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"Explain to me again why we are here?" Rigel asked as he peered up at the giant tree before us. He had repeated this question several times on the drive over, and despite my continued explanations, I could see he was struggling to understand how this particular outing would be, as I had claimed, "fun."
"It's apple picking, Rigel," I said, not even trying to hide my grin. Sometimes Rigel's fae nature was positively adorable. Now was one of those times.
His frown shifted in my direction as I swung our basket in front of me, nearly clipping him. "Do you usually obtain joy from picking your own produce, Leila?”
I snort laughed in response, and he looked on, dubiously, as we approached the first tree. This was a fae-assisted orchard so unlike most pick-your-own orchards, the trees here were larger and more wild. Each stood a full forty feet high, with thick trunks and enormous leaves. I’d always wanted to pick apples from a huge tree in a huge orchard, and when Indigo pointed out such a place existed within a reasonable drive of Magiford, I'd insisted on a visit.
Thus, here we stood, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on a clear Saturday morning. Or, at least, one of us was. Rigel still looked as sour as a granny smith about the whole thing, but I suspected the outing would grow on him, and by grow on him I meant "humor me."
“I’m sure the gardeners would indulge your request for a smaller, private orchard, not least of all because you are their queen and can simply order them to do so," Rigel reminded me, not for the first time. "Or perhaps we can return to the weekend farmer’s market you discovered. That had grocers with fresh apples. You liked that, didn't you?"
Staring up at the tree's sizeable leaves that were nearly as big as my head—fae magic was fantastic for plant growth—I grinned. "The farmers market is fun, but this is even better, Rigel. Plus, at the end we'll have a whole bushel of apples for the night mares at a fraction of the cost. Won't that be fantastic?"
"That's because we are supplying the labor," Rigel pointed out as his brows furrowed a shade closer. I snickered as I took his hand.
"Oh, Rigel. It'll be fun, trust me. Now, come on. Help me with this ladder."
I was practically bouncing on my toes as Rigel dragged a nearby ladder to our selected tree. Walking the orchard rows was fun too, but this was the stuff of childhood dreams. Also, it had taken ages to talk Chase and Rigel into letting me climb the ladders, much less the orchard folks. We only got lucky because Indigo's Mom knew the owners, so between her vouch and being a fae queen, I'd wheedled our way onto the grounds. We still had to sign all kinds of liability paperwork in case we fell and broke our necks, but Dion handled all of that.
"You do realize I can shadow jump the branches to obtain whatever apple you want, yes? You don’t actually have to climb," Rigel reminded me as he rested the ladder against the thick trunk of the tree. Rigel had been easier to convince than Chase about the whole ladder thing, now that we were here, the height of the trees must have given him second thoughts about the whole thing. Well...that wouldn’t do.
"Where’s the fun in that?” I asked, shamelessly handing him the basket as I grabbed the first rung of the ladder. Rigel’s frown persisted but he accepted the basket from me, holding the ladder steady with his other hand as I began to climb. Once I was at the top, which just reached the lower branches, I peered around, looking for the best apples.
“The secret to good apple picking is to look for the apples that are firm and have good color behind them,” I told him, as I reached out for a decent sized one. Testing it gently with my fingers I palmed the apple and flipped it upward, easily lifting it free of its branch. Like a prized jewel, I extended it down to Rigel, who stood a few feet below me.
Rigel stared at the apple in my outstretched hand, clearly wondering how I’d talked him into being here.
“...Now would be the time when you put it in the basket, faebae,” I instructed, wiggling my hand with the apple. Rigel, still confused about the point of this outing, held up the basket for me instead. Shaking my head, I bent at the knee to drop it in as gently as possible, trying to let it roll along the side so it wouldn’t bruise.
“Weren't we instructed that all the marked trees are ripe?” Rigel asked, letting the basket drop as I returned to perusing the apples on offer. He stared at a ribbon tied around the tree, signaling that it was indeed ready for picking.
“Yes, but even then not all the apples on the tree will be ripe, Rigel,” I explained as I found two more decent sized ones. I tilted the first, noting several hints of green behind the red and pointed. “Like this one here. It’s still got a green tinge, kind of, so it’s not quite ready. But this one,” I said, tilting the other and easily plucking it free, “has undertones that are more pinkish and white. This one should be good.”
Rigel’s unamused look didn’t waver as I handed the second apple down to him. “If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try it,” I encouraged him.
Instead of sampling it, my dearly beloved faebae merely lifted the apple from my waiting hand and placed it in the basket. Shaking my head, I returned to the tree. “You’re not a very good apple hunter,” I teased him as I continued plucking more apples from the tree and handing them over.
