She’d just finished cleaning up and dressing when she heard a knock from Enthrall’s side of the door. “Come in!” she called, giddy with excitement.
The door opened, and Enthrall stepped into her room. At the radiant smile that lit her face at his arrival, he laughed out loud, unable to contain his happiness. Holding his arms out to indicate that he wanted her to come to him. She practically skipped to him and flung herself into his arms.
“I missed you, Lici.”
“I missed you, too. I was not happy when I woke alone.”
“I’m sorry. You were sleeping so soundly I decided to let you rest while I went home to be sure all was okay for you to visit there with me today.”
“Is it not often okay?”
He made an indecisive expression and tilted his head first to the left then the right. “Well, you’ll see. There are so many different personalities there and so many different creatures who live there, that you never know what may be going on. And I didn’t want your first visit to be drama-filled. I wanted it to be happy and pleasant, so that maybe you’ll want to go back with me again.”
“Creatures? Is it safe for me? Did you tell them all to be on their best behavior?” she asked, laughing.
“Yes, creatures. But they are all friends, and most are family. I didn’t tell them to behave. I want you to see it as it is, but I did make sure that there was nothing amiss and nothing hugely distracting that I wasn’t aware of yet.”
Enthrall looked down at her outfit, “You are so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said, shyly. She lifted up on her toes the little bit she needed to so that she could kiss him. She was tall for a woman, so while he was definitely taller than she, it was only by a head. If she reached up to kiss him, even if he didn’t look down at her, she could pretty well reach his jawline for a kiss without any stretching at all.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!” she said excitedly.
“I’m going to hold you tightly, you hold onto me. And in just a few moments, we’ll be in my living room. You may feel like you’re falling, but you’re not. I have you.”
She tightened her arms around him, and with that, the floor fell from beneath her feet, and they were away.
Chapter 14
Felicity felt like she was falling, and she clutched at Enthrall, who said, “I’ve got you. You’re safe, I’ll never allow you to come to harm.” No sooner had he spoken the words than she realized her feet were standing on solid ground. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing in a living room, small, but comfortable, and filled with Victorian furniture. Across from the living room was a kitchen. The whole space was filled with sunlight shining through the windows at the front and sides of the house. There were books lying on the coffee table, and oil lamps set about both rooms. It was a lovely home, and she immediately felt welcome and at home there.
“Welcome to my home, Lici.” Enthrall welcomed her, and eased his tight hold on her, but did not fully let her go.
She looked around the room again and then up at him. “I love it, Enthrall. It’s so warm and inviting.”
Enthrall grinned, happy that she liked his home. “Let me show you the rest,” he said excitedly as he took her by the hand and pulled her after him down the hallway.
He paused outside the bathroom. “This is the bathroom, I have hot and cold running water from a cistern on the roof.” He continued on down the hall stopping outside a bedroom door. “This is Carolena’s room,” he explained before turning to the room across the hall from it. “And this was a bedroom, but I added shelves and turned it into a library, and I use it as an office, too.” He took a few steps down the hall to the last doorway. “And last but not least, this is my room. Ours, if you’d like to stay here with me sometimes.”
“It’s beautiful. It has the feel of a cottage.”
“I’m glad you like it. It means a lot to me.”
“I have one question.”
“Of course, ask me anything you want.”
“Carolena has her own bedroom in your home?”
He looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
Felicity indicated the room behind her. “You said the first bedroom was Carolena’s room.”
“Oh! Yes, I call it Carolena’s room. She’s the closest I have to a sister, real family, you know? When she first came to Whispers, she had no place else to stay, and I welcomed her into my home for a while until Carnage finished building her home, and she decided that she wanted to claim him and stay with him. It’s been Carolena’s room ever since.”
“Carnage?”
“Carolena’s mated to Carnage, and they have a little girl, Lily, that I absolutely adore. She’s my niece.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing Carolena again. I do hope that I get to say hello to her and to meet her family while I’m here.”
“You will, actually. They just found out they are expecting again, and Lore is hosting a party for them. Most of our people will be there, so you’ll get to meet them all.”
Her stomach rumbled, and he realized he’d whisked her away before she had the chance to eat breakfast. “You know what? Let’s go visit them now. I have nothing to offer you to eat here. Since I’ve been away, I’ve not kept much food here. But I know that Carolena and Carnage will be having breakfast about now, and even if they’re not, she’s always trying to feed everyone.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“Not at all. She’d have her feelings hurt if we didn’t make a special trip to visit with her, rather than just lump her in with everyone else tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Why would she want to see me privately?” Felicity asked, feeling a bit nervous. Carolena was, after all, her employer.
“Because you’re my Lici. There’s nothing more to it than that.”
Felicity blushed a bit and smiled at Enthrall. He reached for her hand again and she tensed. “Are we going to do that floor falling thing again?”
Enthrall chuckled, “No. Not right now. I thought we’d walk, so you could see our community.”
“I’d like that.”
Enthrall led her out to the porch and pulled the door closed behind them.
