a/n: Welcome to my latest multichapter story. A few notes about this story before I begin. This story has been written to completion, unlike the last where I posted as I went along. This story will not have that, I already know the outcome before posting one word of it.

So regardless of how many reviews I receive, the story is completed. As my friend, Springfall says, reviews are love, so if you read it, please take the time to review it. The reviews will also ensure the speed at which I update. You want more, I'll gladly give, but if I don't know if you will like it, unless you say something. My last story ended with nada, and I don't know if the folks reading even liked the ending...I'm clueless, but that's OK, new story, new start. I am hoping that once you start reading this, you'll stick with me until the end.

This story is a mixture of a lot of story genres and ideas. I've got adventure, sibling love, that nice little Tumnus / Lucy element (which I personally love), grief, angst, drama, friendship and so on. I'm listing this as Drama / Romance, but there is more to this than just those two aspects. There are other characters in the story, but no OC romance elements, no sibling incest elements, no Mary Sues (that was my last multi-chapter story), but it is a T rated story.

This story, as with any fan fiction piece is not written with the intention of infrigning on any previous/currently held copyrights. This is an amateur piece of writing done solely for the enjoyment of Narnia fans.

So, without any further ado, the story.

By: Yva J.

Chapter 1

The moonlight cast eerie shadows throughout the meadow. Night had fallen on Narnia and all the creatures in the Lantern Waste had gathered in celebration. It had been a wonderful year, and a new year was now upon them. It was a happy time for all parties involved. The beavers, the fauns, the nymphs; all the talking beasts, to be precise had gathered for a celebration.

It had been some years since a celebration of this magnitude had taken place, not since the White Witch had been in power. Now, the feeling of elation seemed to fill the meadows with music as springtime blossoms could be smelled in the air.

This was quite normal, as they were, after all, Aslan's folk, they supported and loved the great lion with all their hearts and knew that he held no objection to them returning to their gleeful lives after the hundred years of winter.

Separated from the throng of partygoers was the faun Tumnus. He was not in a celebratory mood; his thoughts had turned to contemplations, his heart felt heavy as it beat in his chest. He sat not too far away from a decorated table, his normally cheerful blue eyes watching as Mrs. Beaver walked over to the table and removed a large tablecloth, which covered a wicker basket that she carried. With the help of Mr. Beaver, they managed to plop the basket nearby as she carefully began to move the small jars from it and place them on the table. As she did, she looked at her husband. "Come Love, help by opening some of these jars."

Mr. Beaver nodded and with his strong and experienced paws, he managed to open several of them as Mrs. Beaver looked up and spoke, her voice drifting across the meadow. "Come join us, Tumnus, I brought your favorite marmalade."

The faun nodded as he stood and came over to the table, his hooves scraping against the ground, but when he reached it, he peered into the basket. "Oh Mrs. Beaver, your kindness is overwhelming, this is indeed my favorite flavor."

"Oh come now, since when have you talked to me in such a formal way? We have been friends many a season, my dear Tumnus, but yet I get the feeling that you aren't feeling up to celebrating with us tonight. What is on your mind, Dear Heart?" Although noticeably smaller than Tumnus in stature, the kindly beaver spoke to him as a mother would speak to a young child.

Tumnus looked at Mr. Beaver. "Have you heard any news from the Kings and Queens? Did they intend to come to Lantern Waste tonight?"

"No news, I'm afraid, High King Peter made mention of the new season, but he never implied whether or not Their Majesties would be in attendance tonight. As Kings and Queens, you realize that they are quite busy."

"Yes, I do," Tumnus said softly. "Three seasons have passed since I have last seen Lucy, uh, I mean of course Queen Lucy." He sighed deeply as the Beaver looked at him.

"You met her as Lucy once upon a time, it must be terribly difficult even after so many seasons to recognize her as a Queen of Narnia. She was just Lucy back in those days. Try not to worry, when she has time to come see you, she will."

Tumnus nodded, but glanced up to see that a tree nymph name Angelina was watching from a distance, her young eyes regarding them curiously, but something inside of her could not find the courage to approach. Instead, he took the incentive. "I shall return, Mrs. Beaver," he offered with a slight bow. He started to walk some distance away from the table to a crop of trees where he could see that she was standing alone amidst them.

As he reached her, he could see that she was several centimeters shorter than he was, her long blonde hair hanging down to her waist, but instead of it being clean, the young nymph looked tired and unkempt. "Hello," he offered as he looked at her.

"Hello," she responded in kind, but lowered her head as the music began to play and she raised her head when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I take it you are not in the mood for a celebration?" He asked.

"No, not really, I'm not welcome here," she offered shyly.

"Of course you are," he responded. "Perhaps it would help if we danced?"

"You wish to dance with me?" She asked shyly, her green eyes a sea of hope and Tumnus looked down at her. Such a young nymph and although he had read 'Nymphs and their Ways' on at least ten occasions, he could see something out of character in this young one, something filled with dejection and sadness.

