The four of them walking together made a surprising amount of noise in the empty halls. Claire paused to dust off a staircase rail. "I have a request...please, refrain from making any comments on her appearance."

"Her!" Rowan said softly.

The maid smiled and gestured towards a bend in the corridor. "She is just beyond here. Go on ahead."

The corridor opened up to a great entrance hall, where a hunched creature covered in dark fur was shaking itself free of powdery snow. Her front limbs were large, with wide clawed paws like sharp shovels. She sat back to scratch at her face, which had a narrow snout and small ears. Large teeth and fangs poked out of her closed mouth, though her snout was too small for them to look very comfortable or useful.

The beast looked up when the three came into the room, opened its mouth in a grin, and shuffled over. "An envoy here! Welcome to Grove Keep, pleathed to meet you!"

"It talks!" Ark said under his breath, putting a hand over his mouth.

The beast held out a clawed paw. Ceallach noticed no one else stepping forward, so he approached to shake it. "You're the master, I'm guessing."

"Yeth! That'th me. Sonja Kolijn," she raised herself up to her full height, a full head above the others, and cleared her throat with a growl. "Apologieth if I'm hard to understhtand. It'th the teeth."

"Maybe you can have a look at her mouth," Ark leaned over to Rowan.

"I'm a doctor, not a dentist..."

"It sthould get better thoon, don't worry. But onto more important matterth! How're thingth here? Ith everything to your liking?"

"Quite," said the doctor. "We're very grateful for your hospitality."

"And I'm grateful for the honor of hothting you. Why don't you join me for a meal? Claire maketh wonderful foodth; I'm thure you will enjoy them. You can tell me about your travelth over thomthing to eat."

The dining table took up an entire hall, but all the plates were set on one end, close together so Sonja could speak with her guests. The silverware was pristine and copious, except for at the head of the table, for the only utensil she seemed capable of manipulating properly was a large wooden spoon. She questioned them at length about their journey and the places they stopped by, and then inquired about the travelers themselves.

"Traveling very light, I thee. Not only with equipment but with people too. Uthually envoys travel in partieth of...bigger. More of you," she said, indicating Ark with an incline of her head.

Ceallach cast a sideways glance at Ark, who put down his spoon and smiled. "Now, where ever did you learn that? A celestial envoy can even travel alone if need be. It all depends on the task and the availability of qualified celestials."

Sonja pondered this for a while, then nodded.

"I am a demonic ward inspector - and, seeing as there is an unnatural storm here, I would suspect there is a demon in the area. I would like to see your wards after we finish eating, if you please."

"Ah, yeth, thertanly." Sonja clacked her claws together. "After we're done here."

There was a seat close to the beast meant for Claire, but she busied herself with making sure glasses were filled and bowls were full instead of having anything herself. She did not even have a bowl at all. Rowan noticed this first and arched an eyebrow. "Don't you need something to eat as well?" he asked.

"It will be my turn once all of you have eaten," she said. Other than that, she hardly spoke or looked up. Her eyes were always half-lidded, as if she was in great contemplation. Despite this, she was able to sense whenever anything needed refilling.

The stew was warm, filling, and unlike anything Ceallach had ever had before. He knew what soup was like, having had it several times in taverns and inns, but those watery meals were nothing like what he was eating now. He was hungry enough and liked it so much he had multiple helpings. He wasn't sure if he was just imagining it, but he thought that he saw Claire smile as she filled his bowl for the third time.

----

The snow continued to fall in varying degrees of severity.

Staying in the keep let him rest, but Ceallach could not help but feel uncomfortable. This was not the ache in his bones that he felt in Tafal - once he had settled down, his body had little desire for movement. The faint aches in his legs served as reminders that he had been doing more walking than he had ever done in his life in the past couple of weeks. He watched the snow, followed the slow formation of frost on the window with his eyes, and felt uneasy.

Ark had a large book open in his lap and was pondering a particular page long enough for Ceallach to be curious and sit next to him. The page was mostly blank. Pointing out that there wasn't anything on it to read seemed unkind, so Ceallach instead asked, "What's that?"

Ark looked up quickly, as if he hadn't noticed the other approach. "This? This is my book."

"What is it about?" Ceallach reached over to touch the pages. Ark shied away for a second before relaxing. "I don't think I've ever seen you carry it around."

"All celestials have a book," Ark said, taking its covers and clapping it shut. It faded away until it disappeared. "It's a tool, a manifestation of our personal magic. I was just trying to decide what to put in it."

