It had been pouring rain for almost a month, the sort of rain that freezes halfway down and becomes sleet. It bit into Annalise’s skin as she stood outside the house on Kipling Street. Being honest with herself, she did not want to go inside. It was too cold inside. Colder than any freezing rain. And so she simply stood, peering up at the house that she had practically grown up in. She shivered, and looked down at her feet. No amount of prayer could have warmed them at this point. She tapped the heel of her left boot against the fence surrounding the house. As she looked up, the door opened, like a portal to another world. And out stepped Chester. He walked at his usual pace, which was quite slow. He did not have to move quickly, simply because people naturally waited for him. He did not speak, but simply approached until he was standing next to her. Call it above her. He was considerably taller than she.
“I assume you would prefer to go out and about instead of stay in the house.”
Annalise looked up at him. His eyes were the color of the storm clouds roiling above.
“I’d prefer it, yes.”
He shrugged and put an umbrella in her hand.
“Very well,” he said, and they began walking down the sidewalk.
“Don’t you own a coat of some sort?” He asked after a while.
“Well, I owned that one, the red one, but it caught fire, you remember.”
Chester appeared to be in deep contemplation. “Caught fire?”
“Well yes.”
“Caught fire,” he repeated.
She sighed in frustration, “The red coat caught fire from a fireplace which you threw it in in March.”
His large grey eyes suddenly brightened.
“Oh yes. That coat. Hardly flattering.”
“It was my only coat.”
“Perhaps I’ll buy you a new one.”
“That coat was special,” Annalise said, stifling a sneeze. “Adam got it for me when I turned sixteen.”
Chester waved his hands to indicate he did not particularly care. Before Annalise could reply a large black vehicle slowed down next to them.
“In,” Chester commanded.
Annalise did not resist. He told the driver something she could not hear before climbing in after her.
“This is an auspicious occasion, Mr. Mayor, if you have a vehicle and everything at your disposal for the day.”
He merely grinned.
They rode in silence. Annalise examined Chester. He was tall, and increasingly thin, and his skin was the milk white of someone who very rarely saw sunshine. He had a beautiful physiognomy, something that suggested femininity because of his cheekbones or nose or long delicate fingers, but all of them had a sort of wasted appearance now which stood in stark contrast to the beauty she associated him with. His hair was probably blonde at one point, but it was extremely pale now, not quite white, but rushing towards that end, and very long, falling almost to his waist. He kept it in a braid, which he then kept wrapped about his left arm. She looked closely at it. It looked more coarse than it was last time she saw him.
His eyes were frightening. He was only twenty-seven years old but they looked hundreds of years old.
Annalise examined the glass separating them from the driver, saw that it was very thick, and turned to him. He had leaned his head against the side of the vehicle, but his eyes were wide open.
“Chester, you’re not taking care of yourself,” she hissed.
“I clothe, bathe, and educate myself, what else would you recommend?”
“Food.”
“Oh indeed? What sort? The kind that requires violence or the kind that requires frosted sugar?”
She mulled over this for a while.
“You look like you’re dying.”
“Oh it’s just fashionable now. When it goes out of style, I’ll make sure I eat everything.”
“Chester,” she began.
Then she stopped. She realized that she did not have anything to say to him. She also realized it was still very cold in the vehicle and curled against him. He was not particularly warm or very comforting but he did not resist, and that was enough for her.
The Clock was ringing, its deep bells echoing through the streets of West Clocktown, sounding out that it was now midday, when the vehicle stopped and deposited Chester and Annalise outside of a tea house. Annalise’s whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Little ice pieces were sitting in her mess of dark hair. Chester picked one out and flicked it to the ground.
“Ladies first,” he ushered her towards the entrance to the teahouse.
Her teeth were chattering too much to reply, and she entered and sat at the first booth she spotted. She started rubbing her hands together. Chester sat across from her and watched her thaw for a while. She examined the room when she felt warm enough to process it. It was dark, with a low ceiling, and packed with candles instead of electricity. People sat, chatting mildly in every booth and at every table.
