“Ronaldo Orrendo! For heaven’s sake, be careful! Don’t climb so high!” I shouted. Fonzie came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Relax, Belle,” he said. “We used to climb much higher than that when we were his age.”
“Sh! Don’t tell him that, though.” I couldn’t help smiling, despite my worry.
Fonzie sighed. “I can’t believe that that old tree is still there.”
“Me either,” I murmured.
Our ten-year-old son, Orrendo, continued to scale the giant sycamore tree inside the courtyard. “Look, Ma!” he called. “Look how high I’m going!”
“Yes, I see!” I shouted back. “Be careful!”
Just then, six-year-old Loretta came running from the garden, screaming, “It smiled at me! The statue smiled at me!” I couldn’t tell if she was amazed or terrified.
Probably both, I thought. I decided to indulge her.
“Don’t be silly, Lori! Statues don’t smile,” I said.
“But it did! It did!” she insisted, tugging on my skirt. Her brown curls flopped around her face.
I scolded her, trying to hide a smile, “Loretta, I don’t want you telling stories.”
“I’m telling the truth! Really!” She pouted, extending her lower lip.
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Alright, Lori. Show me the smiling statue.”
“It’s there, in the garden. You’ll see.” Loretta took my hand in her own very small one and led me on. Fonzie stayed behind to keep an eye on Orrendo.
The castle was silent except for our four voices. No one had lived here for years now, not even Methura. Ivy crept up the walls outside, and the pathways were overgrown with weeds. It had been Orrendo’s and Loretta’s idea that we visit the castle from their parents’ old stories. Finally, after much begging and pleading on their part, Fonzie and I decided that it was time to go back. We, ourselves, were in much need of a vacation, and Uschin was now doing quite well and could handle a month or two on its own.
“See, Ma! There it is!” Loretta jumped up and down with excitement.
I looked up from my daughter at Marbella, who stood unmoving by the pool. I winked at her. She smiled and winked back, but other wise she remained motionless. I heard Loretta gasp at my side. “She did it again! Did you see it?”
“I did,” I said with a smile.
“How did she do that?” she whispered, as if suddenly afraid that Marbella would hear her.
I bent down beside Loretta. Then I whispered in her ear, “Magic.”
“What?” she asked quietly.
“The castle is enchanted.”
“Oh.” She nodded knowingly, her eyes never straying from the statue.
I took her hand again. “Come on. Would you like to see my room in the tower?”
“Oh, yes!”
We met up with Fonzie and Orrendo in the kitchen and then proceeded up the long flight of stairs to my tower.
My goodness! I thought, trying hard to catch my breath. I don’t remember there ever being this many!
At last, we reached the top. The door stuck from so many years without use, and Fonzie was the one who finally opened it. Orrendo and Loretta ran past us into the stuffy room without any hesitation. Fonzie followed after them.
Standing just inside the doorway, I gazed fondly around my old room. Then I caught my breath.
“Oh, Fonzie,” I murmured, pointing.
“What is it?” His eyes followed my finger, and he saw it. “Oh.”
It was the rose on my dressing table, left there more than eleven years ago on our last day in the castle.
“I don’t believe it,” Fonzie said.
It was astounding enough that the rose was exactly where we had left it in its vase after all these years, but even more remarkable was the flower’s condition. The rose looked better now than on the day it had been picked. Not a single petal or leaf had wilted even the slightest bit.
Orrendo and Loretta stopped prancing around the room and walked over to the dressing table to get a closer look at the rose.
“What’s this?” Orrendo asked, picking a piece of paper up off the table. Glittering dust fell from the paper onto the floor. Then Orrendo read the letter aloud. “A gift from Methura, Waldo, Wilmadore, and Windamore to Fonzie and Belle. May your love be eternal like this rose. Treasure it always, just as we have always treasured you. All our love, The Fairies.”
“So, all of those stories were true!” Loretta said.
“Yes, they were,” I affirmed, smiling nostalgically.
Loretta took my hand again and led me over to the bed. I sat down and placed her on my lap.
“Tell the story again, Ma,” she pleaded.
“Yes! Please, Ma?” Orrendo enthused.
“Which story?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Your story!” the children cried in unison.
“But you’ve heard it a thousand times!” I exclaimed, laughing.
Loretta replied directly, “We want to hear it again.”
I sighed and took a moment to collect my thoughts. Then Orrendo, Loretta, and Fonzie listened intently as I began to narrate. “My father, King Gavin, and my mother, Queen Lalia, were standing in the great hall, receiving the line of subjects that had come to pay honor to me, their new princess…”
Attention all Beast readers!!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Beast: Chapter 46
The next month was spent fine-tuning every last detail of the peace treaty between Uschin and Eastern Grenshire. Garret and his small company of soldiers stayed in the palace with us the entire time, by our request. He and Fonzie became inseparable. When our two months in Flocile were spent and it was time to leave, we said our goodbyes to Mother and Father, not knowing when we would see them again. Chef Andre had decided to stay behind in Kammira as well.
“All of Little Andre’s friends are here, and this is where he grew up. Besides,” he explained, “the king wants me to stay. He says that he could never find a head royal chef as good as me if he searched for the rest of his life. How can I refuse a compliment like that?”
Cook would be accompanying Fonzie and me to Uschin, but Garret could only take us as far as the country’s border. After that, we were on our own. Father also sent twenty of his best guards along with us. However, they would be returning to Kammira after making sure that we had reached our destination safely.
We passed directly through the middle of Eastern Grenshire on our way to Uschin. I couldn’t help gawking at the lavish riches that could be found in even the lowliest of households. No lady in the market was without jewelry or luxurious clothing. Every man wore a ring on his right hand showing his rank, even if he was only a humble servant in the palace. And, oh, the palace! The palace, itself, was large enough to be a city! Expensive metals and stones could be seen everywhere we looked.
Aside from Garret, I wondered, do any of these people realize that half of this wealth isn’t even theirs?
At last we entered Uschin. The stark contrast between the two neighboring countries was all too obvious. Two minutes after bidding farewell to Garret, we came upon a beggar. She ran up to our carriage and began pounding on the side, pleading for something, anything, to eat. We stopped for a minute and spoke to her, asking where we might find a place to stay for the night. Thank goodness that Cook was with us to translate, for I knew no Uschin at all, and Fonzie only remembered a few words from his early childhood. The beggar woman told us that there was an inn down the rode and that we would reach it just after nightfall if we continued on at a steady pace. We thanked her and gave her some food in exchange for the information before resuming our journey.
We passed through several towns, or what used to be towns. Most buildings were no more than decrepit structures not fit to live in. Roofs had caved in, and windows were either shattered or non-existent. Beggars and urchins lined every dirty street. Young children played in the mud while their older siblings dug through bins of trash in search for food. Many of those we saw in the streets immediately ran up to our carriage when they saw us approaching. Sadly, we had to turn most of them away. We simply did not have enough food for all of them and ourselves. My heart broke to see such sad, empty faces. It wasn’t fair, I thought, that Eastern Grenshire sleeps peacefully while these people lie awake each night, wondering if they will find enough food tomorrow to live yet one more miserable day.
We arrived at the inn just as the sun was setting. The innkeeper and his large family did not know what to make of us. It had been years since anyone had even mentioned Uschin having another king, he told us. And now, at last, one surviving heir had returned to rescue them all from poverty and starvation. They waited on us hand and foot, and they kept asking if there was anything at all that they could do for us. The gratitude on their faces was plain to see.
When I retired to our room that night, I found Fonzie sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.
“Fonzie…” I walked closer. Then I saw that he shoulders shook with weeping. I sat down beside him and put my arms around him. “Fonzie, what’s the matter? Don’t you feel well?” I moved a hand towards his forehead to check for a fever, but he batted it away. I didn’t understand.
“What’s wrong?” I asked again.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated, utterly broken. “It’s Uschin! That’s what’s wrong, Belle. This country is even worse than I thought. How will I ever be able to help them all? I don’t know how to lead a country!”
I didn’t speak for awhile. I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Finally I said softly, “I know it’s bad, but you’re not alone, Fonzie. Cook and I will be with you every step of the way. Garret said that he would help, too.”
He stopped crying and took a shaky breath. “I know.”
“No one ever said it would be easy,” I reminded him. “It won’t happen overnight.”
“I know.” Then Fonzie took my hand. “I think I could do anything with you by my side. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I told him.
~-~-~-~
The ruins of the once-great citadel of Shushan sat high on a promontory on the southern side of a waterfall. The sheer falls fed into a black river hundreds of feet below. Cook told us its name, the Buio River. The Buio was not slow and lazy like the Turmarine River in Kammira. No, this river surged in torrents over sharp rocks and down steep slopes into the valley beyond. The mountainous landscape was almost entirely covered by coniferous forests. Tall, dark, jagged pines stretched their spiny needles skyward. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Kammira was mostly made up of deciduous forests and farmland. And yet, Uschin was beautiful in its own uncultivated way.
We entered Shushan tentatively, unsure of what we would find inside the imposing gates. However, it was what we didn’t find that shocked us the most. There were less people in the citadel than in any town we had passed through so far. On the rare occasion that we did see someone, we would stop and try to speak with them. To our dismay, each one would only glance at us suspiciously and then scurry away before we could have a word with them. By the time we reached the palace, we’d become very discouraged. It was most definitely not a good thing that none of the people in the city trusted us enough to talk to us.
The palace was, like every other structure we had passed by thus far, in great need of repair. The first thing I noticed about the palace was that each of the door handles and hinges were missing. For this reason, there were also very few doors left standing.
“Cook,” I asked while inspecting one of the doors, “is it customary in Uschin for doors to be made without handles or hinges?”
“No,” she answered. “I suspect that that happened only after Harman’s raid. Each fixture on every door in this palace was made of solid gold. His soldiers probably took the doors apart one by one and made off with every last doorknob they could find.”
“The scoundrels,” I muttered scornfully. I looked around again, this time with a new understanding. No wonder the place was falling apart, I thought. There probably wasn’t a single nail left anywhere.
Father’s guards were scheduled to leave the next morning, but due to the response that we had received from the inhabitants of the citadel, they all agreed to stay until they knew that Cook, Fonzie, and I would be safe on our own.
“I don’t trust these Uschins,” the captain of the guards confided in me that evening. “They have shifty eyes.” I pinched my lips tightly together to hold back a laugh as I watched his own pair of nervous eyes twitch from side to side on high alert.
“I appreciate your help,” I told him sincerely. “Eventually the people will learn to trust us.” At least, I hoped that they would.
Fonzie and I continued to explore the palace late into the evening, lighting torches when it became too dark to see without them. We were walking down a corridor on the first floor, exploring each room as we went, when I thought I saw a shadow dash across the hall. At first, I judged that it must have been my imagination. Then I saw the shadow again. The figure had just ducked into the next room on our left.
I nudged Fonzie and motioned for him to be quiet. Silently, we made our way down the hall and into the room.
Fonzie called out in Uschin, “Hello? Is anyone in here? Show yourself!”
During the beginning of our journey through the country, Cook had been our translator whenever we had spoken to any Uschin citizen. Then Fonzie rapidly began to pick up his native dialect once again and recently had been putting it to good use. Now, he spoke the language very well, and we no longer depended on only Cook. At this point, I only knew a few words and phrases, and I still required a translator for a real conversation.
Fonzie received no response to his query, and we began to leave the room. Then a small voice stopped us dead in our tracks.
“Aspetta! Wait!”
We swung around, holding the torch high so that the light shone all around the room. A small, thin boy stepped forward boldly. His face was dirty, and his clothes were little more than rags. His eyes glimmered very brightly.
The boy asked us a question in Uschin. I glanced at Fonzie, waiting for him to explain.
“He wants to know if we’re the ghosts of my parents,” Fonzie translated, looking at me quizzically.
“That’s ridiculous!” I exclaimed. “Why would he think that?”
“I’ll ask him.” He turned back to the boy. He translated the rest of the conversation for me as he went, which made the whole affair last twice as long, but I was used to that by now. “Why do you think that we are ghosts?” he asked the boy.
“Because everyone else says that the palace is haunted. No one ever comes in here,” the boy answered seriously.
“Then tell me why you are here,” Fonzie demanded. His voice was authoritative, but not the least bit harsh.
“One of the older street urchins, Ferdie, told me that he would pay me two Ronaldos if I stayed here all night and then came back alive.” He grinned mischievously. “I didn’t believe that the palace was haunted, so I agreed to do it. I’m brave. I don’t believe in ghosts.” He stuck his chin out in defiance. Then he looked at our faces again and his entire manner changed. The boy added, “Or at least…I didn’t. So are you really ghosts?”
Fonzie spread his arms wide. “Do I look dead to you?”
The boy eyed him carefully from his head to his toes, then back again to the top of his curly mass of hair.
“No.”
“I didn’t think so,” Fonzie said.
“But if you aren’t ghosts…who are you?” the boy asked, now thoroughly confused.
“I am Prin –“ Fonzie caught himself. “King Ronaldo Alfonzo. And this is my wife, Queen Bella.”
I grinned, loving the way that he had introduced me. I hoped that my new title would stick.
But the boy only scoffed at him. “But, that can’t be true. Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo was killed. Every Ronaldo was killed. That’s what everyone else says.”
“And everyone else also says that the palace is haunted,” Fonzie reminded him. “Is that true?”
The boy looked down, ashamed. He kicked at a loose tile in the floor. “No.”
“It just so happens,” Fonzie explained quietly, bending down to the boy’s eye level, “that my ma and I escaped. But my pa and little sister were killed.”
Then the boy met Fonzie’s eyes. His eyes were the most cheerless that I had ever seen.
“My pa’s dead, too,” he said. “And my ma.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hold back the tears that I felt coming and sadly failing. How many more orphaned children like this boy were out there on the streets tonight?
“What is your name?” Fonzie asked.
“My friends call my Miggy,” the boy answered.
“And how old are you, Miggy?”
“I’m eight years old,” Miggy replied proudly. Then he thought for a moment, counting on his fingers. “…At least, I think so.”
“I have just one more question for you: how would you like to live in the palace with us?” Fonzie’s charming smile spread across his face
Miggy’s eyes grew wide, and his face lit up brighter than the sun. “Really?”
“Really. I want you to stay here with me and my family.” Then he turned to me and said, “Belle, we’re going to start an orphanage here, in the palace.”
“An orphanage…”
Of course! I thought, smiling. What a marvelous idea!
“…But how?” I asked. At that time, the palace wasn’t fit for anyone to live in. And we would need teachers and caretakers and…
“I don’t care how,” Fonzie said stubbornly. “We just will.” I nodded slowly.
Yes. We just would. We had to.
Then Fonzie turned back to Miggy, smiling. “Would you like to meet my ma?” he asked.
I hadn’t thought that the boy’s eyes could have gotten any bigger, but they did. “Princess Marie is here? Right now?”
“You bet. I believe she’s in the kitchen making us a snack. I’m sure that she could prepare an extra one for you.” Then Fonzie took his hand, and we began to walk back down the hallway to the kitchen. Miggy and Fonzie continued chatting, but I was lost in my own thoughts.
He wants to start an orphanage, on top of rebuilding this country? He’s gone mad! Wonderfully mad.
Naturally, it was the best way to begin, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy.
No one ever said it would be easy, I reminded myself. And it won’t happen overnight.
The road ahead was foggy, but the destination was clear. And Fonzie and I would travel there together, hand in hand, side by side.
“All of Little Andre’s friends are here, and this is where he grew up. Besides,” he explained, “the king wants me to stay. He says that he could never find a head royal chef as good as me if he searched for the rest of his life. How can I refuse a compliment like that?”
Cook would be accompanying Fonzie and me to Uschin, but Garret could only take us as far as the country’s border. After that, we were on our own. Father also sent twenty of his best guards along with us. However, they would be returning to Kammira after making sure that we had reached our destination safely.
We passed directly through the middle of Eastern Grenshire on our way to Uschin. I couldn’t help gawking at the lavish riches that could be found in even the lowliest of households. No lady in the market was without jewelry or luxurious clothing. Every man wore a ring on his right hand showing his rank, even if he was only a humble servant in the palace. And, oh, the palace! The palace, itself, was large enough to be a city! Expensive metals and stones could be seen everywhere we looked.
Aside from Garret, I wondered, do any of these people realize that half of this wealth isn’t even theirs?
At last we entered Uschin. The stark contrast between the two neighboring countries was all too obvious. Two minutes after bidding farewell to Garret, we came upon a beggar. She ran up to our carriage and began pounding on the side, pleading for something, anything, to eat. We stopped for a minute and spoke to her, asking where we might find a place to stay for the night. Thank goodness that Cook was with us to translate, for I knew no Uschin at all, and Fonzie only remembered a few words from his early childhood. The beggar woman told us that there was an inn down the rode and that we would reach it just after nightfall if we continued on at a steady pace. We thanked her and gave her some food in exchange for the information before resuming our journey.
We passed through several towns, or what used to be towns. Most buildings were no more than decrepit structures not fit to live in. Roofs had caved in, and windows were either shattered or non-existent. Beggars and urchins lined every dirty street. Young children played in the mud while their older siblings dug through bins of trash in search for food. Many of those we saw in the streets immediately ran up to our carriage when they saw us approaching. Sadly, we had to turn most of them away. We simply did not have enough food for all of them and ourselves. My heart broke to see such sad, empty faces. It wasn’t fair, I thought, that Eastern Grenshire sleeps peacefully while these people lie awake each night, wondering if they will find enough food tomorrow to live yet one more miserable day.
We arrived at the inn just as the sun was setting. The innkeeper and his large family did not know what to make of us. It had been years since anyone had even mentioned Uschin having another king, he told us. And now, at last, one surviving heir had returned to rescue them all from poverty and starvation. They waited on us hand and foot, and they kept asking if there was anything at all that they could do for us. The gratitude on their faces was plain to see.
When I retired to our room that night, I found Fonzie sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.
