This chapter takes place 3 weeks after the prologue, hope you like it :) please review!

Chapter 1

Bankrupt

Edmund Darrel was nervous. He wasn't used to being nervous. Usually he was confident and cocky, but now his confidence and cockiness had pushed him into a dark hole too deep and sides too steep to clamber out of.

He waited for his fate in the usually calm and jolly atmosphere of the local tavern, but tonight the place was deserted, even the barman had disappeared from sight. The very air was tense. Rain tapped constantly and infuriatingly against the dirty windows, as Mr Darrel stared down at his untouched tankard of beer, and felt a little queasy.

This beer might be the last thing he would ever buy with his own money.

Suddenly, the door of the empty pub creaked open and a figure dressed in a black hooded cloak came in. Mr Darrel shivered, he couldn't see the figure's face, but he knew who it was just by the dark colour of his hands that were visible beneath his cloak.

The figure then stepped closer, revealing the black eyes of the Beast.

"Good evening, Mr Darrel." The Beast's greeting was low and gravelly over the sound of the rain. His eyes were as hard as stone as he spoke, they gave away nothing.

Mr Darrel's eyes however, showed his panic and worry, but as he recovered from his initial fear of the Beast, he glowered. He felt disgusted that the Beast had actually instructed him to come to this place, and now was talking to him, as if they were equal! No, he was not like that scum.

"Enough of your pleasantries!" Mr Darrel spat, unable to hold back his temper. "Why have you brought me here?" He demanded. He tried not to show his nervousness that had turned his stomach into ice, but there was nothing stopping the sweat that was now plastered on his balding head. Even in his anger, his silver-blue eyes showed a glint of worry. Although he was still feeling insulted that he had been summoned in such a way, by the Beast.

"I knew it would be quiet," the Beast explained, he shrugged a little, but his voice remained unemotional.

"No!" Mr Darrel snapped, "I want to know why you want to see me."

The Beast's cold, secretive eyes bore into Mr Darrel as he spoke. "You know very well."

Mr Darrel shifted under the Beast's gaze, fear prickling the hairs on the back of his neck. He knew perfectly well why he was there. Being a banker was a risky business, and Mr Darrel had known for the past few months that he was falling into debt, but his greed forced him to ignore the warning signs. But then disaster struck, and he lost all his money, absolutely everything. The worst the thing, however, was that he had lost all his money to the Beast.

Mr Darrel couldn't help but shiver in disgust and anger. An animal was about to take everything away from its rightful master, the farmer, when the creature should have been butchered years ago.

Mr Darrel suddenly realised that he had been quiet for a very long time, his eyes darting from the Beast to the floor. He was finding it difficult to swallow in the tense silence.

Finally, the Beast broke the silence. He knew exactly what Mr Darrel had been thinking. All the man thought about was his money.

"If you give me all your money, I can pay off the people that you owe, and you won't be in debt for the rest of your life."

"But I will lose all my money!" Mr Darrel cried out desperately.

"Or, you will lose everything, including your dignity. Your choice."

Mr Darrel paused again, knowing that what he said was right. He had no other choice, and the Beast knew that. However giving all his money to such a man was as shameful as living with the debt. The Beast was about to turn and leave, thinking that his job was done, when a desperate thought came to Mr Darrel's mind, and he called out suddenly.

"Wait!"

The Beast paused, slowing turning his head to face him.

"What if I give you something worth more than money?" Mr Darrel offered.

"Worth more?" The Beast raised a black eyebrow.

Whether Mr Darrel knew what he was going to say next, or whether it was just coming from the top of his head, he didn't give himself time to think about his new, desperate offer. He just imagined his precious golden coins being drained away, falling into the black hands of the Beast…

"I'll give you my daughter!" He cried out.

At first, the Beast said nothing. He just stared, but he didn't leave.

"Your daughter?" The Beast's eyes were full of surprise at these words, but then flickered back to their unemotional state. He looked quite calm, as if he was expecting this to happen.

Mr Darrel nodded. He didn't think that there was anything unusual about the way the Beast acted, but he wasn't really thinking at all. He was simply relieved that he had found a way out, that he could save his precious money and pride.

"My daughter is the most beautiful young woman for miles around. You must have seen her, all men crave her. If you accept my daughter's hand in marriage, we can forget about the amount of money I owe you. I will have the money to pay off my other debts, and you will keep my daughter forever."

The Beast hesitated, before he replied. "And what say does your daughter have in all of this?" He asked slowly.

Mr Darrel shrugged ignorantly. "She is my daughter, I make the decisions for her. She should be proud to be saving her family from bankruptcy and scandal."

There was another pause, the Beast was clearly thinking hard about this; his dark eyes sparkled brightly in the dim light. Finally, he nodded. "All right," he muttered. "Keep your money, for what it's worth, and I'll keep your daughter."

Mr Darrel nodded, he seemed pleased with this decision, but he didn't like the way the Beast was looking at him. The two of them were staring at each other, and as the seconds passed, Mr Darrel got a horrible feeling that the Beast was reading his soul. He glowered.

"The two of you will be married within the month. Until then, I do not want to see your stinking face again." Mr Darrel snapped. "And you know better than to summon me, no matter what I owe you!"

The Beast said nothing, his eyes remained cold. Mr Darrel tried very hard not to show his fear as the Beast slowly turned and left the tavern.

After a few minutes sitting in silence, Mr Darrel composed himself. Taking deep breaths, he brushed down his clothes, stood up and fixed a smug smile on his face. Leaving his beer still untouched, he stepped out into the cold evening, the rain just ceasing as he did so, but still dripping from the roofs. He looked around the dim alleyway he found himself in, eyes peeled for the Beast. But the creature had disappeared into the darkness, as he always did.

Trying to forget about the Beast's terrifying and mysterious presence, Mr Darrel set off home, ready to tell his daughter the good news.