Title: Wild Creatures
Author: Elissa the Elf
Description: Belle, a wildling from the depths of the forest, grows up to be a graceful young woman, when, with a twist of another faerie tale or two, her life is turned topsy-turvy by an unexpected adventure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Into the Dark
Shadows closed in around Belle, who was heedless of the time passing. Darkness came ever more quickly in the depths of the forest, and the black was more consuming, filling every space and smothering lights from just yards away. She continued to make her way down the now dank and dusty path, leading Etienne by the halter under the low lying branches that came up often.
Hearing a branch crack behind her, she jerked her head around, and glanced back. There was nothing. Scared nonetheless, she stopped Etienne and mounted him, immediately pushing him into a canter. The breaking of twigs increased in frequency just as the pounding of hoof beats. Belle galloped along the trail, fearing for the noises from in her wake, and hoped that Aurora's cabin was as near as she thought it was.
Whipping madly through the branches, wolves snapping at her heels and tearing at her cloak, she slammed open the door of the tiny cabin that appeared almost magically in a clearing. The door, minuscule as it was, widened to allow her in without forcing her to dismount from her horse. Inside, after sitting down to catch her breath on a small and dingy couch, she found her way to a petit window and looked out. Beyond the glass sat a pack of ravenous, scrawny, and mangy wolves ready to leap at anything that so much as set foot outside of her tiny door. She left the window feeling terrified, and went off to find somewhere to set Etienne down for the night without leaving him out to the wolves. The house was small in general, with seven matching sets of furniture and wares all over the house. Finding an empty room, Belle led Etienne into it, and got a rug from the front room for him to sleep upon. Belle continued searching, trying to find somewhere to bed herself. She found a room of small cots, all lined up and the size of a Thumbelina's couch. Exhausted, she flopped down on the bed, and forgot about her worries for the time being.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Belle awoke from the nap quite refreshed. The first sign of trouble she found was a small man looking not quite down at her, but more horizontally from his quite apparent height deficit. He peered at her, a wondering look in his eyes.
"What is it?" he wondered aloud.
A male voice from afar answered him. "Don't touch it. It might bite, and you never know what diseases those things can have." Noises in the kitchen informed Belle that there were more like this squat man somewhere off out of sight. "Is it awake yet?"
"Yes, yes, it is." Belle replied in her own voice, not deeming it necessary to wait for the dwarf's reply. He started at the sound of words coming from the lump spread daintily on the covers. "Who are you, if I may ask?"
"I'm the one who should be asking the questions," came a perturbed voice from the direction of the door. "Who are you? You just came from nowhere. We were working, and you just show up in our beds, with a monstrous creature sleeping in the exercise room, and you want to know who we are? You tell us about yourself, and explain your presence." A petit man was leaning against the door jamb, looking quite grumpy at this unforeseen and apparently unwanted visitor.
Belle let his tone of voice slide past her silkily, answering, "My name is Belle, if you must know. I came in here to get away from some horrid beasts that were following me." She shuddered under her crimson cloak, forgotten in her fatigue. "I thank you for the hospitality you showed by letting me sleep until I woke of my own accord. But now, my uncle doesn't know where I am, so I must be off."
The undersized man closest to her asked bashfully, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay for a touch of breakfast? We've got plenty to share." This comment was greeted by a humph of disdain from the hobbit near the entryway.
Touched by the shy dwarf's obvious awe of her towering young self, Belle gave in to his undemanding demands, and followed his lead out to a table. She was too tall for the child-sized chairs, and so sat on the grimy wooden planks serving as the floor. While cleaning in general did not bother Belle, sweeping was not her forte, and hence, the ground remained dust- ridden as she dined with the little men. They ate.
