Magic on Changeling Mountain

They all sat down and after Ben said grace. They all enjoyed the meal, getting caught up and then discussed what would need to be done to get ready for the coming months.

“Please be aware that apparating is very draining on Tammy. We need to plan on one trip for her, first to pick up Jacques and bring him here and then for her to bring you two home to the mountain. Bring only what you will need to have while you are gone and remember it won’t be as cold down there then as it is up here now.” Carolyn told them.

“Ok, with that said, I think I’m going to see about what we will need to take with us and then to bed. Come on Carolyn and I’ll show you where you will be sleeping.” Sarah said.

As Carolyn followed Sarah down the hall she heard Ben ask what apparating was and smiled as she heard Colin begin to explain. The room that Sarah led her to was obviously not used much but it was clean. The only bed was little more than a twin bed mattress on a platform with drawers built into the bottom of it.

“It’s not much but the bed is fairly comfortable. I started a fire in the stove over there that should keep you warm.” Sarah told her, pointing to the small pot bellied stove in the corner of the room near the foot of the bed. “Just be careful not to kick the blankets to the floor or they might catch fire.”

“Don’t worry about me. If I get too cold, I’ll just change into my cat form.” Carolyn smiled at her.

“We actually spend a lot of time in our wolf forms and I know what you mean about being cooped up for too long. Being stuck in this cabin for days on end can sometimes be rough but at least we have the freedom to be in our wolf forms more than we could be anywhere else. Ben and I are out as much as we can be but when the wind is blowing like this you have to be careful. Your eyes can freeze open and you will go blind and if the wind gets in your ears too much, it will freeze your inner ear and make you go deaf.”

“How long do spring and summer last up here?” Carolyn asked, curiously.

“Well, spring is usually here for about 3 months. It never gets hot up here, at least not what I’m sure you are used to, so I don’t think of it as summer really. But we get maybe 4, sometimes 5 months without snow. I don’t mind the snow so much. It’s this wind that has everything shut down right now. We don’t usually get this much wind.”

“Well, when you come back to the mountain the snow will be gone so make sure you bring your summer clothes!” Carolyn teased and they laughed together.

“Not showing you my naked baby pictures is she?” Colin said as he leaned up against the door frame.

“Now, Colin, you know those pictures are all back at the mountain house. But I will show them to you when we get there if he doesn’t mind his manners.” Sarah teased her son.

“Yes, ma’am. Carolyn, care to go for a short run before we turn in?” Colin smiled at her.

“Sure. I’ll be right there. Just let me use the bathroom.” Carolyn said.

“Don’t stay out too long son but have fun. I’m so glad you two have finally decided to get married. I was beginning to think that you were never going to make me a grandmother!” Sarah said as she went up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek and then moved on down the hall. “Come help me get the beddings for you and Jacques.”

Colin followed his mother down the hall and helped her carry the large stack of heavy blankets back to the living room. They spread them down on the floor in front of the large fireplace.

When Carolyn came into the living room, Colin’s father and Jacques were setting up the chess board while Colin’s mother was in the kitchen. Colin was putting another log on the fire and poking at the embers to get the fire going again.

“Ready?” Colin asked.

“Definitely.” Carolyn replied.

This trip outdoors was much more sedate and “grownup” because instead of running and playing like children, they walked along in quiet companionship. The wind had calmed down considerably and the stars in the night sky twinkled brightly. Somewhere in the distance, they heard an owl hoot, followed by a high pitched barking of what sounded like a dog.

“Do they have neighbors with dogs?” Carolyn asked.

“Not close enough for us to be able to hear them. That’s probably a fox.” Colin replied. “How strange that it would be out of its lair this late.”

“Maybe something is wrong? Do you think we should go look?” Carolyn asked. Her natural protective instinct kicked in.

“No. That sounded kind of too far off for us to be wandering around without knowing where we are going. This is not the mountain where we know every nook and cranny and not all of the animals are friendly up here.”

“You’re right. Survival of the fittest and all that. I don’t think I could live up here. I mean I love the undeveloped feel of it but if I had my way, all of the animals would have to become vegetarians. To think of killing and eating another animal is just too disgusting to think about.” Carolyn said, looking a little green.

“Sometimes it surprises me that you have any animal at all in you. Most cats eat meat but yet, the only meat you ever eat is from the supermarket or in a restaurant. Even then, you usually order fish or chicken.”

