"I'm overreacting. You can tell me if I am."

Jude pressed his feet flat against the stone wall of the palace. He was lying across the bed horizontally, his head hanging over the edge so that when he looked at Mariana, she was nearly upside down. It was fun; he'd never had a bed high enough that he could hang off it before.

"I'm biased," she told him.

"Because he's your master and you have to agree with him?"

"Something like that." Her lips twitched.

"Or is everyone in the castle in on some conspiracy I'm being left out of."

"You're smart, Jude."

He tapped his foot against the wall.

"I feel bad. Not about running away, I think I was justified in that. I just don't like the thought of anyone getting hurt. Especially if it was because of something I did. Then again, he didn't have to come save me!"

"You'd definitely be dead."

"Which is why I'm so grateful. I don't want to be dead. I feel really bad about it. I don't want the Beast to feel bad about it too. He's, uh, not really the type of person I want to have a grudge against me." Jude let out a faint chuckle, but Mariana didn't laugh, and he let it die. He knew it hadn't been that funny.

"It seems to me that you should talk to him about it, not me. I can only say so much and so can you. If you don't want the Master to be bothered by it, then make sure he isn't." Mariana paused. "Or shut up about it. You have two options. Deal with it, or hide away."

"I don't want to hide." Jude sat up. "I guess I try and find him … Unless he's in the West Wing."

"I think you could try knocking politely," Mariana said. "He might even let you in there."

"Does he let you?"

"I can't really fit out the door," Mariana said. "I've gotten fat."

"Oops," Jude chuckled. "I didn't think about it."

"Well, that makes me feel better," she said dryly. "If you find Lena, I'll bet you find the Master. If he's not sulking by himself, he's sulking to her. And she's usually in the kitchens or the library."

"Thanks, Mariana."

"It's what I'm here for. And to tell you that we had some clothes come back from the seamstresses and so I now have pants in my drawers that will fit you, so we don't have to stare at your awkward ankles the whole time."

Jude laughed. "Do you mind letting me have a pair now? My awkward ankles are cold."

"Deal."

The two doors on the front part of the wardrobe flew open, and the one of the drawers snapped open. Jude let her reach into the chest of drawers with the two, long metal handles that she could unfurl and use for arms. He knew he could reach in and grab himself, but in his head, he equated it to grabbing the intestines out of a person, and that made his stomach lurch. She pulled out a pair of light coloured trousers, and held them out to him, the drawers and doors snapping shut.

Jude took the pants from her, and then he watched her eyes close. He thought it had to be awkward for her as well as him, and he trusted her not to peek as he quickly redressed.

"How do they fit?"

"A lot better. Who should I thank?"

"I'll pass it along," Mariana said carefully.

"I can't meet them?"

"I don't recommend it. Maybe someday I'll tell you why."

"So many secrets." Jude shrugged. "Do I ever get to know?"

"Maybe someday. But not from me. Now, go. The more you wait, the harder it'll be."

"It's been all of half an hour. Maybe an hour. The world isn't going to change that quickly."

"The whole world can change in a single second."

Jude blinked; she sounded so old. There was something bitter and tragic in her voice; it made his heart ache. He cleared his throat. "So, um, I guess I'll go look for him now."

"Good luck! Oh, and if you happen to see Jesus, can you send him in?"

"Will do," Jude agreed, and then he yanked his door open. He heard a strange sound as he did so, and quickly stuck his head out into the hallway.

The Beast was bounding down the hall; the sound must have been his claws on the stone floor.

"Wait!" Jude called, trying to take off after him, even though he knew it was fruitless. The fastest human on earth was no match for the Beast, even limited as he was by the palace. "Please, wait, I just want to talk to you!"

The Beast whirled around at the end of the hallway, and Jude froze when the Beast pinned his eyes on him. He took a few stuttering steps forward.

"Can we talk?" Jude asked. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

The Beast didn't say anything, but he relaxed, and Jude kept walking closer until he was at a normal distance. He leant against the stone wall, and then he sunk down further, resting his arms on his bent knees.

"What I was trying to say was that, yeah, you look scary face-to-face and you look like nothing could scare you because of that. When I sit here and talk to you, though, you just seem like a regular person. So, of course you get scared sometimes." Jude rested the back of his head and looked to the Beast. "What do you think?"

"I wasn't trying to be bitter about the wolves. I really don't hold it against you."

"Thank you, Beast."

Jude knew he'd said the wrong thing. Immediately, the Beast stiffened up again, letting out an angry snort.

"What?" Jude asked, scrambling to his feet. "What?"

