Beast (20 page)

I proceeded to chase her with a snowball in my hand. We had a huge snowball fight, hiding behind different objects and trying to sneak up on each other again.

Mirabelle was so lit up with joy. The way she was acting now was the way I had seen her at the Rose House. She was finally being herself with me.

I started to feel some sort of hope—hope that there would be something in return for my love. Though my heart was racing because I was running around, it was also racing because of the thoughts about Mirabelle running through my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the smile on my face to disappear.

While we had our snowball fight, Mirabelle held on to the blue rose, attempting to protect it, never wanting to let it leave her sight. I tried my hardest not to hit it when I launched my snowballs at her.

When the snowball fight was over, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. I had seen my father do this to my mother once or twice. I had always wanted to try it. When in the air, Mirabelle playfully yelped.

When we finished playing, it was past lunchtime. Mirabelle was not hungry, but she wanted to take out her horse.

Her horse had not warmed up to me yet, though I was hoping that I did not have to hide behind the castle as he walked out of the barn this time.

Once outside the barn, she hopped onto him and rode through the snow. I walked over to the barn and leaned against the wall. Although they were still far from me, I could tell that the horse was eyeing me, which showed that he felt a little uncomfortable with me standing there. But I refused to move.

She trotted him around the yard a few times. Not long after, she dismounted.

“Beast! Come here!” she yelled to me.

“I do not want to frighten him,” I shouted back.

“Just move a little bit closer. Please?”

“Fine.”

I took a few steps closer to them; he did not flinch. So I took a few more steps—still no reaction.

Mirabelle then told me to walk even closer. This last time I walked toward them, the horse’s eyes widened, and I could see the whites of his eyes. I stopped moving.

The sun began to set as she took her horse back into the barn. I waited for her at the steps that led to the wooden doors. She walked out of the barn and grabbed my arm before I had the chance to offer it to her.

Dinner was awaiting us when we came into the dining room. There were lit candles on the table, along with Mirabelle’s plate. When she saw the table, her eyes lit up, and a smile crossed her lips.

There were rabbit fillets à la genevoise and warm bread a l’espagnole. The room smelled savory, and even my mouth was beginning to water. Rabbit always had that effect on me.

A little vase of water for the blue rose sat on the table. Mirabelle smiled, placing it carefully in the vase.

“It truly is a lovely rose,” she said softly, admiring it.

“That is the first rose I have seen grow anywhere near the castle since the ones outside began to die,” I explained.

“Well, I am glad that I was able to experience it with you.” She smiled, putting her hand on my arm.

My heart sank into my stomach as I remembered that I had a lot to explain to her.

“Mirabelle, there is something that I have wanted to tell you. Since you were so honest and open with me last night, it made me want to do the same with you.”

“Okay. What is on your mind, Beast?” she said as she set down her fork, giving me her full attention.

“We have a lot in common—more than you would ever believe,” I sorrowfully said.

I looked down at the ground, and I felt tears come to my eyes as I began to tell her about my fifth birthday and about my nightmare, explaining it as I had seen it that night.

I explained about the couple who was leaving a party, traveling through the forest.

“As soon as the carriage entered the forest, a dense fog set in. There was a storm with lightning and thunder but no rain. The horses that were leading the carriage became scared. They were rearing and neighing.

“The earth shook under the carriage, and the gentleman took the lantern out with him to see what was going on; then they heard a loud thud. The driver of the carriage had fallen off the top, dead, onto the ground. Then the woman came out to check on him and see what had happened. The fog became so dense that they could not see one another even though they were holding on to each other.”

At this point, my words were becoming shaky, so Mirabelle grabbed on to my hand.

I continued with tears streaming down my face, making my fur wet. “As the fog began to dissipate, a shadowy figure began to walk toward them. It was walking upright on its hind legs, but not like a human. This walk was smooth, and every so often it would go down to all fours. The couple looked at each other and then back at the shadowy creature. As the creature walked closer, the fog’s density started to vanish.”

I began to weep.

“It-it was short, about three feet tall; its arms were long and gangly, while its feet were short and stubby. The head was more than half of its body. It had extremely pale skin, while its eyes were big, round, and black. The creature had no nose, and its mouth was small. As it came closer to the couple, it started chanting something in an unfamiliar language. When I first heard it, I did not understand what it said.

“As it chanted, its hands began to glow with a bright white light. Its hands became brighter and brighter as it continued to chant. They got to the point where it was blinding just to look in the creature’s direction. It was completely dark except for the creature’s glowing hands.

“Ten feet away from them, still chanting, it raised its hands in their direction. As soon as the creature shouted the last part of its chant, the earth began to rumble; the horses broke loose from the carriage and galloped off. All the animals around the area dispersed in many different directions. The light from the creature’s hands shot out toward the couple.”

I was crying so hard at this point that I could barely speak. But somehow I mustered up the courage to continue.

“The bright white light started in the palms of the creature’s hands and shot out through its crooked fingertips. It burst out like lightning at them. They were struck within milliseconds. There was an explosion as it killed them. The coupled ended up being my … my …” I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “My parents.”

My whole body began to shake as I bawled. I had not spoken about this nightmare since the night after it happened. I felt as if my heart were ripping in half.

