William had been surprised when the young woman had come up to him and touched him with no obvious fear. Her touch had been soothing and he had found himself confused that she would show such a caring side to the one that had told her no one left the castle. She had continued to surprise him by offering to research the information.<span style="font-style: italic"> Maybe if he led her to the library, she would find the book without his help. If she did so and found the story that he couldn't tell her, she could understand his curse. Maybe...she wouldn't view this as imprisonment but a voluntarily stay that would lead to â€¦ No. That wasn't likely.</span><br/><br/>Her offer of tea did sound nice. He stood up and said, â€œI'll get the kettle on for you.â€ William walked over to the wall and pulled an old fashioned tea kettle off the shelf. As he filled the kettle with water from the faucet at the sink, he spoke over his shoulder and gestured to a door across from the door leading outside, â€œThe tea pots and cups are over behind that door, with all the other dishes and silverware.â€<br/><br/>Once the kettle was full, he placed it on the stove and then touched a spot in front of the burner that caused the magic to turn â€œonâ€ and heat what ever was on the burner. He didn't often use the stove, but he remembered how it had been used when he was a boy. The cooks had always been busy, but allowed the boy within their domain as long as he didn't make a mess. Those days had been too long ago, but the memories stuck like cockle burs.