Chapter Seven

Freddy

Present…

"Freddy! Did you ever consider that playing hide-and-seek with a half-blind man might not be the best idea?"

His eyes fluttered open at the sound of Shea's complaints. The scenes from his past slowly faded as Chrys's garden came back into focus. A lazy bee buzzed by his ear on its way to the nearby lavender bush, and a warm breeze brushed his skin. Judging by the heavy, languid feeling of his limbs and the height of the sun in the sky, Freddy judged that he must have been sleeping for a few hours, at least.

The realization spurred him into action, and he was jumping to his feet just as Shea rounded a rose bush and came into view.

"There you are." A sigh of relief accompanied Shea's words. "I was starting to worry that you had left me behind."

"I fell asleep. I blame sleeping on hard floors." He rubbed his eyes as he walked. "I can't believe I wasted so much time."

Shea grabbed his arm as he pushed past. "Fred, it's still early in the day. Taking the time to rest your body is never a waste of time. What use will you be to your bride if you kill yourself trying to get to her?"

Freddy's shoulders sagged in capitulation. "You're right. I just hate that we've had so many delays already. What if we lose her?"

"We'll find her." Shea gave him a reassuring clap on the shoulder before leading the way as they retraced their steps to Chrys's front door. "We know she was heading to Anura, and the road that leads through Ackens would have been the swiftest way there. All we need to do is get on that road and then start asking anyone if they've seen a beautiful, intimidating princess pass by. Lizzie is a woman who is hard to miss."

Ha , Freddy aimed the wry laugh at Shea's back. He's not wrong. I've been missing Lizzie for ten years, and it's still hard every day.

He shook his head. That thought was far too gloomy. We're going to find her. She left too soon for me to explain that it's me, and not some troll from the north. And when we do find her, maybe I'll finally be able to solve the mystery of what happened.

Buoyed by that thought, he smiled and added a little more energy to his step.

I was able to break through her cold exterior with a little sunshine before, and I can do it again. Ice can't stand for long against the sun.

The garden path widened enough for two, and Shea fell back into step beside him. "Your optimism is so loud I can hear it."

Freddy threw his arm over Shea's shoulder. "All thanks to your little pep talk. I'm glad we could take this wedding trip together."

Shea laughed. "I would say that I'll be here anytime your wife runs away to escape being married to you, but I sincerely hope this is the only time it happens."

Freddy froze as Shea's words landed squarely on a memory only recently brought to the surface.

"If I were ever to make a run for it, I think I would go to Norditch."

"Fred? Is everything alright?"

His grin stretched even wider across his face. "It's better than alright. I know where she's going, Shea. How do you feel about reindeer?"

"Reindeer? Why?

"Because we're going to Norditch."