“Fonzie…” I walked closer. Then I saw that he shoulders shook with weeping. I sat down beside him and put my arms around him. “Fonzie, what’s the matter? Don’t you feel well?” I moved a hand towards his forehead to check for a fever, but he batted it away. I didn’t understand.
“What’s wrong?” I asked again.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated, utterly broken. “It’s Uschin! That’s what’s wrong, Belle. This country is even worse than I thought. How will I ever be able to help them all? I don’t know how to lead a country!”
I didn’t speak for awhile. I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Finally I said softly, “I know it’s bad, but you’re not alone, Fonzie. Cook and I will be with you every step of the way. Garret said that he would help, too.”
He stopped crying and took a shaky breath. “I know.”
“No one ever said it would be easy,” I reminded him. “It won’t happen overnight.”
“I know.” Then Fonzie took my hand. “I think I could do anything with you by my side. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I told him.
~-~-~-~
The ruins of the once-great citadel of Shushan sat high on a promontory on the southern side of a waterfall. The sheer falls fed into a black river hundreds of feet below. Cook told us its name, the Buio River. The Buio was not slow and lazy like the Turmarine River in Kammira. No, this river surged in torrents over sharp rocks and down steep slopes into the valley beyond. The mountainous landscape was almost entirely covered by coniferous forests. Tall, dark, jagged pines stretched their spiny needles skyward. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Kammira was mostly made up of deciduous forests and farmland. And yet, Uschin was beautiful in its own uncultivated way.
We entered Shushan tentatively, unsure of what we would find inside the imposing gates. However, it was what we didn’t find that shocked us the most. There were less people in the citadel than in any town we had passed through so far. On the rare occasion that we did see someone, we would stop and try to speak with them. To our dismay, each one would only glance at us suspiciously and then scurry away before we could have a word with them. By the time we reached the palace, we’d become very discouraged. It was most definitely not a good thing that none of the people in the city trusted us enough to talk to us.
The palace was, like every other structure we had passed by thus far, in great need of repair. The first thing I noticed about the palace was that each of the door handles and hinges were missing. For this reason, there were also very few doors left standing.
“Cook,” I asked while inspecting one of the doors, “is it customary in Uschin for doors to be made without handles or hinges?”
“No,” she answered. “I suspect that that happened only after Harman’s raid. Each fixture on every door in this palace was made of solid gold. His soldiers probably took the doors apart one by one and made off with every last doorknob they could find.”
“The scoundrels,” I muttered scornfully. I looked around again, this time with a new understanding. No wonder the place was falling apart, I thought. There probably wasn’t a single nail left anywhere.
Father’s guards were scheduled to leave the next morning, but due to the response that we had received from the inhabitants of the citadel, they all agreed to stay until they knew that Cook, Fonzie, and I would be safe on our own.
“I don’t trust these Uschins,” the captain of the guards confided in me that evening. “They have shifty eyes.” I pinched my lips tightly together to hold back a laugh as I watched his own pair of nervous eyes twitch from side to side on high alert.
“I appreciate your help,” I told him sincerely. “Eventually the people will learn to trust us.” At least, I hoped that they would.
Fonzie and I continued to explore the palace late into the evening, lighting torches when it became too dark to see without them. We were walking down a corridor on the first floor, exploring each room as we went, when I thought I saw a shadow dash across the hall. At first, I judged that it must have been my imagination. Then I saw the shadow again. The figure had just ducked into the next room on our left.
I nudged Fonzie and motioned for him to be quiet. Silently, we made our way down the hall and into the room.
Fonzie called out in Uschin, “Hello? Is anyone in here? Show yourself!”
During the beginning of our journey through the country, Cook had been our translator whenever we had spoken to any Uschin citizen. Then Fonzie rapidly began to pick up his native dialect once again and recently had been putting it to good use. Now, he spoke the language very well, and we no longer depended on only Cook. At this point, I only knew a few words and phrases, and I still required a translator for a real conversation.
Fonzie received no response to his query, and we began to leave the room. Then a small voice stopped us dead in our tracks.
“Aspetta! Wait!”
We swung around, holding the torch high so that the light shone all around the room. A small, thin boy stepped forward boldly. His face was dirty, and his clothes were little more than rags. His eyes glimmered very brightly.
The boy asked us a question in Uschin. I glanced at Fonzie, waiting for him to explain.
“He wants to know if we’re the ghosts of my parents,” Fonzie translated, looking at me quizzically.
“That’s ridiculous!” I exclaimed. “Why would he think that?”
“I’ll ask him.” He turned back to the boy. He translated the rest of the conversation for me as he went, which made the whole affair last twice as long, but I was used to that by now. “Why do you think that we are ghosts?” he asked the boy.
“Because everyone else says that the palace is haunted. No one ever comes in here,” the boy answered seriously.
“Then tell me why you are here,” Fonzie demanded. His voice was authoritative, but not the least bit harsh.
“One of the older street urchins, Ferdie, told me that he would pay me two Ronaldos if I stayed here all night and then came back alive.” He grinned mischievously. “I didn’t believe that the palace was haunted, so I agreed to do it. I’m brave. I don’t believe in ghosts.” He stuck his chin out in defiance. Then he looked at our faces again and his entire manner changed. The boy added, “Or at least…I didn’t. So are you really ghosts?”
Fonzie spread his arms wide. “Do I look dead to you?”
The boy eyed him carefully from his head to his toes, then back again to the top of his curly mass of hair.
“No.”
“I didn’t think so,” Fonzie said.
“But if you aren’t ghosts…who are you?” the boy asked, now thoroughly confused.
“I am Prin –“ Fonzie caught himself. “King Ronaldo Alfonzo. And this is my wife, Queen Bella.”
I grinned, loving the way that he had introduced me. I hoped that my new title would stick.
But the boy only scoffed at him. “But, that can’t be true. Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo was killed. Every Ronaldo was killed. That’s what everyone else says.”
“And everyone else also says that the palace is haunted,” Fonzie reminded him. “Is that true?”
The boy looked down, ashamed. He kicked at a loose tile in the floor. “No.”
“It just so happens,” Fonzie explained quietly, bending down to the boy’s eye level, “that my ma and I escaped. But my pa and little sister were killed.”
Then the boy met Fonzie’s eyes. His eyes were the most cheerless that I had ever seen.
“My pa’s dead, too,” he said. “And my ma.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hold back the tears that I felt coming and sadly failing. How many more orphaned children like this boy were out there on the streets tonight?
“What is your name?” Fonzie asked.
“My friends call my Miggy,” the boy answered.
“And how old are you, Miggy?”
“I’m eight years old,” Miggy replied proudly. Then he thought for a moment, counting on his fingers. “…At least, I think so.”
“I have just one more question for you: how would you like to live in the palace with us?” Fonzie’s charming smile spread across his face
Miggy’s eyes grew wide, and his face lit up brighter than the sun. “Really?”
“Really. I want you to stay here with me and my family.” Then he turned to me and said, “Belle, we’re going to start an orphanage here, in the palace.”
“An orphanage…”
Of course! I thought, smiling. What a marvelous idea!
“…But how?” I asked. At that time, the palace wasn’t fit for anyone to live in. And we would need teachers and caretakers and…
“I don’t care how,” Fonzie said stubbornly. “We just will.” I nodded slowly.
Yes. We just would. We had to.
Then Fonzie turned back to Miggy, smiling. “Would you like to meet my ma?” he asked.
I hadn’t thought that the boy’s eyes could have gotten any bigger, but they did. “Princess Marie is here? Right now?”
“You bet. I believe she’s in the kitchen making us a snack. I’m sure that she could prepare an extra one for you.” Then Fonzie took his hand, and we began to walk back down the hallway to the kitchen. Miggy and Fonzie continued chatting, but I was lost in my own thoughts.
He wants to start an orphanage, on top of rebuilding this country? He’s gone mad! Wonderfully mad.
Naturally, it was the best way to begin, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy.
No one ever said it would be easy, I reminded myself. And it won’t happen overnight.
The road ahead was foggy, but the destination was clear. And Fonzie and I would travel there together, hand in hand, side by side.
Beast: Chapter 45
I went back up to my room to change before returning for breakfast, which was, I should add, nothing short of delicious. After we had finished eating, Fonzie and I took a walk through the garden. The sun was shining brightly now, and the puddles were beginning to dry up.
We said hello to Marbella and entered the maze. For some reason, it had always been my favorite place in the garden, and I still loved to smell the roses as I strolled down each winding pathway. Today, I was particularly captivated by the beauty and brightness of the garden. I didn’t even hear Fonzie when he suggested, “Let’s go this way.”
I continued walking, spellbound by the sights, sounds, and smells that greeted my senses. When I finally broke free from my trance, I was, as usual, lost., and Fonzie was no where to be seen. I panicked immediately. Where could he be? I looked all around. I jumped up and down to try and see over the hedges but without any result. I ran back the way I had come, hoping to find Fonzie along the way.
I found someone else instead.
Methura appeared before me in her customary black attire. She smiled.
“Hello, Belle! Why don’t we take a walk, hmm? Maybe talk a bit?” She took a hold of my arm and turned me around, and we began walking in the opposite direction.
“But I –”
“Don’t worry about Fonzie, dear. He’ll be just fine,” Methura assured me.
How does she always know what I’m thinking?
“Now,” she said, “Let’s talk. Your question is an excellent place to begin. I always know what you’re thinking because I’m always in tune to your thoughts and feelings. Like I said once before, I’m responsible for you after all.”
“But why?” I asked.
“Because I’m your fairy godmother,” she divulged plainly. I stared at her skeptically.
She’s lying! I thought. Or at least she’s crazier than I thought she was. The fairy I saw last night was most certainly not Methura.
“Remember, dear,” she chided. “I know what you’re thinking.”
My cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
“I’m not lying, and I am most definitely not crazy, either.” Then she stopped me and looked my in the eye. “Isabelle, things are not always what they seem – especially people. Beasts are princesses, princes are monsters, and dish boys are royalty.
“Don’t judge by appearance. You’d be surprised by what lies beneath the surface.” For a moment, I saw a bit of the other side of Methura shine through. Light radiated from her face then covered her entire figure. The glow finally became so bright that I had to close my eyes.
When the brilliance faded, I opened my eyes. Methura was gone. Then I heard her say, “I’ll be in touch, Belle.” I turned around, but she was nowhere to be seen. I found myself standing at the entrance to the maze, instead of inside it. Fonzie came up behind me.
“Where have you been?” he asked, out of breath. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“Where have I been?” I repeated. “I should be asking where you’ve been!” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Don’t ever leave me again!” I begged him.
“I won’t,” Fonzie said.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He kissed me for the second time that morning.
I heard Marbella sigh happily, but I could not have cared less if she or anyone else had been watching. It was the best birthday present Fonzie could have given me.
~-~-~-~
Two weeks later, Father and Mother joined us at the castle for the wedding. At first, Father was incensed that I had agreed to marry a lowly dish boy, but when we explained to him who Fonzie really was, Father immediately welcomed him into the family as if Fonzie was his own son. My parents were also informed of Adreon’s evil intentions for our kingdom and of Peter’s involvement in the plot. Father was grieved to discover the events that would have resulted from the ill-arranged marriage, but even more upsetting to him was learning of the extent of my unhappiness over the past year. Both of my parents duly apologized for their disregard, and they were quickly forgiven. I was after all, given the gift of kindness.
Celia agreed to be my maid of honor, and her new husband, the cobbler’s son that she fell in love with in Jocken, came with her to watch the ceremony. Rudy stood beside Fonzie as the best man, and Thira and Marbella were my bride’s maids. I believe that it was the first time in the history of Kammira that a statue participated in a wedding. Windamore and Wilmadore even showed up for the occasion.
Methura, my fairy godmother, was in attendance as well. Having seen to all of the wedding details, including decorating the courtyard and providing the wedding party with suitable, elegant clothing, she sat back and observed as my “happy ending” unfolded. However, I was not the only person at the wedding with a happy ending.
Father had agreed to give Chef Andre a holiday so that he and Andy could come and see the wedding. Their arrival was a surprise for all of us. Now, not only would we be celebrating a union, but also a reunion. The meeting between Cook and her brother, delayed by more than sixteen years, was tearful but certainly joyous. They had a lot of catching up to do, but they agreed that it all could wait until after the wedding.
Waldo conducted the ceremony. I was thankful that this time only close friends and family had come instead of hundreds of people that I didn’t even know. And on this occasion, I wasn’t even the least bit tempted to run away. I was anxious, of course, but not terrified. The service was over far too quickly; I hardly had time to enjoy it. On the other hand, the banquet afterwards lasted late into the night.
The next morning, everyone began packing up to leave. Fonzie and I were returning to Flocile for the next two months, though we did not know what lay beyond that.
I had just finished packing my suitcase when there was a knock at the door, and Fonzie entered the tower, his hands behind his back.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asked. “Everyone else is waiting for you.”
“I just finished packing,” I told him. I tried to glance behind his back, but he turned just in time. “What have you got there?” I inquired suspiciously.
“Just a little something…” Then Fonzie pulled a red rose out from behind his back and offered it to me. “…for you.”
I took the gift gingerly, being careful not to prick my fingers on a thorn. I glanced over at the dying rose on my vanity. Only two petals were left; another one had fallen off just yesterday. It was time for it to be replaced.
I walked over to the old rose, pulled it from the vase, and put the fresh one in its place.
“Do you think we’ll ever return here?” I wondered aloud, embracing him.
“Someday,” Fonzie murmured. “Someday.”
I gave him a smile. “I’d like that.”
“Me, too. But we really should be going now,” he reminded me quietly. I nodded. He was right. I couldn’t linger in the past any longer. We were beginning something new, together.
I picked up my suitcase and followed Fonzie out the door, stopping only a moment for one last glance around my room.
~-~-~-~
We entered Flocile three days later, and the welcome we received was almost exactly the same as the last time that I rode through the city gates. The entire city had turned out to see Fonzie and me. By now, all of Kammira had heard the news of Adreon’s scheme and the long-lost Uschin prince that had appeared out of nowhere to save their country. They honored Fonzie like a hero.
After one month in the palace, we received a very unexpected visitor. Fonzie and I were in the great hall with my father and mother greeting an ambassador from Domrund when I looked up and saw a man enter the room. Right in the middle of the ambassador’s speech, I screamed and ducked behind Fonzie. The ambassador and my parents started and then stared at me.
“What is it, Belle?” Fonzie asked immediately. He knew that I wouldn’t have screamed like that for just anything.
“It’s Adreon!” I cried, trembling. “He’s…he’s…” I pointed a shaking finger at the man who had just entered the hall who did, in fact, look very much like Adreon. Fonzie saw him and at once threw an arm back to protect me and drew the sword at his side.
“No, you don’t understand!” the man said.
That’s odd, I thought, peeking over Fonzie’s shoulder. He doesn’t sound anything like Adreon.
“I am not Adreon. I am his older brother, Garret, King of Eastern Grenshire,” he said. “And to show you that I mean no harm…” Then the man drew his sword and slowly placed it on the ground. He held his hands up as a sign of peace.
Fonzie lowered his sword only an inch. I checked the expression on his face. His features were firm and unrelenting.
“I’m not sure that I’d trust anyone related to Adreon,” Fonzie said. “How do I know that your intentions are not the same as his or your father’s?”
King Garret’s face was solemn. “Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo, I presume?” Fonzie neither said nor did anything, so Garret continued. “Well, first I offer my condolences for your family that was assassinated at the hands of my father. Next, I offer my apologies for Adreon’s actions. I had no knowledge of his plans. Had I known, I would have hanged him myself.
“Prince Alfonzo, I am not like my father. This I can swear upon. I would like to begin to mend the wounds that have been festering between our countries for over sixteen years. Will you accept my offer of peace?”
Fonzie lowered his sword slowly. “Yes, I will accept your offer.”
Garret bent down and picked up his own sword. He put it back in its sheath before approaching us. Then he greeted both of my parents and the ambassador, whom he had apparently met before. At last he turned to me.
“And you must be Princess Isabelle,” he said, smiling broadly.
“Yes.” I crept out from behind Fonzie. I couldn’t help feeling shy in front of him. Perhaps it was more embarrassment, though, than shyness. “I’m sorry for screaming at you,” I said meekly, trying to put on a good face.
He only laughed. “Think nothing of it. I probably would have done the same thing in your case.” Instantly, I felt more at ease. His laugh was hardy and his manner friendly.
He’s not at all like his brother, I thought. Thank goodness.
“How is your mother, Garret?” my own mother asked him politely.
“Not well, I’m afraid,” he informed us. “She fell ill when she received the news of Adreon’s death, and she has not been fairing any better since then. I, myself, was in Western Grenshire when I heard. I came here as soon as possible, but travel over the mountains is not easy this time of year when the rain makes the streams and rivers swell.”
Then Garret turned to Fonzie, who had been silent for the past ten minutes. “Now, Prince Alfonzo, I wish to speak to you about our terms of peace. I am ready to give you every last square inch of ground that my father had stolen from your country. All of your people have been returned to Uschin, but I am afraid that there was not much for them to return to. Uschin is still in tatters from the war, and I have done nothing so far to help them. The country needs its own leader, and one that it can trust, not the son of their greatest enemy. I assume that you will be returning to Uschin before too long?” Garret waited for Fonzie to answer. He glanced at me.
“We actually hadn’t thought about that yet,” Fonzie said uncertainly. “I suppose we were thinking that…”
“…we would stay here,” I finished for him.
Fonzie and I looked at each other and both thought the same thing. Now that we had stated our original intentions, they sounded foolish. Of course we couldn’t stay. Fonzie and I wouldn’t inherit the throne for some time yet, and, in the meantime, Uschin needed a king and queen to rule them and bring them out of their wretched state.
“But Kammira…” Fonzie said, looking to my father.
He only shrugged. “There’s always Harvey.”
“Harvey,” Fonzie echoed blankly.
“I want you to do what is best for your country,” Father told him very seriously. “I trust your reasoning, son. I will support your decision, whatever it may be.” Fonzie swallowed and nodded.
