Beauty's Beast- The Light

by Sebrena Merly

  Bella had just started to walk down that hall when a voice said, "Hello again." It was that same voice she had heard when she first took a bath—Desiree, if Bella remembered correctly; the one that followed and led her, the voice unmistakable. And, also the one that Thais didn't seem to be so fond of the idea of her “being caught” with this Avain, whoever he was. And though her voice was familiar, it had still come from nowhere, so Bella jumped in her place, hands held to her chest, eyes wide.

  "You've nearly scared me to death," she said as giggles sounded from the shadows around the light of the candles, nearly stomping a foot in complaint as she lowered her hands back to her sides. "And I would say that it's lovely to see you, but I still haven't."

  "You saw me helping carry the master," came her reply. "You just didn't make any note of it."

  Bella scowled. "That's because I technically didn't see you at all. You were all invisible to me." In a sense, anyhow.

  She made tsking noises. "So picky, you humans. Whether or not you saw me, I was still there. But, I suppose, it doesn't really matter whether you see me or not, since you're basically stuck here now, so here goes."

  Before Bella could ask what she meant, a faerie appeared in front of her, making her stumble back in surprise. This faerie was unmistakably female, with the curves to show for it, and hardly a stitch on her. The gown she was wearing hardly came to her knees, and slid low on the chest, with a strap that went around her neck. Her eyes were an almond shape, an alluring blue with gold flecks, and long white hair was wrapped around her head in a strange sort of style that reminded Bella of Yasandre.

  "What do you think?" she asked, striking a pose, which involved dipping one hip to the side as she held her arms out, moving her head to the side as she flashed a bright smile, eyes big and blinking in an innocent sort of way.

  Bella gaped. "You're very beautiful." It was a wonder she didn't have men standing right there to swoon at her feet—that being, she reminded Bella very much of the nymphs she heard in children's tales; stories of girls that teased boys and allowed them to give chase and turned into trees the moment before they could be caught.

  She giggled, nose wrinkling up, and clapped her hands gently as she hopped from foot to foot in a graceful manner, toes pointed. "Oh, I do love humans. They always pay such sweet compliments. Go on, say another."

  "I want to go next," a voice complained somewhere behind Bella, and a few more followed, all complaining and arguing, most of them female.

  The girl standing in front of her rolled her eyes. "Oh, pay them no mind. Some Fae absolutely love to hear good things about themselves; especially females." When arguments started up, she waved them off. "Yes, yes, alright, me too; didn't mean anything by it. No need to be so touchy." She looked Bella over, shaking her head in what looked to be disappointment. "My, my. For a girl, you really do know how to destroy yourself. Just look at you!" Before Bella could do more than tug uncomfortably at her tie, she hopped around her to the door of the bathroom. "No worries. I've taken care to place some more soaps in here—homemade too. You'll never get anything better than mine. I've also put in towels."

  Bella turned around to face her as she rambled on, and walked into the bathroom, freezing at what she saw. The back of the Fae's dress hung down very low, to the very small of her back; but, where her back should have been was a hollowed-out shell. When the light filtered in, only dancing shadows played back.

  "Um," Bella said, staring, unable to help herself, which caught the faerie's attention, and she turned to look at her with an expecting smile. She didn't know what else to say quite yet. "Um..."

  She giggled, waving a hand at her. "Oh, that's right! I've forgotten to give you my name. Not my true name, of course, but what everyone calls me. I'm Desiree. Didn't anyone tell you?"

  Bella shook her head, though not to answer her question, still gaping, and threw her arms up in surrender. "Please don't kill me when I point this out...but you don't have a back."

  Desiree stared at her for a moment, then laughed. "Ah, yes. Of course not, silly! My kind don't have backs—to think we even need one! Some of my kind have tails—tails! Now, imagine that!" She laughed again.

  She tried, really tried, but found the mere thought ludicrous. Though, it seemed, her life was even more so. Even then, she still did nothing more than gape.

