Wolves in the Garden
Butterflies flew around the flowers as Louve sat in the shade of a tree with a book from Maman's library. Loup hobbled over and sat beside her.
"Who gave you permission to visit the royal gardens?" he teased. "In fact, did the masters give you permission to borrow one of their books?"
Louve shrugged. "I do as I please. You see, dear brother, the Beast never threatened me. I was too smart to fight him. Therefore, I have no memories of his wrath and thus have no fear of doing whatever I wish."
"A bit insolent, aren't you?"
"No more so than you were years ago."
Loup sighed. "Do you ever wish you could open your eyes some morning and realize you were never a wolf; you were just having a horrible nightmare, and when you wake up, you won't have a broken leg that never healed properly after your fight with a Beast at least three times your size?"
His sister nodded thoughtfully. "You ever wish you could go back in time and stop yourself from making a wrong decision?" She stroked her permanently fractured arm. "Stopping yourself from getting too close to a horse's hooves, for example."
"But no matter how much we wish things were different, we can't change anything. Whether we care to admit it or not, we spent a decade of our lives as wolves, and two things are certain: Philippe cost you the use of your arm forever, and King Adam saw to it that I will never again walk properly, and it's our own fault. No matter how sorry we are for past mistakes, there are some we just can't overcome."
He stood and walked around the garden a little to clear his mind, pausing by the rosebushes. Louve walked over to where he was standing.
"Cheer up! I overheard the masters say Lisette is coming to visit!"
"Lisette?!" Loup accidentally tripped over the root of a tree, immediately falling.
"Your limp seems worse than usual," his sister remarked. "Something troubles you, and I don't mean the confrontation with your own masters before the spell ended. There's something else bothering you." She took his hand. "You can tell me. I'm your twin. I knew you before your birth."
"Until now, ma soeur, you have been the only woman of any importance in my life, with the exception of our mother, and of course, Queen Belle."
"What does this have to do with Lisette?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen! I thought she was only my best friend! I never meant to feel this way about her!"
"Loup, what's wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "Je suis amoureux."
"In love, mon frère?"
He nodded. "It will never work out between us! I was born to the town beggars; she was born to nobility, the royal family, no less. I'm a servant; she's my own master's cousin. Besides, I was one of the wolves. Her cousin was the Beast. I'm sure King Adam would really be happy to know how I feel about Lisette."
Louve made no reply, so her brother continued speaking.
"She deserves a better man than I could ever hope to become! I'm unworthy even to be called her friend, let alone her love. I never chose for this to happen!"
"I wish things could have been different for you. Lisette's heart is as warm as the summer sun and as pure as a mountain stream. I would have liked very much to have her for a sister-in-law."
"No use regretting what cannot be," Loup remarked. "We may as well return to the forest and resume our chores."
"I'll join you there as soon as I return this book."
Her brother nodded and limped back to the forest.
Watching him leave, Louve remarked to no one in particular, "I'd give the use of my other arm if only it meant his leg would heal."