Loving Blitz (10 page)

“OH DEAR,
my little elflings. What mischief have you gotten yourselves into this time?”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Kringle. It was all my doing. I…. You see, I’m—”

“A Dockalfar,” Kringle stated nonchalantly as he put his hand to Blitz’s brow.

They all stared at him stupefied. “You knew?”

“My dear elfling, of course I knew. Quite the spell you cast.” Kringle looked at him from over his spectacles. “Perhaps it’s time you embraced your Dockalfar ways. At least enough to control your powers to avoid any future… mishaps.”

“Yes, sir.” Cupid swallowed hard. “Will he be all right?”

Kringle pursed his lips as he continued to examine Blitz. Cupid thought he might expire from lack of breath, when Kringle finally nodded. “He’ll be fine. You cast a sleep spell on him. The sleep of a thousand years. Few can remove such a spell. You must be very cautious.”

Cupid nodded. He watched along with his brethren as Kringle rubbed his large hands together. His head almost touched the ceiling, even as he bent forward and placed his hands on Blitz’s chest. Mayor Kringle closed his eyes, murmuring quiet words Cupid didn’t understand. Whatever Mayor Kringle was doing, it appeared to take forever, though in reality it was only several minutes. Once he was done, he pulled away and sat back, a wooden chair materializing behind him. He fixed his forest-green robe and patted the bed in front of him, next to Blitz. Cupid obliged, taking a seat and feeling like a scolded elfling.

“He will wake soon. Now, young Cupid, there is much for you to learn. Yes, I knew of what you were. When I chose the Rein Dears, I did not choose them because they were perfect. It may seem as if they are, but for those who look close, they will see themselves in my beloved Rein Dears. You are all handsome and brave. You glow with pride for your city and who you are, what they see in you, but deep down, there are many flaws. Those who look up to you see this. All heroes are fallible. You mustn’t be so quick to judge yourself, while others must not be so quick to judge you.” He gave Dasher, Comet, and Donner a pointed look. His brave and fierce friends looked just as much like scolded elflings as Cupid felt.

“Trust in your heart and in your friends. All will be well.” He patted Cupid’s head.

Cupid nodded. “Thank you. I only wish I could find a way to fix this mess. Gunne has hurt so many of the others. Rudy and Jack….”

Mayor Kringle stood, his chair disappearing. He seemed to consider Cupid’s plight. “Go see the King of Frost. Tell him everything.”

Cupid’s jaw almost hit the floor. “Tell the king? He’ll turn me into an icicle!”

“Take Dasher with you.”

Now it was Dasher’s turn to look aghast. He quickly recovered. “So we can both be turned into icicles?”

Mayor Kringle laughed, a jolly, wonderful sound that helped Cupid feel a little more at ease. “Trust me, my elflings.” With that Mayor Kringle left the room and disappeared, leaving behind only the comforting scents of Christmas. Then Cupid recalled what Mayor Kringle had instructed him to do. Cupid was stunned. What on earth was he thinking? But then, if there was anyone who wouldn’t lead him astray, it was Mayor Kringle.

Blitz groaned, and Cupid was immediately at his side. He wasn’t sure if he should touch Blitz, but bah humbug. He took Blitz’s hand in his.

“I’m here,” Cupid said gently. He wasn’t sure if Blitz would want him at his side, but Cupid would remain there for as long as Blitz wished it.

“Cupid?” Blitz slowly opened his eyes, and Cupid waited with bated breath as Blitz turned his head to look at him. A beautiful smile came onto his face, and he squeezed Cupid’s hand in return. “You’re still here.”

“Of course I am.” Cupid wiped a tear from his eye and kissed Blitz’s lips. It was only a soft, feathery kiss, one to let Blitz know how much he needed him. He pulled back enough to gaze into Blitz’s eyes. “I would never leave you. I… I love you, Blitz.”

Blitz’s smile widened. He cupped Cupid’s face and brought him down for a deep kiss. Cupid melted against him, the whole world blurred until there was only the two of them left. Never had he felt so… at home.

“I love you,” Blitz replied, their heads pressed together.

“Blitz, I—”

Blitz put his fingers to Cupid’s lips. “There’s nothing more to say. To me you’re the sweet elf I met all those centuries ago, who bumped into me with an armful of books. I know what happened was an accident. I love you as you are.”