  "Normally you'll see us wandering the forest or swimming somewhere," Desiree continued, hip thrusting out to the side as she swayed, "but not me. I've worked here since I was a human." When she realized what she said, she seemed to somber up, and the smile was instantly gone as she nervously turned to the bath. "I put hot water in this a while ago. Should be cool enough now."

  "You were human?" Bella asked in disbelief, but Desiree didn't answer her. Instead, she brushed right by her.

  Before she closed the door, however, she turned her head so half of her face was turned to Bella. "Aren't we all?" Then she disappeared, and the door shut.

  Bella stared after her, trying to comprehend all that she had just heard, and trying to piece it together with everything she had heard and seen since she arrived at that castle. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make sense of it all. Everything was just a jumbled up mess; something, it seemed, that would take a very long time to put together.

  It seemed that everyone had a secret.

  9

  Bella hadn't done what was suggested; heading for bed as soon as she was done. As much as sleeping through nights instead of days sounded much better than roaming through the dark, she couldn't bring herself to deny that something was off about what the demon had said to her; about her meeting Malum. It was almost like her gut instincts were telling her not to trust him.

  As if he was lying.

  Well, why would he do that? she wondered to herself as she sat on the bed in her room, dressed in a gown.

  The robe she had been in had disappeared, probably thrown out as to how she hadn't seen it in the room, and she had found a gown folded and set right outside the door of the bathing room. It was long, falling till it nearly touched the floor, the sleeves long and flowing. Whenever she moved, the gown breathed with every little breeze that came to life, moving with her almost as if it had a life of its own.

  She continued to try thinking up reasons on why the demon would possibly lie to her. But the same one kept resurfacing, the only one that made complete sense. The demon had secrets, and he didn't want anyone to find out about them, even if that someone was a young woman who was possibly going to be stuck with him for the rest of her life.

  Bella lifted her brown eyes and gazed around to see where her wandering feet had led her while she hadn't been paying so much attention. She was back in the dining room, with the sinking sense that those overwhelming feelings were going to play out if she didn't continue on her way.

  "Bella," a voice snapped, making her jump, and she looked over to see Thais standing at the door that led to the entrance. Strangely, she was wearing pants. Strange because, in Bella's eyes—and most other humans—only men wore such things. But there she was, brown trousers and white button-up shirt with a few ruffles on the collar; the perfect outfit for a semi wealthy man, along with a pair of boots with lots of buckles and ties.

  "What are you wearing?" Bella asked incredulously, fighting off giggles. She had never even imagined women wearing such things. Now she was picturing men wearing dresses, which only made her giggle harder.

  Thais looked down at herself with a frown, then back up at Bella. She looked confused for a moment, then like she had just understood, lifting her head before lowering it to look down at herself again. Then she scowled at Bella. "Your kind are so picky. Trousers are completely incredible, you know. They make it easier to move. They would come in handy in a fight." Then she muttered, “Better than fighting in a dress.”

  Her giggles gone, the girl frowned at her. "Who are you fighting?"

  Looking like she wished she hadn't said anything, Thais pursed her lips and straigh
tened. "You have a guest that wishes to see you. She is waiting outside of the castle; in the gardens." She turned around, her back to Bella. "I trust you know your way." Then she was gone.

  Bella's frown deepened. Not only was the demon hiding secrets, but Thais as well? The whole castle probably was, at this point. It seemed that no one trusted her—or they shouldn't be trusted. Of course, why would a young human girl trust the Fae? And who was this mysterious guest that wanted to see Bella?

  Deciding it would be best to find out for herself rather than miss anything, Bella headed for the entrance of the castle, strolling right through the front doors. No one stopped her. And, it seemed, no one even so much as followed her, which she found strange since she seemed to have followers every step of the way. But now it was silent as she walked down the path of the gardens.

  Too silent.

  Standing in front of one of the many fountains was Yasandre, who was gazing anxiously around her, glaring into the dark, her eyes flinching whenever a torch off to the side flared with life like a fire breathing dragon. One would have thought that someone was making it do that on purpose.

