Hey, guys! So, the trailer for the live-action Beauty and the Beast is finally out and I am SO excited. Watching the trailer made me want to work on this story, so here I am! Thank you for the reviews last chapter. I'm glad that you guys seem to be enjoying reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.


And so the Dragon King waited. He waited for the one who could break the curse and set him free…

Alissa sighed as she closed the worn cover of her favorite book and slid it back into her knapsack. Ugh! That damned ending never ceases to make me mad! I wish I could know what happened to the Dragon King! I wish I could know if someone set him free. A sudden knock on the front door pulled her from her thoughts. That must be Mr. Olsman to pick up Greta's birthday gift, she thought as she pulled herself off of the couch. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find, not Mr. Olsman, but a familiar pink haired suitor.

"Oh, Zigfried," Alissa greeted, forcing a polite smile onto her face. "What a…uh…pleasant surprise."

"It's nice to see you too, Darling," he replied, misinterpreting her words and pushing his way past her and into her home.

"Please come in," she muttered to herself sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She closed the door and entered the sitting room to find the pink haired man already lounging comfortably on the sofa. He had kicked off his riding boots and propped his feet up on the ottoman in front of the couch. After looking at him, Alissa realized that the conceited, pink haired man was dressed much fancier than usual. He wore blush colored, silk breeches with rose gold buttons down the sides of the legs and holding the fall front in place at his front. He wore a matching breasted jacket and waistcoat with roses embroidered in gold thread on the shoulders.

"I'll never understand how you can live in such a place, Alissa," he replied, looking distastefully around the sitting room.

"I'm perfectly fine with living here, thank you."

"A woman like you deserves to live some place better. You deserve a large, extravagant home, filled with lavish rooms and expensive treasures." He paused to stand and slowly approach her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. He stopped when he caught sight of his handsome face in the mirror. He flashed his reflection a smile and moved his face from side to side to examine his porcelain skin.

Ugh, how shallow can he be?

He ran his tongue over his straight, white teeth before continuing. "Loyal servants to wait on you hand and foot like a Queen, the respect and love of the whole town, and most importantly-."

"I don't need any of that stuff. I'm happy here," she interrupted, backing away from him until her back hit the shop counter. She mentally cursed herself when both of his hands went on the countertop on either side of her, boxing her in.

"Don't interrupt, Darling. You know I hate that. Now, as I was saying, most importantly, you deserve the perfect husband. A husband that is handsome, rich, educated, well known, and well liked to spoil you with whatever your heart desires and ravish you every night until the day you die."

Her lips curled in disgust at the word ravish and she quickly ducked under one of his arms and put distance between herself and him.

"That seems a little unrealistic to me, Zigfried," she replied, trying her best to maintain her patience and her temper. Stay calm, Alissa. Think of your parents.

"And do you know who that perfect husband is, Alissa?" he asked, closing in on her again until she was backed up again the front door.

I knew that's what this visit was about, she thought. This is what all his visits are about.

"Me, Darling," he replied when she didn't answer.

"Oh, Zigfried. I'm flattered." Disgusted is more like it. "But I can't."

"Of course you can. Just think of it, the two of us living at my estate with our five children. We'll live like royalty. All it takes is one little word." He winked at her before slowly leaning in to kiss her.

"Really, Zigfried. It's kind of you to ask," she stuttered, groping behind her for the doorknob. She finally found it and grasped it tightly. "I just…don't deserve you." In one quick motion, she dodged his lips and turned the knob of the door. The pink haired man stumbled through the now open doorway in surprise and landed in the puddle of mud just outside the door.

All thoughts and attempts of protecting her parent's reputation left her when she saw the large horse drawn carriage, a band, and most of the town standing outside her house with shocked expressions. The townspeople glanced nervously between Zigfried and Alissa as the dark haired girl's anger began to boil.

"What the hell is this, Zigfried? You arranged a whole wedding without my consent! What about a Crying the Banns? I never agreed to any of this! I never will! Do you hear me, Zigfried? I will never marry you! Ever! Not even if you were the last living thing on this Earth! Now get off of my property and never bother me with this bullshit again!" She slammed the door and bolted out of her house through the back. She grasped the railing of the back porch and breathed heavily.

"He actually asked me to marry him! Me! The wife of that boorish blowhard! No way in hell!" She ran down the steps of the porch and through the yard. Even when her breathing started to grow shallow, she didn't stop. She needed to get as far away from these people as possible. She stopped in the middle of the field of dandelions and yellow daises and collapsed onto her back. Her chest heaved from her run as she tried to think about what just happened. She felt tears of frustration and embarrassment start to prick at the corners of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. How could he do that? What the hell is wrong with those people? How can they be okay with just living their ordinary lives? I want so much more than this! I want adventure, not to be stuck in this stupid town, popping out children until I die! She rolled onto her stomach, plucked up a nearby dandelion, and held it in her thin fingers. I want to get out of this stupid town! I will get out of this town, no matter what it takes! She inhaled and blew, the cottonseeds floating into the distance.

A high-pitched whine broke her from her thoughts.

