Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic

by Élianne Adams

  “Get off my property.” Gretchen’s mother looked around at the rest of the crowd. “And anyone who agrees with her can do the same.”

  Jayrian looked around the group of Gretchen’s relatives. That really put them on the spot. They exchanged uncomfortable glances. But when Aunt Mary glared at them, they stood up, one by one, until only Gretchen’s immediate family were left.

  Gretchen’s face froze in an expression of shocked disbelief. Jayrian wished there was something he could do to help, but he felt rather like an interloper. A stranger witnessing a family argument that should remain private.

  EIGHT

  As her mother headed to the front of the house to see everyone off the property, Gretchen couldn’t do anything but stare off into space. How had this happened? It was supposed to be Christmas, a time for family, and sharing, and understanding.

  After Aunt Mary had glared at everyone and told them they weren’t going to get away with not choosing sides, everyone else had left too. Only her mum, dad, and Jayrian were still here.

  “Are you okay?” Jayrian asked softly. He put a hand on her arm, his fingers strong and gentle.

  “Not really,” Gretchen said honestly. She felt far from okay right now. “I can’t believe Aunt Mary caused a big fight because I wasn’t sure I wanted to take the job she offered. I should have just agreed to take the job, then we’d all be sitting around eating and having a good time. None of this would have happened.”

  She looked around at all the half eaten plates of food on the tables and in the grass. The signs of the ruined family celebration mocked her. It had all been going so well, and she’d actually been enjoying herself, talking to Jayrian. How had it gone wrong? There must have been something she could have done to prevent this from happening.

  Maybe if she’d been able to explain how she felt to Aunt Mary? That it wasn’t about the money or the position to her. What she really loved about her job was seeing all the new books, being able to take a peek between the covers, smell that new book smell, then match each one up to the perfect library member. Surely, Aunt Mary would have understood if she explained that.

  Failing that, she should at least have been able to stand up for herself, and not to let her mother and father be drawn into it. But she couldn’t even do that. And now the whole family was fighting, just because of her.

  Her mother bustled back in, catching her last words. “Nonsense,” she said sharply. “You should never agree to do something to make someone else happy. There’s no sense in that. Especially not something as major as taking a job.”

  “But isn’t having a big fight with your whole family just as major?” Gretchen asked. She couldn’t feel good about this, no matter what her mother said.

  “This isn’t the first time I’ve had a fight with Mary,” her mother said soothingly. “She’ll get over it. She just believes too firmly that her own ideas are right. She finds it hard to accept that other people see the world differently. But she means well.”

  “But it’s Christmas Eve,” Gretchen protested. “And now it’s ruined.”

  It was all her fault.

  Her father looked around at the food platters on the table, and the pig roasting on a spit that hadn’t even be touched. “We’re going to have a great time eating all this food, just the four of us,” he joked.

  Gretchen couldn’t even smile. “It’s all going to be wasted.” Yet another thing to feel guilty about.

  “I’m sure the goats will enjoy it,” her mother said.

  Gretchen managed a weak smile. They certainly would. But it would be a bit much, even for them.

  Jayrian looked at the food around them, an unreadable expression on his face. What was he thinking? That it was all her fault the food would be wasted? She couldn’t blame him. They should have at least sent everyone home with their plates.

  “Surely there must be someone who could use all this food?” Jayrian said solemnly. “A lot of people don’t have much. It seems a shame to feed it all to the animals.”

  “Do you have something in mind? I’m open to all ideas,” Gretchen’s mum said.

  Jayrian looked like he might say something, then he touched her arm lightly. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Gretchen?”

  Gretchen stared at him, mystified. What could he not say in front of her parents? It wasn’t like they knew each other well enough to have any secrets.

  Oh. That’s right. Her heart rate jumped a notch as she remembered the dragons. How could she have forgotten? Her own family issues paled into comparison.

  “Of course,” she agreed. “I should go see what Sugarpup is up to anyway. Do you want to walk with me?”

  Jayrian followed her down behind the house into the shade of the mulberry tree. It wasn’t fruiting anymore, but the green foliage gave shade, and a likely place for Sugarpup to hide. Sure enough, she sat in the shade in the company of a couple of chickens, panting. When she saw Jayrian she stood up and looked wary. This time though, she didn’t run.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Gretchen asked Jayrian.

  “I was thinking about all that food. If it’s true that your parents don’t want it, then I think maybe we could use it to help convince the dragons that humans have something to offer them.”

  Gretchen frowned. She couldn’t see it. “I thought they didn’t do Christmas?”

  Jayrian nodded. “They don’t. I wasn’t thinking of it as a Christmas thing, but just as a treat. Dragon fare is pretty bland. Because they don’t want anything to do with humans, they won’t use your shops, not that we have human money anyway. And since we can only hunt at night for fear of being discovered, even finding enough meat for everyone to have a full belly is hard sometimes.”

  That possibility hadn’t even occurred to her. “You want to take a feast to them? You think that will help convince them to trust me?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s worth a try.”

