Night 1
12AM
You hadn't met any of the resident princes upon arriving, only an eerily quiet butler who showed you to the room in which you would be staying. The job had sounded shifty, but you did need the money, even if all you had been told was to "keep an eye" on Prince Hans for a few nights.
It did comfort you that there was a little more explanation in the note left on the gold and red blankets of the bed on which you would not actually be allowed to sleep.
I wanted to leave a message for you to help you get settled in your first night. As I assume you have been informed, you will be expected to look after our youngest brother Hans for a few nights so the rest of us can sleep in peace. When I say look after, it will be constantly and from afar. If he is being watched, he can't leave the castle. I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. Just focus on getting through your first night. Our dear brother Hans does get a little—quirky at night, but do I blame him? No. If I was cursed in such a way that I had to be locked up night and day so as to avoid terrorizing the kingdom and I never got a day of freedom, I'd probably be a little irritable at night, too. In any case, it is imperative that you do not open your door to him, not even for a second, no matter what he says he'll do to you. He can't hurt you if you're in there.
You'll notice I've left a couple of things on the bed for you. The mirror has magical qualities; it will show you any person you address. This is how you are to keep an eye on him, when his little…friends let him out of his cell. Do not worry, they won't attack you as long as you have that second item I left you—the candle. It isn't an ordinary candle. It is charmed to ward away my brother's friends, and will prevent them from unlocking your door. However, this sort of candle burns very quickly, and I only have enough for each of the five nights that you stay here, so only light it when absolutely necessary. Some of his friends may wander the halls so keep an eye on those if you can.
He will try anything to get you to open the door. The last several couple of attendants to whom we had given these duties have not lasted too long been up to the dangers difficulties that this job entails. Don't let that intimidate you. You'll be fine! All you have to do is hold out until sunlight and Hans's little friends will have left.
I would wish you luck but I am confident you don't need it! Tonight shouldn't be a problem for you as long as you are vigilant, stay awake, and do not open that door no matter what. One of us will come at daylight to let you out.
- Prince Edvard
P.S. I just remembered, it might be in your best interest to keep the window's drapes drawn. Nothing should be able to come through the window, but there have been reports of disturbing apparitions that may haunt you in your sleep every night of your life unto your timely death. But nothing will actually happen to should you decide to leave them open.
This was a mistake.
Feeling surreal, feeling half-asleep, you picked up the magical objects on the bed. The mirror's silvery handle was cold and heavy in your hand, the glass impeccably clean. "Prince Hans," you said tentatively, feeling silly to address a mirror by someone's name. Your reflection twisted and the glass gave a faint green glow, and suddenly you were looking at not yourself but a handsome, redheaded man trapped in a cell that looked like it might have once simply been his bedchamber. It was like looking at a painting framed in a mirror, until he moved to scratch the back of his head. "Oh!" You dropped the enchanted device, definitely spooked.
The candle felt like any old plain white candle, but from close up you could see faint, silvery, foreign inscriptions along the wax. There was a silver candle stand on the table, beside a box of matches, and you fitted the candle into it, placing it by the door.
The hands of the clock in the corner seemed not to have moved, and you were already tired. "Wonderful."
"Are you watching me?"
You shrieked.
It had come from the mirror.
"If you responded, I can't hear you, but I know you're there. You're the new one, aren't you."
His voice was soft and deep. You tiptoed over to the bed, jumping on top of it to look into the mirror, careful to not let your feet dangle over the edge. The mirror showed the prince's face, the dark circles under his green eyes, his finger-brushed red hair, his freckled cheeks and crack-lipped but cheery smile.
"I'm sorry this is how we have to be introduced. I'm Prince Hans," he said. "I don't know your name. They didn't tell me. And I apologize for my appearance. I'm just…so tired."
Even tired, he was beautiful. You couldn't see anything wrong with him. Why did they want you to watch him?
You waited for more, but he had stopped talking, sitting on the end of his bed to which he was restrained with long chains around his wrists and ankles.
