Axel's Promise

XVIII

"Well, you do have a point," Leo replied before landing the dragon in the center of the village; nobody seemed to care about a dragon in the midst of the village, which was odd. Axel and Fable would dismount and look around. The scene was something out of a Christmas card. Children ran around in the snow and threw snowballs at one another. Vendors were all around, selling bread, vegetables, and wine. The scent of freshly baked cookies, cakes, and peppermint candies. Axel caught a whiff of the peppermint-scented air.

"Something smells really good," Axel remarked. "I wonder what it could be."

"Maybe we should stop in and take a look," Fable replied. Fable pointed to where the scent wafted from. "It's coming from that little house over there."

"Which one?" Axel asked

"The one with the dark brown shingles," Fable replied. "C'mon, let's go in." 

"You two have fun. I'll find a spot for your wolves," Leo said before he led his dragon and the two wolves to a giant corral just around the corner from where they landed. It's where Leo's dragon stayed. 

Upon entering the house, Axel and Fable were immediately greeted by the warm smile of a White Dove, whose hair was down to her ankles and was bright, platinum blonde. The White Dove approached them with fast, light steps and leaned against a shelf full of handmade chocolates.

"Hello! Welcome to my little candy store! Do you guys need help with anything?"  She asked with a high-pitched, cheerful voice. 

"I think we're good," Fable replied before proceeding to head toward a display of peanut butter candies. 

"Alright! Well, if you need anything, just give me a call!" The White Dove would prance back behind the counter and rest her arms on it, keeping an eye on the pair as they strolled through the store. Axel would look at the peanut butter candies with Fable. Axel's eyes caught a glimpse of a little red bag of peanut clusters. 

"Ooh. These look really good," Axel said, examining the bag of candy. "I'm going to try these."

"I think I might try a few of these," Fable replied before picking up a bag of peanut butter balls, which were lightly sprinkled with blue sugar. Fable started to head to the counter while Axel continued to look around. Axel noticed a barrel full of homemade treats for wolves. Axel would look through it until he found two chew, bacon-flavored chew bones that were as long as he was tall. Axel lifted them up over his shoulder and brought them to the counter to be ringed up. 

"I see you're buying some treats for the wolves," Fable remarked. "Good thinking. It's about time they get something special after all they've been through the past couple of days."

"You said it. I know Lobo likes anything bacon flavored," Axel replied as he held the bones toward the cashier for her to scan. Axel put the bones back over his shoulder once they were rung up. 

"You can run those out, and I'll pay," Fable offered. Axel nodded.

"Thanks. I'll be waiting outside for you." Axel went outside into the crisp winter air and stood by the wall. Axel took a moment to glance up at the towering mountain peaks that were heavily packed with snow. Axel's eyes then made contact with a vendor who was selling ice cream to the locals. Axel's eyes made one final stop on the ground, which had a thick coating of black ice on it. Fable came outside with the goodies.

"Shall we look for Leo?" Fable suggested. 

"Yes. We need to ask him where we can stay," Axel replied. "We need a decently sized yard and home for us and the wolves."

"Well, Leo went this way, so let us commence forth," Fable said before taking an elegant step forward. Axel followed behind her with much less elegance since he was hauling two giant bones on his shoulder. Fable turned a corner and saw Leo tending to the wolves. Fable waved to grab his attention. Leo turned his head.