The meal, while simple, did much to satisfy the cravings panging in Belle's stomach. She finished as quickly as possible while still remaining polite. After helping to clear the dishes, she returned to the exterior of the house to look at the potential damage from the wolves. Large footprints peppered the dirt in front of the house, alarming in their size and the quantities that were out there. Belle haltered and mounted Etienne, carefully ignoring the pattern stamped on the lawn. Bidding the seven men goodbye, she continued on the way to Aurora's cabin. It was best not to worry her father, and by going to the place she intended, Belle could always tell him she had just planned to spend the night, but perhaps she had forgotten to tell him. That was her reasoning, anyways, that she would use to satisfy Christophe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The directions she had asked for and received of the dwarves were true down to the last tree they mentioned. Turn left at the birch. Done. Follow the line of sequoias. Good. Last, walk thirty yards west, and you'll reach that familiar path to your cousin's house. There is was, leading shining into the distance. Just on the horizon, barely visible through the thick growth of lush trees, sat the cabin. As she neared, Belle's feelings about this place grew steadily worse. An aura of depravity set into her bones, a sensation of evil. However, she still knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. The door swung open slightly at her touch, creepily creaking on its long-unoiled hinges. Belle pushed the door open more, and slowly entered the darkened room.
"Aurora?"
There was no response from the murky depths of the chamber.
Belle pressed on her way further, and was shocked by what greeted her in Aurora's bedchamber.
Aurora was decimated, completely destroyed. Only the wolves could have done this to her, only they could be so brutal. It was too much to look at, and Belle dashed out of the house. She was stunned at the disaster that had awaited her as she slept innocently at the dwarves. What would have happened if she hadn't had the encounter with the little men? That could have been her fate, and not Aurora's. She ran at breakneck speed from the doorway, but encountered a mass, solid and unmoving, in her way. She looked up into the concerned face of Eric.
"What's wrong?" he asked, disquiet filling his voice. "Is there something bad in there? Don't go back in. Stay out here." Eric left her there, marching determinedly into the small cottage. His slight intake of breath at the sight that greeted him was audible to Belle's unhearing ears, had she bothered to notice. Eric came back outside, slowly and carefully putting one foot in front of the other. He had obviously seen just what she had, and it tore him up even if he didn't know Aurora personally.
"Belle, I'm going to take you home now. Okay? Come here," he told her. She ran into his arms, and buried her face in his neck. He cradled her gently, as she broke down completely at the just realized loss of her friend.
"Oh, Eric. I was just. I came here. those dwarves." Belle attempted to say in between the sobs racking her frame. Eric quieted her, letting her cry out her anguish onto his shirt.
"It's okay, honey. It'll be fine in the morning." He said this, knowing it wasn't true and that it'd all be worse when she woke up. But he still said all of this in as comforting a manner as was possible for him, and it worked. Belle calmed herself with Eric's aid, and disentangled herself from his strong arms.
"Where's my cloak?" Belle asked him in a carefully maintained emotionless voice. Eric looked to the ground, and not seeing the cape, cautiously went inside the house. Happily, the scarlet mantle lay just inside the door, and Eric was not long from the arms of his new neighbor. He neatly and tenderly draped the robe around her pale shoulders, and set her upon the skittish horse. Mounting Lolita, he took Etienne's halter and led Belle off into the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two rode quietly, Belle concentrated intently on the reins in Eric's hands. They had not been riding long when both Lolita and Etienne shied simultaneously at an unseen assailant. Eric couldn't control the two horses together, having only two hands and needing both for his own Arabian. Belle's steed bolted, taking Belle with him on a adrenaline-surging gallop.
It took only seconds before Eric was both out of sight and hearing, regardless of his attempts to follow her. He called after her, and yanked at Lolita to follow her, but Belle had disappeared into the thick underbrush.
