4. IN WHICH A PHAETON ISN’T A SLEIGH BUT IS ROMANTIC NONETHELESS

Chapter four

F ive minutes before the hour, Cora was pacing between the door into the library and her front door, unable to sleep. Her nerves were wound so tight that she nearly jumped out of her skin when the great grandfather clock began chiming two. The last vestiges of the bell faded from the air were quickly followed by a few swift raps on her front door. Hands shaking, she opened it to find only Asterion this time, waiting with a bouquet of flowers.

"You hung the mistletoe,” he said, his voice filled with awe. "I wasn’t sure you would."

"If you've gone to all this trouble, I might as well give you the opportunity to see, firsthand, if you're truly interested."

"I am," he said. Asterion held out the flowers to her, thrusting them so she had to grab them swiftly, lest they drop on the ground. They weren't fancy, just simple camellias, though they happened to be her favorite flower. Asterion held out his hand for hers, and Cora brushed her golden braid, and considered that she was in her nightdress.

"I've a blanket and cloak in the phaeton," he reassured.

The only way she'd find out the plan for this gift seemed to be following him, so she placed her hand in his, as gentle as a bird alighting on a branch.

His palm dwarfed hers, he could engulf her entire hand fully in his should he want.

"Where are we off to then?" she asked.

"It's a surprise!" Asterion said. His eyes were bright, and he squeezed her hands as he led her down the terraces to where a phaeton waited with a matched pair of horses at the helm. It was an odd sort of phaeton, it seemed they would stand, as there were no seats. Asterion helped her inside and wrapped a thick, burgundy cloak around her shoulders. Draped over the edge of the phaeton was a matching garment, presumably for Asterion.

"It's not quite a sleigh, but I know how to drive this." Asterion sounded hesitant, looking at her as if asking for forgiveness. “There’s also a distinct lack of snow."

"This is lovely! Why would you want a sleigh over this?"

"The song, the one you've been humming for the last few weeks, it mentions a sleigh ride in the snow? It seemed like it might be your favorite."

"It is." Had he really paid such close attention? It seemed he had, if he'd noticed her humming, a habit she rarely even realized she was doing. "Are you–" Asterion clicked his tongue and the pair of horses lurched forward.

The motion put Cora off her balance, though Asterion's large hand steadied her on her waist. He removed it nearly as fast as he'd placed it, but the heat of where he touched her lingered, spreading throughout her body. For months, she'd denied attraction to him, afraid to let herself explore her feelings for the friendly, if needy, minotaur.

"It seems you've been paying attention," she noted. "My favorite flowers and the song..."

"You could say so," Asterion said, leading them through the great city of Berggeheimnis.

Cora's unique living situation in the library meant that she lived in a largely municipal section of the city. As such, their drive took them through some of the most elaborate buildings, each one an edifice of dwarven architecture. It was normal for wreaths to decorate the city, but as she paid attention, Cora picked out other decor that she didn't recognize.

"Are any of these decorations from your home?"

"The mistletoe, as well as the boats, but there's an array, really. I tried to represent as many cultures as I could."

"You tried? Did you do all this?" she asked.

"Oh no, no!" Asterion chuckled. "I couldn’t possibly, I had a team to help me. I just told them where to put things."

"But you picked it all out? Designed it all?" It was a massive feat, Berggeheimnis was said to be the second biggest city in the world after Pentweagh. "Is that what all of those books were about? The ones on holidays?"

Asterion smiled wide, though he only took his eyes off the road for a brief second. "Exactly! I didn’t know much about all of these new cultures, let alone how they celebrate during Yule, so I had to do research."

"Well, you certainly seemed to do a lot. What did you find?"

"There's a lot of variation, to be sure, but there's a lot of similarity too. Celebrations from across the continent will at times have shockingly similar traditions."

"Really?" Cora asked, her interest truly piqued. "That's fascinating!"

"I thought so! For example, for reasons I can’t quite understand, we minotaurs seem to share a great deal of traditions with cyclopes and strangely, a few types of sea monsters. Whereas you and the dwarves here in Berggeheimnis actually share more with several colonies of werewolves."

