He was dragged to wakefulness on the floor of the castle bedroom. The sleep that he had fallen into seemed resentful of his leaving, and held onto him jealously with enticing hands. It took an impossible amount of effort to unhand himself, but he did it anyway, through a long, drawling, pained groan. At his side were Evans and Valeria, crawling to a crouch. He recognized in them the same languor that he was wading through. It had the slowness of oozing resin. Standing before them, looking terribly awake, was the sorceress.

"You couldn't even let me have that one bit of fun" she sulked. "Do you know how much effort it took to design that dream?"

Percy looked up at her. His vision was still unfocused. Sheet after sheet lifted from his eyes, until her features etched itself into his sight with more clarity. The other two were quicker to stand, though he could see their legs trembling with the effort.

"It would have lasted much longer if you'd been part of that palace, too" she went on addressing him. "You wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss those people, and leave when they expected you to stay. You might not have cared for them, but you would have cared what they thought. These two..." she glanced at Evans and Valeria with a look that was both scornful and sympathetic. "I can't tell you how long they would have wallowed in there before breaking the dream."

"You don't need to tell me, I know for myself" Percy groaned as he summoned his remaining energy to stand up. "Five more minutes in there with those people and I would probably have started to care, too."

Those people with headdresses and wineglasses and daggers. He looked down at his hand. There was no sign of a wound, but the pain lingered. He wondered what would have happened if the blade had run through his chest instead. The thought was enough for a hot, fetid breath of panic to engulf him.

"Fine – y'all can go" the fae sighed, raising her hands in a gesture of frustration.

It reminded him of what had happened the last time she had raised her hands, and all three gave a slight feline jump upon seeing it. Percy noticed how Valeria's and Evan's reactions, usually so well guarded and leashed, now twitched and shuddered at the surface, as though the polish of their self-control had just been scraped off by the dream.

"Calm your tits, I'm not going for round two" the sorceress chuckled.

"Will you release the curse on the servants and the guests?" Evans asked. His words had a light tremor to them, as though he was still gathering the pieces of his voice strewn about the bedroom floor.

"Sure. I didn't really mean to curse all those folks anyway, it just came out" she smirked.

"What about the girl and her family?" Percy asked.

"Sorry, hun, those stay put until someone properly breaks their curse. Don't worry, someone will come and kiss her in no time."

"I don't doubt it" Evans muttered.

Percy sent a regretful look at the sleeping shape behind the veils of the canopy bed. Valeria exchanged a curt nod with the enchantress. Brief and gruff as it was, Percy had the distinct impression that, without one of Valeria's nods to seal it, no deal could be made on earth. He suspected he would from then on require the sight of that tall woman in her blue tabard nodding at his every decision.

"Oh" Evans said suddenly as they made their way out of the room, turning back to the sorceress. "The animals – could you break their curse too, if you would be so kind?"

"The animals?" she blinked.

She had put on many acts during their encounter, and visibly enjoyed them all: but now she looked to Percy to be genuinely confused.

"You know, the... the ones on the castle walls? Outside?"

"What animals?" she asked, her eyes squinting.

"Wow, you really are good" Percy gave a little incredulous chuckle.

V

As the sun set on the village, three figures mounted their horses and rode away from the sleep-steeped castle with its purring walls. Soon after, the castle shook off its slumber, sending specs of fur and feathered dust scattering over the flaming sky.

"I can't believe she sent all those animals to sleep without even realizing it" Evans said as they trotted away from the village.

"I'm sure you can't believe it" Percy mumbled.

"What's with that tone of voice?" Valeria admonished him, turning on her horse to face him with the full brunt of her disapproval.

After they had left the castle, a hint of frustration had started to pin and prick at Percy. By now, it had fully turned into anger, crawling and scratching at his skin. It took him some time to understand where it came from.

He dismounted from his mare to give more gravity to what he was about to say. They were right at the edge of the woods that bordered the village. He hadn't even thought to ask where they were riding to now; he just rode. That made him angrier.

"You go around thinking you know exactly how everything goes" he began, fully intending to go on for a while. "It was the same with that sorceress lady on the road. Oh, hello madam, you're here to test me, I know just what to do and how to act. You think you know how all of this goes, and that everything and everyone will play along."

"How can you – " Valeria's voice flared in anger.

"You do! And you underestimate what can happen to you" he kept going at a more hurried pace, for, while he could be brave, he could not be brave for very long. "You could have stayed stuck in that dream for a lot longer if I wasn't there" he couldn't resist adding.

"We would not have gotten fucking stuck in it in the first place if you hadn't been there!" Valeria bellowed.

"But something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, if you keep expecting things to go as you think they should go, and sorcerers to just lift their own curses because you asked nicely!"

