The dress arrived at about eleven o'clock at night. It was the basic garb of a servant girl, brown and plain, but clean and not entirely unattractive. Mimi had worn several like back during her time as Lavender's slave and only a passing thought wondered if she should not wear something fancier when meeting a real prince. Fortunately there were plenty of stories of enslaved beauties.

"You're amazing!" she said as Jacob tossed the dress onto a chair. "I didn't think you could actually get one."

"I will never live down the story I had to tell to get this for you," he replied.

She stared at him. "What was the story?"

For a moment he was silent. "All right, I stole it from a basket of laundry and apparently I lack the ability to instantly come up with a story for your listening pleasure."

She fished at the dress with her bill. "I'm disappointed. I love stories."

"I'm a cook, not a storyteller."

"Back home, before my father married that awful woman, travelers told the most wonderful stories. Do you have many travelers here?"

Jacob scratched his ear. "No, not really. I mean, I suppose there is a steady turn-up of them, but the Duke is hardly popular."

"Not from what you said." The dress smelled wonderful. What did these girls use in their laundry? No, she could not think that way. She was no longer a servant responsible for cleaning. "Thank-you for getting the dress." She laughed. "I can't wait for tonight!"

"Sneaking out in the middle of the night to try to find someone who may or may not be awake or in the realm of your search. Yes, that sounds marvelous." He sighed and shook his head. "Have fun, for I bid thee good night." He left to his own room.

Mimi laughed again and stretched out her wings. They were becoming stronger, she had noticed. If she hopped off the chair, she could manage a quick flight about the small room. It tragically was not as exciting as she had expected; then again, more room was probably needed for a proper flight. She shook her head. What was she thinking? First about the methods of a manor laundress and now about flying as a goose. All she had to do was look at that dress. A few more hours and she would be human, properly human.

Oh, how she missed it!

Two o'clock could not come quickly enough. When the two strikes echoed through the little room, she slipped the dress onto her wonderfully human body. It fit surprisingly well. Either she was a very average size or Jacob had a good eye. And there was just something about wearing a dress, something so comfortingly human and feminine. She ran a hand through her hair. She no longer sported her familiar braid and she had not thought about asking for a brush. That was certainly nothing the dwarf could steal from a laundry basket. Still, in the dark, how much could the prince see? She pinched her cheeks red, though hoped she did not need it. Her heart seemed to pound enough blood. She whirled about happily, the skirt flaring about. She was going to meet a prince.

It was happening. Finally happening. All those stories she had heard. She slipped into the hall and headed to where she had seen him the night before.

The entire manor seemed to hold its breath as she walked through the halls and the first slivers of doubt began to pierce her heart. Maybe Jacob was right and the prince would not be up and about. But just when else was she supposed to meet him? Of course he would not be reading her mind…

"You came."

She screamed and whirled around. There, in the shadow of a grotesquely large vase, sat none other than Prince Matthias with a single glowing candle at this feet and a book in his lap. Moonlight mixed with the light of the candle. No wonder she had not seen him. But he had seen her.

"You… you expected me?" Her voice came out as barely a whisper.

He nodded, slammed the book shut, and jumped to his feet. The moment he did, the book tumbled from his hand and crashed to the floor. "Oops." He quickly retrieved. The spectacles he had worn earlier were still on his face. He pulled them off and stuck them into a trouser pocket. "Well, no, I didn't expect you. But… I did hope. I thought I saw someone last night. And I don't know if that's you or not. If it's not then I must say I'm quite humiliated right now. But if it is…"

Mimi laughed. This was not the royal reception she had expected, but Prince Matthias did seem nice. "It was I. I guess I'm humiliated you saw me."

"Not very much of you." He paused. "I mean… I mean, I couldn't find you today. You live here, right?"

She shrugged. "I suppose."

Another pause, longer than the first. "I'm sorry. I forget my manners. My name is Prince Matthias." He bowed, lower than anyone Mimi had ever seen.

She curtsied. It was so long since she had practiced, but Matthias did not seem the type to judge her. "My name is Mimi." She almost threw in the title "Daughter of the Sorcerer Weatherbold" but for some reason to herself she did not.

"Mimi," he repeated. "That's pretty."

"Thank-you." Her father's old customers had always liked her name, as well. "Am I disturbing, Prince Matthias."

He shook his head fervently. "No! Of course not! I was kind of… waiting for you. To see if you would show up again. Like last night."

Would it be embarrassing to admit she was doing the same? "How flattering, your grace."

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing up this late anyway," Prince Matthias continued. "I can't sleep. I'm a terrible sleeper. It's like a curse. So I read instead. I love reading."

"You do?" Her heart flipped in her chest.

"I read everything. I have my own library full of books. I even visited the Duke's library today." His blush was visible even in the dim light. "I apologize. I talk too much."