  Like the last time Bella saw her, she had on little clothing. There was no trace of a weapon on her, though she didn't look like she even needed one. The scar on her face seemed to glow under what little light travelled through the darkness, white with a hue of pink.

  When she saw Bella, she threw her hands into the air. "Finally! Perhaps they will leave me be with you here." Bella frowned at her, confused, and she waved her hands. "Never mind that. How goes Kataros?"

  "Kataros..." Her eyes widened in acknowledgement. "So that's his name!" She had actually planned on implying that she hadn't thought he actually had a name, but she didn't want to feel like an idiot. She had only heard, after all, the others call him a beast or demon or Prince, but that was all.

  Yasandre stared at her, baffled. "He keeps you, yet does not give you his name. Strange. Actually, his name is pronounced quite differently, and spelled just as strangely, but it was decided to be changed. But, yes, that is what he's called."

  "Kataros is well," Bella said, happy to call him something other than "the demon" and such on. "His wounds are tended to."

  Nodding, she mused, “It is a good thing we just happened to hear you; though how we did is quite the mystery.” She tilted her head. “You were a distance from us that any would be unable to carry their voices over.”

  Bella frowned. “I never called for you...” Her eyes narrowed when Yasandre tilted her head. “There was another of your kind. Didn't she go to you and tell you about the dem—Kataros and I?” She blinked rapidly.

  Yasandre shook her head. “The ways of the woods are always alien even to the creatures that belong to it. I do not know who you spoke to, but her call echoed your voice and desperation, and my tuition told me to run to your aid.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Never the matter; wounds put aside, how is Kataros?”

  She scowled. "His attitude hasn't improved."

  Chuckling, Yasandre stared at the ground for a moment, eyes glazing over, then smiled. "Yes, he can be quite sour, can't he?" Then she looked at Bella. "I've been having your father looked over, to be sure that the Fae kept to their word."

  Heart fluttering, Bella's breath caught, and she pressed her lips together. "Is he well?"

  "He is well," she said with a nod. "Though, as soon as he had gotten back, he went straight into your town and told everyone that you were kidnapped."

  Bella wondered why this was, because her father never lied. She hadn't been kidnapped. She had voluntarily offered her life for his, so long as he was sent back home safely. Then she mentally kicked herself, reminding herself that he had promised not to tell anyone about the castle and what lay wait inside; so, he had found some other way to attempt to bring her back home, one that didn't break his promise.

  "Smart man," Bella murmured, gazing at the ground.

  "Several townsfolk helped him search a part of the woods, but they didn't make it past the border of the North," Yasandre continued. "My kind are making sure they stay away, as not to be harmed by the Fae." She narrowed her eyes. "You want this, yes?"

  Bella nodded frantically, not liking the idea of anyone getting hurt because of her, and she crossed her arms. "And how is it that you keep them away?"

  "We confuse their minds," she told her with a shrug. "We make them go in circles—get lost until they give up. One can only handle so much of seeing the same thing over and over again. And, fortunately the wolves are close enough to the border for them to hear their howls and be warded off." She frowned. "Though, there is one young man who will not give up. Muscular? Dark hair?"

  Chest hurting, and stomach hurtling, Bella bit her lip. "Jared." Of course, there were many, but he was the only man, besides her father, that she could think of that would be so stubborn as to keep searching for her.

  She nodded. "Yes, I do believe I heard one of the others call him that. We're frustrating him, so he seems to be finally giving up." Her frown deepened. "Scouts tell me that your father has been having night terrors."

  Bella looked up at the castle, then back at Yasandre. "I imagine anyone would, having been in this castle. There's something...dark about it."

  The past was that darkness, there was no doubt about it. With the ruins of the East Wing, and the leftover emotions in the dining room, Bella was quite certain that the castle had seen a lot, and she wondered what happened to the people who used to live in it so long ago. Did the demon and his kind kill them all? Were most of the Fae that wandered the halls humans once?

