Chapter Three – The Beast's Tale
After Lunella helped me find the books I needed (or rather, she held me up to the shelves and I found the books for myself), I told her I needed some privacy and, with some reluctance, she left me to my ponderings. Boy, did I have ponderings. I had known Enchantra the Ritch for a long time, and I'd never known her to be so obsessed with enchantments before. I wondered what reason she'd had to turn the poor guy downstairs into a Beast.
Shrugging my clock shoulders, I began to flip through some books about enchantments that Lunella had placed next to me on a table. I figured it was more important to break the spells than to spend a lifetime wondering why they had been put on.
I hadn't gotten far in my searching when none other than the Beast himself entered the library. He saw me and headed straight for the table I was standing on, curious to know what I was doing.
"Hello," he said rather awkwardly, "what was your name again?" I looked up at him, feeling slightly insulted. "Argyle," I told him, miffed. Then, deciding I'd better be somewhat polite since I was, after all, a guest in the Beast's castle, added in a tone a little nastier than I'd intended, "And you? Or does everyone just call you Beast and leave it at that?" The Beast looked offended and I began to feel a little bit sorry, which was a strange phenomenon. I was never sorry. Ever. Perhaps this odd occurrence was caused by the fact that this was a Beast, huge and monstrous, and yet he managed to look so pitiable. "My name's Brian," the Beast said stiffly. "And yes, everyone does just call me Beast, but I'd much prefer it if you called me Brian. It reminds me that I'm still human." I was amazed. "Alright, Brian," I said, grinning wryly, "how come you're an enchanted beast?" Brian the Beast looked as though he was at a loss for how to answer so I tried to egg him on. "I got turned into a clock because I'm a powerful wizard," I told him proudly and looked around the magnificent library in awe, "so what are you? Some sort of prince or something?" My eyes returned to gazing levelly at the Beast. "Is that why you were turned into a Beast?" Brian stared at me and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he gathered enough composure to actually speak. "Would you like to sit by the fire?" he finally asked in a low, uneasy rumble. Surprised, I acquiesced and Brian lifted me in a huge paw, bringing me to the other side of the library where there was a large fireplace filled with glowing embers and a neat pile of wood next to it. The Beast set me down before the fireplace and then went to go throw a few logs in. When he had the fire to a small blaze, he sat down next to me and reached inside his trousers pocket. To my surprise, he pulled out a bag of rather squashed marshmallows and, reaching back into the woodpile, found two sticks good for roasting on. He handed one to me and gave me a marshmallow.
We roasted marshmallows together in silence for a few minutes before Brian the Beast was ready to tell his story. It must have been the strangest looking scene; a massive, leonine animal sitting with a clock no more than a foot high roasting marshmallows.
"My story begins about ten years ago," the Beast suddenly said. "I was a prince in this kingdom, the kingdom of Floz. My mother had died not long after I was born and my father was terribly ill. He could not get out of bed and it was rare that he found the strength, or the mentality, to utter even a few words. So, though I was not yet king, I was the man of the house. A nurse still looked after me, of course, for I was only eleven, but it was clear that I was in charge.
"One winter night, an enchantress, or so she said," he added with a sidelong glance in my direction, "came to the castle. She was disguised as a beggar woman and said her name was Enchantra. She begged me to let her stay the night, but I was an arrogant young fool then, and massively afraid of old women. I turned her away at once, not caring if she froze, as long as she stayed far away from me. It was then that she transformed into a beautiful young girl. She seemed to be even younger than I was, maybe nine or ten years old, and she was horribly wicked looking. She smiled slyly at me and told me she was a powerful enchantress and was going to turn me into a hideous beast because I did not care for anyone but myself. And so," Brian said with a small sigh, "I am a beast."
I laughed, despite myself. That was just like Enchantra!
"Oh, she's horrible!" I exclaimed, full of mirth. Brian the Beast looked downcast and I instantly stopped, without even thinking. That irritated me. I was actually being nice!
"Well," I said, assuming an air of nonchalance, "that explains your beastliness. But what about that Luna-girl? Where does she come in the picture?"
Brian smiled a little.
