"The Prince and The Rose": >>Part 1<< >>Part 2<<
Part 3
Charmaine
alighted at the gate in front of the towering Haunted Castle. All the
stories she had heard about this place leaped to the forefront of her
mind and swirled there, like the fog around her ankles and leaching from
the windows—or were those ghosts?
Charmaine
shook her head and fixed her gaze squarely on the doors of the castle.
She willed herself to think of only getting inside the castle. The
breeze whipping past her increased, bringing a chill to whatever exposed
skin it touched. She pushed on the heavy door, and it creaked open.
"Hello?"
She called into the stillness. Somehow the sound of her own voice in
the dead quiet brought comfort, because it meant that she wasn't
dreaming. "Beas—I mean, Prince Raul?" She spoke, traveling deeper still.
"It is I, Charmaine—daughter of Marius." She made it through the dark,
damp entryway, and into the massive ballroom that took up half the
palace. Streamers hung like spectral shrouds from the ceiling, and the
furniture lay cast about, many pieces raked and rent as if by massive
claws.
Charmaine
stopped in awe. So this was where it all began; the party she didn't
get invited to—the one that had ended so badly for everyone.
A
golden flicker caught her eye. In the black shadows of evening, the
flame of a candle stood out like an inviting beacon. Charmaine scurried
toward it.
A
candle indeed burned in the hallway outside—a whole candelabra full,
but who had lit them? Alcoves punctuated the long stone wall, and in
each, a gilded stand of candles lit the way. Charmaine shivered at an
errant gust, but followed the candles to a massive parlor, where a fire
burned in the hearth, and a warm blanket draped over a soft couch.
Beside the couch, there stood a table laden with a warm meal: a tureen
of soup and a crusty loaf of bread, with a steaming pot of tea besides.
Charmaine immediately sat on the couch and spread the blanket over her
shoulders. The soup was delicious, and warmed her all over—but where had
it come from? Charmaine set down her bowl and reached for the teakettle.
A
flurry of movement caught the corner of her eye. She whirled to face
it, almost knocking the teapot off its stand—but all she saw next to the
hearth rug were a pair of slippers that had certainly not been there
moments before. Intrigued, Charmaine kept the blankets wrapped around
her as she padded over to trade her tired, pinching shoes for the soft,
cozy slippers. Her feet fit perfectly into them. She stared in amazement
at the ornate stitching, till the clink of dishes distracted her. She
looked up at the table.
The
magical meal, with its tasty food and pristine dishes, had vanished.
Not even the crumbs are left. Charmaine blinked hard and rubbed her
eyes, only realizing in that moment just how tired she was. She gave a
loud, noisy yawn and stretched. Still, the only thing that moved in the
room were the dancing flames in the hearth and on the candles.
"I suppose I ought to have a bed to sleep in!" She announced to her unseen host.
With
a series of soft "poofs", the candles down another hallway illuminated.
Charmaine held the blanket close and shuffled in the slippers. Once
again, following the candles she made her way through the dark castle.
Up
a curving flight of stairs to a tower, and through a doorway, she
arrived in a spacious room. There again was a roaring fire, and lavish
bedclothes—but not another soul to be found.
Char dropped the blanket and changed out of her dress, slipping on the nightgown instead.
"Why," she gasped aloud. "Maybe this castle isn't haunted—maybe it's enchanted!"
It
certainly seemed that way. Perhaps, if the enchanted castle favored her
well enough, she would not have to so much as glimpse the Beast Prince
before the spell ended. Charmaine settled into the soft bed and snuggled
under the covers. She would be doing a lot of exploring the next day.
That
night, Charmaine dreamed that she was home. She woke in her own bed to
find her father standing next to her, apologizing profusely for the
whole thing. Felice came in shortly after that, bringing with her a tall
man whose face remained indistinguishable, no matter how hard she tried
to see it. Charmaine felt excitement; this had to be the prince! She
had never seen what he looked like as a man—now she would get her
chance! She could hear him talking, but his face seemed always just out
of view. Suddenly, he stopped talking and walked out of the room.