"You say I seem human, and then you call me Beast. Like you never even considered I had a name. That I'm more than this."

"Wait!"

The Beast was running away from him again. Jude pushed himself to his feet and started running, pushing himself. He'd never been in this part of the palace before. Usually, when he was wandering around, he headed in the opposite direction. This part of the palace was still dusty, covered in grime and cobwebs. It made it easy for him to follow the Beast's trail into a separate room. It was much smaller than his, though it was obviously made to house someone of a high status rather than a servant. The doors to the balcony were open, and Jude stepped out onto it. There was snow covering the balcony, and there were the Beast's footprints in it, but Jude couldn't figure out where he went. He leant over the railing, already beginning to shiver. He wasn't dressed for this. When he looked down, there was no sign that the Beast had jumped off the railing to the ground below – the snow was completely undisturbed. Jude looked up and caught sight of the Beast's cloak as he climbed up the roof.

Jude watched him, and then he rubbed his hands together, trying to get some blood flowing in them before he attempted to climb. It was going to be cold, but he couldn't leave things like this. He'd been rude. And the Beast was right. Jude had never considered that he had a name. The Beast was slowly becoming less of a monster in his eyes – Jude knew there was more to him than that – but he'd never thought about how much more. He should have.

Jude balanced himself on the rail of the balcony, thinking all the while to not look down. It was a drop that would likely kill him or, if it didn't, leave him wishing he were dead. It took most of his strength to even pull himself up onto the roof. Years of farm labour had left him with the ability, but Jude's agility just wasn't there, and he almost teetered back onto the balcony. He managed to get himself situated on top of the slippery snow, and he stared up the roof. Had it looked so steep when he was standing on the balcony? Jude forged on. He was about halfway up the roof when he thought about ice, and he immediately wished he hadn't. The thought that there was ice under the snow, clinging to the old shingles made him hesitate, and that made him look over his shoulder.

Jude had never thought he had a fear of heights. Then again, Jude had never been quite so far up before. He was frozen and shaking on the rooftop, and he almost gave up. He couldn't make it to the top – he was still so far away. And he didn't even know if the Beast was still up here. The castle was huge. The roof of the castle had to be huge too. Jude made himself look upward again. He had hurt someone; he had to fix it. He took another step, digging his toes in and driving his body upward. He made it to the crest of the roof, and he felt like he could no longer breathe. He was so cold that it felt like a band around his chest and he was so high up it was making him feel dizzy. He threw one leg over the peak of the roof so that he was straddling it. The snow bit into the inside of his thighs and he tried not to shiver, though he failed miserably.

"Jude? You shouldn't be up here!"

Jude didn't even have enough strength to jump at the Beast's unexpected voice.

"I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-or-r-r-ry." Had his teeth ever chattered like this?

"Jude, you're freezing." The Beast crept slowly toward him. "What are you doing up here?"

"N-n-n-need-d-d t-t-tal-k y-y-ou."

"We can do that downstairs, come on."

"No!"

The Beast reached up and unfastened his cloak. He offered it to Jude. "At least take this. I don't get cold."

Jude took it gratefully, wrapping it around his body. It was a huge cloak, one fit for a beast, and he easily draped it across himself in full. He was able to make himself a hood out of it and pull his hands inside the middle of it, feeling the Beast's considerable body heat still radiating from it.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"W-w-w-what-t's y-y-y-y-your n-n-n-name?"

The Beast's eyes hardened for a moment, then he shook his head. "Beast. You said it."

"I w-w-was-s w-w-wron-g-g. You …" he gasped. "I s-s-s-sorry."

"My name is Connor."

"C-C-C-C-C-Con-n-n-nor." Jude poked one hand outside of the cloak, his hand shaking so badly that he wasn't sure he'd be able to shake Connor's. "N-n-n-nice t-t-to m-m-meet-t-t y-y-ou."

Connor took Jude's hand, and Jude felt incredibly small. But the fur of Connor's hand was softer than he'd expected, though he had rough pads on his palm area that were incredibly coarse. Connor's long claws touched Jude's skin, and Jude could see how easily those claws could rip through him if Connor took a mind to. But he didn't believe that Connor would.

"Let's get inside, okay? It's cold."

Jude nodded.

"Let me help."

"I c-c-can d-d-do it."

"Be careful!"

Jude swung his leg over the top of the roof and slid downward. It was a lot easier getting back to the balcony, and when he reached the edge of the roof, he adjusted the cloak, and jumped onto the balcony. Pain shot through his frozen feet; he thought his toes were going to crack and fall off. But he landed safely. He looked up, at the Beast, no, Connor was safely perched above him, looking for all the world like the chilly wind and soft snow flakes didn't affect him at all.

