Only one more chapter to go! :)

"Mother!" Beau called to the woods. "Mother! Please answer me!" He gasped as he found her face down on the ground, unconscious. He dismounted from Phoenix and got her onto the horse and they walked home. He got his mother inside the house carefully and laid her onto her bed.

He wasn't aware of the small girl, who was now a light blue, watching them. She ran off to go tell Gabriella the news.

Beau watched as his mother slowly came to.

"Beau?" she asked groggily.

"It's alright, Mother. You're safe now. We're home."

She sat up and hugged her son tightly. "I thought I had lost you forever."

"You'll never lose me. I'll always find a way back to you."

"But…but how did you escape from that…monster?"

"She's not a monster, Mother," Beau said firmly. "She has a name. It's Adrianna."

"Adrianna?"

"Yes. And I didn't have to escape because she let me go and find you."

"That Beast let you go?"

"She's not the same Beast you saw before. She's much different. It took a lot to bring down her walls, but when she did, there was a soul just longing for someone to be with her."

There was a small clatter behind them and China fell out of Beau's bag. "Hi!" she greeted excitedly.

"China!" Beau exclaimed. "Does your father know you're here?"

"Um…no?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to know why you left. Do you still like us? Did we do something to upset you?"

Beau held China in his hand. "No, sweetheart, it was nothing like that. I'm afraid you're a bit too young to understand it all."

"That's what Papa said too."

Beau chuckled. "Well, he knows what he's talking about. It's not that I don't like you all, it's just that—"

Beau was cut off by a knock at the door. He went to go answer it, and found Madame Rusé standing there.

"Madame Rusé? What are you doing here?" Beau asked.

"Hello, Beau. I've come for your mother."

"My—My mother?"

"Don't worry, dear. She'll be taken care of properly." She revealed that she had brought her cart and it was clear to Beau that he intended to put his perfectly sane mother into the asylum!

"My mother is not crazy!" he growled.

"Of course she is!" Leah cried. "She came into the tavern raving about some creature and talking objects!"

"Beau?" his mother said quietly as she came to the door.

"Marguerite!" Leah exclaimed. "Why don't you tell us all more about the Beast?"

"Um, it was huge, maybe ten feet tall!"

The crowd burst out into laughter. "You see?" Leah said. "Her mind is completely lost! Just get her out of here where everyone else will be safe from her."

Two of Madame Rusé's guards grabbed Marguerite's arms and began to haul her away to the cart.

"You can't do this!" Beau cried to Madame Rusé.

"I can do whatever I see fit to keep the town safe from people like her."

Beau grunted in frustration as his fists balled together.

"I'm sorry, Beau," Gabriella said with false concern as she revealed herself from the shadows. "It's a shame about your mother."

"Gabriella, you know she's not crazy."

"You know, I actually might be able to clear all of this up," she smiled as she put her hands to his chest. "Under one condition."

"What is it?"

"You marry me."

"What?" Beau exclaimed as he took a step back.

"Just say the word, and all of this will go away."

"Gabriella, did—did you plan this?"

"I'm a girl who knows what she wants. And what I want is you."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella said as the smile disappeared from her face.

"I'm not going to marry you, Gabriella!"

Her jaw clenched. "Have it your way." She looked at Madame Rusé. "Take her away."

"No! Beau!" Marguerite cried as they prepared to throw her in the cart. Beau ran back inside the house, grabbed the mirror Adrianna had given him, and ran back out.

"My mother isn't crazy, and I can prove it!" he shouted. He looked at the mirror. "Show me the Beast!"

The mirror flashed and he showed the picture of Adrianna to the crowd. She was still depressed about losing Beau and let out a huge roar.

"Is it dangerous?" someone called out.

"No!" Beau said quickly. "No, she wouldn't hurt a soul! I know. I know that she looks scary and vicious, but she's really not like that all! She's sweet, funny, kind. She's—She's my…" Beau searched for the right word to add. "…friend," he finished.

Gabriella stood in front of him. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you had feelings for that…" She scowled at the mirror where Adrianna still showed. "…monster."

"She's no monster, Gabriella! You are!"

The crowd gasped at Beau's words. No one had ever dared to speak rudely to Gabriella before. She was dangerously powerful and could do things that no one else could do.

Gabriella grabbed the mirror from Beau as anger penetrated her face. Now she understood. Beau had feelings for the creature, and as long as that thing was alive, Beau would never be hers. "He's just as crazy as his mother!" Time to get this crowd riled up. "That thing will come after the children here, and it'll take them while we sleep!"

"No!" Beau cried. "She would never do anything like that!"

"We're not safe until its head is cut off and hanging up in the tavern for all to see! Let's kill this thing and ensure the safety of our innocent children!" The crowd screamed in agreement. "Bring me my arrows!" Gabriella shouted. Most of the crowd didn't want to follow a woman and didn't believe she could do the job. But all Gabriella had to do was give her signature smile that made all the men fall for her in seconds and some of them retrieved her arrows and quiver and her majestic black horse. Gabriella filled the crowd's head with terrifying images of the Beast that sat in the castle.

"Gabriella!" Beau screamed as he grabbed her arms. "You can't do this!"

"I can do whatever I want, Beau!" She turned to the men. "Lock them both up! We can't have him going ahead of us and warning that creature!"

The men shoved Beau and his mother into their basement and locked the door.

"Gabriella!" Leah called. "Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, trying to get Beau as your husband is one thing, but this is murder!"

"If you're not coming with us, we'll throw you in with Beau and his mother. So are you coming or not?

Leah reluctantly nodded her head and followed.

Gabriella slid her arrows over her shoulder and mounted her horse, leading the way as the mob grabbed torches and pitchforks and began the trek to the castle.

Beau could hear the sounds of the mob getting quieter and quieter. He began scouring the nearly empty basement for something he could use to unlock the door.

"I have to get to the castle and warn Adrianna!" Beau cried. "They're going to kill her! I didn't mean for this to happen! I was just trying to prove that you were telling the truth!"

"You really like her, don't you?" his mother asked.

Beau hesitated before answering, "Yes, I do."

"It's alright, sweetheart. We'll think of something and get out of here."

"Beau?" they heard from outside. "Where are you?"

"China?" Beau said as he recognized the voice. "China, we're in here!" he called through the door.

"What's going on?"

"There are a lot of people going to the castle to hurt Adrianna! You have to find a way to get us out of here so we can get to the castle before them!"

China desperately looked around her for something she could use to open up the door. She quickly hopped off and went to find Phoenix.

"Phoenix!" she called as she went to the little stable and found the horse. "Beau's in trouble!" She hopped onto her back and Phoenix went to the door.

"Phoenix?" Beau called through the door. "Phoenix, kick the door open!"

China hopped off the horse and Phoenix used her hooves to break in the door.

"Good girl!" Beau said as he and Marguerite climbed out. "Thanks, China! You're the best!"

Beau and Marguerite mounted Phoenix and rode as fast as they could to the castle. Beau just hoped that he wasn't too late.

The big showdown between Gabriella and Adrianna is coming up next. And we all know what follows that ;)