I left the back deck with Matthias after Serge interrupted us. The relative lightness I felt while sitting in the cool April air with Matthias was diminished in that moment.

The curse clawed at me, reawakened by the reminder of Serge.

And under the chains of the curse, I felt sorry for him, which made the curse rage all the more. I was not allowed to pity my master of all people, it was completely out of line.

We stopped at my room and I hung my jacket up in the closet. Matthias had already inspected the guest room with a critical eye before we had gone outside, but he had kept any criticisms to himself about my accommodations.

Or perhaps his expectations had been so low when I had been cursed that he was just relieved that I was not physically chained in a dungeon, I thought with amusement before it was sucked back into my fear.

We made our way back to the kitchen and found a chicken casserole on the stovetop. There were no bowls or cutlery out. I glanced helplessly at the cupboards.

Obviously, I should simply open them and find the necessary tools, but it felt like another trespass in an area that was not my own.

"H-hold on," I told Matthias.

He raised a quizzical brow at me.

"I'm going to get bowls."

"Okay," he agreed slowly.

I forced my hand towards the most likely cupboard handle feebly, before it fell.

"I can just get them, Elise," he pointed out.

I frowned at him. "I know that, Matt. But I need to do this."

"Are you being forced to?" he asked.  As always, his desire to protect me simmered beneath the surface, visible on the clenching of his jaw.

I tried again, clutching the cool metal handle in my hand. "Nope, more like the opposite."

Aha! I pulled open the door and I found neat stacks of plates and bowls. With trembling hands I selected two and brought them down to the counter. I repeated the same agonizing process with three drawers before I finally located the cutlery. Mathias leaned against the counter and watched with concern, but did not interrupt.

Then, I scooped two helpings of the chicken casserole into the bowls. A piece fell from the shaking serving spoon onto the counter, but Matthias picked it up and popped it in his mouth. I smiled at him.

"I'll give this pack one thing, Karen's a good cook."

I scoffed. "Like you know, you'll eat anything."

Matthias grinned, "I still have preferences."

He grabbed both our bowls and stopped my protest quickly. "Just let me do this, okay? You'll feel worse if you spill your supper."

I nodded and trailed behind him to the table and sat where he put my bowl. I raised a forkful, chewed, and swallowed the nearly flavourless bite while I considered my friend.

During the hours we had been together, his anger and concern had been apparent even though he tried so hard to hide it from me. It might even have been worse than that first day, because his shock had lessened, but the other feelings were still running rampant. Probably my family was no better.

If nothing else, this situation was not good for the war. I had been enjoying my hours of escapism with Matthias, but I needed to address the situation.

He was not going to push me to talk about things that were uncomfortable because he was too worried about me, so I had to be the one to bring it up.

The curse seized me again and I realized talking to him about my state as a thrall would be far more difficult than finding cutlery or dressing myself.

"The c-c-curse... I-it makes me scared all the time, Matt."

He frowned and I realized I had started badly.

"Sc-scared of stupid things like t-touching or d-doing the wrong thing. Or d-doing nothing when I should be doing something. I-its subjective, you know?"

"I guess."

I was picking up steam. "But it's getting easier for me to f-fight it. It's sort of like those rehabilitation stories, you know, where the person loses use of their legs, but then one day they can m-move a toe? That's me, I can move a toe, so I have to k-keep moving that toe every chance I get."

I could see he was listening.

"I d-don't know if I'll ever be able to walk again, Matt, but I have to keep working on it. That's my fight. It's Elise v-versus the c-c-curse and it's the Trifecta versus the eastern king. I have to focus on my f-fight, while you focus on yours."

He exhaled slowly. "You want me to just forget about you?" he asked. He frowned and looked at me sharply as if trying to decipher my words.

I shook my head. "Of course not, I l-love that you did all this for me, Matt. I just don't want you to worry. I can see already you've been missing sleep."

"I'm sure you have, too."

I grimaced. "I've been sleeping plenty, but I'm pretty sure my dr-dreams are all nightmares now. But I don't remember them, so I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. Who knows when the next attack will be? There's been so many more this last year. You and everyone need to be rested. Tell them that for me. I don't want any of you to fall because I made a r-reckless choice gone wr-wrong."

