by Sy Walker
Cancelling out of her post, she picked up one of her plane tickets. The flight would leave in five days, in the evening to arrive in Edinburgh by early morning. Suzy didn’t sleep well on planes, but she imagined that it would be okay since she would be waking up in a magical castle land.
The honeymoon destination was her choice.
She had the time off anyway, so why not make use of it and just enjoy herself? She could be her own date. Pulling out her rolling suitcase, she packed her cutest outfits and called her mom.
“I’m going on my honeymoon!” she said excitedly, even though it did sound rather odd. “I’m not going to miss out on Scotland just because I’m not getting married.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” her mother replied. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll run into a handsome, Celtic guy and marry him instead.”
Suzy laughed. As thrilling as the idea was, she didn’t want to go down the marriage road again. She was still hurting. “I will just be happy to get away from it all for a while and enjoy someplace new.”
“That’s a good attitude! I’m proud of you, Suzanna.”
Suzy spent the next few days going through all of the guide books and itineraries she’d already collected. She crossed off any of the activities that were intended for couples. She highlighted all of the things she found fun, especially the ones that Dan had said ‘no’ to. She fully intended to do as much as possible on this trip.
She hoped she wouldn’t end up feeling like too much of a tourist…
When she boarded her plane, she opened up her in-flight magazine, gazing fondly at the pictures of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. Suzy had a row of three seats to herself, owing largely to the fact that she was too big to fit into just one of the small, tight airplane seats. Instead of letting it get to her, she stretched her legs out and got comfortable. The other passengers could gape at her all they wanted. She was on her own, private honeymoon. She didn’t care.
She read through the magazine, feeling more and more excited as the plane calmly moved her through the air to her destination and her destiny. Her mind kept creeping back to thinking about Dan and what this trip would have been like had he been there beside her. She had a feeling that he would’ve been complaining much of the time. He mainly wanted to go to Scotland for the pubs. It was better without him.
Her life was going to better without him.
She told herself that, and told herself too that she should stop thinking about him. It didn’t matter one fig what he thought now.
Reading the magazine made Suzy feel tired, and she soon fell into a giddy sleep whilst imagining the castles, the highlanders and the Lock Ness monster. She hoped to see all that and more.
When the plane landed in Edinburgh at 7:30 in the morning, Suzy felt less excited. She felt completely groggy. She had never experienced jetlag before, but man was she feeling it now. She had a week to spend in Scotland and right now she felt like she could spend all of it in bed.
She took a cab to her hotel and slept on the way. Then, once in her hotel room, she fell onto the bed and went back to sleep for a good four hours. What she had seen of the city so far was beautiful, but she cared more about the soft, fluffy pillows and the comfortable mattress.
The reservations she’d made ahead of time would need to be taken into account though. Suzy woke up at one p.m. and questioned what she was doing with her life before remembering that she had arrived. She was in Scotland! She got out of bed and went into the hotel’s teeny, tiny bathroom. Oh, boy. The small shower made her laugh in her sleepiness. This really was going to be different.
Also, her reflection. She’d set out on her journey with makeup on and her hair all nicely brushed. Now she looked like a mess. She washed her face and reapplied everything, pulling her long blonde curls into a long blonde high ponytail. She was twenty-eight years old, but the ponytail made her easily pass for a high schooler. At first, she worried about that. But then she decided to leave it. She felt cute and that was what mattered.
Starving, Suzy decided to head out and see what sort of lunch she could find. There were lots of pubs around, so she popped in one and had a sandwich and a glass of a Scottish beer called Tennant’s lager. Even though her lunch was pretty typical for the people who lived there, she felt quite sophisticated.
Tired, and with plenty of time on her hands before her first dinner reservation, she sauntered into a museum to learn about the history of Edinburgh castle. She had a camera with her, but she did her best to not take too many pictures. Her delighted “oohs” and “ahhs” were enough to give away that she was not from there.
CHAPTER TWO
The Beastly Brogue
Once Suzy had gone through the castle and was well-acquainted with Scotland’s rich history, it was time for her to head back to her hotel and get ready for her dinner reservation. She had picked this fancy-sounding place called The Witchery that was near Edinburgh Castle. She honestly didn’t know what to expect. Ahead of time, she’d called and changed all of her dinner reservations from a honeymooning couple to a single. This was generally met with sounds of sympathy.
When she arrived at the restaurant on her first evening in Edinburgh, she was glad that she had at least dressed up nicely for it. The whole place looked a bit like an inside forest that might be found in a movie like The Craft or something. She’d guessed that the place would be magic-themed, but she hadn’t expected it to also be so pretty. It felt a bit like she would be eating in a haunted castle, and that was just how she liked it.
She took a seat at her table and noticed through the window outside that there was a place up the street called Mary King’s Close. She wondered if it was a lingerie shop or something.
“Good evening and welcome to The Witchery by the Castle,” the waiter said in a thick, Scottish accent that worked to instantly bring her back to thinking about the restaurant. “My name is Finn and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Would you like to start off with a drink?”
