Yay, give it up for chapter two! I'm really happy with how this one came out, and I hope you'll like it, too! I'm too excited to preamble; see you at the bottom of the page!
Luckily, someone had the wherewithal to bring a few torches to guide them through the Dark Forest. It certainly hadn't been Reginald; he'd been too busy trying to come up with an on-the-spot plan to keep as few people from getting lost as possible: sticking to the edges of the woods, coming up with a series of signals and calls to alert or warn each other, literally anything- but it seemed that Terrence was bound and determined to get them all eaten alive. He marched straight into the center of the Dark Forest, claiming that it would be best to start in the middle and work their way outwards- even though there was no way of knowing where the middle of the forest was- and completely dismissed Reginald's suggestions for subtle messaging altogether.
"We're in a forest, not the city," Terrence insisted, loudly stomping his way through the brush while Reginald fretted behind him. "It's not like there are any soldiers to avoid; if one of us sees the wizard's estate, then we'll just shout 'look, I found the wizard's house!' It's that easy!"
"But what of the wizard?" Reginald asked, flinching as a branch swatted him on the arm.
"I thought you said there wasn't a wizard."
"There's no estate, that doesn't mean there might not be a wizard!"
Terrence shoved another branch out of his way, releasing it hard enough to leave a scratch when it whipped Reginald in the face. Reginald stumbled back at the impact, and Terrence had the nerve to laugh. "You can't have it both ways, Reg. There's either an estate and a wizard, or there's neither. You can't pick and choose what's convenient for you."
"Wh- Those are not mutually inclusive occurrences-!"
"Sheesh, I forgot how whiny you can be." Terrence reached over and wrapped an arm around Reginald's shoulders, pulling him close enough to bump heads with him. "You're making things way too complicated! Just focus on finding the estate, and we can worry about the rest later. Have I ever steered you wrong?"
He had, increasingly, over the last several visits, and Reginald was debating whether or not to list them all when he heard a voice shout excitedly in the distance: "Hey, Boss, we found it!"
Terrence clapped him on the back, sending Reginald into a coughing fit. "See, what did I tell you? Now come on; last one there's a quivering coward!"
He rushed on ahead, and Reginald took a moment to rest his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. They'd been running and leaping through the forest with such wild abandon, with only the light of their sparse torches and the rare glimmer of the moon to guide the way. They couldn't have been in the woods for more than half an hour, and yet he was already covered in dirt, wood, and leaves from the brush. His poor coat… his poor hair… his poor face!
There was something else about this place that was setting Reginald further on edge, too. Despite the late hour, their impossibly loud entrance and romping, and the dazed way most of the group stumbled through the Dark Forest, there had been no other signs of life anywhere to be seen. No night birds, no wolves- he knew for a fact there were wolves here, he often heard them howling as he went to bed most every night (he refused to believe the noise could be anything else). The forest, for all intents and purposes, was completely empty and silent.
Where was everything? Where was anything?
Reginald stumbled into the clearing ahead of him, where the rest of the Toppat Clan had gathered, and gaped up at the towering gates before them. Beyond the rusty metal bars was an estate, just as Terrence had sworn there would be. It was large and dark, with no lights on in any of the windows, and though there were still no signs of life, the hedges and trees leading up to the giant doors of the building looked surprisingly prim and proper, with hardly a few straggling branches ruining their tidy little shapes. Even the stone path leading from the gate to the doors wasn't especially dusty, as if someone swept it on occasion. It wasn't perfect, but it was far from abandoned. Reginald's hackles raised.
"Good job, boys!" Terrence crooned, and Reginald flinched at the noise. "What are we waiting for? Let's bust in, already!" Before Reginald could think to protest, Terrence pushed open the iron gate- with a shocking amount of ease- and strode into the grounds of the estate like he owned it. The rest of the clan hurried after him, their movements just a touch more coordinated as the apparent shock of the estate's presence seemed to rend the wine from their systems.
