7. Natalie

7

NATALIE

H eat rises in my cheeks as I storm up to Rian, my heels clicking against the polished wooden floor of the town hall as the meeting adjourns.

“Why the hell did you do that?” I demand, my voice rising with each word.

Ecco hovers nearby, her shimmering blue hair catching the light as her expression twists with concern. “Natalie, maybe we should?—”

But Rian’s eyes flash dangerously as he rounds on me, his imposing minotaur stature suddenly looming larger than ever. I gulp, feeling my heart start to race.

“You waltzed into Elderberry Falls with no regard for our culture, our traditions,” he growls, his deep voice rumbling with barely contained fury. “Did you really think we would just let you sell off a piece of our history without consequences?”

“ Waltzed in here?” My voice turns shrill. “I never asked for this. I never even knew Myrtle. If culture and tradition are so important then maybe she should have left the shop to someone who actually knew about them!”

Tension crackles between us, as neither of us backs off.

“Myrtle wanted to keep the shop in her family. That is Elderberry Falls tradition .” Rian speaks with a calm fury.

“Some family! To never reach out, never check in, never make their existence known.” The bitterness in my words shocks me. “Not even knowing what was happening to me, what I was going through.”

Ecco tries to step between us, her hands raised in a placating gesture. “Rian, please. I’m sure Natalie doesn’t realize what she’s doing.” My stomach flips at the confirmation that Ecco is on his side, not mine. “If we could just talk this through?—”

But Rian ignores her, his stern gaze never wavering from mine.

“Myrtle always had her reasons. You, on the other hand… you’re clearly used to getting your way, Ms. Russo. In Elderberry Falls, actions have repercussions. Did you think I would take the threat to my business, to my livelihood, lightly? Did you really think I wouldn’t fight to protect my career, everything I’ve spent years and years building up from scratch?”

His words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. I open my mouth to retort, to defend myself, but no words come out.

How can I explain that my reasons for selling are exactly the same as his reasons for standing in my way?

Rian’s lip curls into a sneer as he takes a step back, his tone ominous. “Enjoy your stay in Elderberry Falls, Ms. Russo. I have a feeling it will be… educational.”

With that, he strides out of the town hall, leaving me standing there in stunned silence. Ecco reaches out to touch my arm, her expression sympathetic.

“Do you agree with him?” I ask.

Ecco winces. “Well… I wish he would’ve tried talking to you more instead of going this route. Minotaurs can be territorial, you know.” Of course I didn’t—how would I have known? “I don’t think that Munchin’ Morsels is the best fit for our town, though. Sorry, Nat. If you’d told me who the seller was, I would’ve made my opinion known sooner.”

Didn’t I know this was a possibility? Didn’t I avoid telling her the truth because I didn’t want a dissenting opinion? I shove that thought away.

“You love Munchin’ Morsel!” I argue. “I thought you’d be thrilled to have easy access to their very berry cold brew. You’re their freaking spokesperson!”

“I do,” she says, biting her lip. “Gods, I do love it, so much. But all the same… we have a lot of stores here in Elderberry Falls that would compete with it. That could be harmed by its existence.”

I’m not a crier, so I am most definitely not feeling like I might cry at this moment. But still, I take a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady myself.

“Well, feelings about Munchin’ Morsels aside, I’m stuck here now,” I tell Ecco.

My mind reels as I try to process what just happened, the implications of Rian’s words sinking in like lead weights. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? I had a plan. But now...

Now I’m trapped in this strange little town, bound by some archaic property law that I never even knew existed.

Anger and frustration simmer beneath my skin, threatening to boil over at any moment. How did Barnabus not know about this? How could Rian do this to me? How could the town council go along with it?

“Maybe there’s a way out?” Ecco offers. “A loophole, or some exception?”

“Maybe,” I agree. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

With a final, incredulous look at the empty stage where Rian and the town council had sat just moments before, I turn on my heel and storm out of the town hall, my mind already racing with possibilities. Ecco calls out after me, her voice laced with concern, but I barely hear her over the pounding of my own heart.

I will find a way out of this mess. My future, my dreams, everything I’ve worked so hard for depends on it.