"So it's not already written for you?"

The angel paused, leaning his chin into his hands. "...Well, we learn spells that write information inside of it. We have to study for years in order to master the spells and keep the information current." He paused again. "I don't have to do that though, so I've been thinking about what else I could use it for."

Ceallach pondered the empty space he had seen. "You could draw in it."

Ark frowned and looked about to tell him how silly that idea was when a low noise came from above, reverberating through the walls. The two of them froze and barely breathed in order not to make any sound. The noise continued - sometimes interrupted by something quicker and sharper, but still a kind of rumble.

"What do you think that is?"

"...I have no idea."

Since they had no idea they tried to ignore it and nap, but the noise was too constant and too unsettling. Ark had the idea to ring the bell. Almost immediately after chiming it, they heard footsteps announcing the maid's arrival.

"Is something the matter?" Claire asked after bowing.

"...Do you know what that noise is?" Ceallach pointed a finger upwards.

Claire stopped to listen, then lowered her head. "Ah...do not worry. It's nothing out of the ordinary. I will take care of it, but I may be unavailable for an hour or so. My apologies." She curtsied and left for a staircase.

Ceallach and Ark stared out into the hall for a few moments after she left. In that time Rowan had come back to the room. "I hope whatever you called her for was important. We were talking before she had to leave," the doctor chuckled.

"We just asked her about the noise, but she said she would get rid of it," Ceallach said over his shoulder before closing the doors.

"Noise? What noise --" then Rowan paused and caught it. Afterwards he seemed to grow very thoughtful.

After some quiet, Ark excused himself, claiming there was something he wanted to have something to eat. Ceallach decided to stay in the room and speak with Rowan. "You were talking, you said?"

"Oh...yes, I asked her if she came from the northwest. It turns out she does...which would explain why she doesn't mind the cold and the snow so much. I wasn't able to talk with her very long, mind...but I did discover something else of interest," the doctor said, putting a hand on his chin smugly. "Our Claire is a witch."

This took Ceallach by surprise. "How could you tell?" he asked, sitting on his cot.

Rowan chuckled. "Not by catching her working on any spells...but I finally caught a glimpse of her eyes. They're a lovely rose color!"

Ceallach stared at Rowan in confusion. The air seemed colder than usual, so he put a blanket around his shoulders.

"You didn't know that you can tell if someone can use magic by looking at their eyes?"

Ceallach shook his head.

Rowan crossed his arms and smiled slightly. "Your ignorance...is rather endearing," he sighed. "I suppose you never would have been taught that before. You can tell much about the magical capabilities of other humans by looking at their eye color. For instance, mine are indigo, which means my magic is inclined towards those of wardens."

Ceallach had never examined the doctor's eyes closely enough to note their specific color - he knew his gaze was dark, but not that that particular detail had any significance. "Alright..."

"As for what I was saying about Claire...the redder the eyes, the more full-blooded the witch."

"So a girl with pink eyes would still be a witch, just not...completely," Ceallach placed his hands on his knees. "Is white a magical color? Is Claire a mix?"

"Goodness, no. Magic doesn't mix, and white eyes generally mean someone is very ill," Rowan broke into a grin. "My boy, your lack of an education is really quite remarkable!"

Heat came into Ceallach's fingers without him bidding it. "It's not something I can help!" he said sharply.

Rowan's grin vanished. "No, of course not," he said quickly, looking away. He cleared his throat and took a few steps towards the window. "Signs of so-called 'blessed heritage' - magical, godly, or otherwise - can be found in many aspects of a person's appearance. I would say each one of us in our little traveling party has at least some amount of it."

Ceallach looked at his hands, then at his hair. He did not know what part of him gave away whatever special ancestry he had, but he was not curious enough to ask. If he was to ask about it, he would not ask Rowan - not now, anyway. He laid down and tried to put the deep rumbling from above out of his mind.

----

Sonja was not present for dinner that night. The next morning, her teeth had greatly shrunk in size, so that only her canines showed.

"Every couple of weeks they get out of control, but they go back to normal after the moon gets full. I told you not to worry!"

Any surprise the celestial envoy had was overshadowed by their relief that she was far easier to listen to now.

"Kolijn is not a noble name I am familiar with," Rowan mused one day, on one of the rare moments he was in the same room with Ceallach and Ark. "Especially for a...beastman family, perhaps? I have no idea what sort she would be, though."

