SEEDS OF FAITH

While I was going over my stories, and contemplating what I ought to write next, the idea for this came to mind. It seemed too good a story to pass up, so I quickly jotted the general plot down while it was still fresh in my memory. I now offer you all the first chapter. I don't expect this to be too terribly long of a story—it will really all depend on what enters my imagination—but whether long or short, I do hope you'll read it and enjoy it all the same.

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

It was a fine, glorious summer morning in Narnia. It was the perfect day to be outside and go blackberry-picking in the woods, and that was precisely what little Puck and Selena were doing with their father, Tumnus the faun. Terence, a young unicorn who maintained the appearance of a handsome white-haired man, who was Tumnus's best mate and Puck and Selena's legitimate guardian, was with them that day.

Together the little bunch had a very pleasant time strolling through the sun-dappled forest, with Terence teaching the children a silly, nonsensical song regarding a troll, a witch, a dwarf, a goat, and the ugliest dog who ever lived that nearly had Puck and Selena doubled over in laughter. Seeing and hearing his children's mirth and delight flooded Tumnus's heart with warmth, and he smiled affectionately at Terence.

How the faun loved it when it was like this: just the four of them, with no cares or worries or responsibilities to restrict them; nothing but the sun and the fresh air and the sweet song of the birds—and with the prospect of all the blackberries you could pick and eat. Tumnus was certainly looking forward to a lovely slice of blackberry pie when they returned home to Cair Paravel, or a thick slab of hot oven-fresh bread with blackberry jam spread over the top.

But for now, the faun was perfectly content just to be with his son, his daughter, and his best mate. He only wished his wife were there with them. But Lucy had some important affairs that day that she couldn't get away from, and she'd insisted that Tumnus and Terence go on ahead with the children, and come back with all the blackberries they could possibly carry.

Though Selena and Puck were disappointed at having their mother at Cair Paravel rather than with them, they were ecstatic to have Terence at their side.

Both children loved their godfather dearly; Terence was always full of fun, and could turn even the most ordinary, boring day into an adventure. In a way, the young half-human was like a second father to them. Having no real family of his own, Terence held his godchildren very close to his heart; and had he and Tumnus been blood brothers, they could never have been more dedicated to one another.

At length, Puck, who was the eldest of the children, asked Tumnus, "Are we there yet, Papa?"

Tumnus smiled at the lad and answered genially, "We're already there, my son."

Sure enough, when Puck looked ahead, there grew a good cluster of blackberry bushes around a sunny clearing, all of them loaded with shiny ripe berries. The bushes were crowded so densely together that it was impossible to see where they ended.

For just a moment, Tumnus stood quietly with Terence and his young ones, drinking in and savoring the sight. "It's so pretty!" said Selena softly, marveling at the beauty of the place.

"Yes," Tumnus had to agree with his daughter. "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Couldn't have picked a better spot myself," Terence declared good-naturedly.

Puck then quickly dashed ahead of the group. "Come on, Papa," the boy cried, as he swung his empty wicker basket flamboyantly about. "Let's go!"

Tumnus chuckled heartily. "Keep your fur on, son; I'm coming!" He then turned to Terence. "While I go with Puck, Terence, can you watch Selena for me?"

"Of course, I can watch her," Terence replied nonchalantly. He looked down upon the girl. "See? I'm doing so right now, this very moment. And what a lovely sight she is this morning, if I do say so myself!"

This made Selena giggle.

Knowing what the young man was getting at, Tumnus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, all right, all right. Will you watch Selena for me, Terence? Will you stay with her, and make sure she's safe?"

"Sure thing, mate," said Terence grandly, now saluting the faun like a soldier, and giving Tumnus a roguish wink.

Tumnus just shook his head, half amused, half exasperated.

He then hurried to catch up with his son, and Terence encouraged Selena, "Come on, sweetie. Let's get those berries picked, before they turn to pulp in the sun."

Both Selena and Puck understood that blackberries were best picked early in the day, before the sun rose too high and the day got too hot. They were much less of a hassle to pick that way. As blackberries were extremely fragile, and popped off the plant at the lightest touch when ripe, it was most ideal to harvest them during the cool of the morning, when they were firmer and less prone to damage from clumsy handling.

Selena obediently followed after Terence as the man set off toward his own personal bush.

The yield of blackberries proved to be most outstanding this year. Never before had Tumnus or Terence or the children seen so many berries growing together at one time, and the berries were incredibly thick and plump and juicy.

Just one basket alone would last them well over a month.

Unable to resist, Puck shoveled a few of the berries into his mouth to taste them after Tumnus had loaded them into the basket, and they proved to be so delicious that the boy helped himself to more and more, until he was hooked. Soon, he was eating the berries as quickly as his father could pick them; and it wasn't long at all before the little faun's face and hands were stained bright purple, as if smeared with purple ink.

"Take it easy, son," Tumnus cautioned him. "Don't overindulge yourself."

"But these are so good, Papa!" Puck raved between bites, accidentally spitting out a little juice as he spoke.

"Keep this up, though, Puck, and you will become a blackberry yourself before you know it."

Puck's eyes grew wide at this prospect, but that didn't stop the youngster from cramming another dozen or so berries into his mouth.

Meanwhile, on his side of the clearing, Terence was busily loading up his own basket, whistling a cheery tune to himself as he strode from bush to bush.

But Selena loitered behind him, dragging her basket rather halfheartedly along. The little girl felt unusually tired, for some reason or another; and even though it was a pleasant day, she felt an odd chill envelop her. Truth be told, she had been feeling strange all morning.

She hadn't mentioned this to her godfather or her father, for she'd refused to miss out on their special little outing. But now it really dawned on her that she must be coming down with something dreadful. She felt hot, in spite of her chill, and she felt extremely lethargic; it took nearly all she had within her just to put one foot in front of the other. More than anything else in the world right now, the girl wanted to simply throw herself down in the grass and lie there for the rest of the day—more than a day, she wanted to sleep for the next hundred years.

"Come along, Selena," Terence called at some point over his shoulder. "Don't dawdle."

Selena had grown too tired and felt too poorly by then to answer her godfather outright.

All at once she stopped dead in her tracks, and she lost her grip on her basket and dropped it, sending her few berries scattering all over the grass. When Terence noticed this, he drew to an immediate halt himself and turned around. "Selena?" he said anxiously, knowing at that very instant that something was not right with his goddaughter. "Honey? What is it?"

She said nothing, but bent over and clutched fiercely at her head with both hands, feeling as though a bunch of white-hot knives were searing straight through it. Everything around her literally spun in circles before her eyes, and she felt horribly nauseous.

"Selena?" Terence said again, feeling genuine panic rise within him. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Still, the child would not answer him, but she let out an audible, pitiful moan.

Terence called out urgently to his friend, "Tumnus—I think something's wrong with Selena!"

Upon hearing this, Tumnus promptly stopped what he was doing and turned to his daughter. "Selena?" he gasped, and Puck looked up from his sticky fingers at the sound of his father's alarm. "Selena?" Tumnus repeated frantically, moving briskly toward his little girl. "Selena?"

But the only response he got from her was a very feeble, "Papa…"

And then Selena simply swayed to one side, and began to fall freely through the air. Terence swiftly rushed up and caught her just before she hit the ground, and he knelt and cradled her very gently within his lap, but the child was already out cold.