Aftermath
"What are you doing? I'm not sick you know, and also it's usually a cool towel not a hot one," Matthew said, his voice a moan. Daniel flipped backwards off his chair in surprise at hearing the prince speak, taking the towel with him. Belle laughed at the sight of her brother flying backwards with a slightly disgruntled prince badgering him. She only had a slight 'wait...' moment before she realized what had happened. She gazed at Matthew's face for a bit before she realized Daniel was speaking, the prince was even more handsome than she remembered. His hair hung in wet curls about his shoulders like a dark brown cascade. His piercing blue eyes finally fit his face, which had become a slightly oblong triangle. His cheek bones were high and fine, but still strong. His nose was, for lack of a better term, perfectly sculpted. The mouth which formed the berating words was expressive and well formed. He was built a bit more solidly than Daniel and, if appearances were the only judge, he could have taken the captain down.
"If I might make an interjection here, my prince, seeing as I am the Captain of the Castle Guard, as well as your training master, your safety and well being are mine to look after. Now, if you don't relax and lay flat I'll be forced to pin you down," Daniel said fiercely, pinning his prince down with a withering glare. Belle smiled wider.
"Do you really have an army at your command, Daniel?" she said suddenly. He turned to her and said,
"Technically, yes, I do, Isabelle." Matthew turned and said,
"I thought it was you." Isabelle smiled and said, with a hint of laughter,
"So did I!" It was at that moment that Matthew noticed that they were in his room and on his bed, a respectable distance apart seeing as it was big enough for three people and they were on the edges.
"How did my bed get fixed? Why is the chamber completely repaired? Why does my voice sound so different?" Isabelle giggled. "Why are you laughing?" the disoriented and disgruntled prince asked, his puzzled expression enough to make even Daniel smile. Isabelle wisely stifled her giggles and said,
"Sorry, it is just that you fire off questions without letting people answer. Also, it just strikes me as funny to see a handsome prince startle the man I have come to call brother. The same man who stood up to Harrison Gaston on my behalf, and got beaten quiet badly as well." Matthew shoot Daniel a look before snapping his head back around to Isabelle.
"Did you just say what I thought you said?" he asked, an indescribable look on his face, though it might have been something like shock.
"If you think I said that I have come to call Daniel 'brother', then yes." Matthew, or Prince Matthew as we must now call him, opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before realizing that he had nothing to say and stopped. Daniel chuckled and said,
"You were thinking it would be someone who could protect her better, were you not?" The look on Prince Matthew's face at that comment was impossible to describe so I shall simply call it priceless.
"Who could protect her better than you?" the prince shot back to the smirking Captain.
"Someone who didn't get all the memories of fighting locked away?" Daniel said, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to stand in a rather carefree stance.
"Got a point there," Prince Matthew conceded, bowing his head slightly, a mockingly serious look on his face.
"I thought that you would have picked up on that little tid bit when Isabelle said that I got beat by HARRISON. You handled him quiet well, and with rather little effort," Daniel said easily, batting the proverbial ball back into the prince's court. Matthew grimaced.
"I was a monster with unusual strength." Daniel scoffed and tossed his head to the side, just a little.
"Harrison is a strong man," he pointed out, though his tone said he was beginning to think it was a losing battle.
"Yes, but I did have a bit of an upper hand," Matthew was quick to point out, modesty simply pouring off of him.
"BOYS!" shouted Isabelle, causing the bickering males to turn to her in surprise. "Could we save that for later and answer Prince Matthew's questions?" she asked. Once she saw their heads nod in agreement, she launched into a complicated explanation. "My mother added this little spin. She knew Daniel was on leave with his family in Tale's Wood Village, so she sent me there after she locked my memories so that I wouldn't come here until the time was right. She knew that you would trash your room so she made it so that when I said I loved you and Daniel had remembered himself your castle would return to the way it was right before she cast her spell. See, even your mother's mirror is back." He turned and saw that she was right, except that there was another mirror, and it showed three shining figures.
"Wait, do you mean that your mother is the Enchantress who cast the curse?"
