Chapter 29: Reunion
The ballroom was crowded with people, at least from the volume of sound. Cece pulled herself closer to Bastien self-consciously. She had never been in so crowded a place.
"Don't worry," Bastien whispered in her ear. "You'll be fine."
Cece nodded weakly. She didn't feel much like herself tonight, especially after nearly three hours of preparation. A virtual army of maids had entered her room shortly after dinner and begun scrubbing, combing, dressing, and otherwise grooming her until she felt encased in a prettier, softer version of armor. Besides perhaps her wedding gown, this was the most uncomfortable of her dresses, and when combined with the stiffness of her hair and her complete inability to move her face, the ensemble was nearly unbearable.
"I'll make a fool of myself," she hissed back. "I can barely move in this dress, let alone dance. I must look like a complete idiot."
"You look beautiful. And if you do make a fool of yourself, what does it matter? We can't very well call off the wedding now."
He spoke truly. The wedding was barely a week away. The assembled crowd consisted of whatever nobleman could make it on such short notice which, it so happened, appeared to be most of the nobles. The dresses were finished, the dishes were ordered, the gifts had been purchased, and the portions of the palace that were to be used in the celebration had been cleaned and marginally decorated. The marriage of a prince, especially the Crown Prince, was an occasion for enormous celebration.
"I'll have to live around these people for the rest of my life," Cece whispered anxiously. "If I ruin my first impression, I'll ruin any chance I have of ever being accepted by them."
"Will you stop worrying? You're ruining your makeup. And besides, you at least have an excuse if you make a blunder, don't you?"
Cece frowned. She didn't like the easy way he referred to her blindness as an "excuse". It seemed unlike him. That is, unlike the Bastien she had fallen in love with.
What's he so worried about?
The guards at the wall had been watching the huge lumbering bear for nearly an hour now. It appeared to be injured, or sick, or blind, because it stumbled into things and roared amusingly.
"Should we put it out of its misery?" asked one, a lanky blond who had only been with the company a few months.
"Nah," replied his companion. "You'll regret it if you do. It's a rare thing when we see something so entertaining." Not since the Princess Imogene disappeared, he thought. Now that had been entertainment.
The bear continued to lumber toward the castle, and it was only when he got within five hundred feet of the castle that the guards realized that the beast was no bear at all, but some sort of monster. The older man immediately sent the younger for Isaac.
Isaac and the younger guard arrived as quickly as possible. A real danger to the castle was a rarity, and therefore a cause for agitation. The captain brought with him a company of archers to shoot the beast down before it could get any closer. They approached the walls with their bows at the ready, but waited for the captain's command. The older guard gestured at the beast, which had lain practically unmoving for the past few moments, seemingly exhausted.
"It's sick or wounded, whatever it is," the guard said disdainfully. "I say we put it out of its misery."
The archer company commander fired the first shot, a warning shot that hit the ground a few feet in front of the beast. He hoped to get the beast to run, so his archers could have more of a challenge in shooting a moving target. They saw little enough action as it was, and at least they could bring back a few fading skills this way.
What happened, however, was totally different from what the commander had expected.
The beast jerked its head up and called, in a human voice, "Don't shoot! Please!"
"Hold fire!" Isaac and the commander hollered in unison. A talking beast- something even rarer, and something the king would like to see.
"Please," the beast said, "I'm looking-" it paused to catch its breath- "for the Lady Eirian."
To the commander's surprise, Isaac grinned. "A talking beast, looking for a lady," he said quietly. "He's come for her."
The commander looked at him questioningly. "Who's come for who?"
Isaac beckoned to a young man, Bartholomew, who had followed him to the wall. "Stay here, lad," he said, "and make sure no one harms that creature. I'll be back in a moment."
The young man nodded, and Isaac headed off to the castle.
Bastien was across the ballroom getting Cece a glass of water after a lively- and clumsy, on her part- dance. He had left her sitting next to a large pillar, where she was unlikely to be bothered while he was gone. But when he turned around, he noticed a man whispering in her ear. He was furious until he realized the man was Isaac, but then he became apprehensive. What did Isaac have to say to Cece that didn't concern him? He hurried across the room and handed Cece her glass of water as he asked, "What's going on?"
"There's a beast at the gate looking for me," Cece said, amused, as if this were some joke of Bastien's. But Bastien was frozen in horror. Everything could begin unraveling now. He could lose Cece.
"Isaac, may I speak to you?" he asked, his voice sharp. The older man pulled him aside, out of Cece's hearing range.
"Is it the one from the castle?" Bastien asked.
"I believe it is."
