Beauty and the Beast
Wow, lot's of reviews for the latest chapter. Thanks, everyone!
Reviewer responses, then. Seems like there's a fair number of queries, anyway.
DilaZirK, no, there will be no character in place of Mrs. Potts. It's not going to be as direct an adaptation as that. I just want to use characters I think fit well into the story. There'll be a couple more minors popping out, so look out for them!
TheEvilQueen, no. Kilik and Xianghua will not, unless there is a last minute change, appear in the story. I already have most, if not all of the casting decisions set in stone. And while we're at it, DragonLady262, Kilik and Xianghua never even crossed my mind for the slightest moment as Lumiere or Cogsworth. Their personalities are completely worlds apart.
Zeldagirl335, no. Link isn't going to show up, and neither, for that matter, are any of the console exclusives.
DragonLady 262, concerning the Nightmare issue. I decided not to place him in his Azure armor for two reasons. The first is that, logically, he's already ashamed enough of his looks; why dress up like a monster knight while we're at it? And second… it'll be revealed soon enough. Kind of a plot point.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 3
Without another word, Nightmare strode past Cassandra. His malformed arm reached up and pulled back on the iron gate. With a screech of rending metal, it gave way, and Sophitia tumbled out onto the stone floor.
"Cass-!" She began to stumble to her younger sister, but her cry was cut short as Nightmare lifted her effortlessly from the ground. Turning, he began to stride towards the stone steps that were the exit from the tower dungeon.
Cassandra half-turned, to see her sister struggling vainly against Nightmare. "P-please…" She began. The monster stopped short. "Will you not let me say goodbye?"
An eternity of silence… and then Nightmare's clawed hand open, dumping Sophitia to the ground once again. "Two minutes." Was all he said.
Instantly, Cassandra rushed over, and drew her sister into a tight hug. Sophitia jerked away and grabbed onto Cassandra, eyes wild.
"Cassandra! You can't do this! I won't let you do this!"
She merely smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You always sacrificed for me… Let me do this, huh? This is the better choice, sis. You know me. I'm a loner. No real friends back in town. No one will miss me. You have Rothion, sis. Be happy together. And Lucius… if he ever stops by, tell him I'm sorry. Goodbye, Sophie. Goodbye, sister." She hugged Sophitia again, and this time, she didn't break away, too numb with shock to do anything but sob softly.
"No…" She kept repeating. "No… no, it can't…"
Then, "Time's up."
She was jerked backwards from her younger sister. Nightmare slow, implacable stride carrying her further and further away from Cassandra, still kneeling, hands pressed to her eyes to prevent the tears.
"Cassandra! NO!" She cried one last time. Then she was lifted up like a sack of grain as they came to the steps, and her sister vanished from view.
All was silent in the dark room, save the sound of a single person weeping.
"Oh, Sophie…"
"Take her to the village."
The driver of the carriage hissed in reply, and long, bony fingers grasped the reins of a black horse. Behind him, in the carriage, he could hear the sounds of the lady struggling to get out.
No matter. She would not be able to escape, unless he allowed it. Cracking the reins, the stallion whinnied, and charged off into the night.
Nightmare didn't bother to glance at the retreating carriage. Turning, he glanced up to the central tower. The woman was probably still there.
"What do I do?" He whispered softly as his brushed back his blond hair with his human arm. "What do I say to her?" He continued as he walked through the darkened halls.
"Master?"
"What, Talim?" He growled irritably.
"Well," She began. "I was just thinking- this girl is going to be with us for some time, right? Well then, you might want to offer her slightly more… comfortable lodgings?"
Nightmare glowered at her, then turned and strode up the hewn steps that led to the top of the battlements.
"Only a suggestion…" Talim muttered under a breath.
She sat against the cold stone of the wall, crying softly. Nightmare stood, watching her for an endless moment. What were these feelings, tugging at his heart?
Angrily, he brushed them aside. He could figure out feelings later. Right now…
"I'll show you to your room." He said. Instantly, the girl jerked upright, staring at him with bloodshot eyes. Without another word, he turned to leave.
He was halfway out of the room when he realized the girl had not moved. Twisting his head back to look her in the eye, he continued. "Unless, of course, you want to stay in the tower."
That shocked the woman out of her immobility, Nightmare noted with some satisfaction as he turned to leave.
And there was Talim, hidden in the shadows. "Say something nice to her!"
Nice? He blinked, and half-turned to face the girl once more. "Uh, this castle in your home now, so, uh, I hope you'll like it here. You'll have free run of the entire castle-" Then he continued, almost as an afterthought. "Except the chapel."