"That was a bad mistake on my part," he admitted. "Before Enchantra left, she said that the only way the enchantment could be broken was if I fell in love and if the girl loved me back. Then she gave me a magic hand mirror and told me that I could use it to see whatever I wanted. I was so afraid of people seeing me as a beast, and I was equally afraid of seeing myself as one, so I used this mirror to look at myself as who I truly was – Brian, Prince of Floz. I needed to remind myself that I really was human somewhere inside this monstrous guise. It did not help that my nurse, as soon as she saw me, ran away, never to return, and my father died of shock.
"As the years passed, I grew more and more afraid of people, so that when a middle-aged man showed up uninvited in my castle a few months ago, I nearly passed out from terror. My fear soon abated, however, when I saw what he was holding. It was my hand mirror, the only proof that I was human and not this awful monster.
"I tried to scare him away but he would not leave the mirror. He said he wanted it for his daughters, because they were so beautiful and deserved a lovely little looking glass like the one I possessed. I asked him, rhetorically mind you, that if I gave up my mirror to him, would he give up one of his daughters to me? I did not mean that he actually should. I was just trying to prove to him the value that mirror had to me. He took me literally though and fled, sending his lunatic daughter back a few days later. And so," Brian the Beast sighed, "I have been stuck with her ever since. I had had no one to talk to for so long, I told her all about the terms of the spell. She took that to mean that I wanted to marry her, and so every night she tells me she will not. Every night. It drives me up the wall. I pity the idiot who ever does find it in himself to ask her hand in marriage."
I snickered. Brian the Beast broke into a broad grin and said, "so what about you? Why did Enchantra turn you into a clock?"
So I told him the story of how she'd burst randomly in my house and said she'd had enough with my ego. Brian the Beast laughed at that.
"Unlike you," I told him, "the generous Ritch did not give me any terms of breaking the enchantment. She just said I'd turn back into a wizard 'when I'm ready,' but I'm going to go on a quest to find out how."
The Beast's eyes lightened up, making him look even more human than ever.
"I know how you can find a way to break the spell," he said quickly. "There is a fairy somewhere in Floz who specializes in enchantments. Her name is Magnificent. She cannot help me with mine, as my terms are specifically set that I cannot be human again unless I'm in a loving relationship, but yours are not. She may be able to help you."
I felt a rush of hope.
"Well," I cried, scrambling to my clock feet, "let's go then!"
After Lunella helped me find the books I needed (or rather, she held me up to the shelves and I found the books for myself), I told her I needed some privacy and, with some reluctance, she left me to my ponderings. Boy, did I have ponderings. I had known Enchantra the Ritch for a long time, and I'd never known her to be so obsessed with enchantments before. I wondered what reason she'd had to turn the poor guy downstairs into a Beast.
Shrugging my clock shoulders, I began to flip through some books about enchantments that Lunella had placed next to me on a table. I figured it was more important to break the spells than to spend a lifetime wondering why they had been put on.
I hadn't gotten far in my searching when none other than the Beast himself entered the library. He saw me and headed straight for the table I was standing on, curious to know what I was doing.
"Hello," he said rather awkwardly, "what was your name again?" I looked up at him, feeling slightly insulted. "Argyle," I told him, miffed. Then, deciding I'd better be somewhat polite since I was, after all, a guest in the Beast's castle, added in a tone a little nastier than I'd intended, "And you? Or does everyone just call you Beast and leave it at that?" The Beast looked offended and I began to feel a little bit sorry, which was a strange phenomenon. I was never sorry. Ever. Perhaps this odd occurrence was caused by the fact that this was a Beast, huge and monstrous, and yet he managed to look so pitiable. "My name's Brian," the Beast said stiffly. "And yes, everyone does just call me Beast, but I'd much prefer it if you called me Brian. It reminds me that I'm still human." I was amazed. "Alright, Brian," I said, grinning wryly, "how come you're an enchanted beast?" Brian the Beast looked as though he was at a loss for how to answer so I tried to egg him on. "I got turned into a clock because I'm a powerful wizard," I told him proudly and looked around the magnificent library in awe, "so what are you? Some sort of prince or something?" My eyes returned to gazing levelly at the Beast. "Is that why you were turned into a Beast?" Brian stared at me and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he gathered enough composure to actually speak. "Would you like to sit by the fire?" he finally asked in a low, uneasy rumble. Surprised, I acquiesced and Brian lifted me in a huge paw, bringing me to the other side of the library where there was a large fireplace filled with glowing embers and a neat pile of wood next to it. The Beast set me down before the fireplace and then went to go throw a few logs in. When he had the fire to a small blaze, he sat down next to me and reached inside his trousers pocket. To my surprise, he pulled out a bag of rather squashed marshmallows and, reaching back into the woodpile, found two sticks good for roasting on. He handed one to me and gave me a marshmallow.