Nervousness gone, you watched the mirror fade back to your reflection and you set it down. Perhaps this would be a normal night. Perhaps this was all an elaborate prank, the point of which you didn't care about as long as you were getting paid.
Five minutes had passed. There were a few books on a shelf, so you picked one up, settled into the bed, and opened it to read. Fairytales. Soothing.
Night 1
1AM
You set down the book and picked up the mirror. "Prince Hans," you said, and there he was in his room, reading a book just like…yours. "That's curious."
His shadow shifted.
It kept shifting.
It started stretching. You squinted. Could it be a trick of the light?
The shadow slipped its fingers into the keyholes of Hans's restraints. And he was free. You screamed.
"Don't worry, if you're still watching me," he said. "I'm not hurting you. It's not hurting you. We're several floors down." He smiled, looking less tired all of a sudden. "I may come visit you later tonight. I would at least like some idea of who's watching over me. Ahh…" He stood up, sighing. "Time to stretch my legs."
He opened his door. You kept a death grip on the mirror. Edvard had said he would "try anything" to get you to open the door, was this how? By befriending you and getting you to trust him? He had made it sound like death threats in the note.
You shoved the mirror under the pillow, pacing to get rid of the sudden sick feeling in your stomach. You would hear his footsteps if he came, right? You glanced at the box of matches and the candle, and then reached for the mirror again.
Prince Hans was in the library, it seemed. How close was that to you? Was he still floors below you? You really should have been watching the whole time.
"Calm down," you told yourself. "Calm down, you can make it. He doesn't look like he's coming after you. You'll be fine."
To calm down, you read the note over again, but it only agitated you further. By his "friends" did Edvard mean the shadows? You had only seen one, and it was his own. But just to be sure, you asked the mirror to show the rooms and hallways nearest your room.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. You checked on Hans again. Still in the library.
Night 1
2AM
You were startled awake by a knock on the door. How long had you been out! "Show me Hans," you said to the mirror, and behold, he was outside the door of your room. Heart thumping, you wasted no time in dropping to your knees to light the candle.
"Did you fall asleep? I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry." His voice sounded so much better in person. "Come out and say hello."
"Oh, no, they warned me," you said, trying to catch your breath. "They warned me not to open the door to you, no matter what. Please leave…"
"I can't stay here and talk to you?"
"The candle will burn out," you said, watching the wax drip. It did burn alarmingly fast. "Please go."
"Don't make me go," he asked softly. "Despite what they say, I won't hurt you. My friends won't, either. They're my friends."
He sounded very sincere, and actually, he was the first prince in this castle to whom you had spoken in person. Was it really more wise to believe a piece of paper? "Why…why do your brothers worry, then? Why are you cursed?"
You heard him sigh. "I did something…bad, once. I really hurt somebody, and that somebody had friends who are trolls. They cared about her a little too much, and decided to make me a scary person to be around. I guess I don't mind, because now I've got friends from the other side."
That sent a chill through you. You backed away from the door and checked the mirror. Hans didn't have any shadow at all.
"The other side of what? What will they do to me?"
"Nothing! They're just lonely souls," he insisted. "Please open the door. It's been years since I've seen a real person. I bet you're gorgeous."
You didn't know how to respond. He laughed.
"Describe yourself for me?"
You reached for the mirror again to give your description a try, but noticed the candle had melted down two inches. "No! No, you have to leave. Please."
"Can you draw?"
"Hm?"
"Can you draw yourself for me? Or write a description, if you don't want to talk. You can pass it under the door," he said.
"If I do that for you, will you please go away until I'm done with it?"
"Yes. I'll come back in ten minutes, will that be enough time?"
"Yes, now go," you said. His footsteps faded away down the hall and you sighed, feeling lightheaded. Summoning the mirror, you waited until he had turned the corner to snuff out the candle.
There happened to conveniently be paper and a pencil stuck in your room with you, and you did the best you could to capture your appearance as objectively as possible. When he knocked ten minutes later, you had just finished, hurrying to light the candle again.
You slid the edge of the paper under the door and backed away. "There."
