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girlyswotSo, I was planning to save my story till the end because, you know, I've already read it. *g* But then I remembered what day it is today and it just seemed wrong not to have a Charlie-fic. So happy Christmas to me and happy birthday Charlie! I'll be round later with your proper present...
The road was hardly more than a single track with sporadic pavement. The small hired Scoda bounced from pothole to rut with bone jarring jerks. She had left the E58 an hour ago, but the directions didn’t seem to match the terrain through which she was now bouncing.
She should have known this would happen. She was one to plan every detail of such a trip. After yet another week at Steamboat, she, Martin, Stephanie and Thomas had decided to make this year’s ski trip ‘special’. They’d spent days pouring over brochures and websites, looking for something different; something none of their other friends had done.
Romania wasn’t one of those places that leapt to mind, but the more they discussed it, the more appeal it had. They had chosen a package offering skiing on a different mountain every day and returning to a small, but luxurious hotel in a centralized town. It sounded perfect. They would spend Christmas in a quaint village. Valerie could picture themselves sipping hot toddies by a roaring fire while carolers on the picturesque square sang traditional tunes and snow fell, making the darling partial timber houses look like gingerbread houses.
But like all great plans, it went astray.
Her boss had called her into his office on the first of December to inform her that the customer had moved the deadline. The proposal had to be ready for presentation before Christmas. So instead of flying out the afternoon of the 18th, with the rest of the group, she found herself pulling an overnighter as they rushed to finish the PowerPoint and assemble the handouts. The morning of the 19th was spent patiently explaining the details of the advertising blitz and answering a thousand questions that were clearly covered in the material. To add insult to injury, at the end of the four hour ordeal, the client had blandly thanked them for their time and said his ‘people’ would be getting in touch after the new year.
Valerie had rushed to the airport and boarded the plane for the fifteen hour journey. Thankfully, her frequent flyer miles had come through with an upgrade. The ministrations of the flight crew and the never-ending flow of wines made the overnight flight more pleasant, but the four hour snooze in the seat that reclined almost flat did little to lessen the grogginess as she finally deplaned in Bucharest. Because she was landing a day late, there was no driver waiting to board her into a motor coach for the last leg of the trip. She was on her own in an unknown country. The map the car rental company gave her had hardly been more informative than the internet. Google Maps had been decidedly unhelpful. They had shown a total of seven roads in north eastern Romania and when she had zoomed in, those had disappeared completely. So she was stuck with written instructions, surrounded by impenetrable mountains, gathering dusk and a sneaking suspicion she had made a wrong turn.
As the car jolted through another pothole, Valerie heard an ominous grind and the steering wheel seemed to lock. The engine was running, but the steering did not respond. The car ground to a shuddering halt. Valerie turned off the ignition, fumbled for the emergency flashers, and scrambled out of the driver’s seat.
The car sat squarely in the middle of the right lane. At first glance everything seemed normal; until Valerie noticed the front wheels tilted in towards the wheel well. Well that can’t be right, Valerie mused.
Valerie wasn’t totally ignorant about the workings of an automobile. She kept her own car in good mechanical order. She faithfully went for oil changes every three thousand miles and had tune-ups annually. But anything further than that, she relied on the mechanic she had used since moving to the city after college. For road emergencies, such as this…well, that’s why she had an AAA membership, wasn’t it?
AAA! That’s it! Valerie dove into the car and rummaged through the paperwork in the glove box. Other than the contract she had signed, the useless map, and a pamphlet warning passengers about using seatbelts, there was nothing. She threw the pile of papers back into the compartment with a curse. Dark was falling fast now and she was beginning to feel panic nudging the edges of her nerves. She fumbled in her purse for the tiny flashlight she carried on a key fob. By the illumination of the tiny light she shuffled through the plethora of cards in her wallet. The AAA card was hiding in the section of her wallet behind her Social Security card and library card. Inspection of it did not offer a number to dial when overseas.
Valerie sighed. She had no choice. She would have to swallow her pride and call Martin.
Martin had not wanted her to travel alone. He had volunteered to delay his own flight and accompany her. He had meant well, Valerie knew, but she was a bit miffed by the insinuation that a woman should not travel solo. She was a grown woman with hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles; she was certainly capable of making a simple journey alone. Or at least that was what she had argued. Having to call Martin would be admitting that she had failed.
With another sigh, she pulled the phone from her purse, flipped it open and hit the speed dial button to connect her to Martin. She waited for the ring. It didn’t come. She pulled the phone from her ear and peered at the screen. The bar indicating signal strength was non-existent.
A shrill hum of panic was beginning to build. It had been ages since she had noticed a building as she had driven further and further into the mountains. Walking for help didn’t seem to be a logical option. Furthermore, as the daylight had disappeared the temperature had dropped and a light flurry of snow was beginning to fall. Valerie was feeling distinctly chilled. She once again scrambled out of the car, and unlocked the trunk of the car. She dragged her suitcase out and wrestled it into the back seat of the car. Crawling back in and slamming the door shut, she started the motor again and turned the heat to full. She got on her knees and leaned over the back of the seat to access her suitcase. Unzipping it, she pulled out her toboggan hat and immediately pulled it on. She then dug out a ski sweater and her down jacket, as well as a pair of wool gloves. She was inventorying the remainder of her clothing, trying to decide what would be useful to prevent hypothermia as the evening progressed, when she heard a sharp rap on glass.
Startled, she jumped up, banging her head on the dome light. Rubbing her head and muttering a curse, she looked over her shoulder. Outside the car were three young men, who seemed amused by her derriere sticking up in the air and odd assortment of mismatched clothing.
*********
The three men were grunting and cursing under their breaths as they put their shoulders to the car and shoved once again.
‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to get it off the road,’ Valerie argued. ‘The engine works just fine, it just won’t steer.’ She had been embarrassed by the position in which she had been discovered, but relieved to find out the men not only spoke English, but two of them actually were English. They explained they were in Romania on a work/study program of some sort, and were staying on an animal reserve just a few kilometers away.
‘I think you’re right,’ the stocky red head who had introduced himself as Charlie, agreed. ‘Phil, why don’t you and Stephano take the lovely Miss Riley and head for the hostel. I’ll put out warning triangles and catch you up.’
This plan was met with nods of agreement as Stephano yanked her suitcase from the backseat. Valerie gave a squeak of protest when the unzipped bag disgorged a number of articles of clothing. Of course several pair of lacy underpants leapt from the bag and landed at the feet of Charlie. Before Valerie could rescue the escaped items, he bent and picked them up, handing them to her with a lifted eyebrow and a hint of a grin that quirked the corner of his mouth up.
Valerie felt her face flame as she snatched the wayward bits of lace. She stuffed them in her pocket, lifted her chin with a sniff and stalked off after Stephano and Phil.
Stephano and Phil were friendly fellows. They kept Valerie distracted from the hike with jokes and sympathized that her après-ski boots were more practical for sitting prettily around the lodge than hiking through a rugged forest. She was glad she had pulled on the sweater, jacket and gloves though, as it was decidedly cold, even with the exertion of the hike.
She caught sight of a streak of light just out of the corner of her eye. At her surprised ‘oh!’, Stephano explained that meteors were seen quite frequently and were more visible because of the reduced light pollution. It seemed to be so, as Valerie didn’t think she had ever seen so many stars.
They eventually broke out into a clearing which held several roughly hewn buildings. Stephano led her to the largest while Phil peeled off, mumbling something about checking the barn. Phil ushered her through a heavy door into a large room filled with an assortment of mismatched sofas and overstuffed chairs. It was softly lit by a few lanterns and a roaring fire, around which lounged several men and women. As Phil and Valerie approached the group the conversation came to an abrupt halt. From the furtive looks on their faces, Valerie felt like she had just walked in on a group of people who had been gossiping about her. But that was silly. How could they have been talking about her when they didn’t even know her?
‘Everyone, this is Valerie Riley, Phil announced. ‘Her car broke down about a couple of clicks from here. She’ll be staying here until we can get her to civilization.’
There were introductions, handshakes, and smiles, but everyone seemed to melt away as soon as the formalities were finished. Charlie came through the door just as the last few disappeared through the door.