Asterion's chest was puffed out now, as if her interest had inflated him. At first, he hadn't struck her as being particularly bright, and frankly he'd seemed entirely unprepared for... well the entirety of his task in the city.

"I'd never have thought that!"

They wound through the streets of the city, the glow of crystal street lamps had been dimmed hours before, but over the past few weeks, the eternally mesmerizing city of Berggeheimnis transformed into a riotous celebration of winter even without the citizens. As an oread, Cora was tied to the mountain, ever aware of it around her. 1 The silence of the sleeping city let her connect even closer, in ways she'd normally have to delve deeper into its stone to do. Without the hustle of daily life shifting around, the mountain pulsed through her, its contentment with itself a steady beat that matched the heart in her chest.

Within the confines of the library, she never had trouble dealing with groups of people. The library was structured, her interactions largely followed a similar set of scripts, the rules definite and easy to enforce. Outside though? Things were often...unpredictable. Crowd and noise levels varied, at times in unpredictable ways, and Cora found she needed to be in the right frame of mind for such excursions.

Asterion didn't press the conversation, letting her enjoy the ride through the city.

They left the main cavern and turned off into a side cavern "We’re leaving the city?" Cora asked, her voice tight. "I can’t leave the mountain."

"We won't, I did my research." Asterion’s voice was low and rumbly, it reminded her of the voice of the mountain she heard sometimes. Less of an actual sound, but more of a feeling that she innately understood.

"You did, didn’t you? You seem to do a lot of that..."

Asterion chuckled, rubbing his horn in a way she'd seen him do frequently when reading. "I have to. I'm interested in learning, but we minotaurs aren't exactly known for being scholars."

He blushed and Cora thought it was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen. Not to mention that while they'd spoken a great deal in the library, it had almost entirely consisted of him inquiring about books on different subjects–save her verbal dissertation on shells which she'd subjected him to.

"So, it's something you were excited to be able to do, when you arrived? Study?" Cora perked up at the notion. She loved learning and was always chagrined at how few people seemed inclined to agree. Those that did congregated in her library, of course, but for so many, it was a chore.

"Not at all, at first, I had to. I haven’t had much book learning' ye see and needed to catch up. I'm not stupid, mind, it's just not something we ever needed to do, really. Needing that sort of education was something that we didn’t foresee, so my parents raised me the best they knew."

Cora tried to keep the disappointment from her face when he mentioned necessity.

"But now," he blew air between his lips. " It's like I'm thirsty and can't get enough water. There's just so much I don’t know? How am I supposed to get to all of it? I think I could live my whole life and not even read all of the books in your library."

Now that was what she'd been hoping to hear! It truly didn't matter if Asterion had always loved learning, that he did so now was more than enough to give her hope that he might not find her so... odd.

"If you didn't do much schooling, what did you spend your time on?" she asked.

"Practical things, carpentry, gardening, practical engineering, that sort of thing."

"Oh?" Cora knew little of practical application, aside from how one should organize a library. Certainly nothing on the subjects or gardening or carpentry.

"We're a bit mad for traps and mazes back home. So many of our exports are security measures, many of which are sold to the Empire. Everyone on the council tries to pretend that they value our input, but really, they mostly care about our defenses. Especially those we sell to the Empire."

Cora scrunched her nose. "That can't feel good."

"No, and I didn’t help my case much when I showed up, still wet behind the ears. I'm out of my depth, but I'll make them respect me, yet." He set his jaw in a way that made Cora believe he'd do it. But why would he say such a thing to her, wasn't the point of the whole evening to impress her? To convince her that he'd be a worthy mate? It seemed counterintuitive to show such vulnerability.

"What is this all about then, this evening? Shouldn't you be trying to impress me? isn't that how this works?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. There wasn’t much in the books on nymph mating habits, and even though I figured you might be used to the dwarven way, I'm no good at boasting, so I'm just going about it the minotaur way. Well, at least partially anyhow. I haven't had much opportunity to show off my physical prowess, so that bit is out. The rest of it though, is really just me showing you–as best I can, who I am. As much as I want to be with you... I don’t want you going into it with any false notions about who I am. My actions will have to say what I can’t, because I'm no good at it."