Garret added, “Eastern Grenshire has more affluence than I know what to do with. Much of it belongs to you, anyway. I will do anything within my power to help you rebuild Uschin, Prince Alfonzo. Ask anything, and you will have it.”
“Thank you,” Fonzie responded. It was all he could say to such a generous proposal. He and Garret shook hands, and a fast, deep friendship began.
We said hello to Marbella and entered the maze. For some reason, it had always been my favorite place in the garden, and I still loved to smell the roses as I strolled down each winding pathway. Today, I was particularly captivated by the beauty and brightness of the garden. I didn’t even hear Fonzie when he suggested, “Let’s go this way.”
I continued walking, spellbound by the sights, sounds, and smells that greeted my senses. When I finally broke free from my trance, I was, as usual, lost., and Fonzie was no where to be seen. I panicked immediately. Where could he be? I looked all around. I jumped up and down to try and see over the hedges but without any result. I ran back the way I had come, hoping to find Fonzie along the way.
I found someone else instead.
Methura appeared before me in her customary black attire. She smiled.
“Hello, Belle! Why don’t we take a walk, hmm? Maybe talk a bit?” She took a hold of my arm and turned me around, and we began walking in the opposite direction.
“But I –”
“Don’t worry about Fonzie, dear. He’ll be just fine,” Methura assured me.
How does she always know what I’m thinking?
“Now,” she said, “Let’s talk. Your question is an excellent place to begin. I always know what you’re thinking because I’m always in tune to your thoughts and feelings. Like I said once before, I’m responsible for you after all.”
“But why?” I asked.
“Because I’m your fairy godmother,” she divulged plainly. I stared at her skeptically.
She’s lying! I thought. Or at least she’s crazier than I thought she was. The fairy I saw last night was most certainly not Methura.
“Remember, dear,” she chided. “I know what you’re thinking.”
My cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
“I’m not lying, and I am most definitely not crazy, either.” Then she stopped me and looked my in the eye. “Isabelle, things are not always what they seem – especially people. Beasts are princesses, princes are monsters, and dish boys are royalty.
“Don’t judge by appearance. You’d be surprised by what lies beneath the surface.” For a moment, I saw a bit of the other side of Methura shine through. Light radiated from her face then covered her entire figure. The glow finally became so bright that I had to close my eyes.
When the brilliance faded, I opened my eyes. Methura was gone. Then I heard her say, “I’ll be in touch, Belle.” I turned around, but she was nowhere to be seen. I found myself standing at the entrance to the maze, instead of inside it. Fonzie came up behind me.
“Where have you been?” he asked, out of breath. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“Where have I been?” I repeated. “I should be asking where you’ve been!” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Don’t ever leave me again!” I begged him.
“I won’t,” Fonzie said.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He kissed me for the second time that morning.
I heard Marbella sigh happily, but I could not have cared less if she or anyone else had been watching. It was the best birthday present Fonzie could have given me.
~-~-~-~
Two weeks later, Father and Mother joined us at the castle for the wedding. At first, Father was incensed that I had agreed to marry a lowly dish boy, but when we explained to him who Fonzie really was, Father immediately welcomed him into the family as if Fonzie was his own son. My parents were also informed of Adreon’s evil intentions for our kingdom and of Peter’s involvement in the plot. Father was grieved to discover the events that would have resulted from the ill-arranged marriage, but even more upsetting to him was learning of the extent of my unhappiness over the past year. Both of my parents duly apologized for their disregard, and they were quickly forgiven. I was after all, given the gift of kindness.
Celia agreed to be my maid of honor, and her new husband, the cobbler’s son that she fell in love with in Jocken, came with her to watch the ceremony. Rudy stood beside Fonzie as the best man, and Thira and Marbella were my bride’s maids. I believe that it was the first time in the history of Kammira that a statue participated in a wedding. Windamore and Wilmadore even showed up for the occasion.
Methura, my fairy godmother, was in attendance as well. Having seen to all of the wedding details, including decorating the courtyard and providing the wedding party with suitable, elegant clothing, she sat back and observed as my “happy ending” unfolded. However, I was not the only person at the wedding with a happy ending.
Father had agreed to give Chef Andre a holiday so that he and Andy could come and see the wedding. Their arrival was a surprise for all of us. Now, not only would we be celebrating a union, but also a reunion. The meeting between Cook and her brother, delayed by more than sixteen years, was tearful but certainly joyous. They had a lot of catching up to do, but they agreed that it all could wait until after the wedding.
Waldo conducted the ceremony. I was thankful that this time only close friends and family had come instead of hundreds of people that I didn’t even know. And on this occasion, I wasn’t even the least bit tempted to run away. I was anxious, of course, but not terrified. The service was over far too quickly; I hardly had time to enjoy it. On the other hand, the banquet afterwards lasted late into the night.
The next morning, everyone began packing up to leave. Fonzie and I were returning to Flocile for the next two months, though we did not know what lay beyond that.
I had just finished packing my suitcase when there was a knock at the door, and Fonzie entered the tower, his hands behind his back.
“Are you ready to leave?” he asked. “Everyone else is waiting for you.”
“I just finished packing,” I told him. I tried to glance behind his back, but he turned just in time. “What have you got there?” I inquired suspiciously.
“Just a little something…” Then Fonzie pulled a red rose out from behind his back and offered it to me. “…for you.”
I took the gift gingerly, being careful not to prick my fingers on a thorn. I glanced over at the dying rose on my vanity. Only two petals were left; another one had fallen off just yesterday. It was time for it to be replaced.
I walked over to the old rose, pulled it from the vase, and put the fresh one in its place.
“Do you think we’ll ever return here?” I wondered aloud, embracing him.
“Someday,” Fonzie murmured. “Someday.”
I gave him a smile. “I’d like that.”
“Me, too. But we really should be going now,” he reminded me quietly. I nodded. He was right. I couldn’t linger in the past any longer. We were beginning something new, together.
I picked up my suitcase and followed Fonzie out the door, stopping only a moment for one last glance around my room.
~-~-~-~
We entered Flocile three days later, and the welcome we received was almost exactly the same as the last time that I rode through the city gates. The entire city had turned out to see Fonzie and me. By now, all of Kammira had heard the news of Adreon’s scheme and the long-lost Uschin prince that had appeared out of nowhere to save their country. They honored Fonzie like a hero.
After one month in the palace, we received a very unexpected visitor. Fonzie and I were in the great hall with my father and mother greeting an ambassador from Domrund when I looked up and saw a man enter the room. Right in the middle of the ambassador’s speech, I screamed and ducked behind Fonzie. The ambassador and my parents started and then stared at me.
“What is it, Belle?” Fonzie asked immediately. He knew that I wouldn’t have screamed like that for just anything.
“It’s Adreon!” I cried, trembling. “He’s…he’s…” I pointed a shaking finger at the man who had just entered the hall who did, in fact, look very much like Adreon. Fonzie saw him and at once threw an arm back to protect me and drew the sword at his side.
“No, you don’t understand!” the man said.
That’s odd, I thought, peeking over Fonzie’s shoulder. He doesn’t sound anything like Adreon.
“I am not Adreon. I am his older brother, Garret, King of Eastern Grenshire,” he said. “And to show you that I mean no harm…” Then the man drew his sword and slowly placed it on the ground. He held his hands up as a sign of peace.
Fonzie lowered his sword only an inch. I checked the expression on his face. His features were firm and unrelenting.
“I’m not sure that I’d trust anyone related to Adreon,” Fonzie said. “How do I know that your intentions are not the same as his or your father’s?”
King Garret’s face was solemn. “Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo, I presume?” Fonzie neither said nor did anything, so Garret continued. “Well, first I offer my condolences for your family that was assassinated at the hands of my father. Next, I offer my apologies for Adreon’s actions. I had no knowledge of his plans. Had I known, I would have hanged him myself.
“Prince Alfonzo, I am not like my father. This I can swear upon. I would like to begin to mend the wounds that have been festering between our countries for over sixteen years. Will you accept my offer of peace?”
Fonzie lowered his sword slowly. “Yes, I will accept your offer.”
Garret bent down and picked up his own sword. He put it back in its sheath before approaching us. Then he greeted both of my parents and the ambassador, whom he had apparently met before. At last he turned to me.
“And you must be Princess Isabelle,” he said, smiling broadly.
“Yes.” I crept out from behind Fonzie. I couldn’t help feeling shy in front of him. Perhaps it was more embarrassment, though, than shyness. “I’m sorry for screaming at you,” I said meekly, trying to put on a good face.
He only laughed. “Think nothing of it. I probably would have done the same thing in your case.” Instantly, I felt more at ease. His laugh was hardy and his manner friendly.
He’s not at all like his brother, I thought. Thank goodness.
“How is your mother, Garret?” my own mother asked him politely.
“Not well, I’m afraid,” he informed us. “She fell ill when she received the news of Adreon’s death, and she has not been fairing any better since then. I, myself, was in Western Grenshire when I heard. I came here as soon as possible, but travel over the mountains is not easy this time of year when the rain makes the streams and rivers swell.”
Then Garret turned to Fonzie, who had been silent for the past ten minutes. “Now, Prince Alfonzo, I wish to speak to you about our terms of peace. I am ready to give you every last square inch of ground that my father had stolen from your country. All of your people have been returned to Uschin, but I am afraid that there was not much for them to return to. Uschin is still in tatters from the war, and I have done nothing so far to help them. The country needs its own leader, and one that it can trust, not the son of their greatest enemy. I assume that you will be returning to Uschin before too long?” Garret waited for Fonzie to answer. He glanced at me.
“We actually hadn’t thought about that yet,” Fonzie said uncertainly. “I suppose we were thinking that…”
“…we would stay here,” I finished for him.
Fonzie and I looked at each other and both thought the same thing. Now that we had stated our original intentions, they sounded foolish. Of course we couldn’t stay. Fonzie and I wouldn’t inherit the throne for some time yet, and, in the meantime, Uschin needed a king and queen to rule them and bring them out of their wretched state.
“But Kammira…” Fonzie said, looking to my father.
He only shrugged. “There’s always Harvey.”
“Harvey,” Fonzie echoed blankly.
“I want you to do what is best for your country,” Father told him very seriously. “I trust your reasoning, son. I will support your decision, whatever it may be.” Fonzie swallowed and nodded.
Garret added, “Eastern Grenshire has more affluence than I know what to do with. Much of it belongs to you, anyway. I will do anything within my power to help you rebuild Uschin, Prince Alfonzo. Ask anything, and you will have it.”
“Thank you,” Fonzie responded. It was all he could say to such a generous proposal. He and Garret shook hands, and a fast, deep friendship began.
Beast: Chapter 44
When I opened my eyes again, the night seemed even darker than it had before. I couldn’t see a single thing. My entire body was numb, and I found that I couldn’t move. I couldn’t tell if my immobility had been caused by the lightning bolt or if it was only mental shock gripping my body. Then slowly, so slowly, the numbness worked its way out of my muscles, and my eyes adjusted to the lack of light. I wiggled my fingers and toes and looked around me.
Adreon was nowhere to be seen, but I could smell smoke in the air. I was sitting on the battlement with the rough grain of the wooden door scratching against my back. In front of me on the ground lay an indistinguishable figure. Then I remembered Fonzie. No! He couldn’t be…
I stood on shaky legs. My knees buckled under me, and I almost fell. I leaned on the wall for support until I could find my balance. Then I walked over to Fonzie and knelt beside him. He was still alive, but just barely.
He looked up at me and gasped for air. “Belle!” It was all he could manage to say.
“Fonzie, please! Get up!” I cried. I couldn’t stop the tears that began to flow from my eyes. I grabbed his arm and tried desperately to stir him.
“Don’t die!” I shook my head fiercely.
Images began popping into my head. Fonzie running down the hall to give me a red rose on my sixteenth birthday, the rose that I still had in my room. Fonzie and I in the kitchen learning how to cook together. Fonzie washing dishes in the palace. The two of us going on walks through the busy streets of Flocile. Talking with him out on my balcony in the middle of the night, eating apples, dancing. Fonzie, my prince.
I won’t let him die. I made a promise.
Then Fonzie closed his eyes.
“No!” I moaned. I shouted again, as if it would help, “Don’t die! Please!”
My whole body quivered with sobs. I don’t know how long I wept. I hardly even noticed as the thunder and lighting grew farther and farther away and the rain eased. The storm was moving off to the east, away from the castle.
“My, my. This isn’t a happy ending at all, is it?” I heard someone near me ponder aloud. The voice was pitiful and sympathetic. I looked up and to my right, the direction from which the voice had come from.
There stood a woman dressed in white. She glowed in the early morning darkness. The woman was tall, and she had kind eyes. She was looking down at me sadly.
“And, Belle, it’s my responsibility to make sure that you do have your happy ending,” she said, kneeling down beside me. She put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer in an embrace. Instantly, I felt a comfort that I had never even known existed till now.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, my tears slowing. “Who are you?”
“I’m your fairy godmother, dear.”
My fairy godmother! Waldo had once told me that I had one, but I had begun to doubt that I would ever meet her. And yet here she was! Did it even matter, though, that she had finally shown herself? I felt the tears starting again.
“But what can you do now?” I sobbed. “Fonzie’s already dead!” I turned my face into her shoulder and continued to cry.
My fairy godmother hugged me tighter and patted my head. “Shh. Shhhh. Don’t cry, love. I started this, and now I’m going to finish it.”
I pulled away just enough so that I could look into the fairy’s face. “How will you do that?” I sniffed.
“Just go to sleep, Belle. Everything will be all right when you awaken.”
“But –” Then, suddenly, I felt very sleepy. Too sleepy, in fact, to even finish my sentence. My eyelids became heavy and closed on their own. I don’t remember what happened after that, because then I fell asleep.
~-~-~-~
Bright, yellow sunlight was streaming through my window. It was the warmth from the sun on my face that finally woke me. I sat up and stretched. I had never slept so well in my life. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so refreshed before. I got out of bed and walked over to the window. I cranked it open, letting in even more of the light. I leaned on the windowsill and looked out into the courtyard bellow. Birds sang, and a cool breeze blew out of the west. Puddles were scattered here and there on the ground. The storm last night had washed away the heaviness in the air, and everything was clean and new.
The storm. Last night.
“Fonzie,” I said out loud.
The horrible memories of the previous night came flooding back. Fresh tears pricked my eyes. I had watched as Fonzie died just a few hours ago. I hadn’t been able to save him. My good mood was completely spoiled now that I had recollected all that had happened in the last few hours. The pain in my heart was still new, and it was so great that I did not think I could bear it.
At that moment, someone knocked on my door. I contemplated who it could be. It can’t be any later than six thirty, I thought. Waldo was rarely ever up that early, unless for some reason he arbitrarily chose to take a walk around the perimeter of the castle. It must be Cook. Then another thought came to me. Did she know about Fonzie yet? If not, how on earth was I going to tell her?
Still mulling over the situation I said, “Come in.” I heard the door open behind me, and the visitor walked into the room. I didn’t turn around, feeling half ashamed of greeting my guest with tears in my eyes. I wiped them away as best I could and sniffed loudly.
“What’s this, now? You’re not crying, are you, Belle?”
I stood up straight and turned around. Then I saw Fonzie, standing in the middle of the floor, wearing the same outfit that he had worn to dinner the night before, and a sword was buckled at his side. He was smiling broadly at me.
At first, I thought I was hallucinating. My misery has made me crazy, I mused dizzily.
Then I remembered my fairy godmother’s words to me. Everything will be all right when you awaken.
“I don’t believe it,” I murmured. “You’re alive! Fonzie, you’re alive!” I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. So, I did both.
I ran up to Fonzie and hugged him tight, vowing never to let him go again. He picked me up and spun me around in the middle of the room. At last, he set me down and wiped the tears from my eyes with a gentle hand. “Why were you crying?” he asked.
I reached up and put my hand over his. “I was remembering last night,” I told him, hiccupping. “You…” My voice faltered. I thought that I might start crying all over again.
“Shh…” He tried to calm me down. “I know,” he said casually.
“But what happened?” I asked, bewildered.
“Well, the last thing I saw…was you. And then…” Fonzie searched for the right words. “Then it was like nothing. But only for a moment.”
I just looked at him, still not understanding. He noticed my confused expression.
“Look, I can’t really explain it very well because I don’t understand it myself. But that’s just what it was – nothing. Almost like blacking out. Maybe that’s all I did; I don’t think I was actually dead yet. Then I woke up and I was in my bed. No bleeding, no scars, no nothing. It was the strangest thing.”
“It was my fairy godmother,” I told him. “She brought you back to life.”
She brought you back to me, I wanted to say.
“Well, then, I suppose I’ll have to meet her so that I can thank her for reuniting me with you,” he said.
“I wish I could introduce you to her,” I said remorsefully, “since you didn’t actually get to meet her, but I don’t know where she is or how to find her. I don’t even know her name.” I looked down, wishing that I had had the notion to ask her the night before.
“Don’t worry about it,” Fonzie said. “All that matters is that I’m not dead and we’re together again.” We smiled and embraced for a second time.
“Come on,” he said then. “I think Ma was starting breakfast when I came up here. It’s probably ready by now.”
“Alright.” I smiled from sheer relief.
Then we descended the stairs to the kitchen. Breakfast wasn’t ready yet, but we sat down at the table anyway. Just as Fonzie and I had seated ourselves, Waldo marched into the room.
“You will never guess who I found outside my study this morning!” he exclaimed excitedly as he adjusted his glasses.
“Peter,” Fonzie said.
Waldo twisted his head around and stared at Fonzie suspiciously.
“Yes…And with quite the concussion, I might add. But even more surprising was who I discovered outside the palace walls while on a stroll even earlier this morning. If my assumption is correct, which it most likely is, it was none other than –”
“Adreon,” I finished, suddenly terrified. Could Adreon really have survived?
“Must you interrupt?” he reprimanded me, wagging a finger. “Really, Belle! I thought I raised you better than that.” Then his mood changed from perturbed to curious. “How would you two know about all this anyway?” he asked.
