When interpreter Oswin finds himself suddenly unemployed, he makes the journey back to his master. He takes shelter from a snow storm in a rundown castle inhabited by an elf named Calder. As the days go by, Oswin becomes more and more intrigued by the mysterious Calder and is reluctant to leave.

This is a cute little fairy tale with a m/m twist. There are some obvious Beauty and the Beast and Swan Princess parallels, which makes some of the plot points achingly predictable, but enough is different to keep the reader interested. As I was reading, I found I enjoyed Oswin and Calder but once I was done, they didn’t leave a real impact on me. A sweet short story though. 3.5 out of 5.

Between all the breathtaking magic there are two vulnerable creatures who are opening up to each other, recognizing lost, hurt and love..
There are beautiful surroundings, ruins, gardens, fields.

Oswin will return to his master after losing his job as an interpreter for the deaf Wystan. After all these years working for him he is now replaced. He finds himself walking home through snow and blizzard.
He finds a shelter at a ruin. There lives a striking and intriguing elf, named Calder, who lived there for a long long time. Oswin can stay...he even don't want to leave anymore. When Oswin finds a black swan in an enchanted pond he starts to talk to the animal...

We get to know more about Calder and his family and...about an unbelievable curse.
The friendship between the two is getting stronger and Oswin's heart always does strange things when Calder is around. Everything goes well until there arrives someone from Calder's past. Oswin takes a run before even say goodbye.

Gosh I loved this story! There are so much emotions and all the wonderful magic and mystery touched my heart. It was written in a very charming and fascinating way.