Many Beauty and the Many Beast

by Felicity Collins

  "Is 3 p.m. in the music room good for our lute lessons?" she asked her. Anna's eyes beamed with excitement

  "Yes, of course! That'd be awesome!" she answered brightly.

  "Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then"

  "Of course!" Skylynn gave us a smile, a nod of the head and left. I stood there for a moment, while Anna was squealing in excitement holding Kristoff's hands and jumping up and down, ranting about something.

  "Isn't it awesome, Elsa?! I'm getting lute lessons from my idol!" she asked me gleaming with excitement.

  "Hm?" was my smart answer

  "What is it?" she said looking at me in the eyes "And don't tell me it is something bothering you, because this conversation didn't seem very suspicious to me"

  "I agree" said Kristoff.

  "No!" I said immediately "It's just… did I just make friends with Queen Skylynn, the heroine of Drakora, who is none other than our attempted murderer's sister?" I asked.

  "You make becoming friends with the Heroine of Drakora sound like something terrible" Kristoff commented.

  "Is it, though?" I asked

  "Nah…" Anna said "I think this is going to be interesting"

  "Interesting?" I repeated raising an eyebrow

  "Well, I wouldn't say you two are friends. Let's say this means you two are not going to fight like cats and dogs anymore" Anna said

  "I will have to agree with Feisty-Pants over here" Kristoff added. Well, they are probably right. Maybe Skylynn and I aren't exactly friends, but this could be the start of an interesting acquaintance.

  Hans' POV:

  Two weeks passed since I was transferred to this guest room to heal my back wounds. I started going to work with the ice harvesters last week. The doctor said that putting me back in the dungeons would be dangerous because the wounds could still get infected, so the queen decided it would have been better to leave me in the guest room, guarded 24/7, until I was fully healed. I haven't seen Elsa since our last conversation. Actually, the only times I have seen her it was through the door while she talked to the doctor, then she would leave and the doctor would get completely out of the door and close it. She would occasionally glance at me from the distance, but looked away immediately every time she would check on me and see I was looking at her, studying her. Skylynn would come visit me every day before going to sleep and ask me how I was and how was it going in the mountains. To tell you the truth, Kristoff was going easy on me… just because Elsa reported him what the doctor told her. I know that once I'm fully healed he is going to be hard on me with the job. Skylynn also told me she was giving Anna lute lessons and that she was kind of good at it. She also told me how panicked Elsa looked when Anna asked first for violin lessons and I couldn't help but laugh. It felt weird and… good to have a genuine laugh after so long.

  "I can imagine the scene. 'Anna' + 'violin'? Not a good match" I said sitting down on my bed next to Skylynn who had already made herself comfortable lying on it.

  "But she's quite good with the lute. She says that this way she'll be able to play something with Kristoff since he plays the lute already" Sky said smiling "Speaking of Kristoff-"

  "-He's going easy on me, Sky. Don't worry" I said reassuring her "The doctor said to pass on the hard labor only when I'm fully recovered"

  "Is the food good?" Skylynn asked.

  "Just like eating again is good" I said. Really, it was good to finally eat regularly and healthy food "Have I gained a few pounds?" I asked.

  "Not yet" Sky said with a smile "But that's good to hear and it's good to see you finally cut those awful sideburns"

  "I didn't want them to, but they shaved me completely" I said "How do I look?" I asked.

  "Much better… I hated those sideburns" she answered.

  "I should have known… you kind of made it quite clear to me when I first grew them"

  "What can I say? To me, you either grow a full beard, preferably stubble like, or you don't grow a beard at all"