Suzy flipped open her menu without looking up at the waiter. His voice was so attractive that she didn’t want to ruin it by looking up and seeing someone disappointing. She smiled when she saw the name of a red wine that was listed. “I’d like a glass of The Opportunist,” she said. The wine was from Australia, not Scotland, but she figured it was close enough considering all the other wines she saw on the menu were from France. Australia was more like Scotland than France was.
The waiter chuckled softly. “Aye, okay,” he said.
She finally hazarded a glance up at him and she was so glad she did.
He was smirking down at his notepad, carefully writing down her wine choice. He had brown, slightly curly hair and green eyes with gold circles around his pupils. He also had a light, close-cut beard on his face. He looked every bit the way her fantasy Highlander man looked, and she had imagined finding a Highlander man to take her away from her boring American existence with some frequency over the years.
His outfit was a silver suit with a gray shirt and a long, skinny green tie. Suzy figured that his attire was due to his job position, but she appreciated it all the same. He was well dressed, handsome and had a sexy accent to boot.
Her only wish was that she’d found him sitting beside her at a pub or something. It was much more difficult to pick up restaurant servers. Not that she’d ever picked up anyone before.
“I’ll be right back with your Opportunist,” said Finn the waiter, rolling the R and making it sound like a dirty word. “Peruse the menu and I’ll be right back to take your order.”
Suzy blushed and let him go, telling herself that she was going to be brave – be an opportunist! – and flirt with him a little when he returned.
When the waiter known as Finn returned with her wine a few moments later, she was trying to decide between the Loch Duart salmon or the roast loin of Cairngorm venison. They both sounded so quintessentially Scottish.
“Have you decided?” he asked her.
At first, she wondered if he
knew she was thinking about flirting with him. She told herself that that’d be crazy. She hadn’t made it obvious at all. Especially because she looked down while he talked, much of the time. It was too intense to look directly at him when he spoke.
“Yes,” she said, answering the question he must actually be asking. “I think so… I’d like the Ca—Carni—no, Care-nee—”
“The Cairngorm venison,” he said. It wasn’t even a question, more like a correction. And it wasn’t said all that courteously.
Suzy nodded, embarrassed. “Yes. I would like that, please.”
Nodding as well, Finn wrote that down on his notepad. “Okay, good. Would ye like any sides with that?”
She glanced at the listed options, wondering if she should really worry about it. “A side of mushrooms,” she said. “Please.”
He wrote that, too. “I will be right back with your order,” he said, almost robotically. She wondered if she had offended him somehow. Was it a big deal that she’d needed his help with pronunciations?
While he was gone from her side, she took a sip of her wine and looked out the window again. She wondered if was meant to say Mary King’s Closet and the T had just come off of the sign. Her trip had been going quite well so far, but eating dinner in this fancy restaurant was starting to feel lonely. She didn’t have anyone to talk to and she didn’t want to just play on her phone the whole time. The restaurant was too pretty to be ignored.
Maybe that’s what I should do, she thought. Maybe I should stretch my legs and look around while I wait for my food.
Leaving her coat on the back of her chair, Suzy stood up and did just that. She strolled around the room she was in, admiring the wall hangings, the busts and the trees that made up the restaurant’s atmosphere.
Right as she was turning a corner to see more of what there was to see, she walked right into Finn.
Thankfully, he wasn’t carrying anything at the moment. But still, Suzy felt mortified. “I’m so sorry!” she said. “That could have been a disaster. I’m so clumsy sometimes.”
Finn gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay. Accidents happen, Miss Hathaway.”
Her eyes widened at the sound of him saying her last name. She hadn’t told him… Oh, but the reservation was in her name. He surely must have gotten it from that. “Yeah. That’s true. Well, thank you.”
She turned around and went back to her table before she could cause any more calamities. She wondered what Finn was doing there in that darkened corner if he wasn’t carrying anything or taking any food orders. It was almost as if he’d been starting there, waiting for her to bump into him.
Taking another sip of her wine, she tried to focus back on her dinner at hand. Finn came over with a tray of her hot food and set it carefully in front of her. Then, he clapped his hands together. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“No, thank you,” she said. But just as he turned to walk away, she stopped him. “Actually… This is silly and probably not allowed, but I’m on my honeymoon even though the wedding didn’t happen and eating alone in a place like this is… well, it’s lonely. Would you sit and share this with me?”
Finn gave her a look and something mysterious flashed in his eyes. She wasn’t entirely sure that she liked it. Then, he tilted his head. “Okay.” He leaned in towards her. “What the hell.” He said it so close to her that only she would be able to hear it.
He sat at the table, in the seat across from hers, giving her this smile that seemed to have a magical effect on her. God, was he gorgeous.
“So,” Suzy said, feeling a tad embarrassed but also overjoyed that he had taken her up on her offer. “Now that you know my sad and kind of lame story, what’s yours?”
“My sad and lame story?” he asked with a laugh.
She smiled at him. “First of all, I said kind of lame. Second of all, it doesn’t have to be sad. I hope it’s not sad.”