"Kisara!" the dark haired girl shouted in concern.

The white horse came bolting out of the nearby forest in the direction of her owner. The dark haired girl caught the reins, stroked the horse's nose, and cooed gently until the horse calmed down. Alissa's stomach dropped when she saw that the caravan was empty.

"Kisara, where are Alister and Ben? Are they hurt?"

The majestic horse neighed in understanding and tossed her head in the direction of the forest.

"Oh no, we've got to find them! Can you lead me to them, Kisara?"

The white horse neighed and nodded her head up and down.

Alissa quickly bolted back to the house and grabbed her small knapsack and blue traveling coat. She threw on her coat and ran back out to Kisara. She unhooked the caravan and climbed on top of her white stead.

"Go, Kisara. Hurry!"

xxx

"Come on, Kisara! Keep going!" Alissa tapped Kisara lightly with her heels to get the horse to go faster. I need to find them before it gets dark! The woods are no place to be at night!

Hearing her master's command, the white horse pushed herself faster. She came to a halt when she reached a place that smelt familiar to her. She topped and began sniffing the ground severely.

"What is it, Kisara? Is this where you lost them?" Alissa asked, running a hand through her horse's mane. The horse neighed in response and nodded her head up and down. Alissa hopped off the horse and begin to search the perimeter. Damn it! Last nights storm would have washed away any footprints they may have left behind! It didn't take long for Alissa to catch sight of the familiar, dark brown book sitting next to one of the bare bushes. Shit! That's Alister's portfolio! She picked it up, wiped the cover free of mud and dirt, and glanced around the wooded area. They were here. It must've fallen out of the caravan when they got separated from Kisara.

"Can you find them, Kisara?" Alissa asked, holding the portfolio up for her horse to sniff.

The horse neighed in response and began sniffing the ground as Alissa climbed back onto her back.

"Do the best you can, Kisara. They couldn't have gone too far in the storm. The first place Alister and Ben would have gone is somewhere to get shelter from the storm. There has to be a cave or something near by."

The white horse began to walk, continuing to sniff the ground for traces of Ben and Alister. Alissa glanced around as she rode, hoping to find even the smallest sign of her two loved ones. As she rode, the sky began to grow dark and the wind began to grow cold. She shivered and pulled her traveling coat tighter around her shoulders. Her attention was pulled away from the woods when Kisara neighed loudly.

"Whoa," Alissa gasped, her mouth gaping open at the magnificent and eerie castle standing behind the iron gates ahead of her. She hopped off of Kisara and gently stroked the horse's nose.

"I'll be right back, Kisara. Stay right here." As if she's going to go anywhere else. The dark haired girl approached the gate and heaved it open with a grunt. The way the white castle stood tall against the dark sky reminded her of one of her many books. She swallowed her apprehension and pushed on; hoping that her brother and Alister were somewhere inside.

xxx

"I told you we shouldn't have let them in here!" Tristan stated harshly.

"Well what were we suppose ta do? We couldn't leave 'em out there ta freeze ta death!" Joey argued back.

"Well now they're freezing up in the tower because you just had to be hospitable! I understand that you were trying to be nice but you put them in danger!"

"Ya were right, Tristan! Ya don't need ta rub it in, I feel bad enough as it is! I didn't know Kaiba would get dat upset! Usually he just sorta roars at 'em and gets 'em ta leave."

"Well, because usually you don't smuggle intruders in under my brother's nose, change their clothes, and let them sleep on my brother's favorite couch," Mokuba piped up. "He usually catches them at the gates and scares them away before they even get in."

"Well maybe he needs ta stop being such an asshole!"

"Don't talk about Seto that way! Remember he is still your King!"

"That may be da case, but we're never gonna break dis curse if he keeps his pessimistic attitude!"

"Well, can you really blame him, Joey?" Yugi asked. "The kingdom he was cursed protecting shunned and turned against him. He can't even leave the castle grounds like we can. He's a prisoner in a place that used to be his home."

"Dat's no excuse! At least he's still part human! We're the ones who are monsters! If he keeps dis up the curse will never be broken!"

"Back off, Joey! My brother is trying!"

"No he ain't! All he does is scare people away! He's never gonna find anyone or break dis curse if he acts like dis!"

"Yes, because you're the relationship expert. Remind me again how pining after Mai is going?"

"Dat tears it, ya wanna go, fur ball?"

"Bring it on, Nimrod!"

"Hello?" a voice called, causing the two arguing monsters to pause.

"Wait, guys, stop! Do you hear that?" Tristan asked.

"Ben? Alister? Hello?" the voice called again, this time a little closer.

The foursome of monsters peeked their heads out of the living room and spotted a tall, ebony haired girl walking through the entry hall.

"It's a girl!" Joey exclaimed in a whisper.

"We see that, Joey. We aren't blind," Tristan replied.

The foursome quickly ducked back into the living room as the tall girl passed by.

"Hello? Is anyone here? I'm looking for my friend and my brother!"

"Maybe she's come ta break dis curse!" Joey whispered in excitement. "She's da one! Da one we've been waitin' for!"

