Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Whenever they stopped at a corner light, he’d pop up to steal a kiss from Warin, then grin as if he’d done something naughty and enjoyed every second of it. He kept all the bags in one hand so he could hold hands with Warin as they walked.
Perhaps another man could have resisted this ball of adorable energy, but Warin was not that man. He wanted to bask in that smile a little longer, and his feet dragged as he frantically thought of another excuse to linger.
“Oh! Is that a Christmas tree display? Ooh, it is. Warin, can we go in there?”
He almost said yes before he could even put eyes on what North pointed at. It was a charity display, it looked like. They’d set it inside a mall, offering some protection from the snow and wind, with the twinkle of Christmas tree lights shining through the windows. The sign said free admission, although they could contribute if they wished.
“Of course, let’s go in.” Warin had to lengthen his stride to keep up with the shorter man. North was practically bouncing ahead of him.
The front clerk manning the desk offered a cubby to put their bags into, which they thankfully took her up on. Then North took his hand again as they walked through the large hallways. It wasn’t just a Christmas tree display, but also a Christmas market, with vendors arrayed in their own alley near the trees, offering wreathes and figurines and ornaments. It was a gorgeous display, each tree having a theme, in either color or with ornaments.
“I love the Star Trek tree, that’s awesome.” North laughed, looking it over from top to bottom, sometimes leaning to the side to see the ones not so clearly in view.
“The one with the castle and the knights has been my favorite so far,” Warin admitted. “But the one ahead, with the Nutcracker theme, that’s exquisite.”
“Isn’t it?” North agreed. The tree in question was white and displayed the full Nutcracker Suite, each figurine beautifully crafted. “When I was a child, I was obsessed with that movie. The animated one, you know. I watched it until my parents couldn’t stand it anymore, and the DVD somehow got lost. My ma felt bad about it, I think, and she got me a Nutcracker that Christmas. I immediately snuck if off to my room and kissed it, hoping he’d turn into a prince. I was so disappointed when he didn’t, I just about cried.”
“How old were you?”
“Six.” North shook his head at his past self, amused now. “Why I thought that would work, I don’t know. It’s not like Clara ever kissed the Nutcracker Prince. Maybe I was mixing up my fairy tales?”
“As children are wont to do.” The anecdote was cute, and Warin tried not to be alarmed that a young mage had tried his own brand of magic on a Nutcracker.
North caught the expression on his face and stopped. “Uh, what? That’s a strange look.”
“Magic in children usually develops quite early,” Warin answered, still stuck on that mental image. “It just crossed my mind that if you’d wished so hard for the Nutcracker to turn human, it might well have done so.”
North stared at him, jaw steadily dropping. “Oh shit. Oh shit, you’re right, my magic might have tried it. I mean, it wouldn’t have worked, no spell in the world can do that. I don’t think. But it certainly would have done something, if the conditions had been right. I didn’t have any spell elements in that house growing up, not until I was a teenager. That might have been my only saving grace.”
“Likely so.”
“The dangers of ignorance,” North muttered, still looking poleaxed. “I didn’t think of it in that light. Just watch, I’ll have nightmares about that now. You know, I was going to buy a Nutcracker here, just for the memory, but now—”
“No, let me buy one for you,” Warin encouraged. “You’re well in control of your magic, there’s no danger.”
“You sure? You’ve bought me so much already.”
Warin didn’t know how to explain that he wanted to spoil North. That his dragon insisted on spoiling North. The mage’s reaction to being handed a red coat had almost undone Warin utterly. No one should be that touched, that confused, over a simple coat. Over a color. His reaction alone told him volumes about North’s family. No one really seemed to see this young man or know how to love him properly. North’s love of color and vibrancy was obvious. Warin had barely been around him ten minutes and figured it out. Anyone who tried to shoehorn this beautiful man into a bland box did North a grave disservice.
It urged Warin to spoil him, to somehow undo the damage done. To show that North could have everything he wanted here, be anything he chose. There was nothing Warin would not give him, if North asked for it.