Chapter Four: Captive
It was still dark out when Jane roused herself from slumber and slipped out of her bed, careful not to wake Meg, who had insisted on sleeping with her that night. She dressed quickly in a dull brown dress and pulled her inky hair up in it's usual bun. After putting on her riding boots, she grabbed a dark cloak, fastened it's clasp around her throat, and tiptoed towards the door.
"Jane?"
Jane stopped with a disappointed sigh and turned around to see her sister, Emily sitting up in her bed, her beautiful face twisted in sadness. "Were you going to leave without saying goodbye to us?"
Jane frowned at her. "I thought it would be best. I didn't want to make you upset again."
"That doesn't matter." Said Emily, climbing out of bed. She went over and hugged Jane tightly. "I'd hate it if I didn't get to say good bye at the very least." She pulled away and smiled weakly at her. "I know I haven't always been the best sister, but I do love you, Jane. I'm going to miss you so much. I wish it didn't have to be this way."
"Me too." Jane replied. She turned her head and looked lovingly down at Meg as she slept peacefully. "Well, we might as well wake her up. We'll wait together for the messenger to arrive." The twins woke Meg up and the three nibbled on cheese and bread while they waited.
"Are you afraid?" Meg asked Jane.
"Not afraid…just nervous." Said Jane.
Emily sighed heavily and pushed away her plate, her bread and cheese left untouched. "It should be me leaving today."
Jane reached over and touched her shoulder reassuringly. "It's fine, Emily. I want to go."
Emily pushed her hand away and jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over in the process. "How can you want to be that awful man's prisoner?"
Jane smiled at her solemnly. "For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have a purpose, Emily. I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. I want to protect you both and save father. If I must be a prisoner to do that, then I will endure it. Please understand, both of you." She stood and drew her sisters to her, wrapping her arms around them both. "I'm doing this because I love you and I want you to have a happy life, even if I'm not here to see it." Jane held Emily and Meg close to her as they all burst into tears.
Suddenly there was a banging at the door. It was the sound of a heavy fist hitting the wood with great force. The door rattled under the fist's impact. The girls sprang away from each other and stared at the door as if the devil was about to come through it.
"That must be him." Said Jane. She hugged her sisters once again before going to open the door. She opened it and came face to face with the messenger her father's captor had promised. He was unlike any messenger she had ever met. He wore blackened armor and a dark shroud, his face hidden in the darkness of a hood. The shroud was ripped and torn as if he had been attacked by wolves. The messenger didn't say anything but pointed a leather gloved hand towards his equally dark horse, who stomped and hoofed at the ground in irritation.
"Yes, I'm coming." Said Jane. With that, the messenger grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her to the horse.
"Please write us, Jane!" Cried Meg.
"I-I will if I can, Meg. Promise!" Jane cried back, as the messenger picked her up by the waist and sat her roughly near the back of the saddle. Then he swung up and sat ahead of her. He snapped the reigns once, sending the horse into a dead run. Jane had to cling to his cloak to keep on the horse, unaccustomed to riding side saddle and the speed at which the man rode. There would be no time for a long good bye apparently.
The powerful stallion kept up the unnatural speed until they were under the protection of the Fay's Wood. Finally. The horse slowed down to a more pleasant trot. Jane looked around in wonder. She'd never been in the Fay Wood before. She'd never even left her village before now. The tall trees blanketed the forest floor in twilight. All around her blinked small golden lights. "What are those things?" She asked the messenger, thinking that the lights reminded her of stars. The rider moved his head to the side, acknowledging that he had heard her, but he didn't speak. "What is your master like?" She asked, attempting to break his silence. The man still said nothing. "Can't you speak to me?" There was still no reply. The messenger was as quiet as the dead.
Feeling her heart grow heavier by the second, Jane reserved herself to the silence. She pulled the hood of her cloak up over her hair and watched the lights twinkle along their way, flittering to and fro.
Suddenly the horse halted to a stop and Jane looked to see where they were. They were still on the path. Ahead of them a group of people were walking across the dirt road. They wore elegant robes that fluttered in the breeze. They're faces were pale and unblemished, as perfect and smooth as glass. Pointed ears peaked out of their fair hair. As they walked across, the men ignored them, while the women stole worried glances at them, pulling their children closer to them. Some of the smaller children began to cry and cling to their mothers' skirts. Some begged to be picked up. The little children muttered something in a strange language Jane could not understand, but she recognized the look in their eyes. Pure, unadulterated fear. For the first time, she allowed herself to see the man in front of her as others saw him and not as the messenger her father's captor had told her that he was. She tried to peek at his face, but when she looked into the depths of the hood, she could only see darkness. Her stomach clenched in terror as she realized that it was not shadow that hid his face. There was simply nothing there.
Jane sprang as far away from him as she could without falling off the back of the horse. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in her fear. What in the world was he? She wondered.