  "I used to have a brother, you know," Yasandre said abruptly, something Bella found a strange change of subject. When she looked over at her questioningly, she shrugged. "In my past life, I mean."

  "When you were human?" she asked curiously.

  She nodded. "He was my big brother, older than me by some years. We always got along, which isn't always usual for brothers and sisters. But then, I wasn't every other woman. I found joy in playing tricks just as he did." She smiled gently, staring at the fountain. "Sometimes I miss him."

  "What happened?" Bella asked.

  As sudden as the happy memory had appeared, a solemn one took its place, and she drew in a breath, eyes cold. "He was taken from me."

  Bella gave that some thought. Then, unsure of what else to say, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

  Yasandre looked over at her, a hand grazing the fountain, smiling a little. "You know, the Fae hate it when people say that. It disgusts them for some odd reason. Though I am one of them, I've never fully understood. It's insulting, apparently, to receive pity. But then, I've always hated pity, so I suppose I can relate." She stared down at the fountain again.

  After sitting a moment in silence, Bella decided she would rather speak up than ponder any longer, and now seemed the best moment to ask. "How did your lover die?"

  It seemed that she was going to regret the question with the look she earned from Yasandre, which was a mix between pain and anger, but then she merely sighed and sat at the edge of the fountain, gesturing for Bella to do the same beside her. As much as it unsettled her to be so close, Bella did so, hardly a foot away from the woman.

  After a moment's hesitation, Yasandre said, "He was cursed."

  "Cursed?" Bella asked, thinking that for some strange reason that sounded awfully familiar. It wasn't just the word, but the usage of it, that the lover had been cursed, and that's how he was gone. She looked deep into Yasandre's eyes, trying to understand—to remember—why it was so familiar to her at the moment, why the word stuck out to her so much. "How?"

  "A very powerful witch," she said, eyes hardening for a moment. She looked away. "I can't blame her."

  "Why?" she pressed.

  Yasandre sighed, rubbing the palms of her hands on her thighs, staring up at the castle with a forlorn gaze, then met Bella's own, pursing her lips. "His brother. He was loved by many; especially this witch."

  "What does he have to d
o with this?"

  She smiled—weakly. "He, my lover...tried to kill him."

  Bella sat there, baffled, trying to figure out what to say. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sum up the words. "I-I'm so-"

  "Please don't say that," Yasandre said with a harsh chuckle, staring at her feet. Her eyes were shining brightly, though they looked more dry than wet, like it was impossible for her to cry, and Bella imagined that it was. She couldn't picture a faerie crying, and she didn't think that they ever did.

  "I don't know what else to say," Bella murmured, wanting to reach out and grab her hand, hug her; anything.

  "Then perhaps it is best you don't say anything," Yasandre told her before standing up. She looked up at the castle. "I should go...before Kataros learns of my being here."

  "Why shouldn't he know?" Bella asked curiously as they stood, frowning.

  She smiled. "It's complicated." That said, she turned around and raced away, disappearing down the path.

  Bella frowned quizzically at her, then looked up the path, towards the castle. Kataros stood there, staring past her, where Yasandre had been. Then, without even casting Bella a glance, he turned around and went inside.

  "Everyone has a secret," Bella murmured. Then she, too, went back into the darkness of the castle, escaping from the brightening sky and sorrows unsaid.

  * * *

  "-but the enemy became-" Bella cut off, shaking her head as she frowned at the floor. She was in her room now. Only, instead of sleeping, she had taken to trying to remember a line from her favorite book; the book she was beginning to wish she had brought with her when she left home. It seemed absolutely necessary that she remember the line. But, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember it very well.

  Strange, since it was her favorite line.

  Bella stood, pacing over to her balcony, drawing the doors open as she gazed into the early morning sky, which had taken to a deep purple, fading into a pink towards the East. As she thought, she threw random words around, testing them on her tongue.