Model Beast
By Thomas Mc
Chapter 10 : The Concept
March 2036
Emily walked out of the theater, into what passed for a London spring, smiling. The live action remake of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' had been everything the hype had made it out to be. The movie had been out for nearly three weeks now and was already becoming a cultural phenomenon. She had gotten a free afternoon and taken advantage of the lull in her schedule to see the movie.
Emily was startled out of her pleasant mood by the crowd of paparazzi that began closing in on her. Danny, her ever-present bodyguard took her elbow and guided her through the increasingly insistent people, to the car that was waiting for her. She had even gone out more or less anonymously without her signature cloak and still they had found her.
Tomorrow she would be heading over to Ireland for another advertising gig then next Friday she had been invited to attend the premiere of 'The Hidden Kingdom', based on the first book of Brigit O'Donnell's 'Hidden Kingdom Trilogy'. Rumor had it that they had already started work on 'Children Of The Hidden Kingdom' and were in contract negotiations for 'Return to The Hidden Kingdom'. Emily had read all three books shortly after meeting Devin and fallen in love with them.
Once back at the hotel Emily and Danny retired to the lounge to relax and shoot the breeze. They had been watching a soccer game on the video when Danny commented. "So, I see the media hasn't yet twigged onto your boyfriend."
She looked over at him in surprise. "What?"
"Your New York boyfriend." He responded with a grin.
"Where did you get an idea like that?" She inquired a bit nervously.
"It's logical, at least to me." He replied. "I have lots of friends in the personal security industry and I come from New York. Whenever you are in New York, you often go out without security escort. Also you seem to be in a more upbeat mood right after a stop in New York. To me, that suggests a New York romance connection. The fact that the media hasn't caught on suggests that it might be serious enough for you to want to keep it quiet." He sat there staring back at her with a large self-satisfied grin.
After a second she responded. "OK, you've got me. But if you tell anyone, I'll have to shoot you." She grinned.
"So, how serious is it?" He asked.
"Very." She replied.
"Well I wish good luck to both of you." He responded.
"Thank you." After a minute she finally asked. "So if you grew up in New York, how did you end up working overseas security?"
Danny shrugged. "I have always had a talent for languages and my rather unique upbringing gave me a chance to experience a lot of different cultures. That made me very valuable when it came to helping celebrities get around in foreign countries." Then his attention shifted and he was cheering as one of the teams made a score.
Emily was left wondering just how familiar he was with New York urban legends.
~ x x x x x ~
Emily was enthralled by the beautiful green Irish countryside. Most of yesterday had been spent doing photo shoots using that countryside for background. Most of today had been spent touring that same area with her faithful security guard, Danny. He told her that this was his first time in Ireland and he was enjoying the tour as much as she was.
Her tour had included the house just outside of Dublin where Brigit O'Donnell had lived. Two items in the carefully preserved house drew her attention. One was a photograph of Brigit and two other pretty women. One of the other women she recognized as a young Catherine Chandler. She didn't know who the other woman was. The other item was a painting of Brigit. In the lower left corner was the artist's signature, 'Vincent '.
"You know legend has it that Brigit O'Donnell actually encountered the Creature of Central Park one Halloween night." Danny remarked as he gazed at a framed map of Central Park that was hung next to the painting.
"What?" She responded, startled by his comment.
"One of New York's more interesting urban legends." He replied. "Kinda like Bigfoot only supposed to be half man - half lion and tends to hang around the Central Park area. You ever heard of him?"
Emily grinned secretly to herself. "Yea, I've heard stories."
"My grandmother used to swear that the creature was real." Danny laughed. "She really believed those stories."
The curator of the place noticed her interest in the painting and came up to stand beside Emily and commented. "You know, no one has ever been able to figure out who the artist was that painted that portrait. We've had it examined by several art experts and they have all come up empty." She glanced at Emily. "We know it was painted in Central Park just before the turn of the century. The age of the paint puts it around 98 or 99 and that building in the background is the Belvedere Castle. The odd thing is that particles of rock dust and a type of mold that only grows below ground, were both found embedded in the paint." She shook her head. "The mystery of its origin and the identity of the artist have been the subject of much debate."
Emily couldn't help laughing as she realized that she knew the answers to the questions that the scholars had been debating. Danny and the curator both looked at her curiously.
~ x x x x x ~
Emily was picked up by the limo and taken to the staging area where she met up with two other top models, Jessica and Heidi, along with the three top fashion designers that were to escort them to the premiere of 'The Hidden Kingdom'. Danny was there with four other security guards waiting for them.
"Emily, honey, you will be escorted by Pierre." She was told by the studio flack that was handling the publicity. Then he frowned at her. "Where is your cape?" He looked annoyed. "You must wear your cape. The advertising department insisted on it. It matches the one worn by the Beast. Why do you think the studio insisted on inviting you to this premiere?"
"It's in the limo." She responded.
"Well go get it." He insisted. "Hurry up; you're due to arrive in fifteen minutes."
Once she had retrieved her cloak the three models and their escorts were hustled into another limo. Then they drove around the block and slipped into a line of limos. It took them about fifteen minutes to go the hundred feet to the front of the theater. As they exited the limo, onto the red carpet, Danny and their security detail was there waiting for them.
Of the three models, Emily definitely drew the most attention.
The interviewer pressed her. "Every one is asking the same question, Emily. Where did you get your signature cape?"
This was not the first time that question had come up and she responded with what had become her stock answer. "This was given to me by a friend the first time I visited New York."
When the interviewer could get no more out of her on that subject, she moved on to other subjects. Then after a few more questions she and her escort headed into the theater. Pierre happened to be one of her favorite fashion designers so she enjoyed his company. It turned out that he was here because he had also designed most of the costumes for the movie.
