Page 40 of Hansel and Gerhardt
He almost fell to his knees with the intensity of his pleasure, but he staggered around instead, desperate to see what other secrets the place held.
“Gerhardt!”
He heard his name, but as if in a dream, it came from somewhere far away.
He rounded the front of the house, too enthralled now to care whether he was seen or not. He walked to the path that shone and glistened, where he dropped to the ground. Touching a tentative hand down on a sparkling white orb, he lifted it, light, crumbling, a soft ball that yielded invitingly beneath his fingers.Sugar shone from its surface. He brought it to his lips, and he sank his teeth deep.
Food! Glorious, beautiful food! But unprecedented. Never once in his life had he felt such a sensation. The exterior of the treat cracked beneath his teeth, melted, gave way to a thick cake that set his salivary glands off like cannons. Then, in the middle… Another layer of crispy chocolate cracked over soft raspberry ganache.
He pulled the cake away. Stared down at the colours, looked up and down the path. There were a million of them. A million of these unctuous, exquisite, never-before-imagined cakes, all in perfect order, row after row.
Hansel was at his side, but Gerhardt was in a daze. He almost fell over as Hansel grappled to get him to his feet. He stumbled back, was steadied by Hansel’s arm, and his head flung up to behold the front facade of the house in its full glory.
It glistened in the sun like a treasure box. That white, powdered, hard-candy wall, but all of it beset with the jewels of a billion chewy sweets. Every shape and size, speckled here and there, blue, red, purple, orange, all waiting to be plucked out by his starved and desperate fingers.
Windows, more windows again, three at the top, one on either side of the door, gorgeous chocolate frames that he could, even from that distance, feel cracking between his teeth. Awnings that hung out long, decorated with sparkling golden orbs—more cakes, black with the richness of their chocolate exterior, but this dipped into crinkles and sprinkles of gold leaf. And what they hid inside… hehadto know.
Gerhardt started forward, as if he were pulled by an invisible force. But he wanted to go—oh, how hewantedto go. There was no more thought of death, or of life, or of anything but getting his hands on one of those little golden balls.
Until Hansel stepped in front of him.
All the world, even the house, seemed to sway beyond those clear blue eyes.
Concerned.
He was worried.
Gerhardt could see it, could sense it, but that warmth wrapped him so tight, he couldn’t feel it.
“Gerhardt, stop,” said Hansel. “You don’t know what that is.”
Gerhardt glanced down at the half-eaten cake still in his hand. He’d forgotten all about it in his quest to get that golden treat. He shoved it upwards. “Hansel, you need to eat this.”
Hansel slapped his hand away. “No, I do not.” Gerhardt was half bereft as he watched the thing crumple in his palm. But Hansel spoke on. “This is magic. This has to be magic.”
“What do I care if it’s magic?” Gerhardt threw back. “What do I care? It’s food! It’s beautiful food!” He tried to make for the orbs, but Hansel held him firm this time.
“We’re leaving. We have to go before anyone sees us.”
But just then, there came a loud snap.
Both heads turned, both pairs of eyes settled on the front door of the cottage.
The handle moved. The handle, made of a swirl of blue and pink candy, glimmering with sugar and more sugar again, turned around and around. Gerhardt’s body swayed with the movement, his eyes locked on so intently he didn’t feel himself falling.
But he did feel Hansel’s arm wrench him against his chest. He did see the shine on the deep brown and chocolaty door as it pulled open. And he did see that man.
Dark eyes, black. Dark lashes, long. A dark smile, for that was the only word for it. But all the rest…
The man was glorious. He was tall and lean. His hair shone blond in the sunshine. His shirt was black and loose about his chest, inviting the eye to delve beyond the low neckline. Itdisappeared into tight brown breeches that hugged his fine hips and long thighs, and the exquisite line of the man was only accentuated when he stretched one arm up the doorframe to lean nonchalantly.
He cocked his head to the side, his smile deepened into something knowing, and he said, “Hello, boys. Welcome to my home. I’m Herr Candy.”
Candy, I Love You So
“Herr Candy?” Gerhardt whispered on a hungry breath, spinning Hansel into a panic.
Hansel had never known the emotion of jealousy before, beyond food—a reasonable reaction to seeing your share of dinner fed to animals in front of you as punishment for some slight. But for a person… He’d never liked one well enough. He’d never thought of another human being ashis, but that’s exactly what had happened back there in the forest. Gerhardt was part of him now, and to see him in danger was like a knife in his own gut.