“Well, everyone knows that fish is a cat’s number one choice, followed closely by chicken. Having a mother whose animal is a deer and growing up on vegetables, nuts and roots. Even my father, the bear, prefers fish. It’s a natural diet and look at my mother. She could easily pass for my sister with her looks. I know you will require beef and even pork, occasionally and I promise to learn how to cook it but I do hope you will be happy with a more natural diet too?” Carolyn asked. This was a subject that she had been avoiding but it had been nagging at her and she prayed that it would not be a deal breaker.

“Hon, I’ve had enough meals at your mother’s table to not only know but have enjoyed every mouthful. I’m sure what we have for meals together will be just fine. If I get too strong of a craving for a rare steak, I’ll go to the diner in town on my lunch break.” He said as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Are you starting to get cold feet on me?”

“No, not at all. Just hoping that knowing ahead of time what your likes and dislikes are will make it easier in the future. I know there are things we will find in living with each other that will be objectionable or irritating but I want us to promise that we will say something about it and not let it fester.

Also, my mom told me that the most solemn promise we need to make to each other is to never go to bed angry with each other. You never know what can happen, especially in a job like yours, to let angry words be the last you ever say to someone you love.”

“So very true and that’s one promise I will gladly make and I totally agree.” Colin said before he drew her into his arms and kissed her until her knees grew weak.

He put his head on her forehead and said “I also pray that the next two months go by fast!”

“Hahahahaha! Me too! Come on. We’d better get back or your mother will begin to worry.” Carolyn laughed at him.

They transformed and jogged back to the cabin. The chess game was just wrapping up and Sarah had already gone to bed. Colin followed Carolyn down the hall and she went to get ready for bed while he used the restroom. He knocked quietly on her door when he was done.

“Bathroom free?” She asked when she opened the door.

“Yeah. Nice jammies!” He teased when he saw she was wearing her flannels with feet.

“I’m hoping they are going to help keep my feet warm.” She whispered back.

“Wish I could help you keep them warm but my folks would have fits.” Colin whispered and put his arms around her, drawing her close, then lowering his head for a kiss that lasted until they heard someone clear their throat.

“Just saying goodnight, Dad.” Colin said as he put his forehead on Carolyn’s. He could feel the heat of her blush.

“Good night. Love you!” Carolyn whispered and then moved past Colin to go to the bathroom. Colin’s kisses had made her knees weak and she was amazed that she managed to make it there under her own power as she quickly closed the door and leaned against the sink for support.

“Don’t worry son, the next two months will go by faster than you think.” Ben told his son.

“I sure hope so.” Colin said. His father laughed as he watched him trying not to be obvious about adjusting the crotch of his pants as he moved on down the hall to the living room where Jacques was climbing into his makeshift bed.

He told Colin “I’ve found it’s easier to sleep on these things in my animal form. You’ll stay warmer too.” He said before he shifted.

Colin shifted too and settled on his pallet, pulling the blanket over him with his mouth. He wished he was going to bed with Carolyn instead of Jacques.

The next morning, Carolyn woke up when she heard Sarah moving around in the kitchen. The fire in her room had gone out about 2 am and she had gotten cold so she had transformed into her cat and with the blankets on the bed, she had been fairly comfortable. She transformed back into her human form, grabbed her housecoat and crept out of her room over to the bathroom and quickly took care of business, including brushing her teeth and hair. She would get a shower when she got home as she could bet that getting hot water here would be a chore for someone and she didn’t want to impose on anyone any more than she already had. Leaving the bathroom she followed her nose down the hall to find Jacques and Colin just waking up. Both men had slept in their wolf forms but they quickly transformed and then took turns in the bathroom.

Colin stole a quick kiss when he came back from the bathroom and accepted a cup of coffee from Carolyn. “Good morning.”

Everyone replied “Good morning.” Causing him to look around with a sheepish grin.

“You know I never thought to ask about how you are going to contact your friend to come and get you?” Sarah asked as she began setting bacon, eggs and biscuits down on the table.

“I just have to rub this pendant and call her name and she will appear wherever I am.” Carolyn explained.

“Wow! Now that is too cool.” Ben exclaimed.

“Well, eat up before it gets cold and then you can call her to come and get you. Ben, I want to go shopping for a new outfit for my son’s wedding, so if no one has any objections, I’m going to go back with them now. I’ll get the old house cleaned and set up for us to stay there while you take care of things here. OK?” Sarah looked at her husband who nodded with a forlorn look on his face. He was not looking forward to being without her for such a long time. Come to think of it, this would be the longest they had ever spent apart.

“I don’t think it will be a problem. We are not carrying a lot of weight with us going back so it shouldn’t be too taxing for Tammy to carry us all there.” Carolyn said.

