be careful. “I just think that Susan will relate, she has a great many suitors and has an understanding of what love is about,” she offered. “I’m just not sure how my brothers will react. I fear they may not approve, you know how they like to play great protectors, especially Peter.” She sighed, but smiled bravely at the faun. “I simply fear that perhaps Peter asked you to tea in order to coax our feelings out of you, and that’s what bothers me.”

“Perhaps it was not meant as a bad thing, dearest, he simply noticed that you have changed somewhat since…” his voice trailed and he smiled weakly.

“…Since I confessed my undying love to you?” She asked; her voice the epitome of innocence, but there was a trace of seriousness in her that the faun could completely understand.

“Lucy, there is something else you must know. The High King has given me the task of finding out from you who it was who has stolen your heart,” Tumnus confessed softly.

“So he had no idea that it was you?” Lucy asked as she lowered her hands slowly.

“No, and I didn’t disclose the information either,” Tumnus said with a shake of his head, but after some seconds, she once more wound her arms around him and buried her face against his chest.

“Do you really love me, Tumnus?” She asked, her voice muffled. “Even with all the chaos that a love like ours has created?”

The faun smiled and nodded. “Of course I do, Lucy. I love you more than anything, but I promised you that I would not betray your trust, and if I were to have told His Majesty that we have met in private on several occasions, then there would be no telling how he might possibly react. It is hardly right for you to be sneaking off with the likes of me.”

“The likes of you?” Lucy shook her head. “It was the likes of you who stole my first kiss, it was the likes of you that held me when I was dreadfully sad about all those horrid suitors. Oh my dearest Tumnus, it is the likes of you that I love with all my heart, and here I am nearly eighteen and my brothers are still watching over me like a gryphon hovering over a battlefield.”

Tumnus released her and backed away from her before he led her down a hallway and they came upon a small closet sized room. This was one of the places that Lucy dearly loved, it was a small and intimate room, which smelled of flowers and scented perfumes.

With a gentle hoof, he slowly kicked the door open and they slipped silently into the room. He closed the door firmly behind them before turning to face Lucy, who was now looking up at him.

“Now we’re once more hiding from the world,” she said sadly, her voice filled with shame. “All of this because I am too much of a coward to confess to Peter that I am in love with you.”

He silenced her words with a kiss, but when that broke, he looked down at her, his blue eyes filled with gentility. “Do not be sad, Lucy, we will figure this out, eventually.”

“Perhaps,” she said softly, her eyes once more beginning to shine. It was there, wrapped in his arms that she knew that any bout of sadness would not last long. He had a way of making her smile even during the hardest of times, and his loving hold seemed to shelter her from any stormy weather or negative feelings.

“Now then, my dearest Lucy, what is this I hear about a tube of paint being sunshine?” He asked, trying to lighten her mood somewhat.

Lucy smiled secretly and wordlessly shrugged her shoulders, her arms holding onto him with all their might.

Before she could even offer him some sort of response, the door suddenly swung open and they turned to see that Peter was now standing in the doorway, his foot tapping the ground impatiently, and his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest.

He could see plainly that Tumnus still had his arms wrapped around Lucy and his sister was holding tightly to the faun as well, but neither seemed ready to loosen the embrace. Yet, as the door was opened even wider, and light filtered into the room, the High King spoke, thus causing them to slowly untangle their arms.

“I suppose there’s a good reason for you both to be hiding in this closet,” he said matter-of-factly, his eyes darting from Tumnus to Lucy.

“Peter, we…” Lucy began, her voice trailing, but the High King could not get over the shining eyes and smile that covered the face of his sister.

“I know, Lu,” the High King said softly. “I heard everything.”

Without missing a beat, Peter extended his hand to shake with Tumnus, the silent acceptance emerging in the High King’s actions and upon seeing this, both Tumnus and Lucy released an overwhelming sigh of relief.

“She grew up so fast,” Peter eventually offered as he waited for the faun to accept his outstretched hand. Once the two of them shook hands, the faun could see the wistful expression that was still plastered across the face of the High King.

With a new sense of resolve, Tumnus pulled a handkerchief from beneath his scarf and extended it towards Peter.

“I think you need this more than we do,” the faun said smiling, his blue eyes shining brightly.

Peter nodded as he extended his hand and with a small smile, he accepted the piece of cloth the faun had offered him. As he wiped his eyes, he looked at his younger sister and upon seeing the joy that emanated her, he offered a bittersweet smile, and nodded approvingly.

The End