It was nearing the beginning of March when the storms finally broke. Jude had Phillipe outside every day, leading him around the snow. Occasionally, Jude rode him, but he was worried about ice. He didn't want Phillipe to fall and he didn't want Phillipe to fall while Jude was in the saddle. Sometimes, Connor would join them. He always gave Jude his space when they were outside with Phillipe. Jude liked that. Connor knew that Phillipe was uncomfortable and, rather than trying to push the horse, he let Phillipe have his space.

"I think that says a lot about him, don't you?" Jude asked.

Phillipe pawed the ground in search of grass. Jude supposed that was a valid answer too. He let Phillipe wander around for a bit, but there was a bitter chill in the air – winter's dying breath. Connor was hunting around the grounds too, lazily making snowballs and tossing them into the trees above him. The branches rained snow down upon Connor, but he didn't seem disturbed. He'd simply shake his mighty head and dispel the flakes, although his hairy neck and mane were becoming wet and slightly matted. Connor wasn't paying a lot of attention to Jude, at the moment, which Jude used to his advantage. He bent down and picked up some of the snow that Phillipe had turned up. The snow was decent, packing snow. Unfortunately for Connor, Jude also had a good arm.

Once Jude had the snowball he wanted, he stepped in front of Phillipe enough to get a good sight on Connor. Connor's back was turned and Jude aimed to just over the top of his purple cloak. He drew his arm back and threw. The target hit Connor on the exact patch of sandy fur Jude had been aiming for. He ducked back on the other side of Phillipe as a roar of surprise came out of Connor. Phillipe didn't like the noise and stepped backward, swishing his tail. Jude was left fully exposed to Connor, gripping Phillipe's reins.

He waved lamely, not sure what else to do.

"That was cold," Connor said, sounding surprisingly whiny.

"I thought you didn't feel cold!"

"It was mean!"

Connor was slowly approaching Jude and he wasn't particularly sounding like himself. Jude started to get suspicious. Had Connor had time to grab a snow ball? He could move incredibly quickly when he wanted to. Jude could have missed him collecting snow. Jude tugged Phillipe closer to him. Connor wouldn't hit Phillipe.

"I'm sorry." Jude guided Phillipe's head into his arms, trying to look innocent.

Connor stopped in his tracks, his bare paws slowly sinking into the snow.

"I think I'm going to take Phillipe in," Jude said. "I think he's had enough for one day."

Connor was watching him carefully, and Jude was still suspicious. He walked carefully with Phillipe and took him into the stable. He shut the door behind him, though he did leave it open a crack. He didn't want Connor to feel shut out and he wanted to keep an eye on what he was doing. He had to turn his back on the door for the briefest moment to tie Phillipe in the hall. When he turned back around, Connor was out of sight.

"Oh no," Jude murmured to Phillipe.

Phillipe was not concerned.

Jude brushed the horse and made sure there was water and hay in his stall before he returned Phillipe to it. Phillipe pawed at the shavings in his stall and then he stuck his muzzle in his water bucket. Since he was fine and content, Jude left the stables, this time shutting the door firmly so Phillipe would stay as warm as possible. He looked around for Connor, finally spotting the beast over by a nearby tree. Connor was peeking at him, trying to keep the bulk of his body hidden behind the trunk, although he was not overly successful. Connor was a large beast.

"Time to go in?" Jude called.

"Come over here for a moment, please!"

Jude went, despite his better judgement. He supposed it would only be fair for him to get hit with a snowball in revenge. He trudged through the snow, circling so that he could see what Connor was trying to conceal. It was the biggest snowball that Jude had ever seen. When he looked at the snow behind Connor, it was clear that he'd spent several long minutes rolling the thing around so that it was the size of a snowman's bottom.

Jude didn't want anything to do with it.