"I'm –" Jude meant to say 'okay', he really did, but it wasn't what popped out, "– cold."

"Let's go in," Connor proposed.

Jude stumbled into the room, though it was cold too. He'd forgotten to close the balcony door behind him, and he just kept on shivering.

Connor swung into the room, and Jude was glad to know his name now. Connor shut the balcony door.

"Do you think the kitchen has something warm to drink?" Jude asked.

"I think so. If not, I'll say so and they will."

Jude laughed, and then he hugged the cloak a little closer to himself. "Can I keep this? Just for a few more minutes."

"Sure. I think you need it more."

"Thank you … Connor."

Connor's mouth opened and his lips twisted; it took Jude a moment to realize that he was smiling. Connor was smiling at him. And Jude liked that he was.

"Let's go sit in the library," Connor proposed. "I know Stef and Lena had a fire already going in there."

Jude nodded. The slow process of warming up was painful and he stumbled out the door after Connor. He had to lift the cloak up high to avoid stepping on it, and it made him realize just how tall the Beast (Connor, he corrected himself) … how tall Connor was. Jude shivered and he tripped. His toes were so numb that he couldn't keep himself upright. He tried to grab onto Connor's shirt sleeve, but his hand got tangled in the cloak and Jude didn't think that his fingers would move properly anyway. He ended up landing heavily on his knees, being glad that the dirty carpet was still plush enough that he was protected from most of the fall.

"Oh, are you okay!?"

"N-n-n-umb," Jude managed, wondering exactly when his teeth had started chattering.

Connor stood over him, and then he crouched slightly, offering Jude his paw. Jude hesitated, staring at the dark claws and the coarse fur. Then he looked up into those bright eyes that were becoming so familiar and he thought Connor instead of Beast, and so he poked one hand out of the cloak carefully and placed it against the rough pad of Connor's paw. Connor hesitantly helped Jude to his feet.

"Are you going to make it?" Connor asked, and the concern in his voice made Jude's heart skip a beat. Never had he thought he could accuse the Beast of caring about him.

Jude tried to shrug; tried to think about saying something. But he had his back teeth ground together to avoid having them shake and chatter, and so he ended up nodding lamely.

"May I help you, then?"

Nervous, Jude thought, his brain chugging along slowly. Connor sounded nervous. He nodded again. He had no reason to distrust Connor now, or, at least, he couldn't think of any. On the other hand, everything else was cold and frozen and so his brain probably wasn't running at full capacity. He managed to get back on his feet, but he leant against Connor so that the Beast didn't let go of him.

"It's not too far to the library," Connor said. "You should be able to make it."

His mouth gapped into a smile. It should have been terrifying, with the wide array of teeth and the jaw that could probably sever him in half without too much effort. But he leant on Connor's arm and he shuffled to the library. He still didn't feel warm, though. Palaces weren't known for heat, and when they walked in the library door, Jude nearly fell over again. He could feel the heat from the fire and he would have crawled into the fire just to get warm. Luckily, he didn't have to, as Connor helped him sit next to the fire, and Jude clutched the cloak even more tightly to him.

"Oh, Jude! You look frozen!"

He didn't even have the strength to jump at Lena's unexpected voice. He just leant further toward the fire.

"Don't light yourself," Connor warned. "Could we get something warm from the kitchens?"

"Of course," Stef said. "We'll get it for you."

"Th-th-th-thank y-y-you," Jude forced himself to say.

"Don't turn blue while we're gone," Lena warned

"T-t-try n-not-t," Jude agreed.

He felt like he was getting colder, not warmer.

"Maybe a real blanket or two," Connor added.

"Th-t-thank y-y-you." He turned his head to look up at Connor. "D-d-doesn't h-h-h-hurt."

"They're servants."

"P-p-p-p-people."

"That too," Connor said, his voice quiet, though there was still the dark, beastly grumble no matter how he tried to speak. He sat down near the fire place, leaving a large amount of space between the two of them. "You shouldn't have followed me up on the roof, Jude."

"N-n-n-need … n-n-n-need s-s-say 's-s-sorry'."

"It could have waited."

Jude shook his head. He stretched his hands out next to the fire. "I … I th-think I h-h-have my f-f-fingers back."

"Good. We don't want you to start losing pieces."

Jude ducked his head and smiled. He turned as a cart rumbled into the room, piled with sweets and warm cocoa. On the bottom of the tray, there were several folded blankets. The cart ground to a stop beside them, and Jude reached for the blankets first. He was reluctant to pull Connor's cloak off him, but he knew that he had to give it back; he couldn't keep it. He placed it in the Beast's large paw, and immediately, he fastened it around his neck again.

