You knew it was coming. \u00a0I can’t seem to write a story without pirates.<\/p>\n
<><><><><><><><><><\/p>\n
\u201cWell, well, well, you have fallen into a nice nest, haven\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The familiar booming voice echoed through the entire house, and Drew grinned. \u201cIt\u2019s a gilded cage,\u201d he said, coming down the stairs. \u201cI\u2019m a golden bird.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed you are!\u201d The man at the bottom of the stairs echoed his grin. \u201cBut where is your lady? Why aren\u2019t you sharing this with her?\u201d Then he winked. \u201cOr is she still in bed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nearly noon, Pavel,\u201d Drew said. \u201cNo one is in bed now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSays you.\u201d Pavel shrugged. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s still far too early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew shook his head and clapped his old friend on the shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m surprised you\u2019re here this early, to be honest. I thought I\u2019d see you at dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI made the crew row,\u201d Pavel said, then laughed again at the shocked look on Drew\u2019s face. \u201cKidding! They\u2019d kill me. But seriously,\u201d and the amusement fell away from his handsome face, \u201cyou called, my friend. I came. What are friends for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelping,\u201d Drew agreed. \u201cFollow me. I was just about to make lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen at the cottage (Drew couldn\u2019t help but call it that, even though it was the biggest cottage he\u2019d ever seen) was as decked out as any he\u2019d ever seen. Yet another place Molly would love.<\/em><\/p>\n As Pavel settled into one of the kitchen chairs, Drew opened the fridge and pulled out sandwich ingredients. The invisible servants had left him half a ham, already sliced, and some orange marmalade. He added in some sliced tomatoes, a bunch of lettuce leaves, and then dug around the cheese drawer until he found some slices of provolone. He deposited everything on the table in front of his friend.<\/p>\n \u201cBread?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorking on it,\u201d Drew said, moving towards the bread box. It was white, as everything was in the kitchen, and had disgorged all sorts of goodies in the few days he\u2019d been here. Today, it gave him thick slices of a hearty brown bread, enough for two, even given Pavel\u2019s appetite.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a good kitchen,\u201d Pavel said, taking two of the slices from the plate Drew set down. \u201cI approve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure the Snow Queen will be happy you do,\u201d Drew said, sitting down opposite him and putting a beer in front of him.<\/p>\n His words had little effect on the man in front on him, however. Pavel nodded and just continued to spread marmalade on a slice of bread. \u201cShe is a good host. Now, why are you in the Snow Queen\u2019s guest house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat,\u201d Drew said, picking up his own beer, \u201cis a very good question. Eat first.\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel shrugged. \u201cIf you insist.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the sandwiches were made and consumed, however, Pavel got down to business. \u201cYou are in a lot of trouble, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew shrugged. \u201cNot me, really.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Pavel raised an eyebrow. \u201cYou are here, with Old Man Winter, and the Snow Queen is letting you stay in her guest house, but there are guards on the road up. Also, there is a dragon here. I say you are in trouble, my friend, and that is before you called me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuards?\u201d That was news to Drew. \u201cI wonder why.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps because the Snow Queen wants to make sure you are not disturbed?\u201d Pavel shrugged again. \u201cOnce they saw it was me, they did not hinder me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInteresting.\u201d Drew filed that bit of information away. \u201cAnd how did you know about the dragon?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease.\u201d Pavel gave him a long-suffering look. \u201cI hear things. It\u2019s my job.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew gave up at that point. \u201cI need you to deliver a message for me. To Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you invite her out here to give her your message?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d Drew outlined his agreement with the Snow Queen in a few sentences. \u201cSo this is why I need you.\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel leaned back and laced his fingers over his stomach, frowning. His large mustache drooped over his cheeks. \u201cI was right,\u201d he said finally. \u201cYou are in a lot of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill you help me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u201d Pavel shrugged. \u201cTrouble is my middle name.\u201d He winked at Drew. \u201cNow, what message am I delivering for you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, first you have to go and get it,\u201d Drew said, and began to outline what he needed Pavel to do.<\/p>\n <><><\/p>\n Molly was singing along with Burl Ives as she rolled out gingerbread dough in the kitchen, and to all appearances, she was fine. Happy, if a little worried about Drew, which was completely normal. No one suspected what she was actually worried about: not only Drew, but Schrodinger, who had headed out first thing in the morning to look for Old Man Winter.<\/p>\n Mal had come down earlier that morning and let her know what she\u2019d already suspected: that the Road had moved too much to be used by that Gate again, and that they were abandoning efforts to reconnect it. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re giving up trying to get Drew back,\u201d he had assured her. \u201cWe just need to go about it a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou might as well give up,\u201d she\u2019d told him. \u201cDrew isn\u2019t there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Mal had gaped at her. \u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSchrodinger went and looked.\u201d There was no reason to lie to the Gate manager. \u201cDrew\u2019s gone from that spot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to give up, Molly.\u201d Mal had laid his hand on his chest. \u201cI promise you. We will find him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d she had said, and sent him on his way with a large tin of orange cranberry tea bread slices and frosted sugar cookies.<\/p>\n Now, she relished the fact that even though the store itself hummed with activity, her little corner of the world was quiet and still. The scent of gingerbread and tea filled the air. Even with both the boys in her life off who knew where, for the moment, Molly was content.