“You may want to sit down,” Fonzie told Waldo and Cook. They glanced at each other doubtfully then took a seat at the table with us. Then Fonzie and I began to tell them exactly what had happened, starting with when I met up with Adreon and Peter outside the library. Every last bit of color drained from Cook’s face when we informed her of Fonzie’s fatal wound. We all thought that she would surely faint dead away. Cook recovered only after we assured her that with the aid of my fairy godmother, everything had turned out all right in the end.
“My goodness,” Waldo murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “She came through after all.”
“Waldo, please tell me,” I begged. “Who is my fairy godmother?”
“Now, Belle, you know already that I am not allowed to say.” He smiled apologetically. I realized that he did want to tell me, but some unspoken rule forbade him to. I sighed. Will I ever know her name?
We talked for another minute then my thoughts suddenly shifted. “Is…is Adreon still alive?” I asked, my voice faltering.
Waldo opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted once more.
Fonzie pushed back his chair and stood and drew his sword. “Just let him try to kill me again!” he said. “We’ll see who dies this time!” His face was grim. Waldo held out a hand to calm him.
“Easy now, my boy! Easy!” Slowly, Fonzie lowered his sword and sat back down. Waldo sighed. “That was my fault. Perhaps I should have given you a better description of Adreon’s, uh, condition when I came upon him this morning.
“The prince was burned to a crisp,” he said frankly. He nodded. “Black as a piece of charcoal. And that makes sense now, having heard what Belle had to say. His sword was melted to his hand and still glowing red-hot from that nasty stroke of lightning. I remember that one now, actually. It startled me so bad that I sat straight up in bed. I was wide awake for an hour or more.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I would never have to worry about Adreon again. But then, there was still Peter…
Waldo must have read my thoughts. “You will not need to fret over Peter, either, Belle. He is looked up tight in the dungeon where he will stay until a proper and fitting punishment is chosen for him.” Then he shook his head sadly. “The poor boy. I am so sorry to see that he got mixed up with Prince Adreon. Now he has such a bad case of amnesia that he probably does not remember a lick of it.”
Waldo may have felt sympathy for Peter, but in my heart there was none. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to forgive him for what he had done. A strange odor turned my thoughts away from my traitor. I sniffed the air.
“Do any of you smell that?” I asked.
Fonzie, Waldo, and Cook sniffed in unison. Then Cook jumped up.
“That would be our breakfast!” She ran over to the small black oven and grabbed a rag before opening the door. Smoke streamed out of the oven, stinging our eyes and making us cough.
Through the smoke, I saw Waldo point a hand towards the oven. “Stop!” he yelled. Instantly, the smoke vanished. All that was left were a dozen smoldering black lumps on a tray in the oven. Waldo sighed and eased himself back into his chair.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, dears,” Cook said mournfully. “I completely lost track of time. Now I’ll have to start over.” She pulled the searing tray out of the oven and set it on top of the stove.
“Don’t worry about it,” Fonzie told her. He chuckled. “Just make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen when you’re cooking for the wedding.”
Cook’s hand flew to her chest. “What wedding?” she asked.
Fonzie was taken aback. “You mean I didn’t tell you?”
“Didn’t tell me what?” She was practically shouting now.
“I proposed to Belle last night, Ma! We’re getting married!”
Cook’s hand moved from her chest to her mouth. “You…You’re…” Tears sprang to her eyes. Then she began laughing hysterically, her whole body shaking in merriment. “Well, it’s about time!”
Fonzie and I looked at each other, surprised.
“What on earth do you mean?” I asked. She wiped the tears from her eyes, still chuckling.
“That boy…I was beginning to think he’d never ask you! Believe me, I saw it coming a long way off, but I never thought…” She started laughing again, unable to control herself Then Waldo joined in. Fonzie and I smiled, and soon all four of us were chuckling. After a few minutes, we finally stopped. We dried our eyes and caught our breath. Then Cook asked, “Did you give her the ring, Fonzie?”
He stared back at her confoundedly. “Ring?” he asked. “What ring?”
“You mean to tell me that you finally proposed to her, and you didn’t even give her the ring?” Cooked inquired in disbelief.
“I didn’t have a ring to give,” Fonzie said regretfully.
I was about to say that I didn’t need another ring, especially after the one that Adreon had presented to me, but then Cook said, “Check in the breast pocket of your coat, Fonzie. It should still be there.”
Hesitantly, he reached into the pocket. I noticed the look in his eyes change as he discovered what his mother was talking about. He pulled a ring from his pocket and examined it. Waldo and I leaned in for a closer look. The ring was a very, very thin band of silver, so thin that I thought it might break if I touched it. And instead of the traditional diamond, the ring featured a circular fiery black opal.
“That was my engagement ring,” Cook said quietly. “It was the ring that Escaro proposed to me with. Belle…” I turned and looked up at her. “I would be honored if you would wear it now.”
Fonzie took a deep breath and knelt down in front of me. “The third time’s the charm, right?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“Then, Belle, I’m only going to ask you one more time. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, already!” I exclaimed. Fonzie slid the ring onto my finger, and we were now officially, as some would say, engaged. No ceremony was needed this time, just another kiss.
Waldo stood and took Fonzie’s hand. Shaking it vigorously he shouted, “Congratulations, my boy!” Waldo beamed at him.
“Thank you very much, Waldo,” Fonzie said. Then he turned to Cook. “I’m not forgetting anything else, am I?” he asked.
“As a matter of fact,” I said, “you are!”
Fonzie looked at me fretfully. “What is it?”
Even I had almost forgotten in all the excitement – almost.
“Today is my birthday!”
“My goodness!” Cook shouted.
Fonzie slapped his forehead. “Of course! How could I have possibly forgotten that today was your birthday? I’m so sorry, Belle. I didn’t even get you anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” I told him.
“I know, but I feel terrible.” His expression was distraught.
Then Waldo said, shaking his head, “Me, too. After nineteen years, you would think I might remember.”
“Really, all of you, it’s no trouble at all,” I insisted.
“Nonsense, Belle,” Cook said. “Now, I’m going to attempt to make breakfast again, and I want to do something special for you. Is there anything in particular you would like me to make?”
“Make anything you like,” I said. “Just make sure that it’s not burnt.”
Cook smiled with a nod. “I think I can handle that.”
Adreon was nowhere to be seen, but I could smell smoke in the air. I was sitting on the battlement with the rough grain of the wooden door scratching against my back. In front of me on the ground lay an indistinguishable figure. Then I remembered Fonzie. No! He couldn’t be…
I stood on shaky legs. My knees buckled under me, and I almost fell. I leaned on the wall for support until I could find my balance. Then I walked over to Fonzie and knelt beside him. He was still alive, but just barely.
He looked up at me and gasped for air. “Belle!” It was all he could manage to say.
“Fonzie, please! Get up!” I cried. I couldn’t stop the tears that began to flow from my eyes. I grabbed his arm and tried desperately to stir him.
“Don’t die!” I shook my head fiercely.
Images began popping into my head. Fonzie running down the hall to give me a red rose on my sixteenth birthday, the rose that I still had in my room. Fonzie and I in the kitchen learning how to cook together. Fonzie washing dishes in the palace. The two of us going on walks through the busy streets of Flocile. Talking with him out on my balcony in the middle of the night, eating apples, dancing. Fonzie, my prince.
I won’t let him die. I made a promise.
Then Fonzie closed his eyes.
“No!” I moaned. I shouted again, as if it would help, “Don’t die! Please!”
My whole body quivered with sobs. I don’t know how long I wept. I hardly even noticed as the thunder and lighting grew farther and farther away and the rain eased. The storm was moving off to the east, away from the castle.
“My, my. This isn’t a happy ending at all, is it?” I heard someone near me ponder aloud. The voice was pitiful and sympathetic. I looked up and to my right, the direction from which the voice had come from.
There stood a woman dressed in white. She glowed in the early morning darkness. The woman was tall, and she had kind eyes. She was looking down at me sadly.
“And, Belle, it’s my responsibility to make sure that you do have your happy ending,” she said, kneeling down beside me. She put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer in an embrace. Instantly, I felt a comfort that I had never even known existed till now.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, my tears slowing. “Who are you?”
“I’m your fairy godmother, dear.”
My fairy godmother! Waldo had once told me that I had one, but I had begun to doubt that I would ever meet her. And yet here she was! Did it even matter, though, that she had finally shown herself? I felt the tears starting again.
“But what can you do now?” I sobbed. “Fonzie’s already dead!” I turned my face into her shoulder and continued to cry.
My fairy godmother hugged me tighter and patted my head. “Shh. Shhhh. Don’t cry, love. I started this, and now I’m going to finish it.”
I pulled away just enough so that I could look into the fairy’s face. “How will you do that?” I sniffed.
“Just go to sleep, Belle. Everything will be all right when you awaken.”
“But –” Then, suddenly, I felt very sleepy. Too sleepy, in fact, to even finish my sentence. My eyelids became heavy and closed on their own. I don’t remember what happened after that, because then I fell asleep.
~-~-~-~
Bright, yellow sunlight was streaming through my window. It was the warmth from the sun on my face that finally woke me. I sat up and stretched. I had never slept so well in my life. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so refreshed before. I got out of bed and walked over to the window. I cranked it open, letting in even more of the light. I leaned on the windowsill and looked out into the courtyard bellow. Birds sang, and a cool breeze blew out of the west. Puddles were scattered here and there on the ground. The storm last night had washed away the heaviness in the air, and everything was clean and new.
The storm. Last night.
“Fonzie,” I said out loud.
The horrible memories of the previous night came flooding back. Fresh tears pricked my eyes. I had watched as Fonzie died just a few hours ago. I hadn’t been able to save him. My good mood was completely spoiled now that I had recollected all that had happened in the last few hours. The pain in my heart was still new, and it was so great that I did not think I could bear it.
At that moment, someone knocked on my door. I contemplated who it could be. It can’t be any later than six thirty, I thought. Waldo was rarely ever up that early, unless for some reason he arbitrarily chose to take a walk around the perimeter of the castle. It must be Cook. Then another thought came to me. Did she know about Fonzie yet? If not, how on earth was I going to tell her?
Still mulling over the situation I said, “Come in.” I heard the door open behind me, and the visitor walked into the room. I didn’t turn around, feeling half ashamed of greeting my guest with tears in my eyes. I wiped them away as best I could and sniffed loudly.
“What’s this, now? You’re not crying, are you, Belle?”
I stood up straight and turned around. Then I saw Fonzie, standing in the middle of the floor, wearing the same outfit that he had worn to dinner the night before, and a sword was buckled at his side. He was smiling broadly at me.
At first, I thought I was hallucinating. My misery has made me crazy, I mused dizzily.
Then I remembered my fairy godmother’s words to me. Everything will be all right when you awaken.
“I don’t believe it,” I murmured. “You’re alive! Fonzie, you’re alive!” I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. So, I did both.
I ran up to Fonzie and hugged him tight, vowing never to let him go again. He picked me up and spun me around in the middle of the room. At last, he set me down and wiped the tears from my eyes with a gentle hand. “Why were you crying?” he asked.
I reached up and put my hand over his. “I was remembering last night,” I told him, hiccupping. “You…” My voice faltered. I thought that I might start crying all over again.
“Shh…” He tried to calm me down. “I know,” he said casually.
“But what happened?” I asked, bewildered.
“Well, the last thing I saw…was you. And then…” Fonzie searched for the right words. “Then it was like nothing. But only for a moment.”
I just looked at him, still not understanding. He noticed my confused expression.
“Look, I can’t really explain it very well because I don’t understand it myself. But that’s just what it was – nothing. Almost like blacking out. Maybe that’s all I did; I don’t think I was actually dead yet. Then I woke up and I was in my bed. No bleeding, no scars, no nothing. It was the strangest thing.”
“It was my fairy godmother,” I told him. “She brought you back to life.”
She brought you back to me, I wanted to say.
“Well, then, I suppose I’ll have to meet her so that I can thank her for reuniting me with you,” he said.
“I wish I could introduce you to her,” I said remorsefully, “since you didn’t actually get to meet her, but I don’t know where she is or how to find her. I don’t even know her name.” I looked down, wishing that I had had the notion to ask her the night before.
“Don’t worry about it,” Fonzie said. “All that matters is that I’m not dead and we’re together again.” We smiled and embraced for a second time.
“Come on,” he said then. “I think Ma was starting breakfast when I came up here. It’s probably ready by now.”
“Alright.” I smiled from sheer relief.
Then we descended the stairs to the kitchen. Breakfast wasn’t ready yet, but we sat down at the table anyway. Just as Fonzie and I had seated ourselves, Waldo marched into the room.
“You will never guess who I found outside my study this morning!” he exclaimed excitedly as he adjusted his glasses.
“Peter,” Fonzie said.
Waldo twisted his head around and stared at Fonzie suspiciously.
“Yes…And with quite the concussion, I might add. But even more surprising was who I discovered outside the palace walls while on a stroll even earlier this morning. If my assumption is correct, which it most likely is, it was none other than –”
“Adreon,” I finished, suddenly terrified. Could Adreon really have survived?
“Must you interrupt?” he reprimanded me, wagging a finger. “Really, Belle! I thought I raised you better than that.” Then his mood changed from perturbed to curious. “How would you two know about all this anyway?” he asked.
“You may want to sit down,” Fonzie told Waldo and Cook. They glanced at each other doubtfully then took a seat at the table with us. Then Fonzie and I began to tell them exactly what had happened, starting with when I met up with Adreon and Peter outside the library. Every last bit of color drained from Cook’s face when we informed her of Fonzie’s fatal wound. We all thought that she would surely faint dead away. Cook recovered only after we assured her that with the aid of my fairy godmother, everything had turned out all right in the end.
“My goodness,” Waldo murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “She came through after all.”
“Waldo, please tell me,” I begged. “Who is my fairy godmother?”
“Now, Belle, you know already that I am not allowed to say.” He smiled apologetically. I realized that he did want to tell me, but some unspoken rule forbade him to. I sighed. Will I ever know her name?
We talked for another minute then my thoughts suddenly shifted. “Is…is Adreon still alive?” I asked, my voice faltering.
Waldo opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted once more.
Fonzie pushed back his chair and stood and drew his sword. “Just let him try to kill me again!” he said. “We’ll see who dies this time!” His face was grim. Waldo held out a hand to calm him.
“Easy now, my boy! Easy!” Slowly, Fonzie lowered his sword and sat back down. Waldo sighed. “That was my fault. Perhaps I should have given you a better description of Adreon’s, uh, condition when I came upon him this morning.
“The prince was burned to a crisp,” he said frankly. He nodded. “Black as a piece of charcoal. And that makes sense now, having heard what Belle had to say. His sword was melted to his hand and still glowing red-hot from that nasty stroke of lightning. I remember that one now, actually. It startled me so bad that I sat straight up in bed. I was wide awake for an hour or more.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I would never have to worry about Adreon again. But then, there was still Peter…
Waldo must have read my thoughts. “You will not need to fret over Peter, either, Belle. He is looked up tight in the dungeon where he will stay until a proper and fitting punishment is chosen for him.” Then he shook his head sadly. “The poor boy. I am so sorry to see that he got mixed up with Prince Adreon. Now he has such a bad case of amnesia that he probably does not remember a lick of it.”
Waldo may have felt sympathy for Peter, but in my heart there was none. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to forgive him for what he had done. A strange odor turned my thoughts away from my traitor. I sniffed the air.
“Do any of you smell that?” I asked.
Fonzie, Waldo, and Cook sniffed in unison. Then Cook jumped up.
“That would be our breakfast!” She ran over to the small black oven and grabbed a rag before opening the door. Smoke streamed out of the oven, stinging our eyes and making us cough.
Through the smoke, I saw Waldo point a hand towards the oven. “Stop!” he yelled. Instantly, the smoke vanished. All that was left were a dozen smoldering black lumps on a tray in the oven. Waldo sighed and eased himself back into his chair.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, dears,” Cook said mournfully. “I completely lost track of time. Now I’ll have to start over.” She pulled the searing tray out of the oven and set it on top of the stove.
“Don’t worry about it,” Fonzie told her. He chuckled. “Just make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen when you’re cooking for the wedding.”
Cook’s hand flew to her chest. “What wedding?” she asked.
Fonzie was taken aback. “You mean I didn’t tell you?”
“Didn’t tell me what?” She was practically shouting now.
“I proposed to Belle last night, Ma! We’re getting married!”
Cook’s hand moved from her chest to her mouth. “You…You’re…” Tears sprang to her eyes. Then she began laughing hysterically, her whole body shaking in merriment. “Well, it’s about time!”
Fonzie and I looked at each other, surprised.
“What on earth do you mean?” I asked. She wiped the tears from her eyes, still chuckling.
“That boy…I was beginning to think he’d never ask you! Believe me, I saw it coming a long way off, but I never thought…” She started laughing again, unable to control herself Then Waldo joined in. Fonzie and I smiled, and soon all four of us were chuckling. After a few minutes, we finally stopped. We dried our eyes and caught our breath. Then Cook asked, “Did you give her the ring, Fonzie?”
He stared back at her confoundedly. “Ring?” he asked. “What ring?”
“You mean to tell me that you finally proposed to her, and you didn’t even give her the ring?” Cooked inquired in disbelief.
“I didn’t have a ring to give,” Fonzie said regretfully.
I was about to say that I didn’t need another ring, especially after the one that Adreon had presented to me, but then Cook said, “Check in the breast pocket of your coat, Fonzie. It should still be there.”
Hesitantly, he reached into the pocket. I noticed the look in his eyes change as he discovered what his mother was talking about. He pulled a ring from his pocket and examined it. Waldo and I leaned in for a closer look. The ring was a very, very thin band of silver, so thin that I thought it might break if I touched it. And instead of the traditional diamond, the ring featured a circular fiery black opal.
“That was my engagement ring,” Cook said quietly. “It was the ring that Escaro proposed to me with. Belle…” I turned and looked up at her. “I would be honored if you would wear it now.”
