Slowly, she rose up off the floor, still trembling like a flower in a
blizzard. "Thank-thankyou." She said softly, still half in shock after the
ordeal. She looked into his eyes, hoping to see something other than a
cruel gaze staring back.
"This should not have happened." He said gruffly to her. "You should have locked yourself in your room an hour ago." He could feel the last breaths of the sun in his blood; he turned his back to her and started to walk away.
"Well. I was not sure on when you would return." She called out defiantly to him, offended that he was so cold towards her, though she didn't know why she cared.
"You have my rules. You are to obey them, at ALL times." He could hear her footsteps as she moved closer. Instinctively, he pulled the hood of his robe down further. "Well!?!" He said to her, his voice as cold as ice.
"Well what?" She asked, stepping closer. If she could only see him, touch him, maybe that would stop him from being so distant.
"It is past curfew. To your room." He barked at her. "Now!" He could hear her angry steps as she walked away. "Goodnight." He whispered under his breath.
***********************************************
Out of his loft, he stood gazing at the flamingo sky. The same thing he did every evening, since that night remembered. A cold wind blew his heavy cloak, awakening the memories of his past. He sighed as he remembered his last day of freedom, and his last foolish stunt that ended them all.
A Dying amber sun was slowly taking its last breath before it departed from this world and disappeared for yet another night. The young prince stood at the boundaries of his kingdom, dreaming about the adventures that lie ahead of him. For a boy of only five, he was extremely brave, and like any other young boy, also extremely curious. He stood, with his wooden sword ready, eager to attack anything that came out of the shadows.
The ancient trees in front of him rose up like giants as he waited for an adversary.
"Darien." A voice broke though the silence of the darkness. "Darien, is that you my child?"
It was his father's voice, always calm, no matter what anger surfaced inside of him.
"Father?" He asked, slightly confused. He focused his eyes into the dark woods, 'What is dad doing in the forest?' He asked himself. His father had always forbidden him to take even a single step in there, and now it was he who broke his own rules.
"Darien. I need your help. I am stuck, my child. Please help me."
A frown came on his face, there was something wrong here and he knew it. He could feel it inside of him, an awful feeling like a knife inside his stomach.
He ran his hand trough his ebony hair and took a deep breath.
"Help!" His fathers booming voice came screaming out of the shadows. Without wasting any more time, Darien raced into the shadows.
The darkness grabbed at his feet, threatening to trip him with every step that he took. The thorns clipped at his legs, spilling forth his velvety blood that splashed onto the decaying ground at his feet. The forest was denser then he imagined, armed with only his wooden sword, he slashed frantically at the vines and overgrowth that blocked his path. "Dad?" He screamed into the darkness around him. "Dad? Where are you?" But there was no answer, his head started spinning around as he realised the terrible truth. He was lost. His eyes strained against the falling night, the full moon in the sky was not powerful enough to break through the thickness of the tangling branches and leaves. "Dad?" He called again, but this time his voice was soft and whimpering. His fears covered him like a blanket, suffocating him, making it hard for him to breath.
"Father!" He called out once again, feeling light headed from his quickening breaths. He closed his eyes. 'Its okay,' He told himself, trying to calm his self down. 'It will be okay, dad will come and find *you* soon. He always comes looking, so just stay put.'
Suddenly, as his reassuring thoughts ran warmly over his heart, he saw something sparkle in the distance. A flame from a torch fractured the darkness. Without wasting anytime, he ran towards the light, quickly wiping the tears that were falling from his ocean blue eyes.
The burning flame moved closer and closer, all his fears melted away.
Then there it was.
Growing closer and closer, was a cottage. Old and worn by time, its wooden walls were crumbling under the weight of an era. The old roof was covered with holes, holes because generations of birds had stolen its thatch to use for their nests. It looked as though it had been abandoned for years. Abruptly, he stopped his running and hesitantly walked up to the old cabin.
