Parts from Beauty and the Beast belong to Disney. Here is the second chapter of my AU. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 2
The storm did nothing to deter Tinya as she drove straight into the heart of the forest. Her mother must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up getting lost. Though she had no clear plan, Tinya wasn't just going to wait around and do nothing to find her mother. She swerved to miss a falling branch and found herself on a muddied, overgrown path. Deciding to see where it led, she drove until she came up to a large mansion. It was there that she found her mother's car parked out front.
Tinya pulled the hood of her jacket on and looped the strap of her bag across her body as she left her vehicle. She approached the foreboding mansion. Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door. "Hello? Is anyone here? Hello?"
Silence greeted her. Digging into the pocket of her duffel, she pulled out a flashlight. She turned it on as she started down the front hall and made her way through the house. A noise from behind her caused her to whirl around, shining the light along the floor to find the source. An orange cat with vibrant green eyes strode into view.
Tinya laughed in relief. She crouched down to pet the cat. "Can you help me?" she asked, not expecting any real answer from the purring feline. She was surprised when the cat walked a little distance away, then paused to look at her over its shoulder as if it wanted her to follow it. She didn't know where it would lead her, but it wasn't as if she had any better ideas. The cat led her through darkened rooms until it came to a door at the end of a hall towards the back of the empty mansion. Sitting down, the cat's eyes looked from her to the door handle where she saw a key sticking out of a hole.
Reaching out and turning the key, Tinya opened the door. Almost immediately, she found herself face-to-face with her mother. "Tinya, how did you find me?"
"It doesn't matter," Tinya said, grabbing her mother by the hand and pulling her out of what looked like a basement. "What matters now is that I found you, and we have to get back before your absence is noticed."
Her mother stopped and shook her head. Her voice was urgent as she said, "Tinya, listen to me. I want you to leave this place. There isn't time to explain, but you must go now."
"No, I won't leave you!" Tinya argued, ignoring her mother's attempts to push her away.
Suddenly, she was jerked backwards and spun around by her shoulder. The hand that had grabbed her vanished, leaving her to stumble into a wall. She was able to regain her stance with some help from her mother.
"What are you doing here?" an unfamiliar voice growled.
Tinya looked in the direction of the voice, but she had lost her flashlight when she had bumped into the wall. The only light that shone in the otherwise dark hallway came from a side window and showed her just a vague shadow of the newcomer. "Who are you?" she asked.
"That is none of your concern," the voice snapped sharply.
"I've come for my mother. Please, will you let us go?"
Tinya held her breath as she waited for the stranger's response. She had no idea who or what she was dealing with. She only knew that both she and her mother were at this stranger's mercy. That is, if he had any.
"No." The word rang out like a death sentence. "This area is forbidden to outsiders. No one has ever entered this place and been allowed to leave. You shouldn't have trespassed," the stranger said coldly. "If I let you go, then there's nothing to stop either of you from telling others what you've seen, and they too will come."
"Please," Tinya tried again. "At least let my mother go."
"Tinya, no!" her mother gasped.
Ignoring her mother's protest, Tinya continued on. "Unless you want the science police invading your forest and home, you'll let her go free. As a Senator, her absence will be noticed if she's not back in the city by tomorrow."
"And what's to stop her from sending them in after me anyway?" the stranger challenged.
"Me," Tinya answered. She forced herself to keep her voice steady. "I can take her place here. As long as I'm here with you, she'll have to keep her promise."
"Tinya, no! You don't know what you're doing!" her mother exclaimed, gripping her shoulders and turning her around. "This is madness, what you're suggesting. I won't leave without you."
Tinya reached up to pull her mother's hands away from her shoulders and hold them in hers. "Mother, please. This is the only way. You have to go back. The doctor is expecting you tomorrow," she said, not wanting to go into further detail with the stranger listening in. She knew by the slightly tightened grip of her mother's hands on hers that her message had been received.
Pulling away and turning back to the stranger, Tinya asked, "Will you let her go?"
"Only if you promise to stay here forever," the stranger responded.
"You have my word." Tinya stepped forward into the moonlit area of the hall with her head bowed. She sensed more than heard the stranger approach her. Lifting her head, she stifled a gasp at the feral eyes and canine features that regarded her warily. She saw his eyes narrow at the hood that still hid part of her face. Carefully, she pulled down her hood so that they were both equally open for the other to see.
His gaze flicked over to her mother as he said, "Take your vehicle and leave. Don't tell anyone about what you've seen, and don't ever come back. If you disobey any of these instructions, then she will be the one to pay the price. Am I clear?"
"Yes," her mother's response was soft and broken. She walked up to Tinya and as she hugged her, she whispered, "I will find a way to make this right. I promise."
"I know, Mom. I know."
…
After escorting the girl's mother from the mansion, Timber Wolf made his way back to where he had left her in the same sitting room he'd first found her mother. His way was blocked halfway down the hall by a cat. Morphing into an orange boy with green eyes, the shapeshifter faced his brooding companion.
"That was nicely handled," the boy said, crossing his arms. "I hope you're planning on giving our guest a better room than the basement, Timber Wolf."