‘Been abandoned, have you?’ he boomed jovially.
Valerie hated men who boomed jovially.
‘I need to contact a repairman and get the car towed,’ Valerie began ticking off on her fingers. ‘Then I need to call the car rental place to get a replacement. Where’s the telephone?’
‘Um…’
‘Oh, let me guess. You don’t have one. Great.’ This was going from bad to worse. How on earth did people exist without a telephone?
‘We go to the village if we need to use one,’ Charlie explained. ‘We’re…um…we’re really isolated and this isn’t a terribly progressive country, ‘specially out in the wilderness like this.’
‘Okay, fine,’ Valerie snapped. ‘Tomorrow can someone drive me to the village so I can let my friends know where I am and make arrangements for the car?’
‘I…ah…um…we’ll help you make those…um…arrangements,’ Charlie stumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
What was wrong with him? It wasn’t that complicated a request, was it?
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Charlie offered, apparently intent on changing the subject. At her nod, he hurried out of the room, calling over his shoulder, ‘Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.’
In no time he was back with two mugs. She took one and leaned back into the very comfortable chair. They both sipped their tea in silence and Valerie found her eyelids becoming heavier. It startled her when she felt Charlie lean over her and gently took the mug from her hand.
‘I’d better take that before you spill on yourself,’ he gently chided with that crooked grin again.
She felt her ear tips burn. Why did this man have the ability to make her feel like she was thirteen again?
Charlie had placed the mugs on the tray and settled himself back into his chair. ‘Are you ready for bed?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You look sleepy. Are you ready to go to your room and go to bed?’
‘Oh!’ More than her ears were burning now. ‘Um, yes. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Yes, I think we, I mean I! I should go to bed.’ Good grief, she sounded like an idiot!
‘I’ll show you your room,’ Charlie said, rising from his seat. ‘Stephano put your bag there already.’
Valerie stood and gathered her purse. ‘That was nice of him.’
‘Yes, he’s a nice bloke.’
Valerie glanced at him just in time to see a slight twist of his mouth. He seemed to be holding in a laugh as he turned towards the stairs. They climbed to the landing that circled the main room, where closed doors presumably led to various bedrooms. Charlie led her to one in the far corner from the stairs, opening the door and gesturing her to enter.
‘There’s an en-suite over there,’ he gestured. ‘We’ll discuss your arrangements in the morning.’
A yawn caught her by surprise. Charlie leaned forward with a smile and kissed her forehead.
‘Off to bed, sleepyhead,’ he said gently, and turned, leaving her feeling confused and a bit angry. How dare he treat her like a little girl! She was tempted to dig a book out of her bag and stomp back down stairs, just to prove she’d go to bed when she was ready. But that plan was abandoned when she turned to see the bed heaped with soft, fluffy bedding, calling to her, offering her rest. It had been a long time since she had left her office. She hurriedly tidied herself and put on her pajamas and had no sooner slid between the crisp, cool sheets than she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
*****
Judging by the light when she awoke, she had missed breakfast and lunch might be iffy. Valerie stretched and snuggled back down into the pillow, tempted to roll back over and sleep another twelve or fifteen hours. Then she remembered her predicament. Martin would be going crazy! He had expected her last night. Not only had she not arrived, but she hadn’t called. She leaned over the bed and dug in her purse. She pulled out her cell phone, but the screen was blank. She held the power button, but nothing happened.
Great, she thought, throwing the phone back into her purse. I’m in the middle of no-where and cannot even contact civilization.
She got dressed, repacked her bag… I’m leaving today …made sure everything in her purse was in order and headed down the stairs. The house was very quiet. Everyone is probably out working. I’ll just find a bite to eat.
Finding her way to the kitchen, she began rummaging for food. There wasn’t a refrigerator. There was a pot of coffee on the gigantic, wood burning stove. She found a mug in a nearby cabinet and gratefully poured herself a cup. It was strong. No lattes here, she thought, thinking how that suited Charlie just fine. A latte would not be his style, she was sure. She was admiring the fresh coating of snow that had developed overnight, when she heard a stomping of feet at the door. She turned to see Charlie come in, pulling a cap off his head and shaking off the chill.
‘Well hello!’ He was booming again, Valerie noticed. Maybe booming joviality wasn’t that bad. At least with Charlie, it seemed genuine.
He was pulling off his gloves and heavy coat, all the while grinning at her. ‘Did you find something to eat?’
‘No, I found the coffee and that’s as far as I got.’ Valerie began opening cupboard doors, looking for food again.
‘Let me warm up some stew for you,’ Charlie said, opening the door to a small room by the sink. He pulled out a bowl and kicked the door shut as he set the bowl on the table that ran the center of the room. Before she could protest, he had pulled a pot from the shelf over the stove, poured a massive amount of stew in it and placed it on a metal plate on the stove. He had his back to her as he bent over the door of the stove, presumably stoking the flames a bit higher. ‘This will be ready in no time,’ he said, turning back towards her. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘Oh…yes,’ she said, annoyed at being distracted by his backside. ‘Yes, very well, thank you. That has to be one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. What time is it, by the way?’
Charlie consulted his watch. ‘Two o’clock.’
‘Two! I’ve got to get into town! I’ve got to get a car! I’ve got to call my friends! I’ve…’
‘Whoa! Calm down. No need to panic. Phil and Sophie went into Putna this morning. The car hire company will be out to collect the car sometime today, but unfortunately, they don’t have a replacement vehicle for you.’
Valerie made a strangled noise.
Charlie leaned against the counter. ‘You were headed for Valea Putnei, right?’
Valerie nodded, not remembering having said that, but at this point, she really didn’t care.
‘Phil called them this morning and let them know you had difficulty on the road. They’ll have told your friends by now, so they won’t be frantic.’
Valerie squeaked, nodded, and flopped into a chair.
Charlie turned back to the stove and ladled a bowl of now steaming stew, placing it in front of her with a large spoon. A thick slice of bread appeared next to the bowl as she sank the spoon into the hot broth.
Charlie sat in the chair next to her, watching her take several spoonfuls before speaking again. ‘You’re welcome here as long as you need to stay. Most of the staff is leaving today for Christmas, but I’m staying, as well as Sophie, Stephano and McKeever. We have to keep a skeleton crew on, even over the holidays.’ Charlie joined her at the table with his own bowl of stew.
‘But I want to get to the ski resort,’ Valerie complained, the stew having helped her find her voice again.
‘We had plans, the four of us, for Christmas. We always spend Christmas skiing together.’
‘You don’t spend Christmas with your family?’
‘No. Don’t you?’ Her tone was a challenge.
‘I do whenever I can. I’m one of the senior wi…, um men here. I make sure my people get home for Christmas. The other two senior people and I rotate years for Christmas. I get home at least once a year though, just not always at Christmas.’
‘Well I prefer to be with my friends. My parents are divorced and I don’t care for either of my step-parents. I’m an adult; I don’t need to run home to mommy for Christmas.’
The lack of response surprised Valerie. She had purposely tried to raise an argument. She didn’t want to be in a foul mood alone. Charlie just continued to eat his stew.
When both bowls were empty and the bread was little more than a few crumbs, Charlie stood and gathered the dishes. As he turned to the sink, Valerie felt a bit guilty. He was being perfectly nice, even with her rudeness.
‘I’ll wash the dishes,’ Valerie offered. ‘You fixed lunch.’
‘No, I’ll take care of it in a bit. It’s no trouble.’
‘No, if I’m going to be staying here for a while I ought to help out.’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘Tell you what, you wash up and I’ll put them away. I know where everything goes.’
Valerie grinned back at him. ‘Deal.’
It took a while for Charlie to locate the wash cloth, and the water had to be heated on the stove, so it took longer to finish the job than it should have.
‘I’m surprised you don’t have a dishwasher, with all these people. There must be hundreds of dishes after a big meal for twenty people,’ Valerie pondered while wiping down the table. Charlie was wiping counter and rinsing the suds down the drain.
‘No electricity, remember?’ He touched her nose with a soapy finger.