"Hello?" He called, his young innocent voice breaking through the viscous blackness. Hesitantly, he moved up to the door and knocked upon his splintered surface. "Hello?" He called again, certain that there would be no answer.
"Come in." An angelic voice came from inside the hovel. "I have been waiting for you my child." The door swung open and the handsome young boy stepped inside. "My young prince." The beautiful voice sung. He jumped as a loud creak came from behind him, the decaying door slammed shut.
"Hello?" He asked for the third time, searching around in the fire light for whoever owned the voice. Then, he saw her. Hiding in the corner of the room, draped in rags, was a lady. Mind you he could not see that she was a lady, but that sweet voice could not belong to a man. "Please. Show yourself." He asked, inching closer her.
She stepped out of the shadows of the corner, "My prince." She said bowing in front of him. "I see that you are lost, allow me to help you find your way home."
His heart lightened as a weight was lifted from it. "Thankyou," He smiled, and inched still closer to the lady, intrigued at what lay underneath the woman's hood. "I am very grateful."
"And what fine manners you have for a young prince. Your mother must have raised you well."
He hesitated momentarily. "I never knew my mother, ma'am. She died when I was a child."
"Really?" The woman asked, sounding more annoyed then upset.
The young prince nodded his head. "Yes, she was killed by an evil queen, a wicked haggard old queen. Father used to tell me stories about her, about how she was vile and how her heart was twisted. About how she was a liar, but mostly he told me that she was monster."
Underneath her cape, the woman eyes were growing bright red with anger with every word he spoke.
"Oh, is that right?" The woman asked, clenching her teeth to disguise the fury in her voice.
The boy simply nodded.
"And who told you that tall tale?"
"It is no tall tale, ma'am. My Father old me all about the wicked old witch."
This, for the woman, was the last straw. She drew back her hood, exposing her pearly white fangs and blazing red hair. "He is the liar!" Her angelic voice turned into a hiss, sending a shiver down his spine. "Tell me boy. Do you know anything else of your mother?"
Cautiously, he shook his head. "Only that she died when I was young, and that she was a good woman, until the beast came along."
"Beast!" The woman scoffed, her eyes blazing red like fire. "The only beast was your mother!"
The little prince tried to take a step towards the door, but instead the woodwork burst into flames.
"Your age boy!" The woman demanded. "Tell me your age."
His eyes rapidly searched the room, trying to find another exit.
"Your age boy!" She demanded again, this time moving closer to him. Her long fingernails looked like five razor sharp daggers on each hand.
"To-tomorrow, I-I, will be f-five." He managed to stutter out.
"Your birthday tomorrow!" She said, but there was something in her voice that he could tell that she already knew that.
"Yes, tomorrow! Now I demand that you let me leave!" He commanded her, raising his voice a little. Although underneath his confident words, his blood was racing from fear.
"Let you leave?" The woman threw her head back and cackled. "You demand that I let you leave?"
"Y-yes!" He said, shuddering at her awful laugh. He saw an old cutting knife next to him and seized it quickly, clutching it readily in his hands. A knife was better then a wooden sword any day.
"And what do you intend to do with that, dear boy?" She laughed again, amused at his defence.
"You keep away from me, you old witch!"
"Witch! You watch your words boy!" She flashed her razor sharp nails at him and gleamed her horrible smile.
"Rahhh!" He yelled and lunged towards her, his blood racing with every beat of his heart.
Her old bones were no match for his quick movements, and sure enough, his blade had driven into her stomach, ripping apart her flesh like a wild dog.
Shocked and horrified, he looked down at his bloodstained hands, dropping the knife at his feet. His face turned ghostly white as he watched her blood splash onto the wooden floorboards below. The red droplets joined together, swirling like red raindrops and then ran down into the gaps in the floor. "I-I'm so sorry." He said, fighting the urge to vomit.
"Sorry? Sorry!" She cried, slowly watching her own life drain away. "You're sorry my boy!" Her nostrils flared in anger, like a bull. "You have just killed me! And now you say you're sorry."
