I yawned and pushed myself and the books I was reading closer to the fire. The last rays of daylight shone through the glass ceiling, giving me a few moments of light until I would have to light a lantern or read by the fire.

Even though it was not yet night, I was tired. It had been a long day. Raul and I had worked in the castle for the morning and better part of the afternoon, stopping only when we felt that giant spiders were not going to suddenly drop from their webs and devour our heads. We then went our separate ways, me heading to my room and Raul going whoever he went. For an hour or so, I practiced magic, trying to learn new spells or refine the ones I already knew.

I stopped when I accidentally set my bedpost aflame.

I glanced down at the three books in front of me. I had finished Eleven Chimes days before and was reading the first chapter in each of the three books in front of me. True to my luck, the three I had grabbed were romances--the one genre that I really don't like. Part of me wanted to grab Eleven Chimes and begin reading that again, just to steer clear of the cursed genre.

"Reading again?"

I didn't look up to see who spoke. "Not exactly. More like trying to find a halfway-decent story."

Kvir laughed. The sound was like a deep rumble that filled the room.

I looked up from the pages of one of the books. "Amused?"

"Well, hearing those words come from someone who claims they don't like to read is a little ironic."

I rolled my eyes. "Haha, funny man. Do you have any suggestions?"

Kvir walked over to the bookshelf and scanned the books, although he most certainly wasn't reading the titles. The few times I had tried to re-teach him how to read lasted all of five minutes and ended with frustration. He could pick out a few words, but that was as far as his skill reached.

He reached up and plucked a purple-covered book from the shelf, then tossed it over to me. "This one should be good."

"Alright." I didn't even glance at the title and flipped it open to the first page.

"So what's it called?"

I smacked the palm of my hand against my head. "You don't know what the book you grabbed is?"

In the most "obviously" tone Kvir could muster, he pointed to himself and exclaimed "Illiterate!"

"Yeah, but I though you recognized it by the cover!"

"Lizaveta," Beast raised his eyebrows. "When I told you a month or so ago that I hadn't been to the library in years, I wasn't kidding."

"Yeah, I don't think you know how..." I muttered under my breath.

"Book name?"

I snapped the book closed and flipped it face-up. "The Tale of a Fisherman" is the title."

Something that sounded like a groan came from Kvir. I looked up. "Don't like the story?"

"Not particularly."

I nodded. "Tough. Sit down, I'm going to read."

He didn't move.

"If you sit down, I'll read to you. Surely you don't like silence?"

"What makes you think I want to be read to?" Kvir asked. He still walked over to me and sat down close to the couch.

I shrugged. "Why would you come into the library anyway? If you can't read, then the library is a pretty useless place to be."

"Point taken."

I opened up the book to the first page and began to read.

"Once, a long time ago and in a little village named Willissa, lived a lad named Elrik. Elrik was what most of the men in his village were: a fisherman. Every day at sunrise and sunset, Elrik would get on his boat and cast his net into the waters.

One day, Elrik ran late--if a fisherman could run late. He frantically got into his boat and paddled away from the village. When he was out to sea, he kept hearing cries of 'Help! Help!' Elrik did not want to go investigate, at risk of scaring the fish, but he did not hesitate. He paddled in the direction of the voice, where he saw a young lady.

'What ails you, Miss?' Elrik cried. The lady looked up, and with her burgundy hair flying around her face, she yelled back, 'My boat is stuck! I cannot move it.'

Elrik was puzzled at this, so he called back, asking her why she didn't just swim over to him.

'I cannot swim, sir.'

So, Elrik went to the woman, paddling around the rocks that threatened to rip into his boat. When he reached her, she jumped into his boat and sat next to him.

Elrik then brought the woman back to the village, where she thanked him profusely. Before he could ask her name, she left.

Many years passed. Elrik grew from a young man to an adult. There were many girls in the town who wished him to wed them, but Elrik could only think of that one girl whom he had rescued years before.

The following morning, Elrik received an invitation. He--along with the other men his age in the village--was invited to go to the Princess' ball.

Unhappily, Elrik went. When he was there, he met many girls who tried to charm him. None succeeded. When it was time to meet the Princess, Elrik was surprised. The same girl whom he had rescued years before stood regally at the foot of the throne.

The two stared at each other for much longer than needed. Finally, the Princess spoke.

"Would you like to dance?"

Astounded, Elrik took her hand and began to waltz across the room with her.

At the end of the night, Elrik asked the girl one question: her name. She delightfully told him that her name was Rosa.

"Can we pretend it was Lucy?" Kvir interjected.

I looked at the page. The name "Rosa" was clearly written in the book.

"But that wasn't her name."

