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Valemon was lucky enough to find his wife in the kitchen. While he could stay in the main hall quite comfortably and could manage the stairs fairly well in his bear form, the kitchen was actually one of very few rooms that he could actually enter in the daytime. He simply had too much bulk as a bear to get through just about any of the other doorways in the castle.

At first she didn't notice him, as she had her back to the door. It wasn't until he walked around to the side of the table that she saw him. His wife immediately placed her hands in her lap and gave him a nervous good evening. After a moment where he tried to decide what to do, Valemon simply lowered himself down onto the floor and made himself comfortable.

"Good evening. And how was your day?"

"Ah, fine. I just explored the castle." The conversation was horribly stilted. Valemon mentally groaned, and tried to think of how to keep the conversation going.

"If you saw anything that wasn't to your liking then feel free to change it. I never really bothered to do anything once I came here, so all but a couple of rooms are the same as they were when the castle wasn't inhabited. I'm sure you noticed the different rooms which are like this one. You can get nearly anything you want. If you can't find something then you can tell me in the evening and I'll show you where it is."

His wife nodded and tried to give him a polite smile, though it turned out to be a rather weak attempt. She seemed to struggle for a moment with whether or not to say something. Finally she said, "While I was looking around I noticed that there was a bed chamber in the family rooms that seemed like someone was using it. I thought that was odd as it seems to be the only one besides mine that is even properly furnished. I was wondering if there was someone else living here?"

"No, it is only us two."

"Oh." She was obviously confused at that response, which was understandable. Valemon sighed as he quickly thought of how he was going to answer her.

"That was my chamber." The response to that statement was a look of disbelief, which she quickly managed to tramp down. But not anywhere near quickly enough for it to remain unnoticed. "I believe that it is fairly obvious that I am under some kind of spell." He waited for his wife's nod before continuing. "I am only in this form from sunrise to sunset. During the remaining hours of the day I have my human body. So I have a bedchamber so that I can be comfortable during that time."

"So at night you are human?" Valemon wanted to growl that he was always human, he was just cursed to have a bear's body part of the time. He managed to choke down the words and simply nodded. "Oh…then…perhaps later tonight we can share a small meal here. Or maybe tomorrow since I've already eaten. I don't mind waiting until sunset."

"NO." He didn't realize that he had been so sharp until he saw his wife jump in her seat. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm his initial panic. "I'm afraid that it wouldn't be practical. I can't really explain everything and the reasons behind some things, but you can't see my human body. I don't object to spending time with you after dark but it would have to be in a room without any torches or candles lit and with a cold fireplace. It would be impossible to eat in that situation."

Valemon opened his eyes and met his wife's gaze. She seemed to think for a moment before saying, "All right, I understand."

"Actually, now that you know I'd like for you to keep the fact in mind." He hadn't really meant for her to know much, but it seemed like they were going to become much closer than he had originally intended. At least if he succeeded they would be. Things would be more likely to work if she were also vigilant. "As I said, I can't explain everything, but there are harsh consequences for seeing my human body. I'll need you to also be careful that we don't bump into each other after sundown when there is enough light that you could see me. Understand?"

"Yes."

Valemon checked the window of the kitchen and saw that the sky was darkening. He only had about an hour, maybe less, until the sun set. Even though he still had time he decided to go ahead and take his leave, both to give his wife some time to consider everything that had been said and because he couldn't think of anything else which they could talk about at the moment.

He stood up and gave his wife a nod, the closest he could come to a bow in his current form. "I'll leave you to finish your meal. If there is anything you need during the night I will likely be in my chambers, so just knock." With that he left.

---

As odd as it was, when she was told that the bear turned into a man at night the first thing that occurred to her was that she had shown very bad manners by not sharing the evening meal with him. Under normal circumstances if she had done that her host would be extremely insulted. It hadn't bothered her when she thought of him as a bear because he obviously couldn't sit and eat at a table. Once she knew that he turned into a human after sundown her manners kicked back in, taught to her by both her mother and from the ambassador for political reasons.

So Gala immediately tried to repair her mistake. And then nearly jumped out of her skin when the bear snapped at her. It was hard to recognize emotion on his face, but he was obviously agitated. At the moment he looked more like a wild animal, whereas she hadn't really thought of him like that since she first saw him.

The bear went on and explained the reason for his answer in a calmer manner. He seemed to expect some kind of response, so Gala said something appropriate. She had learned a long time ago how to say something appropriate to the situation that didn't really mean anything without having to think about it. The bear went on to ask for her help in making sure that she never knew what he looked like as a human.

She knew better than to disobey any rules that were set by him, especially after being warned that there were consequences. Women who did so in these types of situations ended up having unpleasant things drop from their mouths or were compelled to try and accomplish an impossible task. If the bear said that they couldn't be in the same room at night when there was any light, then they wouldn't be.

The bear stayed silent for a moment after her agreement before taking his leave. His parting words were too short, but he seemed like he was trying to be somewhat polite. He wasn't doing a very good job but it did seem like he was making some small attempt. Once he left she finished her supper like he had suggested.

While she ate she tried to think of how she was going to manage her new life. She could amuse herself for likely the rest of the week with exploring the castle in further detail and exploring the surrounding forest. But there wasn't really much to do after that. Gala supposed that she could manage to pick up some solitary hobby, as there seemed to be unlimited supplies in the solar. Nearly the only thing she was really interested in was going back to the library and taking a closer look at what was there. That would likely take up a lot of time, but no matter how large the library was she would eventually go through it.

Things would have been better if there were a few people in the castle. Gala didn't enjoy all of the balls and different courtly expeditions that the rest of her family seemed to live for, and she knew that she wouldn't miss them. But she was used to being around people. She spoke to all of the kingdom's advisors on a daily basis and spoke with the old ambassador on a fairly regular basis, she always had supper with her family so long as everyone was at the castle and wasn't visiting somewhere, and she was rather fond of a few of the servants, like Ulla and the head scribe and the chatelaine. Gala didn't enjoy giant gatherings but she was used to being around people. The only other person in the castle besides her was the bear.

As of yet, she didn't dislike him or really hold anything against him, but he didn't seem to encourage conversation or any form of companionship. He had sought her company this evening, but he hadn't exactly stayed long. He had apparently kept a good distance earlier considering that she hadn't come across him while she was exploring. The day before he had hardly spoken to her while he brought her here and had left her alone after dropping her off at her room.

After working her mind around and around, the only conclusion that Gala managed to come up with was that she could only hope that, as the only two occupants of the castle, they could become some sort of friends, though she didn't hold much hope for it.

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I do believe that this is my quickest update yet. Here Valemon makes a rather pathetic attempt at getting closer to Gala while she tries to work out how she is going to live in the castle for an undisclosed amount of time without going crazy. Them getting together is obviously going to take a while.

I appreciate any comments, especially if someone catches a mistake. As always, R&R please.