"Why didn't you just kill it?"
"It came for her, my lord. I had to give it a chance."
"Well, she can't see it! This could ruin everything! What if it convinces her to leave?"
"And what if she doesn't remember? My lord, I believe this will be harmless," Isaac said calmly.
"You think she should meet this thing?"
"I do, my lord. And if you won't take her to it, I will."
Bastien frowned. "Very well," he said slowly. "But if anything should change-"
"It's my fault. Yes, sir, I know."
They rejoined Cece, who had finished her water and was leaning against the pillar. She looked so lovely in her court gown, more beautiful than Bastien could have ever imagined. If he should lose her now…
"Isaac seems to think this beast is harmless," he forced himself to say cheerily. "Let's go meet it, then."
The Beast lifted his head when he heard the ripple of movement shoot through the soldiers. He could see, distantly, a woman who could have been Eirian, leaning gently on the arm of a man who looked familiar, even from this distance. He had a way of carrying himself that felt like something the Beast knew, like someone he had once seen often but never really known.
But as soon as the woman came into focus, his mind latched on her and her alone. It was she, it was Eirian, and she had come for him!
"The Lady Cecelia is here," the third man announced. His words seemed directed at the Beast, although addressed to all the soldiers.
The woman looked highly confused and stared unblinkingly into the distance. Why won't you look at me? the Beast thought. Am I that much of a shame to you? Then he remembered- outside of the castle, Eirian was blind. She couldn't see him, and if she couldn't see him, how would she ever recognize him?
Cece had very little idea what was going on. She was aware of two things- Bastien's arm under her fingers and that it was very cold outside. A beast wanted to see her? What had she ever had to do with beasts?
Then she heard a rasping voice murmur, "Eirian," and suddenly everything came back. The Beast. The castle. And suddenly forefront, that Bastien had lied to her. But then the enormity of the situation washed over her. The Beast was here. Outside of the castle. Where he would die, was probably dying now.
"Oh, no," she whispered, and let her feet take her to the Beast's side. "Why did you come?" she murmured into his fur. He smelled like the woods outside the city, and a little bit like home.
"I had to," the Beast whispered back.
Cece felt a hand on her shoulder- Bastien's, most likely. "Please leave us," she said. "Take your men." She heard the faint rattle of armor as the men paced away.
"A man came to the castle. He told me that you lost your memory."
"What man?"
"A doctor. He said the man you were going to marry lied so you wouldn't remember me."
A sob rose in Cece's throat. "He did," she said, choked.
"I saw you, in the mirror. You looked happy, and you were getting married. I thought maybe you lied."
"I did lie. My father wasn't sick. Bastien- the prince, the one I was to marry- was coming to kill you. I went to stop him. I meant to come back-"
The Beast hushed her. "'Was to marry'?" he asked. "You're not marrying him anymore?"
She could picture the smile on his face, and for once was glad for her blindness. She couldn't see the way he looked now.
"Eirian?"
"What?"
"I love you," the Beast said, so softly she wasn't sure she'd heard.
"I know you do," she replied, burying her face in his fur. He smelled like woods and a little bit like home.
"Do you- do you love me?"
"You must ask?"
"Please."
"Of course I love you, Beast," she whispered, so softly she wasn't sure she'd actually said anything.
With those words, everything changed.
Bastien stood a fair distance away, watching anxiously. He couldn't see much in the gloom, but he could tell that Cece was upset, more upset than he'd ever seen her. She leaned in to the creature, and all of a sudden a bright light engulfed both of them. He jumped forward, but the light was gone in a flash and Bastien found himself stumbling along blindly. When his vision finally cleared, he saw Cece with her arms around a prone man. The monster was gone.
"Cece!" he cried. "What happened?"
She didn't look up from the man's face. "Take him inside," she said brusquely. "Call a physician for him. He is under my care."
She watched as a few of the guards lifted the man and began to carry him inside, and then she brushed Bastien aside and followed.
He stood there, dumbfounded, for a few moments, then remembered his guests and forced himself to return to the ball. He explained that Cece had been taken with a headache and retired early.
In fact, it wasn't until much later that he remembered how confidently Cece had walked off- almost as if she could see.
Sorry this took so long. I was on vacation and just got to this now.
Some of this seems a little awkward, mostly because I wrote it so long ago. Of course I edited it, but it's still different-ish.
Oh yeah. And we have climax. So we're almost done, right? Sadly, I can definitely squeeze at least 2-3 more chapters out of this. Hahaha. I am so not ready for this to end...
Reviews appreciated!
!--Mazzie--!
