I said that I wasn't going to update for the next two weeks the last time I updated, but hello, here I am! My week was pretty busy - being a counselor for little third graders was awesome, though. Lots of innocent faces and jokes and sweeties. (Except there was this one girl who showed her affection by scratching me and trying to crack my knuckles. Her, I'm a bit worried about how she'll turn out in the future.)

And yet, the minute I get home, I'm about to go for another trip to Cape Cod - and I'll be leaving on Tuesday and not returning until next Tuesday. So I don't know too much about updating next week, either...? (But who knows?)

Enough of that - enjoy!

Chapter Seven. True as it Can Be

When Kira found Caleb, he was curled up in a ball and hiding in the back of one of the many, large closets in the castle. Biting on her lower lip, the girl walked forward and crouched down next to the boy. She sat there, waiting for him to talk. She watched Caleb's hands, which didn't seem to sit still, unlike the rest of his body.

Caleb's hands twisted around themselves, scratched at the floor, tugged at the hem of his shirt and the corners of his pant-legs. Kira adjusted her position so she'd be seated right next to him. "Caleb?" she whispered. She started to reach out for the boy, but he instantly pulled back. "Not now," he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

Kira smiled sadly. "Okay, if we're not gonna talk, do you wanna play a hand game? It seems that they should be put to use." To prove her point, she leaned over and gently tapped Caleb's hand. After a pause, Caleb lifted up his hands. Kira crept closer, and in the next moment, their hands were finding a familiar rhythm – the girl recognized the rhythm almost right away. It was a clapping game that she had started playing with Caleb since their second meeting.

After a few moments, Caleb missed Kira's hand completely and whacked her arm instead. The girl cringed – and though she thought she had been quiet enough, Caleb looked up. "Sorry," he murmured. "Did I hit you?"

"Just once," Kira responded, trying to keep her tone comfortable. She gave Caleb a small grin. "Maybe that's a disadvantage in multi-tasking."

For the first time in this encounter, the corners of Caleb's lips quirked into a half smile. And though it was only halfhearted, Kira was willing to take it.

xXx

Kira liked the library.

No, that's an understatement.

She loved the library, as though it was something of her own.

Curled up in one of the old, overstuffed armchairs, Kira didn't pay any mind to the slightly towering, staggering pile of books sitting on the small table beside her. She had been keeping check over them before she came into the library – those were the books that she had emerged herself into in the last few weeks, only she never bothered removing it. (She planned on doing it once she was finished all of the books.)

Even so, Kira was reading through a book, flipping through the pages and letting her eyes linger on her favorite parts. She put her hand on the table, wrapping her fingers around her tea cup and lifting it to her lips. Only, just before she could take a sip, she missed her lips and the still-hot, amber liquid spilled onto her lap.

Crying out in pain and shock, Kira sprung away from her seat (before carefully scooting away her book) and instantly whirled around, looking for something to wipe down the spillage. Still wincing from the impact, Kira hopped around until a small napkin appeared in front of her.

"Thank you," Kira said distractedly, grabbing ahold of the cloth. She had only just started to wipe the stain away when her hand brushed against something that felt a bit familiar. Kira's head snapped up to meet Kanan's blue-green eyes, which appeared to express a mix of curiosity and concern. "There's always a negative to multi-tasking," Kanan shared as Kira straightened herself.

"You've never been guilty of doing such things, I suppose?" Kira inquired lightly, neatly folding over the napkin in half. Kanan lifted a shoulder. "I've had my fair share," he responded. "Though it didn't always end well, which just proves my point."

"Had your fair share?" Kira asked, sitting back in her armchair.

Kanan shrugged his shoulders. "An old clapping game gone wrong," he responded. "Accidentally hit my friend because I was too busy thinking about something else."

A clapping game? Kira wondered. She felt a small memory surface from her memory – she felt something shift, and for a moment, Kira could almost grasp what she was feeling – only a minute later, the feeling evaporated and she was left staring at Kanan.

