I woke up to the sound of Carl yelling for help. I jumped out of bed and ran down the steps and I saw Carl embracing a tiny teapot. "Oh no…it can't be…" He sobbed, rocking back and forth on his heels.

I was so confused but I didn't want to be rude, so I just stood there and frowned, trying to seem sympathetic, not daring to say a word.

Lord Bastillion arrived, stomping loudly as he ran down the stairs. "What is the meaning of this?!" His voice boomed sternly. I froze, feeling afraid to see him after having avoided him all this time.

"My Lord, I'm afraid that your mother…" Carl's hands shook as he held the teapot in his hands and did not finish his sentence. Lord Bastillion didn't say a word as he stared at the teapot. His face seemed furious, but he did not disturb the sudden silence of the Manor. Were they… suggesting that Lady Bastillion was the teapot? Was that something that could happen in this world? "The curse is at its final stage, my Lord. I will be next, and then after that-"

"Silence!" Lord Bastillion yelled, his voice shaking the halls.

"I'm just being realistic, my Lord." Carl insisted, not giving in to Lord Bastillion's intimidation. "Have you checked the-"

"Enough Carl. Not in front of our guest." Lord Bastillion hissed, turning to me. "You have no business here."

"Is that Lady Bastillion? Is she… a teapot?" I choked on my words.

"She is indeed, Miss Rose." Carl sighed. "There is an entire curse on the castle. Nolan is proof of that. And now, Lady Bastillion is as well, along with a couple other of our Manor staff." He stood up slowly, making sure not to drop the delicate teapot.

"The curse on Nolan is the same curse on this castle?" I was stunned.

"Indeed." Carl nodded.

"Carl!" Lord Bastillion walked up to Carl, his fist shaking in Carl's face. "What did I just tell you?!"

"She must know!" Carl insisted, fighting back Lord Bastillion's anger. "She is in this castle too. What do you want me to say? 'Oh don't worry, Lady Bastillion wanted to spend the rest of her days as a teapot! What a laugh!"

"It is not her business!" Lord Bastillion insisted.

"It is now!" Carl demanded. "You know it!"

"If the curse is broken on the castle…" My words trailed off into thoughts. The curse will be broken on Nolan, and then he will finally be freed.

"Nolan! Come here at once and fix me a bath!" Lord Bastillion shouted, his voice echoing throughout the halls.

"Lord Bastillion, do you know how to break the curse?" I asked. Carl and Lord Bastillion turned to me, distracted from their argument.

"Why, yes, sweet Rose," He laughed maniacally.

"Don't." Carl warned. "Don't even dare."

"You must kiss me, Rose! Go ahead! Pucker up!" He pursed his lips teasingly in front of my face. My heart raced and I ducked, wanting to make a run for the exit.

"Stop!" I gasped. "Please, don't!"

He just laughed, almost crazy like, and then turned around and walked down the hallway screaming for Nolan. I calmed myself down as he left. Carl walked up to me, holding the teapot in his arms. "I hope you know he wasn't serious about that."

"Oh really? I had no clue." I replied sarcastically.

Carl looked as if he was holding back tears. "You may be our only hope, Rose." And then he walked down the opposite hallway as Lord Bastillion had, holding the teapot close to him.

Nolan was cleaning up the garden as Lord Bastillion had instructed him to. "I can't believe he behaved that way after losing his mother like that. He didn't seem to have a bit of remorse for her." I sighed, sitting on one of the white marble benches by the garden, keeping Nolan company as he worked hard to trim the rose bushes.

"Don't blame him too much. This curse has affected him as well." Nolan sighed. "He is the worst part of himself."

I didn't know exactly what Nolan had meant, but either way I didn't care for Lord Bastillion and the way he acted. What I did care for was how Nolan was feeling: he was taking the news of Lady Bastillion worse than Lord Bastillion himself. "Nolan…" I stood up, watching his face as he tried not to cry.

"I'm sorry. Please do not worry about me." Nolan insisted, keeping focus on the gardening. I walked up to him and held his arms in place, insisting he stopped. "What's the matter?" He asked, looking genuinely confused. Then I hugged him, wrapping my arms around his large torso.

"I'm sorry Nolan. I'm sorry for your loss."

He froze. "Rose, I will get in trouble if I do not continue the gardening."

"I don't give a damn about Lord Bastillion."

After a moment he also wrapped his arms around me too. I felt so tiny compared to him.

"She was like my mother too."

I had no idea he felt for Beatrice that way. I too was fond of her, but Nolan must've been in so much pain, more than all of us.

After several more moments Nolan let go and went back to working on the garden. I walked back to my chair and we began to talk again. I don't know how long we had been talking, all I know is that at one moment Nolan was done with the gardening and decided to sit down with me to continue our conversation. Then the Sun began to touch the horizon. "We should probably go back inside." He suggested. We got up but kept talking, walking around the inside of the Manor. Nolan stopped walking all of a sudden. "Nolan?" I asked. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, staring at me. My heart was racing, although I didn't know why. "I just… Goodnight." He stammered, turning around and walking down the opposite way of the hallway. I was confused as to why he acted like that. I felt my cheeks begin to warm, realizing I had shared a lot with Nolan, not having ever done that with anyone before, not even my brother who I used to be close with. I hoped that he wasn't mad or embarrassed that we had talked for so long. I didn't want to push anything with him, as he had always been a bit shy.

But I found myself not being content with had just happened. I wanted to talk longer, to be around him longer. "Nolan!" I called for him, running after him. I didn't know what I was doing, but my legs kept moving and I kept calling for him. He did stop, and turned to me looking as stunned as I was.

"Are you alright Rose?" He asked, looking genuinely considered.

"Do you want to sit in my room with me?" I asked, suddenly regretting the choice of words I had used.

He blinked. "Sit in your room?"

I took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yes, I-I was thinking maybe we could read or something."

He seemed a little hesitant. "Are you sure you would like that?"

"Yes! I would, really." I insisted.

After a moment he agreed and we walked to my room. I had brought in two nice chairs into my room from Beatrice's old room. We sat down and I picked up a book from my nightstand that I had been reading the night before. Nolan and I took turns reading and occasionally stopped and discussed the story. We discussed, we laughed, and we admired the story. I had always wanted someone like this, to share this sort of connection with me. I would've never have guessed it to be Nolan; but despite how shy he was, he did seem to want to open up to me whenever we were together.

I wondered why he had agreed to spending more time together despite how late it was. Maybe he needed a friend after what had happened to Beatrice. Or maybe, maybe it was more than that. Maybe I am one person who he feels he can share with- I know that's how I felt.

At one moment he looked at me and I couldn't help but stare at him back. My heart was pounding in my chest and my cheeks warmed up but I didn't look away as I smiled at him.

We weren't done with the book but around midnight I began to feel tired and curled up in my bed. He kept reading and I tried my best to listen and discuss with him. But eventually I had closed my eyes and the next time I had opened them up was the next morning, and Nolan had left.