Rigel, patient enough to hold the basket for my deliveries, frowned slightly. “This is as far from hunting as we could possibly get. You don’t even like hunting.”
Perhaps it was cruel, but his confusion only made him even more adorable, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Rigel ignored my laughter at his expense as I braced a hand against one of the nearby tree boughs to reach a more distant apple. I felt his hand lift to steady my leg, taking care to make sure I didn’t fall.
“I love you too, faebae,” I told him from my space above as I lifted up onto my tiptoes. Rigel let out a trademark puff of air beneath me, the closest I ever heard him get to sighing, as he watched over me. Grinning, I handed down two more apples.
His flat expression was too irresistible, and only inspired me to tease him more. Taking hold of one of the thicker branches, I pulled myself up and into the dense leaves of the tree. The ladder clattered against the trunk as it was freed from my weight and I disappeared into the canopy.
“Leila,” Rigel called to me from below. I laughed as I climbed higher, quickly ascending to the upper branches with better sunlight. Unable to resist, I selected a few more apples from the top of the tree, folding them in the bottom of my shirt for the time being.
In a moment Rigel materialized near me, crouched on one of the boughs adjacent to mine. He really did look exceptional, perfectly balanced on the thick branch in his dark boots, dark pants, and one of his leather jackets. I enjoyed the chance to admire him, but his frown let me know he didn’t approve of my sudden climbing ventures.
Unable to conceal my good mood, however, I grinned as I swung my legs over the branch. Sitting, I cheekily extended an apple to him as a peace offering. Bracing himself against the tree with one hand he leaned forward to accept it, though his disapproving eyes never left me.
Rolling my eyes at his concern, I shifted closer to the main trunk of the tree, leaning back against it and sitting on the widest part of the branches. Rigel relaxed then, so I let my legs dangle freely over the bough, swinging them back and forth as the sunlight dappled through the branches still above us.
“You’re very good at tree balancing, Rigel,” I complimented him, despite his look as he settled near me on his own branch. “Lots of practice, I presume? Do you regularly rescue kittens? Or baby birds, perhaps?” I teased him. I rubbed an apple against my shirt and took a solid bite, enjoying the crunch and the burst of sweet liquid on my tongue.
“Your continued disregard for your personal safety astounds me,” Rigel offered, watching me. “Or perhaps it doesn’t. How someone managed to train you to wear helmets for horseback riding, I’ll never know. It’s the only thing you take seriously.”
“Hey, concussions are dangerous,” I said wisely, though his expression remained unchanged. “And I’m careful. Enough.”
Rigel’s continued disapproving look told me he disagreed with me, so I shifted to examine my partially eaten apple. “Personally, I prefer to think of it not that I won’t fall, but as my great confidence that you will catch me.”
That rewarded me with another puff of exhaled air.
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, trying hard not to laugh at his expression. “Go on. Try your apple,” I encouraged instead, since I did actually want him to enjoy himself too. It was rare we managed to get a full day away from the mansion. Taking another bite of my own apple, I savored its sweetness, wiping away a stray bit of juice with the back of my wrist.
Rigel eyed the apple like a grenade, turning it over in his palm. “Is it standard to consume them before completing the purchase?” he inquired, flicking his eyes back over to me.
Ah, gifting. He doesn’t want to owe the orchard owner.
“We pay by basket size, not by weight, Rigel,” I reassured him. “We’ll leave space for two apples when we depart, so they’ll receive fair value for it. Don’t worry.”
Rigel looked a little tentative still, but my assurances must have been good enough because he finally took a bite. He chewed on it thoughtfully, staring at it like some odd, foreign object. You’d think he’d never eaten an apple, he was so contemplative.
Eventually, his silence was too much for me. “Good, isn’t it?” I asked, hoping to prompt some kind of response.
“It is,” Rigel agreed, and my joy spiked at the admission. “I’m not sure I understand your interest in selecting your own still, but it is good. You do know you can just tell the kitchens to procure fresh apples for you, right?”
“But these ones are picked with love, Rigel,” I replied, teasing him as he released another puff of air before taking another bite of the apple in his hand. It was fun watching Rigel slowly but surely get more expressive with me, and each almost-sigh still felt like an accomplishment. “The night mares will be able to taste that we carefully selected each and every one of these for their specific enjoyment. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it very much.”
“The night mares eat hay and grass and even old shoes, if they get their teeth on them,” Rigel observed flatly as he finished off his apple. I watched as he whispered a word, activating one of his many artifacts no doubt, and in seconds the apple in his palm was a neat mound of apple powder. Tilting his hand he let the finely diced bits scatter onto the grass below us.
