Yay! I was able to get this up by Christmas! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Though Mimi tried to summon every bit of bravery in her human body, the truth was that she had never felt so terrified. And yet the terror was somehow delicious and she was a character in one of those stories from her childhood. She clutched Jacob's little kitchen knife as her mind balanced between a storybook delight and the possibility whomever had killed Eugen had managed to sneak into the manor.

It was almost with disappointment that she found Prince Matthias waiting for her.

He stood this time, book at his feet, body impatient. His eyes, which Mimi assumed would eventually darken with lack of sleep, were eager and anticipating.

"Mimi!" he whispered loudly as she came around the corner. "You came!"

Mimi smiled. He was so wonderful. "Of course I came. I couldn't sleep."

The prince smiled back. "Neither could I. But I suppose I already told you that." He bent down and picked up the book at his feet. "I've been reading. Again."

"I read Shakespeare today, myself." Finally, someone with whom she could speak about books. Should she be so forward with her daily events to a prince? But then again she had never been raised to offer royalty such servitude-like respect. She was the daughter of Weatherbold. "What are you reading?"

He gave a small laugh and set down the book once more. "Not Shakespeare, I'm afraid. Though I must say I'm impressed you would know of him."

"You think I wouldn't read Shakespeare?"

He blushed. He was adorable when he blushed. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to infer. But I've never heard of a servant girl reading Shakespeare. Or forestry reports."

"I'm not a servant girl." The words were out of her mouth before she even thought them, and then the thought of her servitude of Lavender came. "I mean, I'm not a servant here." Oh, dear. She did not know what was the truth.

"I inferred again, didn't I?" Prince Matthias seemed so ashamed. "I guess I just assumed. I even went around today asking about a servant girl with your name. No wonder they did not recognize you."

"Yet would they not recognize my name were I a lady here?"

A final wave of humiliation passed over Matthias' face, but then he bowed graciously. "I'm terrible at this, Miss Mimi. Terrible. Forgive my royal blundering."

Mimi laughed. She could not help it. "You are certainly more graceful than last night."

His face reddened in the starlight. "I… I didn't realize how bad I was last night. Believe it or not, my duties don't put me in the way of people as much as one think they would."

This was not the prince she had always imagined. At all. But somehow that did not matter.

Matthias stepped closer to her. "Well, then, Mimi, whomever you are. If you are not a lady and you are not a servant, who are you?"

"Would you believe gardener?"

"I don't think I would. I spent plenty of time outdoors yesterday without coming across you." He frowned. "You're not a ghost, are you?"

He seemed to truly consider the possibility. "What would you say if I said yes?"

"You are a ghost. Incredible. Where are you buried?" His smile returned. "If I lead you straight into the moonlight will you disappear? How can I avenge your death?"

She laughed again. "I'm afraid I haven't yet had the time to make up the story of my tragic demise."

Then he took her hand, brought it to her lips, and kissed it. Her entire body tingled. "I imagined a ghost would be little more than wisp. You're quite corporeal."

"Thanks. Though I miss being a ghost."

"Really. Who are you?"

She took a deep breath. Jacob had been so firm about not mentioning her curse. But… "Seriously, now. What would you say if I were under a curse? A spell?"

He laughed and stepped back. "Mimi, you are an enigma. I never answered your question. I think you might appreciate this book." Once more he scooped it up in excitement. "The Duke has an entire shelf of history. This one pertains to just the city!"

She followed him, suddenly desperate to tell all. "Please! Prince Matthias, what would you say?"

He was already flipping through the book, eyes on the pages. Book balanced in one hand he fished his spectacles from his pocket. "Um, I don't know. I don't know very much about curses and spells. I mean, I believe in them. There is a magician at my father's court. Is that superstitious of me?"

"I'm telling the truth!"

He closed the book and held it to his chest. His eyes blinked behind the spectacles. "I… I don't know what to say."

"It's why you couldn't find me today. It's why no one had heard of me. I'm only human, this, until three o'clock." She gestured at her body.

Matthias' jaw was slack. "You're serious."

She nodded, suddenly breathless. What had she just done? She put her hand to her mouth. "I… I wasn't supposed to say anything."

"Thank heaven you did. What kind of curse?"

A goose. An ugly, lowly and common goose. "I can't say. The spell forbids it."

"But you're something!" he said, voice rising. "You're… you're here in the manor, right? During the day?"

She nodded.

"Can I find you?"

She shook her head. He could not see her as a goose. It was never that way in the stories. Princesses turned into beautiful birds.

"Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I don't know how to break the curse."

The hall was silent.

"I supposed it helped you avoid the murder," Matthias finally said.

"The murder?" Mimi stared at him. "You heard about the murder? You weren't supposed to know about that! They… I heard them! No one was to let you and the Duke know! Who told you?"

He shrugged. "I suppose something like a murder is hard to keep mum. The head of household placed guards in front of my room. I found that suspicious and soon wormed out a tidbit or two from the guards."

"Does the Duke know?"

"No offense, but I don't imagine the Duke pays much attention to what happens here."

She nodded, imagining the same. "Why are you here?"

"Business," Matthias said. "Mere business. And politics. Your Duke is very much on his own out here, and I don't pity him that. He has good land. My father is trying to improve relationships with the nobility, so I'm here as an ambassador of sorts. I don't mind. I'm not the heir to the throne, so it's nice to receive some political duties."

"I think it would be fun to travel like that," said Mimi.

"It is! I hope to do more. At least I can visit libraries. I love reading. I can learn so much."

"That book you were showing me. Sorry to have interrupted you."

He waved his hand. "It's all right. Your curse is more fascinating."

She grinned in spite of herself. "You're the first to think of my curse as fascinating."

"And I don't even know the details! But, well, a curse strikes me as interesting. Almost an adventure." He grasped her hand again, and she found herself staring into his face. "I want to help you break it."

Her heart spun. "I… I don't know how to break it. Or even if it can be broke."

"That's silly. All curses must have a cure. It's only logical."

She sighed. "And how I just have to find what course of logic will help me."

"When you do, tell me."

No one but Blake was trying to find a way to help her. She almost wanted to cry. "Thank-you."

He kissed her hand again. "It's nearly three o'clock."

"I should go." She did not want to, but he released her.

"Tomorrow night?" he asked as he returned to his book.

She nodded, then fled down the hall.