Connor was looking at him smugly. The only thing Jude could think to do was to bend down and grab his own small snowball, which was pathetic in comparison. Connor rested his claws against the side of the snowball and they just stared at one another. Jude took a step backward and Connor hefted the snowball. He wavered under the weight of it for a moment and Jude watched Connor's arm muscles tense. Had he overestimated himself? Was he going to drop it? But Connor steadied himself and Jude took two more quick steps back. He was in danger again.

Jude swiftly judged Connor's face and then the distance to the palace door. He might be able to make it. He had to try. Connor was getting ready to throw the monster snowball. Jude threw his own small snowball, not even pausing to see if he'd caught Connor between the horns like he'd intended. He bounded through the snow and, only once he had his hand on the door handle did Jude turned around. Connor was still shaking his head and coming the fur around his head with his claws. The large snowball lay in broken pieces at his feet and it didn't take long for Jude to put together what had happened. He ended up laughing about it, which just made Connor look grumpy.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"With you," Jude corrected. "Come on, don't sulk."

"I'm not sulking." Connor took a leap over the banks of snow he'd created and approached Jude. "Wet fur isn't the most fun thing in the world, you know."

"It's not the most fun thing to smell either," Jude noted as Connor came near.

Connor shook himself again and a few errant water drops landed along Jude's face. He tried to brush them off without attracting Connor's attention. Connor had a slightly sour look on his face and Jude wasn't sure why.

"Don't tell me I smell like wet dog."

Ah. That made sense. Jude would have to be dumb to think that Connor had no insecurities about his beastly form. That, too, made Jude made Jude curious. What reason would a beast have to be insecure about who they were? Then again, what reason would a human have? Jude had numerous.

"Wasn't the comparison I'd use," Jude teased. It made Connor's expression lighten slightly. "Let's go in and dry off anyway."

He held the door open for Connor and Connor slipped through. Jude made sue Connor's tail was out of the way before he headed inside the castle. It wasn't warm, necessarily, inside, but there was no wind, which Jude was grateful for. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, but it didn't help much.

"Let's stop by the kitchen," Connor suggested. "We can order some cocoa for the Games Room."

Jude was going to get fat, being spoilt with pastries and cocoa while he played games and relaxed on a luxurious couch. He liked doing it, certainly, but the guilt he felt when he thought about what he was doing and what Callie was probably doing threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't do anything to deserve this. When Callie had walked into the palace, she'd been locked in a cell. Whereas Jude had been promptly offered a room, and the more he ruminated on it, the more it bothered him.

He kept his mouth shut as they stepped into the kitchen. Stef was there, throwing apples into a sack. He didn't want to talk about it with Stef there.

"I thought Phillipe might like a treat," Stef said. "An apple mash is good in winter."

"Thank you," Jude said. "You treat him too well."

"We're just looking for cocoa to be taken upstairs," Connor interrupted.

"Not a problem. Though, speaking of stairs, stay off the main ones."

Connor's ears flicked in annoyance. "Why?"

"They're being cleaned," Stef said.

"Cleaned," Connor repeated flatly. "Why?"

"They were dirty and we have a guest, Master. The servants wish to impress."

Connor was still making a face.

"You can't take the stairs by the ballroom. They'll take you where you want to go."

"I know," Connor muttered. "Sorry, Jude. It's a longer route."

"I don't mind."

Stef reached behind her. "A cup for the road?"

Jude took the mug from her and she picked up the teapot. It was warm and Jude wondered who, exactly, she'd been making tea for. He and Connor were the only ones in the castle that consumed anything. Jude had never seen Connor drink tea and Jude didn't drink it regularly. It didn't matter. He was thankful for it. The porcelain mug overheated his cold hands and it was almost painful to hold. Jude still clutched at it for all it was worth.

Connor turned and swept from the kitchen and Jude easily kept pace with him. Connor always slowed down his walking when they were together.

"I don't think anywhere around the ballroom has been cleaned in forever. It's going to be disgusting."

"That's okay. To be honest, I've gotten a little used to the dust."

"It's not that bad."

"In the places we use," Jude said.