‘Ummm.’ Why, she wondered, did his slightest touch make her forget basic words? To cover her awkwardness, she scooped a handful of suds and flung the foam, hitting him on the side of his face.
‘Oh-ho!’ he crowed, reaching for some suds. They were almost all gone, but the few he was able to capture hit her squarely on the mouth.
She blew the suds from her mouth with a splutter and reached for whatever weapon she could find. Her hand came up with the soaking wash cloth, but before she could fling it at him, he grabbed her and twisted her around so he had both arms pinned. She wiggled to free herself, pushing fruitlessly against him. He shifted his arms slightly and she felt his fingers dig lightly into her ribs.
‘Not fair! I’m ticklish!’ she protested.
‘There are rules?’ There was that grin again. It would be her undoing she decided.
She squirmed harder, but that just made him hug her to him more firmly. Time for a different tact, she decided, and suddenly went limp.
He didn’t loosen his grip, but rather looked down at her with a smirk. ‘My little sister has tried that technique a million times.’ His gaze dropped to her mouth and Valerie’s pulse fluttered. She felt his arms shift slightly as he leaned down towards her. She lifted her chin in anticipation.
Heavy stomping sounded outside the door and Charlie dropped his arms just as Stephano and an older, grizzled man came through the door, followed by Sophie.
‘Hell, Charlie,’ Stephano almost shouted. ‘We could have used you out there. That female Longho…’ He was stopped in midsentence by a firm kick in the shin from Sophie. ‘Oh, hello, Valerie.’
‘Valerie, this is James McKeever. He’s just called McKeever. McKeever, this is Valerie Riley. I told you about her.’
‘Aye, you did.’ He strode forward, offering his hand. ‘Lovely to meet you.’ He turned to Charlie. ‘We’ve got a situation that’ll want careful watch. We need to set patrols for tonight. I reckon two hour watches?’
‘That female again?’
‘Aye. I reckon she’s due within the next twelve hours. We need to keep her separate.’
‘You get lunch. I’ve already eaten. I’ll go keep an eye on the situation. One of you come relieve me at eight, then I’ll take the dawn shift.’ Charlie reached for the coat he had hung on the back of a chair. Valerie thought he’d forgotten she was there until as he turned back towards the door and caught her eye. The wink he gave her told her he planned to take up where he’d left off. Valerie gave him a little smile and he was through the door and into the blowing snow.
************
She was curled up in the old sprung sofa by the fire. The book she had been reading had slipped onto her lap. She was fighting a doze encouraged by the warmth of the fire. She heard a slight creak and before she could turn to find its cause, the couch sagged as Charlie vaulted over its back and landed beside her. She couldn’t help but laugh.
‘I need to warm my hands,’ he announced, pressing what felt like two blocks of ice against her neck.
Valerie jumped with a loud squeal, trying to wriggle away from him.
‘Shhhhh,’ he hissed with a laugh. ‘You’ll wake up Sophie and McKeever.’ He grabbed her at the waist and dragged her back towards him. ‘I don’t think you want to do that, do you?’ His voice sounded gruffer, as he settled her next to him, keeping his hands around her waist.
Valerie shook her head slightly, as she ran her fingers up the arms keeping her captive. They were very nice arms, she thought. She never liked the overly muscled look of men she saw in the gym, but Charlie’s muscles were perfect. His forearms were thick and biceps thoroughly filled the sleeves of his shirt, but on him they looked just right. Her fingers reached his collar and it was just a short distance to run her finger along his ear lobe.
He gave a slight grunt and shifted pulling her even closer. She looked up into his blue eyes and knew he was ready to take up where they had left off after lunch, as he ran his finger along the neck of her sweater.
‘Charlie…’ She trailed off as Charlie blew gently in her ear.
‘Hmmm?’ He seemed quite interested in the notch of her collarbone.
‘Are you going to kiss me, or not?’
His answer was swift and firm.
*****
She hardly saw him at all the next day. She was up by eight, thinking she’d see him when he came in after his watch shift, but no one was in the kitchen or main room. From the condition of the kitchen, it appeared they’d left in a hurry. After fixing herself a cup of coffee and helping herself to the oatmeal looking stuff in a pot, she set about cleaning the dishes and straightening the room. She picked up the cream pitcher and opened the door from which Charlie had gotten the stew yesterday. She was surprised to see a rather ordinary looking pantry. Stepping into it, she shivered. It was as cold as the outdoors. That’s clever, she thought, keeping a room uninsulated for food storage. She wondered what they did in the summer.
With the kitchen back in order, Valerie wandered into the main room, looking for something to do. She’d finished the book she had packed. She spent some time looking through the books on the shelves, but most of them were in foreign languages. None of the English titles caught her interest. She noticed it had stopped snowing. The sky was still overcast, but the clouds seemed to be thinning. There was a promise of sun.
It took no time at all to climb into her ski overalls, sweater and boots. She checked that her hat and gloves were in her jacket pocket and headed out the door. The smell of the cold air hitting her face reminded her that this would have been a perfect day for skiing. She struck out along a path marked by boot prints. She wound her way through the forest, enjoying the peaceful evergreens with their laden boughs. She was startled by an ungodly noise. It sounded like a combination of a roar and a scream, but far louder than anything she’d ever heard.
She trotted towards the noise. She wasn’t sure if she should, but the footprints led in that direction. What if the others were in trouble? What if Charlie was hurt? Her trot quickened.
The path broke out onto the edge of a ravine. Valerie stopped just in time to prevent herself from slipping over the edge and tumbling into a pit containing a…dragon? She could see McKeever standing a ways from the creature which was writhing and making the monstrous noise that had drawn Valerie. McKeever shouted something and Valerie saw Charlie and Stephano come into sight from the other side of the ravine. All three began climbing towards Valerie, although they did not seem to have spotted her. Charlie raised his arm and waved widely. Valerie fell backwards onto her butt as Sophie flew towards her on what appeared to be a broom.
McKeever came over the lip of the ridge first, to find Valerie still open mouthed at the sight below.
‘Here now lass, what brought you here?’ He reached a hand down and helped her to her feet. ‘Charlie,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘We have a situation here!’
Charlie’s voice came from a distance. ‘What’s wrong? Did that Opaleye get over here?’ He came over the ledge halted, staring at Valerie. ‘Oh.’ Stephano and Sophie arrived immediately behind Charlie; Sophie hopping off her broom before it was even five feet from the ground.
‘Oh my,’ was her only response.
Not that Valerie was feeling particularly loquacious. She realized her mouth was hanging open and shut it with a snap, then opened it again, as if she’d forgotten how to talk. McKeever, Stephano and Sophie were all looking at Charlie.
Charlie stepped towards her. ‘Let’s get you back to the house. I think a strong cup of tea is in order.’ He took her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm and headed back up the path. Valerie followed, dazed.
*****
‘Wizards.’
Charlie nodded.
‘And you tend to dragons. Real, live, fire-breathing dragons.’
Charlie nodded again.
‘Why?’
“Why? We’re born that way. Just like you were born with brown hair and…’
‘No, why do you tend to dragons. Seems like they’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.’
Charlie laughed, for the first time since they’d found her in the forest. ‘That they are, but we need to protect Muggles…’
‘People like me,’ she interrupted.
Charlie nodded. ‘Non-magical people, yes. We need to protect you because you don’t have the tools to control them. It also protects the dragons, because people, magical or not, have a tendency to kill things they don’t understand.’
Valerie nodded. She fiddled with a loose thread in the hem of her sweater, thinking.
‘So what happens now?’
‘Now?’
‘Now that I know about you and your dragons. You said there were laws…’
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, while you’re here, we don’t need to do anything about it. It’ll be a bit of relief really. We’ve had to tip-toe around for the last two days, hiding it from you.’
‘The dragons?’
‘No, the magic. It really is a different lifestyle. You’ll see,’ he said, the familiar grin now in place.
‘What sort of magic do you do?’ She now felt like an eager five year old, begging to see a trick. ‘Show me.’
Charlie gave her an appraising look, then shrugged. ‘Would you like your tea warmed up?’