“Och, well, it is kind of sad,” Finn said. “It’s not lame, but it’s sad.”
Suzy placed her fork on her plate and propped her chin on her hands in a silly listening pose.
He leaned forward and took a forkful of venison, eating it before saying anything else about it. “We probably shouldn’t talk about it all here. But let’s just say I’m cursed.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Cursed?”
Finn nodded slowly. “And now may I just say that your ex-fiancé must be a dick to leave you. But there’s no harm in coming to Edinburgh on your own. It’s not like it’s Paris or anything. It pisses down rain all the time.”
Smiling a little, Suzy shook her head. “But this is better than Paris, to me. Paris is a cliché.”
He sniffed. “Trust me, love, now that you’ve run into me – quite literally, let’s not forget – your little trip here is about to become quite clichéd.”
Suzy frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Finn leaned across the table toward her, barely avoiding getting some ironbark pumpkin all over his pretty tie. “I know you were thinking about asking me out,” he said softly, looking her in the eyes. He sounded so playful, but the look he was giving her was stern.
Gulping, Suzy looked back down and focused on her food. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Aye,” he said. “You do. I know you do, for you wouldn’t be blushing like that if it wasn’t true.”
“Maybe I’m blushing because you’re shocking me,” she said, keeping her voice equally quiet.
“Shocking you because I know how much you want to do me,” he said.
She didn’t know what horrified her more, the fact that he was saying such things or the fact that he was correct. She didn’t want him to know that she wanted these things. She had been hoping to ease into it, at least… Go out for drinks, maybe check out a few sights.
“I actually think I can handle sitting here on my own now, thank you,” Suzy told him, keeping her voice hushed.
“Ah, of course. I’m right.” Finn smirked, looking smug. He got back up from the table. “Enjoy your meal,” he said, the politeness coating his voice again but not fully hiding his flirtation either.
As soon as he was gone, she took several bites of her meal. She was annoyed that this restaurant was so good and he was so sexy. She wondered if she should just keep a cool demeanor towards him now and pretend nothing had happened. Maybe then he’d leave her alone. Maybe there was still hope for her to find someone like him in a pub somewhere up the street.
It didn’t take her long to finish what was on her plate, considering there was no conversation to distract her. She waited for Finn to return, ready to ask for the check and see his face fall when he realized she was not going to stick around and give him a chance to torment her anymore.
A waitress appeared instead. “Can I offer you any pudding now?” she asked, the accent lilting her voice and sounding just as darling, but Suzy was disappointed.
“Where did my waiter go?” Suzy asked. “No offense.”
“Who? Finn?” the waitress asked. “Oh, his shift just ended. Why, did you leave something with him?”
Suzy hadn’t, but she also strangely felt like she had. She had left the conversation with him hanging…
She shook her head and gave the waitress a weak smile. “No, it’s fine. I’d just like the check, please. Thank you.”
The waitress nodded and was gone. Suzy sighed and looked out the window.
Finn was standing on the steps underneath the sign that said Mary King’s Close. Waiting for her.
CHAPTER THREE
Broken Wings
Suzy sighed an annoyed sigh as she strolled outside towards the mysterious Close building. She kept her hand on her purse strap, ready to use it as a weapon in case she needed to ward off Finn. He grinned at her and pointed up at the sign. “You were thinking of coming in here?”
“I was,” she said, defeated. He was clearly able to read her too well, which bothered her, but she couldn’t deny that she
appreciated having a potential companion with her now.
Finn shook his head. “Don’t bother with that,” he said. “I can take you on a better historic tour which no one else even knows about except me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were a waiter.”
He leaned in towards her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about yet, Suzy Hathaway,” he said, green eyes narrowing in jest. “For example, do you even know my last name?”
“Of course not,” she said. “I only know your name is Finn because you told me so.”
“Ay,” Finn said. “But I’ve known your name since before you got here. I know a great many things. Americans are astoundingly bad at keeping their minds closed.”
Suzy stared at him. “Should I start running now, or…?”
He looked around and grinned. “Come with me.” He took her by the hand and led her into an alley nearby.
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, panting. He was walking fast and pulling her along with him without stopping to notice she was out of breath.
When he finally stopped there, he turned towards her and let go of her hand with a flourish, undeterred by her annoyance. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I was cursed,” Finn said. “The truth is, I can read people’s minds. I am one hundred and eight years old this…” He thought about it. “…June.”
“Yep, I definitely should’ve run away back there,” Suzy said, feeling that she had made a rendezvous with a psychopath. A hot psychopath, but a psychopath nonetheless.
He smirked at her. “That’s not even the craziest part. I can also… do… THIS!”
Closing his eyes, he held out his arms like he was about to perform an opera aria. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble underneath them. Suzy wondered if the earth was about to open and swallow him up. Finn’s clothing melted away at the same time as his hair and skin, being replaced by shiny, green scales. He was a tall man already, but he grew and grew as his skin changed, becoming the size of the taller buildings on the block. When the metamorphosis was complete, Suzy was gazing up in disbelief at a giant dragon.