"Thank you!" You heard him pick it up. "Let me just examine this for a moment…oh, is that true about your eyes? I'd love to see them in person. But I understand you're not planning to open the door any time soon."
"Got that right."
He was silent for a while. You checked the mirror; he was still there. "You…really are quite pretty."
"You don't know that," you said, blushing. "I could be lying."
"Well…if this is what you look like," he began, his voice having grown lower, purring a little. You waited for the end of his sentence but it didn't come, and instead he cleared his throat. "I think I'll go down to the kitchens. I'm starving. Would you like me to bring you something?"
"No thank you."
"Very well."
You heard his feet shuffling, and then a thud. The mirror showed the prince sprawled out on his belly, foot caught in the rug. "Whoops…"
Could he really be as bad as his brothers had implied? He seemed so…sweet. Even innocent.
Night 1
3AM
"You know."
He had returned without warning. Slamming the fairytale book shut, you dropped it and tumbled to the candle just as you heard something playing with the door handle.
"You really are very attractive, if I can trust what you've given me," he continued. "I wish I could play with your hair."
"What?"
"I just meant it seems fun to play with," he backpedaled. "And…I'm, I'm curious…do you find me attractive?"
Clearly seclusion had no use for subtlety or manners.
You didn't answer.
"It's all right if you don't; I just want to know," he explained. "You see, of the dozens of men and women who had your job before you, few have been able to get over their fear of me to give me a straight answer. I was once very beautiful, and it would bring me joy to find that I'm still seen that way. And if not, at least I'll know."
"You…you are," you said. "I think you are, anyway. Even with tired eyes."
"Can you describe myself to me?"
"You can't look in a mirror?"
"I want to see me how you see me," he explained, hope in his voice. "I want to see myself the way someone as beautiful as you sees me."
You picked up the mirror and looked at that face, more youthful and lively as the night wore on. "Your hair is a very smooth auburn, just like your long eyelashes. Your sideburns frame your face nicely, and accentuate your strong jaw. Your eyes are a very specific sort of yellow-green, and you have full and rosy cheeks covered in freckles. Your nose…well, it's quite big, and quite sharp. But it looks good for you."
"Thank you," he nodded.
"Your lips are thin and rose colored, and your teeth are as white as freshly fallen snow," you continued. "Two of your teeth are very sharp, like a dog's."
He flashed them for you. "Do you like them? They make it very easy to bite into things. But, of course, I'm more gentle in biting a person."
"You bite people!"
"Oh! My dear, not like that," he said. "I don't have a taste for human flesh. I…was alluding to more intimate activities."
A drip of candle wax glinted in your vision. There was very little candle left. "Please go," you said, face burning as the idea of him biting into anyone really sunk in. "Please. The candle will go out."
"Are you sure you want me to go?"
"I…y-yes, go! Please leave, I can't think of you biting people. It's too…"
"Frightening?"
"Well, no…g-go!"
He left and you blew out the candle. You weren't halfway through the hour.
He stayed away, mostly in the library again, and none of his "friends" seemed to wander anywhere. You were beginning to wish you had let him stay with you. It was getting lonely in here.
You wished you could pass more time with the book, but the last time you had done that, Hans's shadow had nearly opened the door. So you just waited, and watched, pinching yourself every time you began to nod off.
"Are you bored?" he asked through the mirror. "I would be, if I were you. You know, there are a lot of things you could do in your free time. I can think of a few more fun than reading that plain old book or trying to figure out how much time that candle has left."
You wondered what he could be talking about.
"Are you thinking about what I said? About biting?" he chanced, running a finger over one sharp canine. "You did say you found me attractive. I would be lying if I said I hadn't begun to fantasize. I know that sounds rude, but…I can't help it. And I want to bite you, dear, gently."
What was he doing.
"I want to leave bite marks on your bare neck and shoulders," he purred. "It's been so long since this tongue has run over warm, human flesh and tasted the sweat brought on by the heat of the moment…my darling, I fear I might already be idealizing you."
"Please stop," you whispered to the mirror as your thighs began to quiver.