"Yes, I finally know exactly who I am. She started making locks even before you met me. She's better than I gave her credit for." Matthew looked at her and asked,
"How is that? Making locks before we met doesn't mean she's much better," Matthew asked, thoroughly lost. Laughing, Isabelle explained.
"Years ago, my mother was married to a fisherman. When my father died at sea, mother went out to look for him. Somehow she got lost and ended up at your castle. Your father greeted her, leading her to a chair before the fire. My mother asked that kind king if something was troubling him. He told her that his daughter and his wife were sick and close to death. She gave the two some of her curing soup, yet the queen became sick five weeks later and passed the threshold to the afterlife. Yet before this occurred, the king said to mother that his first born son was to be wed to her daughter as payment for her kindness. She returned to my aunt's home, had me, left for seven years, came back and told me my mother was dead, locking the memories I had of her face. She consoled me by saying that the daughter of the lady of Finwright Valley needed a handmaiden. Then, nine years later, on my sixteenth birthday, my mistress told me that we were going to a ball. Before we left, she gave me a lavender dress and one of her old circlets. It was at that ball that I met you, a charming, handsome, cruel prince who was extremely odd. You frightened me, and yet, you enchanted me as well. After we left, Lady Eirena wanted to go pick up a book from the Dryad's Tale Bookstore, the best around. She left me to wander the streets. I met a nice young man at the village well. Daniel. He encouraged me to talk about my past. I didn't know it then, but mother was pretty much taking my memories and shoving them into little compartments as I talked about them. I lived with Daniel and his father right up to the time I met you for a second time. By this point I had no idea who you were but I did have strange dreams about your castle as, one by one, mother broke her locks. I painted that painting you have hanging there during that time. Then, when father was on his way to the inventor's fair and conference, mother nudged him here so that I would come after him. Since I had given you that hint before I left, you let him stay. And so ends that tale." Daniel was trying to keep from letting his emotions rule his face. Matthew noticed and stated,
"You care for Isabelle, don't you." Daniel looked him straight in the eye and said,
"Like a sister." A knock resounded through the castle. "Speaking of which, I believe that is princess Elizabeth at the doors now. I would know her knock anywhere," Daniel added with a smirk. Matthew vaulted off of the bed and dashed to the door.
"Wonder why he's in such a hurry," said Isabelle.
"Why don't you come with me and see," offered Daniel, watching Isabelle carefully as she slid off the bed. Daniel had to catch her just before she hit the floor.
"Oops! Forgot that I passed out. Thank you, Daniel." The two walked out after Matthew, Daniel supporting Isabelle slightly. Lumière opened the door just as Matthew got to the stairs, greeting the Princess with obvious joy. He swallowed and the proceeded to make a dignified descent to greet his sister.
"Matthew! I am so glad to see you! It has been so horrible. How are you, are you recovered from passing out? I thought I heard you scream with pain, are you OK?" Isabelle snickered as she watched her Prince Charming get bombarded with questions by his older half sister. Elizabeth turned and saw Isabelle standing there. She smiled brilliantly and rushed over to her, catching her in a bear hug. "I am so glad you came Isabelle! If you had never come, I would still fear my brother! You have broken the curse and returned to the land a king to rule it. Yet, I would like a full account of what happened here, and don't gloss anything over, at least not too much."
"Well, it all started years ago when Matthew closed his gates..." With that, Isabelle told the whole tale, Matthew and the servants adding things so as to make sure that it was a true account. When the story was done, Elizabeth sat back, reeling. She looked at her brother, a new light of respect shining in her eyes, and said,
"No wonder you wrote to me. You were getting in over your head weren't you. To bad that letter never got to me until things were almost over." Daniel stifled a chuckle and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to smother his smile. Isabelle shot a reproachful look his way. Surprisingly, it had the same effect it had had from day one. It made him stand straight and fixed his giggles. The two royals turned unbelieving faces to her. She smiled and said,
"Sisters, we know how to straighten out the others."
"Even when 'the others' could knock you out with one hit?" Her smile took on a sinister look, like a vampire, and she said,
"Especially then, because they don't know what the sister knows." Matthew and Elizabeth decided to slip off before it escalated much more, plus they had a lot of caching up to do. The royals were almost to the stairs when Marice and Chip walked in the door.