  A shiver of excitement mingled with fear shook Gretchen. Waking the prince had seemed kind of distant, like it might happen, but it more likely wouldn’t. Going to the dragons and taking food to them seemed a lot more concrete. But how could she say no? “Let’s do it,” she agreed.

  “Do you think your mother will agree?” Jayrian asked, hesitantly. “I hate to ask it of her, but if the food is only going to be wasted…” he trailed off, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

  “I’m sure she will think it’s a great idea,” Gretchen said firmly. She reached out a hand.

  It hung there, between them, for a few long moments. She almost wished she hadn’t done it. But then Jayrian smiled, and slid his hand into hers. They walked back to her parents together.

  As they rounded the corner of the house, Gretchen could see her mother resting her head on her father’s shoulder. She looked tired and defeated, and a stab of guilt hit Gretchen again. That was her fault. Her mother had fought with her sister because of her.

  She’d have to fix that. But later. She needed to deal with these dragons first.

  When her mother saw them, her eyes went straight to their clasped hands. She straightened up and smiled. It wasn’t even forced. “Did you sort something out?”

  Gretchen nodded. “We thought maybe we could take some of it to Jayrian’s family.”

  Her mother’s face brightened. “Oh, are you going to see them for Christmas tomorrow?”

  Gretchen waved her hand dismissively. “They don’t do Christmas. But there are quite a few of them, and I’m sure they would enjoy ensuring all this food doesn’t go to waste since we can’t possibly eat it all.”

  Her mother’s eyes widened. “Not do Christmas? Why ever not?”

  Jayrian gave an uncomfortable shrug. “They just never have. I guess they don’t like it.”

  Gretchen’s mum stood up. “I can’t imagine anyone not liking Christmas. Perhaps it’s because they don’t know how wonderful it can be? Maybe you two need to show them?”

  Glancing from Gretchen to Jayrian, her expression ho
peful, she waited for their response.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Jayrian started.

  “Actually, it might be a very good idea,” Gretchen interrupted. She could see where her mum was coming from. The dragons obviously didn’t like Christmas because it was a human idea. But what better way to convince them to trust humans than to introduce them to a beautiful human celebration?

  It was all about family and trust and kindness.

  Well, except in her family apparently.

  She shook that off. She didn’t have time for negativity. Jayrian looked at her, waiting for her to finish explaining.

  All she had to do was tell him without giving things away to her parents. “Uh, well, a feast is nice, but a whole celebration, complete with gifts, that’s a whole level above just food. They might really like it, you never know.”

  She stared into his eyes, hoping he would understand her far too subtle message.

  Jayrian looked thoughtful. “I suppose we could give it a go.”

  That was all the encouragement her mother needed. “Jake, pack up that pig,” she ordered. “You’ll have to put it in the fridge here, it will never fit in Gretchen’s. They can call in and get it in the morning. You kids help him.” And she started packing up the platters of fruit.

  It took nearly an hour to sort through the stuff that was only fit for goat food, and what was in good condition. Gretchen’s mum covered platters in cling wrap and loaded up the table.

  Two huge long watermelons, a bag full of steamed potatoes, a basket full of corn cobs, a full fruit cake, a bowl full of macadamia nuts, and half a dozen pineapples. And that’s just what she could see.

  “Wow, this is amazing,” Gretchen exclaimed. “Thanks, Mum.”

  “It is very, very kind of you,” Jayrian added. He seemed a little overwhelmed.

  “If you and Gretchen are going to show your family what Christmas is all about, better make sure it’s done properly, that’s what I reckon,” her mum said stoutly. “Now, Jake, you help them carry all this out to Gretchen’s car.”

  Gretchen wasn’t surprised when Jayrian quickly said, “Let me give you a hand with that.”

  In fact, she’d been counting on it. As he and her father carried plates of food out to her car, Gretchen turned to her mum. “Mum, do you have any fruit trees sitting around that you haven’t planted yet?”

  Her mum frowned thoughtfully. “I think I have a couple of macadamias and a mango somewhere, why?”

  “I need something for a present for his family, and all the shops are shut. I want something special, something kind of symbolic, and I figured it couldn’t get more symbolic than a tree.”

  Her mum clicked her tongue. “A tree, of course. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”

  Gretchen frowned. “Because I didn’t mention it until now?”

  “No, no, not the fruit trees. You can have one of those if you want, of course. But what you really need is a Christmas tree.”

  How had she not thought of a Christmas tree? But there was just one problem. “I’m not sure that’s going to fit in my car with all the food,” Gretchen joked.

  Her mum frowned too. “Yes, your car is a little small.” Then her face brightened. “How about on the roof?”

  Despite Gretchen’s misgivings about tying a tree to the roof of her car, her mum overruled her. Luckily, she did have some inflatable roof racks, which made it a little more manageable. Packing the car, finding and cutting down a smallish pine tree, and picking out some decorations took a couple more hours though, and by the time Gretchen and Jayrian were on the road heading back to her house, the strains of the long and crazy day were starting to take their toll.

  Gretchen yawned several times, but even though she was tired, she didn’t have any trouble staying awake. In fact, she didn’t know how she was going to sleep. She was half afraid that if she closed her eyes, she’d wake up to find it had all been a dream.