“Oh my goodness, Beast!” she said, looking deep into my eyes. She had tears in her eyes as well. She moved her chair closer to mine, held on to my right paw with both of her hands, and stroked my fur.

“A few days later, a gentleman came to our house to give a few of the people who worked for us Papa’s handkerchief, which had Mother’s rose brooch inside. The nightmare I’d had was real.

“But ever since that night, the roses that my mother placed on my nightstand have never died. The rose your father took from me was one of those roses. That is why I became irrationally upset; he took all I had left that reminded me of my parents.”

“Really?” Her voice filled with concern. “Beast, that just sounds awful. I know that my father did not mean to hurt you in any way. If he had known about this story, I am sure he would not have taken the rose away from you.”

“It is also because of that night my parents were killed that I am what I am—a beast.”

I looked down to the wood floor, which seemed to have puddles from my tears.

“How is that?” she asked, confused, wrinkling her forehead.

“Remember how I said that there was a chant that the creature spoke?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I ended up understanding the last part of it at my parents’ funeral. It was ‘In a year’s time, things will change from what is known to something strange.’”

“What does that mean?”

“At first I did not understand at all. But on the night of my sixth birthday, exactly a year after my parents’ death, I woke up from the nightmare again. But this time when I woke up, I was in this body.”

She let out a gasp, and her eyes widened.

“I was terrified! All of the people who worked for us had vanished. Buttons would not even come near me. It took him years before he was able to accept me for what I became.”

My breath was shaky, along with my arms. My heart pounded rapidly, and a lump formed in my throat. I tried to take deep breaths to calm down.

By the time I finished the story, Mirabelle had wrapped her arms around me, attempting to console me.

“Beast?”

“Yes, beautiful?”

“I am sorry that everything happened like that. I do not know if I could have gone through anything similar.”

“People call the forest that surrounds us the Dark Forest, and I am the creature that the gentlemen saw in the forest. Everyone thought that I killed a couple—my parents—and then a year later their son—myself—but I did not kill anyone.”

“So Evaline’s story was true! Oh man, instead of her finding out, I did.” She began to laugh. “But you are not like they said you would be,” she said softly as she lifted my chin with her hand.

“Thank you, Mirabelle,” I said as she turned her head sideways, searching my face for something.

“Why did they think that you killed your parents and yourself?”

“Well, a friend of mine came over a few days after the transformation. She knocked at my door, and I forgot about my appearance. The moment she and her mother saw me, they screamed and ran for their lives.

“A few days after that, a group of men with pitchforks came to kill me, saying that I had killed everyone in the castle.”

I looked to the fire as tears dampened the fur on my face.

“Oh, I am sorry, Beast,” she said in a nurturing tone, rubbing my shoulder.

“I hope that I did not ruin your birthday by telling you this,” I said sorrowfully, realizing that it probably was not the best time to explain everything to her.

“No, you did not, Beast! I was able to learn more about you, and I am glad! Thank you for all you have done today. If I have to live in a castle with a beast, I am glad that it is you.”

After she told me this, she kissed my cheek.

I was shocked that she did this, and I almost jumped out of my skin. My stomach filled with the feeling of butterflies, my heart raced, and my palms sweated profusely as excitement filled my heart. All I could do was laugh nervously.

We were both silent for a while, but she still held on to my hands. I wondered if she could feel how nervous I was.

After she finished her meal—while still holding on to my right hand with her left—we walked over to the couch to sit together. She sat so close to me that there was barely any room for a pillow, let alone air, between us.

At first I did not know how to react, but a little later I placed my arm around her, and she set her head on my shoulder, which seemed so natural. She put her right arm across my stomach. I was not sure what was happening, but my only hope was that she was developing feelings in return.

We sat in silence for a long time. Buttons walked into the room, jumped onto the couch, and lay down on both of our laps. His purring was the only sound we heard besides the crackling of the wood in the fireplace. It was the best moment by far since Mirabelle had arrived at the castle. I felt more connected with her than I had felt with anyone in my whole life.

Mirabelle picked up her hand to pet Buttons. Then I heard her giggling but attempting to be quiet about it. I moved my head to look at her, and she realized that her laughter was not so silent. This made her giggle harder.

“What are you giggling for?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Honestly, I do not know. Really.”

It must have been midnight when Mirabelle began to yawn.

“Would you like me to walk you to your bedroom, Mirabelle?”

“Not quite yet, though I probably should soon.” She yawned again.

“Mirabelle?”

“Yes?”

“Will you marry me?”

This was the first time that I had asked her this since it had made things really uncomfortable for her the last time.

I hoped that she would react differently this time. My heart was pounding against my chest, and I was sure she noticed. My teeth almost began to chatter in fear of her answer. Once the words left my lips, I almost wished that I could take them back.

“No. I am sorry, Beast,” she said.

I hoped it was a good sign that she did not answer right away; she might have actually considered it.

The moment she said no, my heart sank into my stomach, and I felt as though I would hurl. It was as if a frog were in the pit of my stomach, attempting to make its way back to the world.

But she did not leave right afterward, as she had the first time. She sat with me for a little while longer. I also took this as a good sign.

When she did decide it was time to go to her room to sleep, she asked me to walk her to her room, which I agreed to, as always.