"Belle! ... Who is that man standing behind you?" Marice asked. Isabelle and Daniel smiled and were about to introduce him, when Matthew said,
"I am the one who locked you up. If it would help any, I would be honored if you would stay a few nights with us. Family Tavagonio has never been called inhospitable, for more than three months that is." Maurice gaped at him.
"Tavagonio? As in the royal family? So you're that prince Daniel was jabbering about three years ago." Belle and Daniel, as well as Elizabeth, smiled and chuckled to themselves. Matthew bowed and said,
"I am indeed the 'mad prince' as I believe it was. Though perhaps I may not be so mad this year. And might I say, happy New Year's everyone!" Matthew replied. The hall reverberated with the cheers of the servants.
"Happy New Year's indeed, Matthew." All eyes were turned to the door where an enchantress stood; a smiling enchantress. "Isabelle, darling, how nice to finally be able to talk to you. I have been wanting to reveal myself to you for ever so long. I must admit, I was surprised when you gave my mirror to Matthew. Why did you do that?" Belle smiled sheepishly and said,
"I wanted him to know that I cared for him. Your mirror was the one thing I had left of you, and it always gave me the strength I needed. I thought it would help him. Did he ever look at it?" Elisa smiled and said,
"Yes dear, he looked at it. He saw three shining people in it when he woke up after reverting the castle back to normal, with your help of course. He couldn't have done it without you there." Belle blinked.
"Do you mean that I have some of your gift, and Matthew was the one who fixed the castle?" she asked. Her mother laughed.
"Darling, you have it all. You simply never knew it, nor how to use it. And yes, Matthew was the one who fixed the inside of the castle, or rather fueled my spell. You fixed the castle exterior." Matthew sighed and walked off, leaving the happy pair to talk of magic. When he was far enough away from everyone, he started to run. He didn't care where he was going, he just ran. Matthew stopped and looked up to find that he was in front of the door to his parents sitting room. It opened to his touch, warm light spilling out of the gap. He took a steadying breath and walked in. His father's chair sat before the fire, right where its owner had left it. He walked over and sat in it. His emotions were running away with him, so he didn't notice Elisa coming and sitting next to him. He felt a tingle and opened his eyes. There in front of him was his father's face, but it was a little more like his own. The man was a leader, a true king. Matthew saw so much it was almost sensory over load. "This is what my daughter wanted you to see. This is how you were to her when she declared that she loved you. You know how this mirror made her feel, so how do you feel now?" she said. Matthew shook his head and said,
"I cannot even begin to understand what I saw, much less how I feel. Yet, I can tell you that I know what she meant about getting the strength to go on, thank you. I hated you at first, but now I see you wanted the best for your angel of a daughter." Elisa blinked a few times and smiled,
"I didn't see what was reflected, but boy, I can tell you that I think you learned your lesson better than I thought because that was a better response than I expected." He laughed, a true laugh, not his usual mirthless cough. Elisa was pleased. Her daughter would have the best.
Daniel walked. He didn't know where he was going, he just went. As his feet carried him, he thought of Elisa. She was actually a close friend of his, and he just couldn't get his head around what she had done. She had deceived her daughter and deprived more than a hundred minds of more than a hundred memories that helped make them what they were. A sigh drifted lazily though the garden where Captain Daniel Marcos Ivino stared forlornly at an amazing array of roses and daffodils. "Why do you sigh my friend? Are the aftereffects unpleasant, that is to say, is the prince still impossible to be with?" Elisa said, sliding to sit beside him. Daniel heard a dry, mirthless, cough of a laugh escape him.
"The prince is not the problem, Elisa, you are." In response to her slightly confused expression he clarified. "You have acted out of your own character. More than a hundred people and more than a hundred memories per person locked away. Elisa, I know you only wanted what was best for your daughter, but did you have to do this? I just don't know if you're the same person I knew back in the war. I have to know, are you the same woman who helped me stay alive when I was about an inch from death?" His words seemed to hit something in Elisa. Daniel quickly said, "I would not question you if I was not so totally conflicted I didn't know if my left boot was the same color as my right." This had the desired effect and made her smile.