Reginald begrudgingly followed after them… only to stop short when something broke under his heel. He stumbled back and looked to see what appeared to be an old china plate, half buried in the dirt and already broken in some places, though there was a particularly large chunk that he must have broken off just now. He knelt and picked up the shard, turning it over in his hand and letting the light of the moon gleam across the surface. It was likely a very pretty plate, once, though now its pale surface was stained brown and the delicate blue vines around the edges were faded and blurry.
He set the broken piece back on the ground, which is when he noticed: there were other broken plates out here, as well as what looked like warped cutlery, scraps of wood and cloth, and other things that were so broken that he couldn't quite identify them. It was a veritable graveyard of household goods; why on Earth would the owner of this estate leave all of these broken bits and bobs out on their own front lawn? A chill ran through Reginald like a sharp wind, and he hurried after Terrence and the others.
The front doors of the estate seemed a touch more resistant than the iron gates, but only just. Working together, Terrence and a few of the stronger Toppat Clan members had pushed open one of the tall metal doors and were leading the rest of the group inside. Reginald hesitated, then stepped in after them.
Though the winter breeze was now blocked by the solid walls of the estate, there was still a cold dampness to the place that the firelight from the torches did nothing to ease. The doors opened into a large foyer, with a grand staircase in the back splitting in two and going off to the left and right. The floor was covered in a thick blue carpet, rather simple in design but surprisingly thick and plush, as if hardly anyone walked on it. There were delicate gold candlesticks sticking out of the walls, but they were all unlit, and there were small tables with vases placed sporadically under each one, as if someone had removed some of them at random. Despite this, and despite the very noticeable gashes scattered here and there on the carpet, Reginald was again struck by just how neat and tidy the whole place was.
"Jackpot!" Terrence hissed, grinning widely at the candlesticks in particular. "It's practically a gold mine in here! Come on, guys, let's-"
Reginald cleared his throat as subtly as he could, and Terrence turned to glare at him. "This place isn't abandoned," he whispered loudly. "Someone still lives here; many someones, most likely."
"So what?" Terrence half whispered back. "That's never stopped us before."
"I'm just saying, we might want to be a bit more cautious-"
"Oh my God, fine!" Terrence waved at the front doors vaguely. "Go around to the back if you're so scared! Keep an eye out and alert us if someone approaches!"
"Terrence-" Terrence shot him harsh glare, and after spluttering for a few seconds, Reginald threw up his hands and stomped back out into the night. "Honestly," he grumbled to himself as he tugged the front door shut with a bit more force than necessary. "Is it really too much to ask for him to be careful?" He stormed down the short staircase leading up to the door and strode along the path leading around the estate. "Does he think I argue with him for the fun of it? Does it not occur to him that I'm concerned for his safety, and that of the Clan's? That man is so infuriating, I've almost half a mind to let him get himself killed!"
As soon as the words left Reginald's mouth, he felt guilty. He could never actually let Terrence hurt himself, not seriously. He'd done good things for him, had been there for him when he needed someone in his corner; surely it was the least Reginald could do to grant the man some patience. But why did he have to try his patience so much lately?
Reginald finally reached the end of the estate and turned the corner, stopping short when the fresh scent of roses practically hit him like a wall. It was a very pleasant scent, not overwhelming yet not at all subtle, but it was such a strange smell to smell in the middle of winter that it nearly threw him for a loop. He blinked rapidly, staring at the towering rose bushes scattered around the side of the estate in complete bafflement. Every single bud was in full bloom, each blossom vibrant and smooth without a blemish in sight.
He approached the nearest bush- one with blossoms as white as moonbeams- and gingerly brushed his finger against the bloom. It was silky and velvety, brimming with so much life and care that he could almost feel his frustrations melt away at the pure perfection of the rose. He sighed happily. Nevermind the golden candlesticks and whatever else sat collecting dust in the estate- Reginald had never seen such beautiful flowers, and it practically brought a tear to his eye.