Valerie looked at him in puzzlement. He withdrew a slender stick from inside his sweater, pointed it at her mug and steam began to float from the surface of the tea. Valerie cradled the mug in her hands and brought it to her lips.
‘I’d be careful, it’s very hot now.’
She blew across the surface and took a cautious sip. The warmth she felt came from both the tea and the realization that this wasn’t some massive joke. She looked up at him and returned his grin.
‘Now, do you feel like a bit of cooking? It’s past twelve and I’ve put in a full day’s work. I’m starved.’
‘Okay. I’m not much of a cook, but I’ll try.’
He winked at her. ‘I think you’ll find I can speed it along.’
‘Oh! You can conjure up food?’
‘Not exactly…’
Soon she was surrounded by pots on the stove that were stirring themselves and a whole chicken that had grown from a single drumstick, warming in the oven. When Charlie sent some utensils flying to the sink, where they immediately began to wash themselves, Valerie clapped her hands.
‘That’s better than a dishwasher and a microwave oven, combined!’
Charlie interrupted her laughter by grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss. What started as a quick buss, became more involved. They could have continued for much longer, but they were startled out of it by a squeaky voice, shouting ‘I’m scorching!’ Charlie turned with a laugh and pulled the pot off the burner.
‘Boy, I need one of those!’ Valerie said with a giggle.
The others seemed to know exactly when lunch was ready. They filed in just as she and Charlie were serving the plates.
‘Is that part of it? ESP?’ The others stared at her in confusion. ‘Can you read minds?’ she explained.
They laughed. ‘No,’ Charlie said, ‘not all of us. It takes very special training and it’s not considered on to do it.’
‘No, we just heard the pot yell,’ explained Stephano. ‘That’s usually the signal when Charlie’s cooking.’
The towel Charlie threw at his head brought even more laughter.
From the cheerful banter around the table, Valerie figured out the dragon she had seen this morning was laying eggs. Chickens squawked; dragons roared. Sophie said she had counted at least seven eggs. The men nodded, pleased.
As the meal ended, everyone took their plates to the sink. The pots had already cleaned themselves. The plates and cutlery were stacked, and with a wave of a wand, the sink filled with steaming, soapy water and the dishes began a dance with the washcloth.
Valerie spent the afternoon on another part of the reserve, standing a safe distance as Sophie examined some hatchlings.
‘These,’ Sophie explained, ‘are Ukrainian Ironbellies. They’re only two weeks old.’
Valerie was surprised. They were already the size of small horses. Sophie seemed to know what she was thinking. ‘They are the largest breed of dragon. These little fellows will weigh at least five tonnes when full grown.’ Valerie found it wasn’t hard to imagine them the size of an eighteen wheeler. They were very aggressive. Sophie kept dodging their claws as she ran her wand along their flanks.
*****
They were alone in the main room again. The last two days had flown as Valerie discovered more and more about the wizarding world and especially dragons. Sophie and the men had made her feel welcome and seemed to enjoy explaining magic to her. Charlie had gone to the village this afternoon to get supplies. Valerie had wanted to tag along, especially when he said he was going by broom.
‘I don’t think that would work very well,’ Charlie had told her. ‘The broom won’t get in the air with you on it.’
‘What, am I too fat to fly on a broom?’
‘No,’ Charlie said. ‘Although,’ and he leaned over to inspect her backside, ‘I do like a bit of meat on a girl.’ She squeaked when he pinched her bottom. ‘Brooms won’t fly for Muggles.’
‘Oh.’ At the sight of her disappointed face, Charlie gave her a hug and kissed her nose. He promised he’d be back soon, threw his leg over the broom and was gone before she could even wave.
After supper, everyone had enjoyed teaching Valerie a card game called ‘Exploding Snap’. Valerie thought she was getting the hang of it when she discovered the ‘exploding’ part of the game. She learned to discard a lot faster after that. ‘Good nights’ were exchanged as the others headed to their rooms. Sophie suggested Charlie and Valerie ‘close up the place,’ as she headed up the stairs with a knowing glance at Charlie.
They leaned against each other, watching the fire dwindle to coals. Charlie draped his arm around Valerie’s shoulders, playing with a curl by her ear.
‘Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve.’
Valerie made a pleased noise in her throat.
‘I got you a surprise in town. Would you like it now?’
Valerie sat up, her eyes bright with excitement. ‘A surprise? What is it? Do you have it now?’ She began to run her fingers over him, searching for the hidden gift. He flinched with a chuckle as she ran her fingers up his ribs. Her fingers came to rest on his shirt pocket. She could feel something small and hard in there. As she reached into the pocket, Charlie’s hand closed over hers, keeping her from getting the surprise.
‘Do you want it early?’ he teased.
‘Yes!’
‘Then I need payment.’ He put his free hand around her neck and pulled her mouth to his. The kiss melted her tension and the hand that had been scrabbling for the pocket relaxed under his. After a good long time, she pulled away.
‘You’re just trying to distract me,’ she accused. ‘Please give me my surprise.’ She put her hand out, palm up. She was surprised to see Charlie’s expression become serious.
‘Close your eyes.’ She complied and felt his fingers place something cool in her upturned palm. She opened her eyes.
‘It’s a key.’
‘Yes.’
‘To what?’
‘A car.’
‘A car?’
Charlie nodded. He wasn’t grinning. ‘The car hire company had your car when I got to the village today. I got the key so you can pick it up whenever you are ready.’
‘Oh.’ She stared down at the key. Three days ago she wanted this key desperately. Today she wasn’t sure. She looked up at Charlie. ‘You got me a key so I could leave.’
‘Only if you want to.’
She silently pleaded for him to grab her and tell her he wouldn’t let her leave, but she knew he wouldn’t do that. It had to be her decision. She knew that about him. She looked up into his eyes. ‘I think I’d better sleep on this and decide in the morning.’
Charlie nodded.
She started towards the stairs, but his voice stopped her. She turned to find he had closed the gap between them. He caught her in a crushing hug and caught her mouth with his. The kiss told her what he wanted.
******
Christmas Eve dawned bright and clear. Unfortunately, Valerie had not slept well and awoke feeling more tired than she had been when she had finally fallen asleep. She slowly made her way down her stairs. She found Charlie where she had expected to. He was sitting on the sofa where she had left him last night. He was still wearing the same clothes. Had he not even gone to bed last night?
She sat down next to him. ‘Hi,’ she said, a little shyly.
His hand stroked the back of her head and neck. ‘Hi,’ he replied. He looked directly into her eyes and dropped his hand. ‘So when do you want to go to town?’
‘Charlie, I…’
‘You don’t need to explain. I understand. It’s hard to walk away from everything you’ve ever known, into the unknown. I understand,’ he emphasized as the tears started to run down her face. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. As the sobs subsided to hiccups, she felt his heart beating steadily under her hand. She considered changing her mind, just to be able to feel that forever.
The morning went far too quickly as she said her farewells to her new friends. She made sure all her things were packed and was grateful when Charlie levitated the suitcase so she wouldn’t have to clomp it down the stairs.
‘I’ll walk you to the village. It’s about four kilometers, so we’d better get going.’
With a last wave to Sophie, they headed out the gate, Charlie carrying her suitcase as if it weighed nothing.
As they approached the edge of town, Charlie put the suitcase back on the ground, extended the handle and began to pull it.
There were papers to sign at the car rental office, but far too soon she was standing by a little Ford that seemed a bit sturdier than the Scoda had been. Charlie loaded her suitcase in the ‘boot’, and turned to her.
‘I’ll miss you.’
‘I can always come visit,’ she said, in an attempt at cheeriness.
‘I’d like that.’
Once again, those strong arms were wrapped around her. She regretted never seeing them bare. The kiss was hard and deep. She tasted tears and wasn’t sure whose they were.
He gently pushed her away. ‘You need to go. You’ve got thirty-seven kilometers to drive before dark. Do you still have the directions I wrote out for you? Good.’
She settled herself into the driver’s seat. Charlie leaned in the still open door. As he gave her one more kiss, she felt his wand against the base of her skull. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. ‘I love you, Valerie Riley.’
*****
As she drove out of the lot she looked back at the stocky, red-haired man who was watching her pull away. He had been very helpful with loading her car and marking her map. She wondered why it looked like he was crying.
