Her Troll Defender (Beastly Falls)

Chapter 4

Loth

A sleepless night, I’m up before dawn to work the soil for the next batch of transplants. Turn the compost pile. Plot out where the new tree grafts will go. By the time the sun is up, I’m filthy and sweaty, making my brain slightly calmer than it was last night.

Jasmine’s scent has flooded my house. Each stone has betrayed me, absorbing her loveliness to forever haunt me. First the town has betrayed me, bringing in an employee of Grimm Axe and trapping her in Beastly Falls. Now, my house. I’m going to need to build a new house, preferably in a new town…if I were allowed to leave.

I’m in the greenhouse when I sense she’s near. Standing slowly, I turn to see Jasmine in the entrance to the glass house, wearing my Stone University shirt, which hangs down to her mid-thigh. Nostrils flare. Calm down, Loth.

“Good morning,” I say, more stiffly than I intended.

“Good morning. Hope this is okay. Didn’t seem like a good idea to wear my work shirt in front of you. And my shorts are really dirty from yesterday.” She pauses, tucks a thick strand of black hair behind her ear. “You said you could take me to town?” She rolls up on her toes as her voice raises higher in pitch. It’s a cuteness that makes me want to kiss the top of her nose.

“Yes. Let me finish potting this and clean up. Then we can walk to town.”

Peeking around me, I see her face light up as she sees my potting mess. I stand aside so she can see more fully. Without hesitation, she walks toward me with her bare feet and bare legs to the potting bench, which is almost chest height for her. I force my stare away from her curvy calves and thighs and back to my work.

“Mums? Somehow I pegged you for a fern and thistle sort of man, Troll.” I hear the amusement in her voice. Damn.

“You’ve pegged me right.” The words are out before I realize what I’ve said. Blushing isn’t really a thing that trolls do, but I feel every inch of embarrassment throughout my body. Coughing, I start over. “These are for the shops in town. I would never grow these on my own.” The last bit comes out with a growl, but she doesn’t shy away. Instead, she just nods and caresses the leaves of the plant gently.

“My mother had a greenhouse. She did landscape architecture. Whenever we were out, she would stop to take photographs of plants. I have albums and albums of plants she photographed. All organized by species. All before digital cameras, of course. I don’t know what to do with them now.” My hand aches to reach out and comfort her.

“Mom would be so disappointed in me if she could see me.”

“Now that you work for Grimm Axe? The apple fell far.”

Why did I say that? Of all the idiotic things I could have said. What’s a digital camera? Do you also do landscape architecture? What’s your favorite plant? Species of plant? Your fingers are delicate and beautiful. Can I kiss you? Any gods-damned thing I can think of. And instead, I open my pit of a mouth and come up with the one thing I shouldn’t say.

Her hand pulls away from the leave as if it’s burned her, closes it into a fist. Closes herself off from me, from this vulnerable moment.

“I’m—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

Jasmine shrugs. “It’s true. But I’m desperate right now. I don’t have time to ride my high horse of morals.” Without looking at me, she turns and walks back to the door of the greenhouse. “I’m going to get dressed. I’m ready to leave.”

∞∞∞

It’s a long, quiet walk into town. I’ve cleared a path through the forest, lined it with stones over time, placed planks down to bridge over the swampy bit. It’s a lovely walk normally, keeps to the shadiest bits of forest. But today, the heavy weight of the words I said hangs over both of us. The trees seem to sense my sorrow, and they don’t help. The boughs of the trees seem darker than normal, blocking out not only sunlight, but the breeze and even the chatter and chirping of the birds and squirrels.

With every step, I mentally kick myself for ruining the moment. My hand still aches, wanting to hold her, brush the hair away from her cheek. Comfort her.

As we step off the path and into the breezy light of Beastly Falls, I hear her gasp.

I try to look at Beastly Falls from her perspective. It’s quaint, like any New England town. Victorian homes. A bustling main street filled with independently owned businesses. No corporate hassle here. The gardens are all immaculate—I pat myself on the back for that. The only thing that’s different is the population. There are humans, but also werewolves, fauns, witches, dryads, and more. All about their daily business.