That was when he was struck with a brilliant idea: if he was going to be stealing from this estate anyway, he might as well get something really special out of it. His mother had loved roses of all sorts, but they were rarely available for sale on the even rarer occasions when a flower vendor wandered into town. In all three years of living in Lil' Town, Reginald had never once come across even a seed to grow his own roses, but there were dozens of fully grown bushes here, perhaps even hundreds, for him to pick from! He could make a whole bouquet, or… he could cut a branch to grow for himself. Yes, that was it! There was a book about gardening in the public library that he'd read fairly recently, and he could remember the section about growing cuttings quite well. He didn't have a blade to properly cut the stem, but if he could do it quickly enough at just the right angle, he could very well grow his own rose bush right on top of his mother's grave!
The question was… which rose bush should he take a cutting from?
As incredible as it would have been to cut from every bush, there simply wasn't enough room in his garden to hold all of these bushes, and besides, if Terrence saw him holding a bunch of rose cuttings in his arms instead of treasure, who knew what sort of fit the man might start throwing. No, he'd have to pick just one, and he'd have to pick the perfect stem to cut so that it would grow like he wanted while still being small enough to conceal in his coat pocket until he could take it home and begin the process of planting it. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing that Terrence had dragged them all out here after all.
Reginald moved from bush to bush, gazing longingly at the beautiful blossoms before moving on to the next. There were classic red roses, black and white roses, roses in pink and peach and salmon and coral, and even roses with multiple colors streaked across the petals like paint strokes. The thought of choosing just one felt agonizing… until he spotted a bush of blue roses.
He approached the bush almost reverently. The roses were as blue as sapphires, and there was something almost dreamlike about them, like they weren't quite real. Reginald had never seen a blue rose before- in fact, he could have sworn reading that they were nigh impossible, somewhere- so perhaps that was why the deep blue petals looked so ethereal. There was no doubt in his mind that it would be difficult to transplant a cutting from this bush, but he knew that it would be worth the effort if he could manage it. And if at first he didn't succeed, well… he knew where the estate was now. He could come back and trim another cutting, with proper tools, as many times as it took for the thing to take root. It was perfect.
Reginald gently felt along the leaves of the bush, looking for the ones that were fresh and green but not too big; the youngest, newest sprouts. Once he found a good section, he pressed in until his finger lay firmly against the stem. It caught on a thorn, but Reginald's gloves were thick and sturdy enough that it didn't matter. He carefully felt along the stem, traveling further and further down until he reached a spot where the stem merged with another stem. He parted the leaves to get a better look, eyeing the connecting spot- the "node", if he remembered correctly- with great focus. This was the important part, the actual cutting. Ideally, he'd have a set of gardening shears or even a simple knife to get a clean cut, but if he could pinch and pull the node at just the right angle, with just the right amount of pressure…
He held the node between his thumb and forefinger, gazing at the shiny green stem intensely, hardly daring to breathe. Then he moved, pinching and twisting the node in a single smooth motion that resulted in a clean, satisfying snap. He held his prize to eye level, grinning with delight; he couldn't have possibly done a better job than that.
He carefully lay the rose in the inner pocket of his coat, trying to keep the petals from bruising. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned away from the bush, only for an explosion of terrified shouting to send him leaping a foot in the air. The shouts were distant, but not by much, and Reginald could hear Terrence's voice among them, shouting something he didn't understand. He ran back towards the front of the estate, slowing down a bit as he approached the front door. None of the other clan members were outside the estate, meaning that whatever had happened was inside. If something had scared them all so much, then he needed to keep his guard up. He leaned heavily against one door, pushing it open just enough to peer inside-
And had to bite back a scream. Standing in the middle of the foyer, holding a dozen men in its arms as easily as one would hold a dozen dolls, was a large, furry beast. It was easily the size of two men standing one on top of the other, standing on its hind legs like a human. It even had a long, ragged cloak hanging around its neck, but the thick, sweeping tail and the large ears, horns, teeth, and claws, made it abundantly clear that this was not an ordinary creature. It moved around the room with practiced precision, easily snatching up any straggling clan members in its arms without letting a single one loose. Holding the men to his chest tightly, their limbs waving and struggling against the immense strength that held them there, the beast swept its fierce, stormy gaze around the room once more before striding quickly down a hall in the back. The muffled protests of the Toppat Clan hardly echoed as Reginald watched the beast carry them down the corridor.
