Fallon had easily chosen what to do the night before. She'd scrambled into her bedroom before anyone from the downstairs area could see her, and she'd slipped into bed in a second, thinking she would fall asleep.
But she didn't.
She stayed awake for hours on end, twisting and turning in the sheets and trying to keep her eyes shut, but they just kept opening, moving to the locket that laid on her nightstand, the moonlight glimmering off it like diamonds.
If the professor had explained what her name meant, why hadn't he explained what the locket contained? Or why she had it?
For all she knew, the necklace wouldn't open, though she knew it could, and she'd always had it with her. But why?
The questions swimming in her head that night were enough to keep her awake until dawn, so it was no surprise she woke up early in the afternoon, everyone else being awake before her.
"Fallon!"
The girl snapped around, still quite tired, and it took her a second to focus on the person standing a few meters from her.
"Do me a favour, and go get that horse of yours cleaned up! Go on, now!"
Fallon suppressed a huff, watching as the Macready turned on her heal and walked away, leaving the girl in the living room.
Choosing not to question the woman, the brunette looked outside, and noticed how the sun rays broke through the leaves, casting a green glow onto the branches around them. She could see Dia from the window, munching happily on the grass, her coat seemingly covered in dried mud from the rainy day before.
Sighing, Fallon grabbed her things before walking outside, lowering herself to go through the fence and heading towards the mare, not noticing the Pevensies standing in the front lawn.
"Hey, girl," Fallon said, Dia raising her head at the sound of the girl's voice.
"Oh, good lord, Dia," the girl whined, going to scrub the horse's fur. "Love, you stink, you know that? Look at this, it's gonna take forever to clean."
After about ten minutes, Fallon still wasn't done getting the dried dust off the horse's left side, when she heard a crash coming from the house.
She gave the building a questioning look, dropping her things and jogging towards the house.
"Well done, Ed," she heard Peter say as she entered one of the rooms on the second floor of the mansion.
"You bawled it!"
"What happened?" Fallon asked, looking at the broken window.
Peter opened his mouth to answer her when another voice interrupted him.
"What on earth is going on?"
"The Macready!" Susan yelled, Fallon's eyes widening in realization.
"Come on!" Peter said, grabbing Lucy's hand whilst Fallon grabbed Susan and Edmund's, the five of them making their way around the house.
"No, no, back, back, back!" Edmund said, rushing to get out of the room they'd just walked in.
"Upstairs, come on!" Fallon spoke, leading the group to the staircase.
The five of them finally made it to the top floor, and Edmund immediately went to open the second door, swinging the wood open.
Fallon couldn't help but wonder how on earth the door would suddenly be unlocked after being closed for years, but she didn't question it, instead slipping inside, Peter closing the door behind her.
"Come on!" Edmund said, impatiently standing by the wardrobe.
"You've got to be joking," Susan said, and Fallon couldn't help but agree with her, and she was about to add something else, but the sound of footsteps outside the door were enough to shut her up.
"Go!" She said instead, pushing Susan in front of her and into the closet.
Fallon turned around, facing Peter's back as they moved backwards.
"My toe!"
"I'm not on your toe!"
"Move back!"
"That's my foot, Pretty Boy!"
"It wasn't me!"
"Will you stop shoving?"
The five voices intertwined into one another, making Fallon's head want to burst as she complained along with them.
Suddenly, she felt something cold hit the back of her foot, and she started slipping. Without thinking, she grabbed onto the first thing she could find, accidentally taking it down with her.
"Fallon!" Peter shouted, going to roll off from his position on top of the girl.
Once he stood up, he offered her his hand, and she looked at it for a moment before taking it, the blond yanking her off the ground with a little more force than necessary, and Fallon went flying into his chest.
"Careful," he said, catching her as she risked pushing them both down.
Fallon let out a laugh, and Peter's arms lingered around her for a moment longer before letting go of her, watching the brunette as she looked around her with wide eyes.
"Don't worry," Lucy said, and all heads moved towards her. "I'm sure it's just your imagination."
Peter was the first to regain his senses, stammering as he spoke.
"I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it."
Fallon watched as a smile made its way onto the boy's face, and she glanced around once more, taking it all in.
