“What a beautiful night!” Helen looked up at the stars shining so brightly on them.
“Yes, it is.” They exchanged a smile, and slowly Bill began to talk of little things, their conversation comfortable. Her house was reached and Helen gave an inward sigh, glad to be so close to sleep.
“Good night, Bill. Thank you for taking me to the dance.” She waited, unsure of what else she should say.
“Helen, I…” Bill reached down to take one of her hands.
Blushing, Helen debated what to do.
“I would like you to know that I….”
She held her breath.
“I bought a house.”
He looked up and she frowned. “Your eyes are brown.”
“I…yes.”
“Not hazel.”
“Well, no.”
There was a silence as she tried to unscramble her thoughts.
“Helen, did you hear me before when I said I bought a house?”
“Yes.”
“I think…well, that is, I, well, I think that when you’re…well, when you’re…” He stopped, his cheeks rosy as he dropped her hand.
“I’m sorry Bill, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” She touched his arm. “Please tell me whatever it is you’d like to, and I’ll try not to distract you anymore.”
He blushed again and mumbled something about that being ‘impossible’, and tried once more, this time faster. “Miss…that is, Helen, I think when you’re in love you ought to tell the person.”
Truth. “When you’re…in love?”
He smiled, his face clearing. “Yes. When their face is everywhere, following you throughout your day.”
She whispered. “Haunting your dreams.”
“When you wonder where they are and what they’re doing and –”
“And every minute of the day you miss them, because they’ve become almost a physical part of you.”
He reached for her hand again. “Exactly.”
She looked up at him, her face stricken. “I didn’t realize.”
“What?”
She pulled her hand away and began to pace. “When you’re in love. I didn’t realize.”
“I don’t understand.”
She stopped. “Bill, I’m sorry. I have to go!” She hurried to run past him, knowing exactly what she needed to do.
Dear Paul and Jack,
Dearest brothers, I write this as I pack to leave you for a while. Forgive me, but I feel pulled by the thread that binds me to my beast. I must find a way to end this curse, which only means I believe in fate, but I also believe that fate is on my side. I know this because I recognize how she has been pushing me every step of the way.
I promise we will be together soon.
Helen
***
A cloaked figure sped down the streets of Litmore, the stable master shaking his head at the ridiculous sum she’d paid him to borrow the horse.
It was a full day’s ride, and she knew she was there when she felt rain wet her face. She dismounted and raced up the steps to knock on the door.
“Miss Helen!” Nate stood in shock as he held it open.
“Please, where is he?”
“I’m not sure.”
She ran past him and down the hall, then pushed with her whole body as she slowly opened the great heavy doors to the den. “Luke?”
“He’s outside, Helen.” Stella stood in the doorway shaking her head.
“Of course…”
“It’s good to see you, but, oh Helen, I’m not sure you should have come back.”
“Oh Stella, it’s –”
“No, whatever you’re going to say, no. The rain will stop someday. It will, but you coming here will only make it worse.” But Stella could only gape as Helen ran past her and through the back door.
Down the path she flew, past the haughty roses, the efficient fountain and the nodding hydrangeas. And there was the blue garden, bluer and bolder in the rain, with Luke in the middle, his head tilted to catch every drop on his face.
“Luke.” She breathed and he turned.
“Helen.” He was by her side in a moment, sniffing her hair, as the sky immediately cleared.
“Luke!” She giggled. “Your nose tickles. And you smell wet.”
He sat back. “I am wet.”
“I know. What an awful way to take a bath.”
He rumbled a laugh as the sun peeked out. “You weren’t supposed to come back.”
“I had to. Luke, however long it takes, I must break the curse.”
He snorted and turned to walk away. “You should not have come back, dear heart.”
Helen took a breath, all of a sudden nervous. “Why is that?”
“Because your hope only hurts us.” His great body moved up and down as he took a breath, and slowly he turned to face her. “I love you, Helen. But it took me this long to only make it rain. You must leave, because I cannot take you leaving over and over again.”
“But I –”
“Please.” His simple request bowed her head as she nodded. Stepping forward, she hugged him, the wetness seeping through her clothes.
“Luke, before I leave, I must tell you…” His hazel eyes met her own. “I love you.”
A clap of thunder broke the sky. It was so loud, that she took a step back, and looked up. A streak of lightning came down and hit Luke, and she gasped as he fell, his body writhing in response. She stepped forward, unsure of how to save him. And then she realized the lightning had stopped, but Luke was still twisting and turning and flailing. Horrified, she continued to watch, as his body flipped upright. His face shrunk as his limbs narrowed and his tail disappeared. Her eyes wide, she watched as the monster became the man, dropping to the ground face down in their blue garden.
