A Deal

 "Stupid Paltar," Nanna muttered and looked at her friend on the ground. "Why can't you put yourself first for once?"

Her words sounded harsh, but she was trembling. This was wrong. 

She was not nearly as hurt as he was. The moon shone brightly above her, and the deep wounds looked almost black against his pale skin.

"Soon... Come on..." she hissed.

Stupid Paltar. Stupid decisions. Stupid goose body with its stupid wings. She couldn't even examine him properly.

Instead, she could only watch and wait.

The silence stretched between them, and as the air grew colder, Nanna shivered. She was a princess. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't give up. She had never given up in her life! And he wouldn't dare give up, not if he hadn't made her all the clothes he'd promised her.

"Come on..." she repeated.

She had dreaded this night before. Nanna was glad that Paltar had had the foresight to take the dress with him, so that it wouldn't be too embarrassing even if she was caught in a desolate place like this. 

One night a month, when the moonlight was right... a fleeting feeling of what she had lost. Sometimes, it felt like the curse was heaviest then, weighing her down in shame and sorrow.

 Nanna felt the familiar tingling in her body, like a chill all over, and she closed her eyes as she bathed in the golden moonlight. Paltar lay on the floor, still asleep—or worse, unconscious. Once she had her hands back, she would take a good look at him.

The transformation took only a few seconds. Nanna always appreciated that. It didn't hurt, and it didn't even feel weird... it was more like a veil being lifted from her, showing her true form.
Still, her newly formed hands trembled as she put on the dress, as best as she could without his help. Just in case Paltar woke up, she had better be dressed. After all, he still saw her as a goose, and if he saw her human form, he might have a heart attack.

"Stupid Paltar..." she muttered.

The dress was already dirty. But that wasn't important right now. Instead, she leaned over Paltar, her white hair falling over her shoulder and brushing against his cheek. He was still breathing, though his chest was barely rising.

"Hey, won't you wake up?" She pinched him lightly, but there was no reaction. "You could at least call out to me."

She could feel the pain and tears constricting her whole body, and quickly cleared her throat.

 ‘Focus, Nanna!’  she thought to herself.

This was no time for their friendly banter. She had to do something. But before she could do that, she had to take a look at his wounds.

It was horrible. Not only was the skin on his arms all torn up, but he had a gaping gash in his side.

"You're so selfish," she muttered as she tried to move the cloth away.

That's why he should have rested. That's why this plan was the worst! What was he thinking? Why did he have to play the hero? Nanna had never felt so frustrated before, and she could feel a few tears of anger escape her eyes. He made her worry! A princess!

"You're supposed to be my royal tailor," she hissed through wet sobs, "so don't you dare give up! This position is for life, and yours won't end here! You will have to make me a thousand dresses for this trouble!"

He had to live. He just had to. Never before had she had such a friend, someone she cared about so much outside of her family. And now he...

Nanna swallowed every thought that wanted to come up. She had to do something about his wounds and not wallow in her own grief. He wouldn't die. She would do everything she could to prevent that.

But his wounds were there, and she had none of the herbs she knew would work on them. There were no royal physicians to call. She was all alone.

"To hell with this..." she muttered.

He couldn't die. It was simply not possible. She would not allow it!

"Oooooh, what do we have here? A damsel in distress?"

Reod's voice jumped out of the darkness like a cat chasing mice.

"It’s you" she hissed back. 

"Oh, language, language! Don't you want to spend your monthly night with him instead of tormenting me?" Suddenly, the wizard was beside her, his face drawn in a mockery of sadness.

She was ready to argue with him again, but then swallowed all the insults bubbling inside of her.

“Why are you here?” She asked instead, each word carefully pronounced.

The grip around Paltar tightened. She had to protect him—even if that meant drawing the wizard’s wrath onto herself once again. That was all that mattered. 

"Who knows?" He smiled at her. “Maybe to extend my helping hand?”

Her heart skipped a beat, but she hesitated to react. This could still be a trap.
"You two... Like I said, you're interesting." He tilted his head, and suddenly a wolfish grin appeared on his face. "So why wouldn't I want to help these helpless lovers?"

"We're not-"

“He's dying. And there's nothing you can do," he cut her off. "We can argue about your feelings all night long, but he will be the one to suffer."

Her head felt hot, and not only because of his rude comments. Implying that they were lovers—it was clear that Paltar wasn't interested in things like romance. And even then, with her responsibilities... she couldn't even dare to dream of something like that.

As if Reod had read her thoughts, he chuckled and leaned forward.

"You two are as obvious as anything. Too bad you didn't talk about it before, huh?"

"He's not gone!"

"Not yet."

Suddenly, he looked very serious.

"I can save him. But what will be the price?"

Nanna's heart pounded. If the wizard was telling the truth—and knowing just how powerful he was, she leaned towards believing his words—then she would do anything to save him. To save her best friend. To save the one...

"Whatever it takes," she finally said.

"Oh?" He grinned at her. "That's your answer?"

She nodded without hesitation. If she couldn't save Paltar, then all of this was pointless.

"At first I thought he was just someone with a penchant for making cute dresses," she said. "But... he's so much more. Kind. Funny. A good person, all around. If he dies here... it will all be for nothing."

It didn't matter how she felt about him. This wasn't about her. This was about Paltar.

"Well, then." Reod chuckled. "I guess we have a deal, little princess."

She glared at him.

"If you try to deceive me, I will never forgive you," she spat.

"Oh? I thought you hadn't forgiven me since I turned you into a goose." He stretched out his arms. "I'm glad we got past that."

Before she could answer, a bright, warm light filled her vision. And when she opened her eyes again, Paltar was still lying on his back, but there was no trace of his wounds. His breathing was slow but steady, and he did not appear to be in pain. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Paltar!"

But he didn't wake up.

"Now it's time for you to pay the price."

His golden eyes rested on her, and Nanna met his gaze with a look of her own.

"What is it?"

"Your journey ends here,” he said. “You will not be able to speak to him again, or even act like you know him. From this moment on, you will regard him as a stranger.”

Nanna wanted to argue, but she knew it was futile. They deal had been made, and now she had to bear the consequences. But inside of her, everything felt like she was burning away.

"I understand." Still, tears streamed from her eyes, and Nanna wiped them away. "Is that all?"

His smile only grew wider.

"Yes."