She looked up, surprised. "Why? What's in-"
"It. Is. Forbidden." He snapped with an anger that caused Cassandra to stumble back out of shock and fear. Staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face, he finally jerked his chin to indicate her to follow him down the tower, which she did hesitantly.
Meanwhile, in the alcove, Talim groaned. If this was really her master's best attempt at being 'nice', she might as well forget the curse had a chance to be broken in the first place.
"The light's almost spent, too…" She mumbled wearily to herself as she ran down after the pair that had just left.
She didn't know how long she spent walking through the ornate hallways, and truth be told, she hardly cared. She was far too miserable to make any mental maps of the area.
However, they had to stop somewhere, and they did, just outside a set of elaborately carved doors.
Reaching over, her captor gave the door a push, swinging it open effortlessly. Licking her lips nervously, Cassandra took her first step inside.
"This will be your room now." He said softly. "If you need anything, my servants will attend to you."
Cassandra glanced around the room. Decorated in light hues of lavender and sky blue, this room almost held a warmth that was totally absent in all other areas of the castle. Resting against the wall, a four-poster bed was apparently where she was to spend her nights, and other trappings, such as a mirrored table, adorned the room.
Behind her, the door slowly began to creak shut, and Cassandra heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe she'd be able to stay away from him from now on.
Then, "You'll, uh, join me for dinner." A pause. "That's not a request."
Then again, maybe not…
The door swished shut, and Cassandra was alone once more.
The infernal rattling over the cobblestones halted at long last. Sophitia, somewhat worse for the wear from the long ride through the forest, lifted her head.
Getting into a sitting position, she blinked in the musty darkness, still unsure as to where exactly she was. Slowly, she began to edge over to the sealed door.
Suddenly, it swung open with a loud clang, and she drew back. Standing in the doorway was a repulsive, lithe-limbed creature that resembled nothing so much as a serpent. It's eyes were wrapped in thick cord, showing… it to be completely blind Before she could say so much as a word, it reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulder. His touch was cold and lifeless.
She tried to struggle, but in vain. His strength was inhuman. With a quick toss, she was sent sprawling onto the cobbled street, and the driver crawled back onto the carriage sinewy hands grasping hold of the reins of a horse black as pitch. In seconds, it had vanished into the thick night fog, from whence it came.
Now alone, Sophitia cast wildly about. Yes, she was back in the village. She- she had to find help. She had to find people to help her return to the castle and save Cassandra. Up ahead of her, she noticed lights from the tavern. Yes, she'd find people there. Stumbling forward, she set out at a dead run for the pub.
Raphael tilted his head back, downing yet another mug of beer. Ordinarily, he wouldn't deign to grace this bar with his company, but after the little… incident earlier this morning, he was willing to take whatever alcohol he could find. And hang it all, this pub served good ale.
He still flushed slightly when he thought about the events that had occurred earlier during the morning. How dare that little baker's daughter turn him down!
"No one says no to me!" He muttered softly. He'd been disgraced, publicly humiliated, and that was more than he could bear. If he was going to be able to hold his head high again, he'd need to rectify certain wrongs… such as the fact that Cassandra had turned him down.
It was at this exact moment that the doors to the pub burst open, and Sophitia stumbled in, eyes wide and gasping for breath.
"Help me! Somebody, help me!" Seeing the majority of the people in the tavern were staring at her with a bemused or shocked expression on their faces, she stumbled towards the bartender. "Please, I need your help!" She begged. "He's – he's got her locked up in a dungeon!"
The bartender blinked and shook his head. "Whoa, slow down there, Sophitia. Who's got who locked up?"
"Cassandra!" She sputtered. "We have to go! There's not a moment to lose!"
"Who's got Cassandra?" The exasperated bartender finally snapped.
"A- a monster! A horrible, nightmarish monster! He's, uh, he has red eyes, and he's hideous! And he has a huge, mutated arm-"
Raphael stood, smoothing his coat. "All right, Sophitia. We'll help you out."
Before she could say so much as a word, she was shoved out through the swing doors of the bar onto the muddy ground, the mocking laughter of the patrons within all too clear.
"Crazy ol' Sophie." They laughed. "Finally lost it."
"Knew all those religious nutjobs go loco' with all those prayers sooner or later. Crazy girl."
Meanwhile, back in the noisy pub, Raphael stroked his chin contemplatively. "Crazy old Sophie… crazy ol' Sophie… hmmm."
And then he smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.
Meanwhile, in Nightmare's castle…
Nightmare paced impatiently, back and forth in front of the fireplace. "What's taking her so long?" He muttered. "I told her to come down for dinner."