As soon as the group of people had passed, the messenger's horse began trotting up the road again. Jane was silent for the rest of the ride, too afraid to speak or even tear her eyes away from his shrouded back, for fear that if she were to look away for even the briefest of moments, he would attack her.
Finally, they came to a foreboding castle, encircled with an iron gate and guarded by a statue of a fire breathing dragon. As they approached, the gate eerily swung open on it's own. The messenger rode into the courtyard, then swung himself down. He waited until the gates had swung closed again, before offering her his hand to help her down. Jane took his hand, reluctantly. Her spine shivered as he hoisted her down, for she could feel no human hand beneath his leather glove. The hand felt as if only air helped to keep it's shape.
Hearing a creaking sound, Jane turned to watch the heavy doors of the castle swing open just as the gate had done. From within the husk of the castle, appeared a large, hunched man in dark shrouds, a hood hiding his face. "Leave." He rasped, his voice an odd echo that made Jane's knees threaten to give way beneath her. She had never heard such a voice.
"I-I do not understand. You asked me to come in your letter." She stuttered.
"Not you." He growled. He pointed a twisted hand at her guide. "Him. Go now, return to your slumber. You're task is done."
Jane made a small cry and covered her mouth to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs as the man who she had ridden with all the way there evaporated into a ribbon of mist and vanished along with his horse.
"He wasn't human." Said the lord of the castle, trying to calm her out of her frightened stupor.
"W-what was he then?" She asked timidly.
"A wraith. A cursed spirit I have bound to my will." He stepped to the side and encouraged her towards the castle. "Come, this way, my dear. Your father is waiting."
Jane tried to remain strong, even when she felt the lord's twisted hand come to rest on her shoulder. She eyed it warily out of the corner of her eye. The fingers were long and bony, ending in curved, sharp nails. His skin was rough and scaly. He must have some kind of illness. Jane thought and tried not to appear unaffected by it. Instead, she focused on the insides of the castle. Everything was ornate and beautiful. Golden candelabras were everywhere, bathing the rooms in a golden hue. She admired the delicate engravings on the wooden furniture, the bright patterns on the rugs under her feet. The lord truly was well off it seemed.
The beast eyed the girl who had come to him as he led her through his castle. He was becoming increasingly annoyed by the hooded cloak that she wore. It obscured her face and all that he could see were a pair of thin, pale lips and the gleam of moisture in her eyes. She kept the cloak closed tightly around her, keeping her figure hidden from his gaze. It had been too long since he was in the presence of a human woman and he wished to admire her. "Why don't you remove your hood?" He suggested, trying to sound kind and pleasant. It wasn't working too well. No matter what he did, his voice remained threatening.
Hesitantly, Jane lowered her hood and looked up at the lord.
When he saw her, he staggered back, his hands balling into fists. A terrible growl erupted from his throat. "No! You're not the girl I asked for!"
"What do you mean?" Jane asked, trying desperately to hide her trembling. "You asked that the girl who asked for the rose come and take my father's place. I am that girl so I am here."
"No! No!" The lord raged, he swung his arm and knocked a vase of roses off a table, sending it crashing against a far wall. "You can't be her! Your father said she was a beauty! Blond hair! Blue eyes! You are NOT Beauty!" He grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her down some stairs into the dungeon. "I've been tricked!" He snarled. "That damn old man! He thought he could trade his life for some homely looking thing? Ha!" The man laughed bitterly, ignoring Jane's cries of pain as his grip tightened.
"Please no! My father did nothing wrong! I can explain!" Jane pleaded with him.
"Shut up!" The man snarled. He dragged her into the dungeon and threw her at the foot of her father's cage.
"Jane?" Mr. Winslow cried. He scurried over to her and reached through the bars to touch her.
"Father!" She cried, hugging him through the bars. She let loose a torrent of tears when she saw his condition, all bruised and filthy.
"Explain, old man! This is not the girl you described!" Growled the lord, ramming a fist into the cage. "I do not like being made a fool of! Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you both!"
Wiping her tears away, Jane released her father and stood before the beastly lord. She held her head up bravely and eyed him with firm resolve. "My father must have been mistaken, my lord. He is old. He get's confused sometimes. It was I who asked for the rose, not my younger sister. I'm sorry that you were expecting one far more beautiful than I, but you did not ask for your intended captive by name in your letter. I am here now and am willing to serve my father's time here in his place." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Will you go back on your word?"
"I…I…" The lord stalled. He wasn't sure how to reply or what he should do now. Yes, she was not the girl he had expected, but she was a girl. Though it pained him, now was not the time to be picky. He reached up and ripped the shroud from his body. Jane let out a shriek and clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the remaining screams of horror. When she had calmed down a bit, he asked her in his powerful voice, "Are you willing to stay with me forever?"
