Besides the sound of my teeth chattering, I heard a small squeak beside me that was much too quiet to be a chimera.
I wiped the dream monster out of memory and looked down at the small gray creature. The rodent had prominent features from several different animals. It had the body and ears of a mouse, but its tail was wiry and tufted, while its face was tough, not fuzzy like the rest of it. And the nose elongated to a tusk.
“Did you wake me up with that tusk, little, um…Rhimouserous?” I whispered.
The animal, if possible, glared as it nodded its tiny head. Then it jerked its tusk, as though saying, This way.
“You want me to follow you?” When I stood, it scampered off. I got a few yards, but the night was too dark, and I lost track of where it went. I absolutely did not lose sight of it because I got distracted by a certain prince.
Kato sat by the lake, staring at his reflection. Like the throne room’s mirrors, it too showed his human nature. Sad and pensive lines marked his face even among the slight waves in the water. He jumped when my image joined his.
“I didn’t know I was that scary,” I mumbled and plopped down next to him.
He grinned. “No. I was just surprised, that’s all. After you fainted, we walked for hours, but you never even stirred. I thought you would never wake up.”
“Bad dreams.” I shivered, only half from the memory of the cold.
Kato nodded over to a daffodil. With feet. “You’re not the only one it seems.”
I recognized Rexi’s breeches and ugly brown shoes as she tossed fitfully in a flower bed and moaned in her sleep.
“Should we wake her?” I asked. I almost wanted to check and make sure the fire gem tears had stayed in the dream.
“No.” He shook his head, and the dewdrops on his mane flew everywhere. “Bad sleep is better than no sleep.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. My subconscious definitely had some serious issues.
Kato stared absently into the lake.
“Are you thinking that maybe if you stare long enough, your real body will match your reflection?” I asked.
“I’m not sure I’d want to.”
“What do you mean?”
He stared at me from the water. Kato’s human face was much more expressive, what with it not being covered in fur. An eyebrow quirked and he frowned slightly. There was a dimple in his chin that I hadn’t noticed before.
“He looks so arrogant. The Beast King. I thought I had the power and the right to command anything. I thought I knew the best way to save everyone, and I never even once cared how it might affect you. Finding a way to end Blanc and secure my title was the only thing that mattered. So when the Emerald Sorceress suggested the alliance—”
I jerked in surprise. “This was all Verte’s idea?”
He sighed. “Your wish turbo-charged the process, but the flames that imprison the White One have been slowly going dim for the past seventeen years. Some factions of my kingdom suggested we flee our duty, and without officially being king, it grew harder to control them. Verte came to me a week or so ago and told me about a girl that could solve all my problems. When I met you, I couldn’t see how you could possible help me and thought you’d be a burden.” He had the decency to blush, the color showing even in the watery image. “The sorceress assured me she was never wrong, so I approached your parents and demanded your hand because I wanted to get it over with.”
“Gee. Thanks.” I blew a few fiery strands out of my face. Since I was calm, they weren’t too bright.
“But I was wrong.” Kato placed a paw in my lap, but in the reflection, it looked like his hand brushed my knee. “Verte saw something that I was blinded to.”
He wasn’t the only one. I didn’t know what she had seen in me either. “I wonder what mischief she was up to. I suppose we’ll never know.”
“She knew you best, knew the parts no one else could see. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the girl from the story looked a lot like you, Dot.”
I stilled. “Blanc?”
“No,” he answered. “The princess who rejected the Beast King, then helped fight and bind the White One.”
I’d been too preoccupied by the story to even notice. Who was she and why was she special enough to earn the trust of both a Storymaker and the King of Beasts? Searching my reflection in the lake, I hoped for a glimmer of insight. All I could remember were Blanc’s words from my dream. I chucked a nearby stone into the pool, rippling the water and distorting the image. “Well, you’re wrong. I think we’ve established that my best intentions and wishful thinking do nothing but put people in danger.”
“It can save them too. After you fell asleep, Rexi filled me in on what happened, on what you did for me.”