"Yes." He cried, dropping own to his knees. He whimpered softly to himself, drawing in short, shallow breaths.
"And you had the nerve to call me a beast!" She hissed at him, daggers shooting from her violet eyes. "Now it will be you who lives as the beast."
The young prince looked up from his tears. 'What is she talking about?' He thought to himself, wiping away at the tear trails.
Suddenly, a violent wind rushed inside, blowing open the wooden shutters. A pale moonbeam shone through the window. It was the last day of the full moon, a sparkle formed in her eyes as thoughts of revenge danced in her head. "By the moon, you killed me. By the moon you will live a life of pain!" She cackled terribly. Her hair stood up on end as she floated to her feet. The young prince backed up against the wall. His father had told him many stories at bedtime and so he knew well enough about the power of witches.
"Dark forces of nature, I seek you great power,
Put a beast in this boy, on my last dying hour.
May he look like the beast in the light of the day,
But corrupt his pure soul when the sun fades away.
A beast in a man, then a man in a beast,
But only in no moonlight, will the man be at peace.
His life will be pain, until love's kiss turns the key,
Will the beast then be banished, and the man be set free."
A dark light flew in from the haunted forest, it swirled around the old lady before it dived inside the young prince. He screamed with pain as he dropped to the floor.
"Now we will see who is the beast, boy!" She shouted at him and then with a last blood curdling cackled, she fell face first onto the floor.
Not knowing exactly what just happened, he looked up around him, his face whiter then snow. She was slowly disappearing into the floorboards, melting into the ground. Calmly, he pushed himself up off the floor, acting as though nothing had just happened. There were no longer any tears flowing from his ocean eyes, in fact his eyes were no longer his own, their deep sapphire colour had been replaced with a black darker then oil. They had become hollow, void of any emotion. The darkness around him had become soothing, it was a new night, full of new possibilities. With a wicked grin, he brushed himself off and set off for home.
A.N. FanFiction.net doesn't like to let me load it properly, so sorry I this is a little hard to read. I wish to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed, it is you that keeps me going. Thankyou.
"This should not have happened." He said gruffly to her. "You should have locked yourself in your room an hour ago." He could feel the last breaths of the sun in his blood; he turned his back to her and started to walk away.
"Well. I was not sure on when you would return." She called out defiantly to him, offended that he was so cold towards her, though she didn't know why she cared.
"You have my rules. You are to obey them, at ALL times." He could hear her footsteps as she moved closer. Instinctively, he pulled the hood of his robe down further. "Well!?!" He said to her, his voice as cold as ice.
"Well what?" She asked, stepping closer. If she could only see him, touch him, maybe that would stop him from being so distant.
"It is past curfew. To your room." He barked at her. "Now!" He could hear her angry steps as she walked away. "Goodnight." He whispered under his breath.
***********************************************
Out of his loft, he stood gazing at the flamingo sky. The same thing he did every evening, since that night remembered. A cold wind blew his heavy cloak, awakening the memories of his past. He sighed as he remembered his last day of freedom, and his last foolish stunt that ended them all.
A Dying amber sun was slowly taking its last breath before it departed from this world and disappeared for yet another night. The young prince stood at the boundaries of his kingdom, dreaming about the adventures that lie ahead of him. For a boy of only five, he was extremely brave, and like any other young boy, also extremely curious. He stood, with his wooden sword ready, eager to attack anything that came out of the shadows.
The ancient trees in front of him rose up like giants as he waited for an adversary.
"Darien." A voice broke though the silence of the darkness. "Darien, is that you my child?"
It was his father's voice, always calm, no matter what anger surfaced inside of him.
"Father?" He asked, slightly confused. He focused his eyes into the dark woods, 'What is dad doing in the forest?' He asked himself. His father had always forbidden him to take even a single step in there, and now it was he who broke his own rules.
"Darien. I need your help. I am stuck, my child. Please help me."