"I see how it is" she muttered. "Now that you know you're not who you thought you were your whole life, it's frustrating to see other people around you carry themselves with confidence. Is that it?"

"No, I understand what he's saying" Evans intervened with his usual quiet voice, smooth and velvet safe for the pinch of a smile. "I suppose I've been a bit a little too cocky in my dealings with others lately."

"I... I never mentioned cockiness or confidence" Percy sighed. His shoulders sank, his head drooped, and all of him deflated when faced with Evans' readiness to agree. It was one of Evans' worse qualities. "You were just a little too certain that things would go your way. And you're right" he turned to Valeria with a frown. "I used to think I would always have my way with things because I was the chosen one. Now that I... have another perspective, I know that's not the case. And if you came to break a curse of mine, I wouldn't let you do it just because you asked politely, chosen one or not."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Evans had another smile and stepped towards Percy, leading his horse by the bridle. But he stopped in his tracks as the three of them heard galloping coming from the village. Valeria was the first to draw her sword and stand at the ready as a grey horse approached. Its rider was a young woman whom Percy recognized after a painful amount of squinting. It was the maid he had seen sleeping in the castle, sat propped against the wall.

"I'm really glad you stopped here for a bit, whatever the reason was" she said. "I hope it's nothing bad?"

When she started to speak, she was still on her horse, and when she stopped, she had already dismounted. It was all superbly clumsy. She had the least graceful riding Percy had ever seen, and she dismounted with an abundance of flailing legs and wriggling arse. But somehow she had spoken in one continuous flow, her voice barely staggered by the thrashing about of her body. And when she went quiet, she didn't go quiet at all: her eyes were loud as she stared at them expectantly.

Evans was the quickest to collect himself enough to reply.

"Thank you for your concern, we're alright. You're from the castle, aren't you?"

She nodded. Her features were plain and homely, and her hair of an unremarkable brown colour was held up in a loose bun. She had rather pronounced smile lines that aged her a little past her years, and a round face with a nose that was hoisted just a tad too far above her mouth. There were no metaphors to be found anywhere in her: no one would ever compare her eyes to jewels or her hair to gold. And she wore it tremendously well. Her relaxed posture was that of someone who treated their body as a trusted, comfortable companion, and who would put up a hell of a fight to keep it. She swam in a loose tunic of a tired green colour, fastened with a wide leather belt. The trousers she wore underneath had every air of having been put on in a hurry.

"I saw you riding out after I woke up – thank you for that, by the way, although it was nice to get some good rest for once. By which I mean, I'm a maid at the palace."

"You're a maid and you know how to ride?" Valeria raised her eyebrows in admiration.

"I don't, I've been scared shitless since I left. But I picked a horse that's even more scared of me than I am of him, for whatever reason."

Valeria looked even more impressed. Percy felt a budding grudge; in all his days with her, he'd never managed to drag such an expression out of her.

"My name's Myrtle" the woman introduced herself. "Well, it had to be, what with lady's maid being the highest I could aim for in life. Royal naming decree and all."

"Naming decree?" Percy asked, too curious to conceal his ignorance.

"Not many people know about it" Evans explained. "It's a couple of centuries old."

"I've had three mistresses who were called Serena, Crystal and Aurora, but all my friends in service are called Gertrude, Eunice, Mildred or Hortense" she shrugged. "Keeps things nice and tidy, it seems. Everyone's a maid when they want to put someone in their place. Suddenly no one's too good for that kind of tidying up."

"The sorceress kept her word already, then? She broke the curse for everyone but the family?" Valeria asked.

"She did, and she's gone."

"We're sorry we couldn't break it for your mistress" Percy said.

"Oh, no need to be sorry, it's what she wanted."

Percy stared at her.

"What?"

"She wanted to be put under the sleep spell. That's why she didn't invite the sorceress. She wanted to provoke her. I thought you'd figured this out? Well, I assumed you had, when I saw you hadn't broken the curse for her."

Percy's eyes widened, and widened further when he saw Evans nod.

"I suspected, but it's good to be certain. I mean – " his gaze shifted to Percy and he blushed slightly. "One should never be too certain, of course."

Percy felt something in him fall upwards.

"Well, your suspicions were right" Myrtle said.

"Wait, why did you suspect that?" Percy asked, turning to Evans.

Evans cast his eyes down, focusing on the ground with utmost care and attentiveness.

"The sorceress said her specialty was sleep, and that everyone knew it. She said herself they would be foolish not to expect a curse like that if they didn't invite her. And, well... there was something different with the girl that made me suspect it."

"Was there?"

"She was lying on a bed. Everyone else was on the floor."

Percy stared some more.

"You mean... she had a chance to make herself comfortable, because she knew it was coming."

Evans nodded.

"But... what about her family?" Percy babbled, turning to the maid. "Didn't she care that they would be cursed too?"

