Page 55 of Once Upon A Bear

“She will,” Gideon acknowledged, the corner of his mouth turning up in a grin. “But I need your help.”

He turned to his father. “We need to look into the anti-magic laws and see if there’s a way that we can make magic legal again.”

His father simply raised an eyebrow.

“That’s quite the undertaking, and odd to come from my son who has been trapped in a curse all these years,” he said. “Why exactly would we do that?”

“If magic is legal, then it will no longer be a secret, and people who run afoul of evil sorcerers can get help faster than I did.”

“And because Guinevere is no ordinary healer?” Kellan asked, a slight smirk appearing.

Gideon shook his head, and a quiet understanding filled his mother’s eyes before she turned to Kellan and his father.

“We will help Gideon,” she said.

It was not a question.

Kellan sighed. “Mother, I have so many things to do. I think Gideon should enlist Caspian’s help for this instead.”

Caspian cleared his throat. “I’m about to become a father.”

“You have at least the whole winter to work on it,” Kellan pointed out. “If you can’t accomplish that much before you become a father, then perhaps you’re not ready for parenthood.”

Caspian glared at his older brother, and their mother simply shook her head.

“Oh, boys,” she sighed. “We will help you, Gideon, whether the rest of them want to or not.”

“I am glad to hear that you’ve overcome your struggle,” Sophia said, now that the hubbub had died down a bit. She was quieter, but Gideon liked that about her, since he was usually the quietest of the siblings.

“Me too,” he said. “I was afraid that any children I might have someday would become bear cubs.”

Liliana’s eyes lit up. “Do you think they will?” she asked excitedly. “That would be so cute. I just want to snuggle a baby bear cub.”

“You can never snuggle a baby bear cub,” Kellan said firmly.

“Yeah, the mother bear will eat you,” Caspian exclaimed.

Gideon rolled his eyes. “I don’t expect it to happen,” he told Liliana kindly. “Hopefully my bear days are behind me.”

“I should have known something was afoot when Cook started complaining about all her honey going missing,” Kellan said with a grin.

“I didn’t take all of it,” Gideon protested. “And I replaced it.”

He glanced at his father, who was attempting to hide his smile.

“Can you forgive me for keeping this from you?” Gideon asked, praying they would say yes.

His father stood and came over to give him a firm embrace. “Of course, my son,” he said. “If, as you said, you couldn’t tell us with your words, I can hardly blame you for not wanting to appear as a bear. You are my son, and I am only thankful to have you back to us in one piece, with no curse. And if we ever catch the man who did it to you, he will pay.”

His words were harsh, and for once Gideon could see why the name of Lord Rendon was enough to strike fear into the hearts of some. The man he had always seen as a kind, warm, and loving father suddenly turned into a fierce warrior.

But then his father turned to Liliana, and it disappeared.

“And I think a family outing to visit your den sounds like just the thing.”

“After the ball,” his mother interjected. “We’re not risking any broken ankles before the ball. We have to find Kellan a wife, you know.”

Kellan clicked his tongue. “About that,” he said brightly. “I wanted to let you know that I have begun corresponding with a young lady and hope to issue a proposal soon.”