“I wish I could say that I would just stay here and take care of things but I didn’t bring enough clothes with me to last more than a day or two and I have my animals back there that will need to be attended to. I’ve got a friend in town that will take care of them while I’m gone but I have to let him know.” Jacques said in answer to the unasked questions.

They ate breakfast and then went to get ready to go. Sarah packed a bag that she hoped would not be too heavy, since she wasn’t going to take much with her going there.

Carolyn came to her room and knocked on the door. “Mrs. Noble, do you need help?”

“No, dear. Come on in. I’m not taking much with me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go shopping in a store other than necessities at the outpost so I’m looking forward to a shopping trip while I’m there. May be several.” She smiled at Carolyn.

“I bet.” Carolyn smiled back at her. She had never been a shopaholic or a clothes horse but she did like having new things occasionally. She couldn’t imagine living such an isolated life such as Colin’s parents had been living. She wondered if they would come back once they were back home with their family and friends around them again.

They gathered up her things and carried them into the living room. Sarah hugged and kissed her husband and then turned to Carolyn. “Ok. I’m ready.”

Carolyn rubbed the pendant and said “Tammy” and a few seconds later, Tammy appeared. Ben and Sarah were wide eyed with amazement but greeted her warmly.

“Tammy, these are my parents, Ben and Sarah. Mom. Dad, this is Carolyn’s best friend, Tammy Mason. Tammy, my mom wants to go with us back to the mountain. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Very nice to meet you. No, not at all. I’m actually getting pretty good at this apparating thing.” Tammy said with a smile. “Mr. Vaughn, I assume you will be going home first?”

“Yes, please. I need to attend to my animals and to gather some things together so that Ben can join his family for the wedding.” Jacques said as he picked up his pack and stepped up to stand next to her.

“Take a deep breath and don’t let go of my hand no matter what happens.” Tammy instructed Jacques.

Jacques took her hand, squeezed his eyes shut then took a deep breath and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. Sarah and Ben both gasped and Carolyn couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “I know. It takes some getting used to.”

Tammy was back within a minute or two, which caused Sarah and Ben to jump when she reappeared next to Carolyn. Sarah was nervous as she hugged her husband one more time before she took Colin’s hand.

“Take a deep breath and I’ve found it helps to keep your eyes closed.” Carolyn told her and watched as they followed her lead. Tammy smiled at Ben. “Don’t worry. I’ll get them there safe and sound. Oh, before I forget, here, Ben, this is for you. If you need me to come back early, just rub this coin and say my name and I will come to you, no matter where you are. Please be sure that you are alone when you call and be careful you don’t accidentally spend it.”

“An ordinary US penny?” Ben asked.

“See you again soon.” Tammy said, as she took Colin and Carolyn’s hands. “Hang on gang. Here we go.” Tammy repeated the apparition spell and suddenly Ben was alone in his cabin. He looked at the penny in his hand and couldn’t believe what had just happened. He looked around the cabin for a safe place to put it. He finally decided to put it in a small pouch and pinned it to his long johns. That way he would have it with him at all times and it would be safe. With his wife gone, there wasn’t much for him to do in the cabin so he headed on down to the outpost. The next few weeks were going to be lonely, for sure.

Tammy, Carolyn, Colin and his mother landed in the living room of the cottage a few seconds later and both Colin and his mother needed to sit down right away. “Deep breaths help.” Carolyn said as she watched them gasp for air.

“Wow. I can’t say I want to travel like that all the time but it was definitely an experience.” Colin said.

“So how have things been here?” Carolyn asked Tammy.

“My mom and dad went back to Washington this morning.” Tammy dropped her bomb on them.

“No hard feelings, I hope?” Carolyn asked.

“No. My mom got up this morning and said they knew they were in the way here and would be back for your wedding but that they needed to get home and take care of a few things.” Tammy said.

“I wonder what they meant by that?” Carolyn said more to herself than to anyone in particular.

“Did Stuart come get my patrol vehicle?” Colin asked as he looked out of the window.

“Yes but he said to just give him a call on his cell and he would bring it back.” Tammy said. “Oh and Carolyn, your mom told me to tell you to call her when you got back.”

“Ok.” Carolyn said and picked up her house phone and dialed her parents’ number.

“Hi mom! We’re back.” Carolyn said when her mother answered the phone.

“Who came back with you?” Angela asked.

“Colin and his mom. His dad will come later.” Carolyn said.

“Well, bring them up to the house for lunch. It will be so good to see Sarah again.” Angela said.