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The road was hardly more than a single track with sporadic pavement. The small hired Scoda bounced from pothole to rut with bone jarring jerks. She had left the E58 an hour ago, but the directions didn’t seem to match the terrain through which she was now bouncing.
She should have known this would happen. She was one to plan every detail of such a trip. After yet another week at Steamboat, she, Martin, Stephanie and Thomas had decided to make this year’s ski trip ‘special’. They’d spent days pouring over brochures and websites, looking for something different; something none of their other friends had done.
Romania wasn’t one of those places that leapt to mind, but the more they discussed it, the more appeal it had. They had chosen a package offering skiing on a different mountain every day and returning to a small, but luxurious hotel in a centralized town. It sounded perfect. They would spend Christmas in a quaint village. Valerie could picture themselves sipping hot toddies by a roaring fire while carolers on the picturesque square sang traditional tunes and snow fell, making the darling partial timber houses look like gingerbread houses.
But like all great plans, it went astray.
Her boss had called her into his office on the first of December to inform her that the customer had moved the deadline. The proposal had to be ready for presentation before Christmas. So instead of flying out the afternoon of the 18th, with the rest of the group, she found herself pulling an overnighter as they rushed to finish the PowerPoint and assemble the handouts. The morning of the 19th was spent patiently explaining the details of the advertising blitz and answering a thousand questions that were clearly covered in the material. To add insult to injury, at the end of the four hour ordeal, the client had blandly thanked them for their time and said his ‘people’ would be getting in touch after the new year.
Valerie had rushed to the airport and boarded the plane for the fifteen hour journey. Thankfully, her frequent flyer miles had come through with an upgrade. The ministrations of the flight crew and the never-ending flow of wines made the overnight flight more pleasant, but the four hour snooze in the seat that reclined almost flat did little to lessen the grogginess as she finally deplaned in Bucharest. Because she was landing a day late, there was no driver waiting to board her into a motor coach for the last leg of the trip. She was on her own in an unknown country. The map the car rental company gave her had hardly been more informative than the internet. Google Maps had been decidedly unhelpful. They had shown a total of seven roads in north eastern Romania and when she had zoomed in, those had disappeared completely. So she was stuck with written instructions, surrounded by impenetrable mountains, gathering dusk and a sneaking suspicion she had made a wrong turn.
As the car jolted through another pothole, Valerie heard an ominous grind and the steering wheel seemed to lock. The engine was running, but the steering did not respond. The car ground to a shuddering halt. Valerie turned off the ignition, fumbled for the emergency flashers, and scrambled out of the driver’s seat.
The car sat squarely in the middle of the right lane. At first glance everything seemed normal; until Valerie noticed the front wheels tilted in towards the wheel well. Well that can’t be right, Valerie mused.
Valerie wasn’t totally ignorant about the workings of an automobile. She kept her own car in good mechanical order. She faithfully went for oil changes every three thousand miles and had tune-ups annually. But anything further than that, she relied on the mechanic she had used since moving to the city after college. For road emergencies, such as this…well, that’s why she had an AAA membership, wasn’t it?
AAA! That’s it! Valerie dove into the car and rummaged through the paperwork in the glove box. Other than the contract she had signed, the useless map, and a pamphlet warning passengers about using seatbelts, there was nothing. She threw the pile of papers back into the compartment with a curse. Dark was falling fast now and she was beginning to feel panic nudging the edges of her nerves. She fumbled in her purse for the tiny flashlight she carried on a key fob. By the illumination of the tiny light she shuffled through the plethora of cards in her wallet. The AAA card was hiding in the section of her wallet behind her Social Security card and library card. Inspection of it did not offer a number to dial when overseas.
Valerie sighed. She had no choice. She would have to swallow her pride and call Martin.
Martin had not wanted her to travel alone. He had volunteered to delay his own flight and accompany her. He had meant well, Valerie knew, but she was a bit miffed by the insinuation that a woman should not travel solo. She was a grown woman with hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles; she was certainly capable of making a simple journey alone. Or at least that was what she had argued. Having to call Martin would be admitting that she had failed.
With another sigh, she pulled the phone from her purse, flipped it open and hit the speed dial button to connect her to Martin. She waited for the ring. It didn’t come. She pulled the phone from her ear and peered at the screen. The bar indicating signal strength was non-existent.
A shrill hum of panic was beginning to build. It had been ages since she had noticed a building as she had driven further and further into the mountains. Walking for help didn’t seem to be a logical option. Furthermore, as the daylight had disappeared the temperature had dropped and a light flurry of snow was beginning to fall. Valerie was feeling distinctly chilled. She once again scrambled out of the car, and unlocked the trunk of the car. She dragged her suitcase out and wrestled it into the back seat of the car. Crawling back in and slamming the door shut, she started the motor again and turned the heat to full. She got on her knees and leaned over the back of the seat to access her suitcase. Unzipping it, she pulled out her toboggan hat and immediately pulled it on. She then dug out a ski sweater and her down jacket, as well as a pair of wool gloves. She was inventorying the remainder of her clothing, trying to decide what would be useful to prevent hypothermia as the evening progressed, when she heard a sharp rap on glass.
Startled, she jumped up, banging her head on the dome light. Rubbing her head and muttering a curse, she looked over her shoulder. Outside the car were three young men, who seemed amused by her derriere sticking up in the air and odd assortment of mismatched clothing.
*********
The three men were grunting and cursing under their breaths as they put their shoulders to the car and shoved once again.
‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to get it off the road,’ Valerie argued. ‘The engine works just fine, it just won’t steer.’ She had been embarrassed by the position in which she had been discovered, but relieved to find out the men not only spoke English, but two of them actually were English. They explained they were in Romania on a work/study program of some sort, and were staying on an animal reserve just a few kilometers away.
‘I think you’re right,’ the stocky red head who had introduced himself as Charlie, agreed. ‘Phil, why don’t you and Stephano take the lovely Miss Riley and head for the hostel. I’ll put out warning triangles and catch you up.’
This plan was met with nods of agreement as Stephano yanked her suitcase from the backseat. Valerie gave a squeak of protest when the unzipped bag disgorged a number of articles of clothing. Of course several pair of lacy underpants leapt from the bag and landed at the feet of Charlie. Before Valerie could rescue the escaped items, he bent and picked them up, handing them to her with a lifted eyebrow and a hint of a grin that quirked the corner of his mouth up.
Valerie felt her face flame as she snatched the wayward bits of lace. She stuffed them in her pocket, lifted her chin with a sniff and stalked off after Stephano and Phil.
Stephano and Phil were friendly fellows. They kept Valerie distracted from the hike with jokes and sympathized that her après-ski boots were more practical for sitting prettily around the lodge than hiking through a rugged forest. She was glad she had pulled on the sweater, jacket and gloves though, as it was decidedly cold, even with the exertion of the hike.
She caught sight of a streak of light just out of the corner of her eye. At her surprised ‘oh!’, Stephano explained that meteors were seen quite frequently and were more visible because of the reduced light pollution. It seemed to be so, as Valerie didn’t think she had ever seen so many stars.
They eventually broke out into a clearing which held several roughly hewn buildings. Stephano led her to the largest while Phil peeled off, mumbling something about checking the barn. Phil ushered her through a heavy door into a large room filled with an assortment of mismatched sofas and overstuffed chairs. It was softly lit by a few lanterns and a roaring fire, around which lounged several men and women. As Phil and Valerie approached the group the conversation came to an abrupt halt. From the furtive looks on their faces, Valerie felt like she had just walked in on a group of people who had been gossiping about her. But that was silly. How could they have been talking about her when they didn’t even know her?
‘Everyone, this is Valerie Riley, Phil announced. ‘Her car broke down about a couple of clicks from here. She’ll be staying here until we can get her to civilization.’
There were introductions, handshakes, and smiles, but everyone seemed to melt away as soon as the formalities were finished. Charlie came through the door just as the last few disappeared through the door.
‘Been abandoned, have you?’ he boomed jovially.
Valerie hated men who boomed jovially.
