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."
Now Alastor was blushing hard.
"Uh-oh, did I embarrass you?" She giggled.
"No."
"Then why are your cheeks so red?"
"It's heat from the oven."
"But we haven't even turned the oven on yet."
"Oh...Right." Alastor quickly changed the subject. "You know the alps are just miners you know. They're also performers."
"They are?"
"Yes! In fact once a week they go into the village square to sing and dance for money. I'll ask if they can take you with them next time."
"Won't you be coming along?"
"No. I never come. You know how other people feel about me."
"You know you can't hide from people forever." She said. "It'll just keep you from being a part of life, and from things that make you happy. I know how much you love music and performing, I remember watching you dance and do little tricks for us when we were kids. It has to just kill you to stay home while they go out and perform."
It really did kill him. Like Charlotte, music was in his heart and soul. It was a passion that he was eager to express every chance he got, and it only grew stronger when Moxxie started giving him lessons over the years. He taught him how to play nearly every instrument, how to read music, but most importantly, he taught him how to use song to convey his emotions.
"If there's one thing in this world just as precious and immortal as love, it's music." Moxxie had told him. "Music is a universal language, something that everyone can speak and understand from the moment they're born. And music doesn't fade like looks do. Hair may turn grey and fall out, skin may wrinkle, and bones may creak, but the ability to create song never goes away no matter how old you get."
So Alastor became a devout music student to Moxxie. Determined to learn to be as gifted as song as he was in order to make up for his poor appearance, and the older he grew, the more talented he became. Lord, he was just itching for a chance to show the world what he could do. Butthe world even give him a chance to do it? What if they started booing and throwing things at him the minute they saw him?
"I've got an idea." Charlotte said. "When you go out, why don't you just wear a disguise? Like a cloak or something? You'll blend in right in. I'm sure."
"Sounds a bit too risky." Alastor said.
"I don't think so. Besides, if I do go I won't enjoy myself as much without you there. Won't you at least think about coming?"
"Alright. I'll think about it."
"Wonderful."
She turned to continue chopping the mushrooms. Alastor tried to finish cleaning the meat but he found himself constantly getting distracted by the fair maiden who hummed a sweet little tune as she worked.
"Just look at her, she's so beautiful." He thought bitter-sweetly. "A girl like her would never fall for someone who looks like me."
He didn't know it, but just as he was watching Charlotte, someone was watching him. It was the alps. They had just come home from work when they caught sight of the open window which allowed them to observe the odd-looking gentleman gazing upon his friend, unable to take his eyes off of her.
"Well would you look at that." Moxxie smiled to himself.
Moxxie would know that lingering gaze anywhere, he'd know it because he himself had looked upon his wife with the exact same gaze. However the circumstances were different at the time. At the time he was an insecure youngster, thinking himself a fool for harboring such feelings for a lady as wonderful as Millie, yet unable to fight the longing for her that he held within his heart.
"Looks like our boy has finally become a man." Moxxie whispering to Millie.
"Soon he'll be getting married and leaving the house." Millie fawned.
"Well he might be leaving the house soon, but if he's looking at her the way I think he is, it'll be a long time before he gets married."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well do you remember what I was like when I first fell for you?"
"Yes, you couldn't even talk to me without choking on your own tongue." She giggled.
"Right, I was a little shy."
"A little? It took you a month to stop spying on me and just talk to me."
"That's weak!" Blitzo mocked.
"Alright so I was a lot shy." Moxxie confessed. "But I couldn't help it, you were so pretty and athletic, and I was so wimpy and nerdy. I didn't think you'd look at me twice."
"And you think Alastor is that shy and insecure?" Millie asked.
"Well he did a whole lot better at talking to girls than I did."
"Yes and something tells me it won't take him as long as it took you to finally confess. I mean how old were we? A hundred-five?"
"To be fair that's literally fifteen in alp years."
"Still, I know our boy, and he can't keep his true feelings bottled up for too long. And when the right time comes, he'll say just the right words."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you said just the right words to me, and if he really is anything like you in regards to romance, he'll be perfect at love confessions."
"Yeah and then she'll laugh in his face and break his heart." Blitzo said.
"Blitzo that's a terrible thing to say." Millie said.
"Sorry but I'm just trying to be realistic here. She's a beautiful princess with money and kingdom. He's a strange-looking individual who lives in the woods. What does he have to offer her?"
"He has plenty." Moxxie said. "He has intelligence, charm, talent, integrity. Most of the time."
"Well as someone who's worked around royals, none of that makes you marriage material. Hate to sound cold, but in the end she's probably going to end up marrying a prince and forgetting all about him. If you two encourage this, he'll just get his heart broken."
"Since when do you care if he gets his heart broken or not?"
"I...I...I don't. I'm just telling you all this for your sake."
"You care about him, don't you?" Millie accused.
"Oh I most certainly do not." Blitzo denied.
"Yes you do."
"No! I don't! The kid could cry himself a river of tears and drown in it for all I care! I just don't want you two to be so depressed by his misery that you stop working for me! Now enough of this! Let's get inside already, I'm starving."
He then stomped off inside. Moxxie and Millie just watched him, shaking their heads and grinning.
"He cares." Millie said.
"Oh big time." Moxxie agreed.