Chapter Eighteen THE CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS Charlotte
Chapter Eighteen
THE CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS
Charlotte
Charlotte flipped Julian’s body over, brushing the snow off of him and trying to shake him awake.
“Julian! Julian, wake up. Julian!”
His skin was cold to the touch, but his body was warm, and at least he’d had the sense to bundle up and to cover his face with his scarf.
She pulled it back to check if he was still breathing.
“Come back tomorrow,” he groaned. “We’re closed.”
“Oh, thank the Gods,” she said. “I’ve got to get you inside. Can you get up?”
“Charlotte?” Julian’s teeth were chattering. “That you?”
“It’s me. Come on before we freeze.”
Charlotte helped Julian up.
“Ow!” he yelled as he put weight on his right foot. He leaned onto Charlotte, nearly knocking her over.
“It might be broken,” said Charlotte. “You’ll need to let Keir take a look once we get off this mountain.”
If they got off this mountain. Charlotte was much shorter and smaller than Julian and supporting him as they climbed the last steps of the snow-covered path to the dwarf’s cottage was a challenge, especially on the stairs.
But when they made it to the door, it was clear no one was inside. “We have to go in,” said Charlotte. “I hope he’ll forgive us, but we’ll die if we don’t.”
“Look,” said Julian, kicking something on the ground with his good foot.
It was the curled-up corner of a sheet of paper. A note buried under the snow.
Charlotte picked it up and read it aloud.
Mr. Blair,
Hope you didn’t come. I’ve left for the mines to ride out the storm. If you’re here, stay as long as you need. I left some wood by the fire.
- Thordin
Charlotte didn’t need to be told twice. She pried open the door—it was tough against the cold wind with the weight of Julian on her shoulder, but she managed it. Inside, she gently helped him into the first chair she could find.
“I’ll get the fire going,” she said. When she turned back to look at him, he had removed his cloak and scarf and was taking off his shirt. She froze, panicking. “What are you doing?”
“My clothes are soaked. I fell coming up the path. I don’t know how long I was there in the snow. Not long, I’m guessing, since I’m still alive. But I can’t keep these on.”
Fair enough. It wasn’t like Charlotte minded nudity. Korrigan fashion could be a bit…minimalist, especially in the warmth of summer.
But it was different with Julian, at least it was now. She was sure they must have gone swimming in their underwear at least once as children, but things were different then.
“Aren’t you freezing too? That hat of yours is soaked.”
Julian’s voice was right behind her, leaning on a dresser to hold himself up, but she was nervous to turn and see his state of undress.
“It’s the korrigan magic,” she explained. “I don’t mind the cold and damp. Though the snow is a bit much. I’ll feel fine once this fire is going.”
It was beginning to catch now. The logs the dwarf had left were good and dry; they burned fast and clean.
“Hey,” said Julian. He clearly wanted her to look at him.
Slowly, Charlotte turned, keeping her eyes up at the ceiling.
Out of her peripheral vision, she could see he’d kept his trousers on, although he’d removed his boots and socks.
She relaxed a little, but then tensed again when she saw the way the firelight lit the muscles on his chest, casting shadows beneath them that must have been making them look more impressive than they really were.
Because they really did look impressive.
“What are you doing up here anyway? Come to take my business?” He smiled, and it was equal parts adorable and infuriating.
“I came looking for you. Gwenla found the note you left, and we realized you were in trouble.”
“I thought that might have been the case. Well, you saved my life.” He hobbled closer to her, keeping the weight off his right foot. “Thank you.”
“We’re not saved yet,” she said, trying to ignore the blush climbing into her cheeks. “We still have to get off this mountain.”
“Tomorrow,” said Julian. “I’m sure it’ll be over by then. If we wait until the afternoon, it may be melted.”
“Are you mad? I can’t stay here tonight. I have the wedding cakes to bake tomorrow.”
“Are you mad? Have you seen it out there? The only way we’re getting back down there right now is on our arses. You don’t have a sled hidden under that hat, do you?”
Julian snatched the hat off Charlotte’s head, releasing her silver hair.
“Hey!” she cried, reaching for it back.
But Julian had overestimated his ability to maneuver with one foot.