"Be patient, master." Talim sighed. "She's lost her family and her freedom in the space of five minutes! She's probably still reeling from the shock of it all."
Yunsung glanced around. "Hey, uh, master." He began. "Have you given any thought to her being the… you know, the one? To break the spell, I mean?"
"Of course I have! What do you take me for, a fool?"
"Oh, good! So, you fall in love with her, she falls in love with you, and the curse is broken by midnight!"
"Get real, Yunsung. These things take time." Talim derided him.
"But you can barely even see the glow now!" He moaned.
Nightmare shook his head as he listened to the bickering of his two servants. "It's no use, really." He sighed. "You saw what happened in the tower. You saw how she looked at me. She's so beautiful, and I…" He lifted his arm. "Look at me."
"And whose fault is it that you ended up like that in the first place?"
"Shut. Up. Yunsung." Talim hissed. Nightmare had turned to face him, face contorted into a mask of rage.
"I…" He began, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I am perfectly aware of what I did seven years ago. I do not need you to remind me of that event. Ever."
Talim shook her head. "I'm going to go check on her." She said, before quietly leaving the room.
An awkward silence reigned in the room until the door creaked open again. Talim was standing in the doorway, head cast down.
"Well?" Nightmare demanded.
Talim gave a little cough. "Well, circumstances being what they are, she's, uh, not coming."
"Your lordship! Your grace! Your eminence!" Talim cried as she sprinted up the stairs two at a time, trying to dissuade her master. "Let's not be hasty!"
Stopping in front of her room, he pounded it. Hard. "I thought I told you to come down to dinner!" He fairly bellowed.
A pause. Then a soft voice, coming from behind the locked door. "I'm not hungry."
Nightmare gound his teeth, and drew his malformed arm back. "You come out, or I break down this door!"
Yunsung rolled his eyes at the complete lack of tact from his master, and Talim hurriedly laid a calming arm on him. "Master, I may be wrong, but… I don't believe that is the best way to win her affection."
"Yes!" Yunsung interjected. "Gentlemanly, courtesy, and politeness. That's the way!"
"What would you know about it?" Talim muttered under her breath.
Nightmare loosed a long, slow sigh of frustration. Then, in as 'gentlemanly' a voice as he could muster, "It would give me great, uh, pleasure if you would be so kind as to join me for dinner… uh, please!"
"No, thank you very much!" Came the muffled reply.
Nightmare clenched his human hand. "Fine! Then you can stay in there and starve until you agree!" Whirling, he strode from the door, muttering to himself. "If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all!" In seconds, he had disappeared around the corner.
Talim sighed. "Yunsung?" She made a gesture towards the kitchen. "Go get the others to clean up the cutlery."
"Well, what about you?" The redhead asked as he walked away from the room.
"I'm going to have a little chat." She said as she pulled a key from her pocket.
The doors to Ostrheinburg chapel flew open as Nightmare stormed through them, eyes blazing. "I ask her nicely, and she refuses! I'm already doing the best I can! What does she want me to do, beg?" He snarled.
Staking over to one corner of the chapel, he yanked up a sword with a faint azure glow about it. "Soul Calibur, show me the girl!"
For a second, nothing happened. Then, at the hilt of the sword, tentacles pulled back and runes glowed along the twin-pronged blade. A single eye, green as jade, drew open, staring straight into Nightmare's own.
Then, in the iris of the eye, he saw the girl in her room, sitting on the bed. Beside her Talim was leaning against the wall, a questioning expression on her face.
"C'mon, he's not so bad… once you get to know him. Why don't you give him a chance?"
Cassandra whipped around, eyes blazing. "I don't want to get to know him! I don't want anything to do with him! Understand?"
The image faded and disappeared, the eye closed, and all was silent in the chapel once more.
Nightmare laughed humorlessly. "I'm just fooling myself." Dropping the sword onto the stone floor, he turned and walked slowly back to the exit. "She'll never see me as anything but a monster."
He grasped the double doors, and with a mighty heave, pulled them shut. As the doors closed securely with a thud, he walked away, eyes downcast.
"It's hopeless…"
Meanwhile…
The door to the room slowly swung open, and Talim stepped through. A second later, Cassandra followed, still nervously glancing around.
Talim grinned. "It's okay. Lord knows what the master usually does, but he won't bother you while we find you some food. I promise."
Cassandra managed the tiniest of smiles. "Thank you. I really am feeling rather hungry." She hadn't had anything to eat the whole day, she thought. Her sister's bread and home-cooked meals were always so delicious…
Snap out of it! She slapped herself mentally. Wallowing in self-pity wasn't going to help her any. If anything, it'd just add to her depression.
