The trip to the convention was something that always tired poor Michael. He had to ride nearly a two days' journey just to get there, only to sell a few items and return home with less than he'd like. As long as he had enough to satisfy his family, he didn't mind cutting a few corners for himself. His family was his life, after all, and he would do anything to make them happy.

As he wandered through the woods in his wagon, he began to yawn. He had been up all last night trying to prepare his inventions for the day, and lost track of time. He grew weary, starting to doze off at the wheel. It wouldn't be terrible to close his eyes for just a moment, would it?

Suddenly, he awoke to his horse speeding across the forest, pursued by viscious wolves. Each step took him further and further from his destination, but he had no idea what was in store for him. The wolves would soon be the least of his problems.

"Phillipe, stop! You're going the wrong way!" He exclaimed, desperately trying to gain control of the horse while also avoiding the attacks of the wolves. He had never encountered such creatures on his way to the convention before. He had to consider the fact that he had strayed too far off of the path while he slept than he wanted to admit.

He started to feel a strange rumbling under the cart, and his blood ran cold. Something was wrong with his wagon, which could only mean that he was minutes away from being in even more trouble.

"Hold on, Phillipe. I'm going to climb onto your back." He whispers, struggling to stand up on the rickety wagon and crawl slowly toward his horse's broad back. Only as soon as he was on the horse did he dare look back as the wagon wheels broke off and fell off the path, knocking two wolves to the side.

He rode on until he found himself in front of a beautiful, yet slightly destroyed, castle. It looked like nothing he had ever seen before. There were no royals in the town, were there?

"Impossible," He whispers to himself in disbelief, shaking his head. He carefully slides off the horse's back, patting his neck gently.

"Good boy, Phillipe. You found a safe space for now. I do hope we can find our way back on the path in the morning."

Getting a good look around himself, he found a beautiful garden that was mostly filled with thorns and a couple of flowers struggling to live. In the middle of the garden, he saw something that he knew was a sign that things would be okay. That thing he saw was a beautiful red rose, blooming perfectly as if it weren't the dead of winter.

"Beauty." He whispered, moving toward the rose. He could take this home to her and feel he had done what he needed, even if he hadn't been able to sell his goods. The cart was likely completely damaged, and the inventions inside couldn't have fared any better.

As Michael plucked the rose from it's spot, careful of the thorns surrounding it, he heard a growl that did not come from the wolves. It was a deep, guttural growl that sounded like it could've come from a bear or even worse.

Daring to turn around, Michael was face to face with a large beastlike creature. He stood at nearly seven feet tall, his fur so tangled and matted that it stuck close like a second skin. This was a creature that cared little for its appearance, or at least had no means of taking care of itself.

"That does not belong to you," the beast snarled, swiping the rose from the man's trembling fingers and putting it back in the ground where it had been.

"P-Please, sir. I meant no offence. I was just trying to get a gift for my daughter. Sh-She asked for a rose, you see and-…"

The man was cut off as the beast suddenly grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, bounding inside the castle. The scent coming off of him was like a tavern and a graveyard mixed together. Never had something so pungent entered the man's nose, but that was only part of the problem. He was still being carried through corridor after corridor until he found himself deep inside the castle, nearing what appeared to be a dungeon.

"N-No, please! My children need me," Michael whimpered, looking pleadingly up at the hideous creature.

"You should have thought of that before you tried to steal from me!" The creature glared at him, pacing back and forth in front of the man's cell. Something about him made the beast curious, and he couldn't help but wonder why this man would risk his life just for a rose.