  Instead, she focused on the things that still had to be done. “We have food, and a tree, but not enough presents. What sort of things can you give to dragons? What do dragons find valuable?”

  Jayrian frowned. “I’m not sure dragons value anything humans have.”

  “Of course they must,” Gretchen insisted. “You said they would like the food, there must be other things too. And even if it isn’t something we appear to have, tell me what they do like, and I’ll see if I can find something similar from our world.”

  Jayrian sighed, and shrugged. “Dragons love anything shiny. Gold, jewels, things of value. Food, of course, or the ability to get food. And books. Dragon books though, not human ones.”

  “Shiny and valuable, huh?” Gretchen nodded thoughtfully. She had the perfect idea. “What about the kids? What do they play with?”

  “Um, sticks and leaves and stones. The usual stuff.”

  Gretchen laughed. “Have they ever played with a ball? Or a hula hoop?”

  Jayrian’s blank look answered her question. Of course they hadn’t. Looked like they’d be calling in at the toy store too. “I think we can find something for them,” she said, starting to get excited. She loved buying presents.

  “But where? Do you have these things at your home?”

  “No, but that’s the good thing about a small town like this. I bet if I called the toyshop owner, they’d open up for me, just for a little while. Especially if I tell them I’m going to be buying a fair bit.”

  Jayrian stared at her in disbelief, then shook his head. “I can’t let you spend your own money on this. That’s not fair,” he protested.

  Gretchen hesitated for a moment, then pulled over to the side of the road so she could focus on what she wanted to say. She stared into his eyes. “Jayrian, you can’t believe how amazing this day has been for me. I’ve spent my life reading stories and wondering why nothing interesting or exciting ever happens to me. And now it has. I’d spend any amount of money for that experience, and for the chance that it might continue.”

  Jayrian looked a little uncomfortable. “You mean meeting a dragon, right?”

  “That’s part of it, yes,” she said honestly. “But it’s only a part. If I’d just met that other dragon, exciting as it might be, I wouldn’t be wanting to continue the association.”

  That wrung an unwilling laugh from Jayrian. “So you mean you like me because I didn’t try to eat you?” he joked. “Lucky I have something going for me.”

  The intense expression in his eyes that belied his joking tone was a little overwhelming. And Gretchen couldn’t help remembering that he wanted her to sleep with his prince. “I have low expectations when it comes to dragons,” she quipped.

  Jayrian stared into her eyes for a moment as if searching for something. Then he nodded, serious again. “If you are willing to do that, Gretchen, I will be eternally grateful. And I will spend the next year trying to repay you, even though I have no money.”

  Gretchen wanted to insist that he didn’t need to repay her, but she suspected that might hurt his pride. Instead she said, “You have nothing to repay, but if that means you’re going to be hanging around for the next year, then I’m all in.”

  Somehow, her words came out more sultry than she’d planned.

  The look he gave her turned her insides into a hot, melted mess. And she didn’t care in the slightest.

  “You can count on it.” He stared into her eyes.

  Her breath hitched and her lips parted. Was he going to kiss her?

  His lips drifted down and brushed hers lightly.

  Gretchen could barely breathe. His lips felt so good. And the taste of him, warm and spicy, was amazing. She wanted him to kiss her more deeply.

  Then she remembered. He wanted her to wake the prince.

  Didn’t that mean there couldn’t be anything between them? She pulled back, a little confused. She wanted to ask him more, but she couldn't find the words.

  Jayrian looked confused too.

  “We should get going.” She sta
rted the engine. “I want to get back to town before everyone is getting ready for bed. We need time to find the presents.”

  Jayrian stared at her, his eyes wide. He didn’t say anything though, just nodded.

  Gretchen drove towards the rock and gem store, a million thoughts running through her mind. She didn’t know where any of this was going, so there was no way she could predict it. She had no answers right now. But she did have a task to do.

  She pulled up in front of the building, and Jayrian followed her up the path to the side door that lead to the residence attached to the store. Lifting her hand, Gretchen took a deep breath before knocking on the door in front of her.

  “Hello?” the owner of the rock and gem store, Paul, answered the door. He smiled when he saw Gretchen. That was a good start. “Hi, Gretchen. I haven’t seen you in a while. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I was wondering if you could open your store for a while. I need a few last minute Christmas gifts.”

  She held her breath, waiting for an answer.

  “Sure,” Paul answered readily. “Come on in.” He opened the door wider and stepped aside. He looked curiously at Jayrian as she followed him, but didn’t ask questions.

  Waving his hand around the neatly stacked shelves, he asked, “Are you after anything in particular?”

  Now she was here, Gretchen felt suddenly lost. Coming to the rock and gem store had seemed like such a good idea back at her parent’s house. She’d been sure they’d find something in the extensive range at Paul’s store. But now she wasn’t sure where to even start. “I’m looking for some rocks,” she said, her voice trailing off. Gee, that sounded lame.

  Paul smiled. “Is it for someone with an extensive collection, or just someone who’s dabbles in geology?”

  How did one describe a dragon? Did they have an extensive collection, or did they dabble in geology? An almost hysterical laughed welled up in her at the question.