"Now, Joey, don't get ahead of yourself," Tristan replied patiently. "We've been over this before, you're elevating the situation. Again."

"Well she's here isn't she? I've gotta go tell Mai and the others! They'll be so excited! We're finally gonna be human again!" Without another word, Joey bolted off to find the other members of the staff.

"Hey! Wait for us, Joey!" Yugi called as he and Mokuba followed him.

Tristan crossed his arms over his chest, now completely alone and sighed. "They're losing it."

Xxx

"Alister! Ben! If you're here please answer me!" Alissa screamed. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Where are they? She stopped in front of a heavy door with iron bolts. She heaved it open and peered inside. A stone staircase spiraled upwards towards the top of the castle. The only light came from a small oil lamp hanging on the dark, cobbled stonewall. She grabbed the lamp from the hook and slowly made her way up the flight of stairs. Her hands touched the damp walls as she made her way up. She held the lamp higher as she continued up the stairs, the dank smell and small space making her feel more and more uneasy.

Finally, she reached the top and found herself in the uppermost room of the tower. Aside from the moon shining through a window close to the ceilings, the round room had very little light. A heavy wooden door with barred windows stood against the back wall. The sound of coughing and quiet shushing made her stomach drop.

She rushed to the door and peered inside to find Alister and Ben sitting on the floor of a dark and dank chamber. Both of them shivered from the cold and huddled close together for warmth.

"Ben! Alister!" she cried in relief.

"Alissa!" Ben cried happily, rushing to the bars.

"What happened?" Alissa asked, reaching a hand through the bars to grab her brother's hand.

"Alissa, I was so scared I'd never see you again! H-he locked us in here and-!"

"Who locked you in here?" she demanded. "I'll kill him!"

"You shouldn't have come," Alister choked out.

"What the hell do you mean, Alister? Of course I was going to come for you!"

"Listen, Alissa. You have to find a way to get Ben out of here and leave now."

"What? No way! I am not leaving either of you here! We all leave or none of us do!"

"Alissa, for once just listen to me! You have to get Ben out of here and leave now! You have to leave before he finds out you're here!"

A chilling voice from behind her caused Alissa to freeze in fear.

"Too late."


Firstly, this chapter took me a little longer than I expected due to the "wedding" part. I wanted to portray eighteenth century wedding customs as accurately as possible, so it required a LARGE amount of research, especially since marriage has changed quite a bit since the eighteenth century, though I will admit I did take some creative license since the story takes place in a fantasy world. Despite this, most of the customs are accurate to the time that this story takes place. Although the marriage didn't happen this chapter (and wasn't even going to xD), I wanted to portray the customs since Zigfried had every intention of marrying Alissa. For those who are wondering a Crying the Banns is the announcement of a couple intending to marry. If anyone was against the marriage, he or she would say so during the Crying the Banns, which took place at church three Sundays in a row. However, people could get out of two weeks of a Crying the Banns if they got a marriage bond (I believe William Shakespeare did this with his wife…don't quote me though xD). Technically, since Alissa did not give her consent to marry, the marriage would be deemed invalid, but Zigfried is a rich asshole and could very easily pay his way out of this technicality, that's what I think anyway xD.

Second, I'm sure the whole thing with Kisara sniffing out Ben and Alister may be weird and seem unlikely, but horses actually have a very, very strong sense of smell. Horses have the ability to find their way home from unfamiliar territories and it is believed to be because of their strong sense of smell. So, I swear, Kisara's strong sense of smell isn't something I just made up for shits and giggles xD.

Third, in case anyone is curious, the name Olsman is of Dutch origin. Mr. Olsman (or Isaac Olsman for those who are curious about what his first name is xD) is the town butcher. His daughter, Greta Olsman, is learning to play the piano, so he had Alissa prepare a small book of easy to learn songs for her. None of this is really important to know because it doesn't come up later on in the story, but I thought I'd include this information in the author's note for anyone who may be interested in "background information" xD.

Fourth, if anyone is curious about Zigfried's wedding suit, I got inspiration from a three-piece wedding suit from the Ham House collection in Surrey. This piece of information was probably irrelevant, but I love including you guys in the writing of this story xD

Fifth, I didn't get all that descriptive with describing the interior of the castle because I plan on doing that in the chapter(s) where Alissa explores the castle. At this point, although she was curious, her main priority was finding Alister and her brother. So, yeah…more description to come.

Sixth, in the little Joey and Mokuba spat part, I really tried to portray the bickering relationship between them. They always reminded me of bickering siblings when they argued in the anime, so I tried to portray that as best as possible. Hopefully I succeeded xD.

Lastly, thanks, as always, to AbyssalDreamer18 for beta reading. You're the jelly to my peanut butter xD. Sorry for the extremely long author's notes, but as I said, I love including you guys in the world of this story just as much as I love writing it. I'll try to keep the author's notes a little shorter, but I can't make any promises xD. Anyhoo, review, critique, ask questions, whatever you like and I'll talk to you guys next update!