The three Beasts stared at Arabella and stopped walking. Arabella stopped, but doing so without notice. Her eyes were glued onto the Kingdom of Beauties. They were so close to returning to the kingdom with no plan at hand. The idea made Arabella's insides churn until she thought she was going to be sick.
"Arabella," Keeble's soft voice distracted her from her thoughts. She looked up at him and smiled instantly. He was more beautiful than any Beauty she had ever seen. Hair white as snow, skin the color of cream, and eyes the more extraordinary color of pale grey – Arabella didn't even think of him as an albino anymore.
Okram cleared his voice. "You know you have to go in by yourself," he told Arabella, and her expression was a clearly shocked one.
"What?" she asked, "No, no please don't do this to me! I can't go in myself."
"Yes you can," Okram reminded her boldly, "you know the guards and citizens can't do anything to you. You're safe."
"How am I safe when entering the kingdom by myself is pretty much walking to my death?" demanded Arabella. The edges of her eyes started to sting and she couldn't help but wonder if she was about to cry again.
Suddenly, Ladalee let out a gruff laugh. "You three are all so melodramatic," she rolled her beady eyes. "Honestly Arabella, do you think we would have followed you all the way out here just to say goodbye? If you don't remember, Okram had a set of his own plans that he still has to fulfill." The Beast than rolled her eyes and muttered, "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only practical one here."
Arabella felt her mouth drop slightly. Recently she had thought that Okram's plan was the same as Thorix until Keeble had told her otherwise without actually telling her his plans. "So, what are Okram's plans?" Arabella asked, then after a pause added, "You three will never get into the kingdom. King Roo will make sure nothing else will walk through those gates after I do."
"Who said we're walking through the gates?" a voice came from the dark. Startled, Arabella snapped around, afraid that someone had found them. When she realized who it was though, she knew she had no reason to be afraid anymore.
"Do you know another way to get inside the palace?" Arabella asked, grinning.
"Your mother did, and luckily she showed me. If you can't go through the palace, might as well used the tunnels and go under." With a wink, Raiven grinned back.
Thorix escorted Arabella back to the palace. He gripped onto her wrist with great firmness, so much that Arabella's hand began to go numb. "So you thought you could get away," he stated as he pulled Arabella after him. He then laughed with disgust.
"Well, I was the one who returned," Arabella pointed out. After receiving a glare from Thorix, Arabella decided to say nothing else.
They returned to the palace, and Arabella was wrong to think she was going to be locked in her room once again. Thorix led her down hallways she had not been shown yet, until at the end of the hallway were a pair of large wooden doors. They were tall and beautiful with large brass handles. On the doors were tiny carvings, and Arabella saw very quickly that every creature had been carved on. Everything from the Beauties to the Beasts. Everything but Arabella.
Thorix burst through the doors and the two of them entered a large room. It looked like a ballroom, with a smooth marble floor and grand chandeliers on the ceiling. At the end of the room was a spectacular gold throne. Sitting in the throne was a not so spectacular Beauty; King Roo.
"I've been alive for two long," he croaked as Thorix and Arabella approached him, "let us get this over with quickly." King Roo had put a large, golden crown on his head. On his back he had thrown on a thick red robe and held a staff in his left hand. Arabella supposed this was supposed to make him look like a kind, strong king, but the skin sagging off of his face proved otherwise.
Swallowing, Arabella asked nervously, "What do I have to do?"
"Nothing, really," the King responded, rising to his feet. "We have Thorix as a witness, so all you have to do is get down on one knee. I will place the crown on your head, allowing you to be Queen."
Thorix and King Roo both stared at Arabella, who continued to stand in her place. "Well what are you doing?" snapped Thorix. He sounded anxious.
Arabella glanced around the room, looking for signs of the Beasts. There was nothing. Voice wobbling, she managed to say, "I-I'm not ready y-yet."
King Roo rolled his eyes as Thorix yelled, "You don't need to be ready for anything." He grabbed onto Arabella's shoulders and shoved her down on one knee. He kept his hands on her shoulders as King Roo began the ceremony.
"Usually," King Roo began, "I would say some long speech about how proud I am of you and all that terribly dull stuff. But I am not proud of you, Arabella. You have disgraced the family name, and we both know you won't be queen for long."
"King Roo, please, don't do this," Arabella begged, shaking her head frantically. The King ignored her.
"I, King Roo, pass this crown, this throne, and this Kingdom, to the rightful heir, Arabella." Lifting the crown off of his head, he placed it onto Arabella's own shaking one. It was a heavy thing, causing Arabella's head droop slightly. Nonetheless, it seemed to suction onto her and did not fall off.
Looking up, Arabella was terrified with what she saw. Roo – for that was all he was now – had raised his arms out to the sides. Closing his eyes, he smiled and let out a sigh that echoed throughout the room. His body began to tremble and then slowly began to disintegrate. It was as if he had been made up of nothing more than dust, and now he was finally falling apart. "What a great joy it is to just give up and die at last," his voice sounded like a whisper, but bounced off of the walls anyways.
"King Roo!" Arabella screamed as she rose to her feet, but before she could reach out to him, he exploded into dust. It floated in the air briefly before it began to float down to the floor ever so slowly. Staring where Roo had been standing only seconds before, Arabella couldn't help but let out a distraught sob.
"Oh don't cry Arabella," Thorix spoke slowly as he crept up beside her, "or should I say, Queen Arabella. My favourite part coming up." Eyes locked with Arabella's, he let out a low laugh. "My turn."