Caspian paced the tunnels of Aslan's How, feeling very confused and relieved and angry all at the same time. He was glad that Queen Susan's horn had worked, and that he now had four powerful allies on his side, but he was expecting them to return as adults, people who would be respected by the Telmarines. Instead, he was sent children, King Peter being only a little older than Caspian himself. And also, it seemed like Peter was intent on planning and enforcing this war himself, whilst it was supposed to be Caspian who was leading the Narnians.

Caspian sighed; he supposed it was for the best. After all, he was only a Telmarine Prince who the Narnians knew almost nothing about, whilst Peter was one of the Kings of old, and had already gained the Narnian's respect and trust from past victories, mainly his defeat of the White Witch.

Sighing again, Caspian looked up and saw that he was in the tunnel that had been painted with the Narnian's history. Well, mostly the history of the four Kings and Queens. His eyes looked over the legacy of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy with a hint of jealousy. They had become heroes in the Narnian's eyes, could he ever hope to become as much?

As his eyes scanned the paintings, they came to rest on the one that seemed most out of place: it was a faun, holding an umbrella covered in snow by a lamppost. He assumed that the place was the lantern waste, but he could not understand the significance of the lone faun. He didn't look like a warrior or a sorcerer, so why was he here? What was his importance?

"They forgot the parcels," a voice said.

Caspian turned around in surprise, and found Queen Lucy the Valiant standing behind him, her eyes staring at the painting of the faun fondly.

"Pardon, Your Majesty?" Caspian asked.

The Queen turned her eyes to Caspian. "When I first met Mr. Tumnus, his arms were full of parcels. And, please, call me Lucy."

"Mr. Tumnus . . . is that the faun's name?" Caspian asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, a very brave, loyal, and kind faun," she said, her eyes growing distant, as if in remembrance.

"You knew him well?" Caspain inquired.

Lucy smiled. "He was the first friend I made in Narnia. I met him on my first trip here, through the wardrobe. He was so surprised to see a human that he dropped all of his parcels. I helped him pick them up, and we talked for a bit. He told me about Narnia, and ended up inviting me over for tea." Lucy smiled even broader and more wistful at the memory, but then her smile receded a bit.

"And then he tried to kidnap me." She said.

"Kidnap you!" Caspian exclaimed, enraged. He didn't know the tiny Queen very well, but he could already see the innocence and pureness in her. She was untouched by the evils of this world . . . or any other world. Whoever could even attempt to kidnap such a pure creature was a monster.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, he told me. Every creature in Narnia was under orders by the White Witch to bring any Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve to her. He was too scared of her to refuse."

Caspian swallowed his anger at the cowardice of the faun, and instead decided to voice his next question, though he almost dreaded what he would hear.

"What happened?" Caspian asked, afraid that Lucy would admit to torture or imprisonment or even worse things.

"I told him that I thought he was my friend," Lucy said.

Caspian felt the boiling anger again. How dare that faun? How dare he to abuse this girls trust and friendship? How dare he hand her over to the cruelties of the White Witch?

"I hope he was slaughtered like the rest of the White Witch's followers." Caspian said through gritted teeth.

Lucy looked up at Caspian in surprise. "But he didn't go through with it!" she exclaimed.

Caspian looked down at the girl in disbelief. "Pardon?" he choked out.

"I said before that he was too afraid to go against the White Witch! And when I questioned his friendship he decided to smuggle me out of Narnia, back to my family. He saved my life!" Lucy explained.

"But . . . had he not kidnapped you in the first place, you wouldn't have needed saving." Caspian argued.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, but I could have also been found by someone less kind than Mr. Tumnus. Someone who would have handed me over to the White Witch without a second thought."

"I still don't think it right that he had not been punished." Caspian said.

"I didn't hold anything against him." Lucy said.

Caspian looked down, his Telmarine upbringing fighting with this girl's kindness and loving heart. And yet, he understood and even agreed with Lucy's logic. Had he been in her shoes, he probably would have forgiven Mr. Tumnus, too. He had redeemed himself.

