The young man shifted uncomfortably and shared a brief look with his wife before answering. “As things are, a few days at the most. But I can buy you a little more time; I can’t remove the curse from your blood, but I can at least slow it down a little.”
“My lady, Sir Green,” the guard who had shown them in stood at the doorway. “Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to inform you that the report from the field has come in: Stahlmaus’ men have retreated across the border into Winter.”
Elsa nodded. “Thank you, Chrys. Anything else to report?”
The guard shook his head. “Nothing as of yet, though it does seem like the army has left most of the residents of Fleurzon quite a bit shaken.”
After a few final words of dismissal, Elsa turned back to her guests. “I apologize. We have been in a bit of a tight spot for the last few days.”
“Stahlmaus?” Alex repeated. “We noticed that it appears you had some unwanted visitors outside your gates.”
“Yes. They arrived approximately four days ago, demanding that Drosselmeyer return with them to Iysen. Stahlmaus has been trying to summon him for quite some time now, and it seems he grew tired of waiting. When we made it clear that he was not here, Stahlmaus decided that he would force the wizard’s hand by threatening us.”
“But Uncle wasn’t here two nights ago. He was in the mortal realm.” Celesta looked back and forth between the couple in confusion.
“No, but most of his army was,” Lowen answered. “He left some of his best generals here to finish the job.” He chuckled darkly. “I don’t think he’ll like the answer they return with. Drosselmeyer didn’t hold back in demonstrating why exactly one doesn’t mess with wizards. Without Stahlmaus at their backs, his men didn’t stand a chance.”
Elsa rose. “Well, there is work to be done. Lowen, my love, why don’t you tend to Alex while I send for some tea? I’m sure our guests will appreciate some refreshment after their long afternoon, and then perhaps rooms for the night?” She looked to Celesta with questioning brows, and the little pixie nodded eagerly.
“Yes, please.” Celesta squeezed Alex’s hands in excitement. “Just wait,” she gushed, turning to face him. “The tea in Summer is amazing. They have every blend you can imagine, and the flavors are spectacular.”
For a moment, Alex forgot the stiffness in his limbs and the dark cloud of anxiety in his mind. Celesta’s eyes were sparkling, and she bounced in her place with effervescent, excited energy. Even in the face of daunting tasks and uncertainty, she was still able to find delight in things like tea and refreshments. Her joy was infectious. A feeling of warmth spread through his heart, and a smile pulled at one side of his mouth. He squeezed her hand in return, relishing the feeling of her warm fingers in his. “I imagine you take yours with two spoons of sugar?”
Her eyes widened and she looked at him with an amazed chuckle. “How did you know?”
The sparkles of laughter in her eyes were contagious, and Alex felt the smile stretch across his face into a full-fledged grin. He gave her a wink. “Just a lucky guess, Sugar Plum.”
Ten
Theteawasjustas delicious as Celesta had promised, though Alex opted to take his plain, without the heaping spoonful's of sugar and splashes of cream that Celesta added to her cup with gusto. The floral, green taste was refreshing, though on the whole he found that he preferred the bitter richness of the coffee from Autumn. Celesta, of course, teased him about it mercilessly, saying that it was no surprise he was so grumpy, given his choices of refreshments.
After they had eaten, Lowen showed them to their rooms and performed his bit of magic, slowing the progress of the curse that by now had spread across Alex’s shoulders and into his waist and hips. He could feel no difference, save that walking became a little easier, but the young wizard-in-training assured him that he should have at least an extra day or two before Stahlmaus’ curse became permanent.
The urgency of his situation drove Alex to wake Celesta early the next morning. If they were going to find all the mirror shards before it was too late, they needed to make the most of every possible moment. That was why, an hour before dawn, Alex stood knocking outside Celesta’s door.
It opened almost immediately, and the little pixie greeted him with a perky smile. Her hair was slightly disheveled and she still wore a nightgown, but her eyes were bright and her voice chipper, as if she had been awake already for some time.
Alex blinked. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
“What?” Celesta looked down at herself in confusion, then back up at him. “I was sleeping. You woke me up. Why else would I be wearing nightclothes? Anyways, what is it you need?”
He slowly shook his head. It seemed obvious, now that he stopped to think about it. Of course, she would be the kind of person who could be awake and ready to go at the drop of a hat. He didn’t understand morning people–he needed at least a good half hour before being useful to anyone in the morning–but it made perfect sense that Celesta was one.
“I’m ready to leave as soon as you are.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Now? It’s not even dawn.”
Alex gestured to his stiff, useless arm. “I’d like to get an early start.”
“Oh. Of course. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Of course you would.” Celesta gave her head a small shake and stumbled over her words. “Let me get dressed and write a note for Elsa and I’ll be right out.”
She closed the door softly and Alex leaned against the wall to wait. It was only a few minutes before the little pixie reappeared, clad this time in a simple, pale blue dress that fit tightly in the waist and then flared to her knees. Her arms and legs were bare, save for the wide ribbons of her ballet slippers that wrapped neatly around her ankles. Her hair had been pulled back into a braid that bounced against the base of her wings as she walked.
“Let’s go,” she whispered energetically, sliding her hand under his right arm and pulling him along.
Alex followed with a little more effort. “How?” he demanded softly, shaking his head yet again at her never-ending well of vivacity. “How on earth do you have so much energy this early in the morning?”
“Hey, you’re the one who woke me up, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Besides, shouldn’t you be thankful that I happen to love mornings?”
