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"I know you do. I know." Zascha chuckled.

He slouched slightly, letting her lean into him more and get comfortable. Now, Zascha never claimed to be the best story teller. But he did enjoy telling stories none the less. "Long ago, in a land far far away there live a beautiful princess. With long golden hair and a butt you could shake a stick at."

A grin tugged at his lips.

"For years the Princess lived with her father and five brothers. As they got older one by one her brothers left the kingdom to marry Princesses of their own and become kings of their own kingdoms. Which eventually left the Princess very sad and lonely. She and her brothers were close you see so the distance between them now made her heart ache." The Moon hunter cleared his throat. "But no Princes had come to call on the Princess as you see there were hardly any Princes in the world at the time that weren't her brothers. And certainly she couldn't marry her brothers."

"Yes, naturally. I'm glad you agree." He kissed the top of her head.

"As the years dragged on the Princess grew even more increasingly lonely. So much so that she fell ill and couldn't get out of bed most days. Spending half the day sleeping and the other just laying in bed, weeping on occasion. 'Why is there no Prince for me?' she would moan. Until one day a large ogre arrived at the castle steps, demanding an audience with the King. He had heard of her sickness and assured the king that if she married him and loved him like a wife should he could cure her of her sickness." Zascha stifled a small yawn.

"Aaoohhhfcourse the Princess refused. She was to beautiful to marry such an ugly beast, even if he could cure her of her sickness. And with that the ogre was turned away. So he left, remarking on how she would come to regret this decision one day and that he would see her again when she changed her mind. Years passed and the Princess did not get better, she grew older in her bed. Her father had died and one of her brothers had returned to take over the kingdom since the Princess had not married. Eventually came the day when the Princess was on her death bed, the doctors had told her she did not have another day to live. So with great pain in her heart she called for the ogre once more, for she was quite not ready to die. When he finally returned to the castle she told him that she would marry him on the condition that he made her better. The ogre laughed and shook his head. 'Why would I want to marry a sickly woman with such a horrible heart?' In the blink of an eye the ogre turned into a handsome Prince and the Princess died of shock. The end."

Scratching at his chin Zascha looked thoughtful. He honestly didn't have a lessons behind his stories, or at least never planned for lessons behind them. It was something he had done with his sisters for as long as he could remember. They would all make up stories and tell them to one another. Generally around bed time they would all gather round while each sibling took a turn. They could be as silly, scary or serious as one wanted.

"No?" Well, if she saw a lesson behind it that was new to him. "I guess don't judge a book by its cover? Does that work?" Again he scratched his chin thoughtfully. His chin had been itching a bit lately. Probably because he hadn't really shaved so had a bit of a scruff going. Facial hair was itchy when it was growing unchecked. "Well as long as you enjoyed it that's all that matters."

He ran his fingers through her hair when she laid her head on his chest. "Bah, you say that just to make me feel better about my horrible stories. I can read it on your face. Relief that it's over and dread for when I might start the next one."

Zascha smiled to himself. "Well then don't ask if there's a lesson at the end because usually there isn't. You put me on the spot so then I have to come up with something." Adjusting his position a bit, he settled down once again. "So now its your turn to tell me a story. Lesson or no lesson I'll let you choose this time. But next time you might not get the option so pick wisely."

"Aww man. That's no fun. I was hoping to just go through life being the big lovable oaf that didn't have to do any serious thinking." Zascha let out a heavy, exaggerated sigh.

He quirked an eyebrow at her fake snore though. "Oh. Well I see then. I guess you'll just have to learn what happens to the first one who falls asleep then."

"Ugh that sounds like too much work. Can I just say pass on the whole thing? Let others do any and all the thinking. I will just sit on the side eating sandwiches or something. Perhaps a bag of chips and some cookies." That sounded like a wonderful plan to him. No big responsibilities, no need to think about anything really except snacks.

Zascha moved his arm slightly, the tips of his fingers wiggling at the bottom hem of her shirt. "Oh noooooo alien arm syndrooommmeeee. I have no controlllll...."

"I prefer naps after a nice big snacking session. When you have that full tummy feeling and could just wrap yourself up like a burrito in a blanket and sleep for hours." That was the best feeling. Especially on cold days when blanket burritoing was even better.

Zascha made a loud snoring noise though continued to wiggle his fingers against her side.