Gretel ducked behind the garden bed for cover. She lifted her head, a lavender bun poking up from the top, and Eliza threw with all the force she could muster.
Snow pelted Gretel’s ivory skin. She wiped her face clean, cheeks rosy, and whooped a laugh.
“We really should get back to work,” Eliza said, breathlessly. Though she couldn’t deny that her time had been fun, she was eager to get back to baking. In solitude, hopefully sometime soon, after she helped shovel the rest of the snow.
Then she looked to the front of the house to find a heap of snow piled high on either side of the driveway. Even their cars had been defrosted. Done already? How long had she been inside?
“You know what these piles would be good for?” Gretel’s smile grew slowly across her face. “Snowball fight forts! C’mon, boys against girls. Puffcake can be the referee.”
Eliza bit her lip. How could she break the news kindly to her? “Thanks, but I?—“
“We need to get going,” Lachlan interrupted. He briefly looked at Eliza before adjusting his hat and starting off through the snow to his Land Rover. “We need to get in touch with the rental company. See what’s the matter.”
Eliza followed, half-heartedly bracing herself to say her goodbyes. But the moment Lachlan unlocked his car, the wind picked up.
At first, it was just a little breeze. Then it grew into a loud, howling scream. The wind spun harder and harder. Hansel lost his beanie, and Puffcake flapped his wings vigorously against the wind, trying not to get sucked up into it.
Sugar-dusted wind whipped past their faces, and Eliza’s hair stuck to her lap balm. The heaps of snow piled high on the driveway were caught up in the tornado of snow and wind. Then?—
Whomp!
The wind ceased. The snow piles collapsed just at the end of the driveway, sparkling like a solid wall of ice.
A second later, the candy cane street lamp flickered like it’d been possessed.
Once, twice. A third time.
Lachlan and Eliza stared. He seemed to be at a loss for words. “Um. Was that?—”
“Normal?” Gretel smiled, looking thrilled. “Oh, the house likes you two.”
“What do you mean by ‘like’?” Eliza asked.
“Like—like, like,” Gretel’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Means it’s not going to let either of you leave until it’s ready.”
“Happens sometimes,” Hansel added. “Usually, when two people are being stubborn.”
Puffcake fluttered up to the sheet of ice and barked at it like a guard dog.
Lachlan let out a frustrated sigh, the vapors visible in the chilly winter air. “Did you ever hear back from the host, Eliza?”
Her face fell. She’d honestly forgotten to check. Between enchanted ovens and limitless pantries, a house not-so-subtlymatch-making the two of them, and phone calls from home, it’d slipped her mind entirely.
Picking up her phone, she opened the booking app. The real one—not MagicalStays, the app she’d initially used to reserve the booking. She typed up a quick message, like a signal flare for help.
Good afternoon! I booked the cottage 2424 Drury Lane through MagicalStays, and it looks like the property has been double-booked. I want to check in to see if there’s any way one of us could be relocated, especially with the holiday coming up. Thanks so much! -Eliza
“Well, in the meantime, we might as well have some fun,” Gretel said, packing a snowball with the practice of an expert.
“Can we shoot at the referee?” Lachlan asked, eyeballing Puffcake.
Puffcake blew a warning cloud of smoke, taking a seat on top of a rock shaped like a marshmallow. The message was clear: referee immunity.
Without warning, Hansel yelled, “One, two, three,go!” He rained down snowballs on Eliza and Gretel. The girls yelped before sprinting around the side of the house as the powdery explosions showered down on them.
They skidded around the corner and hit the snow on their knees. Gretel moved at lightning speed, already creating more ammunition.
Eliza peeked around the corner. “They’re gaining on us!”
