Apparently, I don't know how long a week is... Sorry it took a little longer than that but this chapter went through SO MANY REWRITES... SO MANY because I didn't know what to do with the characters and many of the drafts I did... They just seemed so INCREDIBLY out of character... So it was hard trying to achieve that balance... Once again, thank you, dear fans for being so very supportive and patient... People like jorholic, username1.4, defensivecat576, rugbyrose, Jack, Mr. Gatsby and all of you who have reviewed and sent your wonderful motivations to me...Thank you... You have successful kept me up at night with guilty voices ringing in my head, telling me to push out something... and here it is :) Enjoy :)
Guinevere screamed as she slid down the roof, her nails and dagger failing to dig into any of the stone tiles, she closed her eyes as she went over the edge, waiting for the life changing impact to occur only to open her eyes in surprise moments later considering it never came... Quivering, she realized she was dangling in mid air, high above a ravine. She paused, struggling to get her breath under control.
"Why aren't I dead yet?" she thought in surprise only to see the beast's clawed paw wrapped around her wrist and the beast herself clinging desperately on the ledge with her other paw.
Immediately, the severity of the situation struck Guinevere like a ton of bricks. If the beast lost her fragile grip on the ledge, they'd both fall to their deaths... With that horrible thought in mind, she sunk her nails deeper into the paw wrapped around her wrist, trying to get a firmer hold of her one and only hope of survival.
"Don't let me die! Please! PLEASE!" she begged pathetically. Clinging on even tighter. Angela grimaced as Guinevere sunk her nails into her already aching hand and for a chilling moment... imagined herself dropping the woman...
It really was an option worth considering and Angela was beyond angry to feel more than tempted, asking herself why she had even caught Guinevere in the first place. This woman, judging from all the horrible things she did, deserved to die and Angela was more than ready to deliver that fate to her. However, looking into those terrified ice blue eyes... She froze... Her mind racing… There was just something… too uncomfortably familiar about how Guinevere was begging her... How desperate and terrified she looked… It… Angela froze… It reminded her too much of what she wanted to forget... All that happened before being struck by an enchantment… God… How she had begged the enchantress… Before still being sentenced to live in a living nightmare… Angela, shook her head… Trying to clear it..… Would she really… No. No she wouldn't… She would never…
Shutting her eyes and swallowing her hatred... Angela tightened her grip around Guinevere's wrist.
Straining and ignoring her screaming muscles, Angela tried to pull the both of them up only to snarl in surprise and horror as the proceeded to slip even more, causing Guinevere to scream loudly. Panicking, Angela looked at Guinevere and then back at the roof. She felt her heart sink and her stomach clench with dread. It wasn't a matter of if she could hold on… It was a matter of how long she could…
"Listen to me! I SAID LISTEN TO ME!" Angela snarled as Guinevere whimpered in fear only to simmer down when Angela bared her teeth in warning.
"If we keep at this, we're both going to die..."
"WELL WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE WE DO THEN?" Guinevere screamed back.
Angela grimaced as she felt the both of them slip even more… God… This decision was going to haunt her… But looking at the situation she was in… She really didn't have a choice... Hesitantly, she turned back to look at Guinevere.
"I'm… I'm going to pull you up first…" she started shakily, not believing she was actually saying this. "And then you help me…"
"HELP YOU? YOU WEIGH A TON! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO PULL YOU UP?"
"I've had two arrows embedded in this shoulder thanks to you and I'm still holding onto you… Either I drop you or we help each other…" Angela growled back her emerald eyes drilling into Guinevere's blue ones. Silence passed between the two women…
"Fine." She finally scowled.
"Give me your word."
"What? Are you really…"
"PROMISE ME." Angela snarled viciously, all her dagger like teeth bared in warning, it's intensity only matched by the venom in Guinevere's glare… Finally, the raven head hung her head low in submission.
"Alright… I promise." She finally agreed in defeat Angela seeing this as a truce cautiously raised the slender woman to the ledge.
