Beast and the Beauty

Part 1: His Story

The town of Elderwood, England, was coming to life as I walked on my daily stroll through town. It was like watching a picture come to life, as the baker and other merchants got their things together to sell to the townsfolk. The fishermen, farmers, cheese maker, egg woman, and the town jeweler come out with their horrific frowns, to greet their customers.

Everyone in the town were all beasts, but I was different than the other beasts. I looked physically the same, but I considered myself sensitive, unlike all the other beasts. The townsfolk were mean and cold, with a touch of rude added to the mix. Everyone knew who I was, because I was the outcast. I wanted to love someone. No one in this awful town loved, that was out of the question. I knew there must be something else out there beside this small town of heartless beasts.

"Hello John," screeched Gaston—with her awful squeal of a voice—interrupting my thoughts.

"Hi Gaston," I sighed as I looked at Gaston's ugly face. Why couldn't she leave me alone? "How's your day been so far?" I said, trying to be polite.

"Oh John, why are you always so polite? Who care's about how my day was?"

Sometimes I was so different, that I didn't even realize it. "Then never mind, and leave me alone." I think that at some moments, she wanted to marry me. I could never marry someone that heartless. Maybe she wanted to prove to the town she could make me normal, but it would never be. I was just different.

"Fine!" screamed Gaston, not realizing that's what I really wanted.

I fast-walked back to my house to get away from Gaston. I could smell the burning of my mother's cooking about a mile from the house. She was in the process of determination to make the perfect pie, but was not working out too well, unfortunately. Mom was a great cook, but she could never figure out this pie. Berry pie was her enemy, almost like it had a brain; it would never taste good to her, but mom was determined to make a berry pie—she could eat. Mother was really short, and—to put it nicely—round. Mom was more like the rest of the beasts, but she still wanted me happy, which was different.

"Hello Mom!" I yelled from the door.

As I walked in I dropped my midnight black hat, and big black boots I was wearing at the door. I walked through the rather large living room, through the long hallway filled with pictures of food, into the bright yellow kitchen—that was currently filled with thick gray smoke.

"I will never get this pie right!" angrily said my Mom, as she paced the length of the kitchen, through the smoke. There was a black pie sitting on the counter, and it was still on fire.

"Mom! You have to put out the fire, remember? We talked about this." I said as I took a bucket of water to the pie. I was always looking out for my mom. It seemed like I was more the parent than she was.

"Why can't I get this right?" Mom wondered, but this was said almost daily.

"Maybe you should start with not leaving it in the oven so long." I said quietly under my breath, because I knew if I said that, she would not have been happy.

I walked upstairs, before I said anything to get me killed. As I was going past the window by the stairs, I said Gaston and her gang—the Uglies—walking into the forest. This wasn't the first time I had seen them going in this direction in the forest. Not wanting to help my mom all afternoon, I decided to follow Gaston and her band of annoying girls, for a reason unknown to me.

I walked back downstairs and out the back door. I could hear the Uglie's voices as they walked through the forest. I quietly—well as quiet as a beast can be—through the dark and dense forest, not seeing any animals, because animals do not like beasts.

I could hear I was getting closer, and that they had stopped. I could see something gray, a building perhaps. As I got closer, I could see it was a very large and old castle. It had probably been sitting here for hundreds of years, I guessed. The castle was covered in statues of angels. There were beautiful columns all around the castle and the side I was on was covered in ivy. The castle was amazing; such a beautiful piece of history, sitting almost in my backyard. I remembered hearing something about a story with something to do with an old castle, but I was never interested in something like that. This castle was much different from the story, not scary at all.

The Uglies were pretty close to a castle window, and I could hear them saying some awful things. Apparently, someone was inside the castle, that they thought they could bully. A beautiful woman was sitting inside the window. Inside the castle it looked like a large library. She was reading a book, not even paying attention to the beasts that were making fun of her beauty. This woman was wearing a white cotton dress, and she was barefoot. I became instantly in love with her. This woman was the most amazing person I had ever seen, well the only person I had ever seen. Obviously, I became an overly protective fool and ran up to the Uglies.

"How could you ever say those awful things about someone?" I angrily yelled.

"Can't you see—she's beautiful." Gaston's horrid voice screeched, with horror in her voice.

