Dressedin a flowing green velvet gown, I stood on the Village Square dais with a wooden trunk at my feet. I grasped onto the leather satchel strapped across my chest containing my recipe book and magic spoon as if it would somehow ground me. Mother had pulled my long brown curls into an intricate braid that fell down my back, holly berries placed through the center of the plaits.
The first snowfall fell in soft, fat flakes blanketing the village streets in a cool embrace. Curls of warm breath puffed out before me as I stood with the other offerings this year. There were three of us. Lila practically vibrated with excitement to my left. Jacob the carpenter stood stoic and immovable to my right. He was a few years older than Lila and me, but I remembered him being just as sullen as a schoolboy. More at home in his woodshed than actually talking to other people. Certainly more comfortable with his tools than being put on display as we three were.
I’d never seen this part of the ceremony before, so I had no clue what to expect. I was supposed to be tromping out to the Moon Forest with Daisy and Mother, looking for the most beautiful Christmas tree. Happy, peaceful, hopeful. Now hope felt as foreign as these strange elves that stood sentinel around us.
The Elf King had other plans for me. With a taste of one cinnamon roll, he’d changed the entire course of my life forever.
Music filled the square, a jolly tune. Festive. Villagers sang and danced. I sniffed back tears, my chin trembling as I attempted to hold my head high.
Mother stood with Daisy wrapped in her arms. Sam stood next to Mother, a sour expression twisting his handsome features. I’d hugged him goodbye just moments before.
He’d looked at me as if his heart would truly break, then his face turned to stone. “I will come for you. I will bring you back. That elf has no right to take you.”
I placed a shaking hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Forget me, Sam. Live a beautiful life here. Marry a sweet girl. Have children, but of course, you must name one of your daughters after me.”
We both laughed then, shaking our heads for a brief moment of levity, then the sorrow fell back onto us like a cold blanket.
“But it would be better to forget.” My voice broke on the last word.
“I willneverforget you.” Sam whispered in an almost prayer. Fervent and defiant.
I hugged Sam for the last time as he whispered, “I will come for you.”
I shook my head. “Forget me.”
I pulled away, looking anywhere but at the familiar green eyes of my friend, then made my way up to the dais. I sniffed and wiped my nose on the sleeve of my velvet gown, forgetting I was dressed in such finery. Without my apron, I felt naked.
Tomorrow, evergreen garlands would line every shop in the village in swaying boughs. Bursts of red holly berries and ribbon would gleam from green branches. Street vendors would peddle their wares of hot cider, peppermint candy canes, and crisp molasses cookies. This very dais would display the village’s own giant Christmas tree.
But for now, this dais was flanked by six elven guards, all beautiful, tall, and radiant. Skin of all human hues, but hair as varied as any wildflower, blade of grass, or burbling brook.
Lila grabbed onto my arm and jolted me back to the present. The music, the cheers, the celebration burst through my ears as if I’d just removed balls of cotton.
Lila squeezed me with a gleeful smile. “He chose me, Noelle.Me.”
I offered a nod in return. “I’m happy that you’re happy, Lila.”
My throat felt tight and I couldn’t?—
“Breathe, ‘Elle.” Lila pulled me tight into her ample bosom. “Breathe. I’ll take care of you. You never wished for this. I have you.”
She kept her voice down, but I felt the excitement building in her. The only thing growing in me was nausea and tears. She gestured over to her no-longer betrothed, Axel, who wrinkled his nose at her as if she smelled of horse droppings. What a nasty man.
“Good riddance,” He mouthed.
Lila stiffened, and I felt myself pulling her to me in comfort.
“How can he manage to be both so unpleasant to look at and listen to? A rare gift,” I observed.
Lila looked to me in joyous surprise, then cheerily blew a good riddance kiss to Axel.
Lila and I had never been close. Truthfully, I hadn’t had many friends from the village but Sam, and that was because he was very insistent on our friendship. He always went out of his way to bring me in, make sure I was invited to things. I’d played with Lila and several other girls at school, but once I’d lost my father and took over the family baking, well, I just didn’t have time or energy for friends.
But standing here on the dais, awaiting the elves, I felt a shift between Lila and me. A bond forming. Unbreakable. She was my friend, and I was hers, and we’d face what came together. I laid my head on her shoulder and she squeezed my arm reassuringly.
“I have you,” she repeated.
“And I you,” I said through a constricted throat. “Come what may.”
