Still from 300, the songs are Cursed By Beauty and What Must a King Do

-

Chapter 11

Looking back I have this to regret: all the times I have loved and did not say so – David Grayson

For the rest of the month I was chained to the wall of my room. Briac or Rowena brought food to me three times a day, though I rarely ate it. Sometimes Father would come and try to speak to me, but I refused even to look at him.

Aisling came by a few times with a storybook, asking me to read to her. I did once, but the tale of a prince rescuing his beautiful princess from a dungeon cell made me think too much about how my own family was locking me away.

I marked off my thirty days as they passed by scratching lines on the wall. My alarm grew as I accumulated ten lines, then fifteen, and then twenty. When I reached twenty five marks, I began to loose all hope.

I'll never see my Beast again.

-

Twenty-seven days had passed since Adara left the castle, and Emily and Molly where both feeling the pain of the young woman's leaving. Both were depressed and couldn't even find the strength to carry on their regular duties. Slowly but surely, the castle fell back into the dusty, unkempt ruin if has seen before Adara's arrival. And it didn't help that, as though in anger at her leaving, the castle rearranged itself about a week after Adara left.

Torin was suffering the worst. Adara's absence took over him like a cancer. He weakened daily, at first only in little ways, like not being able to remember the new arrangement of the castle, but with only three days left, he was so weak that he had to rest when walking around the castle. Even with Emily and Molly's help, he was hard pressed to get to the study, library, dining room, or his room. He spent all his time in Adara's room, sitting amongst the ruins of her furniture and clothing. His meals had to be brought to him, though he rarely ate anymore.

Without Adara there to give him the hope he so desperately needed, Torin's optimism fell into ruins. He knew without a doubt that Adara would never come back for him, no matter her promises, and he would remain a beast forever. Strangely, instead of making him angry with her, this notion only served to made Torin love her more. He also knew that he was dying of love and hopelessness, and he'd be lucky even to last the month he'd promised. He didn't tell the servants, because it would only serve to worry Molly and Emily wouldn't care.

"Adara has forgotten me," he murmured to himself, glancing for the thousandth time at the slip of paper he kept with him all times, reading My Dear Beast again with a hopeless heart. "And soon I will die alone, and as a Beast."

-

"Adara?" Aisling's voice reached me deep within my sleep. I opened my eyes to find her standing in front of me in her nightgown.

"Hi." I whispered. She came and sat on my lap, pulling my arms around her. The chains on my wrists had just enough slack for me to do this. After that, they tightened painfully.

"Tell me a story." Aisling murmured.

"I can't." I replied.

"Why?"

I sighed, holding her close. "I'm too sad."

"Why are you sad?" she asked.

I closed my eyes, willing my tears to stay back. "I don't think you'd understand, little one."

She pulled at my sleeve. "Please tell me?"

What am I supposed to say? I wondered. My Beast is going to die tomorrow. I can't tell her that…I thought for a few moments. As I did, I realized that maybe Aisling could understand what was making me miserable, if only she could hear it the right way…

"I think I do have a story for you." I murmured.

"What's it called?" she asked.

"It's called 'Beauty… and the Beast'."

Aisling nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. "And what's it about?"

"It's about… a girl, finding out that it's what's inside that counts, not someone's outer beauty." I murmured. She waited for me to continue, and I began my story. "Once upon a time… there was a girl named Beauty. She was a normal looking girl, no different from you or me… but, one day, her normal life was turned into a grand adventure."

"Why was her name Beauty if she wasn't beautiful?" Aisling asked.

I smiled half-heartedly. "A cruel twist of fate."

Aisling nodded as though this made perfect sense to her. I wondered if she knew what my name meant. "What happened to her?"

"She happened to be out on a walk when she came across a big, beautiful castle." I murmured, "When she went inside, she found that there where wonderful things inside. There where invisible servants to serve her every whim, beautiful dresses fit for a queen, and a huge library, filled with all kinds of books. Everything there was perfect, except for one thing."

"What was that?" Aisling asked.

I fought to control my voice as I whispered, "A Beast."

"Like the bad monster that kidnapped you?" she asked.

"No, Aisling," I murmured, chastising her lightly, "He wasn't bad… and he wasn't a monster. He was misunderstood. He was a Beast, plain and simple. On the outside, he was ugly, but on the inside… he had a heart of gold."

"Was he nice to Beauty?"

"He was." I murmured. "He took care of her and gave her everything she wanted. All he wanted was for her to be happy, no matter what it cost him. And before the Beast knew it, he was in love with Beauty."

"What did she say about that?" Aisling murmured.

"She didn't know what to say at first. Beauty thought of the Beast only as a friend up until that point, and even for a time after that. But then she went home, and she had to face a month without her dear Beast by her side."

Aisling stared at me expectantly. "What happened then?"

Suddenly, I thought back to the letter I'd written to Beast. Everything seemed to fall into place then, and I realized something. I was in love with the Beast.

Despite the books I'd read and the music I'd heard on the subject, I'd never been taught exactly how to pinpoint the actual feeling of love. I supposed it would be something that happened the moment you set eyes on a person, some sort of reaction between the both of you that told you, you love him.