"I wouldn't say thinking and playing a clapping game counts as multi-tasking," Kira chose to say. She reached for her book and heard Kanan say, "And I suppose trying to drink tea while reading a book does?"

Kira looked up, though her hands were already occupied with fixing up the book. Gently flipping over a page, she murmured, "I would think it does." She lifted her eyes to meet Kanan's. "After all, two actions at once. Thinking – well, you can cross a street while thinking and it wouldn't matter."

"Well," Kanan responded, "I was just a child – and so was my friend. I suppose we both didn't know the true definition behind multi-tasking." He padded forward, and then, tilting his head, asked, "What're you reading? I can tell that you're already using the library often."

Kira grinned up at the beast. "Just an old fairytale," she responded lightly. "Thank you for the library, by the way – I know I mentioned it before – but I really am quite grateful."

There was a pause. When Kanan didn't respond, the girl looked up. She watched with some curiosity as his head tilted downward. It took her a few awkward moments, but then Kira came to the realization that the beast was, in fact, staring at the book in her hands and not at her lap. Slowly, Kira asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

She picked up her book and turned it over so she'd be looking at the cover. Like any other book cover, it was beautiful and made with great and evident care. With the title etched out in pretty, curved, graceful, golden lettering and spine decorated with a shiny material and yellowed pages that seemed to be placed in just the right way, Kira doubted that even a book-hater could possibly pass by this cover without at least admiring the way something as simple as this to be created in such an elegant manner. Kira briefly wondered if Kanan bothered reading any of the books in the library – many seemed to be bookmarked and there were some traces of wear and tear in some of the books, and yet –

There was something uneasy about Kanan's eyes, about the way he eyed the lettering with such apprehensiveness. It took a few moments for Kira to piece it all together. "Kanan," she started to ask slowly, "would you like to see this book…?" Her voice drifted as the beast shook his head violently.

"That won't be necessary," Kanan said gruffly, turning back around.

Kira frowned. "Are you sure? Because it's really no bother," she said, walking forward. "I'm being quite honest – I've read this story already a few times, so if you would like to –"

Kanan scooted away a bit further back. "I can't," he said quickly. "There's no way for me to –"

"I'm being sincere when I say that I don't mind," Kira insisted earnestly, holding out the book.

Kanan turned a little ways towards her. "Kira," he said, his voice quiet, "it's kind of you to offer it, but I'm afraid I'm not…able to read." Instantly, Kira's arm dropped limply at her side, bringing the book with her. She stared at Kanan, her emotions a mix of confusion and embarrassment. Kanan's eyes traveled around the library, the expression on his face expressing exactly what Kira was feeling.

"It's somewhat ironic," he said, still not looking at Kira, "that I am the owner of this large library and can't recall how to read." He said the last word with more force, pressing onto the word with some disgust and indignance. Kira slipped the book behind her back, and slowly walking towards him, she inquired quietly, "Do you…recall at least some of it?"

"I would think I do," Kanan answered. He glanced down at Kira's pile of books sitting on the table beside her. The girl smiled gently. "Alright, then," she said, offering one of her hands. "Here – I can teach you how to get the rest of it down."

Kanan stared down at the hand, his expression reluctant. However, when Kira brought out her hand a bit farther, the beast had no choice but to take it. His hand – paw? – was warm against Kira's, the heavy fur tickling the soft flesh of her palm. And yet, as Kira led him over to another armchair, she could somehow feel whatever human hand Kanan might have had. It was as though if she could cut away all the fur, she'd be looking down at a proper hand.

I'm fanaticizing about hands, Kira thought incredulously to herself. Hands.

She let go of Kanan's once they were seated. Clearing her throat, she pulled open the book to the first page and started to read aloud, "Once upon a time…" And waited patiently for Kanan to try to get ahold of the written words.

