The next morning, Alec was very excited to see Lucinda again. He quickly got up and ran into the forest, looking for her.
"Now let's see. She said her tree would be over….here!" He grinned, picking up a scent.
At that moment, he ran and saw the beautiful and large tree that was her home and could only stand in awe. It was one of the largest and most beautiful trees he had ever seen. The branches were long and thick and magic floated everywhere!
"Wow…it's beautiful!" He said, now walking up to the door of the tree and knocking on it.
No answer.
"Hmmm…that's strange. She said she would be home today," He thought out loud. He knocked again and once more nothing. "Perhaps if I call a bit louder."
He began to knock once more and this time called up. "Morning, Lucinda! I'm here; we're still meeting today aren't we?"
"Just a minute!" a voice yelled. He was a bit confused. The voice sounded younger than Lucinda's did the night before.
"Wonder what's going on with her voice," Alec thought. But when the door opened, his blue eyes met the large and horrified eyes of Lucinda's sister, Meadow.
"B-B-B-B-B-B-B…"
"Meadow…easy…" Alec said calmly, gesturing with his large, furry hands for her to calm down.
"BEAST! GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
And with that, Meadow ran running back into the tree for dear life. Alec saw her carrying a picnic basket.
"Meadow! Wait!" Alec called, now getting down on all fours and chasing after her.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She begged.
"Not until we talk! Calm down!" Alec said, now gaining on her. He dove to catch her, but she used her wings to fly up. Alec landed in a heap in the corner.
Alec lifted his face up and spit out a pillow because he landed among many multicolored pillows.
"Slow down Meadow, before you get hurt!" Alec got up to chase after her again. Meadow, in her panic, began to fly high into the top of the tree, but Alec used his claws to dig into the sides of the tree and climb up after her. It wasn't damaging the walls or sides of the tree so that was the good thing!
Meadow heard sound of crunching wood and looked down! She squeaked in terror as she saw Alec gaining on her quickly and he had no intention of letting her get away this time.
"C'mon Meadow! Please don't run away," Alec coaxed, now chasing after her more.
"B-Beasts are dangerous!" Meadow squeaked, she flew off the tree and held tightly to her basket.
"Not all of us are; some of us can be pretty cool if you let us have a chance to meet you." Alec said.
Meadow looked very unsure. "You're...not going to hurt me? Or eat me?"
"No! Of course not!" Alec retorted. "I maybe a beast, but I'm not a monster!"
Meadow gasped whenever she heard a rumbling noise. Alec put a hand over his stomach. "Sorry, I didn't have breakfast." Alec groaned a little. "Man, I'm starved." He sniffed the air and smelled something tasty coming from Meadow's basket. "Hey, is that toast?! With jam?!"
"Uh, yeah." Meadow nodded slowly. "You...want some?"
"Sure!" Alec barked.
"Better the toast than me." Meadow said beneath her breath. She hovered down. "Come on, I was just to have a picnic outside."
Alec climbed down the tree and followed Meadow to her backyard and was amazed by the sight. A blanket was spread out in a picture perfect clearing.
"Wow! You have an amazing yard!" Alec said, seeing the lush grass and tress. Butterflies of every color fluttered around the beautiful spot.
"T-Thanks." Meadow tucked a lock of purple hair behind her ear. "Let's have a seat."
The fairy and the beast sat on the blanket. "I made toast with wild berry jam, rose petal tea, and pixie dust muffins."
She took out the food and almost dropped them when she saw Alec drooling.
"Oops! Sorry!" Alec wiped his mouth with his furry arm.
Meadow poured the tea into delicate tea cups and handed one to Alec. "Thanks!" Alec picked up the cup, but he held it too tightly and it broke in his hands.
"Oh, no!" Alec cried. "I'm so sorry! I don't know my own strength!"
To his surprise, Meadow smiled. "It's okay." She wiggled her hands and her teacup floated towards her. "It happens to me all the-"
Meadow's cup broke to pieces. Alec ducked to avoid the flying shards.
"Poisoned apples! I goofed again! I'm so sorry!" Meadow exclaimed. "Are you alright?!"
Alec looked up. "Yeah, no harm done."
Meadow dipped her head. "I'm still trying to get levitation right. It's not as easy as it looks."
"I know what you mean." Alec said. "I just turned into a beast a few days ago. So I have a long way to go before I get the hang of this. Then I'll be able to turn back to a human."
"Yeah, I heard about that beast curse..." Meadow said. "I gotta say, you're pretty nice for a beast. I always thought beasts were big and scary tough guys, y'know?"
"Yeah, when I saw my grandpa, I actually fainted! But he's actually a nice guy! In fact, I'm really starting to get into this magic world! It's like being in a Disney movie!"
"Disney?" Meadow rolled the strange word in her mouth. "What's Disney?"
"Seriously?! You've never heard of Disney?!" Alec couldn't believe his ears!
Meadow shook his head. "No, and what's a movie? Is it a spell of some kind?"
"No, a movie is, well, it's like storytelling but with moving pictures." Alec explained.
Meadow's eyes grew wide with wonder. "Pictures that move?! So it's magic?! Is Disney the incantation?!"
Alec laughed. He couldn't help it. "No, no. Here, I'll show you." He reached into his pocket and took out his phone and pulled up his YouTube app.
With it, he showed Meadow a clip from the Beauty and the Beast movie.
"Yikes!" Meadow hid behind Alec. "That's one scary beast!"
"Yeah, but the whole point of the movie is that true beauty lies within." Alec said.
Meadow was completely amazed. "Wow...to think, moving pictures all within this magic box! Are you a beast or a warlock?!"
"No, just a beast." Alec put his phone away. He looked and Meadow. And Meadow looked at him.
Meadow held her hand out. "Can I...feel your fur?"
Alec smiled. "Sure."
Meadow reached out and stroked Alec's thick mane. "Oh...it's so soft!" Her hand traveled to under Alec's chin and he smiled a little bigger.
"Mmm..." Alec said. "Can you...keep doing that?"
Meadow paused, then continued to scratch Alec under his chin.
Alec purred happily and Meadow giggled. Guess she was wrong about beasts all along.
"ALEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEC!" A terrifying roar boomed throughout the forest.
Alec jumped and fell on top of Meadow.
"OOOFFF!" All Meadow could see and feel was brown fur.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Alec said, getting up and brushing Meadow off. "That must be my grandpa! I better get going!"
"Okay!" Meadow said. "But maybe...you can visit again? If you want to, I mean..."
"Sure! I'd love to!" Alec said. "See you around, Meadow!" He got on all fours and took off running.
Meadow watched Alec take off. She smiled and put a hand on her heart.
newbienovelistRD: Hope you're liking the story so far!
To guestsurprise: Let's talk about future projects in a different story, Amiga! ;)