"Why do you think she wanted to go to sleep in the first place?" Myrtle sighed.

Valeria crossed her arms and released a long, descending whistle that spelled out about a dozen curse words.

"Does she have anyone in mind to come and kiss her to rescue her eventually?" he went on asking, although each question just made him dizzier.

"Oh, I doubt it. She's not very romantically inclined."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Darling, if my name is Myrtle and hers is Serena, it's because she sits at her vanity brushing her hair telling me all about her hopes and dreams while I giggle and nod like a good little confidante. They pay me to pretend that my life has no other purpose other than their aspirations. And they fall for it, too. It's the funniest thing. They have a terrible sense of humour otherwise."

Percy dragged a hand over his face. A sleep curse was beginning to sound appealing.

"Well, Myrtle, what can we do for you, since you rode after us?" Valeria asked.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Could I ride along with you for a little while? I'm heading out, and you seem like competent travel companions. I'll prove myself useful, of course."

They exchanged a glance.

"I don't doubt that, but we might not be going in the direction you want" Evans said.

"I assume you'll be riding through a town at some point, sooner or later. That'll suit me fine."

This time, they exchanged a smile. Percy smiled too, despite himself. There were advantages to being tired.

The four of them mounted back on their horses. Myrtle scrambled up hers with a determination that even Percy had to grudgingly admire. He let Evans and Valeria ride in front, and he trotted next to Myrtle, whose body shambled up and down at every motion of her horse. She seemed to be doing her best to forget she was sitting on a capricious creature.

"So you've left the castle?" he asked. Stating the obvious was one of the least tiring things he could do right now.

"Yes. I'm going to start a guild. A union of sorts."

"You – a guild?"

"Mhm. There are plenty of stories going around of servants being affected by curses that are placed on their masters. Turned to stone or objects or things like that. I'd been thinking about that for a while, and well, it does put things into focus when it happens to you, too. Lords and ladies have every right to go around angering sorcerers, but hired help should be left out of it. Or at least, we should be paid a bloody good bonus if we're to be included in any potential curses. You know?"

He smiled an incredulous smile at her.

"I admit I hadn't thought of that before."

"Oh, don't blame yourself. Most people haven't. Which is why I have to get out there. Scared shitless on a horse."

"You... do know what can happen to servants who form guilds, don't you?"

He knew. He'd seen it, once. He decided to keep quiet about it now. He'd kept quiet back then, too. His sense of justice was as strong as his sense of self-preservation.

"Do you know what happens to servants who don't form guilds? It's very liberating to know you're screwed either way."

He nodded. That he could understand – somewhat.

"I'm Percy, by the way."

She immediately extended her hand to shake his. All of her shook, and all of Percy shook, as her arm swayed up and down with the awkward lumbering of her body.

They stopped soon enough to set up camp in a sheltered clearing. Percy's bedroll had never looked so appealing to him. Myrtle somehow prepared their bland rations in ways that made them inexplicably mouth-watering. She revealed the cloth bag of victuals she had stolen from the castle kitchens, "as an early instalment of the compensation the masters will want to pay when they wake up, on account of us getting cursed too".

The meal they shared around the campfire tasted magnificent to Percy. Myrtle complimented Valeria on her tea, which sent Valeria on a monologue on the benefits of lemon-verbena. Percy looked at Evans. He waited bravely for Evans to meet his eyes, and, braver still, held his gaze when Evans smiled at him. He shuffled a little, as if to settle into the feeling of being content.

After a while, when the moon had risen high above their grasp, Evans stood and walked away from the campfire. Percy watched him go, and focused hard on how exhausted he felt to stop himself from following. Valeria dozed with her mug of tea. Myrtle stood up too, plates in hand, stepping in the direction Evans had gone off to.

"Where are you going?" Percy asked. His voice sounded a little too hurried and high-pitched.

"To wash the dishes. Old habits. I'll lose them eventually."

"I think there's – more stream if you go that way" he blushed, pointing in the opposite direction.

She arched her eyebrows in surprise before heading in the direction he pointed her to. He heard Valeria shift at his side as she raised her head to look at him.

"So you went from following him to stopping others from following him. That's growth, I suppose. A growth spurt, even."

He stared at her with a horrified expression. He hoped she might misconstrue it as outrage over such an accusation. It didn't work.

"Of course you weren't asleep back then" he sighed eventually.

"Of course not. I don't go to sleep if there are strangers around to follow him when he wanders off at night."

Hearing the word "stranger" applied to himself unnerved Percy, and he wrinkled his nose in aversion. He was unused to the role of stranger. Everyone in his town had always known who he was. To be named a stranger was to be given an ill-fitting tunic to wear, by someone who did not care that it did not suit him.

"Am I still a stranger?" he sniffed.