Guinevere grimaced as she noted that the beast was a few good paces behind her... Grabbing her long skirt, she picked up speed and darted around the corridor... Knocking down a few tables down for good measure. She wasn't trying to outrun the beast... That would have been fairly... stupid. Not to mention impossible... No she wasn't trying to outrun the beast... She was trying to trap it. Lead it to... Lets say her darling brother who'd probably shoot it down with arrows... Or if he couldn't there was always the mob... Or what was left of it anyway... A loud growl caused Guinevere to snap out of her revere, reminding her that the monster wasn't to far behind. Panicking, she lifted the mirror.
"Where is my brother?" she hissed and it instantly clouded over, revealing Gaston's position, her position... and how far she was from him. Guinevere smiled. It wasn't very far. Hitching up her skirts, she ran for her dear life.
Gaston looked around the room, his bow at hand, ready to shoot if the monster suddenly revealed itself. He carefully threaded around the furniture, unsure if they were going to continue to remain inanimate, or suddenly spring to life and attack him like they did to his comrades. Avoiding a cloak rack, he considered moving to the next room only to almost release an arrow when the doors behind him suddenly flung open revealing a figure surrounded by a sinister crackling green light.
"Watch where you aim that damn thing..." it hissed and as it stepped forward, revealing itself as his sister, and the green light that previously surrounded her was now dissipating back into the mirror... However, before he could reprimand her for scaring the living daylights out of him and how dangerous that was when he had a weapon at him. She had grabbed his wrist and flung the both of them behind a large armchair.
"Guinevere what on earth..." but Gaston stopped when his sister forcefully slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Keep you mouth shut and listen to me." She hissed venomously before looking at the door.
"The beast is close by... and its out to kill me... It should find us any moment now..." Guinevere snarled, a strange sort of coldness in her voice.
Gaston's eyes widened.
"What do we do?" he whispered, looking fearfully at the door while Guinevere rolled her eyes.
"Isn't it obvious brother?" she hissed while grabbing his arm, her red nails cutting into his skin causing Gaston to turn his attention back to her. He recoiled slightly when his sister's face broke out into a malicious smile, becoming more and more sinister as it widened under the moonlight.
"We're going to KILL the beast... And here's how we're going to do it..."
Angela panted as she chased after the much more nimble Guinevere... Snarling in pain as she tripped over a couple of tables. Narrow hallways just weren't meant for someone of her size to lumber through...
"GIVE THAT BACK!" she roared helplessly not caring if she sounded like a vicious animal... That was far from her concerns. She needed that mirror. She needed it to find Beau... She didn't care if she needed to leave the confines of her castle to save him... Heck she didn't even care if another mob came after her for doing so... She would do it...
Dropping uncomfortably on all fours, she picked up her pace as she saw the faraway figure of Guinevere ducking into one of the unused rooms before slamming the doors shut. Snarling, she bolted after the girl and before she could stop even herself... ripped the doors clean off their hinges...
"Where are you..." she growled as she paced around the room...
Gaston held his breath fearfully as he heard the doors being thorn apart...
"WHERE ARE YOU!" came a terrifying roar sending shivers down his spine. What unholy demon was he facing here... Carefully, without trying to make even the slightest of sounds... He rose slowly from his hiding place, trying to get a peek at the monster... He held in a gasp of horror as he caught sight of the devil before him...
"What on earth..." he thought fearfully... It was monstrous... The stuff of his most feared nightmares... How on God's earth could something as... as that exist? Gaston had seen the beast in the mirror but it didn't compare to the actual living-breathing thing he was staring at. He stiffened as he watched it drop back down on all fours, sniffing the air, its bright green eyes flashing sinisterly... Quickly he slid back down, his father's bow quivering in his large hands. A soft slap on the hands and a stern glare from Guinevere brought him back to his senses before she gestured with her head. A equally menacing snarl etched on her lips. Praying softly, Gaston inched out of his hiding place and slowly slipped to a more appropriate position to shoot this monster... It had its back to him now... It was the perfect position to strike.
However as he was just about to release the arrow, he stepped on a piece of wood that snapped under his colossal weight... He cursed and the monster sprang back up on twos as if ready to lunge at him but in a surprising turn of events, it froze and decided to stare at him instead ... Gaston tensed as he looked at the beast... Its eyes... Those were the most terrifying part about it... Bright green... Expressive... Intelligent... He had never seen such eyes on an animal before... They looked much too... human... for his comfort... The beast seemed to know this as it just continued to stare down at him as if looking past his expressions and gestures. It seemed to sense a deep fear inside him, and surprisingly refused to move this made Gaston lower his bow slightly.