"No, wait!" Char cried, leaping after him—
Then
the dream ended and she sat up in bed, wearing unfamiliar clothes—in
the Beast Prince's castle. Charmaine huffed. Not even the small plate of
cookies and milk on her bedside table could cheer her up after that
disappointing vision.
"You had better help me be able to find a way to break the spell without seeing the Beast!" She announced to the whole castle.
Once
out of bed, she glanced at her old dress. There would be no wearing it
without her corset, and she could not get her corset on by herself.
Charmaine sighed as her eyes slid to the wardrobe in the corner. Perhaps...
She
strode to the wardrobe and flung open the doors. Such a fount of
bright, rich fabrics graced her eyes! She even found several styles with
front-lacing bodices—a bit out-of-date, but definitely nothing she
would be ashamed to wear!
"Now this is the sort of thing I like!" She cried happily, slipping on one of the dresses.
Suitably
attired, she left the room and went back down the stairs. This time,
she noticed a few doors open. One led to the library, a spacious room
lined with books of every sort, and high windows letting in brilliant
sunshine. A pianoforte graced the dais at one end of the room.
Charmaine
sniffed and closed the door. "None of that boring stuff, thank you!
Stupid stories full of sloppy romance or dull histories—most definitely
not for me!" She announced to the castle.
The
next door led to the sun parlor, where a delicious breakfast awaited
her on a small table. Charmaine sat down and helped herself, remarking
to the empty room how delicious everything was. Once she finished, the
young woman set about seeing what else she could find in the castle.
Down
another hall and up a flight of stairs, Charmaine discovered a sight
that made her squeal with joy: an entire room of dresses and
accessories, hats and boots of all sorts.
"Now
this will keep me happy, even if I have to stay here forever!" She
cried. She spent hours trying on the dresses, parading in front of the
mirrored wall where she could admire herself from every angle. At last,
she tired of changing dresses and decided to see what else she could
find. It pleased her to live so much like a princess, without having to
deal with the monstrous occupant.
"I'm
lucky this castle's enchanted!" She mused, as she meandered across the
great hall to another tower. "Father really has no idea what an
opportunity he passed up! He must feel awful by now, thinking I am up
here in terror, absolutely miserable!" She laughed. "Serves him right!"
She
found a door slightly open down the hallway. Peeking inside, she saw no
fire, no finery; it was altogether a miserable space. She almost closed
the door again and moved on—but a rosy glimmer caught her eye.
Charmaine stopped and peeked in a second time. On a lonely table sat a
solitary rose, standing in a vase under a glass cover. It was so
beautiful, Charmaine had to get a closer look. She glided forward,
mesmerized by the glorious sight. When she was close enough to touch the
table, she noticed something.
"That's
odd!" She remarked, merely because she had developed the habit of doing
so, "There's no water in the vase! No, it's silly, really," she
snorted. "It's probably why it's wilting. The stupid beast has no idea—"
Just when she was in the act of taking the cover off, a ferocious growl issued right behind her.
Charmaine
felt her heart seize in her throat—and it made her angry to be so
terrified of something that she hoped would not dare risk hurting her.
"Stop
right there, Beast!" She said, not daring to turn her head and look at
him. "Yes, it's me, the girl who's been handed to you as a sacrifice—so
if you hurt me, you'll never get another chance to break the spell! Now
BACK. AWAY!"
The
growl came, low and sustained, but it faded as he did what she asked.
Charmaine felt the thrill of power coursing through her as she released
the cover and let her hands drop to her sides.
"I'm
guessing that's the rose the fairy gave you, isn't it?" Charmaine
continued, waiting till she heard him grunt in confirmation. "We've all
heard the story—goodness knows the poor provincial town hasn't had
anything else happen worth talking about in the last year! I'll make you
a deal: you don't bother me, and I don't touch your rose. If you get
anywhere close to me, I will take this rose and run far away to watch it
die, knowing that you'll never get what you want—But," she went on, as
the growling behind her intensified, "if you do stay out of my way, and
if I feel like it, maybe at some point I will decide to help you break
the spell. Do we have a deal?"