  "Good thing I didn't grow a mustache" I commented

  "I would have disowned you as a brother if you did" she said and we laughed. Every night Skylynn would come see me it would go like this: we would talk about random things. We would laugh together again, talking about stuff. Those couple of hours before going to sleep were our brother-sister bonding time. But Skylynn didn't come just for bonding. I knew why she was doing this, she wanted me to keep my mind off of things and wanted to check on me. I wanted her to keep her mind off things too, plus… I had missed her in these past two years and I wanted to catch up with her. I didn't ask her how Landon died though. Not yet, at least. I didn't even ask her about Storm and that was one of the last things I needed to do. I knew too well what happened between those two. Anyway, we were catching up, talking like nothing I did ever happened. Elsa was right… I didn't deserve a sister like her. Anyway, although we talked a lot, Skylynn usually would ask me some things about myself, things that I wouldn't answer her, because I knew what she was doing. She was psychoanalyzing me, she was trying to get into my mind to figure out what I was really thinking. She was doing that to see if I was acting, playing the 'good recovering patient' part only to go throw myself off a cliff once I was fine. Although I wouldn't do that, at least not after what Elsa told me. Skylynn knew that I had realized the true purpose of some of her questions and that I was avoiding to answer her. It was a Master vs Scholar battle. Sky and I were connecting again, but there was still something off, like a thin line still keeping us apart. It had been during one of those nights when that realization dawned on me. It was the night I asked her about Landon. That question was supposed to break that thin line, but it only made it turn into a wall.

  "Sky, if you don't mind me asking. What happened to Landon?" I asked her. Skylynn's bright silver eyes darkened as she looked down.

  "It happened during a trip to Shergan" she started "We were going to meet its King to talk about trading matters. Landon and I had long talked about this and everything was ready. I was supposed to be there mainly for support and presence. Angel came with us as well and her fiancée was Drakora's regent while we were gone. It was supposed to be a peaceful trip, but it didn't turn out to be like that…"

  (A/N: Bold: Drakorian, Italics: English)

  Skylynn's Flashback...

  We were in a carriage, enjoying the view. Angel, Landon and I were conversing lightheartedly, although I was about to fall asleep leaning against my husband's shoulder. We were about to cross the border when the carriage suddenly stopped.

  "Why did we stop?" Angel asked in Drakorian, looking outside the window.

  "I don't know" Landon replied. Suddenly we heard a yelp of pain and shouting from the soldiers following the carriage.

  "IT'S AN AMBUSH!" a soldier shouted in Drakorian.

  "PROTECT THE CARRIAGE!"- "THE KING!" – "DEFEND THE QUEEN!"- "PROTECT THE PRINCESS!" shouted other soldiers as the sound of swords clanking against each other filled the air.

  "Skylynn, Angel, stay in here" Landon said and got out of the carriage taking out his sword.

  "No! Landon! Wait!" shouted Angel.

  "The hell I'm staying in here!" I said getting out of the carriage unsheathing my sword.

  "Skylynn, stop! Don't!" she yelled.

  "Whatever happens stay in here, Angel" I said and immediately joined Landon and the soldiers in the fight. Bandits on the frontier had attacked the carriage probably hoping to find something to steal. These guys were tough, Landon and I fought with the few soldiers alive. Until one of the bandits got closer to the carriage and opened it. I heard Angel scream my name as the bandit forcefully pulled her out of the carriage. Angel tried to fight back, and for a moment she managed to slide the bandit's dagger out of his sheath and tried to hit him. But unlike with a sword, Angel wasn't a knife expert. The bandit blocked the hit, easily disarmed her and pushed her to the ground. Angel wasn't a damsel in distress, but she stayed on the ground, not moving away. It could only have meant that falling she had hit her head hard.
The bandit, dint' waste any time as he raised his sword to kill her with a final blow.

  "ANGEL!" I heard Landon yell as he tried to run to his sister, but was blocked by two men. I swiftly got rid of the bandit I was facing and before the outlaw could strike her, blocked the hit and killed the bandit who was about to murder Angel. The man fell dead on the ground in a pool of blood. I immediately turned to Angel. She had indeed hit her head on the hard carriage wheel. I called her name and snapped my fingers in front of her as her confused eyes finally set on me, focusing. I was relieved in hearing her say that although her head hurt, she was okay, when I asked her how she was feeling. The moment I was about to help her up though, her eyes froze in terror.

  "Skylynn, behind you!" Angel shouted. I turned around and my relief turned into horror. A bandit had sneaked behind me and would have killed me, if Landon hadn't put himself between me and the sword. The blade pierced right through him. As the killer drew back his sword from his body, Angel grabbed Landon as he fell on the ground while I, blinded by rage ,jumped up and attacked the man slashing right through him and the next two who came at me. With those three dead as well, the others retreated in fear. I put my sword back and immediately ran back to Landon who was laying on the ground in a pool of blood, while his sister held him. In a moment I was at his side and looked at the wound.

