BEAUTY MEETS THE BEAST

To me reviewers:

Aedyn Star: thanks so much...i hope you enjoy what's to come

supersleuth: i'm glad you liked it!

kyra-maRia: i hope it lives up to expectations! lol

Kadesh: thanks! keep reading!

Masked Dragonfly: i'm so glad you enjoyed it! Beauty and the Beast is my all time fairy tale!

Okay...now here's a nice looong chapter for you guys...it'sgift for making you wait for the next chapter

Chapter Five

Nervously biting her nails, Gwen paced the kitchen floor.

"Gwen," Sara spoke firmly, "stop pacing like that. You're making me dizzy."

"Sorry, Ma," she muttered, already on her way out of the kitchen.

"Is anything the matter?" Sara watched her youngest daughter leaved hurriedly. What has gotten into her?

Gwen tried the barn, but her brothers were in there, building new stalls for the colts that had bid for at an auction in town yesterday. She slipped away silently, and returned to the house. She walked slowly up the stairs, itching for quiet. The dim of her sister's chatter met her ears and she immediately turned around and walked back down.

She had so much energy she felt as though she might explode! She steeled herself against the hammering of nails emanating from her father's workshop and went out behind the barn to the place she had last seen Dom. He'd been gone for two days. It wasn't an overly long time, but she hadn't lied when she'd said she'd miss him.

The brushes he'd used to groom Piper that morning still lay in the shade behind the hay bales. Gwen had never picked them up. She sat heavily on the hay, picking up the last brush she'd seen him touch. Running her hands along the handle, she strained for the feel of his skin against hers. When she realized what she was doing, she scoffed at herself, disgusted. She flung the brush away.

Dom wasn't in a stupid curry comb! Gwen sighed heavily, sliding to the ground. Leaned her head back, not caring if she got hay stuck in her hair, she closed her eyes and ran her hand along the grass. The dry stalks tickled her palm.

Her eyes still closed she moved her hand to her mouth, still able to feel Dom's kiss. She frowned. Why had he kissed her? They were just friends, right? Gwen opened her eyes again and looked around the field that stretched for several acres, broken only by the forest to the right and clusters of trees every once and a while.

Just friends. Or were they?

The crashing of branches caught her attention. Something big was scrambling through the woods. Dom! Gwen scrambled to her feet. The sounds became louder until suddenly, Piper burst through the tree line. The mare's hide was scratched and torn, and she was visibly shaking with exhaustion and terror. Her saddle hung limply under her belly, bumping against her legs.

"Piper!" Gwen cried in alarm. "Where's Dom?" The mare neighed ferociously, rearing as Gwen neared. Biting her lip, Gwen forced herself to calm down. There was no good in frightening an already terrified horse. "Shh, girl. It's okay." She clicked her tongue, soothing the mare with her words until the horse let her get close enough to touch. The whites of Piper's eyes showed intensely and she pranced in a nervous circle.

"Easy, girl. Easy." Letting her sniff her palm, Gwen unbuckled the saddle and let it drop to the ground. The horse shivered, her skin rippling with muscle.

"Where's Dom, girl? Huh? Where is he?" The horse offered no answer. "Take me to him," she whispered hoarsely. Dom could be hurt, could be lying dead somewhere! Her heart cried out. "Lead me to Dom," she spoke a little more forcefully, and led the mare to the nearby hay bales. Without hesitation, she bunched her skirts up around her waist and mounted her. Gathering the broken reins in both hands, she urged the horse back into the forest.

Sara glanced in the barn. Gwen wasn't there either. She'd searched the kitchen, her bedroom, the bathhouse, and now the barn. Her daughter was no where to be found.

"Jason?"

"Yes, Mama?" He looked up from his work at the back of the stable.

Sara walked toward him. "Have you see Gwen?"

Her eldest son shook his head. "No, I haven't." He drew his attention back to his work. "Haven't seen her since yesterday."

"Neal? Eric? Have you seen her?"