‘I need to contact a repairman and get the car towed,’ Valerie began ticking off on her fingers. ‘Then I need to call the car rental place to get a replacement. Where’s the telephone?’
‘Um…’
‘Oh, let me guess. You don’t have one. Great.’ This was going from bad to worse. How on earth did people exist without a telephone?
‘We go to the village if we need to use one,’ Charlie explained. ‘We’re…um…we’re really isolated and this isn’t a terribly progressive country, ‘specially out in the wilderness like this.’
‘Okay, fine,’ Valerie snapped. ‘Tomorrow can someone drive me to the village so I can let my friends know where I am and make arrangements for the car?’
‘I…ah…um…we’ll help you make those…um…arrangements,’ Charlie stumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
What was wrong with him? It wasn’t that complicated a request, was it?
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Charlie offered, apparently intent on changing the subject. At her nod, he hurried out of the room, calling over his shoulder, ‘Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.’
In no time he was back with two mugs. She took one and leaned back into the very comfortable chair. They both sipped their tea in silence and Valerie found her eyelids becoming heavier. It startled her when she felt Charlie lean over her and gently took the mug from her hand.
‘I’d better take that before you spill on yourself,’ he gently chided with that crooked grin again.
She felt her ear tips burn. Why did this man have the ability to make her feel like she was thirteen again?
Charlie had placed the mugs on the tray and settled himself back into his chair. ‘Are you ready for bed?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You look sleepy. Are you ready to go to your room and go to bed?’
‘Oh!’ More than her ears were burning now. ‘Um, yes. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Yes, I think we, I mean I! I should go to bed.’ Good grief, she sounded like an idiot!
‘I’ll show you your room,’ Charlie said, rising from his seat. ‘Stephano put your bag there already.’
Valerie stood and gathered her purse. ‘That was nice of him.’
‘Yes, he’s a nice bloke.’
Valerie glanced at him just in time to see a slight twist of his mouth. He seemed to be holding in a laugh as he turned towards the stairs. They climbed to the landing that circled the main room, where closed doors presumably led to various bedrooms. Charlie led her to one in the far corner from the stairs, opening the door and gesturing her to enter.
‘There’s an en-suite over there,’ he gestured. ‘We’ll discuss your arrangements in the morning.’
A yawn caught her by surprise. Charlie leaned forward with a smile and kissed her forehead.
‘Off to bed, sleepyhead,’ he said gently, and turned, leaving her feeling confused and a bit angry. How dare he treat her like a little girl! She was tempted to dig a book out of her bag and stomp back down stairs, just to prove she’d go to bed when she was ready. But that plan was abandoned when she turned to see the bed heaped with soft, fluffy bedding, calling to her, offering her rest. It had been a long time since she had left her office. She hurriedly tidied herself and put on her pajamas and had no sooner slid between the crisp, cool sheets than she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
*****
Judging by the light when she awoke, she had missed breakfast and lunch might be iffy. Valerie stretched and snuggled back down into the pillow, tempted to roll back over and sleep another twelve or fifteen hours. Then she remembered her predicament. Martin would be going crazy! He had expected her last night. Not only had she not arrived, but she hadn’t called. She leaned over the bed and dug in her purse. She pulled out her cell phone, but the screen was blank. She held the power button, but nothing happened.
Great, she thought, throwing the phone back into her purse. I’m in the middle of no-where and cannot even contact civilization.
She got dressed, repacked her bag… I’m leaving today …made sure everything in her purse was in order and headed down the stairs. The house was very quiet. Everyone is probably out working. I’ll just find a bite to eat.
Finding her way to the kitchen, she began rummaging for food. There wasn’t a refrigerator. There was a pot of coffee on the gigantic, wood burning stove. She found a mug in a nearby cabinet and gratefully poured herself a cup. It was strong. No lattes here, she thought, thinking how that suited Charlie just fine. A latte would not be his style, she was sure. She was admiring the fresh coating of snow that had developed overnight, when she heard a stomping of feet at the door. She turned to see Charlie come in, pulling a cap off his head and shaking off the chill.
‘Well hello!’ He was booming again, Valerie noticed. Maybe booming joviality wasn’t that bad. At least with Charlie, it seemed genuine.
He was pulling off his gloves and heavy coat, all the while grinning at her. ‘Did you find something to eat?’
‘No, I found the coffee and that’s as far as I got.’ Valerie began opening cupboard doors, looking for food again.
‘Let me warm up some stew for you,’ Charlie said, opening the door to a small room by the sink. He pulled out a bowl and kicked the door shut as he set the bowl on the table that ran the center of the room. Before she could protest, he had pulled a pot from the shelf over the stove, poured a massive amount of stew in it and placed it on a metal plate on the stove. He had his back to her as he bent over the door of the stove, presumably stoking the flames a bit higher. ‘This will be ready in no time,’ he said, turning back towards her. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘Oh…yes,’ she said, annoyed at being distracted by his backside. ‘Yes, very well, thank you. That has to be one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. What time is it, by the way?’
Charlie consulted his watch. ‘Two o’clock.’
‘Two! I’ve got to get into town! I’ve got to get a car! I’ve got to call my friends! I’ve…’
‘Whoa! Calm down. No need to panic. Phil and Sophie went into Putna this morning. The car hire company will be out to collect the car sometime today, but unfortunately, they don’t have a replacement vehicle for you.’
Valerie made a strangled noise.
Charlie leaned against the counter. ‘You were headed for Valea Putnei, right?’
Valerie nodded, not remembering having said that, but at this point, she really didn’t care.
‘Phil called them this morning and let them know you had difficulty on the road. They’ll have told your friends by now, so they won’t be frantic.’
Valerie squeaked, nodded, and flopped into a chair.
Charlie turned back to the stove and ladled a bowl of now steaming stew, placing it in front of her with a large spoon. A thick slice of bread appeared next to the bowl as she sank the spoon into the hot broth.
Charlie sat in the chair next to her, watching her take several spoonfuls before speaking again. ‘You’re welcome here as long as you need to stay. Most of the staff is leaving today for Christmas, but I’m staying, as well as Sophie, Stephano and McKeever. We have to keep a skeleton crew on, even over the holidays.’ Charlie joined her at the table with his own bowl of stew.
‘But I want to get to the ski resort,’ Valerie complained, the stew having helped her find her voice again.
‘We had plans, the four of us, for Christmas. We always spend Christmas skiing together.’
‘You don’t spend Christmas with your family?’
‘No. Don’t you?’ Her tone was a challenge.
‘I do whenever I can. I’m one of the senior wi…, um men here. I make sure my people get home for Christmas. The other two senior people and I rotate years for Christmas. I get home at least once a year though, just not always at Christmas.’
‘Well I prefer to be with my friends. My parents are divorced and I don’t care for either of my step-parents. I’m an adult; I don’t need to run home to mommy for Christmas.’
The lack of response surprised Valerie. She had purposely tried to raise an argument. She didn’t want to be in a foul mood alone. Charlie just continued to eat his stew.
When both bowls were empty and the bread was little more than a few crumbs, Charlie stood and gathered the dishes. As he turned to the sink, Valerie felt a bit guilty. He was being perfectly nice, even with her rudeness.
‘I’ll wash the dishes,’ Valerie offered. ‘You fixed lunch.’
‘No, I’ll take care of it in a bit. It’s no trouble.’
‘No, if I’m going to be staying here for a while I ought to help out.’
Charlie grinned at her. ‘Tell you what, you wash up and I’ll put them away. I know where everything goes.’
Valerie grinned back at him. ‘Deal.’
It took a while for Charlie to locate the wash cloth, and the water had to be heated on the stove, so it took longer to finish the job than it should have.
‘I’m surprised you don’t have a dishwasher, with all these people. There must be hundreds of dishes after a big meal for twenty people,’ Valerie pondered while wiping down the table. Charlie was wiping counter and rinsing the suds down the drain.
‘No electricity, remember?’ He touched her nose with a soapy finger.
‘Ummm.’ Why, she wondered, did his slightest touch make her forget basic words? To cover her awkwardness, she scooped a handful of suds and flung the foam, hitting him on the side of his face.
