Page 5 of Trapped in the Christmas Cabin

Thestorefronts and shops were all lit up and there wereChristmastrees everywhere.Thescent of cinnamon and pine trees swirled around them and then, to make things extra perfect, big, fluffy snowflakes began to fall.

Nowthat she had on a warm fur coat,Kellididn’t mind the snow at all.Shewalked through the town, hand-in-hand withKlaus, (since somehow she had never dropped his hand after pulling him into the village) and just admired the magical,Christmasyatmosphere.

Theonly strange thing about the town was the fact that they were the only ones there.Itseemed odd to have a whole town where she and herProtectorwere the only residents.

Evenwhen they ducked into some of the shops, there was no one behind any of the counters.Kelliwondered who was making all the delicious treats she saw behind the glass counters in the café and bakery.Shehelped herself to some gingerbread men cookies which were out on display—they were perfectly spiced and still warm from the over.Sheoffered one toKlaus, who took a bite and nodded—which was about as close to he ever got to saying he liked something.

“Iguess we’re just supposed to serve ourselves,” she said aloud when she andKlausentered theCandyCaneIceCreamLand, which was decorated with red and white striped candy canes as tall as the bigKindred.

“Iguess.”Heshrugged.“Why—do you want some ice cream?”

“Well, let me see what they have…”Kelliwent up to the ice cream counter and saw some seasonal flavors she was definitely interested in.“Ooo—eggnog!Andthey have gingerbread and peppermint bark too!”she exclaimed.“Here—hold this.”Andshe shrugged out of her fur coat and went around the counter.

“Soyou’re just going to start scooping?”Klauswatched her, looking bemused as she rolled up the long green sleeves of her elf costume and grabbed an ice cream scoop.

“Uh-uh—Iused to work atBaskinRobinsway back in college,”Kelliinformed him.“Sowhat kind do you want?”

“Isn’tit too cold for ice cream, though?”he protested.“Imean, it’s fucking snowing outside.”

“Listen,”Kellisaid, pointing the scoop at him.“Itis never too cold for ice cream.Nowwhat flavor do you want?I’mnot eating alone.”

Klauschose chocolate peppermint patty andKelligot eggnog for herself.Thenshe came back around the counter and slipped on her coat so they could keep strolling as they ate their ice cream.

“Mmm—this is good.”Klaussounded surprised.

“Ofcourse it is—it’s ice cream.”Kelligrinned at him and took another bite of her cone.

“Ihaven’t had ice cream in a while,” he rumbled, looking down at the cone.“Notsince…”

“Sincewhat?”Kelliasked when he trailed off.

“Nevermind.”Heshook his head butKellithought he sounded sad, which wasn’t usual for her grumpyProtector.

“Hey, big guy…”Shelooked up at him seriously.“Areyou okay?”

“Fine.”Heshook his head.“Justthinking, that’s all.Areyou ready to go see the cabin yet?”

“Hardly!Wehaven’t even visited theMistletoeMassageyet—Iwant to see how in the world they do massages if there’s nobody here to do them.Comeon!”

6

KLAUS

Asit turned out, the massage parlor was filled with machines—robots made to look like humans but they had dozens of arms instead of just two.Atthe ends of the arms were rollers, both large and small for working on different muscle groups.Theyalso had a few arms tipped with long, many-jointed “fingers” to reach places the rollers couldn’t go.

Theydid have faces that were meant to look human, but they were mechanical and obviously fake.Theireyes lit up and the corners of their mouths twitched up into pseudo-smiles, which gaveKlausthe fucking creeps.Theirbottom halves were a single leg mounted on a set of rolling wheels, which allowed them to glide around the floor with silent ease.

“Goodevening, fine patron!”one of them, which was meant to look like a human male with brown hair and green eyes, said toKellias it rolled closer.“HowmayIserve you tonight?Wouldyou and your romantic partner enjoy a couples’ massage?”

“No, we would not,”Klaussaid firmly whenKelliopened her mouth to agree.

“ButIwant one—Iwant a massage!”Shelooked up at him, frowning.

“Youwant to let that thing touch you?”Klausgestured to the “massage therapist” with its dozen mechanical arms and its fake smile and glowing eyes.“It’sfucking weird looking,Kelli!”

“Idon’t care.”Shecrossed her arms and gave him a stubborn look with her eyebrows knit together.“TheQuestarionsmade this place just for us and asked us to try it out andIwant to try it.”

“Fine, butI’mnot doing it,”Klaussaid, shaking his head.

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