The two continued staring at each other... Both aware how much damage one could do to the other... Gaston lowered the bow a fraction more only to raise it again when the beast attempted to move towards him... Despite not being as terrified as he was initially... He was still not going to take any chances with this monster... The beast again, strangely seemed to understand this and much to Gaston's surprise, he watched as its ears lowered completely until they were completely flattened against its head, the tail tucking itself firmly between the legs... A low pained whine escaping its throat before it seemed to curl within itself... Gaston blinked... He knew this position... It was one of fear and submission...There was no doubt about it... The beast was afraid... And it didn't seem to want to fight... Somewhat comforted by what he saw, Gaston, as if in a trance... Lowered his bow completely. Maybe this had been a huge misunderstanding... Maybe Beau was right... Maybe the beast didn't want to hurt anyone... Maybe... A hand on his shoulder quickly snapped him out of his trance as he turned to see Guinevere glaring at him furiously. Quickly looking at the beast again, he felt his fear return as seeing Guinevere seemed to enrage the monster somehow... The beast's pupils had turned into murderous slits and before Gaston could react, it curled its lips, unveiling it's monstrous fangs and displaying it's inhumanity. Then, with a growl, it lunged toward the both of them so quickly Gaston didn't even feel himself release the arrow.
Angela was trying her best to not panic... but that was proving to be incredibly difficult considering that there was a mountain of a hunter right in front of her armed with a wicked looking bow and an arrow aimed right at her forehead. She tried to force herself backwards but found her feet firmly rooted to the floor... Traitors...
"Why?! Why are you trying to hurt me?" she thought fearfully almost close to tears... Cautiously, she took a step forward.
"No... No..." she moaned internally as the hunter advanced a little more, the arrow now aimed right at her heart... This was playing out exactly how it did ten years ago... Her just standing there fearfully while her father had held a sword to her throat... Angela trembled; she had been lucky the first time... But the fates didn't seem to be working in her favor this time. In fact, she was pretty certain they were working against her... She could tell... Just by the way the hunter was looking at her...
"He's terrified of me..." she thought miserably as she saw the hunter's eyes flicker with fear... She knew she should be used to this but it didn't help that knowing the reason why someone wanted to kill you was because they were terrified of you...
"Keep calm..." she chided herself before she tried to shift herself into a less threatening position... She wanted to show the hunter that she didn't want to hurt him... That he had no reason to be afraid of her... That she wasn't a threat. Angela crouched into lower position, trying to make herself look smaller, less threatening. Curling within herself until she was certain she couldn't anymore... Her eyes never leaving his...
Finally, by some miracle, the hunter lowered his bow, the look in his eyes now less fearful and more confused.
"Ok... Now what?" Angela asked herself in panic. She couldn't move around this man, she doubted he'd let her do it anyway... and each second she spent here with him meant Guinevere was getting further and further away. Speaking of Guinevere... The raven head suddenly materialized from the shadows, forcefully gripping the hunter by his shoulders, distracting him. Grabbing the opportunity, Angela quickly lunged for the mirror, certain that she was fast enough to grab it out of Guinevere's hands only to scream out in surprise as something very sharp and very painful lodged itself into her right shoulder. Before Angela could react, she fell back down when another arrow enter her. Scrambling wildly, she tried to pull herself up and run for her life only to be thrown backwards when she swore... what must have been a very heavy bull... rammed into her violently and sent the both of them flying through the glass window and onto the balcony.
Angela snarled as she felt glass shards enter her back as she crashed and slid against the rain soaked ground before her vision blurred for a moment when her head struck against one of the stone columns making up the edge of the balcony. That combined with the pain in her back and her shoulder was making unconsciousness a very rewarding option but Angela was determined not to let that happen. Working through the searing pain, Angela tried to stand again only to yelp out in surprise when she was forcefully thrown back down onto the cold wet ground. Turning her head, she saw the hunter, forcefully pinning her down with his hands and general body weight, a crazed fearful look in his ice blue eyes.
"He's going to kill me!" She thought in panic before desperately trying to throw him off when he lassoed a rope around her neck. She scrambled around wildly, trying to throw the man off from beneath him but the hunter's immense weight was CRUSHING her at this point and she could feel herself weakening from the overwhelming agony that was rippling through her body and the lack of oxygen from the rope.
"Keep pulling Gaston! She's giving in! JUST KEEP PULLING!" she heard Guinevere scream from behind her. Growling, Angela tried again, withering and thrashing with all her might but everything was starting to become blurry now, she could barely see through the pain as Gaston grabbed her mane and tugged viciously at the rope around her neck, chocking her.
Finally, Angela felt her body give in, and she slumped onto the ground, barely conscious. She could feel ropes being slung over her arms and legs and when she tried to snap them, her body failed to respond. She no longer had the energy to fight anymore... Not that it mattered anyway...
"Beau... I'm so sorry..." she whispered as she saw the hunter approach her menacingly, a sickle in his hand. Closing her eyes, she tried instead to think about the promise of what the after life could possibly hold for her as she heard the quick "swish" of the sickle and Guinevere's cackling in the background...
"GASTON!"
There was a pause, followed by a violent bolt of lightning and thunderclap causing Guinevere, Gaston and Angela to freeze and turn to see an enraged Beau standing before them, his hair loose and whipping in the wind, his body drenched with rain, his handsome features contorted with fury as he pointed a lethal looking dagger at the LeFier siblings.
"Lay one finger on her... AND I WILL KILL YOU..."
