Two days later and it was Halloween. My little sister went to school dressed as a witch, warts and all, but I passed on the costumes. Some of the girls at our school dressed up, though, as small, furry creatures. Basically, they wore underwear to school. Yuck.

Suzie caught up to me as I was walking to the bus.

"Meet me outside the castle at, like, 8:00. You might want to, like, bring a sleeping bag or something. I hear sleeping on the ground is, like, totally gross." She laughed and pranced away to her disgusting clique of friends.

"I'll show you," I muttered under my breath. "Bitch."

That night, I shoved enough into my duffel bag to last me a week in the castle. Along with flashlights and bug repellant and such, I brought a couple peanut butter sandwiches and water bottles. Nothing was going to stop me.

When I drove up to the castle gate in my beat up car, Suzie was waiting impatiently

"What took you so long?" she asked, thoroughly exasperated. I glanced at my watch; I was five minutes late. "Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

I scowled. "I'm just going to go in," I said.

"Try not to get killed." Giggle.

Bitch.

I shouldered my bag and walked through the gate, trying to convince myself that punching Suzie in the face and breaking her nose was not in my best interests. I found myself in a garden full of hedge sculptures. There was a stag, a sea serpent, a giant hand… I walked on, mesmerized by their accuracy and beauty.

In the castle there stood ice sculptures, a thousand times more stunning than the hedges. Birds flocked in a birdbath in one. Another had a boy playing with a ball. Most amazing was the sculpture of a woman dancing. I touched a finger to her clear cheek. It was freezing cold and liquefied slightly at my touch.

"Please don't touch," said a quiet voice behind me. "They melt."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, turning around. "I was just…"

The man that stood before me wore a suit entirely of black. It looked like leather. His hair was jet black and stood out in every which way. His pale face was filled with scars. What stopped me mid-sentence, though, were his hands. Or lack of hands, rather. Instead of hands, he had scissors, a foot long each. They were held out from his sides, twitching slightly.

"What the hell are those?"

He didn't answer, just held them up.

I jumped back. "Keep those away from me. Please."

He lowered them and a sad look crossed his face, much like a hurt puppy's. "Sorry."

"It's okay… So who exactly are you?"

"Edward."

"Edward…" The name rang a bell… I just wasn't sure what bell. "How long have you been up here?"

"A long time."

"Well, that helps." I paused. "Are you hungry?"

He nodded.

"I've got some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Have you had those before?"

Shake.

"I think you'll like them."

I reached into my bag, still keeping an eye on his scissors. He seemed harmless enough, but it was hard to be sure. I handed one to him. He faltered, trying to find a way to take it.

"Here," I said, and tore a small section of it off. "Put those down, please." He did so, and I popped the piece into his mouth. While he chewed it I pulled a chunk off for myself. "Like it?" I asked. He nodded. I gave him another piece. Pretty soon, we ate ourselves through my entire stash. My phone started to ring then.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey, Lil." It was Kim. "Your mom just called and asked to speak with you. I'll connect her."

There was a pause, and then my mom came on the phone. "Lilly?"

"No, Mom, it's Lil."

"Why didn't you come to the phone immediately? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

I groaned. She was so paranoid. "Yes, Mom. I'm fine. I was in the bathroom that's all."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"No, Mom, Kim's toilet ate me."

"Call me if anything goes wrong, okay?"

"Bye, Mom." I hung up before she could say anything else.

"You weren't in the bathroom," said Edward.

"What?"

"You said you were in the bathroom. But you weren't."

"Yes, I did."

"Isn't that lying?"

"Yeah…"

"Isn't lying bad?"

"Yeah… but I had to. You don't know my parents. They would freak if they knew I was here."

"Freak?"

"Get really mad. Besides, it's not like it's going to hurt anybody. My mom is just really unreasonable. Ever since that guy died up here…"

"Jim."

"I think that was his name. Wait… you killed him! Now I remember; they said you killed each other. But apparently not." I stared at him in horror, and backed away.

He stared at the sculpture of the girl. "I had to. He was hurting her."

I stopped. "Who?"

"Kim."

I could feel the wheels turning in my brain. "How long ago was this?"

"I don't know. A very long time."

"I think Kim might have been named after her grandma… Did you…? Were you two…?"

"I loved her," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Is she…?" He didn't finish, but I knew what he'd say.

"She passed away last summer."

He sat on the floor, as if the news weighed him down. I sat with him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I said. He jumped at the touch and nicked me on the arm. I gasped at the pain that shot up my arm.

"Sorry!" he said, and moved away from me.

"No, it's fine." The pain had already subsided into a dull throb. I took off my jacket, and lifted my long sleeve. I had a cut about an inch long halfway up my upper arm. "It's not that bad," I said, hissing as I wiped the blood off with my palm.

"I'm really sorry." He sounded it.

I laughed it off. "Don't worry about it." I looked at my watch. 12:39 was what it said. "I think I'm going to get some sleep now." I pulled out my collection of blankets and pillow and spread them on the floor.

"I'm sorry," repeated Edward and started to walk up the stairs.

"Wait!" I called and ran after him. "It's really no big deal. I'm perfectly fine so don't beat yourself up for it."

"Are you sure?" he asked timidly.

I put my hand on his shoulder again. "I'm positive. Good night."

We went separate ways and the rest of the night was peaceful. For me, at least.

Edward's POV

I lay in my torn bed and stared at the rotting wood above my head. The girl that slept just a floor below me reminded me terribly of Kim. Kim. The girl said she died. Beautiful Kim… was gone.

And then there was the girl… She seemed crude and tough at first, but her eyes had a way of softening when she looked at me. And she had a gentle touch. Almost as gentle as Kim's. And I didn't even know her name. I sighed and rolled over, resolving to ask her.