"Of course," he smiled at her, his blue eyes suddenly beginning to shine, and in the back of his mind, he could almost hear the words of the female beaver ringing in his ears. 'Go and have fun, Tumnus', she would have said to him.

The young nymph nodded, "I'd be honored," she offered and trembling she placed her hand on his offered arm. As they came out into the open meadow, she looked up at him. "Your name is Tumnus correct?" Angelina asked with a timid smile. Once he nodded, she continued, her eyes brightening somewhat. "I've heard tell of your bravery and undying loyalty to those whom you call a friend."

"I am not so sure if that is completely accurate," Tumnus managed. "I have done nothing worthy of praise."

"But you have," she said bowing her head and looking down at the ground humbly.

"Please, do not do that," he said solemnly. "I am a mere faun, and the only good that came out of my actions was that the Daughter of Eve was safe and managed, with the help of her siblings, to reach the stone table and Aslan. I was turned into stone because of my 'treachery', but later was awakened by the great lion himself."

"You mean; you met Aslan?" Angelina asked smiling, her eyes brightening somewhat at the mention of the mighty lion. "It must have been so wonderful to actually see him."

"More like terrifying and wonderful at the same time," Tumnus said. "When he woke me at the witch's castle, I thought my heart would surely catch in my throat. It was a feeling unlike any I had ever experienced. I was in the arms of my most treasured friend, and Aslan stood nearby and watched patiently."

"Did you always know that Aslan was good?" She asked weakly, and noticed that his back had suddenly tensed and she lowered her arms, all the while, backing slowly away from him. Somehow, she could tell that he was disquieted by her inquiry. It suddenly felt as though she was dancing with a tree as opposed to a faun. After several moments of silence had passed between them, she raised her head sadly, "My apologies for making you feel uncomfortable."

With that, she managed to stumble away from him. He remained standing stationary for several moments and staring after her as she disappeared in the distance. "What have I done?" He whispered softly to himself, but finding himself intrigued by her, he started to slowly follow.

When he realized that he had lost the young nymph, he made his way back over to the table and sat down on a bamboo-covered chair that was not far away. The sadness and guilt about what he had done in the past was now washing over him. They see me as a hero, but I am anything but heroic, I did what I could to survive, he thought sadly as he shook his head. I truly am not in the mood to celebrate anything even if Mrs. Beaver's jams are the best in all of Narnia.

"Tumnus?" Mrs. Beaver had come over to him. "I saw you dancing with that young nymph."

"Yes, but she ran away so quickly that I was not able to catch up with her," he said shaking his head. "She appears to be upset about something."

The beaver smiled and nodded. "You are concerned, just as you were concerned for Queen Lucy. You are one of the most emphatic creatures in all of Narnia, my friend, it is for that reason that you would find a friendship with Angelina. She comes from a family of traitors."

"Perhaps, but the way her eyes lit up at the mention of Aslan, I doubt very seriously that she would be involved with any dark forces that may still exist here," Tumnus said matter-of-factly.

"Then go find her, and be a friend, for that is what you are known for, your loyal friendship to others," she said.

Tumnus nodded and smiled as he slowly made his way through the throng of Narnians until he reached the lamppost where he had met Lucy the first time all those years ago. As he came closer to the light that emanated from the lamppost, he could hear that the sounds of the distant laughter had once more faded, leaving the area around the lantern quiet and peaceful.

Coming closer he could make out a silhouette of someone standing before it, their head was tilted up and they seemed to be staring at the light atop it. After several moments, he realized that the one who stood at the base was Angelina, the nymph holding several strands of her hair and was twirling it around her trembling hand.

"Angelina?" He spoke her name and thus caused her to release her hair and turn around. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" He asked. "We were dancing and you suddenly disappeared."

"I didn't feel like dancing, I was trying only to be polite," she offered, her voice emerging somewhat anxiously.

"You did not wish to dance?" He asked as he wrung his hands together.

"No, it's not that, I…" her voice trailed off and she lowered her head as she continued to speak, her voice emerging filled with sadness. "…If you knew who I am you would never wish to speak to me again, much less share a dance with one such as me."

Tumnus shook his head. "Of course I would, you are a child of our wood, not one to despise. Angelina, you could not have done something so terrible that I would rise in anger against you." He paused when he looked over and could see a small glimmer of hope in the recesses of her green eyes. "Shall we go and sit somewhere where we can be alone and talk? You seem far away, child."

"I'm not so much a child…" she began.

"To me you are," he said and offered his arm. "Come, we can go wherever you like, but you need to find peace."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think I like the way that sounds."

The faun nodded as the young nymph wrapped her still trembling hand around his offered arm and allowed him to lead her away from the lamppost. "I suppose that Lantern Waste holds a great many memories for me," he began as they came closer to his cave. "It was in that place where I met Queen Lucy the first time."

"What are humans like?" Angelina asked. "I have never met one."

"They are a lot like us, they are kind, but sometimes they experience fear, sadness, joy, and happiness just as we often do," he said without hesitating. "The only difference between us is our appearance, and of course the place where each of us are born."