"Yes and the most wonderful person ever." I said sincerely, staring dreamily at the girl in the window. "You should leave right now." I spoke harshly. Confused, the Uglies left.

I was now alone out side the castle. I wanted so much to be able to talk to this woman, but I was afraid of what she would think of an ugly beast like me. I looked at her once more before running back to the village.

Once I was back to the house, I waited for dinner to be done. Mom was late with dinner because of the amount of pie she had failed to make that day.

While making dinner, I noticed she was coughing more than she normally did. This coughing worried me.

After dinner was prepared, we sat down at the small little table in the kitchen and ate some roasted vegetables with a spicy sauce.

"You've been coughing a lot today," I spoke with worry in my voice.

"Don't worry John, I'll be fine." said my mom with a forced smile. "I will make my perfect pie," She said with determination.

Sleep was hard for me that night. I couldn't stop thinking about that girl. She was so beautiful and I was so ugly. There had to be someway that I could tell her about me, without showing myself to her. I would lose all my control. I was also worried that night, about my mom. She was getting older, and I guess I was too.

After I finally got to sleep, I awoke after what felt like five minutes. I got out of bed and went out to the field outside my house. There are usually lots of wild flowers in the back field, and I decided that I would get that beautiful woman some flowers. I got lavender, aqua, and yellow wildflowers. I tied them together into a bouquet, and I also wrote a note that said:

"Beauty,

Hope you like flowers.

-the Beast"

I ran down to the castle, and placed the flowers and note in front of the doors. I then knocked on the large knocker on the front doors three times and ran.

When I got back to town, I took my stroll through town to get flour for my mom. The whole town was staring at me, more than usual. I guess word must have gone around about what happened at the castle with the Uglies.

I dropped the flour off at home and then ran back to the castle. I looked at the front doors of the castle and saw that the flowers and the note were both gone. Knowing she had gotten them, I left the castle to go see how my mom was doing today with her pies, and if her cough was gone.

As I got closer to home, I could not smell any burning, surprisingly. It always smelt like some kind of burning at that house.

"Are you okay mom?" I shouted from the door.

"I'm fine, honey! Why?" Mom asked.

"Couldn't smell your pies burning…" I whispered quietly to myself, not wanting to upset her.

I walked into the kitchen to find there were five pies sitting on the counter. None of them were burnt, but none were cooked properly either. Mom was muttering to herself, as she paced the length of the room.

Suddenly, Mom stopped, looked at me with a weird look, and asked, "What's that look on your face for?" If my mother didn't confuse me enough before, this was plenty.

"What face?" I asked, puzzled.

"The same your father had when he met me."

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"You're in love. Who is she?" Mom asked with the biggest grin on her face I had ever seen.

"Pssh…I'm not in love-per se," I said in awe of what she just told me. "I haven't even talked to her; I don't know her name either."

"Well you need to talk to her, before someone snatches her up." Mom said with smugness in her voice.

"Okay, well…I'm going upstairs." I spoke with awkwardness, unlike my Mom.

I walked up the stairs to think about the present for Beauty—which I then decided to call her, not knowing her name—tomorrow. She was very different from the rest of the girls in this town. She was reading the first time I saw her. I decided I would randomly take a book off my bookshelf, and I picked up Robin Hood. I loved this book, mostly because I have always wanted some adventure like Robin Hood always had.

The next morning, I woke up and carried Robin Hood downstairs. I got a piece of paper from downstairs and wrote on it:

Beauty,

Hope you like Robin Hood.

The Beast

I quickly went down to the castle, and again I placed it on the doorstep, knocked the huge knocker, and dashed back home.

At home, Mom's cough was getting worse and I was really beginning to wonder if she was sick, but she's too stubborn for me to say anything.

The following morning, I found a rose bush beginning to grow by the back window. I picked one rose, and got one more piece of paper. This time I wrote:

Beauty,

Hope you like Roses.

The Beast

Again, I went to the castle to find something new. I note was attached to the door with the huge knocker. It read:

"Dear Beast,

I love everything you have given me.

—Beauty"

Beaming, I left the rose and note, not needing to knock, and hurried back home for the fourth time, knowing she had cared enough to write back. I was on air.