"No," the young men chorused.

"Hmm." Sara turned to leave.

Rose popped her head out of a nearby stall. "Ma?"

"Yes?"

"I heard hoof beats approach and leave several minutes ago. I didn't think anything about it, but maybe Gwen went for a ride."

Jason looked up with a frown. "That's not possible. All our horses are accounted for."

Sara didn't hear Jason finish his sentence. She was already heading around outside the barn. "Gwen?" Her daughter was no where to be seen. Glancing around, Sara noticed the pile of grooming brushes that sat quietly against the barn wall. It was the ripped and severely damaged saddle that lay in a heap beside them that sent up her heart's cry of alarm. "GWEN!"

Sara ran back inside the stable. Her frantic breathing and the tears spilling from her eyes drew her children around her.

"Gwen's gone."

Gwen gazed nervously at the dark clouds swirling and rumbling overhead. Gritting her teeth, she moved Piper away from the waterfall. Dom had come this way. Remnants of a lunch quickly eaten sat on a boulder not far away. Urging Piper on down the path, she glanced again at the sky.

She hated the cold and she hated being wet. Scolding herself for not remembering to bring a cloak, she reached for her saddlebags, only to remember she hadn't brought any. She groaned and the first rain drop fell.

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath. Dom had come this way. Dom, her best friend. The man she loved.

Gwen gasped aloud. Where had that thought come from? Love? Sure she loved Dom, but as a brother. Didn't she? There couldn't be anything like that between them. Their friendship would be ruined.

Wouldn't it?
Gwen remembered Dom's farewell kiss and how wonderful it had felt to be in his arm weeks ago in the pond. Electricity had spiraled through her veins at his touch. Was that love?

Shaking her head, she refused to think about it any further. Turning her thoughts back to the absence of a cloak, she vocally complained. "I always do this. I always have to rush into everything, without a thought as to why or what I'll need." Yes, she thought, this was much better than thinking about love.

She clucked to Piper and the faithful horse surged forward. With the sun sinking lower in the sky, they needed to find a place to stay for the night. Gwen glanced around. A willow tree would be nice. Or a big pine tree. An abandoned cottage would have been better. Heck, an occupied cottage would do, but Gwen knew the possibility of finding such a one was nearly impossible.

She continued on. Hours later, soaked, hungry, miserable, Piper stopped quietly. Half asleep, Gwen jolted awake and nearly slid from the saddle. Wiping her eyes, she glanced around and gasped in alarm.

This wasn't her forest! Snow covered the ground in huge drifts. The charred branches of the surrounding trees drooped low, covered in snow. Not a sound echoed in the forest. Nothing. Not even the sound of snow falling. Snow! It wasn't even mid-autumn! Gwen shivered violently. How was this possible?

Several yards in front of her stood a gate, at least twenty feet wide and twice that in height. A black foreboding castle gleamed in the dim sunlight. Luminous gray clouds spiraled from the tallest tower as lightening pierced the air. Only there was no thunder to accompany it.

Gwen sat cocooned in silence. Her breathing seemed overloud. She could hear herself blink. It was unnerving to her very soul. Sweat trickled down her back in fear.

Finally a sane thought pierced the fog that enveloped her. Gwen knew it must have been only hours since coming across that waterfall, maybe less. She certainly hadn't traveled an entire season! None of this made sense.

It felt like an eternity, but slowly, she slid from Piper's bare back and made her way toward the iron gate. She couldn't see much for the fog and the snow, but the dark castle loomed ever frightening. Hesitantly, she wrapped her hands around two bars. She leaned in as close as she dared and looked around, her heart pounding.

Maybe I can get inside and dry off. For all appearances, the castle looked deserted. Struck with a thought, she hurriedly looked for a lock. Maybe Dom had made his way here! He could be inside! Looking for a lock, her heart sank as she discovered a large padlock sitting stoically several feet out of her reach.

