by Ellie Hall
For Penny’s part, she returned his hunger with an appetite of her own: from holding back since arriving in London, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. It all came out as she kissed him hard. Between them, they generated enough heat to start a bonfire, their heavy breathing fed the flames. It was strong enough to send a blaze into the sky, alerting everyone in the vicinity that their feelings for each other were on fire.
“Penelope,” Oliver gasped.
“Yes, Oliver,” she repeated. Combusting inside: belly, chest, bones. All of it dissolved and he was just light, heat, burning. A star pouring into her.
“I never want this to end.”
“But all good things must,” she heard herself say. A little fissure, like the one that was sure to have started the avalanche, formed in her heart.
“But not for a long, long time,” he responded.
Unfortunately, she knew that wasn’t true. Despite what Emma, her sister had said she’d have to come clean. But she wasn’t ready to give up what they shared right then. The kiss started to slow its rhythm. It fell into time with their pulses, steady, familiar. She wanted him. But as Penny, not Penelope. While they lived in the strange, dangerous fantasy, hoping to survive another night, she was courageous and kissed him anyway.
Later, neither could sleep. Though they didn’t want to lose the warmth they parted the top of their blanket cocoon and gazed up through the window that became the ceiling when the train landed in the snow below the tracks.
“I’ll be right back,” Oliver said, closing the hole.
She heard him clamber through the dark train carriage and crunch across the snow. Then the walls of the train shuddered. She worried the wind had blown him away but the sound of footsteps from above assured her that wasn’t the case. But what if a hungry wolf or bear had been waiting outside and he took refuge on top of the train? A scraping sound came next and she held her breath, waiting. Was he trying to break in?
“Oliver,” she called.
“Be right back. Keep the heat in; it’s freezing out here.”
In minutes, he returned, shivering.
“Give me a second to warm up and then I have a surprise for you,” he said, teeth chattering as he pulled the blankets over them.
She wrapped him in her arms, just as he’d done for her. They exchanged warmth and perhaps something more, something just as intangible. The feelings for him burned in her chest, working their way toward her lips. But she couldn’t speak the truth when she was also living a lie.
“Okay, I’m better,” he said. “I wanted to pick up where we left off before the train crash. Remember you’d said it was like a snow globe. I thought if I cleared the window, we could watch the snowflakes drifting down. But the good news is it stopped snowing and instead, we can look at the stars.”
He parted the blankets just enough for their faces to poke out. “Make a wish.”
“Only if you sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
“If only I had marshmallows.” But he sang anyway and she wished for their rescue and for his forgiveness. She’d done a terrible thing and even though she pushed it to the farthest reaches of her mind, the kiss only made things worse even though it had been the best.
“It’s lucky the weather cleared.”
“We certainly need some luck.”
“All things considered it isn’t half bad. We get to eat cookies and lay in bed all day.” He chuckled.
“Ha ha. In any other circumstance, I’d say that’s me living my best life.”
“What did you wish for?” he asked.
“I think it’s obvious.”
“Mmm. If we had enough supplies, I wouldn’t mind sticking around a few more days.”
“If we’re not found soon, that might just happen.”
Oliver sighed as though defeated.
“What did you wish for?” she asked.
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t wish on a star? What else are they good for other than wishes, well, and being beautiful, mysterious, and helping people navigate.”
Oliver shot to his feet and shouted, “Yes.”
“Yes, what?” Penny asked, alarmed. She listened, hoping for the sound of voices or a helicopter in the distance.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. Probably because it’s been cloudy. One of my survival skills was navigating from base camp back to the city using the stars.”
“And you think you can do that again?”
“Yes. Well, it was spring, after the thaw so the locations were different, but…” He drifted off, gazing at the sky and deep in thought.
Enough time passed that Penelope wrapped a blanket around him and curled up in the little tent. In the very least, she needed some rest. She must have dozed off because she woke to Oliver gently kissing her forehead.
“I wish I was waking you up to say we’ve been rescued, but I have a plan.”
She sat up, sloughing off sleep. “Remember when I told you that I wouldn’t tell you what else Madam Breton said…Well, she suggested I do more of that.”
“She is considered a genius in her field and I’m not one to argue,” he replied, diving in for another kiss.
“If it snows again, the train cars are likely to be buried. While the stars are out and the moon shines, I think we should set off on foot.”
“Are you serious?”
“I calculated the location of the stars in relation to where they are during the spring and if we—”
“We don’t have a compass.”
“We have your phone. It should be enough to get us back to the train tracks or out onto the Longest Plain.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.”
“It’s an open area at the base of the mountains. We’ll bring as many blankets as we can and drop them in our wake like leaving breadcrumbs, a trail. From above, someone is sure to see us.”
“How do you know we’ll be able to get out of the ravine or not eaten by wild animals or turn into icicles.”
“I think it’s a better choice than staying here.”
“But we were so cozy.”
