Chapter 16
Captain Gavonn Viox
We made love all night in front of the roaring fire. It felt good to be in a safe space for now. This would give us time to figure out what to do next. But I was in no hurry to move Noelle. I did not want all of this taking a toll on her health. I was used to battle and moving around at a second’s notice from one planet to another, but she was not. Humans were fragile, and I had to make sure I paid attention to that. This would give us good time to rest and to just to be together. It was what I had wanted for so long: just to be with her at my side.
The next morning it was a bright new day.
“Tell me more about this Christmas again,” I said as we ate a modest breakfast of hot oatmeal and hot tea.
Her face lit up when I asked her the question.
“It is my favorite holiday of all the holidays. You saw the decorations in the city. You saw the Christmas tree that I had inside my apartment, though I had not got around to decorating it just yet and it was made of plastic,” she said.
“Like the Rockefeller tree?” I asked.
“Yes, exactly like that only much smaller so that it fits inside your home and then you decorate it with lights and ribbons and ornaments or whatever. Then you put presents that are wrapped under the tree. On Christmas Eve, you have a nice roast dinner, a feast. Then on Christmas morning, you open the presents under the tree, the very first thing you do. You don't eat breakfast you don't do anything other than go straight to the presents. It is a Christmas tradition,” she said. Then her smile faded. “It was the one that I was hoping to celebrate with you at some point.”
“And when is this Christmas?” I asked.
“It is less than a week away,” she said.
“Well then. There is time. There are plenty of trees outside that look exactly like the one in your apartment. I can cut one down for us. I will bring it in here and together we can put the stuff on it,” I said proudly.
Her face lit up. “Yes. I guess we can do that. I forget that we are in the middle of a pine forest. That is exactly what a real Christmas tree is,” she said.
“That does it. Get dressed. We are going for a walk, and we are going to find a tree of your liking,” I said.
“Really?” she squealed.
“Absolutely. I'm going to put my boots on now,” I said delighted that there was a big smile on her face and that I was the one that was able to put it there. It was astonishing that something as simple as a tree with making her heart warm. I'd take it.
“I will get ready!” she said, and she ran to the bedroom. I could hear her from going through her bag, and she put on layers of clothes. Minutes later, she reappeared in boots, and a scarf and hat to complete her outfit. She grabbed her coat and threw it on.
“You look warm,” I said.
She looked at me and frowned.
“You do not have a coat or hat. You only have your synthetic material suit,” she said.
“You forget, my lovely Noelle. I am a dragon. I breathe fire. I am always warm and heated on the inside. I can never get too cold. All I have to do is call forth the fire in my belly,” I said.
“Yes, that is true. In that case, let's go!” she said as she skipped to the door and went outside on the porch. I followed, laughing at her enthusiasm.
Minutes later we were crunching through the snow toward the tree line of the thick forest. She was enthusiastically holding onto my arm, and I loved having her so close to my body. She made me hot immediately. We entered the forest and searched around for a tree. I pointed one out.
“Noelle what about this one?” I asked.
“No, it does not have enough branches. What will we put the decorations on?” she said.
“I am new to this. You will have to teach me how to pick out the perfect Christmas tree,” I laughed.
“Come, look at this one. It is perfect, but it is too tall. It will not fit in the cabin. If we find one that looks like this but smaller…” she said, looking at the tree she considered ideal.
“I understand. Let us go this way. There is sunlight breaking through the forest here, and there will be new growth trees for I think that is what you were looking for,” I said grabbing her hand. She bounced at my side excitedly. I wanted to take her right then and there in the snow. Perhaps later.
“There! That's it!” she shouted as she let go of my hand and ran into the sunny clearing. There was a tree about two feet taller than I was, with many branches and many green pine needles. She danced around it.
“Are you sure that's the one?” I asked.
“Yes, absolutely!”