The new blankets were thick and soft, and Jude nested himself in them, tucking his fingers between his thighs for extra warmth. He still shivered, and he looked toward the cocoa with longing, though he couldn't make himself emerge from his new cocoon. He should have thought of that before he nestled himself in here.

"Do you want some?" Connor asked, and Jude nodded gratefully.

He watched Connor pinch the delicate dishes in his claws, moving slowly so that he didn't spill a drop or shatter the dishes by using too much strength. He offered the full cup to Jude, and Jude kept his hands in the blanket, taking the cup like that. The heat from the drink seared his hands, even through the thick blanket. He started shaking again, and cocoa sloshed into his lap.

"S-s-sorry."

"It's okay," Connor said. "You've got a good reason."

"I … I'll c-c-lean it," Jude offered. He thought his teeth were starting to chatter less, and he risked taking a sip of his drink. He'd hardly tasted anything so fantastic; it was like dessert in a cup!

"There are servants," Connor reminded him. "They've been inactive a long time. I'm sure they'll be thrilled at having a blanket to clean."

Jude bit his tongue and looked toward the fire instead. The fireplace in the library was large and ornate, much like everything else in the palace. And Jude could feel his mind slowly turning, wondering why a palace like this would just be abandoned with everything inside and that everything was still inside. Jude wasn't a thief, but if he had come across an abandoned place with riches inside, he'd think twice about leaving it untouched. And he knew there were people who wouldn't have to think twice. The palace would be looted within days, if not hours, of the royals fleeing it. And he wondered about a beast who was used to having servants, clothes, and human comforts. There was something about this place that didn't completely add up, talking objects notwithstanding.

"What are you thinking about?" Connor asked him.

Jude thought of the rose; he didn't want to upset Connor by asking. He lived here, and that meant he was privy to certain things, but he was also a prisoner, no matter how he was treated, and that meant that there were things that he wasn't going to be allowed to know.

"I was th-th-thinking about the library." The lie didn't sit well on his tongue. "There h-has to be s-something in-interesting."

"I told you, I'm not a reader." The Beast flexed his hands in front of the fire.

"Nothing?"

"Why think a beast can read?"

Connor shrugged, and he didn't look over toward Jude. Jude took another sip of his warm drink and he looked toward the dusty stacks of books. Maybe he was completely wrong in his suspicions. Maybe Connor was the reason that the palace had been abandoned in the first place. Jude could imagine that if the Beast had showed up at his cottage and demanded to have it for his own, he wouldn't say no. He was terrifying. Jude looked back over to the Beast and amended his thoughts. The Beast was terrifying when he wasn't trying to figure out the best way to eat some of the ornate pastries that Stef and Lena had sent up along with the cocoa without looking like a complete mess.

"No one ever tried to teach you?

Connor hesitated. "It … wasn't an important skill for me to have."

"Why don't you pick out a book?"

"What?"

"We can read something. It'll be fun. Something to do while I try to stay warm."

"Well, your lips aren't blue anymore," Connor said.

"And my teeth aren't chattering. But I'm still not sure I have toes." Jude shrugged, and his cheeks went warm. "I just thought it would be something else to do in here."

"You're right. Um, I'll try to find something."

"Find me something good!" Jude said as Connor rose to his feet.

"No promises."

Jude shifted closer to the fire, and he hid his face in the soft blankets. He didn't understand why he was smiling or why his face felt so warm.

(-.-)

Connor flicked his tail anxiously against the back of his legs. Books, books, books. He couldn't remember the last time he had walked in around these stacks. Perhaps with a tutor, when he was so much younger, but even that wasn't a rock solid possibility. Often, his tutors would have the books prepared at the start of their lesson. They weren't going to give him an opportunity to waste time by lounging in the stacks or, worse, having Jesus and Mariana and Brandon hide in the library so that he could goof off with them before his tutor finally became impatient and hunted him out. Connor had heard far too many lectures from his father on how a proper future king should spend his time, and Connor had never really listened. Being a king had seemed like such a far off possibility and, besides, at the time when he would have tried to dupe his tutors, he would have been about seven. At seven, he'd never thought of the possibility that his father would die and leave the kingdom to him. It was something that he should have thought about. When it came to royal history (which he'd had to study extensively, from his own country, to his allied countries, to his enemy countries) it had happened a time or two.