  "We need to stop the blood! Someone get some rags! Help me put him in the carriage!" I shouted desperately. The men that were still alive sprang into action only to be stopped by Landon's hoarse voice.

  "No, Sky…" he said

  "I'm not letting you die!" I said firmly with tears threatening to fall down.

  "Sky… I'm not going to make it" he said weakly

  "I didn't have you to survive the revolution only to die on us now, Landon!" said Angel with her voice strong but tears streaming down her face.

  "What are you waiting for?! Get the rags!" I shouted in Drakorian.

  "Skylynn" Landon called cupping my cheek with his hand "This is a battle you can't win… and you know it" I looked down hiding my watery eyes to the soldiers who were looking at us. Landon then spoke in Drakorian to the both of us. He wanted the soldiers to hear his last words clearly. "Angel" he started looking at his sister as she held his hand tightly "You've always been my right hand… now, I need you to be Skylynn's"

  "I will, I promise" Angel said

  "I was looking forward to walk you down the aisle" he said weakly but smiled at his little sister "I love you, Angie" Angel couldn't say anything but manage to sob out a quiet 'I love you, too' holding his hand tightly. Then he turned to me. "Skylynn" he said caressing my cheek "You're the only ruler Drakora has now, you're its queen… and our kingdom couldn't ask for a better leader"

  "I can't do this, Landon. I'm not a real queen" I answered in Drakorian

  "Yes, you are... you are stronger than you think… you're ready for this…" he coughed "You are a natural leader, Sky, you've got the heart of a queen… and the soul of a warrior... our kingdom needs you, our people needs you" he coughed again "Sky, I love you... I've never loved anyone the way I love you… and knowing that you are my wife, that you chose me, is more than enough… I can die happy" he coughed again "But Drakora needs an heir and-"

  "Landon, no. I can't-"

  "-Wait, let me finish" he said weakly "Drakora needs an heir, but what I'm going to ask you now… it's not for the kingdom…" he paused coughing again "You are young and beautiful, Sky… so… move on from me"

  "No. I can't forget you" I said running my fingers through his blonde hair.

  "I'm not asking you to forget me… I'm asking you to be happy" he coughed again "We said'til death do us part'… I'm dying, Sky… but you… live on your life, find someone, allow yourself to fall in love again, remarry, have kids… don't do this for the kingdom, do it for yourself" he stroke my cheek "Let me go… move on… promise me you will" I shook my head "Promise me" he said forcing me to look at him in the eyes "Promise me" he repeated as I grabbed the hand he had on my face.

  "I promise" I said as I felt a tear fall down my cheek.

  "I'm proud of you, Sky. You are going to be the greatest queen Drakora has ever had" he paused inhaling with difficulty "I love you"

  "I love you too" I said and kissed him one last time before he closed his eyes and exhaled his last breath. Angel started calling his name shaking him as she cried over her brother. It dawned on me what I had and was expected to do now. I was fully in charge of a kingdom, the kingdom of Drakora, the kingdom of warlords, a kingdom where leaders and warriors can't show weakness. The queen of Drakora can't show weakness, Drakora needs a strong leader, a leader with an iron fist in a velvet glove and that's what I'm going to be. I forced down the tears that wanted to fall out in rivers and pulled Angel to me hugging her tight to comfort her as she cried in my shoulder, clenching at my jacket like her life depended on it.

  "The King is dead" declared one of the soldiers.

  "Your Majesty" said one of the soldiers walking next to me "What do we need to do?" he asked. Quietly, I stood up, pulling Angel up with me.

  "We need pyres. We need a pyre for King Landon and today's fallen ones" I said then I saw another warrior "Soldier, get back on your horse and tell the King of Shergan we what happened and that we'll be there tomorrow"

  "Yes, your Majesty!" said the soldier and did as ordered. A little while later, we were all looking at the burning pyres sailing further away in the lake, they were all burning except for one: Landon's. As the pyre sailed away, I grabbed the bow Angel offered me with silent tears, set the tip of an arrow on fire, aimed and shot the first arrow to the King's pyre, Angel went second and her arrow was soon followed by the others shot by the soldiers.