He lost his balance trying to keep the hat away, careening towards the open fire.
Charlotte caught him and pulled him to her, but the shock of grabbing his bare chest knocked her off her balance, sending them both to the floor by the hearth.
“Oof! Get off of me, you big oaf!” she said, trying to push her way out from underneath him.
“Are you sure you want that?” he asked. He untangled his bad leg from beneath her but otherwise stayed put.
Charlotte’s head spun. She looked into his dark eyes. They were so dark and deep, she felt like she could drown in them.
“I don’t—”
She stopped herself. She didn’t know what she wanted to say. There was a part of her that didn’t want to say anything at all. That wanted to pull him to her and give into the feelings that had been lurking in the back of her mind since the moment she saw him again.
But she couldn’t. She pulled herself upright, and this time, he let her. “I’m still angry with you,” she said.
“I know,” said Julian. He sat across from her on the floor and crossed his legs as best as he could.
It brought her back to childhood again, back to the parlor of Weldan House, sitting together playing Five Stones on the floor, yelling and laughing until someone told them to be quiet.
“More than angry, I’m disappointed,” said Charlotte, forcing herself to remember that this wasn’t the same Julian.
“I know what I did must have hurt you. I didn’t expect you to forgive me right away or to forget what had happened.
But I didn’t expect you to hurt me back.
I hoped that with time, we could be the friends that we were once again.
Or maybe something more, if I’m being honest.” If she was going to put it all out there, it might as well be all of it.
“I don’t think what we’re asking for is unreasonable.
I don’t want you to fail. Maybe in a few years once all the things Prince Idris is building are done, Herot’s Hollow will be big enough that we can have a dozen bakeries and plenty of business for all of them.
But that’s not where we are, and it’s hurting us both to compete.
Going it alone is hard, and I’m sorry that things have been so hard for you that you feel it’s your only choice.
But it isn’t. You can be part of our community.
We all need community sometimes. It’s not always easy, and sometimes the compromises make you wonder if it’s worth it.
But then one day, you wake up and you find that you need help.
Like I needed help from the korrigans. Like Mrs. Knox’s sister needed help when she left. ”
Julian, who had been listening intently without interrupting, perked up at the mention of Mrs. Knox. “Mrs. Knox left?”
“She’s coming back,” said Charlotte defensively. “The bakery is staying open.”
“But you’re going to have to make the wedding cakes on your own. You need my help.”
Charlotte scoffed. “No, I don’t. I can manage—”
“You do. Admit it.”
She did. She could manage, maybe, if she could get back in the morning. But any later than that, and she would need another pair of hands to keep to the schedule.
And maybe another oven.
“Fine,” she said. “I was coming to see if I could use your new oven when the storm began. I could use your help. But mostly because I came up here to save you, and it might cost me a lot of time.”
“Then you would’ve been better off if you hadn’t helped me at all,” said Julian.
“I wouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
Charlotte held herself perfectly still as she responded. “You know why not.”
She watched the realization cross his face.
Because I care for you. Because I’ve always cared for you, no matter how much of an idiot you can be.
Because if something had happened to you when I could’ve helped you, I would never have forgiven myself.
Even if you never changed your mind. Even if I never forgave you. I still would have done it.
“Charlotte,” he said softly. Gods, it felt so good to hear him say her name, her true name, in spite of everything. “You’re right,” he said.
“What?” She was certain she hadn’t heard him correctly. Did he just say she was right?
“You’re right.” He leaned towards her, his hand stroking a strand of her silver hair.
“Charlotte, if you hadn’t showed up when you had, I would have died out there.
I realized it the moment I came to. I would have died because I twisted my ankle, and that’s about the saddest way to go that I’ve ever heard.
I’ve been such a godsdamn idiot. I charged up a mountainside in a blizzard for a handful of coin I don’t even need.
You were completely right, and I was wrong.
I was going to say something, but you seemed to have such a lovely speech prepared—”
“You arsehole!” Charlotte took her wet scarf off and threw it at him.
Julian laughed, a deep belly laugh that reached his eyes. “It was good though, really. A little repetitive—”
Charlotte moved to get up. Julian caught her by the wrist.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his laughter stopping.
“I’m sorry. For everything. I want to help you.