Kvir grunted. "Please, Lizaveta."

I sighed and continued. "She told him that her name was Lucy.

Soon after, the two were married. They lived in the castle together for years, and eventually, Lucy had a son. The boy, Scott, was heir to the entire kingdom and throne.

One day, Elrik happened upon Lucy kneeling at the foot of their bed.

'What is the matter, darling?' he asked. He was afraid that some sickness had befallen her.

Lucy did not move for a moment, then rose and smiled at her husband. 'I was praying,' she answered.

Elrik was confused. 'Why do you pray? Everything is perfect.'

'I pray to thank God for that, for it will not last forever.'

At those words, Elrik was silent. He went to sleep that night thinking about what Lucy said.

The next morning, the couple was awakened by the sound of tolling bells. They vaulted our of bed and ran over to the window. Some enemies from the north were burning the castle!

Elrik ordered Ros--Lucy to leave with their son. While she did that, Elrik grasped his sword and charged toward the approaching enemies."

Kvir squirmed uncomfortably. I glanced over in his direction, then went back to the story.

"After a particularly difficult enemy, Elrik turned around to see where his wife was. He looked up the stairs just in time to see her fall to the floor. His son was next, killed by a single swipe.

Elrik ran up the stairs and killed the killer. He cradled his wife's head in his hands as he cried over her.

One hand reached up and touched his face. When Elrik looked up, he saw his wife's green eyes staring at him.

'Do not mourn for me, dear husband,' she breathed. 'I know where I am going.'

"Stop," demanded Kvir. My head vaulted up, staring at him.

"What? Why?"

He growled. "I don't want to hear it anymore. That's why."

"But the story isn't done."

"I don't want to hear it anymore!" Kvir reached out and snatched the book from my hand and threw it, as hard as he could.

Toward the fire.

It touched the flames and ignited. I watched it burn, wide-eyed.

"What was that for?" I shouted, standing up quickly.

Kvir growled. "I said I was done."

My arms shot into the air. "That doesn't mean you have to burn it!"

He started shaking. His hands found their way up to his head and clawed through his hair. A slapping noise came from his palms hitting against the side of his head.

"Leave, girl! Now!"

I didn't move, still angry about his throwing the book into the fire.

Stupid stubbornness.

Kvir roared again and crouched down, tearing at his hair.

Slowly, I backed away, the full realization of why I needed to leave hitting me hard. My back rammed into the hard plank of the door, digging into the doorknob and sending jolts of pain racing up my spine. My hand shook as my sweaty palm gripped the knob and turned it quickly, opening the door slightly.

I squeezed through the gap and closed the door behind me, but not before taking one last glimpse at Kvir.

He was at the same spot where I last saw him--crouched on the floor and holding his head in his hands. His shoulders heaved in the effort of keeping the creature back. Our eyes locked for a split second, green staring into red. All of the words that we could've spoken to each other wouldn't have conveyed what we silently said in that second.

Heart aching, I broke my gaze and closed the door. One last, pained bellow shook the halls of the castle before everything fell back into silence.

*****

I woke with a start from dreamless sleep with the overwhelming sense of being watched. My room was pitch black except for the single ray moonlight breaking through the window, barely illuminating my room enough to see shapes.

And the shape that was on the chair at the window was not normal.

My eyes widened. Heart racing, I racked my brains for the spell that would let me see--give me a light. Nothing surfaced. My gaze drifted to the desk beside the bed, and the knife that lay on top of it. Slowly, as not to rustle the sheets, I leaned across the bed and grasped the hilt in my sweaty palm.

"Please don't stab me... again."

Immediately, I relaxed. A great gust of air exited my lungs in relief. "Kvir, what are you doing in here?"

There was a light clinking of chains as Kvir repositioned himself on the chair. He didn't answer my question immediately, and instead, he let out a long sigh.

"This place wasn't always like this, you know."

I stayed sitting in my bed, waiting for Kvir to continue. He didn't. With the feeling of what he was saying being incredibly important, I pushed back my covers and walked over to the chair, ignoring the protests from my mind as my nightgown fluttered around me. The chair was big enough that there was enough room for me to sit comfortably next to Kvir I sat, pulling my knees to my chest. "What was it like?"

He took a shaky breath. "It was... for lack of a better word, it was bustling. There were servants running around all the time, each of them happy to do their chores. There were homeless children the Prince and Princess let in to live in to live here that could always be seen in the yard, playing with some sort of ball or something. The Royal's son was always teetering around, getting into whatever he could. The Prince and Princess were kind to the kingdom."

Curiosity awoken, I asked, "What happened?"