Time seemed to slow as Angela watched Guinevere clamber onto safety. However, she kept her paw firmly around Guinevere's wrist… Promise or not, this woman was too conniving to be trusted…
"Alright, pull me up…" she growled, her grip around Guinevere's tiny wrist tightening menacingly. She watched carefully as the raven head bent over, those perfect hands grabbing her sides with an almost begrudged gentleness and for a heart stopping moment, Angela honestly thought they'd all walk out of this alive only to roar out in pain as something truly agonizing was plunged deeply into her side. Looking down, she just could just barely see the golden hilt of Beau's dagger buried in her flesh…
"No…" she whispered before she felt the impact of Guinevere's heels on her fingers and that's when Angela felt her grip loosen and heard her screams accompanied by Guinevere's spiral laughter as she felt herself fall into the darkness…
Guinevere smirked as she heard the bone crunching "thud" of the beast's body hitting the ground. She glanced down and frowned slightly… The beast didn't fall into the ravine as she had hoped but had somehow landed on one of the lower balconies… But Guinevere could see the blood pooling from the body and knew that there was no possible way the beast could have survived that. With a laugh,
She straightened herself, wiping off the blood that had splattered on her hands when she had plunged that dagger. She smiled to herself… she could already hear Beau approaching… She watched calmly as her beloved ran up to her, his hazel eyes wide with horror as he looked at her, the blood on her hands and then down at where the beast had landed…
"Guinevere… What have you done?"
The raven head smirked.
"I've done nothing Beau… Nothing at all…" she cooed, her voice eerily low as she held her arms wide open.
"Now with THAT thing out of the way… Will you finally marry me?" she demanded taking confident strides toward him. However, before she could wrap her arms around the man she loved, she glanced up in surprise as Beau suddenly grabbed her arms.
"Beau… What are you doin-"
"Get away from me." Guinevere frowned; she had never heard Beau speak like that before… It was low and somber… She… she didn't like it… In fact, it scared her… It scared her how roughly and uncaringly he had shoved her aside… Beau would never do anything like that…
" Beau..."
"Don't you dare touch me Guinevere…" Beau snarled, taking a stance that indicated he was ready to hurt her should she try to touch him again.
"Beau, what's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're a monster! You gather a mob, you break into a lady's home and now you-"
"Lady? LADY?! That thing down there is a BEAST. AN UNGODLY HORROR IN BREECHES!"
Guinevere took a step backwards and shut her eyes when Beau suddenly took a violent step forward, his hand curled into what looked like an impending slap. There was a loud clap of thunder but that slap never came… and Guinevere could only stare at Beau in fear as he slowly withdrew his hand.
"Angela is ten times the woman you will ever be…" Beau said softly, his eyes downcast before looking at her sharply again.
"You disgust me Guinevere. You disgust me thoroughly... You are a shame to your father's legacy and…"
Beau took a deep breath,
"And I will never love you…" he finished before turning his back to her and carefully started to clamber down the roof while Guinevere could only watch him in stunned silence…
Time seemed to slow as Guinevere stood there, slowly absorbing what Beau just said…
"I will never love you…" those words rang loudly in her head, cruelly repeating, over and over and over. Guinevere felt her breath hitch while her heart pounded painfully in her chest… He would never love her? Beau would NEVER love her? Guinevere slowly bent over… Her body trembling… How dare he say that? HOW DARE HE?! She was Guinevere LeFier! Everybody loved her! EVERYBODY… Guinevere snarled low in her throat… There was no way she simply allow Beau to just say that… Not without making him deeply regretting it… Slowly, Guinevere stood back up, her hair whipping against her face as she slowly made her way to the ledge. Looking down, she made sure Beau would see what she was about to do… She wanted him to see and REGRET that he would even dare to say something like that to her… Shivering feverishly, Guinevere, took a deep breath before closing her eyes and taking her final step…
"NO!" and Guinevere screamed as she was forcibly pulled backwards. She thrashed wildly, blindly hitting, scratching and clawing at the two unmoving arms that were wrapped firmly around her waist.