Night 1
4AM
He had stopped with his descriptions of biting. Now you knew. Now you understood what his brothers had meant by "try anything." He would try to seduce you out of that room. You had two hours left and it was already working.
You wanted him to keep talking. You wanted him to come stand outside your room and keep up with those descriptions of what he would do to you if he could.
You heard snoring. He had fallen asleep in the library. And his shadow was gone.
You checked every room and hallway you could think of, and there it was, his shadow, not three feet from your door. You hurried to light the candle, and watched patiently for five minutes until the shadow finally moved away so you could conserve that last inch of candle for as long as possible.
Night 1
5AM
One hour to go. You were comfortable enough to pick the book back up, but instead of seeing the words, you saw his face. It was there in your mind, the most real thing you had seen all night even if it had been through glass.
Focus on the book. Book. Book, mirror, candle. Book, mirror, candle. Prince Hans's face. A brief check of the hallway. His sleeping face again. He looked so peaceful. He looked so—
The doorhandle rattled. You checked the clock; still more than a half an hour to go, so it couldn't be his brothers. You lit the stub of the candle, beginning to panic. You were doing so well! What if it didn't go away this time?
But after ten minutes, it did. You still had some candle left. Keeping your eyes on the hallway this time, you checked only it and the clock. And then Hans appeared in the hallway, stopping outside your door with a big yawn.
"Please leave!"
"Not a 'good morning'?" he said, feigning hurt. "My brothers will be awake soon. I don't have a lot of time left with you, and I wanted to hear your voice again." His own was scratchy from sleep.
"My voice?"
"I like it," he said, leaning against the door. You lit the candle again, nearly burning yourself on the match. "You have a very nice voice. I want you to say my name."
"Prince Hans," you offered shyly. In the mirror, he bit his lip, smiling. "Oh…"
"Say it again, please," he murmured, following it up with your name on his lips before you could open your mouth again.
"Hh-h. Hans," you repeated. You could hear the hint of an almost-moan. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, yes," he said. "I really like when you say my name."
"I can tell…"
"Can you imagine what it would sound like if you were excited to see me? Or if you couldn't breathe?"
That sounded like a threat. "A-a-and why wouldn't I be able to breathe!"
"You'd be having a hard time catching your breath, my dear," he explained. "I have that effect on women and men when we're…well, alone together."
"Oh…"
"But I have to say, so far I'm more taken with you than anyone I've met, and I haven't even seen your face," he said. "I bet…if I saw you in the flesh, I would be unable to look away. It would be nearly impossible to repress the urge to hold you in my arms."
"Prince Hans, please," you whispered, tears in your eyes. "This isn't proper…"
"Do you want me to stop? I'm sorry, if you don't like it."
"I…well I don't dislike it," you said, instantly wishing you had just lied. "It's…we've only just met tonight, you highness…"
"I understand. It's all too much on your first night, isn't it. I'll behave, I'm sorry. Suppose I should just keep to myself the thoughts of caressing your face," his tired voice said, "and of whispering sweet nothings to you, and of biting your lips…"
You were leaning against the door yourself now.
"You mentioned my nose. Can you imagine it buried between your breasts as I cup them—did you ever describe anything besides my face? Because surely you've noticed my hands. I keep them in these gloves nearly all the time, you see. It keeps them soft and warm."
What candle?
You stared into the mirror as he slowly peeled off one glove, running his thumb over his index and middle finger. Mesmerizing.
"Please just let me touch you, once."
You heard a fizzle. The candle was out; your heart stopped. "No!"
The door handle clicked, clicked, clicked until it turned. You scrambled back to hide behind the bed, just as you heard the big clock down the hall chime six. A whisping noise; the door slammed shut, locking in place. You didn't hear Hans's footsteps. Boldly reaching for the mirror, you summoned his face, and there he was, chained in his cell again.
The lock began to click more and you shook your head in fear, but this time when it opened, a sleepy prince with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes smiled at you. "Good morning! I'm Edvard. Thought I would come in and check on you personally. Well…looks like you survived the night! Go on and get something to eat, get some sleep. Got another long night ahead of you, but I'm sure you'll do fine!"