Fonzie took a deep breath and knelt down in front of me. “The third time’s the charm, right?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“Then, Belle, I’m only going to ask you one more time. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, already!” I exclaimed. Fonzie slid the ring onto my finger, and we were now officially, as some would say, engaged. No ceremony was needed this time, just another kiss.
Waldo stood and took Fonzie’s hand. Shaking it vigorously he shouted, “Congratulations, my boy!” Waldo beamed at him.
“Thank you very much, Waldo,” Fonzie said. Then he turned to Cook. “I’m not forgetting anything else, am I?” he asked.
“As a matter of fact,” I said, “you are!”
Fonzie looked at me fretfully. “What is it?”
Even I had almost forgotten in all the excitement – almost.
“Today is my birthday!”
“My goodness!” Cook shouted.
Fonzie slapped his forehead. “Of course! How could I have possibly forgotten that today was your birthday? I’m so sorry, Belle. I didn’t even get you anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” I told him.
“I know, but I feel terrible.” His expression was distraught.
Then Waldo said, shaking his head, “Me, too. After nineteen years, you would think I might remember.”
“Really, all of you, it’s no trouble at all,” I insisted.
“Nonsense, Belle,” Cook said. “Now, I’m going to attempt to make breakfast again, and I want to do something special for you. Is there anything in particular you would like me to make?”
“Make anything you like,” I said. “Just make sure that it’s not burnt.”
Cook smiled with a nod. “I think I can handle that.”
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Beast: Chapter 43
After that, Fonzie walked back to his room above the kitchen, and I walked up the stairs to my tower. Thunder and lightning still ruled the sky, and rain poured down outside. When I opened my wardrobe, all of my clothes had been returned. I wasn’t even the least bit surprised I thought that nothing could possibly surprise me now. As I got dressed for bed, I felt a drop of water hit my nose. I looked up and noticed that the ceiling was leaking.
Strange, I thought. It’s never done that before.
I retrieved the washbasin off of my dressing table and placed it on the floor under the leak. It was after midnight when I finally crawled into bed.
This is my first night without the curse, I mused.
I didn’t toss and turn that night but fell asleep almost immediately. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well. I had a nightmare that Adreon snuck into the castle. He and Fonzie began to fight outside in the rain. There was a bright flash of lightning, and then I saw Adreon standing over Fonzie’s cold body, laughing maliciously. Heavy rain fell down upon my face as Adreon came after me.
I screamed, sitting straight up in bed. I felt another drop of rain on my face. I looked up, and I received yet one more drop in my eye.
“Ah!” I rubbed my eyes and then let them adjust to the darkness. I heard water dripping all around me. Everywhere I looked I saw a leak or a puddle. The washbasin on the floor was overflowing. My bed was drenched. I threw the covers back and got out of bed. I would never be able to sleep now!
My nightgown had gotten wet as well. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a dry outfit to wear. After I’d changed, I thought of what to do next. I couldn’t stay here, so I grabbed an extra blanket out of a drawer and walked down the stairs. I would light a fire in the library and sleep there until morning.
The hallways were dark. I wished that I had been able to bring a candle with me. However, the few matches that I had in my room were now soggy and useless from the rain, and the candles were in no better condition. Halfway to the library, I heard a clock chime the hour. One, two, three, four chimes. I walked sleepily down the hall, my feet dragging on the carpet. A few minutes later, I was standing right outside the library. I reached out for the door handle.
Then I heard footsteps behind me. It couldn’t possibly be Waldo, Cook, or Fonzie. I tensed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight. I span around.
“Who’s there?” I asked, my voice trembling. I waited a moment, but there was no answer. I had probably only imagined the footsteps. My heart rate slowed down just a little. I turned once more toward the door.
There was Peter, standing between me and the library. I shrieked and jumped back.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the beast, herself. But look, Adreon! She isn’t a beast anymore,” Peter sneered.
“No, she most certainly isn’t,” I heard Adreon say behind me. I started at the sound of his voice and whirled around.
“Adreon!” I squeaked.
“Hello, Isabelle,” he said quietly. “How you surprise me, just like you did at the wedding. I must admit, I was shocked by your reply at the alter, but luckily, I was also prepared for it. How disappointed Peter was to find that Fonzie was missing from his post the kitchen.”
“Yes, very,” Peter said sinisterly. I glanced behind me. Adreon had moved a bit closer to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. I tried to sound brave, but I could not hide the wavering of my voice.
Adreon took a step in my direction. “Your parents are worried sick about you, Isabelle. I have their permission to bring you back to the palace…by any means necessary.” He loomed over me. He’d probably bring me back dead. I’d never been so terrified in my life. Then I remembered the blanket in my hand. In one move, I whipped it out and threw it over Adreon’s head. Then I ran for my life.
“After her!” he screamed.
I sprinted down the corridor and turned sharply right. What an advantage Peter had, though! We had both grown up here together and had spent hours exploring the castle. He knew every inch of the estate as well as I did, or better, and he had always been the best at hide and seek.
I ran through the labyrinth of hallways for ten full minutes without stopping. I was gasping for breath by the time I slowed against my will and at last came to a dead stop in the hall near Waldo’s study. The hall was lined with baroque silver suits of armor. I remembered how walking down this hallway had always frightened me as a child. It was beyond me, though, how an empty suit of armor could ever compare to a real man with real weapons. My childhood fears seemed so foolish now.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. I was pulled behind one of the many silent members of the glistening display. I began to scream, but a hand was clamped over my mouth. All I could do then was close my eyes tight and whimper.
“Belle, stop. It’s me!” I heard Fonzie say close to my ear. He moved his hand away from my mouth.
“Fonzie! Don’t ever scare me like that!” I hissed scornfully, but I couldn’t help feeling relieved that it was not Adreon or Peter that had found me instead.
“I’m sorry,” he said guiltily. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. I heard you scream and I came to find you. What on earth’s the matter?”
I paused. I could hear Adreon and Peter around the corner, running toward us.
“Adreon and Peter!” I whispered in a strained voice. “They’re here! In the castle!”
“Oh, no,” Fonzie said. I heard their heavy footsteps getting closer.
“Belle, get behind me,” he said quietly. We switched places so that Fonzie was now the one nearest the corridor and I was pressed against the wall behind him. Without warning, Peter ran out in front of us. Before he had the chance to see us, Fonzie’s fist flew out and slammed into his right temple. Peter collapsed on the floor with a thud. Fonzie acted quickly. He drew the sword out of the sheath of the suit of armor closest to us and leaped from our hiding place, ready to face Adreon who ran up to us next. Then I heard metal clash against metal. I peered out and saw Fonzie and Adreon going at it. I noticed also that Peter lay on the floor, unmoving. Fonzie sidestepped a blow from Adreon then turned and, with a great shove, sent the suit of armor that I was hiding behind clattering down on top of him. He grabbed my hand. “Hurry!”
We ran until we came until the end of the hallway. Then we either had to turn left or right.
“This way,” Fonzie said, turning to the right. I followed swiftly beside him. To our dismay, we found ourselves in a dead end. There was only one door at the end of the corridor, a door that was known to be kept locked at all times. Then we heard the sound of metal clanging in the hall that we had just come from. Adreon was recovering from his accident.
“Come on!” Fonzie grabbed the doorknob and, to my amazement, the door swung open freely. A gust of cold, foul air blew out of the dark hole and hit my face, and I grimaced. A winding staircase led upward. We started up it, unsure of what to do next.
If we hadn’t been in such a rush, I would have stopped to wonder how it was that the door came to be unlocked, but just then an arrow whizzed past my cheek and hit the stone wall beside my face. The arrow clattered to the stairs. I glanced back, and there was Adreon. His clothing was torn and there was a nasty scratch near his left eye. I wondered if it had been caused by Fonzie’s sword or the armor falling on top of him.
“Keep going!” Fonzie said behind me. “Don’t look back!”
We ran up the stairs. There seemed to be hundreds of them. By the time we reached the top, Fonzie and I were both panting heavily. We found ourselves in an old abandoned tower. The windows were gone, and the doors had rotted off their hinges. As if that weren’t enough, the place was soaking wet from the unrelenting storm. On the other side of the room, there was a doorway leading outside. We ran out into the rain.
I tried to look around while the stinging rain pelted my face. I realized then that Fonzie and I were standing on the southwestern wall that spanned between the castle’s two highest towers besides mine.
Then Adreon appeared in the doorway, cape billowing behind him in the wind. He made his way out onto the battlement toward us. Fonzie and I had almost reached the door to the other tower when I heard him cry out in pain. I turned my head and saw that one of Adreon’s arrows was jutting from his left shoulder. Fonzie gripped his arm; his face twisted in pain. His sword lay on the ground beside his feet.
“Open the door,” he shouted through gritted teeth. I grabbed the handle and pulled at it with all my might, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s locked!” I cried out over the roar of the thunder.
Fonzie grunted in frustration. He took a hold of the arrow with his right hand and wrenched it out of his shoulder. He winced as blood began to flow from the wound. Then he chucked the arrow over the edge of the wall, and it was swallowed up in darkness. Another wave of thunder rolled across the sky. A look of fierce determination appeared in Foznie’s eyes. He reached down and picked up his sword, completely forgetting about the pain. Then he turned once more to me and said, “No matter how this turns out, never forget that I love you.”
“Fonzie, please –” But he stopped me mid-sentence with a kiss. I desperately hoped that it wouldn’t be our last.
I heard Adreon scream in rage. I turned away from Fonzie and looked up. Adreon was rushing at us, sword drawn.
“Look out!” I shouted. Fonzie turned just in time to see Adreon. He pushed me away and charged at Adreon full force. Their swords clanged against each other, and the battle began. Both of them fought intensely, neither of them backing down. The whole time, the storm raged on.
I no longer had to wonder where Fonzie’s unmatchable skill came from. I knew now that it had been inherited from his father, a legendary swordsman better than perhaps even Adreon.
Fonzie and Adreon parried each other’s blows and stabs for the longest time. Neither of them was able to touch the other. Then, finally, Fonzie slashed Adreon’s left arm, just above the elbow. Adreon jumped back in shock.
“That’s for my pa!” Fonzie shouted. While Adreon was still recovering, Fonzie sliced his cheek with just the tip of his sword. He added, “And that is for my country that you thought you and your family could so easily destroy!”
Fonzie moved toward Adreon again, but this time his opponent was ready. Adreon hacked back at him with a newfound passion. They fought on even more aggressively than before. I felt so feeble standing alone there while they battled.
“That beast isn’t worth protecting!” Adreon yelled at Fonzie. “Why don’t you just give up?”
“Ha! She’s not the beast, Adreon! You are!” he countered. Then Fonzie lunged at Adreon but missed. His sword slashed out six inches to the left of Adreon’s shoulder. I saw the look of surprise on his face, and I realized at the same moment that Fonzie had just exposed his own left side. Adreon saw the opening and pierced Fonzie’s chest with his sword.
I screamed, “No!”
Fonzie jerked back and fell against the wall. His cry was lost in the storm. I watched as his sword dropped to the ground with a clang. Adreon pulled his sword out of Fonzie’s side and laughed. Lightning illuminated his cruel face. Then he turned to me.
It’s just like my dream, I realized, but worse.
This was real.
“Isabelle,” Adreon said, “I am growing tired of your noncompliance.”
He walked towards me. I shrank back against the door, but there was nowhere to go. Then Adreon climbed on top of the wall, towering over me.
“I will rule Kammira and Uschin one day, with or without you at my side” he declared. “And I will make my brother wish that he had never become king! But if I can’t have you, then no one will!” I wished that I were still ten feet tall with claws and teeth. Then, I would have destroyed him. Now, I was powerless to stop him.
Adreon raised his sword high above his head. I waited helplessly for the blow that I knew would end my life.
But it never came.
Just as Adreon was about to slash me open, a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky and struck his sword. I felt the electricity in the air tingle my skin. The light was blinding. Heat blasted my face and arms. I shielded my eyes from the blaze. Over the loud crack of thunder that followed, I heard Adreon scream. The cry didn’t even sound human.
Strange, I thought. It’s never done that before.
I retrieved the washbasin off of my dressing table and placed it on the floor under the leak. It was after midnight when I finally crawled into bed.
This is my first night without the curse, I mused.
I didn’t toss and turn that night but fell asleep almost immediately. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well. I had a nightmare that Adreon snuck into the castle. He and Fonzie began to fight outside in the rain. There was a bright flash of lightning, and then I saw Adreon standing over Fonzie’s cold body, laughing maliciously. Heavy rain fell down upon my face as Adreon came after me.
I screamed, sitting straight up in bed. I felt another drop of rain on my face. I looked up, and I received yet one more drop in my eye.
“Ah!” I rubbed my eyes and then let them adjust to the darkness. I heard water dripping all around me. Everywhere I looked I saw a leak or a puddle. The washbasin on the floor was overflowing. My bed was drenched. I threw the covers back and got out of bed. I would never be able to sleep now!
My nightgown had gotten wet as well. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a dry outfit to wear. After I’d changed, I thought of what to do next. I couldn’t stay here, so I grabbed an extra blanket out of a drawer and walked down the stairs. I would light a fire in the library and sleep there until morning.
The hallways were dark. I wished that I had been able to bring a candle with me. However, the few matches that I had in my room were now soggy and useless from the rain, and the candles were in no better condition. Halfway to the library, I heard a clock chime the hour. One, two, three, four chimes. I walked sleepily down the hall, my feet dragging on the carpet. A few minutes later, I was standing right outside the library. I reached out for the door handle.
Then I heard footsteps behind me. It couldn’t possibly be Waldo, Cook, or Fonzie. I tensed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight. I span around.
“Who’s there?” I asked, my voice trembling. I waited a moment, but there was no answer. I had probably only imagined the footsteps. My heart rate slowed down just a little. I turned once more toward the door.
There was Peter, standing between me and the library. I shrieked and jumped back.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the beast, herself. But look, Adreon! She isn’t a beast anymore,” Peter sneered.
“No, she most certainly isn’t,” I heard Adreon say behind me. I started at the sound of his voice and whirled around.
“Adreon!” I squeaked.
“Hello, Isabelle,” he said quietly. “How you surprise me, just like you did at the wedding. I must admit, I was shocked by your reply at the alter, but luckily, I was also prepared for it. How disappointed Peter was to find that Fonzie was missing from his post the kitchen.”
“Yes, very,” Peter said sinisterly. I glanced behind me. Adreon had moved a bit closer to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. I tried to sound brave, but I could not hide the wavering of my voice.
Adreon took a step in my direction. “Your parents are worried sick about you, Isabelle. I have their permission to bring you back to the palace…by any means necessary.” He loomed over me. He’d probably bring me back dead. I’d never been so terrified in my life. Then I remembered the blanket in my hand. In one move, I whipped it out and threw it over Adreon’s head. Then I ran for my life.
“After her!” he screamed.
I sprinted down the corridor and turned sharply right. What an advantage Peter had, though! We had both grown up here together and had spent hours exploring the castle. He knew every inch of the estate as well as I did, or better, and he had always been the best at hide and seek.
I ran through the labyrinth of hallways for ten full minutes without stopping. I was gasping for breath by the time I slowed against my will and at last came to a dead stop in the hall near Waldo’s study. The hall was lined with baroque silver suits of armor. I remembered how walking down this hallway had always frightened me as a child. It was beyond me, though, how an empty suit of armor could ever compare to a real man with real weapons. My childhood fears seemed so foolish now.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. I was pulled behind one of the many silent members of the glistening display. I began to scream, but a hand was clamped over my mouth. All I could do then was close my eyes tight and whimper.
“Belle, stop. It’s me!” I heard Fonzie say close to my ear. He moved his hand away from my mouth.
“Fonzie! Don’t ever scare me like that!” I hissed scornfully, but I couldn’t help feeling relieved that it was not Adreon or Peter that had found me instead.
“I’m sorry,” he said guiltily. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. I heard you scream and I came to find you. What on earth’s the matter?”
I paused. I could hear Adreon and Peter around the corner, running toward us.
“Adreon and Peter!” I whispered in a strained voice. “They’re here! In the castle!”
“Oh, no,” Fonzie said. I heard their heavy footsteps getting closer.
“Belle, get behind me,” he said quietly. We switched places so that Fonzie was now the one nearest the corridor and I was pressed against the wall behind him. Without warning, Peter ran out in front of us. Before he had the chance to see us, Fonzie’s fist flew out and slammed into his right temple. Peter collapsed on the floor with a thud. Fonzie acted quickly. He drew the sword out of the sheath of the suit of armor closest to us and leaped from our hiding place, ready to face Adreon who ran up to us next. Then I heard metal clash against metal. I peered out and saw Fonzie and Adreon going at it. I noticed also that Peter lay on the floor, unmoving. Fonzie sidestepped a blow from Adreon then turned and, with a great shove, sent the suit of armor that I was hiding behind clattering down on top of him. He grabbed my hand. “Hurry!”
We ran until we came until the end of the hallway. Then we either had to turn left or right.
“This way,” Fonzie said, turning to the right. I followed swiftly beside him. To our dismay, we found ourselves in a dead end. There was only one door at the end of the corridor, a door that was known to be kept locked at all times. Then we heard the sound of metal clanging in the hall that we had just come from. Adreon was recovering from his accident.
“Come on!” Fonzie grabbed the doorknob and, to my amazement, the door swung open freely. A gust of cold, foul air blew out of the dark hole and hit my face, and I grimaced. A winding staircase led upward. We started up it, unsure of what to do next.
If we hadn’t been in such a rush, I would have stopped to wonder how it was that the door came to be unlocked, but just then an arrow whizzed past my cheek and hit the stone wall beside my face. The arrow clattered to the stairs. I glanced back, and there was Adreon. His clothing was torn and there was a nasty scratch near his left eye. I wondered if it had been caused by Fonzie’s sword or the armor falling on top of him.
“Keep going!” Fonzie said behind me. “Don’t look back!”
We ran up the stairs. There seemed to be hundreds of them. By the time we reached the top, Fonzie and I were both panting heavily. We found ourselves in an old abandoned tower. The windows were gone, and the doors had rotted off their hinges. As if that weren’t enough, the place was soaking wet from the unrelenting storm. On the other side of the room, there was a doorway leading outside. We ran out into the rain.