A faun operates a push mower across a lawn. Rumblehoof, the Minotaur and mail carrier, waves as he passes by. Behind his horns I see the sign for Moonlit Café and start for it. Maybe some food would help

Before we reach the café, Sylvia Hassenfrau, our mayor, appears before us, rubbing her hands together in a delighted way. “Good morning,” she sing-songs. “And who might this be, Loth?”

“Good morning, Sylvia. This is Jasmine. She showed up in my forest yesterday.”

Sylvia’s eyes flash at me at the word ‘yesterday,’ but she smiles and holds her hand out to Jasmine, who takes it with a nervous look. “Welcome to Beastly Falls. I’m the mayor, and I’m here to help in any way possible. How are you finding out town so far?”

“Nice to meet you,” Jasmine says. “I—I’m not sure. I need to get back to work, but Loth says I can’t leave. I’m a bit confused.”

“Loth, I can take Jasmine to Orla’s for some clothes, and fill her in on the town and her peculiarities.” She wrinkles her nose at Jasmine’s clothes—her work shirt and her filthy shorts from yesterday. I’m careful not to look at the logo of the axe over the tree whenever I look at Jasmine. Then she looks Jasmine in the eyes. “Would that be okay with you?” Jasmine nods and Sylvia wraps an arm around her shoulder.

This is my escape. I don’t need to be here anymore; I can go back to my forest and gardens. Jasmine will be fine here in town. But something inside me stops my feet from moving. That part screams that it’s my job to protect her and keep her safe. That she’s mine. I shake my head a little, trying to clear my thoughts. I’ve missed part of the conversation.

“I stayed in Loth’s guest room. He was very generous. But I don’t want to impose on him.” Jasmine is telling Sylvia, who is eyeing me with suspicion.

“Yes, Loth is known for his openheartedness and generosity.” Her words are a lie, but thankfully Jasmine doesn’t know it. I’ve been accused more than once of being closed off, not a team player, and unobservant to the needs of others. I prefer introvert, and ‘forest loner’.

“Thank you, Loth. I guess I’ll see you around?” There’s a look in Jasmine’s brown eyes as she gazes up at me that makes my heart hurt. Without thinking, I reassure her.

“Of course. Maybe we can have tea together this evening? I’ll pick you up from Red’s.”

“I’d like that.” She smiles at me, and with that, Sylvia directs her away from me and toward all the glory of Beastly Falls.

Walking away, I wonder, can the mayor really help Jasmine? Are there other humans who have entered the town boundary recently? If so, who? And why haven’t I heard of them?

“Watch your step,” the gargoyle, Asa, says loudly as I attempt to walk through him and…the woman holding hands with him? Who the hell is she?

“Sorry. Lost in my thoughts. Sorry, who is she?” I’ve never said sorry so much in my life as I have in the last twenty-four hours.

Asa gives me a weird look, like maybe I’m trying to pull a prank on him. I just stare back and forth between the two of them.

“Lothario, this is my mate, Sapphire. Sapphie, this is Loth, the town troll. Gardener.” He says the last word with a smile, knowing how much it irks me.

“Nice to meet you. Did you get through the boundary wall, too?”

Sapphie nods energetically. “Sure did. And it was so wild. She was going to let me leave, but showed me what would happen to Asa if I did. He’s my mate, and I stayed.” She smiles up at him, love in her sparkly eyes.

“She? The town? She let you leave?”

“Yes. One chance. But if I left, Asa would forever be stone. And I would forever be alone.” Asa wraps his stone arm around her. Such affection between them.

“Thanks. Gotta go.” I jog around them, ignoring the dogs down the street barking at me as the ground shakes.

Could Jasmine be my mate? She did literally fall into my arms. Is that the requirement? Could she be someone else’s mate here in town? That thought is a pit in my stomach. I can’t imagine how I would continue to function if I knew she belonged to another. And now she’s walking around without me, meeting all the townsfolk. Could anyone claim her? My heart rate picks up with panic as I make my way back down the path to my home.

I need to talk to Her.