Page 17 of Bluebell’s Fate

Her godmother took Bell’s chin in her hand and looked straight into her soul. “Nathaniel will take care of you, Bell. I have long believed that the two of you would be good for each other.”

“That is comforting.” Bell wanted to believe that her godmother was correct. On some level, Bell believed her. Nathaniel would provide for her; she had no fear of living destitute. Her greatest fear was that she wouldn’t be loved, at least not romantically like she’d always dreamed of being loved. “How often will I get to see you? Do you live near Nathaniel?”

Godmother let go of Bell’s chin and lightly squeezed her hand. “I’m afraid not. Nathaniel’s estate is up north, near York. I usually travel between Cambridge and London.”

A twig cracked behind them. “Do fairies lead people to those who are speaking about them?” said a deep voice.

Bell jumped at the sound of Nathaniel’s voice behind her. She clutched her godmother’s arm again and turned to see him walking toward her with determination. “It seems they do,” she muttered under her breath.

Her godmother laughed. “I should be off.” She pulled Bell into an embrace. “Trust him, child,” she whispered into her hair, “Use the magic inside of you, and this marriage will be a grand adventure.”

A grand adventure. Could Bell approach her union as such? “I’ll try,” she whispered as her godmother went to embrace Nathaniel. Bell had been caught up in the idea that this marriage was some sort of punishment. She could create a better story though; she knew she could. What better time to begin than when she was in the safety of her woods? She looked down at her dress; it was quite elegant, fit for a princess. So she imagined herself as a princess, being saved from a tower, surrounded by trolls. Her rescuer was handsome and kind, and although she didn’t know him well, she was determined to fix that.

She spun around toward Nathaniel and smiled. Her godmother was whispering something in his ear and patting his hand. She winked at Bell before she began walking back toward the house. It was likely her godmother’s magic that had brought Nathaniel to her after all—or the woods. Either way, it made her bold. Taking hesitant steps toward her champion, she held out her hands, inviting him to her.

His entire countenance shifted. The creases in his forehead smoothed, and his mouth turned up at the corners. He closed the gap between them and held her hands in his. He cleared his throat. “I’m glad you were able to speak with my grandmother. How are you?”

Her rescuer cared about how she fared. The feel of his warm hands encompassing her own felt safe. “I am well.” She took another step forward and looked up into his gold-flecked eyes. “How are you, Nathaniel?”

His eyes shifted back and forth between hers, and he shook his head. “I’m starting to believe that these woods are not entirely normal.”

She laughed. Of course they weren’t normal; these woods were magical. Couldn’t he feel it—the pull between them? A princess and her handsome rescuer, only inches apart. Tension hummed all around them. It was only natural that a princess would bestow a gift of gratitude for his bravery. She rose up on her toes and placed a kiss upon his freshly shaven cheek. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, so hard that when he wrapped his arms around her, she was certain he would feel it hammering against his own chest. Her arms found their way around his neck, and she breathed in the scent of him: shaving soap and sandalwood.

He pulled her even closer. “What did I do to deserve that?”

Bell closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was a grateful princess. “You came for me.” Being saved from trolls felt like a monumental moment, after all.

“Of course I did. I’m sorry if you had reason to doubt.” His whisper settled into Bell’s soul like a drizzle of rain fell onto parched earth. “I’m sorry for so many things. But we can make this work.”

The story in Bell’s head started to crack. Make this work? A small voice in the back of her mind tried to tell her to face her reality…but she didn’t want to think about that right now. Could she keep up the story that she was a princess forever? No, they would have to address that Bell was not actually a princess, and Nathaniel was…well, she didn’t know exactly who he was. But he was her husband, and their story had magical beginnings, even if he didn’t realize it. She would have to make certain that the magic did not entirely end when they left her woods.

She stepped away from him but threaded her arm through his. She didn’t know what to do next. Should they stay in the woods? Go back to the wedding breakfast? Go to her new home?

“What ever happened to the fairy chef that was captured by the humans?”

Bell looked up into Nathaniel’s face. “What?”

He nodded solemnly and led her to walk further into the woods. “When I first found you, you were telling a story about a fairy that was captured. I hate not knowing the end of a good story.”

She could appreciate that. She’d never finished that particular story. Her world had swirled out of her control that day. But she could finish it now that she was back in her woods. “Well, the fairy chef was called upon to make a pudding for the man’s dessert. She made the best pudding she could concoct, using things like sugar as opposed to the pollen she was accustomed to, but it was awful. The man locked her in a box for three days. She begged for another chance, this time to bake with her own ingredients. He finally consented, and the fairy chef set to work. She gathered honey from a hive of understanding bees, a fresh peach just waiting to be picked, and she begged some milk from a cow. Then she crushed the petals of a rose with some mint leaves.

“After combining the ingredients into a bowl large enough for a human to consume, she asked him to heat it through for a time. When the pudding was finished, she flapped her wings over the top to create a sprinkling of magic. Praying it would be enough, she told the man his pudding was finished. With each bite the man took, his body became smaller and smaller until, at last, he had turned into a fairy himself.”

Nathaniel helped Bell over a narrow portion of the stream. “Unlucky man, but deserving of his fate, I suppose.”

“Oh, but he wasn’t unlucky. Being a fairy is so much more fun than being a human. In fact, he thanked her quite profusely, and insisted that she allow him to help bake a cake for the caterpillar’s birthday party that she’d missed.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “And just like that, everything was fine? His home and family from before didn’t matter? He could just leave it all behind?”

Bell pursed her lips. “Isn’t that what stories are supposed to do? Help us escape our reality?”

He stopped walking and turned her to face him. He studied her face as the seconds seemed to stretch into minutes. Bell’s pulse quickened at the scrutiny. Could he see the frightened girl inside her, or was he simply memorizing her face?

He put a hand behind her neck and rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “Are you telling yourself a story right now, to escape your reality?”

She looked down at his cravat. How had she been so foolish to have told him what stories did for her?

“Bell,” he prodded, “what story is making you so free and brave right now?”