‘Oh-ho!’ he crowed, reaching for some suds. They were almost all gone, but the few he was able to capture hit her squarely on the mouth.
She blew the suds from her mouth with a splutter and reached for whatever weapon she could find. Her hand came up with the soaking wash cloth, but before she could fling it at him, he grabbed her and twisted her around so he had both arms pinned. She wiggled to free herself, pushing fruitlessly against him. He shifted his arms slightly and she felt his fingers dig lightly into her ribs.
‘Not fair! I’m ticklish!’ she protested.
‘There are rules?’ There was that grin again. It would be her undoing she decided.
She squirmed harder, but that just made him hug her to him more firmly. Time for a different tact, she decided, and suddenly went limp.
He didn’t loosen his grip, but rather looked down at her with a smirk. ‘My little sister has tried that technique a million times.’ His gaze dropped to her mouth and Valerie’s pulse fluttered. She felt his arms shift slightly as he leaned down towards her. She lifted her chin in anticipation.
Heavy stomping sounded outside the door and Charlie dropped his arms just as Stephano and an older, grizzled man came through the door, followed by Sophie.
‘Hell, Charlie,’ Stephano almost shouted. ‘We could have used you out there. That female Longho…’ He was stopped in midsentence by a firm kick in the shin from Sophie. ‘Oh, hello, Valerie.’
‘Valerie, this is James McKeever. He’s just called McKeever. McKeever, this is Valerie Riley. I told you about her.’
‘Aye, you did.’ He strode forward, offering his hand. ‘Lovely to meet you.’ He turned to Charlie. ‘We’ve got a situation that’ll want careful watch. We need to set patrols for tonight. I reckon two hour watches?’
‘That female again?’
‘Aye. I reckon she’s due within the next twelve hours. We need to keep her separate.’
‘You get lunch. I’ve already eaten. I’ll go keep an eye on the situation. One of you come relieve me at eight, then I’ll take the dawn shift.’ Charlie reached for the coat he had hung on the back of a chair. Valerie thought he’d forgotten she was there until as he turned back towards the door and caught her eye. The wink he gave her told her he planned to take up where he’d left off. Valerie gave him a little smile and he was through the door and into the blowing snow.
************
She was curled up in the old sprung sofa by the fire. The book she had been reading had slipped onto her lap. She was fighting a doze encouraged by the warmth of the fire. She heard a slight creak and before she could turn to find its cause, the couch sagged as Charlie vaulted over its back and landed beside her. She couldn’t help but laugh.
‘I need to warm my hands,’ he announced, pressing what felt like two blocks of ice against her neck.
Valerie jumped with a loud squeal, trying to wriggle away from him.
‘Shhhhh,’ he hissed with a laugh. ‘You’ll wake up Sophie and McKeever.’ He grabbed her at the waist and dragged her back towards him. ‘I don’t think you want to do that, do you?’ His voice sounded gruffer, as he settled her next to him, keeping his hands around her waist.
Valerie shook her head slightly, as she ran her fingers up the arms keeping her captive. They were very nice arms, she thought. She never liked the overly muscled look of men she saw in the gym, but Charlie’s muscles were perfect. His forearms were thick and biceps thoroughly filled the sleeves of his shirt, but on him they looked just right. Her fingers reached his collar and it was just a short distance to run her finger along his ear lobe.
He gave a slight grunt and shifted pulling her even closer. She looked up into his blue eyes and knew he was ready to take up where they had left off after lunch, as he ran his finger along the neck of her sweater.
‘Charlie…’ She trailed off as Charlie blew gently in her ear.
‘Hmmm?’ He seemed quite interested in the notch of her collarbone.
‘Are you going to kiss me, or not?’
His answer was swift and firm.
*****
She hardly saw him at all the next day. She was up by eight, thinking she’d see him when he came in after his watch shift, but no one was in the kitchen or main room. From the condition of the kitchen, it appeared they’d left in a hurry. After fixing herself a cup of coffee and helping herself to the oatmeal looking stuff in a pot, she set about cleaning the dishes and straightening the room. She picked up the cream pitcher and opened the door from which Charlie had gotten the stew yesterday. She was surprised to see a rather ordinary looking pantry. Stepping into it, she shivered. It was as cold as the outdoors. That’s clever, she thought, keeping a room uninsulated for food storage. She wondered what they did in the summer.
With the kitchen back in order, Valerie wandered into the main room, looking for something to do. She’d finished the book she had packed. She spent some time looking through the books on the shelves, but most of them were in foreign languages. None of the English titles caught her interest. She noticed it had stopped snowing. The sky was still overcast, but the clouds seemed to be thinning. There was a promise of sun.
It took no time at all to climb into her ski overalls, sweater and boots. She checked that her hat and gloves were in her jacket pocket and headed out the door. The smell of the cold air hitting her face reminded her that this would have been a perfect day for skiing. She struck out along a path marked by boot prints. She wound her way through the forest, enjoying the peaceful evergreens with their laden boughs. She was startled by an ungodly noise. It sounded like a combination of a roar and a scream, but far louder than anything she’d ever heard.
She trotted towards the noise. She wasn’t sure if she should, but the footprints led in that direction. What if the others were in trouble? What if Charlie was hurt? Her trot quickened.
The path broke out onto the edge of a ravine. Valerie stopped just in time to prevent herself from slipping over the edge and tumbling into a pit containing a…dragon? She could see McKeever standing a ways from the creature which was writhing and making the monstrous noise that had drawn Valerie. McKeever shouted something and Valerie saw Charlie and Stephano come into sight from the other side of the ravine. All three began climbing towards Valerie, although they did not seem to have spotted her. Charlie raised his arm and waved widely. Valerie fell backwards onto her butt as Sophie flew towards her on what appeared to be a broom.
McKeever came over the lip of the ridge first, to find Valerie still open mouthed at the sight below.
‘Here now lass, what brought you here?’ He reached a hand down and helped her to her feet. ‘Charlie,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘We have a situation here!’
Charlie’s voice came from a distance. ‘What’s wrong? Did that Opaleye get over here?’ He came over the ledge halted, staring at Valerie. ‘Oh.’ Stephano and Sophie arrived immediately behind Charlie; Sophie hopping off her broom before it was even five feet from the ground.
‘Oh my,’ was her only response.
Not that Valerie was feeling particularly loquacious. She realized her mouth was hanging open and shut it with a snap, then opened it again, as if she’d forgotten how to talk. McKeever, Stephano and Sophie were all looking at Charlie.
Charlie stepped towards her. ‘Let’s get you back to the house. I think a strong cup of tea is in order.’ He took her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm and headed back up the path. Valerie followed, dazed.
*****
‘Wizards.’
Charlie nodded.
‘And you tend to dragons. Real, live, fire-breathing dragons.’
Charlie nodded again.
‘Why?’
“Why? We’re born that way. Just like you were born with brown hair and…’
‘No, why do you tend to dragons. Seems like they’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.’
Charlie laughed, for the first time since they’d found her in the forest. ‘That they are, but we need to protect Muggles…’
‘People like me,’ she interrupted.
Charlie nodded. ‘Non-magical people, yes. We need to protect you because you don’t have the tools to control them. It also protects the dragons, because people, magical or not, have a tendency to kill things they don’t understand.’
Valerie nodded. She fiddled with a loose thread in the hem of her sweater, thinking.
‘So what happens now?’
‘Now?’
‘Now that I know about you and your dragons. You said there were laws…’
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, while you’re here, we don’t need to do anything about it. It’ll be a bit of relief really. We’ve had to tip-toe around for the last two days, hiding it from you.’
‘The dragons?’
‘No, the magic. It really is a different lifestyle. You’ll see,’ he said, the familiar grin now in place.
‘What sort of magic do you do?’ She now felt like an eager five year old, begging to see a trick. ‘Show me.’
Charlie gave her an appraising look, then shrugged. ‘Would you like your tea warmed up?’
Valerie looked at him in puzzlement. He withdrew a slender stick from inside his sweater, pointed it at her mug and steam began to float from the surface of the tea. Valerie cradled the mug in her hands and brought it to her lips.