Reginald stood frozen in the doorway, shaking in his boots. He'd never seen such a creature in his life, not even in his worst nightmares, though he supposed anything was possible when wizards and magic were at play. In fact, that beast could have been the wizard himself, taking on a monstrous form to deal with the interlopers in his home. Reginald had slipped through the cracks by a stroke of good fortune, but now he was left with an extremely difficult choice: would he rescue his fellow clansmen, or would he simply go home?
Reginald was not a particularly brave or strong man by any means; the sight of the beast just now left him feeling faint, so the easiest answer would have been to cut his losses and return to Lil' Town. Those were a lot of losses he'd have to cut, though. While he'd never been as close with the other members of the Toppat Clan as he had been with Terrence, they were still the closest thing he had to a family. The people of Lil' Town, as kind as they were, were less like family and more like a duty, or a responsibility; he took great pride in caring for them all and making sure they were never without, but his bond with them lacked that personal, deeper connection he had with the clan. They were united by poor circumstances under a man who had seen potential in them all, going through daring heists and adventures together with a camaraderie few people could know. And Terrence, for all the frustration he caused Reginald, was a good person. He'd taken Reginald in, helped him, saved him. How could he even consider abandoning them? There was no honor or dignity in such thoughts, and by God, if nothing else, Reginald was a man with principles!
Drawing on all the courage he possessed, Reginald pushed the door of the estate open just enough to slip inside, then darted down the hallway the beast had taken his comrades towards. He moved quietly along the hall, slipping from shadow to shadow with his back pressed to the wall. He looked up, down, and all the way around as he went, in case the beast was capable of climbing the walls and observing him from afar.
He could hear his companions even from here- they were shouting and yelling with wild abandon- making it easy for him to know which way to go. As he went, he kept an eye out for things he could use as landmarks: a large, dusty tapestry, an unusually tall candle in an unusually short candlestick, an old suit of armor, anything that would help him figure out how to leave once he managed to get the others out-
A loud, guttural roar, barely muffled by the wall in front of him, had Reginald diving under a table to hide. Just in time, too: the door he'd been approaching burst open and the beast crawled out, using all fours now that its arms were free. Even from several feet away, Reginald could feel the heat and power radiating from the beast's body. He could even hear the click of its claws scraping against the stone as it bounded back the way they'd come, no doubt in search of any stragglers it might have missed.
Reginald sat as still as a rock under that table, doing everything in his power to keep his breaths calm. The voices of the Toppat Clan were much quieter now, though Reginald was close enough that he could still hear them muttering amongst themselves. He waited a little longer, in case the beast reappeared, but eventually crawled out from under the table and approached the door. It was a normal sized door, though it was made of cold metal and clearly belonged to a dungeon. Reginald set his hand on the handle, suppressing a shudder even as he felt the cold through his glove, and entered quickly and quietly.
The dungeon, as expected, was dark, damp, and cold, covered floor to ceiling in mildewy stone that smelled of old sick and dust. The Toppat Clan members were all shoved into the nearest cell, with Terrence standing right at the front with both hands on the rusty metal bars and grinning at him like they were meeting for tea.
"See guys? I knew Reginald wouldn't let us down!" Reginald hushed him firmly, approaching the cell door to examine the keyhole. Terrence ignored him. "Who would have guessed a monster like that was wandering around the place? Really wish it hadn't taken all our stuff, though; it's gonna take forever to collect it all again."
Reginald shot him a glare. "That thing could have killed you, and you're upset about losing some gold?" He chided. "Have you no sense of self preservation? Nevermind the gold; we have to get out of here as quickly- and quietly- as possible! Do you understand that?"
Terrence clicked his teeth, but stayed quiet as Reginald finally managed to pick the lock open with the thin metal rod lying conveniently on the ground. The clansmen poured out of the cell quickly, murmuring amongst themselves. Reginald shushed them again. "All of you, follow me," he commanded, peering through the door of the dungeon before opening it and guiding them back into the hall.