“That’s a neat trick,” I muttered. Rigel waited while I finished my own before handing the second core over, which was also diced into bits. Part of me marveled at his abilities, while another part wanted to shiver with respect. Yet again I was thankful he’d never really had a particular interest in actually killing me. The variety of bladed spells he seemed to know was astonishing.
I pulled out some wet wipes from my back pocket—I knew myself well enough to know I would be snacking on apples today and had come prepared—and passed one over to him. Once we were sufficiently clean I paused, examining my perilous situation.
“Let me guess,” Rigel offered, and from his tone I knew he had judged me rightly. “You, being overly ambitious, picked your apples without thinking of a way to safely descend with them, didn’t you?”
“Your accurate understanding of me is just another reason why I love you, faebae,” I admitted as I considered if it was even possible to pocket any of the apples in my possession. They were too big for my jean pockets and despite Rigel’s recommendations, I hadn’t worn a jacket today. It was too warm out and I didn’t feel like carrying it.
Rigel extended his hand and I grinned sheepishly, handing several over. He slipped several into his pockets, but it was still impressive to watch him drop through the branches to deliver them to the basket. Part of me wondered if showing off was part of why he had offered, but those thoughts wholly left me when my foot slipped off a branch during my own descent. Heart thudding in my throat, I clung to the branch still beneath my arms to keep from falling. Not even a second later, Rigel’s arms were already around me, righting me as I regained my footing.
“Thank you, faebae,” I breathed, relieved, not even complaining as he lifted me. There’s nothing like the threat of a broken arm to get your heart pumping, and being escorted the rest of the way down in Rigel’s arms certainly didn't hurt either.
Once our feet were back on the ground I could tell that my foray into the branches had lost my hard won ladder privileges for the day. Normally I would protest further, since we had a whole orchard to get to, but in this case it played right into my “plan number two.”
After walking the orchard hand in hand for a while, which was itself very distracting given Rigel’s model good looks and the beauty of our background, I pronounced our next acceptable tree. I set down the basket as Rigel peered around, looking for another ladder. He raised another eyebrow as I shook my head firmly.
“I have a better idea,” I told him, full of mischievous glee. Experience served him well, and he eyed me warily.
“And that would be…?”
“I’m going to climb on your shoulders!” I announced cheerily. “Then I’ll be perfectly able to reach them.”
Rigel waited, staring at me. When almost a minute of silence passed between us, he finally broke it.
“You’re serious?” he asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. The only downside to this plan was I hadn’t brought a selfie stick for pictures. I’d have to pack that next time, and there would definitely be a next time. Maybe we could even make it a seasonal thing, if the orchard owner didn’t kick us out first.
Rigel waited again, as if expecting me to laugh and say I was joking. Then, he surprised me.
“All right.”
“All right?” I repeated, watching as he stepped closer, not an ounce of hesitation in him. “You agreed to that far more easily than I expected.”
“Your ideas are often unconventional but have merit. I will humor you.”
The sentiment was lovely, but I quickly realized I hadn’t really thought about how to physically do this. What did people do in Indigo’s animes? Crouch down to climb onto their shoulders? It’s not like we had anything nearby to stand on. To my chagrin, Rigel was nearly beside me now, a wicked gleam in his eye that made me suspicious.
Unfortunately, per usual, my brain broke when I caught the flash of a grin when he was finally within reaching distance. I’m only slightly ashamed to say that the initial warning signals were things like “wow” and “attractive,” since Rigel could outshine the sun when he really smiled, if he wanted to.
Even more unfortunately the “danger, danger, Will Robinson,” alarms didn’t sound off until he was already bending over, next to me. I felt his shoulder near my middle before I processed what he was doing. That didn’t stop my useless, surprised question erupting from my mouth.
“Wait! Rigel, what are you doing—!!!”
I squealed as he lifted me up into the air, then sort of tossed me and rotated me. Surprised at the quickness of it I flailed, though his grip on me never faltered.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t still terrifying to get tossed in the air like that. I tightly gripped his shoulder and extended hand as he laughed deeply, which because I am a sucker for him, admittedly melted most of my distress.
“You’re the one who wanted to do this, Leila,” Rigel reminded me as he held onto me, seated neatly on one of his shoulders. He walked over to one of the lower tree branches.
“Yes, but I really expected you to fight it a little more, not go all professional people tosser on me,” I admitted. “What do you do, throw sandbags in the air, Rigel?”
Rigel didn’t answer me, only chuckled again as we used the tree branch to steady me as I settled better into place. Once I was seated appropriately everything was fine. I certainly didn’t mind the view from his shoulders.
