The Ice Prince: Chapter V
by Meiran Chang

Dorlian slept well and awoke around midday. He rose and opened the shutters; the sun was glittering over the fallen snow, and birds were chirping again. The manor had weathered the storm rather better than he had, and he spared a thought for Wing, hoping she wouldn't have too difficult a time plowing through the drifts later that day. Then he turned from the window to look for his clothing and was quite startled to discover that his old garments had been replaced by new ones, far more durable and suited to winter weather than the old. To add to this largesse, a magnificent breakfast awaited him on the night table, and Dorlian ate like a king before returning the tray to its place.

Dressed in his new clothes, he managed to find his way outside. Dorlian found the stables quickly enough and checked on Wing, who was fully rested and ready to ride. He readied her gently and led her out to the courtyard.

The courtyard looked marvelous. An iron fence with intricate designs that reached a story or so high surrounded the manor. Trees arched languidly over him, and he could hear liquid birdsong and occasionally even see one of the bright singers. Somewhere he could hear the gurgling of a small stream. Bright spots of color splashed the area all around the path, and there were roses sprinkled everywhere. It was odd enough that the garden was so alive and healthy in the wintertime; it was odd that the roses lived; it was odder still that every rose was black.

Remembering his youngest son, he reached up and carefully picked one rose off the archway he was passing under, mindful of the thorns. As he fingered one of the soft ebony petals, a small smile touched his lips. At least one of his beloved children would have a gift.

Suddenly Dorlian had the prickly feeling of presence, of someone approaching him from behind. The courtyard quickly lost its tranquility as he whirled around. Wing shied, the whites visible all around her eyes, and reared up, then pivoted sharply and fled. It took all the merchant had not to do the same as he clutched the rose so tightly the thorns cut into his flesh.

A Beast.

Outfitted in a bizarre mockery of Oz royal dress, the Beast's long, sleek black hair poured silk-like over its broad shoulders. Tall and carelessly muscular, sunlight glinted off impossibly sharp claws. Its face was like a panther's, darkly furred, its inhuman eyes a crystalline blue with narrow black slits for pupils. Its economy of movement translated into a terrible predatory grace, and Dorlian trembled as it tilted its head and calmly surveyed him.

"You miserable wretch," the Beast softly, almost without inflection. Somehow, that controlled voice was more frightening than any wild roar, and the merchant's heart nearly stopped. "I saved your life by allowing you into my manor, feeding you with my food, warming you by my fire and clothing you in my clothes. Is this any way to show your host how grateful you are? By stealing like a common thief?" The curl of the Beast's lip showed its contempt.

"I -- I -- " Dorlian stammered. "I -- I'm sorry -- I -- I didn't -- "

The creature regarded him with hard eyes. "I nurtured that rose from seed to blossom myself. In this lonely, forsaken place, she and her sisters were my only companions. And you plucked the life from her, as thoughtlessly as you would clap a fly between your hands..." The creature's eyes narrowed, and Dorlian forgot to breathe."A poor move, merchant. That rose's life meant more to me than yours."

Dorlian's knees buckled beneath him. "Please, please, sire, don't kill me!" A distant corner of his mind focused more on honor than survival was indignant at this groveling, but somehow, Dorlian couldn't find it in him to care. "I didn't think you'd be offended, good lord, as you were so kind as to allow me into your home. I only picked this rose for my son, who wanted one dreadfully." His brown eyes, dark with fear, nevertheless bored into the uncaring blue of the Beast's. "Please, sire, I meant you no harm. I never imagined that by taking a rose I would upset you. If I'd known, I would never have taken it! All I wanted to do was bring a gift home to my son!"

The Beast frowned at the merchant, making him cringe. "'Sire'? Don't call me that. I am a Beast. You don't need to mince words." The creature sighed as if bored or weary. "You have a son? An only son, or have you more children?"

The merchant assured the Beast that he had, in fact, three progeny.

The Beast quirked a small, bitter smile. "Here, then, is how I will forgive you your crime. Bring me your youngest son. He can die in your place. He must, however, come willingly. Should he refuse, return to me in three months." The face of the monster grew as impassive and implacable as that of any statue. "I will know whether the youth is of your blood or not, so do not attempt to trick me. And do not think to avoid my punishment. I reach out far to strike those who have wronged me."

There was no way Dorlian would ever allow this terrible Beast to kill his favorite child, his beautiful Duo. Gladly would he offer up his life in place of his son's. "Of the rose?" Dorlian blurted out, immediately cursing himself for the irrelevance of such a question.

The Beast shrugged, a precise gesture. "She is dead. Bring her to your son. Perhaps he will enjoy her beauty as much as I did." He looked down on the merchant without emotion. "And stop groveling. Get up and find your horse."

Dorlian rose on shaky knees, his heart pounding. "I promise you I will return, my lord Beast. I am a man of honor."

"The day grows old, merchant." The Beast glanced at him once more from his lofty height, then turned and walked away, his walk the lithe stalk of a wolf at the hunt.