Belle knew not where she was, and the path was gone like a snowman in the midst of spring thaw. It was nowhere to be found, and there were no familiar landmarks that she could understand. All that she could comprehend was that there behind her came sounds of snarling, a déjà vu of her experiences just previously occurring. Belle blacked out and slumped over Etienne's sweating mane, overcome by the travails she had gone through, and those incidents still continuing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A bell tinkled somewhere off in the distance. Belle awoke slowly, not fully appreciating how soft the mattress was, or the different smells that welcomed her. Suddenly, she sat upright, new surroundings flabbergasting her. She was situated in a high bed, with thick, plush pillows carefully placed to keep her from falling down to the parquet flooring. The rest of the room was lush, also. A table, glossy with varnish, caught her eye. Sitting upon it was a silver tray adorned with fresh fruits and cheeses; the sight of it alone was enough to set her mouth watering. There had been no food for her since the breakfast of the dwarves. Even that had been scarcely enough to satiate her teenage appetite. She was still dressed in her clothes from the day before, which she realized as she got out from under the silken comforter. She clambered over the overstuffed pillows, and Belle made her way to the desk that held the serving dish. Ecstasy almost overtook her as she ate the airy croissants and juicy fruits.
As she consumed the meal set before her, Belle pondered how she came to be here. It was too much to think that Etienne had has the luck or sense to make his way to someone who could have helped. No, she decided, the only logical happening was that someone had found Etienne wandering through the forest. Pure luck, and maybe some divine intervention, as well. After finishing the wondrously appearing meal, Belle got up, and looked to the window. Off in the distance, something was moving. A large, shaggily brown something scurried down on all fours, just barely visible. The motion, fluid as it was, was completely animal and lumbering. Belle turned away, not wanting to know more about this creature or what it was doing on the opulent grounds. Putting back on her shoes, the only part of her clothing disturbed, Belle left her room to find a route to her horse and perhaps to search out the owner of this phenomenal house.
She didn't unearth the mysterious owner or any servants, but right out of the oaken door was a stable, warm and inviting. Belle found Etienne content in a spacious stall chomping away on a generous portion of hay. He looked up as she entered.
"Oh, Etienne," she sighed into his mane.
Let's go, he seemed to whisper lovingly into her ear. She nodded. She thought nothing of the words in her head, or the possible consequences of them. They seemed natural to her, nothing amiss in the abrupt telepathy she had. Reaching for the saddle, Belle readied the steed for the journey that awaited them into unknown lands. She checked the stirrup lengths and the saddlebags, and started to get on. Just before getting on, though, Belle realized she didn't know where to go. She dropped back to the ground, told Etienne to wait for her, and turned to leave the stable. A white flash caught her eye; a note on stiff parchment glistened blankly on the table. Three words were inscribed on it in a delicate yet masculine flowing script: Follow the path.
Belle decided to take the note's advice, but left her own comment on the other side of the vellum. In dainty characters she thanked her unknown benefactor for the comforting stay and the filling meal, and returned to the stall. This time she did indeed mount her steed, and left for the iron gate. The pattern of the interlocking iron rods was odd, roses surrounded by a patch of briars. Belle did not ponder long on this, but instead left for home. Right outside the peculiar gate was a path of white stones, leading straight and true deep into the forest. The stone lead far and wide and eventually made its way into recognizable territory, though Belle didn't remember ever seeing such a lane in her neighborhood before. She left the path, continuing onto the main road and onto Christophe's lane. Etienne was put into his pasture and let to roam, and Belle made her way into the thankful arms of Christophe.
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Thanks for the reviews, you two! Shiara the witch and cheler were my first two reviewers, and much appreciation to you for that. 3! And now you've read the next chapter, and I fully expect you to review once more. I've already started on the next chapter, and the more reviews I get, the more *motivated* I can be to write. Any takers on the beta-reader position, by the way?
And to your question, shiara, if you even remember it, she was about five or six when the story starts, and we all know just how quickly children forget anything, language most likely included. My mind set was that she had just started primary school, or private tutoring by a governess.
The one who insulted me does not get a comment. I don't love her anymore, and don't think I don't know who you are!
Just kidding. I love any and all reviews.