A frown came on his face, there was something wrong here and he knew it. He could feel it inside of him, an awful feeling like a knife inside his stomach.
He ran his hand trough his ebony hair and took a deep breath.
"Help!" His fathers booming voice came screaming out of the shadows. Without wasting any more time, Darien raced into the shadows.
The darkness grabbed at his feet, threatening to trip him with every step that he took. The thorns clipped at his legs, spilling forth his velvety blood that splashed onto the decaying ground at his feet. The forest was denser then he imagined, armed with only his wooden sword, he slashed frantically at the vines and overgrowth that blocked his path. "Dad?" He screamed into the darkness around him. "Dad? Where are you?" But there was no answer, his head started spinning around as he realised the terrible truth. He was lost. His eyes strained against the falling night, the full moon in the sky was not powerful enough to break through the thickness of the tangling branches and leaves. "Dad?" He called again, but this time his voice was soft and whimpering. His fears covered him like a blanket, suffocating him, making it hard for him to breath.
"Father!" He called out once again, feeling light headed from his quickening breaths. He closed his eyes. 'Its okay,' He told himself, trying to calm his self down. 'It will be okay, dad will come and find *you* soon. He always comes looking, so just stay put.'
Suddenly, as his reassuring thoughts ran warmly over his heart, he saw something sparkle in the distance. A flame from a torch fractured the darkness. Without wasting anytime, he ran towards the light, quickly wiping the tears that were falling from his ocean blue eyes.
The burning flame moved closer and closer, all his fears melted away.
Then there it was.
Growing closer and closer, was a cottage. Old and worn by time, its wooden walls were crumbling under the weight of an era. The old roof was covered with holes, holes because generations of birds had stolen its thatch to use for their nests. It looked as though it had been abandoned for years. Abruptly, he stopped his running and hesitantly walked up to the old cabin.
"Hello?" He called, his young innocent voice breaking through the viscous blackness. Hesitantly, he moved up to the door and knocked upon his splintered surface. "Hello?" He called again, certain that there would be no answer.
"Come in." An angelic voice came from inside the hovel. "I have been waiting for you my child." The door swung open and the handsome young boy stepped inside. "My young prince." The beautiful voice sung. He jumped as a loud creak came from behind him, the decaying door slammed shut.
"Hello?" He asked for the third time, searching around in the fire light for whoever owned the voice. Then, he saw her. Hiding in the corner of the room, draped in rags, was a lady. Mind you he could not see that she was a lady, but that sweet voice could not belong to a man. "Please. Show yourself." He asked, inching closer her.
She stepped out of the shadows of the corner, "My prince." She said bowing in front of him. "I see that you are lost, allow me to help you find your way home."
His heart lightened as a weight was lifted from it. "Thankyou," He smiled, and inched still closer to the lady, intrigued at what lay underneath the woman's hood. "I am very grateful."
"And what fine manners you have for a young prince. Your mother must have raised you well."
He hesitated momentarily. "I never knew my mother, ma'am. She died when I was a child."
"Really?" The woman asked, sounding more annoyed then upset.
The young prince nodded his head. "Yes, she was killed by an evil queen, a wicked haggard old queen. Father used to tell me stories about her, about how she was vile and how her heart was twisted. About how she was a liar, but mostly he told me that she was monster."
Underneath her cape, the woman eyes were growing bright red with anger with every word he spoke.
"Oh, is that right?" The woman asked, clenching her teeth to disguise the fury in her voice.
The boy simply nodded.
"And who told you that tall tale?"
"It is no tall tale, ma'am. My Father old me all about the wicked old witch."
This, for the woman, was the last straw. She drew back her hood, exposing her pearly white fangs and blazing red hair. "He is the liar!" Her angelic voice turned into a hiss, sending a shiver down his spine. "Tell me boy. Do you know anything else of your mother?"
Cautiously, he shook his head. "Only that she died when I was young, and that she was a good woman, until the beast came along."