No grumpy, overgrown… bull is going to stand in my way.

I rip open the door to Barnabus Clover’s office, and it flies open with a bang, startling the elderly satyr from his paperwork. His eyebrows shoot up in surprise as I burst into the room, my chest heaving with exertion and barely contained rage.

“Natalie?” he asks. “What’s going on?”

I don’t even bother with a greeting. The words tumble out of me in a frantic rush as I pace the cluttered office, my heels clicking against the hardwood floor.

“They invoked some obscure property law, Barnabus! Rian and the town council, they’re trying to force me to stay in Elderberry Falls for sixty days before I can sell the building. Sixty days! Can you believe it?”

Barnabus leans back in his chair, his expression thoughtful as he strokes his graying beard. “The Continuous Occupancy Ordinance? Well, I’ll be damned. I haven’t heard that one invoked in decades.”

I pause mid-stride, whirling to face him. “Wait, you did know about this law?”

He nods, a hint of admiration in his eyes. “It’s an old one, to be sure. Designed to prevent absentee landlords from snatching up properties and flipping them without any regard for the community. I’m impressed they even remembered it, to be honest. I thought the law had been long forgotten.”

“Impressed?” I sputter, my frustration mounting. “Barnabus, they’re trying to trap me here! They’re ruining my plans, my chance at getting the partnership, everything!”

The satyr holds up a placating hand. “Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The town must feel strongly about your presence here if they’ve gone to such lengths. That’s something to consider.”

I throw my hands up in exasperation. “But why? No one here even likes me, Barnabus. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if they just let me sell the building and leave?”

Even as the words leave my mouth, I can already feel the futility of my argument. The look on Barnabus’s face only confirms it, his tone gentle but firm as he speaks.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Natalie. The law is the law, and now that it’s been invoked, you have no choice but to abide by it if you want to proceed.”

I sink into the chair across from his desk, my head falling into my hands.

Barnabus leans forward, his voice sympathetic. “I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but my advice? Get your affairs in order and prepare for a sixty-day stay in Elderberry Falls. Who knows, you might just find something here worth sticking around for.”

I look up at him, my eyes narrowing. “Not likely,” I mutter.

Although even as I say it, I can feel a flicker of something beneath the anger and frustration. Curiosity, perhaps. Or maybe just a stubborn determination to make the best of a bad situation.

Either way, it seems I have no choice.

Elderberry Falls—you want me? You’ve got me.

A week later, I find myself surrounded by a sea of boxes, the musty scent of the apartment above Myrtle’s shop filling my nostrils as I survey the space. I managed to clean out most of the junk, but it’s definitely not inhabitable yet, and I’m going to have to change that if I’m expected to live here for the next two months.

As I start unpacking, my mind wanders to the conversation I had with my boss, Maxwell. He was surprisingly understanding of my situation, recognizing the importance of the sale for my partnership. I was given approval to work remotely, and he assured me that he’d give me the extra few months before expecting my buy-in—although he made it clear that it was unlikely he could extend the offer any further after that.

But, he’s making it work for me. It’s a relief to know that I have his support, even if it means being stuck in Elderberry Falls for the foreseeable future.

I pause, a framed photo of Ecco and me in my hands. While I have important clients back in the human lands, Ecco is my biggest client, so it does make some sense for me to be near her right now.

Even if things are a little weird between us at the moment.

And with some of the other managers at the firm offering to help out if my other clients need something face-to-face, I know I can handle most everything else virtually. Reorganizing my to-do list and my calendar to make it all work did a lot toward calming me down last week.

The buzz of my phone pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance down to see a text from my mother. She’s been asking about Elderberry Falls, curious about the town where my estranged grandmother lived and the realm where my father grew up.

Discovering he had a secret past was as much of a surprise to her as it was to me.

I send her a few photos of the town square, which I’m guessing she’ll love—she’s always liked that more homey, cutesy aesthetic.

Maybe it should be her and not me here.

Shaking off the melancholy, I head back downstairs to wait for my mattress delivery. Myrtle didn’t have any bedroom furniture in the apartment, since she didn’t live above the shop, so I had to order a new one.

