Page 5 of A Minotaur Tale
The carolers wrapped up their song, with Asterion holding the last note, his surprisingly beautiful voice warming her from theinside out.
Holding out a box, Asterion stepped forward. "If um, if it's alright that I return at two, please hang the mistletoe outside your door."
Cora sniffled and nodded her head, too choked up to reply, but his eyes lit up at her nod anyhow.
The carolers milled about awkwardly. Perhaps they were waiting for some bigger display, but if she was honest, this amount of fanfare was just about perfect.
Asterion beamed, shuffling his feet before slowly turning away, his eyes staying locked to hers until he was facing nearly entirely away from her. Seconds later, he turned back, waving with his full arm over his head. Then, the cheeky man lowered his hand andblew her a kiss!
The white marble hue of her skin had never hidden the pink of a blush very well, and now it was on full display. Hardly able to contain herself, she slapped her hand to her mouth and blew one back. What had come over her? Was it the holiday? The magic of the night? Asterion? Or was it simply the feeling of being truly seen for the first time in years?
Once he was out of sight, Cora scurried back inside to open her gift. Inside, carefully nestled among packing paper, was an arresting assortment of fossils. First, she picked up anopalized Trigonia, the light from her entryway reflecting off its varied colors and painting her walls. Next came a beautifully preserved iridescent Ammonite, and a Gastropoda that she'd need to look up for more information. A small but–if she made her guess correctly–exceedingly rare snail shell was the last item before she encountered another layer of paper. She peeled it away, because the box still felt heavy, and her breath caught at what was within.
Filling the bottom of the box, its frills preserved in pristine detail, was a blue coral. She'd been named for coral, as she'd formed near a section of fossilized coral. With a thrill of excitement, she brought the blue coral into her room and set it on her bureau. She smiled at how lovely it looked paired with her opalized version.
It was only one fifteen by the clock at her bedside, which meant three quarters of an hour to stew in her feelings and debate hanging the mistletoe.
So far at least, none of it seemed like an elaborate prank. And anyhow, Asterion had never struck her as one to be so cruel. As she climbed back into bed, her curtains open so she could admire her new shells. She twirled the sprig, images of what it might be like to be loved by Asterion dancing in her head.
1. I don’t often poke fun at my subjects, but it just strikes me that one does not “rush” down the hallway to someone they feel decidedly lukewarm about.
Chapter four
Five minutes before thehour, Cora was pacing between the door into the library and her front door, unable to sleep. Her nerves were wound so tight that she nearly jumped out of her skin when the great grandfather clock began chiming two. The last vestiges of the bell faded from the air were quickly followed by a few swift raps on her front door. Hands shaking, she opened it to find only Asterion this time, waiting with a bouquet of flowers.
"You hung the mistletoe,”he said, his voice filled with awe. "I wasn’t sure you would."
"If you've gone to all this trouble, I might as well give you the opportunity to see, firsthand, if you're truly interested."
"I am," he said. Asterion held out the flowers to her, thrusting them so she had to grab them swiftly, lest they drop on the ground. They weren't fancy, just simple camellias, though they happened to be her favorite flower. Asterion held out his hand for hers, and Cora brushed her golden braid, and considered that she was in her nightdress.
"I've a blanket and cloak in the phaeton," he reassured.
The only way she'd find out the plan for this gift seemed to be following him, so she placed her hand in his, as gentle as a bird alighting on a branch.
His palm dwarfed hers, he could engulf her entire hand fully in his should he want.
"Where are we off to then?" she asked.
"It's a surprise!" Asterion said. His eyes were bright, and he squeezed her hands as he led her down the terraces to where a phaeton waited with a matched pair of horses at the helm. It was an odd sort of phaeton, it seemed they would stand, as there were no seats. Asterion helped her inside and wrapped a thick, burgundy cloakaround her shoulders. Draped over the edge of the phaeton was a matching garment, presumably for Asterion.
"It's not quite a sleigh, but I know how to drive this." Asterion sounded hesitant, looking at her as if asking for forgiveness. “There’s also a distinct lack of snow."
"This is lovely! Why would you want a sleigh over this?"
"The song, the one you've been humming for the last few weeks, it mentions a sleigh ride in the snow? It seemed like it might be your favorite."
"It is." Had he really paid such close attention? It seemed he had, if he'd noticed her humming, a habit she rarely even realized she was doing. "Are you–" Asterion clicked his tongue and the pair of horses lurched forward.
The motion put Cora off her balance, though Asterion's large hand steadied her on her waist. He removed it nearly as fast as he'd placed it, but the heat of where he touched her lingered, spreading throughout her body. For months, she'd denied attraction to him, afraid to let herself explore her feelings for the friendly, if needy, minotaur.
"It seems you've been paying attention," she noted. "My favorite flowers and the song..."
"Youcould say so," Asterion said, leading them through the great city of Berggeheimnis.
Cora's unique living situation in the library meant that she lived in a largely municipal section of the city. As such, their drive took them through some of the most elaborate buildings, each one an edifice of dwarven architecture. It was normal for wreaths to decorate the city, but as she paid attention, Cora picked out other decor that she didn't recognize.
"Are any of these decorations from your home?"