"Captain, I am indeed the same woman. I have simply been though much and suffered amazing emotional pain. I wanted Matthew to learn to be more like his father," she said, willing him to understand her position. Daniel nodded, as if he had known all along that she would answer thus. She pulled out a hand mirror and showed it to him. He saw an imperfect reflection of himself. Imperfect as in he looked remarkably like his father yet with a few subtle differences. He saw a military leader, a counselor, an adviser. It felt that if you were at war, this was the guy you would go to if you had any questions or information for the military, and he was an excellent diplomat in any situation. He shook his head, marveling at what he had seen. He knew, without a doubt, that it was him. He just wondered if it showed a different time or the real time only twisted, like a fairytale. Elisa smiled and said, " I know what you're wondering. 'Can this be what I am, or is it what I will be.' I assure you, that is how you truly are. This mirror was enchanted to show a reflection of a person's heart. I did not see, and I do not want to see. It was for your eyes and your eyes only. Matthew had a glimpse of you, Isabelle, and himself, but all he saw was a bunch of glowing people."
"Thank you, Elisa. If your previous words hadn't proven who you were that certainly did the trick. I wish you the best of new year's. Stay and have some of Mrs. Potts' peach cobbler, it is positively divine." Elisa laughed and said that she had one more stop to make before the celebrations could be complete. Daniel nodded his understanding and walked about with a happier air about him. If any had seen him as he walked after his talk with the good enchantress, they would have seen an unexplained glow around him, as if he reflected the star and moonlight, mingling it with a strange golden radiance emanating from his person.
Isabelle took it all with a detached air. She felt like she was trapped in a dream and all the joy, all the happy faces, would dissipate at any moment. Matthew noticed and asked her if she would like some air. When she nearly collapsed against him, he took it as his cue to get her to a bed. He carried her to the the wing for vising nobility and placed her on the fluffy feather bed. That was where Elisa found her daughter, laying peacefully on a bed made for a noblewoman. She eased her self down next to Isabelle and told her to awake. "Where am I? What am I doing here? Who are you? What are you doing here?" Elisa laughed at her daughter's disorientated questions.
"You are in the castle of the family Tavagonio, in the nobility guest chambers I believe. I am your mother, Elisa. I am here to show you the mirror I left you. I know you have seen it many times, but this time might just be different. As to what you're doing here, I believe you fainted and Matthew carried you here to recover." Isabelle's shoulders shook. Elisa was inclined to say that she was laughing at it all.
"You've shown Matthew and Daniel I suppose? Well, I thank you, but I don't really need it."
"Darling, you fainted and Matthew had to carry you up here. If you don't need it now, honey, I don't know who does." Isabelle laughed and looked at the piece of silvery glass her mother held. A queen looked back at her. There was no other way to describe the woman looking back at her. This was a woman you could trust to run your country and run it well. She was a strong and independent woman who cared for her people. It was clear that she had lived as a farmer's daughter for she had a knowing look in her eyes.
"Mother, do you know why it shows me as a queen? It never did that before." Elisa smiled and replied,
"Isabelle, you were promised to Matthew when you were still in my womb. He was born two years later. It never showed you this because I didn't want you to see what you would be. You only saw what you needed, now you see the whole picture, minus your king." Isabelle thought for a moment and then hopped off the bed and hugged her mother.
"Thank you so much, now I'm going to return to my prince and dance with a lighter heart. Troubles will come but with Matthew by my side I will face them. I love you, even if I have never really known you." And so she did what she had said. It was a glorious day. Daniel had found his dress uniform, which still fit him perfectly. Likewise, Matthew was wearing the same blue vest, ivory colored, billowy sleeved shirt, dark pants and shiny black boots he had worn the night that he had met Isabelle, yet they seemed different, along with the fact that they fit him as a well muscled twenty-one year old. It was brighter, livelier, yet more somber and subdued. The two smiled at her, eyes shining. She danced with what seemed like every male in the castle. When everyone had headed off to bed, Matthew led Isabelle to the same garden that Daniel had confronted Elisa in. He sat her down on the same bench that his father had proposed to his mother. Kneeling, he gazed at her, his eyes reflecting the moon, and asked,
"Will you, Isabelle Francis Niovia, consent to marry me?" She stared at him, mouth open and eyes wide.