The snow covering the trees and ground was like a white blanket, small icicles littered the branches the hovered farthest from the ground, sending spiralling patterns shining into the air that seemed to be frozen in time, along with everything else around them.
Fallon hadn't realized she'd zoned out until she felt something cold hit her shoulder, and she jumped, letting out a gasp as she saw the remains of the snow falling off her clothes.
"Why, you little–"
Her words were cut off by another snowball hitting her chest, and she had to fight to keep the smile off her face.
"Oh, you're getting it now," she said, leaning down and grabbing some snow, moulding it into a snowball before chucking it at Lucy, who then threw another at Peter and Susan.
Fallon went to gather more snow, not missing once as she threw more snow grenades at the Pevensies, laughing every time Peter would make a face at her for hitting him.
The fun soon came to an end, though, when Susan threw Edmund a snow ball, hitting his upper arm.
"Ow!" The boy exclaimed, clutching his shoulder as if he'd just been shot. "Stop it!"
Peter was glaring at his brother, and Fallon couldn't help but be confused as he walked towards him.
"You little liar," Peter said, Edmund looking like a deer in headlights at his words.
"You didn't believe her, either," the younger boy protested.
"Apologize to Lucy."
When Edmund didn't say anything, Peter took another step towards him.
"Say you're sorry."
"Alright!"
Fallon watched the brothers, exchanging a look with Susan. Edmund might have lied, but Peter was being far too harsh.
"I'm sorry," Edmund said, lowering his voice and seemingly getting smaller under his brother's gaze.
"That's alright," Lucy said, "some children just don't know when to stop pretending."
Fallon held in a laugh at the little girl, instead noticing how cold the snow was making her feel.
"Maybe we should go back," Susan said.
"Shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Edmund suggested, and Fallon took a step towards him.
"I agree with Edmund," she said. "It's not everyday you discover a forest inside an old wardrobe."
"I think Lucy should decide."
The look of pure joy that spread on Lucy's face at Peter's words was enough for Fallon to understand what she wanted to do.
She remembered the little girl mentioning a certain faun while she was talking about the wardrobe after hide and seek.
"I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"
"Then Mr. Tumnus it is!" Peter said, disappearing back into the wardrobe as Susan spoke up.
"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!"
Fallon couldn't have agreed more. Though she seemed to be less cold than the rest of the Pevensies, the girl was still quite chilly.
"No," Peter's voice said before he reappeared from inside the closet. "But I'm sure the professor wouldn't mind us using these."
Fallon took a grey coat from the pile Peter was holding, slipping her arms through the soft material. Though she'd always hated coats made like this, she wasn't about to freeze.
"Anyway," the boy continued, "if you think about it, logically," he looked at Susan as he said this, "we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."
He went to hand Edmund the last coat, but the raven scrunched his face in disgust.
"But that's a girl's coat," he whined.
"I know," Peter said, flatly, shoving the fur into Edmund's arms and walking off.
The five of them started hiking, Lucy giving directions every now and then so they wouldn't get lost on their way to Mr. Tumnus's house.
Fallon and Susan laughed when Peter saw pile of snow and threw himself into it, the first girl following his movements and landing next to him.
The group continued on their way, until Lucy started running towards a corner.
"Come on! We'll get lots and lots of lovely food, and we'll have lots and lots of–"
The little girl suddenly cut off, and Fallon looked up from the snow to see a door embedded inside the rock knocked down, a crack running down its middle, like someone had wanted to break inside.
Lucy gasped, running towards the entrance.
"Lucy!" Peter yelled, immediately going after her, followed by his siblings.
Fallon stayed behind for a moment, looking around her. She felt something shift inside her, as if she knew what had happened, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She turned in a circle, paying close attention to what was around her. She felt something move on her left, and her head snapped in that direction, only for her eyes to see nothing. It was as if she knew who'd been here...
"Fallon!"
Susan's voice brought the brunette back to reality, and the girl moved to go inside, following the Pevensie girl.
Once she'd walked through the broken door, though, she froze.
Everything had been destroyed, not a single item left untouched. Glass stained the floor, any picture that might have been on the wall had been thrown to the side, and pans and broken dished were scattered around everywhere.