Guinevere gritted her teeth.
"Gaston kill it..." she demanded but to no avail. Instead of bringing down the sickle like she had hoped, her older brother went on to try and reason with Beau...
"Beau... Put that down..."
"NO."
"Beau... This is for the good of the village... Look at her..."
"You look at her! Does she look like she'll hurt anyone?!" Beau retorted fiercely pointing at the bleeding and battered Angela who lay twitching on the ground. Guinevere cackled before grabbing Angela's mane, lifting her head up for Beau to see.
"Jackal's face, ram horns, fangs, claws... It's a beast for crying out loud! KILL IT GASTON!" Guinevere commanded. Gaston raised the sickle but stopped when Beau ran up to him, the dagger to his neck. Gaston dropped the sickle, shocked that his best friend would kill him over this... this... this thing...
"Beau..."
"Really look at her Gaston... Does she look like she'll attack anyone? Don't you think if she wanted to hurt the village she would have done it already?" Beau insisted, the dagger quivering in his hands.
"GASTON!" Guinevere bellowed.
"I..."
"What are you waiting for?! KILL IT DAMN IT! JUST KILL IT!"
Ignoring his sister's loud screeches, Gaston's eyes turned to meet the Beast's. She was shaking, her whole body quivering with anxiety, her bright green eyes wide with fear, all to human for his comfort.
"Please... Please don't hurt me..." she finally begged softly, those emerald eyes piercing holes into him. Gaston stared at her before quickly averting his eyes from the beast. This was lunacy! He knew he should take this opportunity to kill her so what was he waiting for? Looking at the beast again, Gaston couldn't help but feel his fists tremble. She looked anything but harmless but then again... She did have the opportunity to kill him moments ago but chose not to... Why did the beast do that? He bit his lip. What if that had been a trick of some sort? What if this creature was just toying with all of them and Beau fell for it? She was a beast after all... Wasn't it in their nature to deceit and manipulate? Gaston clenched his fists.
"You better be right..." he growled to himself and with one quick motion, Gaston raised the sickle and... Sliced right through Angela's ropes...
There was momentary silence, the four just frozen in their places and gaping at each other. Finally, there was a loud clatter from Beau's dagger as he released it to wrap Angela in a tight embrace.
"Are you alright?" he asked the bleeding Angela while Gaston and Guinevere eyed him with disgusted bewilderment... Especially Guinevere who was just positively fuming despite the cold rain...
Angela could not believe what was happening... Beau was... Beau was here... Beau was here and hugging her... ... She ... He... It felt wonderful...
"Beau..." she said slowly and uncertainly... Not wanting to break this idyllic scene. Unsure if she had already died by the hunter's hand and if this was heaven... However Beau's gentle touch proved her wrong...
"It's me... I'm here... I'm here... Oh God what have they done to you..." Beau said helplessly as his hands came in contact with Angela's bloodied back, his palms shuddering when he felt the two wooden arrows embedded in her shoulder blade.
"Don't!" Angela gasped, a jolt of pain coursing through her body.
"It hurts..." she cringed, her teeth knitted together in agony and for a moment, Beau felt a cold ache in his chest...
"Hold still..." he instructed gently, his hand closing around one of the arrows.
Angela seeing this, wanted to pull away but the reassuring look in Beau's eyes and the gentle touch of his hands calmed her mind. She closed her eyes, swallowed her fear, and commanded herself to trust him. She gasped in pain as Beau pulled the first arrow out and again when the second one soon followed suit.
"All done..." she heard Beau say comfortingly before blinking in surprise as he kissed her gently on the forehead and cradled her close to him.
Guinevere who was watching this entire spectacle with narrowed eyes could not help but grit her teeth viciously. Did Beau just... Did Beau just kiss that thing?
"How is that possible?!" she thought in sick confusion. How did Beau choose this... this monster over her? HER? How could Beau embrace... Embrace this walking pile of hideousness when he wouldn't even spare her, HER Guinevere Le Fier a second glance... Guinevere, the richest girl in all the village, Guinevere the most powerful girl in all the village, Guinevere the MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL in all the village... Weren't these all qualities men desired? Than why was it that this idiot of a man, the only man she had any remote interest in, choose some unholy abomination from hell over her?
Guinevere curled her fists.
"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" she thought angrily. She hated the prejudice of this Godforsaken world. She was never her mother's favorite... She could never wish her father back to life... No matter how hard she prayed or begged... Guinevere bit her lip.
"I NEVER GET WHAT I WANT!" She glared steely-eyed daggers at Beau and the beast praying with all her being that they would BURST under the sheer intensity of her gaze. They didn't of course; in fact they seemed to wrap themselves closer around each other... A gesture that was deemed as taunting by Guinevere... Unable to contain her fury any longer, Guinevere grabbed Beau's dagger and lunged for the man she so badly wanted to plunge that into. Angela who just happened to look up at that moment quickly shoved Beau out of the way. Guinevere unable to stop, struck Angela hard and Beau and Gaston could only watch in horror as the two women disappeared over the edge of the balcony.