Cupid’s face could barely contain his smile. He hugged Blitz, mindful of not hurting him in case he was in pain. Blitz insisted he was just fine. Well, it was time to be a brave elf and make right the wrongs he’d brought on himself.

“I have to go see the king.” Cupid stood and straightened to his full height. It wasn’t much of a height, but his heart was great in size. “I have to fix this.”

“I’m coming with you,” Blitz said, ignoring their brethren’s protests as he got out of bed.

“Blitz, no. You should stay here and rest.” Kringle had told them Cupid cast a spell of deep sleep, but Cupid had no idea what other effects that might cause. Blitz, of course, was having none of it.

“I’m not leaving your side. We go together.”

There was no point in arguing. His sweetheart was most stubborn. “All right.” Cupid turned to his brethren when he recalled what else Kringle had instructed him to do. “Oh, and, um, Dasher is to come with us.”

Blitz let out a low groan. “We’re doomed.”

Chapter Eight

CUPID HAD
been very clear with Dasher. He wasn’t to utter a word while they spoke to the king. They were fortunate the king agreed to an audience with them. He could have very easily turned them away or, worse, had them escorted to the Mountain Fortress for what Cupid had done. The three of them stood in the cavernous ballroom while the king emerged from behind a long blue velvet curtain. He took a seat on his throne and fixed his regal robe. His eyes landed on Dasher.

“Oh,
you’re
here.” He narrowed his eyes at Dasher, who had the good sense to bow graciously.

“Your majesty.”

With a sniff, the king turned his dark eyes on Cupid. This time he smiled. “Ah, young Cupid. Quite the mess your sibling has made. I believe he’s disappeared.”

“No doubt run home to hide behind my father’s coattails,” Cupid admitted regretfully. “I’ll deal with him when the time comes. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Oh?”

“Because of me, Jack and Rudy have been hurt. I need to help them see how much they need each other. They love each other so deeply. Rudy never meant to hurt him. He was wrong to keep such a secret, I know that now, but he’d only had the best of intentions at heart.”

“My son is very stubborn. A trait I fear he gets from me.” The king darted his eyes to Dasher, as if he were waiting for Dasher to say something inappropriate. Dasher remained strangely quiet, though he didn’t take his gaze off the king. “I’m not certain what I can do to help you. I want my son to be happy, but I can’t change his mind for him.”

That much was true. Only Jack had the power to change his sentiments on the matter, but there had to be something they could do. “Is there anything you can do about Hollis?” Cupid asked. Imprisonment would ruin the major. “It was an accident. Hollis had only meant to scare Rudy. It was my brother who gave him a wicked spell intent on harming Rudy.”

The king sighed. “I will do my best with the courts. Everyone must face the consequences of their actions, but I will make certain the courts know of your brother’s deceit. I will also bear witness to Major Hollis’s character. He might be as hardheaded as a stone at times, but he has a good heart. Far too impulsive, like his father.”

“I think I know a way to get through to Jack,” Dasher said.

Everyone turned to Dasher. This couldn’t be good.

“Oh?” The king laced his long, elegant fingers together, and sat patiently. “By all means, do enlighten me, elfling.”

“First I would appreciate you not calling me elfling.”

“Denied.” The king smiled smugly. “Next?”

Cupid tried his best not to laugh. It certainly wasn’t the time for it, but he couldn’t help his giggle with Dasher’s uninspired expression. Goodness, it was quite possible he’d met his match.

“Very well,” Dasher grumbled. He stepped up before the king, his expression turning sympathetic. “I think you may have something in your possession that would change Jack’s mind about all this.”

The king looked as perplexed as Cupid felt. “I do?”

“Yes. You see, Rudy sent Cupid and Blitz to find an Elska rose for Jack.”

The king widened his eyes, and Cupid wondered how Dasher knew of their secret mission. Then again, Dasher had a way of discovering information most weren’t privy to. He was quite sneaky.

Dasher knelt before the king and pointed to his neck. “Your locket.”

The king was silent for several heartbeats, his expression almost sad. He touched the cravat around his neck. “What about it?” The king’s words were quiet, but Cupid had a feeling the king knew what Dasher was speaking of. The question was, how did Dasher know whatever he seemed to know?

“Whenever you’re in a large crowd or seem uncomfortable, you hold it between your fingers.” Dasher’s gaze held the king’s. “You stroke it gently with your thumb.”