Fallon looked around, her amber taking in the disaster. She felt something moving on her right, and she turned to see Peter holding a piece of parchment.
"The Faun Tumnus is hereby charged with high treason against Her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans.
Signed, Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen."
Fallon staggered backwards, a sudden sense of dizziness overtaking her as she heard Peter read.
"Fall?" She heard someone say, though she was unsure of who the voice belonged to.
"Fallon!"
She suddenly felt like she was being knocked backwards, but a hand caught her as she fell, and she leaned against their frame.
"What's happening to her?"
"I'm ok," Fallon managed to sputter out, her vision finally focusing again. She realized the person she was leaning against was Susan, Peter holding her other side.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I just got dizzy."
"Alright," Susan said, letting go of Fallon. "Now we really should go back."
"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked, her voice filled with concern.
"If he was arrested for just being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do."
"You don't understand, do you?" Lucy said, her voice getting considerably lower as she spoke. "I'm the human. She must have found out he helped me."
"Maybe we could call the police," Peter suggested, Fallon and Susan both looking at him as if he had gone dumb.
"These are the police," Susan said.
"And, apparently, they're wolves," Fallon commented, glancing at the print on the parchment.
"Don't worry, Lu," Peter said, trying to make up for his mistake. "We'll think of something."
"Why?"
Everyone in the room turned towards Edmund, the boy suddenly not feeling as bold as a second ago.
"I mean," he said, "he's a criminal."
Before anyone could reply, though, there was a noise coming from the window, and all heads turned to see a bird sitting on a branch.
Psst.
"Did that bird just 'psst' us?" Susan said, her eyes going from the others to the door.
Peter was the first to move, going for the door, followed by the others.
Once outside, Fallon looked around, as did the rest of the lot, when she suddenly heard rustling coming from around her.
"Do you think it's the wolves?" Lucy whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Fallon took a moment before answering.
"It doesn't smell like a wolf."
No one seemed to understand what she'd said for a moment, and just when they looked like they were about to say something, Fallon saw something move in front of the group.
"It's... a beaver," Lucy said, all eyes trained on the brown ball walking in front of them.
"Here, boy," Peter said, clicking his tongue at the animal. "Here, boy," he said again, continuing the clicking.
"Peter, I don't think–" Fallon started, but an unknown voice cut her off.
"I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want."
Fallon's eyes widened and she stood, frozen at her spot, staring at the talking beaver.
"Oh," Peter said, just as shocked as the others. "Sorry."
The beaver's eyes turned to Lucy then.
"Lucy Pevensie?" He asked.
Lucy's amused smile disappeared from her face, getting replaced instead by a worried expression.
"Yes?" She asked, carefully taking a step forwards.
Fallon peaked over the girl's shoulder and noticed a white tissue being handed over to her.
"That's the hankie I gave to–"
"Mr. Tumnus," the beaver finished for her, and Fallon suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"He got it to me just before they took him."
"I– is he alright?" Lucy asked, seemingly afraid of the answer that was to come.
The beaver looked around for a moment before speaking again.
"Further in," he said before turning around and going back onto the trail he came from.
Peter and Lucy started taking a step forward, but Susan rushed up and grabbed her brother's coat.
"What are you doing?" She asked frantically.
"She's right," Edmund cut in. "How do we know we can trust him?"
"He said he knows the faun," Peter said innocently.
"He's a beaver. He shouldn't be saying anything!" Susan exclaimed, clearly not wanting to believe what she'd just witnessed.
"Everything alright?" The beaver's voice cut in, interrupting the argument.
"Yes," Peter said quickly. "We were just talking."
"Discussing trust issues, really," Fallon said, making her presence known for the first time since the animal had showed up.
The beaver looked over at her then, scanning her over with an emotion the girl couldn't quite place.
"Well, you trust her, don't you?" He said. "And trust me when I say I would be concerned about doing that rather than believing me. As for the talking," he lowered his voice to a whisper then. "That's better left for safer quarters."
No one had the time to question what the beaver was going on about before he disappeared behind a pile of snow, leaving the group no choice but to follow along.
Little did Fallon know, the explanation to the beaver's words would be the last thing she needed.
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ugh i really want to just start my Edmund fanfic but i gotta finish this one plus the sequel firstttt