I tried to look around while the stinging rain pelted my face. I realized then that Fonzie and I were standing on the southwestern wall that spanned between the castle’s two highest towers besides mine.
Then Adreon appeared in the doorway, cape billowing behind him in the wind. He made his way out onto the battlement toward us. Fonzie and I had almost reached the door to the other tower when I heard him cry out in pain. I turned my head and saw that one of Adreon’s arrows was jutting from his left shoulder. Fonzie gripped his arm; his face twisted in pain. His sword lay on the ground beside his feet.
“Open the door,” he shouted through gritted teeth. I grabbed the handle and pulled at it with all my might, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It’s locked!” I cried out over the roar of the thunder.
Fonzie grunted in frustration. He took a hold of the arrow with his right hand and wrenched it out of his shoulder. He winced as blood began to flow from the wound. Then he chucked the arrow over the edge of the wall, and it was swallowed up in darkness. Another wave of thunder rolled across the sky. A look of fierce determination appeared in Foznie’s eyes. He reached down and picked up his sword, completely forgetting about the pain. Then he turned once more to me and said, “No matter how this turns out, never forget that I love you.”
“Fonzie, please –” But he stopped me mid-sentence with a kiss. I desperately hoped that it wouldn’t be our last.
I heard Adreon scream in rage. I turned away from Fonzie and looked up. Adreon was rushing at us, sword drawn.
“Look out!” I shouted. Fonzie turned just in time to see Adreon. He pushed me away and charged at Adreon full force. Their swords clanged against each other, and the battle began. Both of them fought intensely, neither of them backing down. The whole time, the storm raged on.
I no longer had to wonder where Fonzie’s unmatchable skill came from. I knew now that it had been inherited from his father, a legendary swordsman better than perhaps even Adreon.
Fonzie and Adreon parried each other’s blows and stabs for the longest time. Neither of them was able to touch the other. Then, finally, Fonzie slashed Adreon’s left arm, just above the elbow. Adreon jumped back in shock.
“That’s for my pa!” Fonzie shouted. While Adreon was still recovering, Fonzie sliced his cheek with just the tip of his sword. He added, “And that is for my country that you thought you and your family could so easily destroy!”
Fonzie moved toward Adreon again, but this time his opponent was ready. Adreon hacked back at him with a newfound passion. They fought on even more aggressively than before. I felt so feeble standing alone there while they battled.
“That beast isn’t worth protecting!” Adreon yelled at Fonzie. “Why don’t you just give up?”
“Ha! She’s not the beast, Adreon! You are!” he countered. Then Fonzie lunged at Adreon but missed. His sword slashed out six inches to the left of Adreon’s shoulder. I saw the look of surprise on his face, and I realized at the same moment that Fonzie had just exposed his own left side. Adreon saw the opening and pierced Fonzie’s chest with his sword.
I screamed, “No!”
Fonzie jerked back and fell against the wall. His cry was lost in the storm. I watched as his sword dropped to the ground with a clang. Adreon pulled his sword out of Fonzie’s side and laughed. Lightning illuminated his cruel face. Then he turned to me.
It’s just like my dream, I realized, but worse.
This was real.
“Isabelle,” Adreon said, “I am growing tired of your noncompliance.”
He walked towards me. I shrank back against the door, but there was nowhere to go. Then Adreon climbed on top of the wall, towering over me.
“I will rule Kammira and Uschin one day, with or without you at my side” he declared. “And I will make my brother wish that he had never become king! But if I can’t have you, then no one will!” I wished that I were still ten feet tall with claws and teeth. Then, I would have destroyed him. Now, I was powerless to stop him.
Adreon raised his sword high above his head. I waited helplessly for the blow that I knew would end my life.
But it never came.
Just as Adreon was about to slash me open, a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky and struck his sword. I felt the electricity in the air tingle my skin. The light was blinding. Heat blasted my face and arms. I shielded my eyes from the blaze. Over the loud crack of thunder that followed, I heard Adreon scream. The cry didn’t even sound human.
Beast: Chapter 42
Fonzie and I stood just inside the doorway, dripping wet. The rain came down in sheets outside, and the thunder crashed. Now and then there was even the occasional flash of lightning.
“What just happened out there?” Fonzie asked, watching me intently.
“I don’t know.” I had just changed from a beast back into a human, but it wasn’t even past nine yet. I had no idea how it had happened. I just knew that it had.
Fonzie seemed to be pondering something. “What if…?” he whispered. I didn’t understand. Suddenly, his face became resolute “I have to talk to Ma.”
Then he turned sharply and began to jog away from me.
“Wait!” I cried. My voice echoed off the walls. Fonzie stopped and turned around.
“What is it?”
“I’m coming with you,” I told him, and I hurried to catch up. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the kitchen!” he replied impatiently.
“Oh.” I walked faster in order to keep up with him, but when we arrived there, the kitchen was dark.
“She’s already in bed,” Fonzie muttered. “Stay here.” He strode over to the other side of the kitchen, out through the back door, and up the stairs to the room that he and his mother shared. I heard a door open and close and the sound of voices speaking, but I could not make out what they were saying.
After a few minutes of standing in the dark, I found a candle, lit it, and set it on the table. I sat down and sighed. I gazed at my smooth, human hands. It all seemed too surreal.
I felt myself beginning to nod off in my chair. I jerked my head up. I was so afraid that if I fell asleep, I would wake up later and find that this had all been only a dream. Just then, Fonzie and Cook entered the kitchen through the back door.
“I don’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head. I stood up.
“What? What is it?” I demanded.
Fonzie thrust an arm out at me and faced his mother.
“Tell her!” he practically shouted. “Tell her exactly what you just told me!” Then he dropped heavily into a chair.
“Perhaps I should put on some tea first.” I could tell she was stalling. “Why don’t you sit down, Belle. Just wait a minute while I –”
“No, Ma! Now! Tell her now! The tea can wait.” I had never heard Fonzie use that tone with Cook before. The impatience and urgency in his voice shocked me.
Apparently, it must have had also some sort of effect on Cook because she nodded and sat down at the table with us. She examined her fingernails, trying to think of how to start. Then she cleared her throat and began with a shaky voice.
“Well, Belle, dear, you may have heard a story about me. You may have heard that Fonzie’s father and I were never married.”
I nodded. “Yes, that is what I heard.” I swallowed. I glanced over at Fonzie, who sat on my left. He wouldn’t look at either of us; he could only stare at the flame on top of the candle on the table. He looked as though he were in a different place and time, totally oblivious to what was going on around him.
“Well,” Cook continued, “That isn’t true. We were married – for almost two years, in fact – before Fonzie was born.” She stopped again.
“Tell her the rest,” Fonzie encouraged her quietly, his eyes never wavering from the flame.
Cook hesitated, but then resumed. “Fonzie’s father, my husband, was Prince Ronaldo Escaro, the Crown Prince of Uschin.”
My jaw dropped.
“Fonzie,” she explained slowly, “is Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo.”
“Fonzie’s a prince?” I asked incredulously. Cook nodded. “Then you’re a princess,” I concluded.
Cook nodded again. “I am, but only by marriage. I was a commoner, chosen from among hundreds of other girls.” She propped her elbow on the table and set her chin on her fist. “Perhaps you could call it fate,” she said. “We were perfect for each other, Escaro and I. And we loved each other so much.” She grew quiet and her eyes became misty.
“What happened?” I asked. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear her answer, but I had to know.
Cook pinched her lips together. She dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. “It was Escaro’s and my sixth anniversary and our country’s three hundredth anniversary. Escaro’s father and mother, the king and queen, held a grand ball in the palace to celebrate. The ball was to last for a week. There was dancing and feasting. It was a wonderful time for all of us.” She paused, remembering. “On the third evening, King Harman, Adreon’s father, stormed into the citadel with his entire army. He killed the king and queen, and…”
“And he killed my pa,” Fonzie finished for her. He seemed to have finally come out of his world and back into ours. “I saw him do it, too. King Harman and over fifty of his men rushed into the ballroom. Complete pandemonium broke out. Harman’s men began cutting down everyone in their path. Then he killed both my grandpa and my grandma. Pa ran up to me. He was carrying Chamille, and Ma was with him, too.”
“Who is Chamille?” I asked him.
“Chamille was my little sister. She was only three at the time.”
I looked up at Cook. I saw tears running down her face in the light of the candle. I remembered then Fonzie talking about him and his sister dancing at the ball, or trying to. Why had he doubted his own memory if it was true?
“Pa grabbed me, and we ran to our hiding place, a secret alcove beneath the grand staircase. But Pa didn’t stay with us. He said that he had to go back and try and save those he could from being killed. I heard people screaming, women and children, and the clashing of metal. It was complete pandemonium. Then Pa drew his sword and ran back down the hall toward the ballroom.
“I snuck out of the alcove and ran after him. Ma didn’t know I had gone until a few minutes later.”
“You had me so scared when I finally realized you were missing,” she said. “I thought you’d been killed.”
Fonzie reached across the table and took hold of his mother’s hand. He began stroking it with his thumb.
“I followed Pa back to the ballroom,” Fonzie continued quietly. “I hid behind a curtain and watched him fight off King Harman’s soldiers, sometimes five at a time. He was so skilled. The men fell left and right. Then, King Harman was in the middle of the room with my pa. They fought on and on. Then King Harman’s sword found an open spot on Pa’s chest. He stabbed him, and Pa fell. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I was just frozen there.
“Then I saw Chamille run out into the open screaming, ‘Pa! Pa!’ I didn’t know that she had followed me. Harman saw her, too. Before I could do anything, he picked her up by the hair and threw her across the room.” He pounded a fist on the table. “Why didn’t I…?” Fonzie started to ask himself. Then he shook his head. “What could I have done, though? I was only four.”
Fonzie took a deep breath and continued laboriously. “Her head hit the floor. And she didn’t move after that.” Fonzie’s voice cracked. Then he started crying. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks. I became aware then that I was crying, too, and had been for some time.
That’s all the three of us could do for a long time: sit and cry while the candle burned down.
After a while, Cook picked up the story. “When King Harman and his men finally left the ballroom, I ran in. I stepped carefully around the bodies on the floor. Then I saw Escaro and, farther away, Chamille. I couldn’t find Fonzie. I could only imagine what they had done to him. I knelt beside Escaro and wept. Only when I’d stopped crying did I notice Fonzie peering out from behind a curtain on the other side of the room. I ran over to where he was hiding and held him, so glad that he was still alive. I felt like we were the only two people left on earth.
“Then Andre ran into the room screaming my name. I –”
“Wait,” I interrupted her, “Do you mean Chef Andre?”
“Oh my!” Cook exclaimed. “I never did tell you about that, did I?”
I shook my head.
“Well, Andre is my older brother. He raised me after our parents died,” she told me.
I knew that my mouth was hanging open again. Chef Andre was Cook’s brother! Now it all made perfect sense! How they acted the same, how they talked the same, and how much Fonzie was like the both of them. Not to mention how much Fonzie and Andy looked alike. I remembered their identical brown curls. Chef Andre was Fonzie’s uncle, and Andy was his cousin. How could I have not seen it before? “That’s unbelievable!” I declared.
“What’s even more remarkable,” Cook said, “is that Andre is still alive. When he found Fonzie and me in the ballroom, he took us to his house immediately. He told me that Harman wouldn’t stop until he had eliminated every member of the royal family, and I had to admit that my brother was right. We all had to get away. The next day, Andre made contact with a friend who agreed to smuggle us out of the country and into Kammira, where we would be safe. Andre stayed behind. He told me that he would write to me when it was safe to return. We said our goodbyes, and I never saw him again. He never wrote, and I assumed after a year that he had died in the war that followed Harman’s invasion.”
“I’m sure that he thought the same of you,” I told her, remembering his reaction when Fonzie had told him Cook’s name. I recalled how pale he’d gotten and the ghastly look on his face.
Fonzie asked, “Why is it that I could never remember any of this before today, but now it’s as fresh in my mind as though it had all happened just yesterday? I can recall everything up to the day that Pa died, but nothing afterward, not until we arrived here.”
“You were in shock,” his mother said. “You wouldn’t say a word for six months – not to me, not to anyone. You hardly ate anything or slept, either. You got so sick that I began to think that I would lose you. You were never the same after that day, Fonzie, not even when we came here. You started speaking again, slowly, but you were never the child you once were. I’m not surprised that you never remembered.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Fonzie asked.
“It was better that you didn’t remember. I couldn’t tell anyone who we were. So I made up a story. I thought that I could work here while I waited for Andre to write.”
“But why didn’t you let someone know?” he persisted. “They could have helped us!”
“Or hurt us,” Cook pointed out. “We were still in danger. I couldn’t trust anyone.”
“But what about Waldo or Methura?” Fonzie inquired.
She shook her head. “I didn’t even know if I could trust them. I know they’re fairies, but even fairies have been known to choose sides.”
“And then there’s Peter,” I reminded him. “What would have happened if he had found out?”
Cook nodded. “Belle is right, Fonzie. If Peter would have discovered us, he would have told Adreon, and then either he or Harman would have been here in no time at all to finish us off. I had to protect you, Fonzie. You’re the only heir left.”
“Heir? Heir to what?” he asked, completely baffled.
“Heir to the Uschin throne,” she stated as if it were obvious. Then she said very seriously, “Alfonzo, you are now the Crown Prince of Uschin. You’re going to be king someday.”
“King!” he exclaimed. He slammed his hands down on the table, making it shake. I jumped in my seat. “I can’t be king! I don’t know anything about being king! Pick someone else!” Fonzie cried desperately.
“Don’t you see?” Cook shouted, now quite frustrated with him. “There is no one else! You are the only one of royal blood left. You are the only heir, whether you like it or not.” Fonzie let his head fall onto the table and groaned. Cook placed a hand on his arm and said in a gentler tone, “Fonzie, look at me.”
Fonzie looked up, but just barely.
“I’m sorry for being so hard on you,” she said. “I know this isn’t easy for you. It isn’t easy for me, either. But I’ll always be here for you.” He lifted his head off the table and looked at his mother. Then he stood up and walked around to the opposite side of the table. He hugged her from behind.
“I love you, Ma,” he said, burying his face in her hair like a small child would.
She put a hand up and touched Fonzie’s arm. She looked up at him. “I love you, too, son.” Then he bent down and kissed her cheek.
“You know,” Cook said endearingly, “you have your father’s eyes.”
Fonzie’s face lit up. “I do?”
“Yes. Handsome green eyes, just like his.” She smiled. “Not plain and brown like mine. I’ve always been terribly jealous of your eyes.”
“You have very pretty eyes, Ma,” he told her.
“Thank you, Fonzie.” Then she yawned. “My, it’s late! I should be in bed.” Fonzie stepped back, and Cook stood up. “I’ll see you two in the morning for breakfast,” she said.
“Goodnight,” we told her.
Then Fonzie and I left the kitchen. We walked down the halls, in no particular direction, unsure of what to do with ourselves. Suddenly I stopped.
“What is it?” Fonzie asked. I stared at his shadowy form in the dark.
“I just realized…”
“What?” he prompted me.
“It’s…” I felt hesitant to say it for fear that it might undo the magic. “It’s really over then,” I said.
“What’s over?” Fonzie asked urgently, still not understanding.
“The curse! It’s over! The spell is broken! Don’t you see?” I said excitedly.
I heard him breathe in sharply. “You mean I –”
“Yes!” I didn’t think that I’d ever smiled as widely as I did just then. I was perfectly ecstatic.
I couldn’t have expected what happened next. Fonzie pulled me close and kissed me – not on the forehead, not on the cheek, but on my lips. Then, he pulled away just a little. “I love you, Belle,” he said again softly.
“I love you, too, Fonzie.”
“Will you marry me, then?”
“Yes!” I smiled, and we kissed again.
“What just happened out there?” Fonzie asked, watching me intently.
“I don’t know.” I had just changed from a beast back into a human, but it wasn’t even past nine yet. I had no idea how it had happened. I just knew that it had.
Fonzie seemed to be pondering something. “What if…?” he whispered. I didn’t understand. Suddenly, his face became resolute “I have to talk to Ma.”
Then he turned sharply and began to jog away from me.
“Wait!” I cried. My voice echoed off the walls. Fonzie stopped and turned around.
“What is it?”
“I’m coming with you,” I told him, and I hurried to catch up. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the kitchen!” he replied impatiently.
“Oh.” I walked faster in order to keep up with him, but when we arrived there, the kitchen was dark.
“She’s already in bed,” Fonzie muttered. “Stay here.” He strode over to the other side of the kitchen, out through the back door, and up the stairs to the room that he and his mother shared. I heard a door open and close and the sound of voices speaking, but I could not make out what they were saying.
After a few minutes of standing in the dark, I found a candle, lit it, and set it on the table. I sat down and sighed. I gazed at my smooth, human hands. It all seemed too surreal.
I felt myself beginning to nod off in my chair. I jerked my head up. I was so afraid that if I fell asleep, I would wake up later and find that this had all been only a dream. Just then, Fonzie and Cook entered the kitchen through the back door.
“I don’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head. I stood up.
“What? What is it?” I demanded.
Fonzie thrust an arm out at me and faced his mother.
“Tell her!” he practically shouted. “Tell her exactly what you just told me!” Then he dropped heavily into a chair.
“Perhaps I should put on some tea first.” I could tell she was stalling. “Why don’t you sit down, Belle. Just wait a minute while I –”
“No, Ma! Now! Tell her now! The tea can wait.” I had never heard Fonzie use that tone with Cook before. The impatience and urgency in his voice shocked me.
Apparently, it must have had also some sort of effect on Cook because she nodded and sat down at the table with us. She examined her fingernails, trying to think of how to start. Then she cleared her throat and began with a shaky voice.
“Well, Belle, dear, you may have heard a story about me. You may have heard that Fonzie’s father and I were never married.”