Oliver gripped Penny’s hand. “I can have this reenacted, every year. We’ll spend a week in a remote, snowy location with nothing but our wits, stories, and cookies to sustain us.”
“I’d rather an island paradise.”
“Consider it done.”
“Now, I think we should go while we have the stars and the weather is clear.”
They set out, leaving the safety of the train carriage. Layering every available blanket over their shoulders, they trudged through the snow. Oliver tied a tether between them so they weren’t separated and to use as a rope if necessary.
Earlier that day, Oliver discerned the location of the tracks where they’d fallen from and they moved in that direction, but the walls of snow were sheer on both sides and Penny started to have her doubts. It was one thing to see a map in the sky, leading them to safety but it was another to actually see the path in front of them. She had to trust him and part of her wished she could say the same: that he could trust her. He’d said trust and honesty were most important to him and she’d broken both. She’d done wrong but the most important thing was surviving and then she’d try to make everything right.
Oliver kept his gaze lifted and Penny hoped her wish came true. They continued forward and the passage became narrower. If she stretched her arms in both directions, she could touch the walls of snow. Please, not another avalanche. Please not another avalanche, she repeated in her mind as their footsteps disappeared behind them.
Oliver slowed, stepping carefully and she placed her boots in the exact same place. Then he stopped abruptly when they could go no farther. He turned and puffed his cheeks then ran a gloved hand over the scruff on his face. “Have you ever climbed before?”
“Like rock climbing?”
“In the snow.”
She shook her head.
“It’s not steep and it’s not far. I
t’s just, we’re not equipped. When I did my survival training, we had some basic equipment. I’m going to suggest next year they leave us in the wilderness with—”
“Nothing but our wits.”
“Yeah.” Oliver turned back to the snowy wall. “I’m going to untie you and start to climb. Watch carefully. I’ll pull you up, but I want you to try to copy what I’m doing with my legs against the walls,” he said as he pushed his shoe into one snowy wall and leaned against the other with his back. Then he got his other leg free and created tension with his legs as he inched upward.
“See that,” he called softly down. “I call it wish-boning.”
“Do you know about the American Thanksgiving tradition involving wishbones?” she asked.
He was a silhouette against the night sky but he shook his head.
“Never mind.” Penny did not want to think about broken bones. She braced herself and rappelled upward. From above, Oliver offered leverage with the rope to help pull her up.
When she reached the top she said, “Now what?”
“Now we repeat.”
Her gaze lifted and she saw a near identical climb lay ahead. When they reached the top of the second ascent, he quickly pressed his hand against her mouth. “Don’t yell, cheer, or scream. We don’t want to disturb the snow.” He pointed at their surroundings: steep snowy cliffs.
However, ahead of them, lay a broad snowy plain.
“We just have to get down.”
She muffled her gasp.
Chapter 20
Oliver
Without a toboggan or pair of skis, the trek down the steep mountain was daunting. “We can do it,” Oliver said as much to himself as to Penelope.
She gazed up at the stars as though asking hey about that wish…
He thanked those same stars and God in Heaven that his hunch about getting out of the ravine had been correct. Given his knowledge of navigating and the help of Penny’s compass, he could get them across the plain and closer to civilization.
“Shall we?” he asked as though they were stepping out for dinner.
Penelope bit her lip. Desire and the need to protect her surged through him in equal measure. He wouldn’t let her fall, not even stumble. He would live to kiss her again. “It’s cold, we should get moving,” he said.
She cast one more glance up before turning her attention down.
“Wait. What’s that?” she asked.
The low, thrum, thrum, thrum of helicopter blades sounded in the distance.
“The flare,” she said, handing it to him.
“It’s risky if there are other potential avalanches.”
“If snow starts to fall, I’ll push you down the hill,” she said with a smile in her voice.
It was likely the royal rescue was on their way and if the accident was due to an avalanche, they’d avoid bringing choppers too close to the scene but this was their chance. He fired the flare into the sky.
He felt Penelope holding her breath beside him.
The lights on the helicopter grew brighter, closer.
“Do you think they saw us?” she asked.
He hoped. He wished. He prayed.
A searchlight beamed across the face of the mountain and Oliver waved one of the silver threaded blankets he’d taken from the train, hoping they gleamed in the light. Penelope waved her arms, gripping her phone in one hand. From above, they were pinpricks of light, like the stars from their vantage point, but he trusted just as visible.
The chopper slowed and trained the searchlight on them. He knew they were spotted but it started to climb, moving away from them.
“Wait. Where’s it going?” Panic streaked Penelope’s voice.
“They’re probably being cautious about the potential for the snow falling. If I’m right, they’ll send down a couple harnesses and a ladder.”
She shuddered a breath. “Um, have I ever mentioned I’m not that fond of heights.”
“No, as a matter of fact, you haven’t. But after today we’re going to have a long, long time learning all kinds of things about each other.”
