Beauty and the Beast

Chapter Three: The Mysterious Castle

Radek set out for Sateda at a steady clip. Looking at his map and muttering to himself in his native language. Even though Radek was brilliant, he unfortunately did not know how to read a map all that well. Fortunately for him, Puddlejumper seemed to know the way for the gentle Clydesdale seemed to know which path to take every time. Then misfortune hit!

Radek looked up from his map, just as they reached a fork in the road and this is where everything started to go wrong for Radek. Not noticing exactly where they were, Radek directed Puddlejumper down the wrong path. Puddlejumper looked down the path Radek wanted to take; it was filled with fog and gave off a very sinister feeling. Puddlejumper was quiet sure he could hear wolves howling in the distance. Puddlejumper looked at the path he had been planning on taking, it was bright, cheerful and the birds chirped in joyous abandon. Now Puddlejumper was not stupid. He knew which the better path to take was and he tried to take it.

As Puddlejumper tried to go down the correct path, Radek jerked on his reigns. "Now, P.J., this is the way, yes. This is to correct path to Sateda."

Puddlejumper tried to ignore Radek by trying to go down the correct path once again and once again Radek pulled his reigns in the opposite direction. Puddlejumper sighed and capitulated. As Puddlejumper trotted down the path he grew more and more nervous. He started at the slightest noise but the final straw came when a chorus of howls went up nearby. Puddlejumper reared up in fright and Radek held on for dear life. "P.J.! What's wrong? Calm down, P.J.!"

Unfortunately another chorus of howls went out and Puddlejumper reared again. This time Radek could not remain seated and he tumbled to the ground. Puddlejumper whipped around and went racing home, leaving poor Radek out in the cold wilderness, alone.

Radek, disorientated from his fall, began stumbling down the path in the same direction he had been going on before. Once again the wolves howled and Radek looked around him and from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of glowing eyes. Now, deeply frightened, he began to run desperately down the road, all the while hearing howls erupt behind him and the swift padding of feet. He stumbled and fell into a puddle but he quickly pushed himself to his feet and continued on.

Radek desperately looked ahead of him, looking for some sort of salvation. Then he saw it. A set of wrought iron gates! He put forth a burst of speed and leapt for the gate. The gate shuddered as he hit it. He tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge. Radek cried, "Please, whoever owns this castle let me in! I beg of you!"

Howls once again erupted behind him; Radek spun around and saw the pack of wolves that had been stalking him. Their dark forms pressed closely to each other as they crept toward him. Radek pressed his back against the gate, his eyes wild with fear. The two leading wolves crouched down and then leapt!

Just before they could reach him, the gate opened and Radek tumbled backwards to the ground. The gate quickly slammed shut, right into the face of the charging wolves. One of the wolves snapped its jaws at Radek, catching his pant leg in its mouth. The wolf than tried to drag Radek closer to him, Radek desperately lashed out, kicking the attacking wolf in the jaw. The wolf released Radek with a yelp and Radek desperately scrabbled back from the gate.

Safe at last, Radek relaxed and then shivered. It was cold out and he was soaking wet, Radek knew he had to get out of the cold. He stood up and headed toward the dark, mysterious castle that lay at the end of the cobbled boulevard. He reached the main door and just before he touched it, it opened.

Radek gulped nervously and poked his head beyond the door. He saw no one; it was as if the door had opened up on its own. He took a deep breath and stepped into the dark, forbidding hall. As he moved farther in, the door suddenly slammed shut behind him. The sudden sound and movement caused Radek to leap into the air like a nervous cat.

He looked around, still seeing no one. He went forward and saw a candelabra sitting serenely on a ledge. He went toward it, picked it up and held it aloft so he could better see the area in front of him. Unknown to him, however, the main candle had developed a face. The Candelabra looked down at Radek, a smirk of wicked delight forming on its face. It leaned forward and tapped Rodney on his right shoulder.

Radek yelped and spun around, looking for the person who had touched him. The smirk on the Candelabra's face got bigger and he tapped Radek's left shoulder. Once again Radek whirled around and once again he saw no one. He began to get more frightened; it seemed he had stumbled upon a haunted castle. The Candelabra, however, was smirking wildly now and once again he leaned forward to tap Radek on the shoulder. Unfortunately for our smirking Candelabra, Radek saw him move.

Radek yelped in surprise and dropped the Candelabra to the ground. The Candelabra lay sprawled there on the floor, groaning, and then it pushed itself onto its base. It hopped around until it faced Radek, it scowled up at Radek and stated in an indignant and distinctively male voice, "You didn't hafta drop me, ya know!"

Radek stood there, staring at the Candelabra, his mouth agape. Then another voice spoke up behind him in a disapproving tone. "Aiden Ford, that is now way to treat our guest!"

Radek wheeled around and looked down to see a clock. The clock also had a face and he was scowling at the Candelabra named Ford. Ford whined "But Bates, I was only having a little fun. I didn't mean any harm!"

"You may not have meant any harm, Ford, but you almost scared the poor man to death." Bates stated firmly. Bates looked up at Radek and said, "Do forgive Ford's disrespectful behavior, sir. Please follow me the library; there is a fire there to warm yourself by."

He snapped his 'fingers' at Ford and proceeded to waddle up the hall. Ford sighed and hopped after him. Radek stared at them in bewilderment and after a moment, followed them. In a couple of minutes they arrived at the library and Radek, upon seeing the blazing fire, raced toward it and its promised warmth.