The king swallowed hard but remained unmoved.

“When you’re distressed, it settles you. I assume it belonged to the queen.”

The king neither denied nor confirmed Dasher’s statement. He placed his arms on the throne’s armrests and looked down his nose at Dasher.

“I don’t appreciate being studied like some strange beast.”

“Not a beast, but an elf who lost someone he loved with all his heart. And now we’re trying to make sure your son doesn’t experience the same heartache.”

“My son’s heart may splinter at the loss of his beloved Christmas elf, but he would not feel the shattering agony of having his love torn from his life in a vicious war.” Anger flared in the king’s eyes, and the temperature began to drop. Cupid took a step toward Dasher, but Blitz stopped him. What the holly? If they didn’t do something, the king would freeze them all.

The wind howled, icy gusts striking their skin like needles. Cupid and Blitz huddled close while Dasher stood and walked up the steps, stopping just one below the king’s throne. To their horror, they watched as Dasher reached out and placed his hand over the king’s.

The king leaned forward, his eyes frosting over white and his pitch-black hair draining of its color. “You presume too much,
elfling
.”

“I presume nothing. I see. I see a broken king who never recovered from the loss of his queen. I see a king who hides in his palace, fearful of the world he turned his back on for taking what he loved. I see a king who holds the key to his son’s happiness, but in parting with it will be giving up the one thing that still connects him to her.”

The king jerked his hand away and thrust a palm out, the fierce wind circling Dasher and hauling him off his feet by his neck. Dasher let out a strangled noise and clawed at the air around his neck.

“You know I speak the truth,” Dasher said hoarsely.

“I’ve had enough of these games!”

“Dasher!” Cupid turned to the king. “Please, your majesty. He meant no ill will.” The king ignored Cupid’s pleas. He walked down the steps from his throne, his hand still held in front of him as he guided the wind to carry Dasher.

“I have tolerated your insolence enough.”

“You didn’t lose your heart to the ice when she was taken, as Jack did, because you had no heart left to lose. Or so you thought.”

Why wouldn’t Dasher leave it alone? What did he hope to accomplish? Mayor Kringle must have been mistaken. Bringing Dasher along was the worst idea they could have possibly considered.

Dasher, despite gasping for air, continued as if nothing were occurring. “Your heart still beats, your majesty. You’re simply afraid to let it beat for someone else.”

The storm around them vanished and the king released Dasher, who fell to the floor with a painful thud. Cupid and Blitz rushed to Dasher’s side, helping him to his feet. He was stunned at the stricken expression on the king’s face. The king stood motionless, his hair and eyes returning to their pitch-black color. For a moment Cupid thought the king might have become frozen himself. Dasher gingerly knelt before the king.

“Please, help us.”

The king blinked a few times, as if snapping himself out of a trance. He studied Dasher before reaching under his cravat to pull out the locket. Opening it, a tiny seed fell onto his palm. He held it out to Cupid.

“It’s an Elska seed from the queen’s garden. The only one that remained after it and she were… lost.”

“Your majesty….” Cupid didn’t know what to say.

“Take it. As a winter faery, you have the power to aid winter flora in their birth. Help it grow.”

Cupid took the precious seed. “I don’t know if I can….”

“You can.” The king blinked away his tears and smiled. “The Elska requires love’s warmth to grow. I’m certain you will do fine. Excuse me.” Without another word, the king disappeared behind the velvet curtain.

Dasher made to follow, but Blitz stopped him, his voice gentle. “I think he wishes to be alone.”

Dasher pursed his lips, his gaze going to the curtain. He pulled his arm out of Blitz’s hold.

“I think he’s been alone long enough.” Dasher gave them a curt nod before heading off after the king. Cupid didn’t know what to do.

“Leave him.” Blitz shook his head. “He’s made up his mind. Kringle help him. Let’s go find Jack.”

Blitz was right. Dasher had made up his mind, and there was no deterring him. He prayed Dasher would be all right. Every time he saw the king, he seemed to grow bolder. Cupid hoped that boldness didn’t get him in over his head, as if he weren’t already.

Cupid held on to the tiny seed, and with Blitz, they ran through the palace looking for Jack. The place was huge. They were forced to ask several servants where they might find the Prince of Frost. In the end they found him in the garden. He sat on a stone bench, among the red roses.