“I was okay with you not knowing that about me. Like, there not ever being a situation where you’d have needed to know that detail.”
He squeezed her hand.
“If it helps, I’m afraid of dinosaurs.”
“Oliver, there will never be an instance where I’d have found that out. Dinosaurs are extinct.”
“Uh, have you seen the movies?”
“They’re movies.”
“All the same,” he insisted. The thought of scientists bringing flesh-eating dinosaurs back to life made him shiver.
Just then, the searchlight angled down, illuminating the rungs of a ladder, just as Oliver predicted. When it reached them, a canvas bag held two harnesses. He helped Penelope into hers. She trembled as he tightened the straps. He met her eyes.
“You just survived a train falling from the rails and then into a ravine. You climbed out of said ravine, meaning you trusted me. Please trust me for this last stretch. You can do this,” he said as he placed her hands on the rungs of the ladder before fastening his harness.
She started to say something about trust but whatever it was disappeared into the wind.
He climbed behind her as she moved carefully, but steadily upward. The wind in the ravine certainly whipped against the walls of snow and the train, but this was an altogether different beast, sending them swinging side to side like a pendulum.
It was still a long way up and Oliver urged her along, shouting up to her, no longer afraid of causing an avalanche since they were well above the danger zone. But his fingers and his whole body were stiff with cold and exhaustion. He imagined the same was true for Penelope. The rungs of the ladder were slippery too.
The door to the helicopter came into focus and several men were crouched, waiting, urging them up.
She paused, glancing over her shoulder.
“Don’t look down,” he warned.
“I’m just making sure you’re there.”
“We’ve almost got this,” he replied, touched that during such a dire moment given her fear of heights she’d do something as sweet and foolish as making sure he was there. “If I could carry you on my back, I would. Did I tell you about the time when I was at a diplomatic meeting in Eastern Europe? I put one of the representatives from our delegations on my back and paraded him into the conference like a mule.”
“An Ava dare?”
“Yep.” Oliver chuckled at some of the ways he’d tried to gain a little bit of freedom if not amusement during the last years in his role as prince. He’d never be boring, but he’d also never be bored, not with Penelope in his life. She was a light, a spark, a star in the sky. Even though he wasn’t home yet, he felt as though she led him there: to a better version of himself, to a man fit to love her, and to be king.
Her feet disappeared into the helicopter and he climbed in after her. One of the queen’s advisors, several members of the royal guard, the royal rescue, and of course, Winston, were also in the helicopter.
“Pleased to see you finally found us,” Oliver said through a shiver.
“Sir, as it happens, I rather enjoy ringing my bell and refused to rest until I could summon you once more,” Winston said with utmost candor.
Oliver nodded. “I’ve never been more pleased to have a manny.”
They tried to laugh but relief came in the form of quiet and the desire for deep rest. The next minutes were a matter of them getting warm and recovering enough to explain what happened on their end.
The Queen's advisor said, “Her Majesty has a message for you, Sir.”
“Go ahead.”
“She believes it’s in your best interest to return to the train.”
“Does that mean everyone else is alright?” Penelope asked.
“Quite.” He explained that the avalanche derailed the rear cars and caused the car closest to their carriage to careen into a canyon wall and fill completely wit
h snow. Thankfully, it was empty. Other than that, the train kept moving. “By the time damage had been assessed and the snow cleared enough to cross into your carriage, they realized it was gone. No one was harmed beyond a few bumps and bruises. But we pressed on in case there were more and sent the team to find you.”
“Why does the queen want us to return to the train?” Oliver asked.
“She wants the press to keep the events of the accident and your rescue quiet so as to not overshadow the return of the prince, the pending marriage to Princess Penelope, and how the people have been anticipating it for nearly thirty years.”
“I see. It’s best not to shake them up.”
The color that had returned to Penelope’s cheeks disappeared.
The advisor must’ve noticed as much because he went on. “You will return to the train covertly at the station then emerge onto the platform as had been planned originally. It will not, at any point, be in motion. I imagine you’ll need some time to recover from the idea of rail travel.”
“How will you explain our delay?” Oliver asked.
“Ah, well, considering the queen-to-be has never been to your country, you took a detour to show her its vast beauty before embarking on what’s sure to be a busy period as you’re welcomed home, as you celebrate, and so forth.”
Oliver turned to Penelope. “Only if you agree will we go through with it.”
She gave a subtle nod of the head.
The next hours were a whirlwind. The royal guard snuck Oliver and Penelope onto the train through a subterranean entrance that reminded him of when they went to the football game. Part of him wanted a disguise and to hide among the masses or at least find a place to take a nap. But he was stepping fully into his role and with Penelope by his side, the old dread and burden of it diminished. In its place, he found himself buzzing with energy and filled with possibilities: much like a star.
His valet and her lady’s maid whisked them off to freshen up in separate compartments. He looked forward to the warm shower and clean clothes.