I nodded. “Yes, that is what I heard.” I swallowed. I glanced over at Fonzie, who sat on my left. He wouldn’t look at either of us; he could only stare at the flame on top of the candle on the table. He looked as though he were in a different place and time, totally oblivious to what was going on around him.
“Well,” Cook continued, “That isn’t true. We were married – for almost two years, in fact – before Fonzie was born.” She stopped again.
“Tell her the rest,” Fonzie encouraged her quietly, his eyes never wavering from the flame.
Cook hesitated, but then resumed. “Fonzie’s father, my husband, was Prince Ronaldo Escaro, the Crown Prince of Uschin.”
My jaw dropped.
“Fonzie,” she explained slowly, “is Prince Ronaldo Alfonzo.”
“Fonzie’s a prince?” I asked incredulously. Cook nodded. “Then you’re a princess,” I concluded.
Cook nodded again. “I am, but only by marriage. I was a commoner, chosen from among hundreds of other girls.” She propped her elbow on the table and set her chin on her fist. “Perhaps you could call it fate,” she said. “We were perfect for each other, Escaro and I. And we loved each other so much.” She grew quiet and her eyes became misty.
“What happened?” I asked. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear her answer, but I had to know.
Cook pinched her lips together. She dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. “It was Escaro’s and my sixth anniversary and our country’s three hundredth anniversary. Escaro’s father and mother, the king and queen, held a grand ball in the palace to celebrate. The ball was to last for a week. There was dancing and feasting. It was a wonderful time for all of us.” She paused, remembering. “On the third evening, King Harman, Adreon’s father, stormed into the citadel with his entire army. He killed the king and queen, and…”
“And he killed my pa,” Fonzie finished for her. He seemed to have finally come out of his world and back into ours. “I saw him do it, too. King Harman and over fifty of his men rushed into the ballroom. Complete pandemonium broke out. Harman’s men began cutting down everyone in their path. Then he killed both my grandpa and my grandma. Pa ran up to me. He was carrying Chamille, and Ma was with him, too.”
“Who is Chamille?” I asked him.
“Chamille was my little sister. She was only three at the time.”
I looked up at Cook. I saw tears running down her face in the light of the candle. I remembered then Fonzie talking about him and his sister dancing at the ball, or trying to. Why had he doubted his own memory if it was true?
“Pa grabbed me, and we ran to our hiding place, a secret alcove beneath the grand staircase. But Pa didn’t stay with us. He said that he had to go back and try and save those he could from being killed. I heard people screaming, women and children, and the clashing of metal. It was complete pandemonium. Then Pa drew his sword and ran back down the hall toward the ballroom.
“I snuck out of the alcove and ran after him. Ma didn’t know I had gone until a few minutes later.”
“You had me so scared when I finally realized you were missing,” she said. “I thought you’d been killed.”
Fonzie reached across the table and took hold of his mother’s hand. He began stroking it with his thumb.
“I followed Pa back to the ballroom,” Fonzie continued quietly. “I hid behind a curtain and watched him fight off King Harman’s soldiers, sometimes five at a time. He was so skilled. The men fell left and right. Then, King Harman was in the middle of the room with my pa. They fought on and on. Then King Harman’s sword found an open spot on Pa’s chest. He stabbed him, and Pa fell. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I was just frozen there.
“Then I saw Chamille run out into the open screaming, ‘Pa! Pa!’ I didn’t know that she had followed me. Harman saw her, too. Before I could do anything, he picked her up by the hair and threw her across the room.” He pounded a fist on the table. “Why didn’t I…?” Fonzie started to ask himself. Then he shook his head. “What could I have done, though? I was only four.”
Fonzie took a deep breath and continued laboriously. “Her head hit the floor. And she didn’t move after that.” Fonzie’s voice cracked. Then he started crying. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks. I became aware then that I was crying, too, and had been for some time.
That’s all the three of us could do for a long time: sit and cry while the candle burned down.
After a while, Cook picked up the story. “When King Harman and his men finally left the ballroom, I ran in. I stepped carefully around the bodies on the floor. Then I saw Escaro and, farther away, Chamille. I couldn’t find Fonzie. I could only imagine what they had done to him. I knelt beside Escaro and wept. Only when I’d stopped crying did I notice Fonzie peering out from behind a curtain on the other side of the room. I ran over to where he was hiding and held him, so glad that he was still alive. I felt like we were the only two people left on earth.
“Then Andre ran into the room screaming my name. I –”
“Wait,” I interrupted her, “Do you mean Chef Andre?”
“Oh my!” Cook exclaimed. “I never did tell you about that, did I?”
I shook my head.
“Well, Andre is my older brother. He raised me after our parents died,” she told me.
I knew that my mouth was hanging open again. Chef Andre was Cook’s brother! Now it all made perfect sense! How they acted the same, how they talked the same, and how much Fonzie was like the both of them. Not to mention how much Fonzie and Andy looked alike. I remembered their identical brown curls. Chef Andre was Fonzie’s uncle, and Andy was his cousin. How could I have not seen it before? “That’s unbelievable!” I declared.
“What’s even more remarkable,” Cook said, “is that Andre is still alive. When he found Fonzie and me in the ballroom, he took us to his house immediately. He told me that Harman wouldn’t stop until he had eliminated every member of the royal family, and I had to admit that my brother was right. We all had to get away. The next day, Andre made contact with a friend who agreed to smuggle us out of the country and into Kammira, where we would be safe. Andre stayed behind. He told me that he would write to me when it was safe to return. We said our goodbyes, and I never saw him again. He never wrote, and I assumed after a year that he had died in the war that followed Harman’s invasion.”
“I’m sure that he thought the same of you,” I told her, remembering his reaction when Fonzie had told him Cook’s name. I recalled how pale he’d gotten and the ghastly look on his face.
Fonzie asked, “Why is it that I could never remember any of this before today, but now it’s as fresh in my mind as though it had all happened just yesterday? I can recall everything up to the day that Pa died, but nothing afterward, not until we arrived here.”
“You were in shock,” his mother said. “You wouldn’t say a word for six months – not to me, not to anyone. You hardly ate anything or slept, either. You got so sick that I began to think that I would lose you. You were never the same after that day, Fonzie, not even when we came here. You started speaking again, slowly, but you were never the child you once were. I’m not surprised that you never remembered.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Fonzie asked.
“It was better that you didn’t remember. I couldn’t tell anyone who we were. So I made up a story. I thought that I could work here while I waited for Andre to write.”
“But why didn’t you let someone know?” he persisted. “They could have helped us!”
“Or hurt us,” Cook pointed out. “We were still in danger. I couldn’t trust anyone.”
“But what about Waldo or Methura?” Fonzie inquired.
She shook her head. “I didn’t even know if I could trust them. I know they’re fairies, but even fairies have been known to choose sides.”
“And then there’s Peter,” I reminded him. “What would have happened if he had found out?”
Cook nodded. “Belle is right, Fonzie. If Peter would have discovered us, he would have told Adreon, and then either he or Harman would have been here in no time at all to finish us off. I had to protect you, Fonzie. You’re the only heir left.”
“Heir? Heir to what?” he asked, completely baffled.
“Heir to the Uschin throne,” she stated as if it were obvious. Then she said very seriously, “Alfonzo, you are now the Crown Prince of Uschin. You’re going to be king someday.”
“King!” he exclaimed. He slammed his hands down on the table, making it shake. I jumped in my seat. “I can’t be king! I don’t know anything about being king! Pick someone else!” Fonzie cried desperately.
“Don’t you see?” Cook shouted, now quite frustrated with him. “There is no one else! You are the only one of royal blood left. You are the only heir, whether you like it or not.” Fonzie let his head fall onto the table and groaned. Cook placed a hand on his arm and said in a gentler tone, “Fonzie, look at me.”
Fonzie looked up, but just barely.
“I’m sorry for being so hard on you,” she said. “I know this isn’t easy for you. It isn’t easy for me, either. But I’ll always be here for you.” He lifted his head off the table and looked at his mother. Then he stood up and walked around to the opposite side of the table. He hugged her from behind.
“I love you, Ma,” he said, burying his face in her hair like a small child would.
She put a hand up and touched Fonzie’s arm. She looked up at him. “I love you, too, son.” Then he bent down and kissed her cheek.
“You know,” Cook said endearingly, “you have your father’s eyes.”
Fonzie’s face lit up. “I do?”
“Yes. Handsome green eyes, just like his.” She smiled. “Not plain and brown like mine. I’ve always been terribly jealous of your eyes.”
“You have very pretty eyes, Ma,” he told her.
“Thank you, Fonzie.” Then she yawned. “My, it’s late! I should be in bed.” Fonzie stepped back, and Cook stood up. “I’ll see you two in the morning for breakfast,” she said.
“Goodnight,” we told her.
Then Fonzie and I left the kitchen. We walked down the halls, in no particular direction, unsure of what to do with ourselves. Suddenly I stopped.
“What is it?” Fonzie asked. I stared at his shadowy form in the dark.
“I just realized…”
“What?” he prompted me.
“It’s…” I felt hesitant to say it for fear that it might undo the magic. “It’s really over then,” I said.
“What’s over?” Fonzie asked urgently, still not understanding.
“The curse! It’s over! The spell is broken! Don’t you see?” I said excitedly.
I heard him breathe in sharply. “You mean I –”
“Yes!” I didn’t think that I’d ever smiled as widely as I did just then. I was perfectly ecstatic.
I couldn’t have expected what happened next. Fonzie pulled me close and kissed me – not on the forehead, not on the cheek, but on my lips. Then, he pulled away just a little. “I love you, Belle,” he said again softly.
“I love you, too, Fonzie.”
“Will you marry me, then?”
“Yes!” I smiled, and we kissed again.
Beast: Chapter 41
Sunlight was streaming through my window. I sat up in bed sleepily. I stretched and yawned. The birds outside were singing their sweet tunes just for me this morning. It occurred to me that, for the first time in months, I had no obligations today. I could spend all twenty-four glorious hours doing whatever I pleased, whenever I pleased, however I pleased, with whomever I pleased.
Today, I was Belle, not Princess Isabelle – and I hadn’t a care in the world.
“The first order of business today,” I said aloud to myself, “is to get dressed and have breakfast. After that, I think I shall go for a stroll in the garden. Perhaps a friend will even join me.” It seemed so silly talking to myself in such a frivolous way, but I didn’t care. I smiled and bounced out of bed.
Down in the kitchen, I had a blueberry muffin and a glass of milk for breakfast. I licked my fingers when I was done, glad for not needing to worry once about proper table manners.
“My compliments to the chef,” I remarked when I was finished. Cook was standing at the counter mixing the contents of a large bowl. Fonzie had just entered the room.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling.
“You made these?” I asked. “They’re wonderful!”
“Once again, thank you.” Then he bowed graciously. He straitened and added, “Did I tell you that I am also making supper tonight?”
“No,” I admitted, also smiling. “You didn’t mention that.”
“Well, I am. Prepare to be amazed.”
“I’ll try.” I laughed. It seemed as though nothing on this earth could spoil my mood.
Fonzie appeared slighted. “Now, Belle. Don’t make fun of me. It hurts my feelings when you make jokes about my cooking. And if you don’t want to find crickets on you’re plate tonight, you’ll stop,” he teased.
“Now that’s enough, you.” Cook pointed at Fonzie. “You, too, Belle. Why don’t you go and do something together? Something, far away from my kitchen.” She raised an eyebrow to underline her point.
Fonzie and I took the hint and, still smiling at each other, left the kitchen without another word. However, once we were in the garden, Fonzie burst out, “Her kitchen! She still calls it her kitchen!”
I laughed out loud.
“You may think that’s funny,” he continued, “but think of poor me. I’ve been trying all year long to find a place to call my own where I can cook on my own terms, and I’ve still got nothing.” I stopped my chuckling.
“Your time will come,” I promised him. “Just have patience. You’ll see.” I patted his arm in reassurance but promptly pulled away.
To my surprise, Fonzie leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Belle,” he said. I blushed.
“You’re welcome.”
“What do you say we take a stroll through the maze – for old time’s sake?” he proposed.
“Alright,” I said deviously. “But I get a head start!” I tore off into the rose maze. Fonzie was right on my heels.
We weaved through each passage way at least once, probably twice, until we found ourselves lost in the very heart of the maze. Then we stopped to catch our breath, which was a difficult thing to do because we couldn’t seem to stop laughing. Finally, we began walking again, though at a much slower pace than before.
“I feel so free here,” I said after a time. “In the palace, I had so many responsibilities. It was no fun at all. I didn’t belong there. But coming back here…It’s like revisiting my childhood.”
“I know what you mean,” Fonzie said quietly.
Soon, we heard the telltale sound of the fountain. By noon, the day had become surprisingly warm. Fonzie and I were more than glad to accept the drink of water that Marbella offered us when we finally found ourselves outside of the maze.
“Ma wanted me to help with lunch in her kitchen,” Fonzie said as we left the garden. He rolled his eyes. I stifled another outburst of laughter. “So I’ll see you later?” His eyebrows rose as he asked the question.
“I’ll meet you in the kitchen for lunch,” I told him.
~-~-~-~
Later that afternoon, Fonzie was busy making supper, and he wouldn’t let me stay in the kitchen to watch.
“I want everything to be a surprise,” he said.
So I wandered around the castle looking for something to do with my time. At length, I decided to go to the library to read. Of course, the library in Methura’s castle was much, much smaller than the one in the palace, but I was more familiar with it. And I wouldn’t have to worry about Adreon or anyone else barging in on me here. I shook off the thought of him. With any luck, he had given up and gone back to Eastern Grenshire with his grim-looking mother and Peter.
I chose a book at random from the shelf and made myself comfortable in my favorite armchair before beginning to read. The afternoon flew by. The day light diminished as dark gray rain clouds began to roll in from the west. Before long, it seemed, the ancient grandfather clock in the library was chiming six o’clock. I was going to be late for supper if I didn’t hurry.
Immediately, I got out of my chair and put the unfinished book back on the shelf. The kitchen was all the way on the other side of the castle. Despite the nearby sounds of thunder, I decided to take the short cut across the courtyard. I jogged out the door and into drizzling rain. Oh well, I thought. It doesn’t matter if I get just a little wet. But the next thing I knew, I was on my face in a large puddle. I propped myself up on my elbows and turned to look behind me. I had tripped over a tile that was jutting at an awkward angle out of the ground.
Of course I could have gone to supper if I had been only a tad wet; that wouldn’t have been a problem. But now I was soaked. I would have to go back to my room and change before eating.
With a groan, I pushed myself up off of the ground and continued on my way to the kitchen. When I arrived, Cook was the only one there. I also noticed with surprise that she was the one washing dishes tonight instead of Fonzie.
“I might be a little late for supper,” I told her, indicating my sopping clothes.
“That’s just fine with me,” she replied without looking up from her chore. Then she added, “By the way, Belle, supper will be in the dining room this evening.”
“Thank you, Cook.” Then I walked to my bedroom to change into something dry.
~-~-~-~
A few minutes later, I stood in front of my wardrobe in bewilderment as my soaked garments dripped on the creaking wooden floor. All of my clothes had been taken from my closet and from my carpet bag. All, that is, except one ball gown that I had never seen before.
I pulled the gown out of the wardrobe and laid it out on my bed. I stood back and examined it. The ball gown was made of pale yellow silk, and lace lined the collar and sleeves. I decided to try it on since there was nothing else for me to wear. It wasn’t designed in the current style, but it seemed rather old-fashioned with its tapering waist and long sleeves that passed my wrists. The ball gown was tastefully embroidered with yellow roses. It seemed as though it had been made just for me, and it fit perfectly.
But what would I wear for shoes? My socks and boots had gotten soaked, inside and out, from running through the puddles outside. I rooted through the closet again, and this time I found a pair of white stockings and a simple pair of shiny black dancing shoes.
Dancing shoes?
I shrugged. The dress was a bit much for supper, I thought. And I wasn’t anticipating doing any dancing afterward, but it appeared as though I had no other options besides my already sodden attire.
Now fully dressed, dry, and much later than I had anticipated on being, I walked down the stairs and rounded the corner into the dining room.
“I’m sorry for being late, everyone,” I said. “You see, I –” But I stopped short.
Fonzie was the only one in the dining room, standing behind a chair by the table. He was dressed in neat white pants and a long blue coat trimmed in gold. The shoes he wore were black and polished so that they gleamed in the flickering candlelight. I’d never seen him wear anything nicer than a stained assistant chef’s uniform, and I almost didn’t recognize him.
“Where are Waldo and Cook?” I asked uncertainly, recovering from my shock. “Aren’t they joining us?”
“No, Madam,” Fonzie said grandly. “Tonight, you and I dine alone.”
“Oh.” I walked over to the table. Fonzie pulled my chair out for me, and I sat down. Then he walked around to the other side of the table and seated himself.
“My, you’re certainly dressed very nicely this evening,” I remarked politely.
“I should say the same for you,” he replied.
“But what’s the occasion?” I asked. “My birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
“I know. I just thought that maybe we could do things differently for once. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, of course not,” I said. I was quiet for a moment. I tried to think of something else to say. “I thought that you were going to cook this evening.”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Then who is serving?” Surely not Waldo, and Cook was busy washing up the dishes in the kitchen. At that moment, tableware came flying through the doorway along with the bet crystal goblets and place settings.
“The dishes are serving tonight,” Fonzie answered with a smile. “They’ve even offered to wash themselves afterward to save me some extra work.” He chuckled. I smiled, too, and then we ate. The first course was hot cheesy potato soup, which was followed by a dish of pork and vegetables. Dessert was, naturally, a chocolate soufflé. “Because you didn’t get to try it at your wedding,” he said. I gave him a weak smile.
“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” I said, finishing the last of my dessert.
“Well, we can talk about something else,” he said as the plates and silverware whisked themselves away. “And we could always talk while we dance.” Fonzie pushed chair away from the table and stood. He offered me his hand, waiting for me optimistically.
“What?” I asked, standing also. I gave him my hand, and he led me around the table and out to an open section of the floor in the candlelit dining room.