Timber Wolf glowered at the shapshifter until he threw his hands up in the air.
"Okay, fine. Whatever, have it your way," he said as he disappeared down the hall.
His eyes turning to the door, Timber Wolf grasped the handle and let himself into the sitting room. He saw the girl curled up in the large armchair that he himself usually occupied. Grey eyes met his, worry and loss swirling in her gaze. He paused to look at her. Dark hair cascaded down her back, a stark contrast to her pale skin. She was young, probably no more than seventeen or eighteen. Though he could tell that she was frightened, he had to admire the fact that she hid it well.
"Come with me," he said, finally. "I'll show you to your room."
"My room?" she asked in surprise. "But I thought—"
"Do you want me to put you in the basement?" he snapped irritably, hating the guilty feeling that rose up within him.
"No." Her grip on her duffel tightened.
"Then follow me." He turned away from her confused look and left the sitting room. As she followed him through the house silently, he made an attempt to make up for his earlier behavior. "I…um, hope you like it here." Her gaze left the floor and shifted to him. "The mansion is your home now, so you can go anywhere you like, except the West Wing."
"What's in the West Wing?" she asked, sounding too interested in the answer for his liking.
"It's forbidden," he said, cutting off that line of questioning. He didn't speak again until they reached her room on the second floor. Opening the door to let her in, he told her, "If you need anything, just ask."
The girl nodded as she took in her surroundings. Satisfied that she would be alright for the moment, Timber Wolf turned to leave. He stopped mid-step when the girl suddenly said, "Tinya."
"What?" He looked back and saw her staring at him.
"My name is Tinya," she repeated.
"Timber Wolf," he found himself responding automatically. Shaking his head slightly, he backed out of her room and left her to get settled in. Her presence in his home was going to take some getting used to. Change was not something that came easily to him. He needed space to figure out how he was going to handle it.
…
Reep waited until after Timber Wolf had left Tinya's room to go and knock on the door. When it opened slightly, he waved in greeting. "Hi there, my name is Reep. Since it looks like you'll be staying with us, I wanted introduce myself to you."
The door opened wider. Tinya leaned against the doorway, cocking her head to the side. "I thought that no one else lived here."
Reep shrugged. "It's a long story, but Timber Wolf and I go way back. If you like, I can show you around tomorrow."
"That would be nice. Thank you," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I gotta say, that was a very brave thing you did for your mother."
Tinya shook her head. "I did what had to be done. There was nothing brave about it." She bit her lip as her eyes shined with unshed tears. "I had no other choice."
Seeing that Tinya was upset, Reep immediately wanted to help. Her world had changed in the course of a single evening, and a change like that would be hard on anyone. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said, "Don't worry, Tinya. It'll turn out all right in the end. You'll see."
She nodded wordlessly and took a step back. She held the door for a moment. "Thanks, Reep. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night," he responded as she slowly closed the door.
He turned on his heel to go in search of the mansion's other occupant. He was almost certain that Timber Wolf was going to need help dealing with the sudden upset of his solitary lifestyle. For many years, there had just been the two of them in the mansion. Reep was more than used to Timber Wolf's temperament and desire to be left alone most of the time. With Tinya now in the picture, however, things were going to have to change. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would do well being left on her own for days on end. It was going to be up to Reep to figure out a way to balance the two and ease the transition as they all struggled to make adjustments to this new way of life.
Reep found Timber Wolf stowed away in a distant part of the mansion, the same part that Tinya had been told was forbidden. The West Wing held bad memories, painful memories, for both Timber Wolf and Reep. It was the place where both of them had been subject to horrendous experimentation that had made them into what they were today. Timber Wolf was standing near the window of the lab, looking at glass that had been shattered long ago.
"What are you doing here?" Reep asked as Timber Wolf walked over to a table nearby and picked up a black box.
Reep saw a glow emanating from the box when Timber Wolf removed the lid. Moving to take a closer look, he saw that the glow was coming from a glass orb. The glow enhanced the feral glint in Timber Wolf's eyes as he picked up the orb and held it in his hand. "Do you see this?" he asked, ignoring Reep's question. "This is a spell that was given to me by a sorcerer named Zyx right after I became a monster. He said that the spell had the power to turn me human again, but that there was one thing missing."
"And what is that?"
"I have to find someone to love me the way I am." Timber Wolf snorted. "Apparently, that love is the final ingredient that this spell needs to work."
"Is that why you agreed to let the girl stay?" Reep asked tentatively. "Do you think she might be the one?"
Timber Wolf placed the orb back in its box, shaking his head. "Of course not. She is only here because I don't want anyone invading my home. We're safe here. Besides, look at me." He gestured to his face. "There's no way that anyone will see past this." He started to leave the lab. "It's getting late. You should go to bed."
Reep followed Timber Wolf out of the lab. He waved slightly in parting when they approached the point in the West Wing where Timber Wolf's room was located. Continuing on to his own room, which was on the second floor down the hall from Tinya's, the shapeshifter began to consider what it might take for the girl to see who Timber Wolf really was underneath the beast. For the first time, he had hope that things really would be all right. Someday.