~ o ~
One of the first things she noticed during the show was that the Beast in the movie looked a lot like Devin's family. The hooded cloak that the beast wore was almost identical to hers. Pierre admitted that he had based the beast's cloak on hers.
The movie was very good and Emily thoroughly enjoyed it. After the movie, Jessica and Heidi both gushed endlessly about how much they would like to find a Beast of their own like the one in the movie. Emily merely smiled.
~ x x x x x ~
By the end of April, Emily was back in New York. Both movies and the Brigit O'Donnell books had become a major pop culture phenomenon. Everywhere Emily looked she saw evidence of the Beauty and the Beast influence.
While Below Emily told them about what she had seen and heard while in Dublin. Vincent told her the story of how he first met Brigit. That peaked her interest and soon she was listening to other tales about Catherine and Vincent's Halloween excursions.
The next day she found a voice mail message from Pierre (he was one of the few that had her private number) asking her to call him back. She checked the time difference and, deciding it was still early enough, dialed the number Pierre had left her.
"Hello Pierre. It's Emily. I got your message."
"Emily great to hear from you. I have begun work on my new spring line and I was hoping you would be available when I announce it this fall."
"I might be. Can you give me any details?"
"This Beauty and the Beast thing is so big right now and I'm planning to base a lot of my new line on those two movies, particularly the one from Brigit O'Donnell's books. It will also tie in nicely with the two upcoming movies as well. I hope to announce the line with a fashion show late in October. I still need to work out the details on when, where and how."
"That sounds fine." She paused a moment in thought. "I just had an idea. You remember the wedding scene from the 'The Hidden Kingdom'?"
"Yes, a lot of the pieces in my new line are offshoots from my designs for that movie."
"Why not build your fashion show around that scene? Use the wedding dress you designed for the movie. It will certainly give a kind of authenticity to your clothes that the other designers can't claim."
"You know, that is an intriguing idea. I'll think about it. You will be part of it?"
"I'll do my best to be available." She thought a moment then continued. "Can you give me a better idea of when you will be holding it?"
"Some time in late 0ctober, probably the last week of the month."
"I'll keep that time frame open for you."
~ x x x x x ~
Around midnight Emily and Devin were walking through the park discussing when and where they were going to have their wedding.
Emily was gazing across the way at Belvedere Castle when an idea struck her. "Devin, you remember those stories Catherine and Vincent told us about the Halloweens they spent Above?"
Devin nodded, sensing enthusiasm bubbling up inside her and wondering where she was heading with this.
"It occurred to me that with all the Beauty and the Beast hoopla we might just be able to pull off a wedding in the park on Halloween. We could hold it in broad daylight and no one would give us more than a passing glance of interest."
Devin thought about this for a while then replied. "I know about your dreams of a wedding in the park and it sounds reasonable, but you are a well known celebrity and everyone will want to know who you are marrying. It could lead to awkward questions." He paused. "As much as I love the idea, I don't think there is any way we can make it work without generating too much unwanted interest in us."
Her enthusiasm for the concept was deflated by the unfortunate logic of his assessment. They walked on a bit and Emily continued to mull the possibilities over in her mind. Then she thought about her conversation with Pierre and the germ of an idea occurred to her as they walked past the castle.
Devin sensed the sudden shift in her mood. "What's got you so excited now?" He asked.
She glanced up and smiled, her eyes alight with mischief. "Just a thought I had. What if we could pull off a fancy public wedding in the park and still have the people around us think that it was just part of a show rather than a real wedding."
He stared back at her, one eyebrow quirked in disbelief. "That would be quite a trick if you could pull it off. It would certainly be interesting." He paused to think a bit. "I would love it if we could do it."
"Give me a couple of weeks to see if I can pull this together."
~ x x x x x ~
After several days of talking to various contacts in the business, Emily had confirmed her suspicions that several designers were thinking of incorporating some type of Beauty and the Beast motif in their new lines. Now all she had to do was figure out a way that she could use that information in formulating a plan to pull off a wedding in the park.
That evening after considering several possibilities, she called her favorite designer. "Pierre? It's Emily. I was thinking about your spring line, and I've heard that several of the other top designers have come up with the same concept."
"Yes, I've heard the same thing. That's why I have been trying to find a way to stand out from the crowd. I liked your idea of restaging the wedding scene, making it the centerpiece of my fashion show."
She took a deep breath and plunged in. "Suppose you held your fashion show in Central Park near Belvedere Castle. I heard that it was the inspiration for the Castle in Brigit's book." She paused again. This was the most critical part of her plan. "Invite the attendees to show up in costume and you could recreate the wedding scene for the climax of the show. You could even have the male models made-up to look like the Beast. That would certainly make you stand out as well as highlighting your designs for the movie." She crossed her fingers and held her breath as she waited for his response.
After several seconds of silence Pierre finally responded. "That is a very good idea. If I decide to do it, I want you to do the bride for the wedding scene."
YES! She took a moment to control her excitement. "I would love to do it. I also know a local person that can do very realistic lion-man makeup for the Beast."
"That sounds promising; I'll get back with you next month and see what can be worked out. Good luck, Emily and I'll talk to you later."
"Same to you, Pierre. Bye."
Emily was practically dancing after she hung up. She ran out of the apartment and headed straight into the park to deliver the news to Devin. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to slip Devin into the show at the right moment.
Devin was waiting at the storm drain entrance, anxious to find out what she was so excited about.
Two days later she was on her way to South America, her mind full of ideas, schemes and plans.
Continued in Part 11
'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.