Thanks,
Elissa the Elf
Author: Elissa the Elf
Description: Belle, a wildling from the depths of the forest, grows up to be a graceful young woman, when, with a twist of another faerie tale or two, her life is turned topsy-turvy by an unexpected adventure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Into the Dark
Shadows closed in around Belle, who was heedless of the time passing. Darkness came ever more quickly in the depths of the forest, and the black was more consuming, filling every space and smothering lights from just yards away. She continued to make her way down the now dank and dusty path, leading Etienne by the halter under the low lying branches that came up often.
Hearing a branch crack behind her, she jerked her head around, and glanced back. There was nothing. Scared nonetheless, she stopped Etienne and mounted him, immediately pushing him into a canter. The breaking of twigs increased in frequency just as the pounding of hoof beats. Belle galloped along the trail, fearing for the noises from in her wake, and hoped that Aurora's cabin was as near as she thought it was.
Whipping madly through the branches, wolves snapping at her heels and tearing at her cloak, she slammed open the door of the tiny cabin that appeared almost magically in a clearing. The door, minuscule as it was, widened to allow her in without forcing her to dismount from her horse. Inside, after sitting down to catch her breath on a small and dingy couch, she found her way to a petit window and looked out. Beyond the glass sat a pack of ravenous, scrawny, and mangy wolves ready to leap at anything that so much as set foot outside of her tiny door. She left the window feeling terrified, and went off to find somewhere to set Etienne down for the night without leaving him out to the wolves. The house was small in general, with seven matching sets of furniture and wares all over the house. Finding an empty room, Belle led Etienne into it, and got a rug from the front room for him to sleep upon. Belle continued searching, trying to find somewhere to bed herself. She found a room of small cots, all lined up and the size of a Thumbelina's couch. Exhausted, she flopped down on the bed, and forgot about her worries for the time being.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Belle awoke from the nap quite refreshed. The first sign of trouble she found was a small man looking not quite down at her, but more horizontally from his quite apparent height deficit. He peered at her, a wondering look in his eyes.
"What is it?" he wondered aloud.
A male voice from afar answered him. "Don't touch it. It might bite, and you never know what diseases those things can have." Noises in the kitchen informed Belle that there were more like this squat man somewhere off out of sight. "Is it awake yet?"
"Yes, yes, it is." Belle replied in her own voice, not deeming it necessary to wait for the dwarf's reply. He started at the sound of words coming from the lump spread daintily on the covers. "Who are you, if I may ask?"
"I'm the one who should be asking the questions," came a perturbed voice from the direction of the door. "Who are you? You just came from nowhere. We were working, and you just show up in our beds, with a monstrous creature sleeping in the exercise room, and you want to know who we are? You tell us about yourself, and explain your presence." A petit man was leaning against the door jamb, looking quite grumpy at this unforeseen and apparently unwanted visitor.
Belle let his tone of voice slide past her silkily, answering, "My name is Belle, if you must know. I came in here to get away from some horrid beasts that were following me." She shuddered under her crimson cloak, forgotten in her fatigue. "I thank you for the hospitality you showed by letting me sleep until I woke of my own accord. But now, my uncle doesn't know where I am, so I must be off."
The undersized man closest to her asked bashfully, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay for a touch of breakfast? We've got plenty to share." This comment was greeted by a humph of disdain from the hobbit near the entryway.
Touched by the shy dwarf's obvious awe of her towering young self, Belle gave in to his undemanding demands, and followed his lead out to a table. She was too tall for the child-sized chairs, and so sat on the grimy wooden planks serving as the floor. While cleaning in general did not bother Belle, sweeping was not her forte, and hence, the ground remained dust- ridden as she dined with the little men. They ate.
