12. Charlotte
Charlotte considered trying to find a dining room of some kind, but her courage failed her. Instead, she rang the bell and requested a hot breakfast in her room. It would be easier to face exploring the empty castle with a full stomach.
At first she thought nothing had happened, and the bell really was broken, but then a delicious smell reached her nose. Turning, she saw a tray resting on a walnut table by the window, a padded chair in front of it and steam rising from the dishes.
Smiling, she rushed over and fell on the food. How many hours had it been since she had last eaten? She couldn’t remember, and she didn’t want to calculate it. Her life had changed so completely since her last meal that she didn’t like to think how little time had actually passed.
She would have to thank the bear—no, Henry. She would have to thank Henry properly for the bell. It was clearly going to make life in an empty castle much more enjoyable.
Henry. She stopped eating and placed her hands against her warm cheeks. Her husband was a human, not a bear. It was a shocking new reality, one she still hadn’t fully absorbed.
Who was he? And what was he doing living in this empty castle? Surely he hadn’t lived here alone before the enchantment? It was a strange enough home for a talking bear, but it would be stranger still for a lone human.
She’d never even heard of a castle in the mountains, but they couldn’t be too far from the valley where her family lived. Even though the bear moved quickly, they had arrived at the castle before dark.
And now she understood the necessity of their speed. No wonder he had hurried them home given night was falling.
Thinking of her home made her wonder about her family. Had they received the bride price promised to them? Had her wishes from the night before reached them? It was strange to imagine her sisters and parents preparing for a move to Arcadia without her. It didn’t really matter how close the castle was to the valley when her family wasn’t going to be there anymore.
When she’d finished the food, she hesitated for only a moment before using the bell to fill her new wardrobe with gowns. When she flung open the walnut doors, she gasped at the array of luxurious material and beautiful designs. She could barely bring herself to touch them and choosing one to wear felt like an impossible task.
She had never obsessed over gowns and wealth like her sisters, but she still appreciated beauty, and she had never seen such dresses. Eventually she forced herself to choose one of the simpler ones, only to be delighted all over again at how easily she was able to get it on without assistance. Apparently the power that resided in the bell was of a practical as well as beautiful nature.
She blushed in earnest as she admired herself in the mirror, noticing how the folds of the dress enhanced the elegance of her shape. Here in the privacy of her room, she admitted that her request for new gowns wasn’t solely about enjoying beautiful things. She had discovered her husband was really a man, and overnight she had become conscious of how she appeared to him.
Did Henry think her beautiful? Is that why he had chosen her? Or was it some other quality he saw in her?
The dispiriting realization that it might have been neither crept over her. She had quite possibly been the only girl in close vicinity who was miserable enough to consider such a proposal.
She didn’t like that idea, but there was a good chance it was true. The valleys didn’t offer a huge range of choice when it came to marriageable females.
Staring at herself in the mirror, Charlotte shook her head. It didn’t matter what his reasons might have been. He was her husband, and he had already demonstrated his consideration and willingness to defend her against others. It was her turn to show him the same care he was showing her.
And to start with, that meant braving the castle that was his home. She cautiously opened the door of her new bedchamber, relieved to see that the stone corridor looked far less intimidating with daylight streaming in through a large window.
The overall effect was still stark and cold, though, and she remembered Henry’s words from the day before. He had told her to restyle the castle to her taste, and with the bell, the task was simple. She didn’t even have to worry about making mistakes, since she could easily fix them later.
Dashing back into the room, she retrieved the bell before gazing up and down the corridor, considering her options. Finally, she gave a decisive nod and rang it.
“Give all the corridors a central runner of thick red carpet, and add tapestries to the walls. Also some comfortable chairs.”
Instantly, the space around her transformed. She gazed up at a stunning tapestry of geometric shapes in complementary shades of red and gold. It matched the carpet beneath her feet and the red upholstery on the elegant wooden chairs that had appeared beside the tapestry.
She smiled. Practicality and beauty. She could get used to having the bell at her disposal.
“Lottie?” The sound of her new nickname in the rumbly voice of the bear shot straight through her heart.
She had been afraid that in the light of day, seeing his enchanted shape, she would lose the sense of him as Henry. But the sound of the single word was enough to tie the two together. He might be wearing a different shape, but he was still her husband underneath.
“When I suddenly found myself walking on carpet, I realized you must be awake,” he said with amusement in his voice.
“Do you like it?” she asked, knowing her tone made it clear she was proud of her initial effort.
“It’s an instant improvement,” he said promptly. “I don’t know why I didn’t do it a long time ago.”