The beast stopped growling and grunted once.
Charmaine
felt the flush of pride—tempered somewhat when she realized that, with
the beast standing behind her, there was no way to leave the room
without seeing him.
"I'm going to leave now," she said. "I am going to close my eyes and walk out of here. Remember our deal!"
She
heard his heavy panting, but he made no move. Her nerves were strung
just about to their breaking point as she closed her eyes and slowly
turned. Placing one foot in front of the other, Charmaine edged toward
where she remembered seeing the door.
Behind
her, the beast grunted and growled at her, but Charmaine fought to
ignore the unsettling noise as she concentrated on getting out of the
room.
A
heavy object landed on her shoulder, and she felt a sharp pain as she
wrenched away. Her eyes flew open—it was the Beast, reaching out his
claws toward her!
Charmaine nearly tripped over the squat statue right in front of her, but she threw her arms over her head.
"Get
away!" She whined, flailing and charging. One of his claws connected
with her face and arm, a stinging slash in her terrified retreat. "Ugh!
You're so ugly!" Shrieked Charmaine, nearly tripping over her billowing
skirts to get away from him. Once safely out of the room, Charmaine
didn't stop running till she returned to her room. In the tall mirror,
she surveyed the damage: blood dripped down her cheek and arm. The dress
she wore had ripped in a few places, more from her terrified struggle
than the Beast himself. The pain finally registered, and she burst into
tears. "YOU HURT ME!" She shouted for him to hear. "THIS IS ALL YOUR
FAULT! YOU MONSTER! I WILL NEVER LOOK AT YOU AGAIN!"
She
heard something scrape against the stone floor outside the door.
Opening it, Charmaine found a bowl of water and clean bandages. She
cleaned her face and wrapped her arm, but the damage was done. There was
no hope of returning to her beautiful self now.
Charmaine
spent a miserable night dreaming of her encounter with the beast, and
when she awoke in the morning and checked the mirror, there it was: a
wide pink scar on her perfect face.
This
was completely not what she planned. Deal or none, curse or none, she
was going home. "And none of you better stop me!" She shouted to the
enchanted room as she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and swept
down the stairs.
At the bottom of the tower, she emerged into the great hall—and nearly collided with the Beast.
"Oh!" She gasped, jumping back as if he would reach out and scratch her again.
But
how could he? At the moment, his huge paws with their vicious claws
were full of a tray set with the same breakfast she had eaten the
previous morning. Charmaine's mouth and eyes jerked wide open as she
realized what this meant.
"YOU?"
she gasped. "This whole time—the castle... it can't be!" She felt the
sobs rising in her thrust again as her emotions spiraled out of control.
"NO!" She slumped to the floor, weeping. "There... there is no
enchanted castle, is there?" She glanced around. "I'm alone here... with
you."
The
Beast bobbed his shaggy head as if nodding. He held out the tray to
her, but Charmaine scrambled to her feet. "Absolutely not!" She said. "I
will never accept anything from you! Stay away from me, you monster!" She
ran toward the outer courtyard, headed for the gate that led to
freedom—
But the gate was nowhere to be found.
Charmaine
stopped and looked from one corner to the other. She ran to every
corner and searched the entire perimeter, but all she could see was one
continuous wall.
"NO!" She screamed. "NO! NO! NO!"
Charmaine
ran back inside, back to her tower. The Beast had left the tray of
breakfast outside her room. Charmaine ran inside and threw herself at
the window, but it was no use. She could still see the unbroken wall, so
high she could barely see the woods on one side, and the impossible
precipice on the other. She was trapped with the Beast, in a castle not
enchanted, but abandoned. There was no way out. She couldn't be sure if
she would ever see her father or the rest of the town ever again.
Charmaine crumpled to the floor and sobbed.
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