She turned back to Chester.
“So you’ve taken me out on the town.”
He tilted his head and popped his neck. “If you want to view it that way, you can go ahead.”
“Well, you never really leave the house. Or the office.”
“That is entirely untrue. I have to be outside for twenty-second spans before and after I get out of the vehicle.”
“When was the last time you ate anything?”
“The last time I ate something.”
“Don’t be facetious.”
“Whatever do you mean by that?”
He waved down the waitress lazily.
“Tea.” He said simply.
She nodded and made to wander off before he said, “Chocolate cake as well. A very large piece, if you please.”
Annalise stared after the waitress.
“Chocolate cake?”
“Do you object?”
Annalise’s eyes glowed slightly, a brilliant violet.
“You should probably not do that. We are in public.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”
“Duly noted.”
She closed her eyes and reopened them. They were now a dull, milky blue.
“Why are we here, Chester?”
“An age old question.”
She sighed. “This place makes me nervous.”
“Are you afraid someone will perhaps, notice you?”
He was staring unblinkingly at her. He pulled at his fingers until the bone popped.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I cannot figure out what will make you happy. You dislike the house, and you dislike being out.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you for taking me out.”
“You act as if I did this out of the goodness of my heart.”
“What were your ulterior motives?” Annalise sighed.
“You hurt me deeply, little one. Perhaps I wanted tea.”
Annalise considered this.
“May I express a concern?” He asked politely.
“What?”
“You do not look as though you are receiving adequate sleep.”
She shook her head. “I can’t sleep very well where I live now.”
His face pulled into a grin.
“You’re having nightmares, aren’t you?”
She examined the wall. “Yes.”
Chester waited for the waitress to set down two cups of tea and a slice of very dark, moist looking cake.
He pulled the tea towards himself.
“Do I feature in these dreams?”
Annalise looked at the cup placed before her.
“What sort of things do I do in them?” Chester inquired.
“I would rather not say.”
“Ah. I’m the villain, then.”
“I said I would rather not say.”
Chester poured a liberal amount of cream into his teacup. “My dear, quit looking around so apprehensively. It is very unsettling.”
“Big brother, you know I do not like large groups of people.”
He sipped his tea quietly.
Annalise looked at hers.
“Who is the cake for?”
“Myself. But if you want a bite I could always get you some.”
“That is overwhelmingly generous of you.”
“I am feeling overwhelmingly generous today.”
He put a hand into his jacket pocket and drew out a small red box. He set it on the table.
Annalise stared at it.
“I’m always worried when you give me something.”
“That makes my heart ache.”
She pulled the box to her and opened it.
“Oh.”
“Merely ‘oh’?” Chester’s grin widened.
She help up the necklace. It was a silver pendant in the shape of a robin, glittering on a silver chain. It was delicate, and terribly beautiful.
“You do not give me presents.” She said, her eyes focused on the necklace hypnotically.
“Annalise, do not be daft. Today you become a real woman, isn’t that what they say about twenty-one?”
She looked up at him. Then her hand went to her mouth. Chester laughed, genuinely and completely amused.
“You are so pathetic. You had honestly forgotten your own birthday?”
She put her head in her hands and leaned forward.
“Now I feel so ridiculous,” she muttered.  
Chester put a fork into the thick cake and brought it to his mouth. Annalise remained forward, and he saw that water was splattering on the table top beneath her.
“They won’t appreciate it if you ruin the finish.”
He slid the fork into his mouth and chewed carefully. He swallowed and took a sip of tea before he spoke again. Annalise’s whole body was shaking. The droplets had formed a tiny puddle beneath her.  
“I was going to get you a coat too.”
Annalise raised her arm and tried to swipe at the tears with the back of her hand. They continued falling despite her efforts.
“Thank you, Chester. That was surprisingly kind of you.”
“On occasion, I can be surprisingly kind.”
As she collected herself, Chester continued eating the slice of cake with great precision. Almost mechanically. She found herself watching him in between dabbing her eyes with the napkin.