Despite the length of time that Connor had spent avoiding the library, he automatically went to a certain spot in the stacks. During her pregnancy, the late Queen had spent many days in bed reading, as her physician had advised that bed rest would be better for the baby. At the time, Mike, Stef's late husband, had still been alive and had been head of the guard. Thus, Stef had been the personal bodyguard of the Queen. Connor had made her tell the stories many times. Normally, the Queen would have been left in the care of her handmaids and physician, but there had been a high possibility of war and King Adam had wanted to ensure the safety of his heir, and Stef had been appointed to that job. It was because of Stef that Connor knew what his mother's favourite book was. Connor had memorized its exact spot in the library, and he plucked the thick, leather bound book from the shelf. Sir Timothy, the tutor that Connor had the longest, had often commented on how much of a treasure the book was. It was old, hand-illustrated and ornately bound. The materialistic points of the book didn't matter so much to Connor, but he would have guarded it with his life. It was one of the only things he had, if not the only thing he had, that made his mother seem real.

He held the book gingerly in his beastly claws. For years, he had been too afraid to touch the delicate pages. He didn't want to tear it to shreds in an effort to relive the words he had all but memorized in his childhood. He trusted Jude to hold it. He also wished that he could trust Jude with all of the sentimental value that he would be holding, but Connor knew that he would have to bite his tongue on that one. Whether Jude broke the curse or not, after the deadline had passed and the last petal fell from the rose, Connor would tell him everything. He just wanted to give Jude the complete truth, but he knew that, if there was even the slightest chance that Jude would fall in love with him, he had to do it without the threat of the curse hanging over him. He didn't want Jude to try and love him because it would mean the entire palace would be saved.

He returned to Jude. Jude was closer to the fireplace, and his face was bathed in the strange orange glow that Jude made look good.

"What did you find?"

Connor sat down and handed the book over. Jude smoothed his hands over the cover.

"Fairy tales?"

Connor shrugged. "If you say so. I just picked one I thought looked interesting."

After the curse was over, one way or another, Connor was never going to lie to him again. If he ever saw Jude again. Once the curse was over, Connor would make sure Jude knew that the word prisoner didn't apply to him. There was no need to selfishly keep Jude close and doom him to a life in the palace when nothing would come of it.

"I don't know many fairy tales," Jude admitted. "Callie was never one for stories like this. Back when I used to live in the orphanages, every so often, someone would come in to read with us. But that was a long time ago."

"Is that where you learnt to read?"

"Started. Callie then made sure I knew how to read. It's a skill that she thought everyone should have, and I'm glad I know how. But I'm not good at it. I don't have a lot of time to practice."

"Better than I am."

Jude opened the book and Connor kept an eye on what he was doing. But Jude handled the thin pages as if he somehow knew how important the book was. Jude looked through the different stories in the book quickly, and it became overwhelming to Connor to watch. Usually, the thought of his mother's favourite book made him possessive and territorial. Not when it was Jude. The thought of Jude and his mother reading the same pages, putting their hands in the same spot, made him feel warm and happy. Connor had to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Was this what love felt like? Whatever it was, it was good and happy and Connor liked it. He wanted Jude to feel the same way, but he would never be in control of that.

"Did you want something else to drink? Eat? Are you warm?" Connor said in a rush. He didn't know what to do or say. He didn't know how to care about people. That had never been something that he'd learnt.

"Sure, please, to both," Jude said. "And, yeah, I'm starting to feel more like a person instead of an icicle."

"That's good."

Connor carefully poured more cocoa into Jude's cup, feeling proud that he didn't spill anything. He put the cup on the edge of the fireplace, and Jude smiled at him gratefully. Getting the pastries onto the smaller plate was trickier. He didn't want to touch them with his claws because he came to the sudden realization that he should, maybe, eventually wash them. He also didn't want to risk getting his fur in Jude's food. There were a few things he could think of that would be more embarrassing than watching Jude pick his fur out of the food that Jude was trying to eat. But only a very few. There was a small spatula that Stef and Lena had sent up to use with the snacks, but it was hard for Connor to pick up and even harder to maneuver. He managed to slide a few onto the plate and he sat it down next to Jude's cup.

"Thank you," Jude said. "What do you think about reading The Frog Prince?"

"Sure," Connor agreed. He settled down on the floor, wrapping his cloak around him.

"You can sit a little closer," Jude said. "I'd hate for you to miss out on the pictures. They're really beautiful."

"Oh, thank you."

Jude reached behind him and picked up one of the heavy cloth napkins. He wiped his fingers after tasting one of the pastries and then he slowly turned the page. The black writing made Connor's head feel like spinning, and he looked to Jude's face. Jude was squinting, but then he opened his mouth and began to read.

"Once upon a time …"

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~TLL~