I raced through the woods when, suddenly, I heard wolves howling behind me. Now it wasn't just a race to get away from the castle, it was to save both Ninette and myself from being killed. I tried not to look behind me as they growled and howled their position to each other, but I couldn't help it. I glanced at either side of my and watched the pack pass me up and crowd me. When I looked in front of me again, I gasped at the three large, white wolves blocking my path. I pulled the reins to the right as quickly as I could and Ninette neighed but followed my instructions. Ninette galloped as quickly as she could, until we his the icy lake. Ninette's hooves slid under her as she tried to keep running, but the wolves had better grip and one bit her leg. Ninette reared up and I held on tightly before a felt a wolf jump on behind me making me gasp once more. The wolf grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down to the ground. I screamed as the flesh on my left shoulder was torn apart and my back hit the ground, my head bouncing on the hard ground under me. I got up as quickly as I could and grabbed a long, thick branch and started swinging the the pack around both Ninette and myself.
Eventually, one of the wolves grabbed the branch and wrestled the branch from my grip, tearing at my hands in the process. I stared in fear at the wolves in front of me, until I heard the deep rumble behind me. Slowly, I turned to look at the wolf who was already in a lunging position. I backed away slowly before it pounced at me. I held up my arms to block my face, but it was tackled by a large shape. The shape landed hard on the ice and threw the wolf into a tree so hard it whimpered and had trouble standing again. I watched as Beast growled and fought off the wolves that were only moments ago ready to kill me. Ninette was moving around nervously, so I moved to her side and grabbed her reins to try and calm her. I turned and watched as wolves bit and scratched him as he threw them away from us.
One of them eventually got the jump on him and bit into his shoulder making him roar in pain and drop to his knees. I watched as he got up and grabbed the animal before throwing him off across the clearing. The wolf got up and I noticed a large scar across his left eye as the two stared each other down. Beast fell to all fours and roared at the pack who ran away whimpering. He slowly stood back up and watched them run before turning and looking at me over his uninjured shoulder. We stared at each other before he collapsed in the snow. I watched to see if he'd get back up before turning to Ninette and getting ready to mount her once more. I could hear his rough breathing and I gazed across Ninette's back to see the opening going towards home. I was so close! I turned and looked at him, blood dripping from wounds inflicted by sharp teeth and claws. I licked my lips before biting the bottom one and drawing it in in thought. I sighed before grabbing Ninette's reins in one hand and forcing her closer to my captor. I knelt by his side, covering him with my cloak, and he looked up at me.
"I'm not strong enough to lift you on my own. You have to stand," I told him. His head dropped back down beofre he slowly stood up. I did my best to help him as he climbed on Ninette's back before walking her back to the castle.
Once we got back to the castle, everyone jumped into action. We all did our best getting Beast into his bed in the chambers I'd run from mere moments ago. They did what they could for my shoulder, which wasn't much considering they hand no hands, before I moved onto Beasts wounds. The worst was his shoulder, but he had scratches all over his torso. As I applied the hot towel to his arm he roared in pain at me.
"That hurts!" He complained and I rolled my eyes as he rolled away from me.
"If you held still it might not hurt so much," I told him.
"Well, if you hadn't run away, none of this would have happened," he pointed out and I scoffed at him.
"Well, if you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away."
"Well, you shouldn't have been in the west wing."
"Well, you should learn to control your temper!" he grunted before rolling away from me and showing the deep screatches on his back and arms. I sighed at the guilt turning my gut. I debated on cleaning the wounds on his back better, but he tensed in pain as if sensing me getting closer to him.
"Try to get some rest." I placed the towel in the bowl of, now, dirty water and moved away from him and towards the others standing at the edge of the bed. We made our way out of the room, and I gently closed the door behind us.
"Thank you, miss," Mrs. Potts said softly.
"We are eternally grateful," Lumiere added.
"Why do you care about him so much?" I asked genuinely curious.
"We've looked after him all his life," Mrs. Potts told me and I looked at the door seperating us from him.
"It's obvious you're cursed somehow, and he seems to be the center of it," I pointed out and they seemed nervous for a second. "Why would his curse effect you? You did nothing."
"You're quite right there, dear," Mrs. Potts laughed. "You see, when the master lost his mother and his cruel father took that sweet innocetn lad and... and twisted him to be just like him, we did nothing."
"Let him sleep," Lumere suggested and they all made their own way down the steps as I turned and stared at the doors hiding the beast within. Maybe their was more to him than I first thought. Had I really fallen into the same trap everyone in the village had with me and Belle? Had I judged him based his appearence and his attitude? How long had it been since he'd interacted with a human being? Who was he before he was cursed?