They moved as smoothly as a group of their size could hope to move, stopping here and there at Reginald's mark to listen for anyone- or anything- that might be approaching. In his head, Reginald counted out the landmarks. It was the suit of armor, and then the candlestick… Where's the candlestick? Did I take a wrong turn- ah, no, I recognize that crack in the wall, and now I see the tapestry, there we are, and-
They were back in the foyer before long, and Reginald began to send out the clan in small groups to leave through the front door. As the groups slowly left, Reginald looked around to see that a number of candlesticks had been ripped off the wall- at Terrence's order, no doubt- and it looked like some of the tables had been hastily pushed back to where they were earlier.
…Were there more tables than before? Or were his eyes playing tricks on him-?
Something shattered behind him and he jumped, whirling around to see Terrence holding another candlestick, while a small vase was broken on the floor next to his feet. "Oops," Terrence said.
"Terrence-!" Reginald hissed, but it was too late. He could hear the beast approaching the foyer in leaps and bounds before it burst into the room, rising on its back legs as it roared at Terrence. Reginald stumbled back. The beast was even larger than it had looked before, and it was about to tear Terrence limb from limb! He had to do something-!
He spotted a short candlestick with a tall candle sticking out of it- it looked suspiciously like the one that had gone missing earlier- and without putting much thought into it, Reginald grabbed it and threw it towards the beast.
He'd expected the movement to distract the beast, or the light to confuse it, or even, worst case scenario, for the flame to set the carpet on fire. What he did not expect was the very human scream that burst out of thin air in the direction of his throw. The beast hadn't seemed to expect it either, and snapped its head towards the candlestick with great alarm.
Reginald grabbed Terrence by the hand and yanked him towards the door, stumbling down the steps before sprinting towards the iron gate with Terrence getting his bearings behind him. They ran faster and faster, the gate drawing closer and closer as the exit was right within their grasp-!
Reginald tripped and fell, skidding painfully across the stone path to a stop. Terrence's candlestick clattered to the ground next to him, and he struggled to get to his feet, hot pain pulsing in his ankle. Terrence was running back to him, his arm outstretched, and Reginald reached up to take his hand…
Only for Terrence to grab the candlestick instead before taking off into the Dark Forest. "I'll tell the world your story, Reg!" he shouted as he disappeared into the trees, leaving Reginald gaping in the dust.
"Terrence!" he shrieked, struggling to get to his feet. Two large, heavy weights slammed into the ground on both sides of him, and Reginald fell forward, looking over his shoulder in horror to see the beast glowering down at him, fangs bared and gleaming in the moonlight.
Dun dun duuuun! Is this the end for Reginald Copperbottom? Find out... next week!
Roses are a central symbol in the story of Beauty and the Beast, so you know what that means: flower language! Roses are symbols of love and passion, though the exact color, and even the number and arrangement of blossoms, further pinpoints the exact meaning! Obviously, red roses are the classic symbols of love, but deep, dark reds are synonymous with a desire for commitment while bright and light reds are for hot passion. White roses are associated with purity, grace, and either new love (a popular wedding flower!) or loyal friendships (namely ivory roses). Black roses, while often a symbol of death, have come to signify rebirth as well, and depending on the shade, pink roses can mean tons of things! Of course, as Reginald suspects, blue roses don't exist in real life, so they represent mystery, unattainability, and occasionally unrequited love. Figures that a rose garden belonging to a wizard would have an impossible color like that.
Speaking of wizards... we know from the prologue that the wizard and the beast are two different people, but as far as Reginald knows, the wizard never left the Dark Forest, and is about to eat him for daring to trespass in his property (and getting caught; thanks, Terrence).
So, how about that screaming candlestick, huh? That sure was weird. Probably won't have anything to do with the story in the future, though. Definitely not.
Anyway, next time: will Reginald face a grizzly demise, or does the Beast have other plans for him? Let's find out together a week from today! Until then!