‘I’d be careful, it’s very hot now.’
She blew across the surface and took a cautious sip. The warmth she felt came from both the tea and the realization that this wasn’t some massive joke. She looked up at him and returned his grin.
‘Now, do you feel like a bit of cooking? It’s past twelve and I’ve put in a full day’s work. I’m starved.’
‘Okay. I’m not much of a cook, but I’ll try.’
He winked at her. ‘I think you’ll find I can speed it along.’
‘Oh! You can conjure up food?’
‘Not exactly…’
Soon she was surrounded by pots on the stove that were stirring themselves and a whole chicken that had grown from a single drumstick, warming in the oven. When Charlie sent some utensils flying to the sink, where they immediately began to wash themselves, Valerie clapped her hands.
‘That’s better than a dishwasher and a microwave oven, combined!’
Charlie interrupted her laughter by grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss. What started as a quick buss, became more involved. They could have continued for much longer, but they were startled out of it by a squeaky voice, shouting ‘I’m scorching!’ Charlie turned with a laugh and pulled the pot off the burner.
‘Boy, I need one of those!’ Valerie said with a giggle.
The others seemed to know exactly when lunch was ready. They filed in just as she and Charlie were serving the plates.
‘Is that part of it? ESP?’ The others stared at her in confusion. ‘Can you read minds?’ she explained.
They laughed. ‘No,’ Charlie said, ‘not all of us. It takes very special training and it’s not considered on to do it.’
‘No, we just heard the pot yell,’ explained Stephano. ‘That’s usually the signal when Charlie’s cooking.’
The towel Charlie threw at his head brought even more laughter.
From the cheerful banter around the table, Valerie figured out the dragon she had seen this morning was laying eggs. Chickens squawked; dragons roared. Sophie said she had counted at least seven eggs. The men nodded, pleased.
As the meal ended, everyone took their plates to the sink. The pots had already cleaned themselves. The plates and cutlery were stacked, and with a wave of a wand, the sink filled with steaming, soapy water and the dishes began a dance with the washcloth.
Valerie spent the afternoon on another part of the reserve, standing a safe distance as Sophie examined some hatchlings.
‘These,’ Sophie explained, ‘are Ukrainian Ironbellies. They’re only two weeks old.’
Valerie was surprised. They were already the size of small horses. Sophie seemed to know what she was thinking. ‘They are the largest breed of dragon. These little fellows will weigh at least five tonnes when full grown.’ Valerie found it wasn’t hard to imagine them the size of an eighteen wheeler. They were very aggressive. Sophie kept dodging their claws as she ran her wand along their flanks.
*****
They were alone in the main room again. The last two days had flown as Valerie discovered more and more about the wizarding world and especially dragons. Sophie and the men had made her feel welcome and seemed to enjoy explaining magic to her. Charlie had gone to the village this afternoon to get supplies. Valerie had wanted to tag along, especially when he said he was going by broom.
‘I don’t think that would work very well,’ Charlie had told her. ‘The broom won’t get in the air with you on it.’
‘What, am I too fat to fly on a broom?’
‘No,’ Charlie said. ‘Although,’ and he leaned over to inspect her backside, ‘I do like a bit of meat on a girl.’ She squeaked when he pinched her bottom. ‘Brooms won’t fly for Muggles.’
‘Oh.’ At the sight of her disappointed face, Charlie gave her a hug and kissed her nose. He promised he’d be back soon, threw his leg over the broom and was gone before she could even wave.
After supper, everyone had enjoyed teaching Valerie a card game called ‘Exploding Snap’. Valerie thought she was getting the hang of it when she discovered the ‘exploding’ part of the game. She learned to discard a lot faster after that. ‘Good nights’ were exchanged as the others headed to their rooms. Sophie suggested Charlie and Valerie ‘close up the place,’ as she headed up the stairs with a knowing glance at Charlie.
They leaned against each other, watching the fire dwindle to coals. Charlie draped his arm around Valerie’s shoulders, playing with a curl by her ear.
‘Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve.’
Valerie made a pleased noise in her throat.
‘I got you a surprise in town. Would you like it now?’
Valerie sat up, her eyes bright with excitement. ‘A surprise? What is it? Do you have it now?’ She began to run her fingers over him, searching for the hidden gift. He flinched with a chuckle as she ran her fingers up his ribs. Her fingers came to rest on his shirt pocket. She could feel something small and hard in there. As she reached into the pocket, Charlie’s hand closed over hers, keeping her from getting the surprise.
‘Do you want it early?’ he teased.
‘Yes!’
‘Then I need payment.’ He put his free hand around her neck and pulled her mouth to his. The kiss melted her tension and the hand that had been scrabbling for the pocket relaxed under his. After a good long time, she pulled away.
‘You’re just trying to distract me,’ she accused. ‘Please give me my surprise.’ She put her hand out, palm up. She was surprised to see Charlie’s expression become serious.
‘Close your eyes.’ She complied and felt his fingers place something cool in her upturned palm. She opened her eyes.
‘It’s a key.’
‘Yes.’
‘To what?’
‘A car.’
‘A car?’
Charlie nodded. He wasn’t grinning. ‘The car hire company had your car when I got to the village today. I got the key so you can pick it up whenever you are ready.’
‘Oh.’ She stared down at the key. Three days ago she wanted this key desperately. Today she wasn’t sure. She looked up at Charlie. ‘You got me a key so I could leave.’
‘Only if you want to.’
She silently pleaded for him to grab her and tell her he wouldn’t let her leave, but she knew he wouldn’t do that. It had to be her decision. She knew that about him. She looked up into his eyes. ‘I think I’d better sleep on this and decide in the morning.’
Charlie nodded.
She started towards the stairs, but his voice stopped her. She turned to find he had closed the gap between them. He caught her in a crushing hug and caught her mouth with his. The kiss told her what he wanted.
******
Christmas Eve dawned bright and clear. Unfortunately, Valerie had not slept well and awoke feeling more tired than she had been when she had finally fallen asleep. She slowly made her way down her stairs. She found Charlie where she had expected to. He was sitting on the sofa where she had left him last night. He was still wearing the same clothes. Had he not even gone to bed last night?
She sat down next to him. ‘Hi,’ she said, a little shyly.
His hand stroked the back of her head and neck. ‘Hi,’ he replied. He looked directly into her eyes and dropped his hand. ‘So when do you want to go to town?’
‘Charlie, I…’
‘You don’t need to explain. I understand. It’s hard to walk away from everything you’ve ever known, into the unknown. I understand,’ he emphasized as the tears started to run down her face. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. As the sobs subsided to hiccups, she felt his heart beating steadily under her hand. She considered changing her mind, just to be able to feel that forever.
The morning went far too quickly as she said her farewells to her new friends. She made sure all her things were packed and was grateful when Charlie levitated the suitcase so she wouldn’t have to clomp it down the stairs.
‘I’ll walk you to the village. It’s about four kilometers, so we’d better get going.’
With a last wave to Sophie, they headed out the gate, Charlie carrying her suitcase as if it weighed nothing.
As they approached the edge of town, Charlie put the suitcase back on the ground, extended the handle and began to pull it.
There were papers to sign at the car rental office, but far too soon she was standing by a little Ford that seemed a bit sturdier than the Scoda had been. Charlie loaded her suitcase in the ‘boot’, and turned to her.
‘I’ll miss you.’
‘I can always come visit,’ she said, in an attempt at cheeriness.
‘I’d like that.’
Once again, those strong arms were wrapped around her. She regretted never seeing them bare. The kiss was hard and deep. She tasted tears and wasn’t sure whose they were.
He gently pushed her away. ‘You need to go. You’ve got thirty-seven kilometers to drive before dark. Do you still have the directions I wrote out for you? Good.’
She settled herself into the driver’s seat. Charlie leaned in the still open door. As he gave her one more kiss, she felt his wand against the base of her skull. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. ‘I love you, Valerie Riley.’
*****
As she drove out of the lot she looked back at the stocky, red-haired man who was watching her pull away. He had been very helpful with loading her car and marking her map. She wondered why it looked like he was crying.
Secret Santa has been busy delivering parcels to
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