“You can’t tell me that you’ve never danced before,” he said.
“Well, I have, but…I would probably end up stepping all over you,” I confessed self-consciously. I looked down at my large, ungainly feet. It was getting on towards seven thirty, and the sun had set not long ago.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not that good either,” he admitted.
“But what are we going to do about music?”
“It’s been taken care of.”
As if on cue, a waltz began to play from the other end of the room. There was Waldo, Mosby, and Tricia filling the room with their sweet notes. I let out a small gasp. Suddenly, it all made sense.
“You set up this whole thing!” I exclaimed in a low voice. “Even the ball gown and dancing shoes!”
“I had nothing to do with your magnificent apparel,” Fonzie said. I couldn’t tell whether he was telling the truth or not. He began to lead me in the waltz. “But I had a good bit of help in planning this evening. Waldo was kind enough to assist me with the entertainment, and Ma gave me this outfit to wear. It’s certainly nicer than anything I could have come up with on my own.”
Just then, I wondered how much Cook really knew. How much had Fonzie told her?
“Does she know about my secret?” I asked him.
“Of course not!” he said, taken aback. “I’d never tell a soul, Belle.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where did your mother get those clothes, though?” I asked curiously. “Did she make them for you?”
“She told me that she’s been saving them in her trunk for years, hoping that someday I’d grow into them,” Fonzie said. “I never even knew she had them.”
“Oh.” We danced on, saying little more, until the song finally ended.
“Bella!” he said, bowing. “You dance marvelously! I don’t believe you stepped on my feet once.” He chuckled.
“Thank you,” I said, but then I was suddenly confused. “Why did you call me Bella?”
Fonzie looked up at me with a startled expression on his face.
“I didn’t.”
“Yes you did,” I insisted. “You said ‘Bella’ instead of ‘Belle’. I heard you.” I wasn’t mad at him, of course. But why didn’t he realize his mistake?
“No, I said bella, which means beautiful. I meant that your dancing was beautiful.”
“So it was from a different language, then,” I said, beginning to understand.
Fonzie told me, “It’s Uschin.”
“Uschin! Did Chef Andre teach you?” I asked, interested.
“No,” Fonzie said. It was almost a question. His brow was furrowed in bewilderment. “I don’t think so, at least.”
He looked around at the dining hall. There was a distant look in his eye. A mere trace of a smile formed on his face.
“You know,” he said, “I remember when I used to dance with my little sister at the balls that my parents held. Neither of us was any good at dancing, but we had fun pretending that we could.” He looked downward at his shoes, shaking his head as if to clear it.
I squinted at him. “What on earth are you talking about? You never knew your father,” I reminded him. “You don’t have a little sister.”
Fonzie frowned. “I…I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said. He shook his head vigorously. “No, it must have been some crazy dream I had.”
He looked up at me and grabbed my hand.
“Come with me,” he said. “I need to talk to you.” He led me out the room and down the corridor.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
We walked outside. The rain had stopped, but the grass was wet. The air was cool from the late shower. The night sky was still obscured, but every so often the moon would peek out from behind the clouds and shed some light on the castle.
“Close your eyes,” Fonzie commanded me. Holding my hand, he guided me forward across the lawn. After a minute, we stopped. “All right, you can open them now.”
I opened my eyes. We were standing in the garden. Softly glowing lanterns hung from the trees and lined the paths that wove through the rose bushes. I heard Marbella’s fountain gurgle in the background.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s lovely,” I murmured, gazing about. Fonzie directed me over to the bench, and we sat down.
“Belle, there’s something that I have to tell you,” he began. He paused for a moment. “I have to tell you that, curse or no curse, I love you, and I always have.”
“What? But I thought –”
He stopped me. “Forget whatever you thought. I loved you before I found out about your curse, and I still loved you afterwards. I just didn’t realize I did because I didn’t think I could, but I do. And I’m sorry if I haven’t made it clear before. But that’s what I wanted to tell you, Belle. I love you, and I want to know if you love me, too.”
I was speechless. I had wondered all my life if this would happen, if someone would love me for who I was on the inside and not care about how beautiful or ugly I was on the outside. Now I finally had my answer.
A strong breeze started to blow, ruffling my gown. The lanterns rattled and, one by one, the flames flickered and went out. We were left in total darkness. Thunder boomed above the castle. We jumped up off the bench, startled by the loud noise. Then it started to rain.
A drop hit my nose and gave off a spark, prickling my skin. I gasped. Then another fell on my arm with the same result. It started to pour. My skin tingled all over, and my body shimmered with light. I couldn’t even tell whether I was getting drenched or not. I couldn’t feel a single drop of water; all I could feel was this shivering all over my skin.
Then I sensed myself shrinking. Fonzie, watching me in astonishment, seemed to get taller. My nose became shorter, and I stared as the brown fur on my arms disappeared.
In only a few seconds, I was in my human form again. Then I became aware that I was indeed soaked to the bone.
“Come on!” Fonzie shouted over the rumbling thunder. “Let’s get inside!” He seized my hand, and together we sprinted for the door through the rain.
Today, I was Belle, not Princess Isabelle – and I hadn’t a care in the world.
“The first order of business today,” I said aloud to myself, “is to get dressed and have breakfast. After that, I think I shall go for a stroll in the garden. Perhaps a friend will even join me.” It seemed so silly talking to myself in such a frivolous way, but I didn’t care. I smiled and bounced out of bed.
Down in the kitchen, I had a blueberry muffin and a glass of milk for breakfast. I licked my fingers when I was done, glad for not needing to worry once about proper table manners.
“My compliments to the chef,” I remarked when I was finished. Cook was standing at the counter mixing the contents of a large bowl. Fonzie had just entered the room.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling.
“You made these?” I asked. “They’re wonderful!”
“Once again, thank you.” Then he bowed graciously. He straitened and added, “Did I tell you that I am also making supper tonight?”
“No,” I admitted, also smiling. “You didn’t mention that.”
“Well, I am. Prepare to be amazed.”
“I’ll try.” I laughed. It seemed as though nothing on this earth could spoil my mood.
Fonzie appeared slighted. “Now, Belle. Don’t make fun of me. It hurts my feelings when you make jokes about my cooking. And if you don’t want to find crickets on you’re plate tonight, you’ll stop,” he teased.
“Now that’s enough, you.” Cook pointed at Fonzie. “You, too, Belle. Why don’t you go and do something together? Something, far away from my kitchen.” She raised an eyebrow to underline her point.
Fonzie and I took the hint and, still smiling at each other, left the kitchen without another word. However, once we were in the garden, Fonzie burst out, “Her kitchen! She still calls it her kitchen!”
I laughed out loud.
“You may think that’s funny,” he continued, “but think of poor me. I’ve been trying all year long to find a place to call my own where I can cook on my own terms, and I’ve still got nothing.” I stopped my chuckling.
“Your time will come,” I promised him. “Just have patience. You’ll see.” I patted his arm in reassurance but promptly pulled away.
To my surprise, Fonzie leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Belle,” he said. I blushed.
“You’re welcome.”
“What do you say we take a stroll through the maze – for old time’s sake?” he proposed.
“Alright,” I said deviously. “But I get a head start!” I tore off into the rose maze. Fonzie was right on my heels.
We weaved through each passage way at least once, probably twice, until we found ourselves lost in the very heart of the maze. Then we stopped to catch our breath, which was a difficult thing to do because we couldn’t seem to stop laughing. Finally, we began walking again, though at a much slower pace than before.
“I feel so free here,” I said after a time. “In the palace, I had so many responsibilities. It was no fun at all. I didn’t belong there. But coming back here…It’s like revisiting my childhood.”
“I know what you mean,” Fonzie said quietly.
Soon, we heard the telltale sound of the fountain. By noon, the day had become surprisingly warm. Fonzie and I were more than glad to accept the drink of water that Marbella offered us when we finally found ourselves outside of the maze.
“Ma wanted me to help with lunch in her kitchen,” Fonzie said as we left the garden. He rolled his eyes. I stifled another outburst of laughter. “So I’ll see you later?” His eyebrows rose as he asked the question.
“I’ll meet you in the kitchen for lunch,” I told him.
~-~-~-~
Later that afternoon, Fonzie was busy making supper, and he wouldn’t let me stay in the kitchen to watch.
“I want everything to be a surprise,” he said.
So I wandered around the castle looking for something to do with my time. At length, I decided to go to the library to read. Of course, the library in Methura’s castle was much, much smaller than the one in the palace, but I was more familiar with it. And I wouldn’t have to worry about Adreon or anyone else barging in on me here. I shook off the thought of him. With any luck, he had given up and gone back to Eastern Grenshire with his grim-looking mother and Peter.
I chose a book at random from the shelf and made myself comfortable in my favorite armchair before beginning to read. The afternoon flew by. The day light diminished as dark gray rain clouds began to roll in from the west. Before long, it seemed, the ancient grandfather clock in the library was chiming six o’clock. I was going to be late for supper if I didn’t hurry.
Immediately, I got out of my chair and put the unfinished book back on the shelf. The kitchen was all the way on the other side of the castle. Despite the nearby sounds of thunder, I decided to take the short cut across the courtyard. I jogged out the door and into drizzling rain. Oh well, I thought. It doesn’t matter if I get just a little wet. But the next thing I knew, I was on my face in a large puddle. I propped myself up on my elbows and turned to look behind me. I had tripped over a tile that was jutting at an awkward angle out of the ground.
Of course I could have gone to supper if I had been only a tad wet; that wouldn’t have been a problem. But now I was soaked. I would have to go back to my room and change before eating.
With a groan, I pushed myself up off of the ground and continued on my way to the kitchen. When I arrived, Cook was the only one there. I also noticed with surprise that she was the one washing dishes tonight instead of Fonzie.
“I might be a little late for supper,” I told her, indicating my sopping clothes.
“That’s just fine with me,” she replied without looking up from her chore. Then she added, “By the way, Belle, supper will be in the dining room this evening.”
“Thank you, Cook.” Then I walked to my bedroom to change into something dry.
~-~-~-~
A few minutes later, I stood in front of my wardrobe in bewilderment as my soaked garments dripped on the creaking wooden floor. All of my clothes had been taken from my closet and from my carpet bag. All, that is, except one ball gown that I had never seen before.
I pulled the gown out of the wardrobe and laid it out on my bed. I stood back and examined it. The ball gown was made of pale yellow silk, and lace lined the collar and sleeves. I decided to try it on since there was nothing else for me to wear. It wasn’t designed in the current style, but it seemed rather old-fashioned with its tapering waist and long sleeves that passed my wrists. The ball gown was tastefully embroidered with yellow roses. It seemed as though it had been made just for me, and it fit perfectly.
But what would I wear for shoes? My socks and boots had gotten soaked, inside and out, from running through the puddles outside. I rooted through the closet again, and this time I found a pair of white stockings and a simple pair of shiny black dancing shoes.
Dancing shoes?
I shrugged. The dress was a bit much for supper, I thought. And I wasn’t anticipating doing any dancing afterward, but it appeared as though I had no other options besides my already sodden attire.
Now fully dressed, dry, and much later than I had anticipated on being, I walked down the stairs and rounded the corner into the dining room.
“I’m sorry for being late, everyone,” I said. “You see, I –” But I stopped short.
Fonzie was the only one in the dining room, standing behind a chair by the table. He was dressed in neat white pants and a long blue coat trimmed in gold. The shoes he wore were black and polished so that they gleamed in the flickering candlelight. I’d never seen him wear anything nicer than a stained assistant chef’s uniform, and I almost didn’t recognize him.
“Where are Waldo and Cook?” I asked uncertainly, recovering from my shock. “Aren’t they joining us?”
“No, Madam,” Fonzie said grandly. “Tonight, you and I dine alone.”
“Oh.” I walked over to the table. Fonzie pulled my chair out for me, and I sat down. Then he walked around to the other side of the table and seated himself.
“My, you’re certainly dressed very nicely this evening,” I remarked politely.
“I should say the same for you,” he replied.
“But what’s the occasion?” I asked. “My birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
“I know. I just thought that maybe we could do things differently for once. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, of course not,” I said. I was quiet for a moment. I tried to think of something else to say. “I thought that you were going to cook this evening.”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Then who is serving?” Surely not Waldo, and Cook was busy washing up the dishes in the kitchen. At that moment, tableware came flying through the doorway along with the bet crystal goblets and place settings.
“The dishes are serving tonight,” Fonzie answered with a smile. “They’ve even offered to wash themselves afterward to save me some extra work.” He chuckled. I smiled, too, and then we ate. The first course was hot cheesy potato soup, which was followed by a dish of pork and vegetables. Dessert was, naturally, a chocolate soufflé. “Because you didn’t get to try it at your wedding,” he said. I gave him a weak smile.
“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” I said, finishing the last of my dessert.
“Well, we can talk about something else,” he said as the plates and silverware whisked themselves away. “And we could always talk while we dance.” Fonzie pushed chair away from the table and stood. He offered me his hand, waiting for me optimistically.
“What?” I asked, standing also. I gave him my hand, and he led me around the table and out to an open section of the floor in the candlelit dining room.
“You can’t tell me that you’ve never danced before,” he said.
“Well, I have, but…I would probably end up stepping all over you,” I confessed self-consciously. I looked down at my large, ungainly feet. It was getting on towards seven thirty, and the sun had set not long ago.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not that good either,” he admitted.
“But what are we going to do about music?”
“It’s been taken care of.”
As if on cue, a waltz began to play from the other end of the room. There was Waldo, Mosby, and Tricia filling the room with their sweet notes. I let out a small gasp. Suddenly, it all made sense.
“You set up this whole thing!” I exclaimed in a low voice. “Even the ball gown and dancing shoes!”
“I had nothing to do with your magnificent apparel,” Fonzie said. I couldn’t tell whether he was telling the truth or not. He began to lead me in the waltz. “But I had a good bit of help in planning this evening. Waldo was kind enough to assist me with the entertainment, and Ma gave me this outfit to wear. It’s certainly nicer than anything I could have come up with on my own.”
Just then, I wondered how much Cook really knew. How much had Fonzie told her?
“Does she know about my secret?” I asked him.
“Of course not!” he said, taken aback. “I’d never tell a soul, Belle.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where did your mother get those clothes, though?” I asked curiously. “Did she make them for you?”
“She told me that she’s been saving them in her trunk for years, hoping that someday I’d grow into them,” Fonzie said. “I never even knew she had them.”
“Oh.” We danced on, saying little more, until the song finally ended.
“Bella!” he said, bowing. “You dance marvelously! I don’t believe you stepped on my feet once.” He chuckled.
“Thank you,” I said, but then I was suddenly confused. “Why did you call me Bella?”
Fonzie looked up at me with a startled expression on his face.
“I didn’t.”
“Yes you did,” I insisted. “You said ‘Bella’ instead of ‘Belle’. I heard you.” I wasn’t mad at him, of course. But why didn’t he realize his mistake?
“No, I said bella, which means beautiful. I meant that your dancing was beautiful.”
“So it was from a different language, then,” I said, beginning to understand.
Fonzie told me, “It’s Uschin.”
“Uschin! Did Chef Andre teach you?” I asked, interested.
“No,” Fonzie said. It was almost a question. His brow was furrowed in bewilderment. “I don’t think so, at least.”
He looked around at the dining hall. There was a distant look in his eye. A mere trace of a smile formed on his face.
“You know,” he said, “I remember when I used to dance with my little sister at the balls that my parents held. Neither of us was any good at dancing, but we had fun pretending that we could.” He looked downward at his shoes, shaking his head as if to clear it.
I squinted at him. “What on earth are you talking about? You never knew your father,” I reminded him. “You don’t have a little sister.”
Fonzie frowned. “I…I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said. He shook his head vigorously. “No, it must have been some crazy dream I had.”
He looked up at me and grabbed my hand.
“Come with me,” he said. “I need to talk to you.” He led me out the room and down the corridor.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
We walked outside. The rain had stopped, but the grass was wet. The air was cool from the late shower. The night sky was still obscured, but every so often the moon would peek out from behind the clouds and shed some light on the castle.
“Close your eyes,” Fonzie commanded me. Holding my hand, he guided me forward across the lawn. After a minute, we stopped. “All right, you can open them now.”
I opened my eyes. We were standing in the garden. Softly glowing lanterns hung from the trees and lined the paths that wove through the rose bushes. I heard Marbella’s fountain gurgle in the background.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s lovely,” I murmured, gazing about. Fonzie directed me over to the bench, and we sat down.
“Belle, there’s something that I have to tell you,” he began. He paused for a moment. “I have to tell you that, curse or no curse, I love you, and I always have.”
“What? But I thought –”
He stopped me. “Forget whatever you thought. I loved you before I found out about your curse, and I still loved you afterwards. I just didn’t realize I did because I didn’t think I could, but I do. And I’m sorry if I haven’t made it clear before. But that’s what I wanted to tell you, Belle. I love you, and I want to know if you love me, too.”
I was speechless. I had wondered all my life if this would happen, if someone would love me for who I was on the inside and not care about how beautiful or ugly I was on the outside. Now I finally had my answer.
A strong breeze started to blow, ruffling my gown. The lanterns rattled and, one by one, the flames flickered and went out. We were left in total darkness. Thunder boomed above the castle. We jumped up off the bench, startled by the loud noise. Then it started to rain.
A drop hit my nose and gave off a spark, prickling my skin. I gasped. Then another fell on my arm with the same result. It started to pour. My skin tingled all over, and my body shimmered with light. I couldn’t even tell whether I was getting drenched or not. I couldn’t feel a single drop of water; all I could feel was this shivering all over my skin.
Then I sensed myself shrinking. Fonzie, watching me in astonishment, seemed to get taller. My nose became shorter, and I stared as the brown fur on my arms disappeared.
In only a few seconds, I was in my human form again. Then I became aware that I was indeed soaked to the bone.
“Come on!” Fonzie shouted over the rumbling thunder. “Let’s get inside!” He seized my hand, and together we sprinted for the door through the rain.
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