I want us to work together. I don’t want to give up baking entirely—honestly, I love it.
It brings me a lot of joy. But I’m sure we can work something out like you said.
You supply the bread for my sandwiches; I give you cheese and the discount milk I get from my supplier in Sudport.
Oh, and I’ll need some of those chocolate biscuits.
The worst part of this whole ridiculous feud I started has been missing out on those biscuits. ”
“That’s the worst part?”
“No,” admitted Julian. “Gods, I missed you, Charlotte. I didn’t even realize how much until I saw you again. It all keeps flooding back in. So many memories. And then, you. The way you are now…” He looked Charlotte up and down, admiring without a hint of shame. “You’re breathtaking.”
Charlotte struggled to find the words to respond. “I—well—thank you.”
Julian chuckled nervously. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that. If you don’t feel the same, that’s alright. I’m happy to have you back in my life, whatever that looks like.”
“No,” said Charlotte. “I mean, I do. Feel the same about you.” She sighed. “You’re really good-looking. It’s annoying, actually.”
“Annoying?”
“Like it was hard to hate you when you looked like that.” Julian leaned back, showing off his muscles, looking off into the distance with the smug superiority of someone who knew how good they looked.
Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she quickly returned them to look at him.
“In all honesty, I was surprised you were interested in me in that way.”
Julian shifted back forward, leaning closer to Charlotte. “My interests are a little different. I’m only attracted to people I care about, and only seldomly even then. When I care about someone, it’s about all of them. Not just what they call themselves or how they dress. Who they are.”
Charlotte’s heart raced in her chest. “Then you care about me?”
Julian pulled himself closer still, reaching for her face. “Yes, Charlotte. Of course I do. I always have.”
He tilted her head back and kissed her, and this time, she kissed him back.
“There’s only one bed in here,” he said, looking around when he had come up for air. “But it would be madness to try to leave before the morning.”
“We’ll make do,” said Charlotte.
They woke in the morning to find a couple feet of snow blocking them inside.
Charlotte tried to dig them out to no avail. Even if she could clear all the snow herself, how was she meant to carry Julian down the icy mountain with his broken foot?
“Come back to bed,” murmured Julian. “The sun is out. We can wait for it to melt. I’ll help you with the cakes when we get back. There’s no hurry.”
He had a point there, and the idea of spending a few hours with him under the blankets in the cozy cabin wasn’t exactly unappealing.
Charlotte crawled back into bed. There was no need to hurry now that she had help.
They awoke again hours later to the sound of thunder.
No, not thunder. The thundering sound of footsteps.
“The spriggan!” said Charlotte. “He can help us make it down the mountain.”
“The what now?”
“It’s a tree monster of sorts. It’s friends with my brother. Well, it tried to kill him. But only the one time. Come on, get dressed.”
Charlotte attempted to explain more as they dressed, but Julian remained fairly skeptical until they were outside.
“Mr. Spriggan! Mr. Spriggan, sir!” called Charlotte. Keir hadn’t told her how to address it; she didn’t want to be rude.
She couldn’t see it, but she could see the shaking branches and the snow and ice falling from trees where he walked. He was very close.
“Ah, humans. Or something like them,” he said when he approached, sensing Charlotte’s magic. “What do you need from the forest?”
“We need your help getting down the mountain. We’re making the cakes for Keir and Alison’s wedding. Or we’re meant to, but Julian’s hurt, and we need a lift. Can you help us?”
“Ah yes, the wedding. I’m going there too. Come along, little humans.”
The spriggan was already taller than Charlotte had expected, but he grew even taller until reaching down to pick up Julian was nothing.
Julian yelled as the spriggan threw him over his shoulder. “Oh Gods! Please don’t eat me!”
“This human is strange, sister of Keir,” said the spriggan. “He thinks I am carnivorous.”
“He’s just frightened. Julian, it’s okay! Are you okay?”
It took Julian a little time to respond, but he finally yelled down something that was sort of like a “yes.”
“Would you like a lift too?”
“Yes, please,” said Charlotte. She would have been fine walking in the melting snow, to be honest, but it just seemed like great fun to ride on the spriggan’s shoulders down to the village.
And it was.