He looked at me sadly. "What the Royals didn't know was that they had an enemy toward the west. One day, he showed up and stormed the castle. He killed everyone in it, including the Princess and her son."

"What about the Prince? What happened to him?"

Beast looked away. "No one knows. It is said that he became the lead vesper, or that he died along with his wife. Some even suspect him to be the one who drove the invader from the castle, but that one is false."

He fell silent again. I could feel the tension ebbing off his body as he thought about what to say.

"I--" he started. "I was the one who saw the invader last. I was the one who killed him."

I absorbed his words. "Oh. Why did--"

"Why did I kill him?" Kvir cut in. "Because he killed me."

"Huh?" I spread my legs out from my chest and sat back. "You look pretty alive to me."

He let out a short laugh and held out his hands. "You call this living?" he asked. "I'm bound to a castle that I can't leave. I have a--a creature inside of me that wants to take over, which I have to fight for control if I want to feel anything. I've been breathing longer than twice the normal human lifespan, and I can't die. Age doesn't affect me. I can't die when I'm like this--trust me, I've tried." He shook his head. "If this is living, then I want no part of it."

The realization of his statement slowly crept up on me. A feeling which I hadn't felt in a long time spread throughout my body, numbing it.

Sympathy.

"You've tried?" I whispered. My voice shook as I spoke the two words.

His eyes locked with mine. "Lizaveta..." he breathed. He swallowed, "I wasn't always like this. At one time, I was married. I had a wife and a little boy. Then the man that invaded the kingdom took them from me, and changed me into this--this THING!"

I jumped as his fist struck the arm of the chair, splintering the wood.

"That's why..." I didn't finish my sentence. That's why he reacted to the book the way he did.

Then, another thought. His wife and child died, and in the same way the prince's did. No one but him knew what happened to the last of the royals. The pictures of each person were still up--if he had no care as to who they were, they'd have been taken down.

"You were the prince," I whispered.

Kvir neither confirmed or denied my theory, but took a few deep breaths and continued. "After I killed the man, I found myself unable to leave. I was alone in a castle, surrounded by the dead. Only the servants remained. For a year, I wanted nothing more than to die. I tried everything--poison, knives, ropes, water--nothing worked. I could harm myself, but not die by my own hand. Me trying only angered the creature more. The last time I tried, the creature took over. I was lost in my own mind, a mind that then belongs to a monster."

He breathed in again. "During that year, I could only think of why God cursed me. I did nothing to deserve this. My family did nothing to deserve what they got."

Oh.

I couldn't bring myself to speak. Kvir's confession was painful to me, and I couldn't imagine what it was to him.

I reached out and touched his hand. His skin was cool to the touch. He turned his head to face me, and for the fist time, I saw the deep caverns of sadness and suffering reflected in his eyes.

I swallowed, finally trusting myself enough to speak. It came out as the softest whisper. "God didn't curse you."

Kvit closed his eyes and hmph-ed. "The why am I like this?" he retorted, his voice the same volume as my own.

I bit my lip. "I don't know. I can't answer that. But I know that God will make the most out of your situation." I smiled. "He has a way of doing that."

"Do you really believe that, Lizaveta?" Kvir whispered.

I didn't hesitate. "Yes."

We fell silent, listening to each other's breathing. Finally, Kvir spoke.

"It hurts to be around you."

"Well, that's exactly what I've always wanted to hear," I answered. He caught my sarcasm and laughed lightly. "But why does it hurt to be near me?"

He hunted for the right words. "It's a--feeling. Emotion. And it's strong. The creature doesn't like that."

"Do you now what the feeling is?"

He swallowed and stared at the moon. "I think it's friendship. Joy." When he stared at me, his eyes were vacant, thinking. "Back when life was different, I didn't have many friends. Just my family. Everyone else just wanted favor in my eyes."

Sarcasm dripping, I added, "Everyone wants to be buddies with royalty, right?"

Then the true meaning of his words hit me. His family were his friends.

It was how I used to be.

As the skin around his eyes crinkled, my grin faded.

"What's wrong?"

My life story.

Instead of telling him that, I put my head on his shoulder. "I guess we're the same, when it comes to friends. All mine have been princes in disguise who have, at one point, either nearly killed me or turned me into their father."

That time, he almost laughed. "We just pulled the short straws at the friends rally, didn't we?"

"Guess we did." I sat up. "But look how it turned out. I mean, you're the best friend I've ever had."

The pain was back in his eyes. "And you are the first person I can call a true friend."

I put my head back on his shoulder. Neither of us spoke after that

We didn't need to.

_______________________________________

...

Yah.

Yay for backstories!

Any thoughts on Kvir or Zara? It's good to see them both finally opening up, although Zara is a lot more guarded than she should be.