Jane pressed her lips together firmly and closed her eyes for a moment as she gathered what shreds of courage she had left. She opened her eyes slowly and took a deep breath. "Yes." She replied, that one word, turning her heart into a brick within her chest. Forever. She was trapped with this beast forever.
"Very well." The beast rumbled. He yanked the cage door open, breaking the lock like a twig, and grabbed Mr. Winslow by the collar. Then he waved his hand in a circular motion over the ground and a ribbon of mist appeared and slowly took the shape of another messenger. "Fetch his horse from the stables and take him home." The beast ordered, shoving Jane's father into the clutches of the wraith.
Mr. Winslow cried out to his daughter as the spirit dragged him away, begging her not to do this, not to throw her life away for him, but Jane simply smiled sadly at him.
When her father was out of sight, the beast turned his attention back to her. He shoved her into the cage and melded the lock back together somehow with his hands. "Have a pleasant day, Miss Winslow. I'll send some food down to you shortly." He growled, flashing her the many sharp teeth that crowded his beaked mouth. He flew up the stairs and slammed the door shut at the top, leaving Jane in darkness.
Sobs racked her chest as she slumped down to the floor, her back pressed against the bars. For some reason she hadn't thought of it being this bad. She never thought that her captor was anything more than a human, which was stupid. She was in the Fay's realm now and nothing was ever what you thought it was.
"Damn it!" The beast hissed, stalking back and forth across his bedroom floor. "What am I going to do? She's so…ugh!" He groaned.
"Ha ha. Like you're one to talk." Giggled a light voice.
The beast whirled around with a snarl. "What do you want, Amana?" He glared at the beautiful fairy woman, sitting gracefully in his chair. Her golden hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, framing her angular face and large luminescent eyes. Jewels hung on gold threads around her throat and adorned her pointed ears.
Her butterfly wings fluttered as she laughed again at him. "Now, is that any way to speak to your big sister?"
"You are not my sister!" He growled, baring his teeth at her.
"You wound me, Beast." She frowned, mimicking pain, with a hand to her forehead. "Mother has raised you since were a little tyke."
The beast narrowed his eyes at her. "If Jezebel actually thought of me as a son, I wouldn't be in this mess! I'm not her son! I'm not your brother! I'm nothing but your toy!"
Amana cackled. "You honestly think that my mother and I are so much alike? I know she has been cruel to you, but I have not been. I want to help you, brother dear."
"Since when have the Fay ever helped me?" The beast raged, stalking towards her and grabbing her face in his clawed hand. "All you're good at is playing un-winnable games. You want me to fail, don't you?"
Amana smiled at him, not at all threatened. She knew that the beast could not harm an immortal, least of all Jezebel's daughter. "We both know what will happen if you loose this game. Why would I want you to die when I have so much fun playing with mother's little pet? Hmm?" She laughed at him again and the beast made a sickened growl.
He released her face and went to gaze at his reflection in a full length mirror. He stared into azure eyes, at a face that was no longer his own. A displeased sound hummed through his being. "That is true, I suppose. If I die, you'll have to find some other poor soul to occupy your time with. What kind of help do you offer?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from the mirror. He couldn't stand to look at his reflection anymore.
"I offer simple advice." She said, rising from his chair. "If you want to break your curse, you can't keep that human girl locked up in a dank and dirty dungeon. You need to be kind and courteous if she is to see you as anything more than a monster." She smirked impishly. "I know that will be terribly difficult for you." She danced towards him and linked her long arms around his neck to lightly touch the twined silver ring there, hidden by a thick mane of feathers.
He shook his head from side to side, feeling beaten already. "Even if I'm as kind as I can ever be to this girl, will it even work? How can she love me? Like this? How can anyone love a beast? Besides, she's so…plain." He groaned. After half a lifetime of being surrounded by exotic beauties, pinging for his attentions, he didn't find that gangly girl the least bit attractive.
"Thank of it this way." Amana spoke in her lyrical voice. "Her standards aren't nearly as high as a beautiful girl's might be."
"The curse works both ways, Amana." Said the beast. He gently moved her hands off his necklace. "Even if she is able to see past my appearance and fall in love with me, if I can't love her back…it'll all be for nothing."
"My mother would not have used this curse on you if she thought it was easy to break." Said Amana. She slipped away from him and the beast watched her sashay across the bedroom floor to gently touch a fallen petal beneath the remains of the enchanted rose. "I would be very careful if I were you. If Jezebel finds out you have a girl here, she may come to destroy her. She has no intention on letting you see another birthday. She will do everything within her power to see to it that the curse never breaks."
The beast frowned at her in reply, saying nothing.
"Take to heart what I have said here tonight. Treat the girl well and open up your heart. If you are to defeat my mother's curse, both you and she will have to learn to look past appearances to the soul beneath. Good night, little brother." She bid, shrinking down to her normal size, barely larger than a thimble and fluttered out of a window.
The beast's intense eyes shifted to the black rose, staring at the last petal.