"You know that we were promised before you were born," she said, trying to buy more time for her mind to process her emotions. He sighed and shifted so that his knees wouldn't have to be resting on the cold flagstones.
"I had to ask you for myself. I didn't want you to marry me because of a promise my father made your mother, I want you to marry me for me." Isabelle was laughing, which caused Matthew's face to be a comical mix of joy and slightly offended confusion, which caused her to laugh harder. When she had finally calmed down, she said, laughter still ringing in her voice,
"Did you really have to ask? You know I've fallen head over heels for you. The answer is yes, yes of course I'll marry you," she said, having finally sorted out her emotions. His face simply radiated joy as he slipped the silver ring on her finger. She flung herself at him and hugged him so hard he couldn't get a breath. They planned the wedding carefully, until Elisa stepped in and planed it for them. The whole castle was a buzz with preparations. Finally, Elisa, who felt she would lose her mind if the love birds stayed and tried to figure out what was being planned for them any longer, sent the two off with Daniel and his father to stay at their home.
The preparations were complete and the happy two could return. It was a glorious day, the whole village of Tale's Wood was in attendance, along with what must have been half the kingdom. Elisa was beaming. Her only child was to marry the prince and become queen at his side. As the carriages that held the bride and groom rolled to a halt, Captain Daniel Marcos Ivino hopped down and opened the door for his Prince. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Prince Matthew. All is ready, if you would just follow me?" greeted Elisa, smiling brightly. Matthew laughed and said by way of reply,
"It's good to be back, but it's even better to hear you say that it's a pleasure to see me!" Everyone else joined in the laughter. They all remembered the first time the two had met. At last, the castle chapel was filled and the Prince was ready to be wed to his Princess. The crowd owed and awed at the sight of Isabelle and her maids walking up the aisle toward Matthew. The ceremony was quickly over and the happy couple dashed out to the ivory colored carriage and headed to the Elf's Tale Tavern for the reception.
"So, you married Isabelle. How do you feel now that you know she can't run from you in disgust?" Princess Elizabeth asked her half-brother. He simply smiled a dangerous looking smile and said,
"I knew all along that she would stay. The moment she looked me in the eye with defiance and determination all over her face I knew." His bride snorted and tossed the ball right back at him by saying,
"I thought it was when I gave you my word of honor to stay." Matthew turned to face her and said,
"If I may remind you, you fled in terror."
"You roared at me and, if your memory is flawed, you also bared your razor sharp claws. Who wouldn't be terrified?" The whole room was listening now, but the royal couple didn't seem to notice.
"Do I scare you now?" Matthew asked, leaning in and down ever so slightly.
"You grew. How could you grow under a spell?" Matthew grinned.
"Don't switch the subject, dearest. Do I scare you now?"
"The only thing about you that's scary is your uncanny resemblance to a rapier." The crowd blinked. How did he look like a sword? "You're tall, slender, quick, strong, and deadly. A rapier is long, it's more slender as well as quicker than a long sword, but just as strong. It has been folded and pounded many times and tempered by fire and water. A thrust or a slash can end your life. You, my Prince, have been through the fires of loss and battle and the rains of depression and imprisonment. A bow or a hand to hand weapon of any kind is deadly in your hands as you weld it with accuracy and skill. You are my sword, my prince, and my rose." Matthew blinked again and said,
"Is that really me? Oh well, if it is I'll just have to wrap myself in a blanket and have a drink to keep from wilting, pricking you with a thorn, or cutting off your fingers." The room echoed with laughter. As the Prince and his bride moved to get some punch, a young man with a build like Daniel's blocked their way. "What is it my good man?" asked Prince Matthew. The man stared, then said,
"I have come to apologize, my Prince." He swept a rather elegant bow. "I have done you and your bride a great disservice. Is there somewhere we may speak away from prying ears?" Matthew nodded and said,
"We have the use of the back room, if you would follow me?" The man nodded and Matthew took Isabelle's hand. Once in the back room, and the Prince and Isabelle were seated, the man began to tell his tale.