"I never met a human before, my mother used to talk about them, but she referred to them as legends; sort of like in that book, 'Is Man a Myth?'. Are you familiar with it?"

"Yes, actually I am, I have read this book countless times," Tumnus said as they stopped some distance from the faun's cave. "I think it entranced Queen Lucy the very first time she visited my cave. She would look at the books on the shelf and read through all the different titles. She would then whisper the names as she read them. She probably didn't think I had actually noticed or heard her speaking, but I did. In fact, it was because she had touched that book during her visit that I found myself becoming quite attached to it and opted to keep it in my sitting room."

"It must be nice to share such a friendship as that, where you hold tightly to everything that your friend touches," Angelina said, her voice emerging soft. "I haven't many friends."

"That cannot be true," he said, his voice filled with unhidden surprise.

"But it is true, my family is not well liked in the meadow, my father worked for the White Witch when she was in power," she began. "He…"

"Angelina, you are not at fault for the actions of your father," he said.

"But, I love him," she blurted out and Tumnus nodded.

"I understand, I too love my father, he fought in the Great War," he said as he reached over and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Aslan would not judge you for anything that has come to be, instead he would tell you that he loves you regardless."

"Aslan…" the nymph spoke softly as she bowed her head shamefully, the tears streaming from beneath her eyes. "My father betrayed so many, and I am his daughter. An apple does not fall far from the tree."

Tumnus shook his head, but seconds later, another nymph came walking up the path towards them, this one several years older than Angelina, and as he looked into a matching pair of green eyes, he concluded that this must be her mother.

"What are you doing out here with him?" The elder nymph asked, her voice demanding.

"Mother, we were just talking, we had met at the Lantern and he was telling me about Queen Lucy," Angelina said softly.

"You know how I feel about this," Angelina's mother snapped. "You are betraying the trust of your family."

"No, I'm not," Angelina tried to pull her arm away from her mother, but she eventually gave up, admitting defeat. She looked at Tumnus. "You see," she managed to speak. "I am of no significance here."

As these words filled Tumnus' ears, he watched as the young nymph was practically dragged away and the kindhearted faun was left staring after them. "I don't understand," he eventually muttered his voice reaching the trees, but eventually he started to walk towards the black door that concealed his cave.

Without warning, he abruptly heard a familiar voice from behind where he was standing. "It's really quite simple, my young friend." He looked up to see that coming down the path was another faun, this one several centimeters shorter than Tumnus, but walking hunched over a wooden cane.

This faun was much older than Tumnus, and he carried the name Tobias. Tumnus remembered him all too well, it was this faun who had taught him geography when he was in school, but that was so many years ago that Tumnus could not recall everything that he had been told. On top of that, he had often wished that he could find Tobias so as to inquire about the whereabouts of Spare Oom and War Drobe. All too often, he had pondered where these places were or if they were in Narnia at all. Yet, at this moment, these thoughts seemed, at best, insignificant.

Yet, here stood Tobias at that moment right next to him, his hand rubbing through his aged whiskers and his wise eyes were regarding him tinged with disapproval. "You would think well of my words, Tumnus, your dearly departed father would be shocked and surprised to see you speaking to the likes of her. She is not of Aslan's folk, my friend," the elder faun scolded with a shake of his finger. "Nymphs of her kind would not have thought twice about betraying us to the witch."

"The witch is dead, Tobias, Aslan destroyed her and I saw him do it," he said patiently.

"Yes, of that I am quite aware, as I have heard the stories too many times to count. Yet, it was her father who betrayed a large group of fauns back during the witch's reign, and need I remind you that your father was one of those who courageously fought against her armies? That old dryad, Johann, betrayed him and that is this nymph's father. Tumnus, I speak honestly to you, but such friendships or bonds can only make for trouble, not only for High King Peter, but for the Narnian Kingdom," the older faun said. "Johann was a crafty one, alright, and he was easily persuaded to follow orders. He taught his children that as well, and you must know that it would be a foolish act to believe in someone of that kind."

"You forget that I was in pay of the White Witch too," Tumnus said sadly. "She had persuaded me to go after human children just the same as she used Johann to do her bidding."

"Of that I am aware, but young friend, do take heart, although you were in the witch's pay, you never once harmed any human child; you loved Queen Lucy as a friend and confidant should. Your story will go down in Narnian history as the faun who proved himself to be the greatest friend known to all talking beasts. You need not be reminded that you were willing to put yourself at great risk to save her life. I cannot say the same for that young nymph, I am sure that they would knife you in the back at any given moment if the chance presented itself. She can do magic my friend, and those green eyes could take advantage of your good will and bring harm to you."

"She cannot harm anyone, Tobias, the witch is dead, has been for many a season, and Narnia is free," Tumnus said firmly and finding himself unwilling to discuss this further, he looked at the elder faun. "I think I shall return to my cave now, Tobias, I am quite tired and contrary to the others, I am truly not in the best of mood to celebrate. Please excuse me, I wish you a pleasant evening."

He separated himself from the elder faun and without even waiting for Tobias to respond, he returned to his cave.