And though Kira's hands were busy flipping pages and supporting the structure of the book, she could still feel the warmth of Kanan's hands pressing against them.

xXx

The entire castle was in a frenzy. Anakin couldn't remember the last time it was so excited since perhaps everyone woke to find themselves turned into pieces of furniture. (But that was a scary kind of frenzy – a very panicked, chaotic, dreadful kind of frenzy that drove everyone up the walls. He still distinctly remember the cold horror he felt when he looked down at his hands to find them replaced by little, candlelit flames. And he also remembered hearing frightened, bewildered screams echoing around and around the castle.)

But the frenzy that was taking place in the castle at this very moment was almost the exact opposite. Everyone was in a cheerful mood, spreading the news that there might still be a chance that they could all be human again. Ah, to be human again… Anakin thought wistfully to himself. If there was a chance to be so, he would take it.

Speaking of which – by the entrance to the library, Anakin observed with glee on how Kira and Kanan were seated together, holding out a book and by the looks of it, reading. Every once in a while, as Kira read aloud a certain part, Anakin watched Kanan look up and turn his head almost hopefully at the girl – but when realizing that she was completely immersed in the story, he would turn back down with some disappointment and go back to following along. Anakin couldn't help but to grin. It was a good thing that Kanan had already started to like Kira – that meant that everyone was at least one step through the door.

The only trouble was to make sure Kira liked Kanan…

"So, Kanan, what did you think of that book?" Kira asked when she closed the thick volume neatly. "Any thoughts?"

Kanan looked up and after a pause, he said, "Both the girl and the boy in the story were idiots."

"Can't help but to agree – why'd you say that?"

"They rushed."

"Mm-hm – what else?"

"The boy in this story – what was his name again? Romero?"

Kira smiled gently. "Romeo," she corrected. Kanan nodded. "Yes, that's right – Romeo – he didn't bother listening to Juliet, even when she pointed out they were going too fast. It didn't help matters that Juliet quickly seemed to forget that the two had met in one day." He looked down at the book in Kira's hands. "And you're telling me this is considered one of the most famous love stories? It sounded silly to me."

"That's the point – some people think Shakespeare, the writer of this play, was trying to make fun of true love. Others believe he was being serious." Kira responded, standing up. She started to shelve the book in its proper place before asking over her shoulder, "But what do you believe?"

Anakin turned hopefully to Kanan – now would be the perfect time to come up with a clever response. Whoo the girl, Kanan, Anakin thought desperately. Come on. Give her some charm.

Instead, Kanan replied rather bluntly, "I think Shakespeare was just in over his head."

Anakin slammed one of his candle-hands up to his forehead.

"What're you looking at?"

Anakin turned to see Ahsoka hopping towards him, feathers from her lower half occasionally slipping out and sliding across the marble floor. The candle gestured wildly at the inside of the library, saying, "Watching Kanan screw up. They were discussing Romeo and Juliet, Snips – Romeo and Juliet, and that's the perfect setting, right?"

Ahsoka frowned. "What's so perfect about talking about two dead people?" she mused, though Anakin didn't bother listening to the rest of her questions. "My point is, Kanan could have had Miss Kira right there – he could have said the right thing, and then this thing would be completely over with," Anakin said with a groan. "But instead, do you know what he said? Do you know what he said?"

"Something hopelessly romantic?" Ahsoka suggested, looking over Anakin's shoulder.

"Yes! Exactly! Kanan said something hopelessly roman – wait, what?" Anakin turned to look at what Ahsoka was seeing – and was instantly greeted with the sight of Kira laughing with Kanan. The girl was smacking the beast lightly with a different book, and Kanan kept protesting, "I'm serious, though! Any self-respecting person would at least let the main characters live 'till the end…" And yet, as Anakin watched with glee, Kanan was beaming down at Kira as the girl kept laughing.

"I never really liked Shakespeare, either," the girl said breathlessly, looking up. "It's wonderful to hear someone else who shares my opinion."

Ahsoka grinned at Anakin. "Do you know what this means?" she asked excitedly.

"That Kanan has absolutely no sympathy for the dead?" Anakin suggested, and when the duster shot him an annoyed look, he lifted his wick-hands. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" he said quickly. "Of course I know what this means! We've actually got a greater chance now!"