She laughed. It was different from her laughs in the dwarf's quarters. It was a quiet laugh, shy. "If I may ask, my prince, don't you have rooms for reading rather than a hallway?" Hopefully the one they all called His Madness had the hospitality to provide room for a guest. Her father had always been so gracious.

"Of course! But… I wasn't reading last night." He held up the book. "I brought this along to occupy myself while I waited for you."

She could still scarcely believe he had waited for here. "What is it?"

He shrugged. "Probably nothing that would interest you. It's a report on the forestry of this area."

"I… I actually would find that fascinating. My father kept all sorts of books like that."

His locked on her face. Mimi almost wanted to turn away. Almost. "Your father must be very wise."

A tiny crack went through her heart. "He… he is." Oh, dear, she was about to cry.

Matthias frowned. "Did something happen to him?"

If only she knew for certain. "No," she found herself saying. "I just haven't seen him since I came here. I miss him sometimes."

"I'm sure he misses you." Matthias' voice was sincere.

"Thank-you. You are very kind."

Matthias stared out the window at the moon. "It's late. I… I must say I enjoyed talking to you. But this, this isn't proper. I can't risk your name."

Oh, dear. What time was it? "Will I see you again?"

"Will you come back tomorrow night?" In a move of surprisingly boldness, he grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. The next moment he was ten feet back, once again blushing. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. Her hand tingled where his lips had touched it. "I don't mind. It was a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

"You as well, Mimi."

The walk back to her room was a dream. Scarcely had she closed the door than the clock struck three. The stolen dress collapsed around her as feathers slid from her skin and her body shrunk. For the first time she did not mind. All she could think about was the prince. She wanted to fall asleep to thoughts of him. A prince! And after all those years of coming to terms with the fact it was a childish fancy. Hah! She had shown herself!

And then a tap at the window stirred her from thoughts of Matthias.

There, on the other side of the pane, sat a squirrel. Blake.

Immediately Matthias was gone from her mind. She sprang up to the chair closest to the window and, after a few attempts, managed to flip the latch with her bill.

"It is you!" Blake exclaimed as he hopped through.

"Of course it's me!" This was becoming quite the name for Mimi. "But it's you! How did you get here? How did you find me? I was trying to get back to that crazy woman's home and…"

"Well, it was stupid of me to advise you to stay right before a market day. Though in my defense I had no idea. Trust me, I was about to drown myself at the thought you would have been killed. But one of the perks of being a squirrel is being privy to useless gossip and I eventually heard about some goose bought from Elva being kept as some girl's pet up at the manner. Or being saved for a later feast. There were a couple of stories. But I hoped against hope and after that transformation I know for sure. How are you?"

"As well as I can hope," Mimi replied. "As you see, I'm still under this awful spell."

"Yes. We do need to break that."

"Any ideas?"

"Lavender would know. Or maybe your father." Blake lazily flipped his tail back and forth as he thought. "I went to look for you father back at the castle. I can't find him. We could go back there, but I don't know what good we would be…"

"Don't you have a plan?" Mimi asked. "The other night you sounded so sure."

"Actually, no, I just wanted to find your father. But that has not yet happened. But here…" He stared at the room. He seemed oddly in place there. "Mimi, would you mind staying here?"

"Not at all." The words flew from her mouth. "I mean, it's safe here."

"May I ask why you have not yet been cooked?"

She gestured at the other door. "There's this goblin dwarf creature here. Jacob. He's one of the head cooks. He can understand me. He was going to help me get back to Elva's. That was to find you, though, and now you're here. But I could stay." She hoped Jacob would agree.

"He can understand you? Interesting. Well, I have to let you know it's extremely weird you wound up here, of all places, but good. I know this place pretty well, actually. Traveling to your castle is actually extraordinary for me."

"Why did you come to my castle?"

Blake was silent.

"Blake, it is extraordinary. How did you know Lavender was going to put this spell on me?"

"To be honest, I didn't. As in I did not go to the castle to help you. Do not get me wrong, I am happy to be attempting to be your hero. But I was looking for Lavender."

Now it was Mimi's turn for silence.

"Lavender has many enemies," Blake continued.

She closed her eyes tight. "Oh, heavens, you're also under a spell, aren't you? The other night!" There she had been without a single stitch of cloth.

"It's a very long story," he said dryly.

"Would you be offended if I did not want to hear about it now?" She was far too humiliated.

"No. I want to help you. I promise, I will think of something. Stay here. If this Jacob can understand you, you should stay with him. Mimi, I will promise I will think of something. Now get some sleep and don't wander the halls. Good night." He slipped out the window.

Stay here. Of course she could stay here. Matthias was here.

She settled into one of the chairs and quickly fell asleep.