Tonight I do not hesitate. I know what awaits me now. I smile at the guard. Louis seems nervous but he squares his shoulders and nods to me. Book in hand, I enter the beast’s lair.
Tonight there is light aplenty to see by. I see the torn rags, the shattered chairs. I see part of the table in the blazing fireplace. I do not let my reaction show.
The man who is my Beast is pacing, nearly snarling. He truly is like a restrained wild thing, snapping his chains, futilely fighting for his freedom. With all his strength and fury he cannot break free. I take heart in that.
“You again,” he snarls, baring his teeth.
I gather my courage and smile. “I have come to sit with you a while.”
The man rushes toward me, but the chains pull him up short. His fingers curl into claws, as though he wants to tear into me. His massive chest rises and falls; his entire body shudders, strains. He is livid. “Get out,” he hisses.
I take a step toward him, but not too close. “You do not frighten me,” I say in the face of his wrath.
Malice burns cold in his blue eyes. “You think you can pull the tiger’s tail while he is chained? I won’t be chained forever. You should fear me, little girl. When I am free, I will show you no mercy.”
“I am sure,” I tell him, pretending that it was the cold draft sending chills down my spine and not his words. “But until then, you are here, and I am not leaving.”
He grinds his teeth so much I can hear it. I’ve no doubt that if he was free, he would make good on his threats and tear me limb from limb.
But he is not free, and that makes me brave. Perhaps even a little reckless. My smile is more confident this time. “Now, will you be a gentleman and offer me a seat, or do I need to look for one myself?”
What he says next does not bear repeating. I swallow a shocked gasp and turn my burning cheeks away as I search for a chair. There isn’t one. I can discern bits and pieces, but not one survived his wrath.
He sneers. His chains drop loudly to the floor as he reaches down, never taking his eyes off me. The chair leg he grasps is still loosely attached to the rest of its body. The chained wild thing stomps on it viciously to sever the connection.
He looks at it, then at me, as though weighing his options. Clearly dissatisfied, he hurls the broken piece of wood onto the voracious flame.
Undaunted, I gather some cushions and make a nest of sorts where the light is bright enough to read by and settle in. “Now then—” I scream as a vase shatters a mere hand width from me. Shards explode all around me, I can feel them rain onto my hair.
“Get out!” he roars.
Louis rushes in, sword drawn, taking a stand between me and the crazed master of this castle.
The chained beast laughs, a sound full of hatred. The guard is no more a threat to him than I am, and he knows it.
“My lady, are you hurt?”
“My lady,” my host mimics cruelly. “Get her out of my sight,” he orders. “She is not to step foot in here again.” He turns to address me directly. “I may not be able to get rid of you, but I fucking well don’t have to look at you while you’re here.”
My heart is racing, but I will it to calm. “I am all right, thank you Louis.”
“Perhaps you should—”
“I am not going anywhere,” I tell him, hardly wincing at my sharp tone. “I have a book to read.”
“I ordered you to remove her!”
Louis lowers his sword, incensing his master beyond reason. “Then may I suggest moving out of the line of fire, my lady?”
I want to argue, but my ungracious host is already reaching for another weapon. “Yes, that is a wonderful idea.”
Louis calls for a mirror, so that I may still see the beast from around the corner. The monster breaks it immediately, but it remains in place. When everything is ready, Louis leaves and I settle in once more.
“Now then,” I say. “The Little Red Riding Hood…”
I sit until my legs go numb. I read until my voice is hoarse. Through the bluster, the curses and threats, through the constant onslaught of anything and everything he can throw, I read to him.
He screams. Vows to kill me, tear me apart with his bare hands, and things far worse. I believe him. If not for the chains, I know he would cause me every pain a man can possibly inflict on a woman. This is the true beast of the castle.
And for the first time, I truly believe he deserved his curse. I want the monster to suffer, because I know that everything he threatens, he has done before. This… thing, the demon wearing a human mask is so different from the creature I have come to know and love that I can hardly believe they are one and the same.
Tears blur the words on the page. What am I to do?
I can think of nothing else, but to persevere. I cannot fight him on his terms. And so I must be patient and wait him out, somehow coax him to fight by my rules. For now, I have my book.
He has no more things to throw, but I can still hear him raging. I glance up and see dozens of his reflections in the broken mirror. He is tearing his bed apart, linens, mattress, everything to get to the wooden frame.
I duck my head and read on.
The frame shatters. I brace for another wave of attack.
It doesn’t come.
I hear him groan; look up to see him doubled over, clutching his head.
He screams in terrible pain and, before my very eyes, he begins to change.
I lose my breath, the book forgotten. The clock face is broken, it no longer ticks to tell the time. But I can see faint light vaguely outline the draperies.
Dawn.
The transformation is gruesome and brings me to my feet. My legs nearly buckle, but I stumble to the doorway, terrified for the man-beast in the destroyed room.
He screams and roars, shaking with pain, and grief, and such horrible shame. My heart bleeds, weeping for him. I fall to my knees, helpless to do anything but watch.
When it is finally, blessedly over, my Beast bows his head, looking utterly exhausted. His rumbling breaths are a comfort like nothing I’ve ever known.
I cannot give up on the monster of a man. For this gentle, tormented Beast, I must fight on. I must find a way to free him.
“I’m here,” I sob.
He stops breathing. His massive head raises, and blue eyes meet mine. He looks stunned, disbelieving.
I smile, try to offer what little comfort I can.
My Beast makes a sound like a mortally wounded animal. His leonine face drops into his claws and he turns away from me. “Leave me,” he says.
Utter, soul shattering defeat makes me obey.