Bess continued to read, though out in the corner of her eye, she saw Dan tossing restlessly. She knew he had not absorbed a word she uttered, but steadily persevered, hoping for some response. None came from the comfortable armchair in which Dan was embraced.
        At last, somewhat vexed, she threw the book at her feet, with a fire in her eyes that was rarely seen.
        "Perhaps you'd rather that I didn't read any more?" she asked, mild irritation slipping into her tone, despite her best attempt to conceal it.
        Dan tilted his head to face her, startled. "What?"
        "You haven't been listening to a word," she reproached, but her mind was not occupied in her scolding. Instead, she studied him with the eye of an artist, wondering if she could capture on canvas the mysteries of his eyes.
        "Sorry." He managed a grin, but a mere shadow of his old smile, feeble and jaded. "Just thinking."
        Intrigued, Bess forgot to be upset, instead questioning, "About what?"
        His mouth twisted, the smile vanishing. "Y'know. This and that."
        "Do you mind telling me?" Bess asked, hesitantly. "I don't wish to be rude, but I would like to know what was more fascinating than the Iliad."
        "Brilliant book, isn't it?" Dan agreed, artfully turning the conversation away from himself. "He was quite a trickster, Odyseus. It was a stunner, the way he tricked that Cyclops."  Her eyes widened. "I thought you'd care for more of the fighting and battles. That always used to interest you."
        She caught a glimpse of the shadow that passed over Dan's face, but did not understand it. All he said, however, was, "Not any more."
        Slightly crushed, she glanced down, avoiding his gaze.  Seeing the book, looking somewhat the worse for wear, lying at her feet, she recalled the earlier subject of their conversation.
        "You're very sly, trying to trick me." She smiled at him, forgetting her shyness. "But I'm still curious. What were you thinking about?"
        She was unprepared for an answer, let alone the one he gave her. "Your hair."
        Consciously, she reached up to draw back her tumbling locks.
        "Don't tie it back," Dan begged. "I love to see it hanging down, Goldilocks."
        She smiled shyly at him. "Whenever you call me that, I always wonder what fairytale character you would be?"
        "Probably one of the three bears, they suit me best." Dan gave a short laugh.
        Pensively, Bess shook her head. "You used to be a bear, perhaps, but now I think you more of a prince."
        Dan shook his head wryly. "Princes were always good and charming."
        "You are the first, and can be the second, when you wish to be.
        There was a short pause. Bess, fearing that he had not liked her words, hastily added, "You're also brave, you know, and that was a great quality in many princes."
        Her words hung in the air for a long moment. The silence was only broken by a terse, muttered reply, "Thank you, Princess."
        Bess blushed at the compliment and the possible implication of the words. Then she shook her head at her foolishness. He may have been a prince, but that did not make him her Prince Charming, did it?
        She glanced up, to find Dan's keen eyes watching her, as if he divined her thoughts. Blushing more furiously, her eyes sought refuge on the book that they had been reading.  "Shall we read some more, then?"
        "As you wish, Penelope," Dan offered with a smile.
        Concealing her face behind her book, she continued her chapter.
        But this time, she knew it was different.