She woke to the sounds of screaming and a low, possessive growl in her ear. The smell of burning wood and wet fur was acrid in her nostrils. She blinked her eyes open, the world spinning on its head before she blacked out again.
When she woke for a second time, the noise of the mob had quieted but she heard soft sobbing that she immediately recognized as her mother. The low rumble was still there and she could sense something solid and firm right beside her. Her shoulder ached fiercely and as she stirred, she heard her father call out, "Don't move!"
Cecelia had stopped moving because um, hello, pain.
She heard a snuffle and then a wet nose was pressed against her palm. She slid her hand up the furry snout to smooth back around the head, rubbing an ear gently. "You're okay," she whispered, her chest already feeling lighter. "You're okay, Gunther. Thank God."
"Help is here, Cecelia," her father said, more gently than she could ever remember hearing JJ speak. "However, the bear won't let us near you."
"Let them help me," she breathed out, her voice shaking from the pain and the edges of her world began to blur again. "I saved you, Gunther. Let them save me."
There was another rumble before the darkness overtook her and the pain blissfully faded away.
Cecelia woke in her own room. Her shoulder was throbbing but when she opened her eyes, the world remained still and she was able to sit up a bit. A thick white bandage was wrapped around her arm and chest and she could smell a strong salve of herbs. She turned her head to see her mother sitting beside her bed, smiling at her.
"Welcome back," she said, rising from her chair to adjust her blankets around her lap. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore and confused," she admitted before she suddenly remembered the reason why she was in so much pain. "Oh my gosh! Gunther! Is he okay?"
"He's right here," her mother said, nodding her chin in the other direction and Cecelia turned to see Gunther sleeping in a chair beside the bed. His head was tipped back in the seat and a trail of drool escaped from his mouth as he snored. He looked absolutely ridiculous and Cecelia had never been more glad to see him.
"Gunther!"
Her shout woke the man who jumped and his eyes flew open. "CeCe, hey, you're awake," Gunther said, stretching his arms above his head until the joints popped. "How you feeling?"
"Glad you're okay," She said, even though her shoulder really did kind of hurt. "What happened? How did you reverse the spell? Did it just wear off?"
"It would be hell of a coincidence if it did," Gunther said grimly. "You reversed the spell, actually."
"Me?" Cecelia squeaked, her brows shooting upwards. "What? How is that possible? The witch - Rocky - she said true love had to break the spell."
Gunther began to look distinctly uncomfortable and Cecelia spotted the back of his neck flushing red. "Well, that's how you broke it, didn't you?"
"I'm not in love with you, though," Cecelia said before she realized just how rude that was and clapped her good hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry!"
"You didn't have to be in love with me," Gunther said, his eyes softening. "You just had to show true love. You saved my life at risk to your own. You provided the greatest act of love and that was enough to reverse the spell."
"Oh gosh," Cecelia said weakly before she felt quite proud of herself. "Well... well done, us! It's all worked out!"
"And..." her mother said warningly and Gunther's blush deepened.
"And I kind of bonded with you when I was the bear," he mumbled.
She paused, digesting the information. Gunther had bonded with her? She wasn't aware that bears bonded with ...not necessarily people, but things they would consider a mate. Although, Gunther had been a magical bear so perhaps the rules had been different for him?
"What does that mean?" She finally said, glancing between her mother who was beaming and Gunther who was blushing furiously.
"It means we have a chance," he finally said, meeting her gaze. "I'm not proposing and I'm not saying we have to do anything right now but... we've survived an incredibly rare encounter and it makes for a hell of a story for the grandchildren, am I right?"
He startled laughter out of Cecelia who could only stare at Gunther. If she had to get married, or at least be more open to the idea, why shouldn't she try with Gunther? You couldn't go through magical spells with someone without coming out stronger for it at the end.
"You know," she said, steadfastly ignoring the fact that her mother was in the room because gosh, how embarrassing. "I feel kind of ripped off."
"Ripped off?" Gunther's wonderful, handsome, unharmed, face wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean? How could you possibly feel - "
"I mean, in the fairytales, true love usually means there's a kiss," Cecelia said quickly, tripping over the words in her haste to get them out lest she chicken out. "You've been talking for two days now about all this kissing and I've yet - "
She fell silent as Gunther lunged forward and gently cupped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her. The rest of the room receded away until there was nothing left but the smell and taste and feel of Gunther. Reaching up, Cecelia grasped his shirt as close as he could, not wanting him to move a bit.
Maybe magic wasn't so bad, after all.