As the truck pulls up, I watch in disbelief as the grumpy troll driving the truck takes one look at me, apparently realizing that I’m the newcomer trying to sell Myrtle’s store, and growls.

Thrusting a clipboard in my face for signature, he unceremoniously tosses the queen-sized mattress onto the curb before speeding off.

“Hey!” I shout after him, but it’s no use. He’s already gone, leaving me to stare at the mattress in frustration. How the hell am I supposed to get this thing upstairs by myself? So much for friendly small towns.

I grit my teeth, determined to make it work. I grab one end of the mattress, trying to lift it, but it’s heavier than I anticipated. My arms strain with the effort, and I can feel my face turning red as I struggle to get a grip on the awkward bulk.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands covered in golden fur appears, easily lifting the mattress from my grasp. I look up in surprise to see Rian towering over me, his hulking minotaur frame making the mattress look small in comparison.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice laden with confusion and annoyance. The last person I want help from is the asshole who got me into this mess in the first place.

But Rian just shrugs, his expression unreadable as he starts carrying the mattress towards the stairs. “Looked like you could use a hand,” he says simply, and I can’t help but bristle at the implication that I can’t handle things myself.

“I don’t need your help,” I lie.

There’s no way I could have gotten that mattress up the stairs on my own, and we both know it.

Rian doesn’t respond, just continues up the stairs with the mattress like it weighs nothing at all. I follow behind him, my pride smarting.

Why is he helping me, after everything that’s happened between us?

As we reach the apartment, Rian gently sets the mattress down in the bedroom, right where I tell him I want it. He straightens up, his brown gaze meeting mine, and for a moment, I see a flicker of something in his eyes. Amusement, perhaps, at my predicament.

Or maybe just a hint of that infuriating smugness I’ve come to associate with him.

“Why did you do that?” I ask, unable to keep the suspicion from my voice. “Why bother helping me, after everything?”

Rian shrugs again, his expression shifting into something more serious. “In Elderberry Falls, neighbors help each other,” he says simply. “It’s the way things work around here. You’ll come to understand that, in time.”

With that, he turns and heads back downstairs, leaving me to stare after him in a breathless combination of frustration and grudging gratitude. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I’m going to have to start understanding the way things work in this town, if I’m ever going to make it through the next two months.

Otherwise they’ll just find some other obscure law to shove in my face, and I’ll never be able to sell and make partner.

While unpacking, my mind keeps drifting back to Rian and the unexpected kindness he showed me today. I know he’s probably not a bad guy—Ecco wouldn’t be friends with him if he was—but right now, I just want to make him the villain. I’m pissed at him, even while I recognize why he’s mad at me too.

It’s all just so complicated, and I can feel a headache starting to build behind my eyes as I try to make sense of it all. I need a distraction, something to take my mind off of everything for a little while.

My gaze falls on the old notebook I’d set aside earlier, the one I found tucked away in a corner of the apartment.

I reach for it absently, running my hand along the worn leather cover. An unexpected glow emanates from its pages, a soft, pulsing light that seems to beckon me closer.

Curiosity piqued, I open the notebook, my breath catching in my throat as I see the words “I miss you” written in an unfamiliar hand. The handwriting is scrawling, the ink faded and smudged, but the message is clear.

This message was absolutely not here the last time I opened this book up. I’m positive.

I stare at the words, my mind racing with possibilities.

Is the notebook enchanted? I read a fantasy book once where a magical journal possessed someone, but I thought that was just fiction. I’ve never seen an enchanted notebook in person, and the idea of it both thrills and terrifies me.

I hesitate, my pen hovering over the blank page beneath the message. Part of me knows I should close the notebook and forget I ever saw it, but another part of me is desperate to know more.

Could there be answers about my family in here if I reply? Will I be haunted by some sort of ghost if I do? If I don’t ?

My heart pounds in my chest as I consider my options. But despite my attempt to think clearly, I can’t know what I should do next, not without understanding magic more.

Like that’s going to happen.

Well, I’ll just go with my gut, then.

With a shaking hand, I lower the pen to the page.