“So, you’re like the mayor of Whispers?” Felicity asked.
Enthrall laughed. “I guess so. I’ve never thought about it like that.” He kept her hand held in his and started down the steps and toward the path that she could just barely make out in the distance in the tree line. “I told you about how I found Whispers. And how others found it as well. But I didn’t really explain why. We needed a place to shelter and be safe from humans.”
Felicity stopped walking. “But, I’m human.”
“You are. But you’re not trying to hunt us and harm our families just because we are different. We are all people here, Lici. Just a little different than the usual.” He decided that maybe he should explain a bit more. “There was a time, not too long ago, that I had one strict rule. No humans allowed. Ever, for any reason, no humans.”
Her eyebrows raised. “And now?” she asked, not sure if she should be amused or offended.
“And now I don’t think that any longer. I do still believe that anyone allowed to come here should be thoroughly vetted, so that we are sure why they are here. And they should only be allowed in if they are associated with one of our community in some form or fashion. But the rule was in place to protect our inhabitants. Most of us have endured persecution of some type or another, or been judged by humans as unworthy, dangerous, simply because they don’t look as people are expected to look. And let me tell you, these people are some of the best you will ever meet. They are honest and hard working. There is no agenda with them — they just want to be left alone. So they came here, to be safe to live their lives in peace.”
“Couldn’t they just hide what they are as you have?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “Not all of them.
They aren’t all able to blend in. It’s extremely obvious that some of them aren't human. You’ll see.”
“Okay,” she said, hesitantly.
Enthrall looked back at her following along behind him, still clinging to his hand as he led her down the path, and saw the worry on her face. “I promise, you are safe here. No one will hurt you. No one will be offensive to you. Some may look quite intimidating, but none would ever hurt you.”
“I’m more worried what they’ll think of me — human.”
“They’ll love you.”
Felicity nodded and followed along behind Enthrall. She was exclaiming over all the unusual plants and trees they passed. Finally she asked, “Where are we?”
“We are in the swamps and bayous of southeast Louisiana.”
“Seriously? We are in a swamp?”
“We are. What do you think?”
She looked around again and smiled before answering. “It’s beautiful. So peaceful.”
Enthrall checked on Felicity often, stopping to really check on her, make sure she was okay with all the walking and the humidity in the air in his swamp. She was okay, but he could tell she was tiring. Once or twice she coughed a little. “I have a little tickle in my throat,” she offered as an explanation,
“You alright? You want to rest for a bit?”
“No, I’m okay. Just getting a little winded.”
“I could just ghost us there?”
“Is that what you call it when you zip from one place to another?”
Enthrall laughed. “Yes, I call it ghosting.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to walk. Besides, it’s beautiful here. I’d like to see as much as I can.”
“Okay, let’s just take our time then.”
Eventually the path opened up into a larger area, filled with ancient Eucalyptus trees, with occasional Cedar trees growing here and there. Felicity found herself standing beside Enthrall and looking up at the underside of a huge deck that seemed to be built in the trees. He unwound a length of rope from a horseshoe nailed to a tree and pulled on it a few times, causing a bell up top to ring. Enthrall let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders as they waited for someone to answer their bell ring.
The sound of little feet slapping the boards as they ran on the deck were immediately followed by a beautiful silver-haired child peeking over the side of the banister to see who was ringing the bell.
“Unca Trawl!”
“Hi, Lily!” he called up.
Then a woman looked over the side. “Enthrall! Felicity! Welcome! Come on up.”
“Thank you, Carolena,” Enthrall answered warmly.
Enthrall pulled Felicity in closer and held her tightly. “You ready?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m ready, the ground drops away and a quick swirl before back on solid ground, right?”
He chuckled. “Right. A real quick one.”
Before she could prepare herself, she was standing on the deck, and Enthrall was making sure she was okay. “You alright?”
Enthrall dropped his hands to her waist, and she let go of the death grip she had around his neck, instead moving her hands to his biceps while she got her balance again. “Yes. I’m good.”
“You’ll get used to it eventually. I did, and I get motion sick,” Carolena said.
Carolena moved toward them, a bright smile on her face, her hand out to shake Felicity’s. “Hello, Felicity. I’m so, so happy to see you. I was wondering how long it would take Enthrall to confess everything to you and bring you back here to see us.”
“Hello, Carolena, I’m happy to see you too.”
Then Carolena went in for a hug from Enthrall, and it was evident to Felicity that Enthrall cared very much for this woman. He hugged her close and closed his eyes while he gave her a tight squeeze and kissed her temple.
“I’m glad you’re back, Enthrall. We missed you.”
“I missed you, too. I miss being home.”
“What you brought me, Unca Trawl?” Lily asked as she danced in a non-stop circle around them.
“I brought you peppermints. You do still like peppermints?” he asked, picking the little girl up and holding her tight before kissing her cheeks ‘til she squealed.
“I do!”
“I thought you did. So, here.” He reached into his pocket and gave her a handful of peppermints. She immediately ran off, hurrying into the house calling out to Carnage. “Papa! I gots peppermint!”