Hoof beats sounded suddenly behind her and she turned just in time to see Piper disappear into the woods. Panic seized her. She was alone.

Forcing herself to breath, Gwen just barely got a hold of her emotions. She turned her thoughts to her immediate problem – getting past the gate. She took a calming breath and stepped back. Then she noticed something. The space between two of the rusting gate bars was wide enough for her to slip through.

It took but a moment to do exactly that. Flecks of rust clung to her rain-soaked cloak and gown, but Gwen hardly gave notice. Slowly, she made her way toward the castle. With each step, the castle loomed closer, bigger, terrifying. Even in the density of the fog, she could see it shone, as if ebony, a substance her father had worked with quite frequently.

All too soon, she was standing before the great ebony doors and Gwen raised a trembling hand. Before she could touch the door, however, it swung open. Gwen jumped back, started by the movement coupled with a slow whining creak. She swallowed hard, forced thoughts of Dom and her father into her mind and stepped inside.

"Hello?"

Merric peered over the stone railing of the second floor balcony, invisible to the intruder. She was exhausted, from look of her. Her rain-darkened hair hung loose and around her face and shoulders, her stance rigid, from cold or fear, he did not know. Probably both. Her cloak hid the rest of her but even from a distance, Merric could see how she trembled. Her eyes, wide with fear, darted all around her.

Triumph locked around his heart as he watched her. A girl in the castle! He had no doubt this one had come searching for his prisoners. Merric's face stretched to accommodate a wicked grin. He would finally be rid of the spell! Therose was begun to wilt.

Thousands of years worth of memories crowded into his mind, turning his grin into twist of hatred. He'd been locked in the castle, bound to its inhabitants for over three thousand years, serving master after master. Every time the portal weakened and anew master was caught in it's snare, his hope grew and died. No master or mistress had been rescued by his or her true love in time to save them, or at all. No one had fulfilled the requirements: Only when the Master loved and was loved in return would the spell be broken.

"Hello?" The girl's feeble call drew his attention away from the past. For just a moment, he allowed his time hardened heart to soften towards the girl. She might just be his deliverance, after all. If things went according to plan.

He stepped into the lighting, drawing her gaze. "My lady?"

Gwen was too weary to let out a gasp. Her host must have seen her panic, however, and hurried to assure her. "Do not be alarmed, my lady. I will not hurt you." He raised his hands briefly in peace and walked slowly down the red-carpeted, dusty, grand staircase that dominated the front hall. "Might I ask, what is your name?"

Gwen eyed him as he made his way toward her. Should she trust him? "Guinevere," she whispered after a long moment.

The man bowed, every inch of him the courteous gentleman. Gwen didn't know what to make of him. What was a man like him doing in a castle in the middle of nowhere? Nothing made sense.

"You may call me Merric. Might I show you to your rooms?"

"My rooms?" Gwen blurted incredulously. "Oh, no. You see, I'm looking for someone. Two someones actually. I was wondering if they came this way."

"Friends?"

His question gave Gwen pause. Was a friend all Dom was to her? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind until another time. "Yes, and one is my father."

Merric thought of the old man caged in the dungeon. "Could you describe them to me? Perhaps they passed this way."

There was something about this man Gwen didn't like. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she couldn't bring herself to trust him. But he might be able to help her. "Their both taller'n me. One is about my age, green eyes, dark hair. My father has blue eyes and gray hair. Both were wearing tan breeches and plain tunics that I saw them."

Merric feigned interest. "When did you last see them?"

"My father left a few weeks ago, but Dom disappeared only this morning."

A man, hidden in the bowels of the castle, screamed suddenly. It echoed along the dark halls, sending chills down Gwen's spine. Gooseflesh rippled along her skin. Merric merely sighed.

"It'd be best for you to stay here, or take a seat in one of the parlors of this main hall. I'll be but a moment." Without waiting for a response, he ran down the hall to her left.

