“Pleased to meet you both. Names Todd.” The large elf and Elden shook hands in greeting. A very human greeting. “What a handsome couple the two of you make. I take it by the way you two look at each other that you are very recently wed?”
Elden smiled politely while I fought the flush in my cheeks and lost miserably.
“We have been married only a fortnight,” Elden answered in his deep baritone. “We are traveling the lands as part of our Honeymoon.”
Another very human tradition.
The innkeeper’s smile widened. “You will find no more welcoming Inn than here at Spindlewood. Let me introduce you to my wife, Tabitha.”
And with that, we left the horses with a sweet-looking young elf, Terrine, and entered the Inn. The massive tree had been hollowed out by some kind of magic. Winding staircases led out to doorways which connected the bridges to the other trees on the outside. Fireflies, completely out of season, and gemstones glowed within. Every piece of furniture was carved from the tree itself. Several couches and chairs flanked a fireplace that roared in a stone-covered hearth.
“Towering trees,” Elden whispered in my ear as we entered. “The seeds were brought over from my home world before its destruction. These trees can grow big enough to house at least fifty people. They also have a sweet bark that makes a delightful tea.”
I stared in awe at the enormity of it all when the smell of heated brown sugar and butter wafted over from an adjacent kitchen. My stomach grumbled angrily when it sensed a new delicacy it had yet to try.
“My wife is cooking up her famous caramels for the feast tonight,” Todd said as he led us toward the kitchen. Then he stopped and turned around, “You are coming to the feast, aren’t you?”
“We hadn’t heard of any feast—” Elden started, but then a round female elf burst through the kitchen doors.
“Oh, you must come!” she exclaimed as she pulled off her apron, exposing a rounded stomach. Was she pregnant? “We are celebrating the marriage of Jareth to Jalla tonight! You can’t miss out on all the fun.”
So that is what the townspeople were bustling about preparing for today.
“And you two being so recently married—” Todd started, but was quickly cut off by the loud exclamation from his wife.
“Recently married!” She squealed. “How absolutely delightful.” She smiled wistfully at her husband, then took in my appearance from top to bottom. “You must be exhausted from your travel, dear. Please, we must have you both rested and bathed. I’ll send up food to your room. The celebration starts at nine, and you must come! It will be a night to remember.”
“But we have not been invited by the couple—” I started.
Tabitha’s eyebrows dropped as if she were confused. “All who enter Spindlewood are invited. You can’t miss it!”
I looked to Elden who gazed at me expectantly. As if it were truly up to me to decide.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “We would love to attend.”
I chanced another glance at Elden and he nodded in a grumbly way. Somehow the look on his face only bolstered me further.
“Now that’s settled, let’s get you two cleaned up and fed,” Tabitha offered.
I smiled at the prospect of not only bathing, but food. My stomach grumbled angrily and my leg started to ache. My wound needed more tonic before too long. “A bath and food would be most welcome.”
Tabitha pat me on the shoulder kindly and pressed a handful of candies from her apron pocket into my hands. They were small square treats wrapped in wax paper. “Have some of these while you get cleaned up to tide you over, dear. Nothing better on an empty stomach or full stomach, truthfully, than my famous caramels.”
“Caramels?” I asked. I’d never heard of such a thing, though the ice cream parlor down the street from my bakery made a caramel syrup for their ice cream, and I’d created a caramel glaze for my cream puffs. These were solid little candy confections filled with pecans.
“Come to think of it, I’ll just send you on up with some food now.” Tabitha winked, then bustled back into the kitchen. She emerged a moment later with a large basket full of breads with a steaming covered caldron in the center.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Todd offered as he received the large basket of food from his wife.
I was all too aware of how close Elden stood to me. How tall he was. Though we stood in a magical tree inn many stories high, Elden commanded the space.
We followed Todd up the main winding staircase and through the doorway leading outside. We walked along the enchanted bridges leading to the adjoining trees, each with several doors in various locations. The sounds of twittering birds and buzzing insects were joined by the nearby murmuring conversation and preparations for the wedding tonight. The sunwas beginning its setting. Pinks and fuchsias shot through the patches of sky visible through the tall branches and trees.
“The Dragonfly Room.” The innkeeper announced as he twisted a large key and unlocked the door to our room. Blue and green fabrics covered the windows and bed. Large dragonflies, butterflies, and bees embroidered on them in bold, artistic ways. Our saddlebags and belongings had been brought up already and placed on a small sofa by the fireplace. But I could only stand at the door and stare at the large canopied bed in the center of the room.
There was only one bed.
Elden would not make eye contact. I would die if he had. Todd excused himself, and I pulled out Jel’s tonic from my shoulder bag and took a swig. The pain in my leg eased immediately. I let out a sigh of relief.