A draft sent shivers through Charlotte, and she lifted the bell again. “Warmth please, as well.” She glanced at Henry as the crackle of a distant fire reached her ears and the air temperature rose around her. “I suppose you don’t feel it with that thick coat. Please let me know if it gets too hot for you.”
He shook his large head, his eyes intent. “I’ve taken you away from your home and your family. I want you to be comfortable here. Please don’t worry about me.”
“But how can I not?” she asked softly. “You’re caught in a terrible enchantment.” She straightened her shoulders. “I don’t have any particular experience or skill, but we’re family now. There must be some way I can help you.”
“You are helping me. More than you know.” His intent gaze speared into her, and she felt a flush of warmth that had nothing to do with the change in air temperature. Did her presence and companionship mean so much to him?
“I can do more,” she said stubbornly. “Surely there’s something more I can do.”
Henry blinked and looked away, as if considering. Finally he nodded and turned back.
“If you really mean it, then there is something.” He hesitated again, a smile spreading over his head. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”
Holding back her curiosity with difficulty, Charlotte followed him down several corridors and up a flight of stairs. He stopped in front of a set of double doors that rivaled the front doors of the castle in size.
When he looked at her, she realized he wanted her to open them. Hurrying forward, she had to exert her full strength to pull them apart.
“I suppose having paws must make lots of things difficult,” she said, breathless from the effort.
“I’ve worked out I can manage door handles. But it’s difficult and awkward.” He took several paces into the room and then turned to look at her. “But I can’t handle books.”
Charlotte gasped when she saw what filled the room inside. Despite her best efforts, a laugh burbled up inside her.
She turned to Henry. “That’s a lot of books for someone who can’t even pick them up.”
Everywhere she looked, stacks of books were piled haphazardly, many of the piles taller than her. It was a large room—large enough she couldn’t see its far reaches—but the entire thing seemed to be full of books.
Henry grinned ruefully. “I asked the bell to lead me to the library, and then I asked it to fill the room with a copy of every book found in any of the royal libraries. This is what I got.”
If there was furniture in the room, it was too covered in books to be seen, with a single exception. The lone clear spot stood out like an oasis in the mess. A circle of lamps surrounded a small but thick rug, and the piles of books scattered around its edges were a much more manageable height. Realization filled her, followed by a pang of sorrow.
“This is where you usually spend your time at night,” she said. “When you’re a man.”
The space was already cramped and unwelcoming, but she could imagine it was even more so at night. It pained her to think of the many solitary hours he must have spent there.
He nodded. “As I said, large paws with even larger claws aren’t ideal for holding books and turning pages.”
“So you spend your nights reading and your days sleeping—or roaming the forest and valleys.”
He nodded again. “I hope that somewhere in this vast trove of knowledge is a secret that will break my enchantment or aid me against the person who trapped me in it.”
Charlotte raised her eyebrows at the mention of his enchantment—it was the first time he had spoken of someone else’s involvement. But she was more immediately struck by a different aspect of his words.
“Except now you’re spending your nights with me,” she said. “You can’t continue your research.”
“Unless you’re willing to help me,” he said, sounding boyishly hopeful. “Not that you should feel any obligation to spend your days here. Even an hour or so would be an assistance.”
“Of course I’ll help you,” Charlotte said quickly. “The bell meets all our practical needs, so there’s nothing else demanding my time. Of course I should help my husband.”
She gazed around the room again, her nose wrinkling. “But I think we need to make some changes first.”
She paused, looking at him for permission, and he made a gesture of encouragement. Wrapping her hand around the bell in her pocket, she took her time shaping what she wanted in her mind. Once it was clear, she shook the bell.
From one blink to the next, the library in front of them transformed. The full length was now visible, the long space larger than any ballroom and stretching to enormous heights about them. Tall windows let in plenty of light, but every other inch of wall was covered in bookshelves, and at least three levels could be seen, accessed via a series of delicate stairs and layered balconies. The piles of books were gone, all the titles in neat rows on the shelves instead.
Charlotte’s eyes lingered on the brocade curtains on the windows and the cozy reading nooks scattered around the main floor, many of them lit by lamps.
“That’s better, don’t you think?” she asked with satisfaction.
Henry’s mouth had fallen open. “Infinitely!” He shook his head. “I think the godmothers like you better than me. Look what I got when I asked for a library, and you got this!”
Charlotte’s lips twitched. “You should have been more specific in your request.” She wandered to the closest shelf. “I directed that the books be arranged according to their piles, with the ones closest to your reading space at the front. So hopefully I haven’t destroyed whatever organization system you were using.”
