A Grim Fairy Tale

Chapter Fifty-Two

Charlotte and Alastor started cooking dinner as soon as they returned to the cottage. Charlotte had learned to cook but only in the way to survive. She didn't really know much about cokking for pleasure. Such as adding seasonings, spices, and special flavors, a subject that Alastor on the other hand was gifted in, and he was very happy to share his gifts with Charlotte.

"I always like to cook and baste mushrooms before I add them to a stew." Alastor said plucking the feathers off the now dead pheasant. "It gives an extra shot of flavor."

"I've never really basted anything before." Charlotte replied, cutting up the mushrooms.

"I'll show you how. I'll also show you how to make the perfect broth for stew and the perfect seasoning for meat."

Charlotte smiled at him softly and looking so touched.

"Alastor can I ask you something?"

"Of course my dear."

"Why are you doing all this for me?"

"Well my dear I always believe that it's important that every cook known how to give their meals excellent taste. It should be-"

"No, what I mean is, everything you've done for me so far. Coming to check up on me when I went back to the castle, saving me from that assassin, convincing your folks to let me stay here, and now you want to help me improve my cooking. Not to mention this."

She placed her hand inside her dress pocket and pulled out the heart-shaped diamond he had given her for her birthday.

"Now how did you manage to bring that along?" Alastor asked her.

"After what happened at the ball, I didn't want my stepmother to steal what's most precious from me. I know she could careless for my picture book and my doll but my mother's necklace and the diamond you gave me are worth something to her. So I decided that I would never take off my necklace and as long as I was in the castle, I'd keep the diamond stitched into my corset."

"Clever." He remarked. "And I can understand you wanting to hold on to that. A diamond that size is worth a lot."

"Oh it would be precious to me even if it were a lump of coal. It was a gift from you and that alone makes it more valuable to me than anything."

Alastor willed himself not to blush.

"I'm not ungrateful to you." Charlotte said. "I just don't understand why. Why are you doing all this for me?"

"Well I'm just doing what any good friend would do." He chuckled nervously. "And perhaps I'm trying to pay you back."

"Pay me back? For what?"

"Your friendship. I mean, let's face it Charlotte, apart from the alps, you're pretty much the only friend I have in the whole world. Growing up, none of the other children liked me. Granted neither did any of the adults. Everywhere I went people just laughed or screamed at me. Some even threw stones. But you always went out of your way to be kind and good to me. That's all I ever really wanted when I was a child. A friend."

Charlotte's touched smile spread.

"You don't have to repay me for anything. I wanted to be your friend. You were always so funny and polite and smart and very sweet. And cute."

"Cute?!" He had to scratch his ears to make sure he wasn't hearing things. "You think I'm cute?"

"Absolutely adorable."

"With all due respect Charlotte, are you blind? I'm a human with antlers, fangs, and a fur coat. I'm a freak of nature."

"Well you may think that but when we first met, and you tried to hide from me underneath the blankets, I thought it was the cutest thing in the whole world."