“All right. Stand back so I can wield this ax,” I said. She cleared the area moving far away from me. Then I took the ax and began to chop down at the base of the tree. It only took me three swings to cut it down. The tree fell over onto its side. I looked at Noelle, and she jumped up and down, clapping her gloved hands.
“There, we have done it. We cut down our own Christmas tree.” I picked it up. It was very light. I shook the snow off of it and threw it over my shoulder. She looked at me with awe.
“I cannot believe you can lift such a heavy thing so easily,” she said.
“Can you not? You have seen how strong I am. This tree is nothing. Now come, let us get it inside the cabin,” I said as I put the ax over my other shoulder and began to walk back to the cabin. She walked at my side excitedly telling me everything about Christmas. I could listen to her all day.
As we walked back, I noticed that she was gathering things from the forest. A long vine of red berries. Mistletoe hanging from a branch easily snapped off into her hands. She gathered long vines hanging them over her arm. She looked at me and smiled. I didn't question her. I know she knew what she was doing.
We returned to the cabin, and she laid her goods on the table.
“Where should I put this masterpiece?” I asked.
“Over here in the window. You always put your tree in the window,” she said. “Let me grab a bucket with water. We will need to set it up in there somehow,” she said.
“I am sure I can figure something out,” I said as I leaned the tree against the wall and followed her to the kitchen. Together we set up the tree and secured it in the water bucket.
“I think that I need to go to the market while it is still light. I passed a very small one on the way here, a country store. They should have fresh fruit and food,” she said.
“That is a good idea. While you are gone, I am going to hunt. I'm sure I can rustle up a few game hens for us,” I said.
“I am sure you can, dragon,” she said.
A few minutes later, we each went about our own responsibilities. She went into the small village to the market, and I made my way out into the snow.
“One hour,” I said to her, kissing her as we stood on the porch.
“One hour?” she asked.
“That is the amount of time you have before I start to get nervous and I am forced to go look for you. I never want to lose you again, Noelle, and can only be away from you for an hour,” I said.
She smiled at me. “I feel the same way. When I return, I hope that you will be back from your forest plundering. I don't want to have to worry that you have been impaled by a deer or a wild boar,” she said.
"Me? Creatures of Earth are no match for me,” I said in a boastful tone. She laughed.
She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then walked to the car. I walked toward the forest. I didn't want to turn into a dragon form until I was deep within the trees.
I watched as her vehicle pulled out onto the lane and then down the isolated dirt road. It was hard for me to watch her go out of sight. I really did worry when being separated from her. I did not know if we were somehow followed out here, or could be ambushed at any moment. But I did not want us to live as prisoners either. She needed to go to the market to get food for our comfort, and I did not want to limit her. I wanted to make this the best Christmas that she had ever had.
“Now what was this about presents? Gifts?” I said to myself. My walk into the forest would do double duty. I could get a game hen in less than five minutes or a good rabbit. But what would take some time was making the jewelry that I planned to make for her as gifts. That would require hunting for the perfect stones. I had already seen the spoons inside of the cabin that would melt easily in my fire in order to make a necklace. But I needed the pendant. I knew that this area of the Earth had white moonstones. I shifted into dragon form and flew into the air. I stayed low flying between large tree trunks until I came across a running creek. It was here that I could gather polished stones. And to my astonishment there was plenty of fish; this would make for a perfect meal for tonight, easier than having to find and scare out game from the brushes.
I caught three large fish and put them on a large rock on the bank. Then I waded through the water. I searched and searched and finally found the perfect round white stone. It was perfect. Now I just had to get back to the cabin and work on my gifts before she got home. I grabbed my goods and flew back to the tree line of the forest. Then I shifted out of dragon form and walked across the snowfield.
Once I had the fish in the cold storage box she called a refrigerator, I took one spoon and took it outside behind the cabin. I looked around and laid it inside a can. There was no one in sight, so I drew my breath and allowed the fire from within to shoot out of me into the can until I had melted silver. Then I could play with this liquid and mold it into the necklace for my lovely Noelle.