"He was punished, though." Lucy whispered.

"He was?" Caspian asked in surprise.

Lucy nodded. "The White Witch found out he helped me escape, and she locked him up in her dungeon, and turned him to stone." Lucy said; her voice barely audible as a tear rolled down her eye.

Caspian looked down again. He knew what it was like to lose a friend.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Lucy nodded. "When Susan and I found him, I just couldn't believe it. He had been such a dear friend, and he looked so scared . . ." Lucy trailed off, more tears threatening to spill over from her eyes.

"He truly was a most loyal and brave faun," Caspian said.

Lucy nodded, and her face brightened. "But then, Aslan came, and he brought Mr. Tumnus back to life!"

Caspian looked at Lucy in surprise, but then something clicked in his memory.

"I had forgotten that Aslan had raised an army from all of the stone creatures in the Witch's domain. Was Mr. Tumnus among them?" Caspian asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, he fought valiantly in that final battle, and he was the one who placed the crowns on Peter, Susan, Edmund, and me." Lucy smiled.

Once more – and this seemed to be happening quite a lot today – Caspian was surprised. Placing the crown on the King or Queen's head was a deep honor. Only the most trusted and revered individuals were allowed to do such.

"You must have really trusted him," Caspian said.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, he became one of our most valuable advisors, body-guards, and friends. He always traveled with us whenever we went on trips of alliance and holiday. Wherever we went, we insisted that he followed." Lucy chuckled.

Caspian smiled. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Well, it wasn't really funny at the time, but some very far-fetched rumors had started circling around about Mr. Tumnus and I." Lucy said.

"What kind of rumors?" Caspian asked, slightly intrigued and amused.

"The kind that people make up when they have nothing better to do than try to make a scandal out of important people's lives." Lucy said.

"Oh, those kind of rumors." Caspian said. Plenty of those had been made about him back when his uncle didn't want him dead. They had been mostly about nonexistent trips to brothels, maids who he didn't even know by face, and some even about his aunt. Caspian mentally shuddered. Some people really needed to get lives.

"There was never anything more than a steadfast friendship between me and Mr. Tumnus, though." Lucy said, placing her hand fondly on the picture of the faun.

"You miss him, don't you?" Caspian asked.

Lucy nodded. "He was my best friend," she whispered, a tear rolling down her pale cheek.

Caspian knelt down so that he was eye level with Lucy, and gently took her shoulders.

"Well, I know I'm no Mr. Tumnus, but I'm hoping I might still have the pleasure of being your friend." Caspian said.

Lucy looked at Caspian and smiled. "Really?" she asked.

Caspian smiled in return, and nodded. "I also need someone who knows Narnia, someone I can trust. Do you think you could teach me about this world as well?" Caspian asked.

"I'd be delighted," Lucy said.

And with that, Caspian and Lucy walked down the tunnel, both smiling at the prospect of having made a new friend. Caspian only looked over his shoulder once, and that was to look at the picture of the faun with an umbrella, standing beneath a lamppost. The faun who had changed history without being a warrior, or having a destiny. The faun who had been a hero, simply by being a friend.

Caspian looked down at Lucy and smiled, and she looked back up at him and smiled, too. And when they walked into the main cave, both walking together and smiling like idiots, Caspian couldn't help but think as he saw the stares of the Narnians: Oh, great. I can't wait to hear the new rumors that will surface because of this.

But he never regretted his and Lucy's open friendship.


Hello! Sorry if this is kind of cheesy. But I really wanted to write a nice Caspian/Lucy friendship scene. Also, let me just say that I think this should have been in the movie. I know they were probably saving all of the Caspian/Younger Pevensies relationships for Voyage of the Dawn Treader (eep! Just saw the trailer at Toy Story 3!) but I still think there should have been more than just "You weren't exactly what I expected"-"Neither are you" and "Don't worry, you're in good hands"-"Or hooves," Just my thoughts! Review! Flame if you like! Byebye!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (and, yes, I realize that I spelled Mystical wrong, but I don't want to have to go through all the complications of changing my pen name. It's called dramatic license!)