“That was clever,” he said approvingly. “I spent many weeks just finding titles of interest, so I’m glad all that work isn’t lost.”
“Do you know where I should start then?” she asked, gazing at the multitude of shelves and feeling overwhelmed at the task, despite the more welcoming environment.
Henry padded over to the closest shelf and examined it. “These are all the titles I had chosen to review next,” he said with satisfaction. “We should start here.”
Charlotte winced to see the number of books he was indicating.
The bear grimaced in response. “It’s a wide range of topics. I didn’t want to risk missing anything that might be of use.” He gazed down the long room. “Although I’m sure I have. There are just so many books.”
“To say the least.” Charlotte ran a hand along one of the shelves before adopting a positive tone. “So it’s a good thing you have me to take over for you.” She glanced sideways at him. “Will you stay here with me?”
“If you’ll have me.” He gave her a look that seemed almost as uncertain as her own. “I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, but I would love to be part of the search still. Perhaps you could even read aloud if you find anything that might be of interest. Even if it’s only distantly related. There might be some clue hidden somewhere that will mean something when combined with what I’ve already read.”
Henry was clearly as uncertain as she had been as to whether his bear shape would change the rapport they had started to build the night before. She smiled at him as brightly as she could, hoping to convey that he was welcome to stay at her side no matter what his outside appearance was.
As she looked from the shape of the enormous white bear to the closest reading nook, her smile grew. Nothing about this scene fit her vague expectations from their wedding, but it was all so much more appealing than she had thought the evening before.
Logically, she was even more isolated than she had been in the valley—her company reduced to a single person. But it didn’t feel the same. Being around Henry made her nerves fizz even as it filled her with a sense of contentment. There was no comparison with the presence of her sisters who had so obviously wished her elsewhere.
Soon they were settled in place, her in a comfortable armchair, and Henry curled up on the rug at her feet. He asked her to look particularly for any mention of people transformed into animals or the mythical mountain kingdom. She wanted to tell him that her cousins considered the mountain kingdom to be nothing but legend—as befitted a place that was supposed to lie east of the sun and west of the moon—but she couldn’t scold him for seeking fairy stories when he was apparently living one. Those tales might be the exact ones that would hold a hint to his current situation.
The day passed easily, especially given the bell’s prompt provision of requested food. It even cleared away the dishes.
“Where do you think they go?” Charlotte asked Henry from where she sat, her legs tucked beneath her.
He lifted his head from his place on the rug beside her.
“Are you afraid there’s some hardworking soul somewhere receiving a steady supply of our dirty dishes?” he asked with a grin. “I’m fairly sure it’s not anything like that. I think they just…cease to exist. They’re not real plates. They’re all part of the bell’s power.”
“Does that mean this isn’t a real castle?” Charlotte wrinkled her brow. “That hurts my head.”
“I recommend not giving it another thought,” he said cheerfully. “Real or not, the castle keeps out the rain and wind.”
“And it provides enough reading material for a lifetime,” Charlotte added, gazing around them.
Henry gave a rumbling growl. “I don’t have a lifetime.”
Charlotte winced. “I’m sure we’ll find something soon.” She picked up another book. She had been skimming them, stopping when she found anything of potential interest and reading it aloud. But other than a story about eleven brothers who were turned into swans, there hadn’t been anything that seemed relevant.
She had been excited by the story of the brothers, but according to the legend, they had been freed when their sister took a vow of silence and knit them all shirts from stinging nettles. The whole thing sounded hideously unpleasant, and she was afraid Henry might ask her to try it. But he rejected the idea before she even mentioned it, seeming certain it wasn’t the answer to his situation.
As the light outside the windows finally began to fade, Henry excused himself. Charlotte didn’t want to be left alone, but she was conscious that he had barely eaten all day, subsisting mainly on water which he had to lap from a dish. She didn’t know what he ate in his bear form, and she didn’t want to ask too many questions. Whatever practical life matters he needed to tend to, it was best he did them away from her.
She also could use some time to take care of the practical necessities, although she had never washed and changed into her nightgown so quickly in her life. Once again she was grateful for the bell’s provision since the nightgown she found in her new wardrobe was far softer than anything she had worn before. Unlike the night before, she felt no discrepancy between her garment and the sheets as she slipped into bed.
This time, she didn’t linger in bed with the candles lit. As cozy as the crackling fire was, she felt only eagerness to blow out her candle and be plunged into darkness.