“She’s beautiful,” Felicity complimented, laughing at the pure joy of a toddler.
“She never stops!” laughed Carolena.
“Are you hungry? We’re just getting around to having breakfast. We had a lazy start to the day today.”
“If it’s no trouble, that’d be wonderful. But can I help?” Felicity asked.
“You don’t have to do that, it’s almost finished. But come on in.”
Carolena led the way into the house with Enthrall right behind her and Felicity, still holding Enthrall’s hand, following.
Felicity came to a complete stop, frozen in her tracks when she got a good look at Carnage. He was standing at the stove, shirtless, wearing one of Carolena’s aprons covered in bright red and pink flowers with yellow ruffles on the straps and all around the edges, while he fried bacon — a lot of bacon.
His lips were already puckered where he sucked on a peppermint that Lily had shared with him. He looked up and waved at Enthrall with a spatula. “Trawl!” he shouted, happily.
“Carnage! How are you my friend?”
“Bacon!” he said, pointing at the skillet he was using by waving the spatula around.
“Smells good,” Enthrall said.
Enthrall realized that Felicity had not moved. He looked back at her. She was standing there, her mouth hanging open, staring at Carnage.
“Felicity?” Enthrall said gently.
She didn’t answer.
Carnage looked over and realized the woman Enthrall brought with him was staring at him. He was used to it — most creatures, humans too, were afraid of him. He was scary looking — it was just who he was. He grinned, pointed at himself and said, “Gaaaahhhll. Gooood Gaaaahhhll.” Then he waved at her with the spatula and grinned again, shifting the peppermint around in his mouth.
“He’s telling you he’s a good Gargoyle,” Carolena explained.
Felicity had never seen such a sight in her life. She burst out into laughter. It was ludicrous, a huge, bare-chested, grey Gargoyle. And not only a living, breathing Gargoyle, he was wearing a brightly-colored flowered apron, waving at them with a spatula, while he sucked on a peppermint and fried bacon.
Her laughter was infectious. It only took a moment before Carolena realized it was Carnage and the sight he presented that had Felicity laughing, and started chuckling herself. Then Enthrall started. Before they were finished Felicity was wiping away tears, she’d laughed so hard.
“Oh, oh! I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help it. Dressed in a flowered apron waving at me with a spatula is not how I expected to see my first Gargoyle.” She started giggling again when she saw Carnage wink at her.
“Gooood Gaaaahhhll” he insisted.
“I’m sorry, my first good Gargoyle,” Felicity added.
Carolena stood, lovingly admiring her mate. “He is quite a sight to behold, isn’t he?”
“He is that,” Enthrall added.
“Come, have a seat. As soon as he’s done with the bacon, I’ll fry up the eggs and we can have breakfast.”
“I e’s” Carnage said.
“No, you will not cook the eggs. You throw them all away,” Carolena answered.
“‘Boke!” he insisted.
“You broke them! They are fine until you smash them against the side of the skillet. So I’ll make them this time.”
After Enthrall and Felicity sat, Carolena placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of each of them and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.
Carnage had by that time finished cook
ing the bacon and was laying it out on the platter to drain. He grabbed himself a large glass of cold sarsaparilla tea and took a seat at the table, ceremoniously handing Carolena the spatula to cook the eggs with. He took a sip of the tea and grimaced. Swallowing the tea, but spitting out the peppermint into a napkin before looking at Enthrall with a grimace on his face. “Chocat?” he asked a plaintive tone in his voice. He pointed at the peppermint in the napkin and shook his head. “Chocat!” he said more forcefully.
Lily, who had joined them at the table, translated. “Papa wants da chocolate. He don’t like da peppermint.”
“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” Enthrall asked.
“Did!” Carnage insisted, slapping his own chest, the apron still donned across it.
Enthrall grinned, reached into his other pocket, and pulled out two Hershey’s chocolate bars. He handed them to Carnage. “One is for Carolena.”
Carnage’s eyes lit up like a little kid. “Leenah!” he said, pushing one bar toward her on the table.
Carolena, carefully cracking eggs into the cast iron skillet looked over her shoulder. Laughing when she saw Carnage tearing his bar open and taking a bite, closing his eyes and savoring the sweet, creamy flavor. “You’ve done it now. He’s going to beg me for mine until I either eat it, or give in and let him have it. The male is completely addicted to chocolate.”
Felicity sipped her juice, chuckling, thinking how surreal it was to be where she was, with the people she was with, having breakfast as though it was any other regular day.
“My shoos,” Carnage said, proudly, pointing to Felicity’s juice cup and nodding.
“You made the juice?” Felicity asked.
“He smashes the oranges. They stand no chance against him,” Carolena said, giggling.
Carnage nodded, taking another bite of his chocolate bar. He looked at his bar as though inspecting it and decided that it’d be gone soon. So, he reached across the table, taking the bar meant for Carolena and pulled it toward himself, and slipped it beneath the table, to put in his pocket.
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