“Thank you for doing this,” I said quietly, brushing my fingers briefly through his hair. I had of course hoped he might humor me, but whether or not he would actually do it had been an open question.
“If it’s this or the ladder, this is the better way to ensure you don’t fall,” Rigel offered in explanation.
Ah. Practical. Of course.
“And…it seems you are invested in this. We may as well try it.”
That made my face go warm, and although he couldn’t see me from where he was easily, the urge to hide my almost-certain blush was strong.
“Though don’t blame me if there are photos of this in the newsletter,” he warned, and I laughed.
“You aren’t worried about damaging your scary assassin image?” I asked, looking through some of the apples in the tree near where we were standing.
“I earned that by killing people,” Rigel observed sensibly. “Something I am no longer doing, unless necessary. However, if someone is dense enough to challenge me because of this, let them try.”
“Killian will be so pleased at your sparring offer,” I teased him, pulling two of the apples free of the tree. “Hand me the basket?”
A small flash of gray magic flickered beneath us and I watched as the basket levitated up to me.
“Killian won’t say anything because the moment he does, Hazel will insist on apple picking too,” Rigel stated matter-of-factly. “In fact, the entirety of House Medeis and half of Drake Hall will demand to join them, and then he’ll have to suffer an entire day of it.”
“I hope you aren’t suffering that bad?” I asked, popping the apples into my conveniently levitating basket. Given the number of apples we were picking, it was quite handy to have it trailing alongside us.
“It’s…different,” Rigel said, and for a moment my heart sank. I was hoping to give us a day of levity, a break in which we could get closer. I didn’t want him to be miserable trailing after me.
“...but not bad,” he added quietly, and another rush of warmth suffused me. I was pretty sure Rigel wasn’t quite as comfortable as he projected, but I was touched he was willing to try for me.
Well, we’d just have to make the day memorable, that’s all.
At my direction we began our walk around the tree perimeter, plucking apples from the sunny areas of the trees for maximum flavor. Rigel, steady as a river, walked me from tree to tree as requested.
We passed the time chatting about the seasonal changes and our mutual dread of Fell’s upcoming transfer-of-power celebration. It was particularly fun to brainstorm ways to sneak spell-proof food into the requisite banquet, and I wondered if we could smuggle in some of Indigo’s apple cider donuts. I suggested we could trade some of our fresh apples for fresh donuts, but Rigel reminded me that the night mares would be disappointed to know their specifically curated joy apples were being traded for sugary confections. First: kill joy. Second: hooray! He had been listening!
“Don’t you dare,” Rigel cautioned me once when I nearly pulled myself into the branches from his shoulders to reach another apple. His firm grip on my thighs precluded any chance at succeeding, so laughing, I shifted to a closer specimen.
“Don’t trust me not to climb again, faebae?” I chortled as I dropped the newest apples into the basket.
“Certainly not,” he muttered, shaking his head with some additional comments about my complete lack of self-preservation skills. Chase would be proud, if he could hear him.
Soon enough we had selected enough apples and I descended from Rigel’s shoulders.
Stretching on the ground, I turned to him. “Fair is fair, Rigel. If you want, you are welcome to climb onto my shoulders for a tree,” I offered, grinning.
Rigel did not grin in response. “No,” was his only answer, and I laughed as I took his hand and continued walking further.
We still had space in the basket, so after Rigel’s continued peeks at the top of the trees I finally invited him to shadow on up and pick a few apples of his own. Rigel countered, offering that he could, instead, power-punch the tree with some amplification spell he knew. That should cause all the apples to fall.
“And they will bruise the moment they thump on the ground,” I pointed out to him.
“What if I combine it with another levitation spell?” he asked, eyes flicking to the basket.
“No,” I said, shaking my head, and he frowned.
Eventually he caved and flitted up to the tops of the trees as directed. If I had thought his sour nature was adorable earlier, Rigel, presenting his carefully selected apples to me and asking if they were “acceptable” was even more so. I swear he looked extra pleased as he added them to the basket.
Once the basket was filled—sans two apples, as promised—we returned to the main building. Although only a handful of people were allowed in the orchard, the farm had a huge market with all of its products on offer. Given it was apple season, there was a sizeable number of apple products, from fresh apples to dried apples to donuts, and even wine. After another thorough conversation about the obligations imposed by free samples, something I was certainly not giving up unless I absolutely had to, we tried out several types of fresh apple cider. We rejected the ones Rigel declared “practically candy,” before moving on to the other sections.