The meal, while simple, did much to satisfy the cravings panging in Belle's stomach. She finished as quickly as possible while still remaining polite. After helping to clear the dishes, she returned to the exterior of the house to look at the potential damage from the wolves. Large footprints peppered the dirt in front of the house, alarming in their size and the quantities that were out there. Belle haltered and mounted Etienne, carefully ignoring the pattern stamped on the lawn. Bidding the seven men goodbye, she continued on the way to Aurora's cabin. It was best not to worry her father, and by going to the place she intended, Belle could always tell him she had just planned to spend the night, but perhaps she had forgotten to tell him. That was her reasoning, anyways, that she would use to satisfy Christophe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The directions she had asked for and received of the dwarves were true down to the last tree they mentioned. Turn left at the birch. Done. Follow the line of sequoias. Good. Last, walk thirty yards west, and you'll reach that familiar path to your cousin's house. There is was, leading shining into the distance. Just on the horizon, barely visible through the thick growth of lush trees, sat the cabin. As she neared, Belle's feelings about this place grew steadily worse. An aura of depravity set into her bones, a sensation of evil. However, she still knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. The door swung open slightly at her touch, creepily creaking on its long-unoiled hinges. Belle pushed the door open more, and slowly entered the darkened room.
"Aurora?"
There was no response from the murky depths of the chamber.
Belle pressed on her way further, and was shocked by what greeted her in Aurora's bedchamber.
Aurora was decimated, completely destroyed. Only the wolves could have done this to her, only they could be so brutal. It was too much to look at, and Belle dashed out of the house. She was stunned at the disaster that had awaited her as she slept innocently at the dwarves. What would have happened if she hadn't had the encounter with the little men? That could have been her fate, and not Aurora's. She ran at breakneck speed from the doorway, but encountered a mass, solid and unmoving, in her way. She looked up into the concerned face of Eric.
"What's wrong?" he asked, disquiet filling his voice. "Is there something bad in there? Don't go back in. Stay out here." Eric left her there, marching determinedly into the small cottage. His slight intake of breath at the sight that greeted him was audible to Belle's unhearing ears, had she bothered to notice. Eric came back outside, slowly and carefully putting one foot in front of the other. He had obviously seen just what she had, and it tore him up even if he didn't know Aurora personally.
"Belle, I'm going to take you home now. Okay? Come here," he told her. She ran into his arms, and buried her face in his neck. He cradled her gently, as she broke down completely at the just realized loss of her friend.
"Oh, Eric. I was just. I came here. those dwarves." Belle attempted to say in between the sobs racking her frame. Eric quieted her, letting her cry out her anguish onto his shirt.
"It's okay, honey. It'll be fine in the morning." He said this, knowing it wasn't true and that it'd all be worse when she woke up. But he still said all of this in as comforting a manner as was possible for him, and it worked. Belle calmed herself with Eric's aid, and disentangled herself from his strong arms.
"Where's my cloak?" Belle asked him in a carefully maintained emotionless voice. Eric looked to the ground, and not seeing the cape, cautiously went inside the house. Happily, the scarlet mantle lay just inside the door, and Eric was not long from the arms of his new neighbor. He neatly and tenderly draped the robe around her pale shoulders, and set her upon the skittish horse. Mounting Lolita, he took Etienne's halter and led Belle off into the forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two rode quietly, Belle concentrated intently on the reins in Eric's hands. They had not been riding long when both Lolita and Etienne shied simultaneously at an unseen assailant. Eric couldn't control the two horses together, having only two hands and needing both for his own Arabian. Belle's steed bolted, taking Belle with him on a adrenaline-surging gallop.
It took only seconds before Eric was both out of sight and hearing, regardless of his attempts to follow her. He called after her, and yanked at Lolita to follow her, but Belle had disappeared into the thick underbrush.