"I'll tell them, if you want," he said slowly.

"I do. Because," I swallowed. "I can't feel it, but I am s-safe here. No one is going to h-hurt me, Matt."

Matthias' jaw clenched and I knew exactly who he was thinking about. I swallowed as ice tore through my veins. "H-h-he is not going to h-hurt me."

"But he—"

"I know what h-he did and I know you're angry. I-I was too, but I don't think either of us could be as angry with h-him as h-he is with h-himself. That's h-his fight. I have mine and you have yours, Matt. We all need to focus on our own b-battles right now," I told him.

Matthias crossed his arms. "I won't forgive him and I don't trust him."

I forced my frozen tongue to move. "You d-d-don't have to, just please don't let your anger get you killed. I couldn't bear that."

* * * * * * * * *

After our heavy talk, we went outside and went for a run. We both changed separately and then met in the forest. Matthias came up to me, his blackish brown fur fading to black at the tops of his ears and the tip of his tail. His ears were forward and his tail was wagging playfully. I returned the gestures, indicating I was up for some fun.

We chased each other through the forest, never straying too far outside of the area that was safe for me to go. Like in our human forms, Matthias was larger and stronger than me. He was faster than me, too, but in the forest I could make up the difference in speed with my agility.

I raced along, daring Matthias to catch me. I dodged tree trunks and ran under branches that I fit through easily, but forced Matthias to duck or dodge.

I also had the advantage of familiarity. I was coming to know this small area quite well. I dashed under a fallen log, Matthias leapt over it instead. I used the moment to quickly change direction while he was still in motion and put more distance between us.

I barked at him mockingly as I ran away, just to aggravate him further.

I felt a swell of happiness that the ice could not completely drag under. I was having fun.

I howled happily.

I felt Matthias' teeth nip my tail so I put on a burst of speed.

Unfortunately there weren't any proper obstacles to use against him, so a moment later he caught up and hit my face with his muzzle, before turning and rushing away.

I gave chase. He was smart enough to know that open spaces were his strength against me, but eventually I had him properly cornered.

We played our game, rushing back and forth. I enjoyed running alone, even under influence of the curse, but there was something far more satisfying about running with my friend as I had so many times before.

I was really fortunate to have him. There was no one who I felt more comfortable with.

When we tired of our game, we shifted back to our human bodies, dressed and walked together back to Serge's house.

The sky was beginning to darken as we made our way back inside. I wondered when he was planning to leave, but I did not ask, because I was in no hurry for the spell to end.

We sat on the couch again and played some more games together, but it did not feel as light as before.

"Well," he began, but I could tell by the way he drew out his first word that he was going to leave soon. I wished I could keep him there with me, but I reminded myself that my father needed him. Matthias did not belong to me, no matter how much his presence was a comfort.

"I should go soon."

"I know," I agreed.  I tried not to sound disheartened.

He glanced around at our mess. I had managed to keep my mind off it by focusing on Matthias and our games and ignoring reality, but the empty chip bags and bowls laying around sent a shot of fear through me as if I had taken something valuable and smashed it.

"I'll clean this up first," he said.

I rushed quickly to help.

Matthias did the bulk of the work, because I was feeling like the worst trespasser again as ice flooded through my veins and made me tremble. How had I let such a mess occur in Serge's home?

With Matthias' help, soon the small disaster was removed and Serge's living room was back to its former tidy state.

"Want to keep my games here?" Matthias offered.

I shook my head. I already had way too much stuff for the comfort of the curse, besides it would not be the same playing without him. "I won't play them on my own, Matt."

He did not argue. He simply shoved the console and accessories back in the bag which he had used to bring them.

He reluctantly walked to the door and I followed him.

He looked at me and I looked back into those concerned dark eyes. I gave him a hug and he hugged me back. I felt warm.

I pulled back.

"Take care of yourself," he told me.

"You too. Remember what I said, Matt. It doesn't matter what happens to me. I'm just one person and unless we all want to be slaves to the eastern king, then you all need to focus. Remember, I have my b-b-battle, you have yours."

"Elise," he said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

I spoke quietly, too. "Don't let me be the reason that the trifecta falls."

* * * * * * * * *