Disclaimer: I own nothing of Beauty and the Beast or Disney. This story, however, is an original story with original characters that are my property. Either way, no money is being made here.

The Beast Knight

Chapter 1

There were few things that the giant man who called himself The Wall believed in: he could crush bears and wolves with his massive bare hands; he could withstand any force that dared oppose him. And seriously, he did not believe in superstitious nonsense, including the legend of magical beings that once lived in the Forest of Spirits.

Above all, he believed it was time to stop taking on one job after the other as a mercenary, when the reward of Kind Aldar Alexandrios the Fifteenth would set him for life with a castle of his own, and the king's youngest, most beautiful daughter as his bride. And all he had to do was conquer one measly beast. He could easily skin an alligator with his finger nails—how hard could one stupid beast be?

That was all the soldiers of Alexandrios called it—The Beast. Not a lion beast, or a tiger beast, or even a bear. Just…the Beast. And when they did, the men whispered it with hesitance and fear, as if saying its name will make this nightmarish creature appear.

Bah! I have a better chance at being Supreme King of Tearh than running into this Beast.

Nonetheless, at least the view of this Spirits Forest, or whatever, was quite amusing. It was like a green paradise no matter where they went, with a sight or two that even The Wall had to admit was quite breath-taking. The mercenary could understand though why King Aldar objected to his idea of just burning the forest to lure the Beast out. Not only vast and beautiful, the Forest of Spirits was also plenty with resources, like fresh spring water, and rumored to have treasures that make mere gold seem like nothing more than a plain rock. A treasure beyond worthy of a king… More like a Supreme King. He grinned; if he could find this treasure, then Aldar's reward would mean nothing, while The Wall…King Wall…could just take what he wanted. Including the king's youngest daughter.

All that, and the fact—according to King Aldar—that Alexandrios already had owned the Forest of Spirits, and were preparing to colonize it before the Beast showed up and chased everyone away.

Beautiful scenery was one thing, but it was starting to feel like he and the troops had been traveling for hours. Let alone going around in circles! They had to have been when he notices that same familiar large stone in the ground for the third time now. Yet no one said anything. Not even the commander who had been assigned as The Wall's guide through this damn forest. In a matter of hours it would be nightfall, and even the novice of hunters knew that an animal was more dangerous when the moon was out just as it was cornered.

Not that any animal bothered him, for nothing scared The Wall, just as nothing could move The Wall. But The Wall was getting hot and tired, and did not have the reputation for being patient man.

He turned to the commander, his name The Wall had not cared to remember. "How much further," he demanded.

"We're nearly there," the commander declared, holding his sword close with an iron-clad hand. He had been among the first to both witness and fight the Beast, and in the end, was left with three hideous scars across his face. Scars that, while had made him famous among the maidens, also served a reminder that he had survived with a warning, only for the king to force him into the role of a guide. His eyes were everywhere and on everyone, not about to let the Beast surprise him. Not again.

That may also be why he was failing as a guide, as The Wall growled and shouted, "You said that an hour ago!" He turned on the commander, standing at all his intimidating height. "You've been leading me in circles!"

The commander gulped. Suddenly, the Beast was not the scary one this time.

The Wall jabbed a massive finger into the armor of the commander's chest, nearly pushing him over. "I seek out the Beast. You guide. Got it?"

The commander's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as his jaw dropped, his bottom lip trembling in fear. The Wall would have went on his way having put the commander in his place, until he noticed that it was himself the commander was staring at. Nor were the rest of the troops, who mirrored their commander's expression. It was over his shoulder, the commander was looking, frozen in fear.

The Wall's ears perked up when he heard the low, gurgling growl behind him. It sounded like a lion. Was this Beast a lion after all?

Slowly…cautiously…The Wall turned around to the long growling, coming from the shadows of the trees above.

Then, there was silence.

The Wall waited. When nothing happened, he let out a long breath he had not realized had been holding, his heart beating like a racing mustang.

It wasn't long now. He was about to order the commander to keep still while he went ahead to find this Beast. He would have…had the shadows not come to life with a thunderous roar and slammed him to the ground. The air leaving his lungs as pain shot through him, The Wall struggled to recover while the screams of the commander and his men filled his ears. Regaining some breath, he managed to look back at the sound of steel shattering, bones breaking, and men screaming in fear and agony. All he could see then was a black-cloaked figure holding up a young soldier by his throat, its flesh hidden under black leather and light armor, hiding the mystery if it was man or indeed some hairy beast. With strength that not even The Wall possessed, the young soldier was thrown forward in the distance. He couldn't see beyond the figure, but he could hear the soldier's body hitting the ground, then the sound of staggering footsteps running away, and then…nothing, yet again.

All the Alexandrians were gone, while remnants of spears, swords, helmets and shields laid all sprawled out. Even the commander was nowhere to be seen. It was just The Wall and…this thing.

Slowly, like in some hellish nightmare, the figure turned around to The Wall, its black cloak hiding its entire body. It might as well have been the Lord of the Dead instead of some beast, for all he knew. This couldn't be a beast!

For the first time in his life, fear gripped the mercenary like a cold hand of ice, sending a shiver up his spine. It only ran colder when he could feel the stare beneath the cloak's hood, piercing into his very soul like he was threatening to take it at any moment.

With lightning speed, something slashed out from the figure's cloak, contacting the skin of The Wall's face that now burned. When he raised his hand to his face, his felt the fresh claw marks by the tracing of his fingers. Just like the commander, The Wall had been marked. A reminder not to return.

The figure was no longer standing over him when The Wall looked up. Regaining his full strength, as well as control over his own body, The Wall hurried to his feet and spun around, looking for any signs of his attacker. There was nothing. Like some phantom, the thing had vanished from existence.

Just when The Wall felt he could breathe in relief, a roar nearly had him jump out of his own thick skin, and hurry in the same direction as the Alexandrian soldiers, running for his life.

All the treasures and beautiful princesses in the world were not worth for what else that thing I had in mind.

He watched as the mercenary ran away while screaming like a madman. The moment his massive figure disappeared into the woods, he was no longer any concern. The spirits would show him out of the Forest, anyway.

Yet another mercenary though. Truly, King Aldar is becoming repetitive. There would be more to come though, for the greed of royalty and nobility was as vast as their riches, and King Aldar's was perhaps the greediest of them all. But he would be ready for them, defending his domain until his life was forfeited. Yeah, good luck with that.

With today's fight over, he aimlessly carried on, though he could not help but wonder if there would ever be an end to all this fighting, or if the desires of King Aldar would consume himself and the Forest of Spirits, as well as his own people. Just as it had cost him his family…his tribe.

How far would he have to give in to the beast within before this ended, God only knows.

Author's Note: Whew! Glad that part's done! Hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you!