Belle knew not where she was, and the path was gone like a snowman in the midst of spring thaw. It was nowhere to be found, and there were no familiar landmarks that she could understand. All that she could comprehend was that there behind her came sounds of snarling, a déjà vu of her experiences just previously occurring. Belle blacked out and slumped over Etienne's sweating mane, overcome by the travails she had gone through, and those incidents still continuing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A bell tinkled somewhere off in the distance. Belle awoke slowly, not fully appreciating how soft the mattress was, or the different smells that welcomed her. Suddenly, she sat upright, new surroundings flabbergasting her. She was situated in a high bed, with thick, plush pillows carefully placed to keep her from falling down to the parquet flooring. The rest of the room was lush, also. A table, glossy with varnish, caught her eye. Sitting upon it was a silver tray adorned with fresh fruits and cheeses; the sight of it alone was enough to set her mouth watering. There had been no food for her since the breakfast of the dwarves. Even that had been scarcely enough to satiate her teenage appetite. She was still dressed in her clothes from the day before, which she realized as she got out from under the silken comforter. She clambered over the overstuffed pillows, and Belle made her way to the desk that held the serving dish. Ecstasy almost overtook her as she ate the airy croissants and juicy fruits.
As she consumed the meal set before her, Belle pondered how she came to be here. It was too much to think that Etienne had has the luck or sense to make his way to someone who could have helped. No, she decided, the only logical happening was that someone had found Etienne wandering through the forest. Pure luck, and maybe some divine intervention, as well. After finishing the wondrously appearing meal, Belle got up, and looked to the window. Off in the distance, something was moving. A large, shaggily brown something scurried down on all fours, just barely visible. The motion, fluid as it was, was completely animal and lumbering. Belle turned away, not wanting to know more about this creature or what it was doing on the opulent grounds. Putting back on her shoes, the only part of her clothing disturbed, Belle left her room to find a route to her horse and perhaps to search out the owner of this phenomenal house.
She didn't unearth the mysterious owner or any servants, but right out of the oaken door was a stable, warm and inviting. Belle found Etienne content in a spacious stall chomping away on a generous portion of hay. He looked up as she entered.
"Oh, Etienne," she sighed into his mane.
Let's go, he seemed to whisper lovingly into her ear. She nodded. She thought nothing of the words in her head, or the possible consequences of them. They seemed natural to her, nothing amiss in the abrupt telepathy she had. Reaching for the saddle, Belle readied the steed for the journey that awaited them into unknown lands. She checked the stirrup lengths and the saddlebags, and started to get on. Just before getting on, though, Belle realized she didn't know where to go. She dropped back to the ground, told Etienne to wait for her, and turned to leave the stable. A white flash caught her eye; a note on stiff parchment glistened blankly on the table. Three words were inscribed on it in a delicate yet masculine flowing script: Follow the path.
Belle decided to take the note's advice, but left her own comment on the other side of the vellum. In dainty characters she thanked her unknown benefactor for the comforting stay and the filling meal, and returned to the stall. This time she did indeed mount her steed, and left for the iron gate. The pattern of the interlocking iron rods was odd, roses surrounded by a patch of briars. Belle did not ponder long on this, but instead left for home. Right outside the peculiar gate was a path of white stones, leading straight and true deep into the forest. The stone lead far and wide and eventually made its way into recognizable territory, though Belle didn't remember ever seeing such a lane in her neighborhood before. She left the path, continuing onto the main road and onto Christophe's lane. Etienne was put into his pasture and let to roam, and Belle made her way into the thankful arms of Christophe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for the reviews, you two! Shiara the witch and cheler were my first two reviewers, and much appreciation to you for that. 3! And now you've read the next chapter, and I fully expect you to review once more. I've already started on the next chapter, and the more reviews I get, the more *motivated* I can be to write. Any takers on the beta-reader position, by the way?
And to your question, shiara, if you even remember it, she was about five or six when the story starts, and we all know just how quickly children forget anything, language most likely included. My mind set was that she had just started primary school, or private tutoring by a governess.
The one who insulted me does not get a comment. I don't love her anymore, and don't think I don't know who you are!
Just kidding. I love any and all reviews.
Thanks,
Elissa the Elf