“In all of my life, I think I’ve only seen you eat actual food twice.”
“As directly opposed to inactual food?” Chester asked quietly.
“Why don’t you eat more often?”
Chester took another bite, chewed carefully and pushed the plate away. Three-fourths of the cake remained.
“I suppose I find most food, like this cake, disgusting.”
“Thank you for making an effort anyway.”
“Generosity was the order of the day, my dear.”
The waitress approached the table again.  
“Annalise, could you make us invisible?”
Her brows knit together in confusion.
“May I ask why?”
The waitress looked bewildered.
“Just do it, little one,” Chester said.
“This girl as well?”
“Absolutely.”
Annalise’s eyes glowed violet.
There was no reaction from the other people in the room. There was a slight shift in eye gaze, but they did not notice anything.
Chester twisted his fingers on his left hand.
Where the waitress had stood there now lay a book with a rough cover made of some sort of cardboard.
Chester leaned down and picked it up.
Annalise just stared at him as her eyes went back to their normal color.
“What was the purpose in that?”
“I realize I did not get you a book, and books are of course, the clearest expression of affection.”
He handed it to Annalise.
Before she could respond, Chester continued, “Also, I did not particularly want to purchase this cake.”
He stood. He offered Annalise a very thin hand, helped her to her feet and they exited the teahouse.
The sleet still raged outside, and the wind whipped through Annalise. He watched her shiver with a nonchalant expression beneath the umbrella. Her skin prickled.
“What are we doing just standing here?”
“Just standing, little one.”
A young man hurried towards them, head ducked against the wind. He looked at Chester furtively as he got close enough to chance a look upwards.
“Oh, G-Good afternoon Mr. Mayor.”
“It is a very good afternoon,” Chester replied quietly.
The young man made as if to continue on his way, but Annalise saw the look in Chester’s eyes, and her own flashed violet even as Chester raised his fingers, stretched and twisted them with a cracking noise. The young man was no where to be seen, but a grey wool coat floated into his arms.
“Increasingly good,” Chester muttered as he tossed it to Annalise.  
She grinned up at him and slid into the jacket. It was warm, lined in some sort of fur, and very soft.

After a few more minutes the vehicle pulled up again, and they slid inside.
“I am exhausted from being in public. Would you grant us permission to return now?” Chester asked as he shut the door behind him.
“I think you will do what you want to do when you want to do it, Chester.”
“Quite so.”
The vehicle took off.
“You are not wearing the necklace,” he said after a moment.
“What sort of person was it?” Annalise asked.
“Nonexistent. I actually purchased that from a store.”
She raised it and made to clasp it around her neck. She fumbled with it and it fell from her hands. Chester picked it up and fastened it around her neck. His breath was extremely warm against the side of her face as he leaned over her.
“Are you going to return with me?”
“I don’t follow your meaning.”
He was too close.
“Why must you keep leaving me? I have given you everything and you continue to leave me, living here, and there, anywhere, really.”
“Chester, I lived in that house too long. It is no longer the same.”
He moved his hands to her brand new coat, and pulled a button into place.
“If you are so very cold, then I suggest buttoning your coat.”
He pulled away and sat looking tragic and dejected. He was, Annalise considered, very good at it.  
“I hope you enjoy your presents, little one.”
Silence wafted over them like a blanket.
“Chester,” Annalise whispered. He did not respond.
“In my nightmares you are like a monster, and when I try to wake up, my body will not respond and I lay there, trapped inside of my own head.”
“Dreams merely reveal what we already know.”
“I’m sorry, Chester. I cannot live in that house.”
“Because you are afraid of me?”
She looked down at the necklace, and held it in her hands. It was very cold to the touch. Her breath formed clouds as she contemplated her reply.
She shifted and pulled the coat closer around her.
The sleet fell harder upon the vehicle as it continued its journey to the house on Kipling Street.  
Annalise buried her head into Chester’s shoulder.
“Please do not be angry.”
Chester sighed and put an arm around her.
“I am not angry.”
His words did not form smoke in the air; they were too cold.