<\/p>\n This is what life should be,<\/em> she thought.<\/p>\n Aunt Margie slipped her head around the door. \u201cYou have a visitor,\u201d she said, and Molly paused. \u201cDo you want me to send him in?\u201d<\/p>\n She never asks that. This must be good.<\/em> \u201cI guess,\u201d she said, putting her rolling pin aside and picking up her cookie cutter. \u201cThe kitchen is open to everyone, Aunt Margie.\u201d Then she paused and grinned. \u201cUnless you think I need a chaperone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou might, with this one.\u201d Aunt Margie ducked out before Molly could say anything else.<\/p>\n Oh, this should be interesting.<\/em><\/p>\n Molly began cutting out gingerbread men, wondering who or what was coming through the door. Aunt Margie took everything so calmly, up to and including the centaurs who came in to do their Christmas or Yule or whatever shopping, that for her to be flustered (and she had been flustered, or she wouldn\u2019t have checked with Molly before sending this person in) was unusual.<\/p>\n Then again, when the\u2026man\u2026swept in through the door (and swept was really the only word Molly could use to describe his entrance), Molly could understand her aunt\u2019s consternation. She gaped at him, her cookie cutter hanging from one hand forgotten, her only thought disappointment that Schrodinger wasn\u2019t here to see him. The CrossCat would have been thrilled beyond belief.<\/p>\n \u201cHave we met?\u201d Molly asked, bemused. Usually only her friends came into the kitchen. Then again, there were few people who lived in the Cove who she didn\u2019t think of as at least casual friends. This was someone she\u2019d never seen before. She was quite certain of that.<\/p>\n He was tall, taller than Drew, with long dark hair pulled back into an artfully mussed ponytail, and dark eyes lined with lashes Lai would be jealous off. Snow dusted his burgundy and gold coat, and he paused to wipe the soles of his knee-length black boots before he entered the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, but not for lack of trying, my dear lady,\u201d he said, pulling his grey-furred hat from his head and sweeping her a flamboyant bow. \u201cSadly, our paths have not yet crossed, until a mutual friend asked me to stop by and deliver a present for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly\u2019s eyebrows went up. \u201cYou know Drew?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do. Or rather, I knew his father, who sent the lad sailing with me one summer, to build character.\u201d He set the hat in the crook of his arm and then offered her his other hand. \u201cCaptain Pavel Chekov, of the fine ship Heart\u2019s Desire, at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Heart\u2019s Desire?\u201d Molly let him take her hand and kiss it. \u201cThe pirate ship?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe prefer deep-sea reassignment specialists,\u201d Pavel said, winking at her as he let her hand slip through his fingers. \u201cPirate has such ugly connotations\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Molly laughed. \u201cDrew served on a pirate ship? He never told me that!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t?\u201d Pavel looked mock-shocked. \u201cThat scoundrel. I shall have to enlighten you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to it,\u201d Molly said, picking her cookie cutter up again and beginning to cut out more gingerbread men. \u201cCan I get you a cup of tea?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would love a cup of tea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen sit.\u201d She nodded toward one of the stools. \u201cYour hat can go on the pegs. What kind of tea would you like?\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel set his hat on the peg and then claimed the stool. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have a delicate green, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would.\u201d Molly decided not to comment on the choice, but put aside her cutter and went to get another mug from the pantry. I need more ceramic mugs for the winter,<\/em> she thought, as she looked at the dwindling supply. Then she picked up the light green tea that she\u2019d ordered at the beginning of the month, and went back out to the kitchen.<\/p>\n Pavel was looking at the cut out gingerbread men next to him. \u201cDrew didn\u2019t mention you were a kitchen witch.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s not a big deal,\u201d she said, placing the tea into the mug and pouring hot water over it. She refilled her cup at the same time. \u201cSo, you have a message for me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd a gift!\u201d He presented that first: a bag that he pulled from inside his coat. The ornament affixed to the outside was ruby red, with sapphire blue connector beads. The card said simply, \u201cYou need to remember to slow down.\u201d Inside the bag was a collection of her favorite bath salts and bath beads. Molly was touched.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a good man,\u201d Pavel said, sipping at his tea. \u201cAnd he sent another message.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou may as well give it to me, \u201c Molly said, putting the bag and ornament with her coat.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not written down.\u201d Pavel put down his tea cup and looked at her, the amusing flamboyance gone. \u201cDon\u2019t go looking for Old Man Winter, Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n Ice ran through her at his words. How had he known? Molly lifted her chin. \u201cI know what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t,\u201d Pavel said. \u201cOld Man Winter is not one of the spirits who will be charmed by your baking and your smile, Molly. He\u2019s a primal force. He\u2019s not going to play your games.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not playing a game,\u201d Molly retorted. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not going to sit by and let Drew try and save my town.\u201d At Pavel\u2019s startled look, she nodded. \u201cYes, I know what\u2019s going on. And since you\u2019re delivering messages, you can give Drew one for me. I am NOT going to sit idly by. I am NOT going to wait for him to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n Pavel sighed. \u201cI will tell him.\u201d \u00a0He didn’t have to say how unhappy Drew would be to get that message.<\/p>\n Molly already knew. \u00a0And it wasn’t going to stop her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You knew it was coming. \u00a0I can’t seem to write a story without pirates. <><><><><><><><><> \u201cWell, well, well, you have fallen into a nice nest, haven\u2019t you?\u201d The familiar booming voice echoed through the entire house, and Drew grinned. \u201cIt\u2019s a gilded cage,\u201d he said, coming down the stairs. \u201cI\u2019m a golden bird.\u201d \u201cIndeed you …<\/p>\n