The next three moons passed with ease.

  I studied the books in the library, improving my tailoring and my knowledge of the new world I lived in. I settled in to the palace, gave up meat, and had no further problems with Nyx- his sarcasm and crude manners were met with equal wit and sass. Cervis and I developed an easy almost-friendship; we spent most of our days apart and meals together. He kept his word- three weeks after I first appeared, he took me out to a crystalline lake that shone silver in the sunlight. Cervis told me not to touch the water, as it was poison, but it was a beautiful scene. We had gone out twice other than that- once to a meadow of white lilies, and another time to a cave full of Lights.

  Then one morning, something finally gave.

  I came to breakfast as usual, sat down, and faced Cervis. It was time for a talk. I had thought enough about it, and it was time I got an answer.

  “Cervis?”

  He looked up from his breakfast plate, and I found a way to stall as my courage wavered. “Did you, um, did you want to eat something other than leaves?”

  He shifted his head back and looked at me. “What?”

  “I can cook. I might not be a great tailor, but I’m sure I can make something herbal that will at least taste better than a pile of leaves. Maybe something with honey?”

  He glanced at the plate and back of me. “We can try it, surely. Now, what did you really want to ask?”

  I paused, and then cleared my throat. “It’s you at night, isn’t it?”

  He became a statue. His flanks barely shifted for him to breathe as he stared at me. “How did-? But you were asleep-!”

  “Since the first night, I’ve thought it was you. So it is, then?”

  “I can’t directly say.” He stepped slowly over to me. “But… A good guess. I- I’m sorry if you’ve been made to feel uncomfortable in your own dwelling. It’s just that it’s horribly uncomfortable to sleep as a stag, and no other kind of bed can be formed here. It will disappear instantly and reappear somewhere in the Palewood. I would have asked, but I couldn’t.” He dipped his head. “If you prefer, I will find other accommodations.”

  “No; I- I thought I minded at first, but it’s not so bad. You maintain your distance and leave me be. There’s only one bed, and… It was yours to start with.”

  “You still have a right to it, seeing as I essentially forced you here.”

  There was an awkward discomfort to the situation, and I cleared my throat. “Based on what else you’ve said, I’m imagining you can’t tell me why you turn into a man, either, right?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  He sighed. “That isn’t exactly what happens, at least not how I think of it. Transformation occurs from a base form to a different one.”

  I nodded. “So… The man turns into the stag, not the stag into the man.”

  He didn’t give any indication I was right, and another thought came to me. I had known Cervis for three months now- I’d gotten my answers about the woods, aside from the Palewalkers, but I needed more answers about Cervis.

  “Cervis, may I ask one more question?”

  He snorted. “Can I stop you?”

  “What’s in your journal?”

  He stopped at that. He studied the tabletop with unblinking eyes. “I started the journal when I first arrived here, to keep track of how long I’d been here. I can’t tell you what’s in it, nor are you allowed to read it. If you do… The consequences will be dire. If anything ever happens to me- and you will know the situation- only then can you read the journal. In that event, flip to the very last page. It’s written especially for you.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Cervis.”

  “Finish your breakfast. I’m going for a walk in the garden.”

  He left the dining room and I turned back to my strawberry jam and toast, reviewing all of it.

  I’d known he was the man at night, but it was still surprising to hear it admitted (more or less). And now I had to wonder: how had he gotten into this situation? He’d implied more than once that he wasn’t any happier being stuck here than I was, and I no longer begrudged him bringing me here. At this point, I understood why he did- maybe that said something about me that I had sympathy for my “captor,” but I had agreed to this.

  Another question popped into mind. What did he look like?

  That day, I went to the library and read books about art and blindness. I wondered if there were rules about keeping the light on at night- but perhaps I wasn’t supposed to see him? I wished he could just tell me the rules, but I supposed that was part of the thing to keep him alone. Maybe I should start keeping a journal, just to keep all the facts straight.

  The thought made me wonder- could I send letters? Who would deliver them? Supposedly, Cervis was delivering great amounts of wealth to my family, so it must mean that there was a way to send things.

  I didn’t think much about my family, and the familiar dull ache entered my chest at the thought. I sighed on my way to the dining room for supper and tried to push the thoughts away. I had seen my sisters nearly every day of my life, aside from those few trips with my father, and now I hadn’t seen them in three months.

  I ventured into the dining room and thought about what food I wanted, and it appeared in surplus amounts, as I desired. I began to mix ingredients. How long has he been eating salads? Does it count as a salad if there’s just a handful of leaves on a plate?

  By the time Cervis came to the dining hall, there was a bowl of bean and spinach soup at his end of the table. He stopped next to it and looked at me. “Did you do this-?”

  “It’s based more with honey and water than anything, so if the flavor isn’t fantastic, I apologize.”

  He took a small bite, and then nodded appreciatively. “Could do with some salt, but the flavor is good.”

  I laughed lightly, and then looked up at him. “Cervis- I have a question for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  He took a bite of the soup, and I bit my lip and then looked up. “Why don’t you just eat while you’re a man?”

  He looked up at me and blinked.

  “Oh, my stars. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go jump off the balcony for not thinking of that before now.”