They were well within the depths of the mountain now, the crystal lanterns swinging from the horses' harness. If he was trying to make her feel safe, Asterion was going about it the right way, to be sure. The familiar walls of her mountain around her, and a warm cloak around her shoulders were a balm to her usual anxiety.

Cora could feel them nearing the edge of the mountain, like a coat rapidly thinning and exposing her to the cold. Asterion pulled the phaeton over to the side of the passageway. Asterion leapt from the phaeton and held out his hands before him.

"Stay right here, I need to check on a few last-minute things, I will be right back!"

The clops of his hooves on the stone floor gave way to the crunch of snow beneath him. If she’d wanted to, Cora could have gotten a sense as to what he was doing via her connection to the mountain, but wanted it to be a surprise. She could hear him walking around, and every so often he would make another noise that she couldn’t quite place.

While she waited, Cora fingered the smooth abalone shell she kept in her pocket in attempts to keep the anxiety at bay. The repetitive motion grounded her, but not nearly as much as it usually did .

“All right, I’m ready! " Asterion’s voice traveled to her from outside.

The phaeton was higher than Cora realized without Asterion to lift her down, so she was glad that he wasn’t present to see her disgraceful exit. As always happened, she felt herself leave the interior of the mountain like she was passing through a thin veil of fabric. The pool of her magic, and its connection to the mountain, still tied her through her feet, but otherwise, she lost some of that sense of connection. The sight before her though, wiped any thought of her connection from her mind.

Amid a sea of lights in the night sky, Asterion stood before a veritable feast. He had brought her to an outcropping overlooking the ocean, the stars reached him, and reflected on the water. Around him, candles littered the outcropping. On the ground, what looked to be several layers of thick furs were festooned with all matter of food. Many had closures over top, though Cora could see a selection of meats and cheeses, fruits, and pastries.

And in the middle, was the best sight of all, Asterion. His chest was heaving, his cheeks ruddy in the night air. His breaths puffed out of him, the only clouds in the sky. He was a vision of virility and light, putting all others to shame. His mouth stretched wide in a smile, and his ears perked up.

He looked at the picture of confidence, a powerful God, who saw fit to grace the night with his presence.

“It’s my understanding that most people here share a feast with their family the night before Yule. Since neither of us have family here this year, I hoped that, even for just this one hour, you’d consider being mine.”

His mention of the meal, and her lack of family made her throat sting. Normally, she would have had dinner with her family, and as much as she told herself she was fine with being lonely, the pain she felt said otherwise. She couldn’t find her voice, so she simply smiled and nodded. Asterion waved one massive hand over a section of furs, indicating she should sit. When she sat, he settled across from her and pulled two plates from a basket. Next, he retrieved two wooden flagons, and filled them with steaming mulled wine. Despite his outward confidence, Asterion seemed to have trouble meeting her eyes, and his hands shook when he handed her things.

Though she denied her attraction to him for months, she knew her frequent annoyance with him was largely caused by frustration. It was one thing to know that nearly everyone expected her to be different than she was, to acknowledge that should anyone come to truly know her, they would likely be disappointed. It was another thing entirely to be confronted by someone she could truly admire with that knowledge. To face the fact that they too, might expect her to be someone else, someone that would conform to what they wanted of her.

But to be his? Perhaps she might be able to risk it. He'd at least shown that he'd listened to her when she spoke of her interests, and that had to count for something, didn't it? That he'd asked for it, that he wanted that with her, stole her breath.

“I think that sounds lovely, actually.”

Asterion smiled again, and Cora was confronted with a strange new reality, one where she'd risk everything once more to see that smile on his face.

When Asterion smiled, his entire being smiled. His cheeks lifted and his nose pulled and scrunched. His eyebrows raised, as if he could not possibly believe what was happening. But his smile didn’t stop there, his shoulders raised and his hands cupped, he shifted forward on his hooves, and behind him, she could see his tail swaying back and forth.

