Kings and Queens

02

Lucy and Sam entered a forest clouded in white and walked up to a lamp post. They admired it and heard what sounded like scurrying about. They ducked behind the lamp post. A creature with a red scarf carrying parcels appeared. The creature, Sam, and Lucy screamed and the creature dropped his parcels.

Moments later, the three of them walked back towards the lamp post. "Were you hiding from me and Sam?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Huh, um, n... n... no. I didn't want to scare you," the creature said.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" Sam wondered.

He looked shocked that Lucy and Sam didn't know what he was. "Why, I'm a faun! And you must be some kind of beardless dwarves?"

"I'm not a dwarf!" Lucy cried. "I'm a girl! Sam's a boy. And actually, I'm tallest in my class."

The faun remained confused and asked, "But you're saying you're a daughter of Eve and he's a son of Adam?"

Lucy frowned. "Well, my mum's name is Helen..."

The faun cut her off. "Yes, but you and the boy are in fact, human."

Lucy and Sam nodded and the faun questioned, "What are you doing here?"

Lucy glanced back. "Well, we came from the wardrobe in the spare room, and..."

"Spare Oom," the faun interrupted.

"Spare room. Is that in Narnia?"

The faun seemed confused. "No. This is Narnia. Everything from this lamp post to Cair Paravel on the Eastern ocean, every stick and stone, every icicle is Narnia."

"This is an awfully big wardrobe," Lucy and Sam mumbled.

The faun turned his gaze to them. "Wardrobe? I'm sorry, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tumnus."

Lucy smiled and extended her hand. "Glad to meet you, Mr. Tumnus, Marion. I'm Lucy Pevensie. This is Sam Coulter." Tumnus stared at her hand. "Oh. You shake it."

Tumnus frowned. "Why?"

Lucy thought for a moment and glanced at Sam before she said, "I-I don't know. People do it when they meet each other."

Tumnus shook her hand, then Sam's, and said, "Well then Lucy Pevensie, Sam Coulter, from the shining city of War Drobe in the wondrous land of Spare Oom, how would it be if you came and had tea with me?"

Lucy glanced at the wardrobe. "Oh, well, thank you very much, but Sam and I probably should be getting back..."

"Yes, but it's only just around the corner. And there'll be a glorious fire. And toast and cakes. And maybe... we'll even break into the sardines."

"Well, I don't know..."

"Oh, come on. It's not everyday I get to make new friends."

"Well, maybe for just a little while... if you have sardines," Sam said in a lightly hesitant tone.

"By the bucket load," Tumnus answered with a small smile. "Come along."

They followed the faun to his house. When they arrived, they asked, "Can I help you?"

Tumnus nodded and Lucy and Sam both took a couple of parcels and opened the door. "Why, thank you!"

They put the parcels down and began examining the pictures. Tumnus noticed what she was doing. "Oh... that is my father."

"He has a nice face," Lucy said with a smile. "You look just like him."

Tumnus' expression changed almost instantly. "No, I'm not very much like him at all really."