But what I felt for Beast was nothing like that. It was something that had to grow, something that needed to be nurtured by actions and words… and the final piece had been the night he'd let me go. The letter proved it: what I'd written was nothing short of flowery overstatement, now that I looked back at it. The ranting of a girl who had fallen in love without realizing it.

I smiled sadly, wondering if Beast would ever gather as much from actually reading the thing.

"Well?" Aisling asked, snapping my back into the present.

"Beauty realized how much she really cared for the Beast, and how, even though he was ugly, she loved him more than anything else in the world." I murmured, fighting to keep tears from my eyes. I reached for the necklace that Beast had given me but the chains prevented me from touching it. "At that moment, Beauty stormed out of her home and back to the Beast's castle. When she found him, she told him how she loved him."

"And then what happened?"

"And then, even though he was a Beast and she was just a normal girl, the two lived happily ever after." I let my gaze fall on the door before me, the door that kept me from my Beast, "Because they knew that love is all that really matters."

Aisling yawned and clung to me. "Do you want to go back to your Beast?"

"Yes," I murmured, "I do, with all my heart."

Aisling nodded, then murmured, "Do you want me to help you?"

I took a sharp breath. "Will you?"

She smiled in that childish way that she had and nodded. "Briac is asleep. I know where they keep the key to the chains."

"Oh, sweetie, can you bring me that key?" I asked breathlessly.

She nodded, and before another word could be said she was out the door. I looked after her, wondering if I'd be able to make it in time. Oh, Beast, I thought, Please hold on.

-

Emily sighed, murmuring, "Only twelve more hours until her month is up." Both she and Molly where standing at Torin's side. He was sitting on the chair in Adara's bedroom since it was least damaged thing in the room, watching out the window as the dark sky blackened.

"I know." Torin whispered, his voice hoarse. He glanced at the tattered slip of paper in his palm and read it for the thousandth time before clutching it tightly in his fist and holding it close to is chest, only to smooth it carefully and read it again a moment later.

"Is there anything you need, Torin?" Molly whispered.

"Yes…" he dragged himself to his feet, ignoring the use of his birth name. "I need to go… to the study."

"Torin, you're too weak." Molly cautioned.

"What do you need from the study?" Emily asked, her voice unnaturally kind. "I'll bring it here."

"You can't." he sighed, steadying himself with the help of the wall, "I need to use the mirror."

"Why?" Emily asked.

"Because," Beast murmured, putting his paw to his chest and holding the slip of paper against the fabric of his shirt as though it would help his weakened heart to beat, "I want to see her… one last time."

-

Finally, after an eternity, Aisling came back to me, the key dangling from her hand. She dropped it into my grasp and I struggled to unlock my manacles.

"Thank you so, so much." I whispered, lowering the shackles to the floor. I rubbed my raw wrists, wincing at the sting from the "fresh" air.

"Are you going to your Beast now?" Aisling asked.

I nodded. "I have to, before it's too late."

"Can I come?" she murmured.

I stared at her. "Why would you want to come?"

"I want to meet him." Aisling whispered. "Everyone says that he's scary… but if he loves you, and you love him, that means he's nice… doesn't it?"

Tears stung my eyes, but I smiled through them. "That's exactly what it means." I murmured, picking her up. "Come on, let's go."

-

Aisling and I had to be very, very quiet as we passed by the sleeping forms of my father and Briac. It was late, which was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because that meant that everyone was too deep in their sleep to hear Aisling and I leave the house, and a curse because it meant that I had only a few hours to go back and save Beast.

I was afraid that they'd do something to Thunder, knowing that he was the only horse that could get me there on time. But, thankfully, they had thought that the chains and the guard at the door would be enough to keep me. I took Thunder from his place next to Lightening and put the saddle on him. Then I put Aisling in front of me and we began to ride.

Unbeknownst to Aisling and Adara, Briac had woken up and followed them to the stable, hidden under the cover of the night. Once they where out of sight, he mounted Lightening and followed them with the gun that his father had mounted over the door earlier that year for protection.

No one, he decided, is going to hurt my sisters.

-

The hours dragged on like years as I neared the castle. A short time after we left the house, Aisling fell asleep in my arms, dreaming of something simple and sweet. I was too panicked to even think of sleeping, though, and after a while it began to rain, wetting everything around us. Mud splattered my clothing, and I used my cloak to keep Aisling dry. It was a blessing when I finally reached the castle.

"Aisling," I whispered, taking her into my arms as I slid off the horse, "We're here."

Aisling's eyes widened as she took in the surroundings: the beautiful castle, the roses, and the large door leading to where the Beast, a creature both mysterious and frightening in her young eyes, stood waiting.

I took her hand and led her towards the castle. Neither of us where decent to be going into a castle, I knew. Aisling was dressed in a simple nightgown, and I was wearing the same dress that I had since the beginning of the month. My hair was ratty and tangled, and I was wet and covered with slimy mud. But I knew Beast wouldn't mind, and clothes could be changed and hair could be brushed.

"Come on." I murmured, "Beast is waiting."

-

I've always thought that children know more than adults do. When we grow up, we loose a simple way of thinking that could solve a lot of problems.

... That and we're sucked into a weird new world of skewed values and bad movies.