"I do not think she is a beastman," Ark offered idly. "But, I do think there is something wrong with her."

"Yes, you feel it too? A curse, I would assume."

"A curse?" Ceallach sat up.

"It is only a guess. I would have to examine her more closely," Rowan waved a hand.

"...Why don't you ask her?" Ceallach said. "It wouldn't be difficult."

"Well! One doesn't simply ask a lady about that kind of thing," Rowan took off his hat and busied himself with dusting it off. "That would be unseemly."

Ceallach uttered a faint "oh", and the room lapsed back into silence.

Sonja brought it up herself later at supper. "You'll have to excuse my nosiness, but I heard you discussing curses earlier. I am interested in the subject of curses myself, so would you tell me why that particular subject came up?"

Rowan picked up his glass and took a long drink to avoid speaking. Ceallach cleared his throat. Did she know they were talking about her? "...I'm looking for a way to break a curse on a friend of mine. Rowan is helping me out with that, and it happened to be the topic of conversation before we went to bed."

"Ah, what is her curse exactly?" Sonja's ears pricked up.

Ceallach looked down into his stew for a moment. "She's sleeping and nothing will wake her. I tried everything, but she didn't even notice."

Sonja's expression was sympathetic, but she did not interject.

"...To be honest, at first I thought she was mad at me," Ceallach said with a helpless smile. "Considering we had been arguing over a particular character in a book we were both reading. She thought that he was unforgivable, but I thought that, considering the circumstances, he couldn't be blamed. She was still a little upset over it, even we had our argument a few days ago...and one morning, she wouldn't wake up."

"That must have been quite the shock," Sonja said gently. "I can't help you with the curse, but if you like reading, you can take any book from the library you like. Perhaps you'll have something to tell your friend when she gets better."

"There is a library here?"

Sonja looked shocked and somewhat offended. "Yes! Yes, of course there is! Do you not..." She stood suddenly, nearly knocking over her chair. "You must not have been shown it! We'll go there right now!"

Claire swooped in silently, replacing her master's bowl with a plate of bread and cheese.

"...By which I mean, I'll show you once we're done with dinner," Sonja said, taking her seat again.

----

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you, Ceallach," the beast said after finding him by himself in the library. She padded over to sit by him and watch the snow. "What's your title?"

"You mean you can tell?"

"Yes! You have a bit of a sensation, an air about you that the others do not. Sometimes people with titles just know when there's another titled person around!"

That was interesting to know, but that didn't make Ceallach any more willing to share his title. He stared out into the snow for a long while.

"...The Brave Princess...of the Tower on the Sea," he said finally.

Sonja's ears pricked up. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm called a Prince."

"Really?"

"That's right. 'The Isolated Prince of the Keep Near the River'. Or maybe it was 'By the River Running'...something like that," she waved a paw idly.

Ceallach folded his arms and rested his head on them. "Did this keep give you that title?"

"The keep? No," the beast seemed confused by the idea. "But my father got it after he had it built. I got the title from him afterwards..."

"But he knew you were a girl, right?" Ceallach turned towards her.

"I inherited it - he's been gone for a few years now. He left me this keep and some other things too," she put her head on her paws. "Say, what does your title let you do?"

"This," he touched a hand to her shoulder, warming his fingertips. After a few seconds she yelped in surprise. He lifted his hand. "It can get hot enough to melt metal."

"I'd rather not have a personal demonstration of that," Sonja said, brushing off her shoulder.

"So what can you do?"

"My title helps me with plants...anything I plant grows well. I put the seeds in the ground, and days later they are tall and flowering. Every fruit and vegetable in this castle came from the garden." She smiled and gazed out the window. "If only you could see it...but the snow comes in and wipes everything away."

Ceallach looked out at the slopes of snow and imagined leaves and stalks buried underneath. "This isn't the first time then...Rowan said this is the work of a snow demon, I believe?"

"Perhaps! Well, I haven't seen one," Sonja clacked her claws together. "Claire and I are fine, and we have no neighbors. If there is a demon, I don't think it's done very much."

The wind gently guided the flakes to fall in another direction, and Ceallach studied that for a moment. "Does it bother you, to have to start over your garden all the time?"

"Not as much anymore...it lets me plant new things and keeps me busy. I wish it would have come a little later though, so I could've shown you my roses. You would have loved them."

He didn't have anything to say in response, so he watched the flakes fall.

