Chapter VII: The Mistake
Keria made it home just in time, her father was not dead, and she was able to nurse him back to health. The next day, he woke up.
"Keria?" he asked.
"I'm here, Daddy." Keria said.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" Samos said. "How did you get away?"
"What?" Keria asked.
"How did you escape that Beast?" Samos asked.
"I didn't escape. He let me go." Keria said.
"What? That horrible Beast?" Samos asked disbelieving.
"He was not horrible. He's changed somehow..." Keria said, but she was interrupted by her pack wiggling, then a small blue Ottsel fell out along with the magic mirror.
"Philip!" Keria gasped. "Looks like I had a stowaway."
"Why'd you leave, Keria?" Philip asked, "Don't you like us?"
"Of coarse I do, Philip." Keria said, but before she could explain more there was a knock on the door. She got up and opened it, and gasped. Outside was a thin, skeletal man. He looked thoughly unpleasant.
"I've come to collect your father." The man said.
"My father?" Keria asked.
"Oh, don't worry, we'll take good care of him." The man stood aside and pointed at a waiting cart, it had 'Asylum' printed on the side.
"My father is not crazy!" Keria said.
"Ha! We all heard him!" Erol's servant shouted his rehearsed lines. "Tell us again, Samos," The servant said as Samos appeared in the doorway. "Just how big was the Beast?"
"He was huge!" Samos said.
"You don't get much crazier than that!" the Servant said.
Three men grabbed Samos and began to drag him to the cart. Erol slipped behind Keria.
"I am so sorry, Keria."
In her desperation, she turned to Erol, "Erol, you know my father's not crazy!"
"I might be able to clear this little misunderstanding up, if you do one thing for me."
"What?" Keria asked.
"Marry me." Erol said.
"Never!" Keria spat.
"Then I guess I can't do anything." Erol said. Keria ran back into the house, and came out with the mirror.
"I can prove my father's not crazy!" She held up the mirror, "Show me the Beast!" There was a flash of magical light as the mirror showed a picture of the Beast, roaring in his agony.
"Is it dangerous?" A villager asked.
"No!" Keria said, she looked longingly upon the Beast's face. "He's too kind and gentle. He's my friend."
Erol took the mirror away from her, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had feelings for this Beast!" He began to sing:
The Beast will make off with your children,
He'll come after them in the night!
"No!" Keria yelled.
Erol sang:
We're not safe till his head is mounted on my wall!
I say we kill the Beast!
The Mob yelled:
Kill him!
The villagers sang:
We're not safe until he's dead!
He'll come stalking us at night!
Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!
He'll wreak havoc on this village if we let him wander free!
Erol sang:
So it's time to take some action, boys,
It's time to follow me!
Though the mist,
Though the woods,
Though the darkness and the shadows.
It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride!
Say a prayer,
Then we're there
At the drawbridge of a castle.
And there's something truly terrible inside!
It's a Beast!
He's got fangs,
Razor sharp ones!
Massive paws,
Killer claws for the feast!
Hear him roar!
See him foam!
But we're not coming home
'Til he's dead.
Good and dead!
Kill the Beast!
"No! I won't let you do this!" Keria screamed.
"If you're not with us," Erol said, "You're against us! Bring the old man!" Erol had him thrown in the basement of their own house. "We can't have you running off to warn the creature!"
"Let us out!" Keria begged.
"We'll rid the village of this Beast!" Erol shouted. "Who's with me!"
"I am!" all the villagers shouted.
The Mob sang:
Light your torch!
Mount your horse!
Screw your courage to the sticking place!
We're counting on Erol to lead the way
Through a mist,
Through a wood!
Where within a haunted castle
Something' lurking that you don't see every day!
It's a Beast
One as tall as a mountain!
We won't rest
'Til he's good and deceased!
Sally forth!
Tarry ho!
Grab your sword!
Grab your bow!
Praise the Lord and here we go!
"We'll lay siege to the castle and bring back his head!" Erol shouted into the crowd marching into the woods towards the Beast's castle.
Back in the basement, Keria was trying to find a way out. "I have to warn the Beast! This is all my fault! Oh, Daddy, what are we going to do?"
Samos hushed his daughter, "Now, now, we'll think of something..."
However, Philip was on the job. He came and opened the door to the basement. (Readers: That was very anti-climatic.)
Back to the Mob, they were singing:
We don't like
What we don't understand!
In fact, it scares us
And this monster is mysterious at least!
Bring your guns,
Bring your knifes,
Save your children and your wives!
We'll save our village and our lives!
We'll kill the Beast!
In the castle, Daxter, Ashley, and Cogsworth were busy talking. "I knew it!" Cogsworth said, "I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up!"
"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come." Daxter said. Suddenly, there was a noise outside. Everyone perked up. "Could it be?"
"Is it she?" Ashley asked. They looked out the window down the main street, and saw a horrible sight.
"Sacre Bleu!" Daxter cried, "Invaders!"
"Encroachers!" Cogsworth yelled.
"And they have the mirror!" Ashley yelled.
"Warn the Master!" Cogsworth ordered. "If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them! Who's with me?"
Outside, Erol yelled, "Take whatever booty you can find. But, remember, the Beast is mine!"
Inside the Ottsels sing:
Hearts ablaze,
Banners high!
We go marching into battle!
Unafraid although the danger just increased.
Outside the Mob sang:
Raise the flag,
Sing the song!
Here we come, we're fifty strong.
And fifty elves just can't be wrong!
Let's kill the Beast!
Up in the West Wing, Ashley entered the room to find the Beast sitting, staring at the invaders below.
"Pardon me, Master." Ashley said.
"Leave me in peace..." The Beast said, turning away.
"But, sir," Ashley said, "The castle's under attack!"
Outside, the Mob chanted, banging a battering ram against the door:
Kill the Beast!
Kill the Beast!
Inside, the Ottsels were trying to hold the door, but it wasn't working.
"This isn't working!" Daxter cried as the battering ram hit the door yet again.
"Oh, Daxter, we must do something!" Tess cried.
"Wait!" Daxter cried, "I know!"
Outside the Mob chanted:
Kill the Beast!
Kill the Beast!
Up in the West Wing, Ashley was trying to get the Beast to help. "What shall we do, Master?" She asked.
"It doesn't matter now." The Beast said, "Just let them come..."
The Mob outside gave out one last, 'Kill the Beast' and the door gave away. They filed into the supposedly deserted room. Erol looked around, nothing looked out of the ordinary. He stepped inside. He heard someone shout:
"Now!"
Then, all of a sudden, they were attacked on all sides by furry little rats. However, they had a lot of endurance and agility. And Erol found his 'army' being picked off by a bunch of rats. So he escaped the fray and went off in search of the Beast himself...
LES: The next chapter will be my last chapter. Then the ending that everyone who has seen "Beauty and the Beast" will know.