His point became clearer as they crossed the line of places commonly visited into parts of the castle that Jude wasn't sure he'd laid eyes on yet. His feet sunk into the layers of dust and it was almost like stepping in snow, except there was no characteristic crunch of freshly fallen flakes.

Connor shrugged. "It's not my job to clean. Besides, I've no use for stuff like that."

Connor gestured and Jude followed the line of his great paw to a set of ornate doors. Even by comparison of the rest of the palace, the large doors were overly lavish. Jude vaguely remembered them being pointed out to him before on one of his first tours of the palace with Connor. They were the ballroom doors, but Jude had never been inside of the room before. Holding his mug carefully, he pushed the doors open.

He was immediately hit by a stale smell. This place had been boarded up for an extremely long time and he coughed from the dust stirred up by the movement of the doors. Jude waved his hand around in front of him, trying to calm the dust in the air so that he could see properly. He was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the room. The ceiling must have reached up at least two stories high and the furthest wall seemed so far away that Jude wasn't sure how to measure the distance. At least half the distance across the small town he and Callie lived in, if not more. It was mostly a clear space, designed for dancing, although, as with all the rooms, there was an ornate fireplace for warmth. There was also a large rectangular rise off in the corner. Jude imagined this was where an orchestra would be. He looked up, trying to drink the whole setting in. Far above him was an extraordinary chandelier, though its magnificence was masked by grey dust and heavy cobwebs. Even further up than the chandelier hanging from its heavy chain, was the ceiling. It too was hidden behind years of grime, but Jude could still tell that it was painted. It was probably painted to be beautiful, but Jude could only make out humanoid shapes that were extremely dark in colour.

"What was up there?" Jude asked.

Connor looked up. "I don't remember."

"I bet this room looked beautiful, fixed up. I can just imagine the parties here. The dances."

"I never expected you to be a dancer."

Jude took another step in, dust flying up underneath of his footsteps. The silence hung heavy in this room. Jude suspected this room was only ever used for lively purposes; he couldn't imagine the neglect that it had gone through. It wasn't alone. Most of the palace was as abandoned as this.

"I'm not. I mean … I've never. There was a dance, once, in the village, but people there don't like me and I didn't want to go because I didn't want to deal with Liam. There was a girl who asked me if I was going to be there."

It took Connor seconds to long to ask, "Did you like her?"

"No." Jude turned his back on Connor. He was sure to be vague when he answered, "Not really interested."

Connor could decide if he was talking about girls or dances. Jude wasn't going to say much more than that. There was no need for Connor to hear about things Jude didn't understand or even speak to Callie about. Connor didn't reply and Jude tried to take a sip of his tea, only to discover that there were dust bunnies floating around in it. He lowered the mug.

"You have to wonder what this place was like before."

"Before me?" Connor said humourlessly. "I think it's easy to guess. Some king and his brat children probably lived here. Didn't realize what they were until a terrifying beast appeared and drove them out."

Jude turned. "Did you do that? I thought you said that you found the place abandoned. What happened to the people that were here before?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't. I was being sarcastic. It's a palace. Who wouldn't want to stay here?"

Connor was staring at Jude and Jude felt as if he were being studied rather than being looked at. He wasn't sure he liked it and he cleared his throat.

"It's beautiful. It almost makes me wish I could experience it when it was in its glory. Of course, what reason would I have for visiting a king? I can't imagine he'd want to see me if I were applying for a job. Maybe that would be it. I could get a job here. How well do you think working under royalty would pay?"

"You wouldn't have to worry about room and meals, that's for sure."

"Sounds like an easier existence than I have," Jude snorted, then frowned. "Had. The existence I have is pretty easy."

"Do you hate it?"

"No. Of course I don't. But I am cold, so, please, take me to my room, okay? I think I'd get lost if I tried it on my own."

"Of course." Connor gestured regally, half-bent at the waist. "After you."

Jude smiled at Connor as he walked by.

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~TLL~