----

Weeks started to pass without the snow stopping. As an apology or perhaps as a distraction, Rowan would sit with Ceallach and lecture on different subjects: on some days, about where they were headed and what to expect along the way - forests that grew massive with heavy rains and overgrown hills that would eventually give way to mountains of rock and gravel. On other days, he lectured about math, literature, and basic medicine. Ceallach had some prior knowledge of these subjects because of the tower's books, so Rowan picked up where they left off. At times, either Ark or Sonja would stop by for a few minutes and watch to the doctor make diagrams to accompany his lessons, but they mostly left the teacher and his student alone. In addition to these lessons, Rowan made Ceallach continue his training by loading books on his back and running him around the castle's stretching staircases. While it was not actually taking him anywhere, the movement invigorated Ceallach somewhat. He no longer felt as uneasy.

Having a teacher guiding his learning made Ceallach remember how much he liked to read and discover things, so he started studying maps on his own in a quiet study he had found. Ark sometimes joined him, but not always, and Rowan busied himself with his own projects.

Sonja was in no way poor company, but she did not impose herself on any of the guests for very long after the first couple of weeks. On occasion, any one of them might have a pleasant conversation with her, but she always excused herself before nightfall and would not be seen at all the rest of the evening.

Claire, on the other hand, never seemed to be far away, for she was always very prompt when called. She said little, worked quickly, and then would vanish to find something else to do. She somehow managed to keep everything in order despite being the only servant in the castle, which Ceallach was quietly amazed by. One day Sonja noticed him watching her dusting from the second story landing. The beast laughed and approached.

Ceallach turned and waved. "Does she do all the work?" he asked.

"Sometimes I try to help, but..." Sonja held up her paws and clicked her claws together. "I'm a bit poorly equipped. And she is a little possessive of the housework."

"Why don't you get another maid?"

"There used to be quite a lot of them when my father was around! But then the curse, and..." she waved a paw idly. "Everybody started leaving. The servants, the butlers, the maids. Then it was just me, Father, and Claire. He didn't last very long after that."

Ceallach stared back for a few seconds. "But that doesn't keep you from getting any more maids, right?"

Sonja arched an eyebrow and coughed. When Ceallach didn't respond, she bared her teeth and growled. He jumped back a little in surprise, which made her laugh again. "I don't think there are many maids out there who would want to work under such a terrible-looking beast," she said. Her expression was warm and a little proud when she looked down the landing. "Yes, it's difficult sometimes, but she's always been a hard worker. Moreso nowadays, now that we're the only ones here. I don't need anyone else...but guests are always welcome, of course."

Ceallach nodded and looked back down the railing to the first story below. Claire had finished dusting the area and had disappeared, as usual.

----

The nights were quiet, lonesome, and long - things that would usually lull Ceallach to sleep quickly, if it weren't for the cold. He had picked out the clothing he brought from the tower because it seemed fit for travel - well-ventilated, sturdily built, and gave him a lot of freedom of movement...but in terms of warm sleepwear, it was sorely lacking.

Rather than smother himself in blankets, he decided to see if he could borrow some extra clothing. Part of him wanted to ask Claire, since she was always somewhat present, but after some thought, he approached Sonja instead.

"Do you have any clothes I can wear that are more fitting for the weather? It doesn't need to be much, but I'm having a bit of trouble sleeping..."

"Oh! Well, if you don't mind it being a bit rough, we can see if some of my father's coats fit you. He had a few things he wore when he traveled northward, which would do well for a time like this! Come along," she said, leading him to a room with a closet that took up the entire wall and a mirror that nearly reached the ceiling. "You'll have to forgive me if it takes a while for me to find them. It's been quite some time since I've been here," she said, opening some doors and shaking her head at the colorful suits in them.

A particularly interesting piece of embroidery caught Ceallach's eye. "Wait, could you open that one again?"

"What, this one? Oh, these," Sonja sighed, stepping aside so he could see. "These were...well, I suppose they still are my dresses, but I can't wear them...for many reasons. They're for more temperate weather, so they won't do you much good, but you can look at them if you'd like."

It was a generously packed space, filled with robes of many different sizes. He picked one that was a pleasant orange and held it in front of him. It was more than a bit overwrought, and had sleeves that made his arms hurt just thinking about them. After a moment, he turned towards Sonja and held it so it lined up with her body. She straightened, and even without being at her full height, it was obvious she was too tall for it.

"I can't really imagine you wearing these," Ceallach said, putting the dress back.

"That makes two of us, then. Father had these made when I was very young. He had some very specific ideas about what I would look like when I grew up," she said, closing the closet.