She stayed still a moment, before curiosity got the better of her. She followed him. Torchlight led her down a long winding hall and then down a staircase enclosed in walls of e bony. Cobwebs and spiders lined the walls as other insects crawled across her path. She nearly turned back. The man's screams rang out again and again, forcing her on. Finally, voices stopped her at the end of the stair.

"Shut up, you filth." She recognized Merric's voice, although his mild countenance was gone. Hidden by shadow, she slipped into the room, keeping to the dark corners. She watched silently, as he walked over to a large cell that dripped with grime. He kicked dirt and mud from the floor at a thin man huddled in a back corner.

"We've got visitors, Henry," Merric snarled. "We don't want you disturbing them! End your empty cries."

Understanding hit Gwen like a blow. "Daddy!" Gwen emerged from her hiding place. "Oh, Daddy!" she cried, bursting into tears.

Merric whirled. "No! My lady, get away from here!" He lunged to stop her, but she pushed past. He grabbed her arm and she whirled, landing a bone breaking jab on his nose. Merric let her go with a scream.

Oh, how her father had changed over the past weeks! He looked as though he hadn't eaten a stitch of bread. His skin was much too pale, his body too thin, too cold. Gwen grabbed his arms through the bars separating them.

With wild eyes, Henry shouted at her to get away from him. "What are you doing here? Get out!" he bellowed. "It's not safe here!" He pushed her away, and erupted into a coughing fit, flecks of blood littering his hands and clothing.

"Daddy!" Gwen cried in alarm. "Who did this to you? Merric?" Merric's moans could be heard over her hysterical cries.

Henry shook his head, warding her off with a wave of his hands. "No. A woman. A-a monster." Tucked his head into his knees, rocking back and forth. "I don't remember!"

"Daddy, come with me! We have to get out of here!"

"So tired," was her only response. Her father was fading. Fast.

"Daddy!"

Her plea must have struck a cord, long dead within him, for his head shot up, his eyes wide and feral. "Gwen," he crawled toward her. "Listen to me." He grabbed her hands through the bars. Again, Gwen was struck with the lack of life in her father's skin. "Get out of here." His voice was suddenly harsh and low, dangerous. "As soon as you can, run! It's not safe here!"

"Daddy, we have to get you out of here!" she cried, heedless of her father's warning.

"He will be here…"

A loud crash interrupted Henry's entreaty. Stone fell, crashing into a million pieces on the floor. Footsteps, too heavy to be human, echoed along the walls.

Henry shoved his daughter away. "Get out! He's here! Get out now!" He coughed again. Gwen felt the spray of her father's blood hit her face. She whimpered, refusing to leave her father. She huddled there, her very veins crying out in panic as whoever her father feared stepped closer. She glanced back at her father, and found him leaning against the dirty wall, lifeless.

"Daddy!" she screamed. It sounded as if the entire castle was falling in around her. "Daddy!"

But it was useless. Henry was dead.

Too terrified for tears, she huddled by her father, covering her head. Merric moaned again somewhere nearby. Then it stopped. The crashing. All was silent.

Then…

"Merric!" a deep husky voice bellowed. "I heard a woman's voice. What is the meaning of all of this?"

Gwen trembled. The voice sent shivers down her spine, and at the very recesses of her mind, she heard wolves howling, waterfalls rumbling, and a man screaming.

"Merric, get up!"

Gwen dared to open her eyes. The torches had been extinguished. The only light in the room came from a slit in the ceiling, opening to the sky. And she found herself sitting in its pool. She couldn't see anything.

Then a shadow moved. Footsteps moved. Gwen forced herself to breath, while sobs of fear shook her body.

"What is this?" the voice growled. "Who are you?"

Gwen didn't dare move.

A paw, belonging to a great animal, shot out of the darkness. Gwen screamed, but the hand was quicker than her feeble attempt to escape. It grabbed a hold of her and hauled her to her feet. The fur made her sneeze and the light captured features that were foreign, human, animal. Sobbing, tears streaming down her face, Gwen looked up into the face of her captor.