Talim must have noticed the forlorn expression on her face, for she reached up to put a comforting arm on the older girl's shoulder.
"Don't worry." She said gently. "I know it's hard on you, being all alone like that. Like the master said, if you need anything at all, just ask, and I'll do whatever I can."
Cassandra nodded, feeling slightly buoyed by this offer of friendship. At that moment, she rounded the corner- and gave a little cry of fright.
A floating, bloodred eyeball stared at her noncommittally, occasionally drifting to the left or right, as though attempting to observe her from all angles. And if that weren't creepy enough, it was beating like a heart, a slow steady rhythm.
"Whuh… wha…" Cassandra stammered as she backed up.
"Bad Charade!" Talim snapped. "No scaring the guest!"
The eyeball floated back somewhat, a slightly hurt look in his eye. Then, from various corners in the room, pieces of what appeared to be maroon stones flew towards the eye, as if drawn to a magnet. Once the reached it, the began to rearrange themselves, until the entire configuration was vaguely humanoid in form, with the eyeball located dead center in the chest.
"Uh…" Cassandra slowly inched forward, before poking one of the pieces of stone located at what appeared to be the… thing's shoulder. It gave no response whatsoever, other than the eyeball swiveling in place to regard her with a curious gaze.
"This…" Talim said hastily. "Is Charade. It is… was, our housepet. Then well, seven years ago, …something… happened and this…" She gestured somewhat helplessly. "Was the result."
"I… see…" She didn't. Not really. But if truth be told, she was totally willing to let it pass.
Charade merely walked past her, it's eyeball turning the entire time so that it was always looking at her, until it finally disappeared into another room.
This place is too creepy for words. Cassandra thought wearily as she followed Talim.
Well, as promised, here goes.
Unlike most of my other pairings that I support in games, I can very clearly trace where I got my fondness for the Nightmare/Siegfried- Cassandra pairing from.
When Soul Edge came out, I eagerly played it, and became a fast Siegfried-Sophitia shipper. The young insane knight, questing for vengeance, and a divine warrior, tasked to free people from the evil grip of the sword. Could there possibly be a more perfect pairing?
At that time, I had not yet heard of this site, and thus no fic went up. (Although if it had, it would've been of terrible quality. I was ten at that time.)
Of course, Soul Calibur was greatly anticipated, but alas-alack! It had to be exclusive to the Dreamcast, which I did not have. And so I was confined to arcades and websites, sourcing out my favourite fighting game.
And, of course, I learnt about Rothion.
'Curses.' I muttered, for my dreams of Siegfried and Sophitia nursing a trio of blond-haired blue-eyed kids in some quiet place seemed to vanish.
But I am a writer, and a lover of books. If there is one thing I attempt to respect at all costs in writing, it is any previously established canon. And so, reluctantly, I dispelled that pairing.
Came Soul Calibur 2, and with it for the Playstation 2, I had no troubles whatsoever securing a copy. And I learnt how to play the feisty, spunky, sword-and-shield toting hottie that was Cassandra. (And to the reviewer saying she doesn't look that good, that's your business, but I really have to wonder who looks good to you, then.)
Then, visiting this site, I stumbled upon a little story known as 'The Angel and the Nightmare'.
To be sure, the story could (and still could) use some work, in terms of tone and characterization. But it's a good story in it's own right, and upon reading it, I chanced upon my first glimpse of the Siegfried/Nightmare- Cassandra pairing.
I was intrigued. If I was to be honest, I'd never considered the two together before, but as I considered it, it seemed to make sense.
The clincher was my putting them through the 'locked room' test, and seeing the results.
The 'locked room' test, is a mental test of my devising, to see how two characters would interact if stuck together in a locked room, based on personality, motivations, intentions, and whatnot. By doing this, you can easily tell if two people would go well together.
Siegfried and Cassandra passed with flying colours. And frankly, my emotional, romantic side (which is kinda dominant, if I'm to be frank. Especially concerning writing.) felt good with it.
And thus, Cassandra and Siegfried is now my flagship Soul Calibur pairing.
And not to criticize or anything, but isn't the Nightmare/Siegfried – Talim pairing a little… odd? He's what? Nine years her elder?
(And don't get me started on Ivy-Nightmare.)
(And as to why Sophitia isn't the Beauty in particular here, I really, really never thought she'd fit. Her personality is markedly different from what I hoped to portray, and besides, Cassandra's the one the narrator talks about with 'love for family'.)
With that said, please review! Thank you.