Page 21 of Once Upon A Bear

Guinevere lifted her face to feel the warmth of the sun as she stepped out of the forest.

While most of the time she enjoyed living in the woods, where she was less likely to be noticed, there were times when she desperately missed living in the sunshine. The trees near her home were tall and strong and did their best to block out any light she might have seen from her home.

She sighed in contentment as she soaked in the warmth for a moment before turning her face toward town and beginning to walk.

The trip to town was not a long one, and it was one she had walked many times in her life—first when she and her grandparents had lived as tenants of Eldenwilde, after they’d passed and she’d moved into shared housing on the estate for those without a homestead, and even when she’d been living at the manor house when she was Beatrice’s maid.

But she much preferred her walk the way it was now, from her cottage in the woods where she was free to do the things she needed to do, without fear of someone catching her using illegal magic.

Yes, this freedom was the best she’d had so far, and she was ever so grateful that Alexander had given it to her, even if it meant that she was beholden to him in more ways than one.

Her grandfather had always told her that being beholden to someone was dangerous, that it gave them power over her, power that she couldn’t risk as an illegal magic user. She usually listened to her grandfather’s wisdom, but not in this. In this, she had felt it necessary.

Maybe it was because Beatrice and Alexander knew of her secret because Alexander had been cursed. Not that she ever thought Beatrice or Alexander would turn her in. But if they were forced to tell the truth about her, who would believe Alexander if he announced that he had been under a silencing spell for most of his life?

The sheer absurdity of it all made her safer.

Guinevere made her way into town, waving and nodding at the people who waved to her. She passed the school, where she could just make out Conrad’s voice as he was teaching his students the day’s lesson. His voice was followed by a chorus of children’s voices in unison, and Guinevere smiled as she hurried on. Her morning had been silent until now…for reasons she didn’t want to think about.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be home before Gideon awoke or not. On the one hand, it might be nice to see him when he woke up out of hibernation and see how it had affected him. On the other hand, being there when he woke seemed intimate in a way that she wasn’t sure she wanted.

Goodness knew she didn’t enjoy having someone there when she woke up from a deep sleep. She couldn’t imagine Gideon would be much different.

Guinevere let herself in the back door of the Cozy Cat Café, slipping into the kitchen without knocking. Anywhere else she would have used the front door, but at the café, she didn't feel the need to do that—not when it was Thea and Linnea's kitchen.

The smell hit her first, warm and welcoming, like coming home to her grandmother’s cooking.

Thea was there with Nathaniel, who had his arms wrapped around her as he whispered something in her ear. Guinevere turned her head to look anywhere but at them as she rapped on the wood just inside the door. Perhaps she should have knocked after all.

“Hello,” Thea said warmly. “I take it this is not a visit for a drink if you're sneaking in the back door?”

Guinevere grinned. “You read me so easily.” She glanced around the kitchen, nice and tidy, with a batch of some sort of batter in progress on the counter. There wasn’t anyone else to hear what she had to say. “I was hoping to talk to you about Nathaniel's curse.”

Nathaniel turned his full attention to her. “What about it?” he asked.

“I have a patient who may have met the same man you did, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything else about how you broke Nathaniel's curse, since the two potions I gave him didn’t work.”

Nathaniel grinned at Thea. “She kissed the curse off of me.”

Thea blushed and looked down at the counter, shaking her head. “You didn't have to tell her that part.”

Nathaniel shrugged. “She wants to know how we broke the curse, and that's what happened. Whoever your patient is might need a kiss of true love to break it,” he said, before rushing to add, “Not that your potions didn't help. I'm sure they did, but it was a kiss that sealed the deal.”

Guinevere wilted. That was something she definitely shouldn’t do.

“Does the person involved not have anyone who loves them?” Thea asked.

“Not in that way.” At least, she didn’t think so. And even if she wanted to, Guinevere couldn't love him in that way.

“I'm sure you’ll figure it out. After all, you only tried twice with Nathaniel. Perhaps the third one would have been the perfect answer.”

“It usually is, unfortunately,” Guinevere mumbled.

Nathaniel grimaced, reaching for Thea's hand and squeezing it. “I think I prefer your way of breaking curses,” he told her, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“That doesn't help Guinevere,” Thea reminded him.

“It's okay, don't worry about me,” Guinevere said, smiling at the two of them. “I’m thankful that you found each other and were able to break his curse.”