"And good timing, too," Ahsoka murmured.

Anakin stared at the duster. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"The rose," Ahsoka replied quietly. "Its petals are dropping faster now – I'm afraid that if the two don't properly come together soon, then…" Her voice drifted uneasily. Everyone knew what would happen if the last petal of the rose dropped before Kira and Kanan could come together – Kanan would forever be stuck as a hideous beast, and everyone else in the castle would permanently be a piece of furniture.

"Fine," Anakin said, trying not to let his own apprehensiveness leak into his voice. "We'll deal with that. We'll…help along with the process."

As Anakin hopped away, Ahsoka called after him incredulously, "Help along with the process? How?"

xXx

"Right, then!" Admiral declared from the top of the stairs. Everyone was gathered around – the chairs, the mops, the shovels – Anakin, Padmé, Ahsoka, and even Luke were present. Anakin watched with some embarrassment as Admiral hopped around, saying, "We have exactly twelve hours, thirty-six minutes and fifteen seconds to create the most magical, spontaneous, romantic atmosphere known to man or beast."

"How did he even count that all down?" Anakin heard Cadena mutter incredulously.

"Need I remind you," Admiral continued as a table rushed in front of him. On it was the vase of the enchanted rose, and grabbing a stick, the clock whacked against it, saying, "If – this – last – petal – falls – the spell will never be broken – oh!" The table had enough sense to quickly move the rose away before it could actually fall off. There was a collective, relieved sigh for the table's foresight.

"Very well," Admiral said, clearing his throat and straightening himself. "You all know your assignments. Half of you to the west wing – half of you to the east wing – rest of you, come with me!" Anakin watched with some sympathy as nearly everyone turned to go their own ways. The candle stepped out of the way for a few shovels passing by, who were snickering and rolling their eyes.

"Lighten up, Admiral," Anakin said when everyone else had gotten out of the room. "And let nature take its course!" Padmé nodded in agreement, saying, "It's obvious there's a spark between them – why would you rush it so quickly?"

"Yes, yes," Admiral replied hastily, taking out some of his gears to clean them. "But there's no harm in fanning the flames, now, is there? Besides – they must fall in love tonight if we expect to ever be human again!" Anakin grinned. "Ah, yes," he said happily. "Human again…think of what that would be like."

Dancing around Padmé and Ahsoka, he wrapped his arms around where their shoulders would have been. "Just watch – when we're human again, everything will come in place."

"If Kira and Kanan don't fall in love by tonight, we won't," Admiral muttered grumpily.

Anakin chose not to pay him any mind.

xXx

Anakin made sure that Kanan and Kira would be busy in the library so that they wouldn't see what was going on outside. And it actually wasn't quite hard – whether or not Kira loved Kanan yet, it was obvious enough that the master was smitten with her. Anakin could see it quite clearly – and the candle hoped for everyone's sakes that the girl could possibly love him back.

But besides what could possibly be going on in that room, the castle was full-blown in preparation for tonight. Ahsoka had gathered the dusters and brooms and mops to cleaning the ballroom, which had been dusty and a mess over the years. Anakin had visited just once – and was surprised to see great plumes and motes of dust swirling in the air as the men and women did their jobs. And though cleaning up that room took effort and a great amount of time, it was a relief to see that the cheerfulness and excitement regarding Kira and Kanan were making up for it.

Out in the gardens, shears were rapidly working on perfecting the wild, overgrown hedges that had grown from not being taken care of properly. New, elaborate patterns and mini-statuettes from the greens were being made – the people who had once been gardeners were ecstatically taking care of the used-to beautiful and flourishing flower gardens. They planted pretty, new flowers to suit the oncoming spring – they put them in nice, neat rows. The royal fountains were also being cleaned up, with new water being poured in and the sludgy, browned dump of water being taken care of. In the stables, Anakin had helped Admiral with cleaning out the horse pens – it was tedious work, but someone had to do it. (It was worth it, though – Anakin had some fun slipping around the soap and even flicking water at Admiral whenever he least expected it.)