That smile? That was a whole-body smile that you could live to see. lt was a smile that could get you out of bed, or–she considered with a smile of her own–a smile that could get you into it.

He didn't meet her eyes as much as she expected. It was something she'd learned over the years that people did, and she'd adopted it, and so many other mannerisms, so she especially noticed when someone failed to do them, and always wondered at why. This time, she also noted that his cheeks were red, and perhaps not from just the cold. Was he embarrassed? Shy?

How much did she know about Asterion before he delivered madeleines to her door? She knew some , of course. She knew about the way he stuck his tongue out to the side when he read, she knew how he always tried to manage a pile of books that was clearly too tall. She knew that he had trouble containing his excitement when he found an interesting fact... but so much else of what she knew, she realized, had come from their brief conversation earlier.

In one short night, she'd learned more about him, Asterion, not the diplomat, but the man himself, than she'd ever known about many people.

"So," she started. "How are you finding Berggeheimnis? "

Asterion tilted his head to the side, considering. "It's larger than I expected... when you hear of a city inside a cave, I suppose you expect connected caverns, like a labyrinth, but dark. I about lost my nerve when I realized how open it all was. Minotaurs, you see, we like close spaces. We don't mind what's above us, ceiling or sky, like, but we like good solid walls around. When we sailed into the harbor, everything felt so...wide. Like I said, I almost turned to the captain and told him to take me home right then." He piled a plate full of small bites and traded her for her empty one. "It's one reason I like the library so much. The bookshelves divide it up, and even if you have those big windows looking out over the city, you know you're enclosed... protected."

Cora nodded; she knew the feeling. "Like somehow the separation, the glass, makes seeing it all a bit easier..."

"Exactly! My house, well, it's very lovely, but I don't know how much they knew about minotaurs when they picked it for me. It's uh, very open ." He scrunched his nose up, and his tail gave a sharp twitch to the side. "I bought some dividers, so I could sleep, but the place doesn't have any walls... at all. It’s just a large cave, really."

"I know exactly what you mean, I felt it when they created it. I think they assumed that would be what you’d prefer. Really, it must be horrid for you!"

"Don’t think of it, I know it was an attempt to make me feel welcome. It just happens that it was exactly wrong. 2 It’s why I come to the library so often. Hell, the day of my first council meeting, I left and dreaded going home. I stood outside the chambers for probably ten minutes trying to work up the courage. Then, I remembered my tour, and how I'd felt in the library. So, I decided I needed to do some reading."

"I remember that day... you wandered in like a lost puppy!" Cora giggled and popped a grape in her mouth.

"I was! Lost and alone, with no idea what I was doing and then... there you were." He met her eyes then, so serious and vulnerable that it made Cora's heart ache as much as her stomach flutter. "You helped me... I know you were just doing your job, but I'll always be grateful for that day. I don't even care if you were so nice because you felt bad for me, because you gave me things I didn't even know I needed. I'd only just started to realize how much I didn't know about where I was and what I was supposed to be doing, but you gave me the tools to keep on with it and eventually, to do as well as I like to think I have."

"Whatever you've accomplished, you've earned yourself," Cora said, placing her hand on his and squeezing. “I showed you resources, sure, but you've put in so much hard work, it's honestly inspiring."

She'd touched his hand impulsively, because she needed to reassure him, and to stop him from dismissing all he'd done, but she couldn't bring herself to remove it. In the cold air, his large hands dwarfed her own. He had thick, blunt fingers that ended in squared off nails. He was lightly furred there, she realized, like a peach. Her breath caught, looking at the juxtaposition. Her own pale skin, devoid of color save the veins of gold running through her was a shock against his. And the heat. He was so hot , pulsing heat through her hand, melting through her like a river of honey.

After several moments of awed silence, Asterion cleared his throat. "Either way, coming to the library that day was probably the best choice I've ever made."

1. Oread is the specific name for a nymph who is bound to a mountain, as opposed to a tree like a dryad.

2. A few days later, Cora looked into what was documented and she was enraged to find that if they had done even rudimentary research on his culture, instead of assuming minotaurs would want open spaces like cattle, they’d have known that minotaurs prefer mazes for living.