Page 20 of Once Upon A Bear

Gideon wrinkled his nose as best as he could in this form. “You’re making me tea?”

“No,” she said with a small laugh. “I’m not making tea. I’m making an herbal potion that has to steep before I put my magic into it. But I’ve done what I need to for now, and if you want, you can take a nap here. I can tell you’re tired.”

It was true. Transformations always made him take a nap. That was why he had established a den, but for some reason, sitting here sounded better than leaving and being alone in his den.

“I think I’ll stay,” he said with a yawn, “if you truly don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” she said. “I think I’ll get some tea and sit with you, if you don’t mind.”

He didn’t.

“Thank you, Sunshine,” he said as quietly as his bear voice allowed.

And as she made herself a mug of tea and grabbed her notebook and snuggled against his side, Gideon sighed happily and allowed sleep to overtake him.

Being a bear was not what he wanted, but for once, this felt just right.

Chapter nine

Guinevere

Guinevere opened her eyes and looked over to see the large brown bear still snoozing on the floor, only a few feet away. Gideon had fallen asleep the day before, and nothing she had done would wake him, so when her eyes began to burn from exhaustion, she'd simply climbed into bed and let him be.

It hadn’t been the first time she'd fallen asleep while attending a patient, even if this one was a little less conventional than others.

He looked so peaceful slumbering on her floor, but the fact that he was sleeping so deeply had her very concerned. She didn't know much about humans being cursed to be animals, but the fact that he was spending more and more time in his bear form, and the fact that he was sleeping so deeply she couldn't wake him, made her healing senses uncomfortable.

What if these long, magical sleeps were going to send him into hibernation? What if one day he simply stopped becoming human again?

She might not know him very well, but she knew enough to know that it would be a great loss to the world if Gideon Rendon never returned to his human state.

She got to her feet, smoothing the blankets on her bed back to where they belonged, intentionally making some rather loud noises, but Gideon did not awaken.

In fact, he started snoring.

Could normal bears snore? Or was this simply a magical human-bear manifestation? Guinevere giggled to herself as she prepared a pot of porridge for her breakfast. He snored louder than Grandfather ever had.

While her porridge cooked, she bustled around the room, tidying up her supplies and ensuring her satchel was fully stocked. The smell of the porridge began wafting through the room, and she turned to glance at Gideon once more, surprised that the scent didn’t wake him.

She certainly wasn’t one to continue sleeping if there was the smell of hot food that someone else had prepared for her.

It had been a long time since she’d lived with someone who had made her food, however, and waking up to a hot breakfast was a memory of the past.

She sighed as she turned back to the fire and pulled the pot away from the hottest part of the fire, scooping some into a bowl. She poured some honey into it, stirring gently, and tried a bite. It was delicious, but it was much too hot. She set it to the side and turned her attention to Gideon’s potion.

She cupped the bottle with both hands and concentrated all her efforts on it, watching as the liquid began to turn the color of honey, glowing softly. She hummed in satisfaction as she poured more and more magic into it.

If she'd had a magical tutor, perhaps they would've told her how to know when she had poured enough magic into it. As it was, she had no idea when she ought to stop, so making a potion tended to wear her out.

But this time, she paused and glanced at the snoozing bear.

Maybe this time, she could put it down and come back later to finish it. It would allow the magic well inside her to refill, and she could run into town to see Thea. Perhaps Thea had some ideas about how she had broken Nathaniel's spell, since nothing Guinevere had tried seemed to help. They’d broken it before she’d made her third potion.

She turned back to her bowl of porridge, taking a bite and grimacing as she swallowed. Now it was too cold. She went to the fire and added a little more to her bowl, mixing it together.

Now it was just right, and she quickly ate before washing the bowl. She pulled a chair next to the fire and set her now clean bowl and spoon on it. If Gideon woke before she came back, he would likely be hungry. She'd made extra just in case.

She glanced around the room to make sure all was set to rights before she made her way to the door and picked up her satchel, swinging it over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her. Hopefully when she came back, Gideon would no longer be a bear.