a/n: This is it, folks, it may be a cheesy ending, but over all the story is rather fluffy and fun anyway. But it's now time for this writer to put this one to bed and move on to other stories. I can't say much more about this than what has already been said. I hope that you enjoyed this little story. It did turn into something more than just a oneshot and I'm rather glad that it did.

Hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please let me know. Reviews are love.

Revised on May 2, 2006.

In the Sleeping Room

As they came through the arched doorway, Tumnus turned around and looked at her, his eyes filled with love. "It's much warmer in here I think," he said. He released her hand and watched as she crawled onto the bed, her legs now gracefully tucked beneath the folds of her wrinkled dress.

He seated himself on the edge of the bed, his own legs casually draped over the side. After several moments, she found the distance annoying and inched closer to him, her body craving the same closeness she had already shared with him in the meadow.

He sensed this and looked at her, his blue eyes showing traces of hidden insecurity. "Are you happy, dearest Lucy?"

The youngest Narnian queen nodded. "Of course, what about you? Do you regret what happened, Tumnus?"

The faun shook his head. "No, Lucy, I don't regret anything. It has, you see, been a longing in my soul since just before you came of age."

"You played that song for me," she whispered. "But you didn't want to take advantage of me."

"I would never want to hurt you," he said softly.

"I know," she whispered. "And that dance, it felt rather like something out of a dream. The movements felt like something I did when I was a child. It's strange because last night they felt as though they had a whole new meaning. Tumnus, why did I feel as though I had been doing these movements my whole life?"

"Perhaps it is because you have," he said nodding. "Lucy, many of these movements are a form of self realization. It is essentially the things that are done without you fully knowing or realizing what the hidden meanings behind them are. When you combine certain groups of movements one after the other, then the entire meaning had the potential of changing. It's like a language of signs, and these feelings go straight into your heart and you feel yourself changed somehow because of them."

She looked into his eyes. "I did feel changed last night," she admitted.

"Tell me how," he said.

"I don't know if I can with words. It was strange and it felt as though you had finally started to see me as a woman and not a little girl. That made me very happy." As she spoke, she slowly lowered her head, her shoulders unconsciously shrugging. "Does that sound strange to you?"

Tumnus shook his head. "Not as strange as you might surmise. You see, for many years, I have watched you grow and blossom into a beautiful young woman. What sort of male would I be to not take notice of that which you have become? I knew in the depths of my being that I cannot change what I am. Lucy, I am a faun, and you are a Daughter of Eve. We are different from one another, but last night we were one."

"I know," she whispered as she reached for his hand. "I never wanted to think about how different we are, I wanted to think about the similarities we shared." She pulled his hand to her lips and began to gently kiss it. "Tumnus, I love you and last night I professed to be your bride. I could never regret having made such a vow to you. It is what I wish for more than anything in all of Narnia. Do you not wish for the same thing?" She bit down on her lip as she waited for his answer.

"I wish for nothing more than that," he admitted softly. "I have loved you for many a season, Lucy Pevensie. Yet I fear that cannot take you as my bride, because you did not know the history of the dance or the meaning behind it before now. You do not know what all it meant."

"I don't care about that, you can share it with me. I want to be your bride, it would honor me more than anything I could ever receive here." Lucy could feel the tears catching in her eyes. "Tumnus, I want to be with you forever and I don't care what anyone else says. You are my choice, let me be yours."

The faun took a deep breath. "If that is to be then I must explain the dance to you. Once you understand it, then you can decide if that is what you truly wish."

She simply nodded.

"When you did that dance for me, I discovered that you possess a magic far superior and deeper than anything that I have ever known," he began to speak. "You have magic inside of you and I believe that you are vastly unaware of it. It is a far deeper magic than anything I have ever known."

"Do you mean the deep magic like Aslan implied when he told Susan and me about the sacrifice at the Stone Table?" Lucy asked; her voice filled with confusion.

"It is similar yes," he said with a slow nod. "When you consider that Narnia is completely empowered by many vast sources of magic. One aspect of magic is about the act of sacrifice, but another is about the depths of love."

"Then show me," she pleaded softly.

He nodded and stood up, his body now directly in front of her. For a moment, instead of thinking of the dance, she had her thoughts elsewhere. It suddenly took all the concentration inside of her to pay attention to his movements and not to him.