"Beast!" The woman scoffed, her eyes blazing red like fire. "The only beast was your mother!"
The little prince tried to take a step towards the door, but instead the woodwork burst into flames.
"Your age boy!" The woman demanded. "Tell me your age."
His eyes rapidly searched the room, trying to find another exit.
"Your age boy!" She demanded again, this time moving closer to him. Her long fingernails looked like five razor sharp daggers on each hand.
"To-tomorrow, I-I, will be f-five." He managed to stutter out.
"Your birthday tomorrow!" She said, but there was something in her voice that he could tell that she already knew that.
"Yes, tomorrow! Now I demand that you let me leave!" He commanded her, raising his voice a little. Although underneath his confident words, his blood was racing from fear.
"Let you leave?" The woman threw her head back and cackled. "You demand that I let you leave?"
"Y-yes!" He said, shuddering at her awful laugh. He saw an old cutting knife next to him and seized it quickly, clutching it readily in his hands. A knife was better then a wooden sword any day.
"And what do you intend to do with that, dear boy?" She laughed again, amused at his defence.
"You keep away from me, you old witch!"
"Witch! You watch your words boy!" She flashed her razor sharp nails at him and gleamed her horrible smile.
"Rahhh!" He yelled and lunged towards her, his blood racing with every beat of his heart.
Her old bones were no match for his quick movements, and sure enough, his blade had driven into her stomach, ripping apart her flesh like a wild dog.
Shocked and horrified, he looked down at his bloodstained hands, dropping the knife at his feet. His face turned ghostly white as he watched her blood splash onto the wooden floorboards below. The red droplets joined together, swirling like red raindrops and then ran down into the gaps in the floor. "I-I'm so sorry." He said, fighting the urge to vomit.
"Sorry? Sorry!" She cried, slowly watching her own life drain away. "You're sorry my boy!" Her nostrils flared in anger, like a bull. "You have just killed me! And now you say you're sorry."
"Yes." He cried, dropping own to his knees. He whimpered softly to himself, drawing in short, shallow breaths.
"And you had the nerve to call me a beast!" She hissed at him, daggers shooting from her violet eyes. "Now it will be you who lives as the beast."
The young prince looked up from his tears. 'What is she talking about?' He thought to himself, wiping away at the tear trails.
Suddenly, a violent wind rushed inside, blowing open the wooden shutters. A pale moonbeam shone through the window. It was the last day of the full moon, a sparkle formed in her eyes as thoughts of revenge danced in her head. "By the moon, you killed me. By the moon you will live a life of pain!" She cackled terribly. Her hair stood up on end as she floated to her feet. The young prince backed up against the wall. His father had told him many stories at bedtime and so he knew well enough about the power of witches.
"Dark forces of nature, I seek you great power,
Put a beast in this boy, on my last dying hour.
May he look like the beast in the light of the day,
But corrupt his pure soul when the sun fades away.
A beast in a man, then a man in a beast,
But only in no moonlight, will the man be at peace.
His life will be pain, until love's kiss turns the key,
Will the beast then be banished, and the man be set free."
A dark light flew in from the haunted forest, it swirled around the old lady before it dived inside the young prince. He screamed with pain as he dropped to the floor.
"Now we will see who is the beast, boy!" She shouted at him and then with a last blood curdling cackled, she fell face first onto the floor.
Not knowing exactly what just happened, he looked up around him, his face whiter then snow. She was slowly disappearing into the floorboards, melting into the ground. Calmly, he pushed himself up off the floor, acting as though nothing had just happened. There were no longer any tears flowing from his ocean eyes, in fact his eyes were no longer his own, their deep sapphire colour had been replaced with a black darker then oil. They had become hollow, void of any emotion. The darkness around him had become soothing, it was a new night, full of new possibilities. With a wicked grin, he brushed himself off and set off for home.
A.N. FanFiction.net doesn't like to let me load it properly, so sorry I this is a little hard to read. I wish to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed, it is you that keeps me going. Thankyou.