In an overconfident bout of silly romance, I insisted on feeding Rigel a sliver of an apple cake from the bakery. That ended up being a mistake, because Rigel somehow made the first bite so intimate that my face turned redder than the fruit beside us. I swallowed down my own bite quickly and escaped the general area before any cameras from the other visitors could break out and bear witness to our antics.
Rigel indulged me in walking along the aisles as I perused for souvenirs for the mansion staff. We ended up with a mound of snacks to bring back to the mansion. There were some really good buys and it was nice to know we were supporting a local business. Absent the strict limitations on the tree climbing, I probably would have scheduled a social event here.
The sun was already setting by the time we loaded everything into Rigel’s car. As the grounds darkened, a small pathway with string lights clicked on. Rigel didn’t even protest as I pulled him along, insisting on one more walk before we returned from our day-cation.
The path was beautiful, with lights wrapped around the trunks and lower branches of some of the trees.
“Look, they have pumpkins!” I grinned, pointing out a group of them piled against one of the nearby trees. They were joined by a few signs of glittery bats and ghosts. “They must be preparing for a Halloween display.”
Rigel, hand in mine, only nodded. Briefly I wondered if I could wrangle him into going to a pumpkin patch too, but a chill wind picked up around us and made my arms prickle. I snuggled in closer to Rigel, slipping my arms within the warmth of his jacket.
“I told you that you should have brought a coat,” he chided me, in his best I-told-you-so voice.
“Yes, you were right,” I grumbled. Despite his reminder, he tugged me closer to his warmth. I declined his jacket, insisting that the short walk back wouldn’t really bother me. That only lasted until the first shiver after I broke away from him, and Rigel deposited his jacket onto me.
“Don’t go through the pockets or finger the seams,” Rigel warned me as he settled the jacket around my shoulders. Carefully I slipped my arms through the sleeves, feeling something suspiciously like a strap, and maybe metal. How had I not noticed that before?
“Holes?” I asked stupidly, knowing full well that was not the reason.
“Knives,” was Rigel’s response. I nodded. Right.
Rigel, unlike me, seemed to have no problem with the wind. After I confirmed I was warm enough we took our time walking back, admiring the lights. Rigel pointed out a handful of the autumn constellations, and it was well and truly dark by the time we arrived back at the SUV. Shedding the hidden sharps-and-pointies jacket, I eagerly climbed into the car and adjusted the heat. Silently, Rigel extended an arm back behind my seat, pulling forward a fuzzy dark gray blanket for me.
“When did you stash this?” I asked, wrapping the fuzzy warmth around me. I could have purred like one of the glooms, the blanket was so perfectly soft and warm.
Rigel shrugged in response but he was not fooling me. There would only be one reason he stashed a blanket at all.
“I love you too, faebae,” I said, daring to kiss the side of his cheek as he turned onto the main road. I caught the subtle twitch of a smile as I got comfortable in my seat. Leaning against the window, I happily closed my eyes as we listened to the radio on our way home.
*-*-*
The next thing I knew, gentle hands were laying me onto something soft and slipping cool sheets around me. Shivering, I clung to the bastion of warmth still holding me. Rigel’s low, raspy chuckle sounded in my ear as he reached up to detangle my arms from his neck. He must have carried me up to bed.
I grumbled my displeasure at his attempted extraction and refused to release him. “Stay with me,” I demanded instead, sounding very authoritative with my sleep-riddled whisper.
Rigel said nothing, only paused before kicking his shoes off. The bed dipped briefly as he climbed in to join me, wrapping his deliciously warm arm around me. Thrilled with my victory, I pressed closer to his chest as he piled me with covers.
“I suppose we will both sleep fully dressed this evening,” he observed wryly, humor thick in his voice.
“You still smell like the orchard,” I told him sleepily. The scent of wood and apples was still heavy on his clothes. “It’s nice.”
I felt his chest rumble again, but if he laughed it was too quiet for me to hear. I sighed contentedly as his fingers drifted through my hair, teasing a few wayward strands from my face. The sensation was very soothing, and my already heavy eyes felt heavier.
“Sleep, Leila,” he said softly. “Get some rest.”
The offer was very tempting, and I felt my whole body relaxing as the sheets warmed around me. “Did you have fun?” I managed out, snuggling as close as I could possibly be to him.
“I did,” he assured me. The surge of warmth and joy at his confirmation made my toes curl.
“You were right, Leila,” he continued, still running his fingers through my hair. “It was a good day.”
“No. It was a perfect day,” I mumbled. This time, I did hear Rigel’s answering chuckle, the most wonderful sound as I drifted happily back to sleep.