Pulling her courage around her, she stepped forward, the only hint of life the movement of his back rising and falling. Undoing her cloak, she laid it on top of him then reached out to lay her hand on his head. “Luke?”
He turned his face to look at her, then slowly began to stand, the cloak clutched around him with one hand while the other ran over his face in amazement.
“Helen. Helen, you did it.”
Helen watched his dark brown hair fall across his forehead, her gaze focusing on the familiar hazel eyes. “Luke? No, this…this is…we…did we really?”
He cupped her face in his hand. “I hoped, more than I had in many years, but…”
She covered his hand with her own. “You look so different, I mean of course you do, but...”
He laughed, the sound human, his chest no longer rumbling and she sighed.
“Marry me, dear heart. And then we will have our whole lifetime together, loving what we know and learning what we don’t.”
Her reply was interrupted by Cook’s voice. “Well, I guess you can come back into the kitchen again.”
They giggled as more servants come forward to shake hands, and delight in the breaking of their curse. Nate pulled him away to give him a set of clothes, which Luke grumbled about being too constricting. Helen blushed as he came back to her side, his eyes hungry as he looked at her.
“Helen, you did love him. I told you.” Susan grinned, elbowing Stella, who was bouncing as Ben tugged on her hand.
She looked at Luke, learning his face, her own expressing wonder at their ending. He reached out and pulled his fingers through her hair, his smile growing. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
Helen’s eyebrows popped up. “That’s it? You’ve been wanting to play with my hair? Luke, you batted it around like a ball of yarn for months.”
He looked down at her lips. “Well, I was little too large to do this.” And bending down, he kissed her, the claps of joy and shouts of hurrah cheering them on.
Epilogue
True love was the mighty end to a mighty curse, and Lady Catherine Bromwell was too old to torment Luke anymore. Instead she made life miserable for many others; their stories are often told by the Broth
ers Grimm.
Paul married Susan shortly after Helen married Luke. He continued to publish more of Helen’s stories, which Susan illustrated.
Jack decided to marry Alice when he was nineteen, but changed his mind and decided on Betsy when he was twenty. He changed his mind again, settling on a girl named Martha, who wisely requested an immediate ceremony. They had fourteen children; none of them were twins.
Mr. Manwaring lived to one hundred and seven (some say out of sheer spite). Rose eventually left him to marry a grocer. Her knack made their marriage tolerable.
Stella and Ben married as well, and eventually Cook and Nate and the rest of Luke’s household found their place in a world where they no longer were bound by a curse.
With the ending of the curse came the end of the Duke of Cartwright. Instead, Mr. Luke Cartright took his beautiful bride with him as they traveled the world with his father-in-law’s inventions. The Clearwater machine was never sold, only given freely to any town that wished for it. Their children’s children’s children tell their story when it rains and everyone has the sniffles. Great Grandfather Ashland’s Everlasting tissues are passed around as they all speak of true love and the story of The Unbreakable Curse. No one ever gets a rash.
About the Author
Jenna lives in a quiet little valley surrounded by mountains where she uses writing as a creative outlet.
Upcoming works include the second and third books in the Dear Friend Regency series. A mystery and a fantasy are both in the works as well.
The idea for The Unbreakable Curse came when I asked, “What if ‘Beauty’ wasn’t the confident driven woman we usually picture her as? What if her father would never have given her to the beast? What if, what if, what if? Before I knew it, I was writing stories for Helen to tell Luke, as other vignette fairy tales begged to be told. I spent precious time watching my cat for hints of what Luke might do, and when I realized Helen was going to be a good cook, I used recipes I already knew and loved. My croissant recipe that is unfailingly good comes from the Model Bakery cookbook, and the stuffed bread is an easy way to make lunch out of your homemade bread.
You can find Jenna online at jennathatcher.wordpress.com or feel free to add her as a friend on Goodreads. (Any and all reviews are very welcome!) Or you can email her at:
[email protected]
Book Club Questions
What if Helen had never been kidnapped? Or, what if she had been able to escape and return home? How do you think that would have changed things?
Helen’s character is quieter, her personality sweet rather than the stronger voices that pervade modern society. How would this entire story have been different with a different personality?
Do you believe you control your fate? Or do you believe you’re on a set path with no control? Are there any experiences you’ve had that prove your belief, or do you feel it is something you have a personal faith in?
Traumatic experiences can have incalculable consequences on someone’s life. Why do you think Helen was able to heal so well? Do you know others that have healed well after a traumatic experience? What was it that allowed them to do so well emotionally?
The Unbreakable Curse: A Beauty & the Beast Retelling Page 16