"I am the son of Gordan Gaston," he began, and was forced to stop by the out break of disbelieving remarks from the two royals. "It is true, I am Harrison. If you would like my story, please let me speak." This had the desired effect of quieting the two. "As you know, the enchantress, Elisa, locked away hundreds of memories in each person's mind for miles around when she cast her spell over the Prince and his castle. What you don't know is that when Isabelle entered the town after that fateful ball, Elisa started to lock my memories and that it affected my intelligence. After only four days, the locks were complete and my brain had been tossed into an under water prison and the key was thrown far away. It took the better part of seven years for us to find that key. You know what that key was, do you not?"
"My love," said Isabelle. Harrison nodded.
"Yes. When you admitted your love to the Prince, I got my brain back. I also got changed to this by Elisa. I believe she meant it as punishment, but I take it as a way for me to move about and observe things without people calling out or attempting to do me harm." The two agreed that it was for the best. Harrison rejoined the party with them and quietly slipped off, blending effortlessly in with the crowd. He sought out La Fou, whom he found sitting at a table staring blankly into his ale. He looked horrible. Obviously miserable, the little man was unkempt and had doubtless been trying to wash away his sorrow with strong drink. It twisted Harrison's heart to see his friend in such a state. "Why so glum friend?" he asked, pulling up a chair. La Fou replied, still gazing into his mug,
"My best and only friend has fallen to his doom. There is nothing I know how to do, except be a hunter's caddy, but without Harrison around I doubt that there would be a single hunter who would want me." Harrison wished he could tell La Fou it was him, but he stuck by his plan of getting La Fou less dependent on him.
"I'm a hunter. I left my old town and my caddy stayed with his family. You could work with me, if you like," he offered. The little man's eyes lit up like a fire.
"Of course I would like that! It's the only thing I've done most of my life!" Watching his friend enjoying the prospect of a job with a new hunter made Harrison reluctant to drop the hammer, but he knew he had to.
"Well, I won't always be here. I'm also a bit of a traveling bard."
"That's OK. I'll go with you."
"You can't come with me. I just couldn't ask you to do that. Anyways, I will be here for a year at least."
"Seems like an awful long time for a traveling bard to stay in one place," commented La Fou.
"Yes, but I hear there are quite a few legends here abouts. It will take a while for me to learn them by heart." The little man nodded, accepting that as a plausible reason to stay for a whole year.
"Well, at least I have a way to pay the bills while I read my father's brewing notes as well and experiment with different techniques." Harrison nodded. This was good, very good. He was about to say good bye, when he realized that he couldn't stay at his house when everyone thought that he was someone from far away. "Do you have a place to stay?" asked La Fou. Harrison shook his head. "You can stay at my place. There is plenty of room." Harrison smiled and said,
"You are most kind. Call me James, James Smith," while reaching out his hand to La Fou.
"La Fou, Garin La Fou." Garin and James, as I shall call Harrison until he returns to normal, shook hands and went to Garin's house. In the morning, James rose early and made breakfast for himself and his host. Garin stumbled down the stairs, and stopped, staring wide eyed at his new employer who was holding a tray of eggs and toast.
"Morning! I thought we should start out right. I would hate it if we were on bad terms before we even got to know each other a little." Garin almost wept. "Hey now! Why the the long face friend?" James called, concern on his face.
"I have never had someone make me breakfast before." James gave him a sharp look.
"Your mother never cooked you breakfast? Your father never cooked? You have always cooked your own food?"
"My parents don't count," Garin reported. James nodded his understanding and continued his work on their breakfast. Garin sat down at the table and was joined shortly by James. Garin La Fou watched as his new employer prayed over the food he had prepared. After he was finished, James tucked into the cheesy eggs, crispy bacon, and warm toast with butter with gusto. As the day proceeded, Garin could tell that this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship and the rest of his life.
A/N: Well, if you're reading this, it mean you survived. Or you just skipped to the end. Thanks for reading anyway, and please leave a review. This was the first fanfic I ever wrote after all. And don't worry, we're nearing the end. Later! Regenengel3