“Hang on a second, mom.” Carolyn said and turned to ask Sarah and Colin if they would like to go up to her parents’ house for lunch. “She said she would like to see you, Mrs. Noble.”

“Let me talk to her for a second.” Sarah said and Carolyn handed her the phone.

“Hi Angela. It’s Sarah Noble. Thanks for the invitation but can I take a rain check? I’m going to be here until we get these two married and I’d like to get home and get our old place cleaned up.” She said.

“Sure, I don’t mind but I’m betting your place is pretty food bare. I was going to send you home with some canned goods to hold you over until you can get your kitchen going again. I’ll go over and help you afterwards. Ok?” Angela told her old friend.

“In that case, great. I’d like to come for lunch then. We’ll see you soon.” Sarah said and then hung up the phone.

Colin called Stuart to bring his jeep back and Carolyn asked, “Can you hang on while I take a shower? I’d like to put on some clean, unwrinkled clothes too.”

“Hot showers without having to light a fire under the tub is going to be a very welcome change.” Sarah said.

“Well, you are welcome to take one when I’m done.” Carolyn offered.

They took turns in the shower and Stuart brought back Colin’s vehicle. Carolyn called her mother’s house to ask if Tammy and Stuart could join them for lunch and was assured that they would be welcome to come.

Stuart called the station to tell them he was going on lunch break and was assured that everything in town was quiet, so they all loaded into Colin and Carolyn’s vehicles and went up to the Masters for lunch.

Daniel Masters was walking across his yard when they arrived. “Well, I’ll be damned. Sarah Noble. How are you? Where’s Ben?”

“Hi Daniel. I’m good. Ben is still up in Canada. It’s a long story but he’ll be down before the wedding. I came ahead to get our place here cleaned up and ready for us to stay for a while.”

“Well, come on in. Angela should have lunch ready soon.” Daniel said. They all followed him inside and Angela came out of the kitchen.

“Sarah, it’s so good to see you again. Come on in everyone. Lunch is ready. Wash up and come eat before it gets cold.”

They had a nice lunch and everyone enjoyed Sarah’s company. She had lots of funny stories to tell of her and Ben’s adventures in Canada. “Some of the humans suspect what we are but there’s only a few that know the truth and they only know because we’ve had to go to them for medical assistance. There is no changeling doctor up there.

Most of us can handle minor injuries and things like birthing babies but when it comes to more major things, we have had to go to them for help. Ben nearly died a year ago when his appendix almost burst. If Jacques had not brought the human doctor to perform emergency surgery, Ben wouldn’t be alive right now.” Sarah related.

“Now, Colin, don’t go saying anything to your dad about it. He hates that he had to be the one to expose us, but in the end, Dr. Winsor has become a good friend. He has kept our secret so far.”

“I’m just glad dad is ok. We have been so worried about you when we didn’t hear from you for such a long time.”

“It will be good to have you folks back on the mountain. When is Ben planning on coming back?” Daniel asked.

“As soon as Jacques can make arrangements to take over at the Outpost. The Outpost is the only store and communication point for most of the area for about a 20 mile radius. I know that doesn’t sound like a large area but when it spends 6 to 7 months out of the year covered in snow, it becomes much bigger. Traveling even a mile can seem like 50 when the wind is blowing.” Sarah told them.

“She’s right. Colin and I went for a run last night and I doubt if we went even a hundred yards but it seemed like we had run from my cottage to here. I for one will never again complain about how cold it is here in the winter time.”

“From what you are saying, frankly, it sounds awful. Why in the world would you want to live there?” Angela asked.

“Because we can run free and be ourselves most of the time instead of just some of the time. During the winter, very few humans live where we do. It’s only during the summer months that we have to be more careful.” Sarah said. “But it’s going to be nice to be back on the mountain here again. I will say, I have missed all of you. It does get lonely up there sometimes.”

“Well, we couldn’t have our wedding without you here, mom.” Colin said.

“That’s my cue to go back out to the barn. You ladies enjoy your wedding planning. I’m going to get back to work.” Daniel said.

“I hate to say it but I have to get back to work as well.” Stuart said. “Walk out with me?” He said as he pulled Tammy out of her chair.

“You might be able to escape now but soon we will be planning our wedding and for that you will be required to stay.” Tammy laughed at him but followed him outside.

Colin called out to Stuart “Leave my jeep at the station, please. I’ll come get it in a little while.” He said. Then resigned himself to sitting and listening to the women talk about wedding plans.

Carolyn smiled at him and said, “You don’t have to stay, if you really don’t want to.”

“I’m not really into deciding about flowers and stuff but I would like to know what day we are going to do it.” Colin said.