Ch. 50.7 –- Someone sat down next to Mary. She jumped away, heart racing.
“Hello, Mary.”
She recognized his voice. He threw back his hood, and the firelight danced on his face. He was Eli, the prince who had been captured by Zelda; the young man who had miraculously given her back her voice. She studied his expression and saw only kindness. Mary slowly sat back down.
“Hi,” she said.
“You’re a hard person to track down. I’ve been looking for you for a week now.”
Col handed Eli a sticky dessert. “Try one of these. They’re called S’mores. Compliments of Felix, our son.” Col’s faced beamed as he gazed at the little boy.
“This is really good,” he mumbled between bites.
“How are things up at the castle?” asked Col.
“Everyone in the kingdom is celebrating. The funerals are over. Everyone is so glad to be alive and free again. King Matthew signed new friendship agreements with the Five Kingdoms, as well as the gnomes, werewolves, giants, elves, and fey. Fritter has been pardoned and he’s gone back home to get his sweetheart. They’re going to live with Jay.”
He swallowed another bite. “Ezra and Janine are planning to live at the dragon’s caves too. My brother, Mark, has set out for Lakeland in search of his true love. Esther and her husband are coming for a visit. One family of Jubjub birds was granted permission to stay here and form the Royal Dumfries Air Mail Service.”
Eli licked the last crumbs off his fingers. “In other words, everything is great. There seems to be just one item of unfinished business to take care of.” He turned to Mary. “Would you like to take a walk?”
Mary gulped. She knew this was no random meeting. Eli would want to talk about the contract. Her stomach clenched. Mary looked over at Col and Bee, hoping they’d say no.
However, Bee just smiled. “Go ahead, dear. Eli is a fine young man. You can trust him.”
Mary reluctantly got up and followed him away from the fire.
Carol Nicolas 