We roasted marshmallows together in silence for a few minutes before Brian the Beast was ready to tell his story. It must have been the strangest looking scene; a massive, leonine animal sitting with a clock no more than a foot high roasting marshmallows.
"My story begins about ten years ago," the Beast suddenly said. "I was a prince in this kingdom, the kingdom of Floz. My mother had died not long after I was born and my father was terribly ill. He could not get out of bed and it was rare that he found the strength, or the mentality, to utter even a few words. So, though I was not yet king, I was the man of the house. A nurse still looked after me, of course, for I was only eleven, but it was clear that I was in charge.
"One winter night, an enchantress, or so she said," he added with a sidelong glance in my direction, "came to the castle. She was disguised as a beggar woman and said her name was Enchantra. She begged me to let her stay the night, but I was an arrogant young fool then, and massively afraid of old women. I turned her away at once, not caring if she froze, as long as she stayed far away from me. It was then that she transformed into a beautiful young girl. She seemed to be even younger than I was, maybe nine or ten years old, and she was horribly wicked looking. She smiled slyly at me and told me she was a powerful enchantress and was going to turn me into a hideous beast because I did not care for anyone but myself. And so," Brian said with a small sigh, "I am a beast."
I laughed, despite myself. That was just like Enchantra!
"Oh, she's horrible!" I exclaimed, full of mirth. Brian the Beast looked downcast and I instantly stopped, without even thinking. That irritated me. I was actually being nice!
"Well," I said, assuming an air of nonchalance, "that explains your beastliness. But what about that Luna-girl? Where does she come in the picture?"
Brian smiled a little.
"That was a bad mistake on my part," he admitted. "Before Enchantra left, she said that the only way the enchantment could be broken was if I fell in love and if the girl loved me back. Then she gave me a magic hand mirror and told me that I could use it to see whatever I wanted. I was so afraid of people seeing me as a beast, and I was equally afraid of seeing myself as one, so I used this mirror to look at myself as who I truly was – Brian, Prince of Floz. I needed to remind myself that I really was human somewhere inside this monstrous guise. It did not help that my nurse, as soon as she saw me, ran away, never to return, and my father died of shock.
"As the years passed, I grew more and more afraid of people, so that when a middle-aged man showed up uninvited in my castle a few months ago, I nearly passed out from terror. My fear soon abated, however, when I saw what he was holding. It was my hand mirror, the only proof that I was human and not this awful monster.
"I tried to scare him away but he would not leave the mirror. He said he wanted it for his daughters, because they were so beautiful and deserved a lovely little looking glass like the one I possessed. I asked him, rhetorically mind you, that if I gave up my mirror to him, would he give up one of his daughters to me? I did not mean that he actually should. I was just trying to prove to him the value that mirror had to me. He took me literally though and fled, sending his lunatic daughter back a few days later. And so," Brian the Beast sighed, "I have been stuck with her ever since. I had had no one to talk to for so long, I told her all about the terms of the spell. She took that to mean that I wanted to marry her, and so every night she tells me she will not. Every night. It drives me up the wall. I pity the idiot who ever does find it in himself to ask her hand in marriage."
I snickered. Brian the Beast broke into a broad grin and said, "so what about you? Why did Enchantra turn you into a clock?"
So I told him the story of how she'd burst randomly in my house and said she'd had enough with my ego. Brian the Beast laughed at that.
"Unlike you," I told him, "the generous Ritch did not give me any terms of breaking the enchantment. She just said I'd turn back into a wizard 'when I'm ready,' but I'm going to go on a quest to find out how."
The Beast's eyes lightened up, making him look even more human than ever.
"I know how you can find a way to break the spell," he said quickly. "There is a fairy somewhere in Floz who specializes in enchantments. Her name is Magnificent. She cannot help me with mine, as my terms are specifically set that I cannot be human again unless I'm in a loving relationship, but yours are not. She may be able to help you."
I felt a rush of hope.
"Well," I cried, scrambling to my clock feet, "let's go then!"