A Promise

Characters copyright C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia)

I do not own them in any way.

Fanfic by: Dragonnerd445

[AN: Please note that I know very little about this series. I just know about Tumnus and Lucy. If scenarios or characters seem OOC or anything please feel free to let me know. =) Thanks and I appreciate any and all who give this little story a read. Thank you. ]

All around her the air seemed to be hot and thick with billowing clouds of smoke. Each inhale of air seemed to choke her as she fought past it all trying desperately to reach them. She seen them not but a moment ago. They were beckoning for her. Her mother standing alongside her two brothers and sister, both of which had expressions of concern on their faces.

She found it odd that they seemed to be oblivious to their surroundings. How everything was hot, on fire and buildings around them tumbling to the ground. The air filled with the screeching sound of sirens.

Why did none of this faze them?

Fighting back this worrying thought, Lucy Pevensie tried desperately to meet up with her family. With all the bomber planes flying overhead, she had to reach them before it was too late.

However, it appeared that that thought alone was enough to trigger the next events. Overhead, a total of seven bomber planes were bolting past. Each leaving thick trails of smoke behind them. As she squinted through the heavy smoke, Lucy barely made out that they were on a crash course right towards her family.

Waves of panic flooded her as she called out frantically, trying to warn her family to move, to seek shelter. But her words were drowned out by the tumultuous crashing boom of the planes as they collided with the ground before her-

"Mommy!"

Lucy Pevensie woke suddenly with a start. It took her a few minutes to register her surroundings in the dark room, which was now light by a single candle. The candle, it appeared to Lucy, was floating in midair. A quick rub of the eyes however revealed that it was in fact being held by a male Faun. The Faun was now eyeing her with a mix of sadness and concern. His hooves thudding against the hardwood floor as he made his way towards her.

Lucy sighed to herself.

"Oh Mr. Tumnus. It's just you." her voice was sad and somewhat wistful.

Setting on the bed next to her Tumnus gave a little smile.

"Of course it's me. Who else did you expect?" He'd meant for this statement to cheer her up, but the Faun was stung a bit when he saw Lucy turn away, as if hiding her gaze. His ears drooped with sadness.

"Lucy." he asked gently. "What's wrong?"

As he waited for the child to answer, deep in his heart he knew what the matter was. He'd been so worried about it for the past few days, and now it had finally come.

Lucy bit her lip softly before turning back to face him. Her voice tight and a little strained.

"Oh, it's nothing M- Mr. Tumnus. Just a bad dream is all."

She tried to give him a smile but the wavering edges of it told him otherwise. He gently placed a furry hand over hers and gazed at her with concern.

"No…no it's not nothing, Lucy. Something is bothering you, I can tell. Now what is it?"

Seeing her flash a quick look of nervousness he continued.

"Have no worries Lucy. You can tell me anything. I promise you won't hurt my feelings no matter what it may be."

His ears swished slightly as he waited for her response. However, the waiting seemed to kill him a lot more then the knowledge of what the answer was. The mere fact that he was partly responsible for her misery right now made his heart ache terribly. He had never meant to cause so much trouble, he'd only pledged himself to the White Witch to save his life.

Looking back on it however, Tumnus realized just how selfish his actions were. Now his selfishness was partly the cause of a young child's sadness. He swallowed hard as a lump in his throat started to form.

After a few minutes of silence (or what was assumed silence) Tumnus noticed that her breath had picked up in speed. She was breathing somewhat heavily now. In the candlelight he saw that tears were now spilling over onto her cheeks as she finally let out a sob.

Covering her face with her hands her cries were muffled but their grief was still fully felt by the tenderhearted faun.

"Oh, Mr. Tumnus, it's my family. I miss them dearly!" She wiped her eyes with the back of her tiny hands as she went on.

"I've tried for days upon days to find them and it's no use. I've lost them in this place."

Wailing she burrowed her face into his fur as her sobs continued.

"I'll never be home again…"

These words were like a stab to the heart of the faun. He blinked heavily as his eyes stung more and more. As the faun fought back his own sadness, he did what little comfort he could and embraced her gently. He let her have a good cry for a good few minutes before he offered her a clean rag for her eyes.

She thanked him and wiped them off absent mindedly.

After a few minutes of silence from the both of them, the faun finally broke it. Still setting on the edge of the bed he spoke. His hands twisting and untwisting as if with nervousness, but Lucy paid them no mind.

"Lucy…" Tumnus said softly. It took him a few minutes to work up the courage for his next words.

"You-you will find your home." He turned to face her. His eyes filled with sincerity and promise.

"I promise you I will help you find your family and get you back home."

Lucy's eyes were suddenly wide with hope and happiness. They were still shimmering from the tears but now it was safe to say these were tears of joy.

She took Tumnus' hand as if to assure herself this was not another dream, that this time things were real.

"You-you promise?"

Her voice the voice of a child who is filled with innocence and hope.

Tumnus squeezed her small hand lightly in reassurance and nodded, giving her another gentle smile.

"I promise. You have a Faun's word."

Lucy, overcome with happiness of finally the possibility of seeing her family one more, leapt up and embraced the faun tightly. Her tiny body seemed to relax as she muttered into his fur.

"Thank you Mr. Tumnus."

Tumnus embraced her once again but his mind was filled with worrisome thoughts. He'd pledged himself to the White Witch, he'd promised her about the Pevensie children, he'd gone against Aslan to save himself.

And now…he was about to risk even more for the sake of this small child. But it didn't matter to him anymore. He would see his promise through to the end.

Even if he died in the process by the White Witch's hand….he would see this promise fulfilled.