The kitchen was in full bloom as well, and though it required less work in scrubbing away at the floor (since after all, the kitchen was probably the only room in the castle that had been fully in operation since the curse was placed over everyone), there still remained the fact that a large feast was being prepared. The chef, a sensitive man who always claimed he needed time by himself to perfect everything, practically bit at anyone who tried to disturb him, so Anakin avoided going in there.

He found Cadena and the other wardrobes in the grand dining room. Humming cheerfully, they tore at the dusty curtains and pulled them all into a large heap.

Even Artoo and Luke tried to help by cleaning out the smallest parts of the castle, finding the smudges and imperfections that no one else could have been bothered to see.

And as the day started to come to an end, Anakin walked along the stairwells and hallways, lighting up the other candles so that they'd glow in just the right way. When Anakin had returned to the ballroom, he could actually see his own reflection in the marble floor. The sun was setting, and the first few evening stars were twinkling in the sky. Anakin smiled to himself. At this point, Anakin was positive nothing could go wrong at all.

xXx

"Why are you acting like this is some sort of big occasion?" Kira asked as Cadena fussed over the dress she was supposed to wear. It wasn't that the girl was ungrateful – she actually rather liked the graceful, golden dress that Cadena had picked out. It didn't have sleeves – instead, it fell rather gracefully over her shoulders, and the rest of the gown was decorated with more golden patterns. It was, without a doubt, one of the finest dresses the girl had ever worn.

As Cadena pulled out a pair of matching, shining, golden heels, Kira added, "It's not the first time I've dined with Kanan before."

"Well, I suppose that's true," was all the wardrobe said before setting the shoes in front of Kira's feet. The girl gave Cadena an odd smile before gently tucking her feet in the heels. It took her a few moments for the girl to adjust to them, but after walking around for a bit, Kira was able to go outside. She was well aware of Cadena following her, which, the girl had to admit, was a bit of a first.

However, just before Kira could walk into the dining room, she was gently pushed in the opposite direction. "Oh, no, missy," Cadena said triumphantly. "We've got something else in store for you."

"Cadena," Kira sighed, though she let a grin come over her face. "What is it?"

"You'll see, now, won't you? Besides – what fun is there if I tell you what the surprise is?" Cadena asked giddily. Kira suppressed another sigh, instead allowing her friend to guide through the many twisting halls of the castle. It took them some time, but then Cadena pushed open a door. At first, Kira couldn't see anything except what appeared to be a lit-up stairwell – only then Kira saw the windows beside the stairs, and realized that the other side was supported by a mahogany banister. On the opposite side of the stairs, there was another set of carpeted stairs, looking almost identical to the one Kira was about to go down on. Kira looked over at Cadena, who only stayed at the door.

"Go on, then," the wardrobe whispered, her eyes alight with glee. "And have fun – crack a smile."

Shooting the wardrobe a quizzical smile, Kira shrugged her shoulders and started to walk down the stairs. She heard the door close behind herself – and then the girl stopped on the first step to see the door across from her open. Standing on the first step, Kanan himself was giving Kira a shy half-smile. Kira couldn't help but to grin back – he, like Kira, was suited for a much fancier occasion, with a blue coat and matching golden patterns around his wrists and his coattails.

Almost in a dazed state, Kira and Kanan walked down the stairs and met each other at the landing before another grand set of stairs. After a moment of hesitation, the beast extended an arm politely. "Shall we?" he asked quietly. Kira didn't even bother to wait. She looped her arm over Kanan's, and with a small laugh, she replied sweetly, "We shall."

And with that, the two started to walk down together.

A/N - Four words: I miss my laptop. (I feel like I'm not in my usual groove lately. It's so depressing - I feel like the fandom is growing and moving on without me. *sobs into a pillow* WHYYY LAPTOP.)

Reviews are always great! Constructive criticism is alright, but flames are not!