As soon as they were standing in front of one another, he began to speak, his words literally reaching out and embracing her. "Some of the people call the dance, the 'mating dance', but the meaning behind it is a deeper love. It is one of the deepest and most profound emotions that exist in all of Narnia. When you start at the beginning, you raise your hands as though you are reaching out to touch the sky." He began to move his arms up over his head and continued to explain the movements. "Your palms reach out to the heavens."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"To take in the wonder of that moment which you are living in," he explained. "The sky is filled with magic, Lucy, and these stars can pour wisdom and love into your heart and leave you overflowing with emotion. You take the love that comes from them and share it with another. That one becomes your soul's mate. These movements ultimately represent how you have become one with them. You bring your hands down to your chest, just over your heart, thus symbolizing that you take that love that is freely offered into your life."

The next movement involved Tumnus reaching out to Lucy, their fingertips lightly touching. "I share with you my heart, my love, and my life. I offer you all that I have, all that I am through the love I receive from and give back to you." He stepped closer, entwined his fingers with hers. He began to sway with her, two steps to the left and two steps to the right. Lucy could feel herself continuing to move, long after he had stopped this motion and continued to speak. "We are one, in life, always and forever." As he spoke these words, he raised their intertwined hands to the sky, their hands opening up in sync with one another and the images that filled her were like a flower blossoming from a seedling. "We are one; body, mind and spirit…"

Their hands remained together as their arms were lowered and once more, they were holding one another's hands at chest level. The dance began again, the movements continuing for several minutes.

As their movements began to slow, he reached out and gently cupped her face with both of his hands. "The act of mating, or making love, is the final step of unity that comes through the love that is expressed wordlessly through that dance. My great, great grandfather called it the 'dance of oneness', but over time, and through the generations, the name evolved to be loosely called the 'mating dance'. It is a very meaningful dance, Lucy, the meanings behind these movements are the grandest expression of love that exist in all of Narnia."

"That's so beautiful," she said as tears freely began to stream down her face. She began to wipe them away with the back of her hand. "Tumnus, when I said, 'heart and soul', you truly understood what I meant, didn't you?" She wound her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.

Once the kiss had ended, he nodded. "Yes," he whispered, his hands still holding tightly to hers. "I did understand, but I was afraid to even begin to hope. You see, my love, I would never wish to push you in a direction you would not be willing to step in. I became aware of your wishes when you began to dance for me last night. Somehow, the words you had spoken at Cair Paravel and the actions at the dance made everything clear to me."

"But you played that song for me, and then abruptly stopped, why?" She asked.

"I was giving into some urges that I was afraid of allowing myself to experience," he admitted, as a slight blush tinged his cheeks. "I sent you away because I wanted to regain control of my wayward emotions. You had no idea what you were doing to me as you stood before me last night. I knew you were capable of handling whatever would happen, but deep inside of me, I still wanted to protect you. Even if that meant protecting you from me."

"Protecting me from you?" She asked softly, her words laced with disbelief.

"Yes, from what I could very easily have done. You see, I have many years of wild dances behind me," he admitted, his face flushing.

"So last night wasn't the first time something like this has happened to you?" She asked; disappointment etched in her voice.

"I have always enjoyed these dances and I can assure you that I have not shared the deep meaning of this dance with another." He touched her face gently. "Perhaps I am too humble to allow myself to be swept away with emotion. I can assure you that everything that happened between us last night was a first for me, and quite overwhelming."

She raised her head, a small smile tugging at her lips, but her next question emerged. "Tumnus, what is going to happen now?"

"Things will change between us," he said as he touched her face gently. "But it will be a change that I think shall be welcomed by both of us."

Lucy threw herself into his arms. "I do love you, Tumnus."

"As I do you," he said smiling as he wound his arms around her.

"And to think that this all started because my brothers and sister wanted to put me in a closet on my birthday." She buried her face against him and felt his hands stroking the back of her head. "Perhaps I owe him a debt of gratitude."

Tumnus nodded as he suddenly picked her up in his arms and seated himself on the edge of the bed with her in his lap. After several moments of silence, she raised her head and her eyes met his. "Are you happy?" She asked him softly, her green eyes shining.

With both hands, he gently cupped her face, his fingertips stroking her cheeks. "I am as very happy as well as grateful, dearest Lucy. To me being here with you has been the greatest gift that I could have even wished or hoped for," he whispered hoarsely as he kissed her waiting lips.

She would her arms around him and leaned into the kiss. As it ended, she opened her eyes and stared into his loving gaze. "I do," was all she said, her eyes shining brightly.

He responded to these words with another kiss…

The end.