  "King Landon III of Drakora, God bless his soul" said our lieutenant and the soldiers repeated. I stood there silently, I let only one tear go down my cheek, but my heart was in pieces… I felt… empty. I felt devastated… it felt like someone had kicked me in the gut, ripping my heart out of my chest, but I also felt in complete numbness. The wedding ring on my left ring finger felt terribly heavy and scorching hot. As I looked at Landon's flaming pyre sailing further away in the lake, Angel walked next to me and slipped her hand in mine.

  "You're not going to be only in charge of the army anymore. You'll have to take over Landon's royal duties as well" she said in her thick Drakorian accent. (A/N: Greek accent)

  "I know" There was a moment of silence

  "You're ready for this, Sky" she said "Landon believed in you and so do I" I turned around to look at her. Her blue eyes red and puffy from crying.

  "Thank you" Angel gave my hand a small squeeze and we turned around to face the few soldiers, then she spoke in Drakorian "Drakorians! You have your one and true Queen!" she declared raising my hand in the air.

  "Queen Skylynn I of Drakora!" they shouted "Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!"

  End Skylynn's Flashback...

  Hans' POV:

  As Skylynn ended her tale, I could see her eyes were watery, but she hadn't shed a tear. I pulled her into a tight hug as I felt silent tears soaking my shirt. But soon after, she pulled back drying the tears from her eyes.

  "I'm okay…" she said "It's the first time I actually tell the story to someone. There was no need to do so in Drakora"

  "Do you feel better?" I asked her.

  "If I had told you a year ago, I would probably be crying my eyes out right now so… yeah… I feel better" she said "Angel was actually my shoulder to cry on when I finally let it all out"

  "What do you mean 'finally'?" I asked surprised "You couldn't mourn your husband once you were alone?!"

  "No, it's not that" she said "What you just said kind of makes me think of the conversation I had with Angel before my breakdown. We were alone in my chambers, a month after Landon's death, and Angel told me that she couldn't help but notice something"

  "You never cried" I said and she nodded

  "She didn't mean it
like 'you didn't cry because you didn't love him', she meant that I couldn't hold everything inside and that I had to let go sooner or later"

  "How did you do it for a month?" Skylynn sighed.

  "I don't really know" she said "All I know is that I felt more than I could and was allowed to express… I was heartbroken… part of me still is. Landon was my first love, Hans and when I married him, it meant that I wanted him to be my last… But as queen I have the duty to be an example to my people and that means I can't show weakness to them. No matter what or how I feel, I need to be strong for my people. Drakora says 'family comes first' but it looks like this works for everyone except for the monarch. I lead a country where I don't have the luxury to be as merciful as Elsa, to be… myself, like her. Iron fist and velvet glove, that's how I need to rule and what my people want in a ruler. As queen I also need to represent my kingdom and if I show weakness, others will think that Drakora is weak and that's an insult to every Drakorian. What makes the pressure from the outside worse is my age and my situation as a bastard, heroine or not. My people have certain expectations from me and I can't let them down" Skylynn explained. She took a deep breath and spoke up again "Anyway, Angel said that when I would want to let it all out she would have been there and be my shoulder to cry on since I had been hers and now it was her turn… then I broke down… but I felt so much better afterwards… the day after, I took off the wedding ring… and wore it as a necklace ever since, hanging right next to yours" she said, briefly taking her wedding ring out of her shirt so that I could see it, then she put it back in place. I didn't say anything, I just hugged her again. We didn't say much afterwards.

  That night it had seriously dawned on me: my baby sister wasn't a kid anymore. I already knew that Skylynn was already mature for her age, but that night I really had realized that Skylynn was a grown woman, brave, smart and independent. It fell on me like a ton of bricks that even if I was her mentor, her big brother, the one she would usually look up to for support, Skylynn didn't need me anymore. I'm the elder sibling not her and look at the situation! Who is the one who is more likely to be cooped up in death road? She is, the younger sibling. Who is the one who is supposed to save his sibling's butt from death road? I am, the eldest. Who is the one who is supposed to put his neck on the line for his sibling? The eldest, I am. Who is the one who is supposed to knock some sense into his suicidal sibling? The eldest, which is me. Who is the one who should be comforting his sibling? Me, the eldest. This is the way the situation should be, not the other way around!