"LET ME GO GASTON! LET ME GO!" Guinevere screamed as she thrashed harder, pulling against her brother, still desperately trying to make the jump while Gaston only clung to his sister tighter, refusing to let go of her… He wasn't going to let her do this… No matter how hard she tried to fight back. He was going to hold onto her… As much as he hated his sister… He wouldn't go as far as to wish death upon her… Not on the final thing he could still call family… After for what seemed like hours… Guinevere finally stopped screaming and instead broke down… Wailing and crying helplessly into her brother's chest… Gaston only hugged her closer to himself…
"Oh Guinevere…" he said softly before lifting her bridal style…
"Let's just go home…"
Below, Beau finally managed to safely arrive to where Angela lay… Clambering off the wall, he ran at top speed before skidding to a halt to kneel beside Angela's body… For a bone chilling moment, he really thought she was dead… Due to the sheer amount of blood that was pooling from her body… Only to heave a sigh of relief as he saw her open her eyes to stare at him, a small smile appearing on her lips…
"Angela…" Beau breathed before gently touching her shoulder, withdrawing it immediately as he saw her gnash her teeth together in agony…
"Oww…" she cried out softly.
"I'm sorry! Oh god… Just … Just don't try to move alright… Just…"
"You came back…" Angela whispered softly causing Beau to pause and look down at her. She looked so happy….
"You came back to me… I thought… I thought you…"
"Of course I came back… I couldn't let them just…Oh this is all my fault… If I hadn't pulled out the mirror, Guinevere would have never-"
"Guinevere... Is she still..."
"She's alright... Gaston has her."
Angela smiled.
"Good... Because I want to kill for doing this to me..." she laughed harshly before stopping as it sent waves of agony through her already broken body.
Beau blinked… Did Angela just try to make him laugh at a time like this?
"Oh Angela..." he half sobbed and chuckled, feeling utterly helpless as he watched more blood seep out of her wounds. Quickly, he tried to wrap a cloak around there before he felt Angela's clawed hand stopping him, a pained look on her face.
"Don't bother Beau… I don't think that... I think I'm..."
"Don't!" Beau said fiercely as he gripped her hand. "Don't even think like that..." he pleaded helplessly.
Angela tried to respond but felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
"Please… Will you just hold me? Like that night at the library?" she finally begged softly. Beau looked at her hesitantly, afraid that touching her again would only bring her more pain. However, seeing those emerald eyes pierce holes into him… He reluctantly complied, lifting her head and shoulders gently so they now rested on his lap… While his arms found their way around her, stroking comforting patterns into the soft fur. Beau bit his lip. He tried to not let it show how afraid he was… How afraid that he might actually lose her…
Angela on the other hand was trying her best to remain conscious… It was getting harder to even just keep her eyes open… She just felt so weak… So vey very weak… Something wet fell on her cheek and it was only then that Angela realized that she had shut her eyes… Straining to look up, she realized Beau was crying… Angela frowned; she didn't want the last thing she saw to be Beau crying... It was just so… It was just so unlike him... Doing her best to look up, Angela fought through the agony to try and comfort him…
"Beau... It's all right..." she promised softly trying to reassure him as his face became even more tear stained.
"This is all my fault... I'm sorry… I'm so sorry..."
"Beau... Stop crying... Please stop crying..." Angela begged, but Beau only hunched over… His shoulders trembling as he pulled her closer to him. There was silence…
"Angela... Please don't leave me... Please..." she heard him say, but his words were barely audible now, distorted and muffled as if spoken from a distance. Angela tried to respond… To tell him she wouldn't… But it was getting just so incredibly difficult to hold onto him… To ignore the coldness that was creeping up her body. She had no choice… She had to do it now…
With the final ounce of her fading strength, Angela drew herself up to Beau, her clawed, malformed hand gently wiping away his tears...
"Beau... " She whispered, her voice low and sweet.
Beau lowered his gaze, the hard truth hitting him hard as he noticed how tensed Angela looked… No…
"Angela... Please..." he begged sadly, holding her paw closer to his face, as if him holding onto her would somehow hinder the process… But he knew it wouldn't… It was inevitable… He could see it in her eyes…
"Please don't go." He whispered helplessly, lowering his head closer to hers. He watched confused as Angela gave him another small smile as she closed whatever remaining distance that had been between them… She stared at him a little longer… Those beautiful emerald eyes locking with his before she lifted her head so it was right next to his ear…
"Beau...I love you..." she whispered gently before smiling in content before finally allowing herself to be pulled further and further away into cold forgiving darkness...
Reviews are your friends :)