"They're sort of nice, but not very practical."

"I don't think I've ever met a dress that was practical."

"Back at the tower, there were plenty of dresses that were plain and easy to move around in. I really liked them, but I grew out of them so fast...Aisling liked them as well, though she also liked modifying them into shirts and pants when she couldn't wear them anymore."

"Hmm! Well, if you ever find one that's my size, maybe you can show me so I could try it on? Ah, here they are," she said, having opened the closet with woolen clothing. Compared with the rest of the things they had seen, they were dull in color and straightforward in make. "A coat like this for you? Hm, you have big shoulders, I'm not sure if that will fit. How about this cloak?" she asked, handing him a black cloak with a golden clasp at the neck. Ceallach put it on and was pleased with the weight and warmth of it. "There, you look like an adventurer!"

"I like this one a lot, but I was looking for something I could wear to bed..."

"Oh! My mistake," Sonja said, her ears drooping. "Keep the cloak if you like. I'll leave you to try on the sleepwear in that closet...let me know if there's anything else you need, alright?"

Ceallach smiled, nodding his thanks for the gift. "Thank you, I will."

----

Claire noticed Ceallach had settled in the study and brought him books of maps to examine. Every so often, an unrelated paperback would be in the pile. He was unsure if he should think it was an active effort on her part to give him some distractions, but he appreciated them anyway.

One day, he was reading about some geological differences between regions when Claire came in to drop off a fresh stack of books. Ark, who was with him, started sorting them out by subject. After a moment of stillness, he turned towards Ceallach. "Can you read this? It's too fine for me to make out."

The book caught his interest because it was so different. It was a little smaller than the rest and bound in leather. About half of the front pages had been torn out, making it much thinner than the binding wanted it to be. However, he couldn't read what was in it because the handwriting was incredibly jerky, as if the person had trouble holding a pencil. "No, but Rowan might. I'll ask next time we see him."

As they gathered in the bedroom for the night, he handed the doctor the little book.

"You'd like me to have a look at this? Let's see..." Rowan pondered the first couple of pages in silence. "This seems to be a diary...nothing worth recounting in this part, I assure you."

"A diary? We must return it, then," Ark said.

"Nonsense! Libraries, real libraries, are full of journals and diaries. It's perfectly acceptable reading material," Rowan said, waving away the angel's concern. He stopped after reaching a particular page, realization dawning on his face. "Oh. Oh my. Wait, hang on. This is hard to make out, but it might interest you, Ceallach. Things are getting worse. Can barely write or eat. How to break this curse? My son cannot forgive me, he is dead. My daughter is all I have now, but she fears me I think. I've been a fool. The moon approaches. I must find a way to make the beast sleep. Must sleep...out of tablets..."

Rowan turned the page. "Found it found it found it. Curse can be beaten. Need something strong. Rope breaks." He paused and frowned, getting up so he could sit by Ceallach and show him the pages.

The writing on the next page was in block-lettered print, which was somewhat easier to read. "To my little kitten: I wish I had the face to tell you this in person. I have not been much of a father to you. You have been very brave in doing all you can to help me contain the beast. Now you won't have to worry about that anymore. Live longer and happier than I, Sonja. This land is yours now."

There was nothing else on any of the remaining pages, so the doctor closed the book. "Well!" he said, placing the book on his nightstand without looking at it any further. "That was lovely."

Ceallach pondered the contents of the diary for a long time while watching the snow fall. Just before they were about to get ready for bed, he turned from the window over to Ark. "What do you know about titles?"

"A little bit. It was not my area of study, but perhaps I can help you?"

"When a title is passed on to someone else, do they gain the title's powers?"

"That's right, good or bad. A title can hold many things: power, property, and influence."

"Can a curse be passed on the same way?"

Rowan put a hand on his chin when he heard this, while Ark tilted his head slightly. "I would think so...yes, I believe this has happened several times. Sometimes the conditions for breaking the curse can change, but the features of the curse generally do not."

Ceallach pondered what he had just heard. If it was so easy to get rid of a curse, all he needed to do was have someone take on Aisling's title and she'd wake up. Of course, that would then mean someone else would be asleep for who knew how long. Just thinking about that, and the subject of curses in general, made him feel a little ill but mostly angry. It was not so easy.

He got up and sat on his cot, instead of by the window. "Sonja must hate her father, if he gave her such an awful curse."

Ark said nothing before lying down and turning out the light.