The Beast's Bride

by Myles, Jill

  Wasn't he just as bored as they were, being by himself with no one to talk to but the boar-headed butler or the cat-headed maids?

  As bored as I am, she corrected after a moment, wincing as Belle chattered on and pulled her hair into a tight twist. Belle didn't seem annoyed by their confinement at all. In fact, she seemed rather…happy.

  Yet another problem. Belle was pleased as punch to be hidden away from the beast. The beast was happy to hide them away. Neither seemed to be conducive to a relationship. She had to shake this up somehow.

  "All done," Belle announced happily. "Let me get the mirror and show you." She bounded off the bed and went to a nearby dresser, pulling out a tiny round metal object and handed it to Pippa.

  Pippa examined it. It wasn't like any mirror she'd ever seen—its glass was thick and wavy, and it was smaller than she'd expected, being no larger than her hand. But she held it up and examined her reflection thoughtfully. There was a slight distortion of her features in the mirror's fuzzy glass, but she could tell that Belle had done an incredible job with Pippa's tangled hair. An intricate braid curved her head like a crown, with smaller, more tightly braided pieces woven through it like a decorative band. Along her brow and near her ears, she'd left a few small strands of hair loose, softening the look. Pippa looked almost pretty. Regal. Like a real fairy-tale princess.

  She turned to Belle and smiled. "It's gorgeous."

  Belle clapped her hands happily. "You look lovely! Now do me."

  Pippa did her best with Belle's hair, but the lovely blonde was as wiggly as a puppy as she continued to chatter on, filling the silence of the room with one-sided conversation. Pippa wasn't 4a great braider herself, but Belle didn't need much ornamentation. Her golden hair was lush with waves, and so Pippa simply pulled it into a thick french braid and wove a bright red ribbon through it. Belle would look beautiful in anything, she thought, and she couldn't even be jealous.

  Belle was too sweet, too open. Of course she was utterly gorgeous. She was just Belle. That was how things were.

  As she tied off the ribbon into a loose bow at the tail of Belle's fat, golden braid, a knock sounded at the door to their room. Both women startled, and Belle's stream of chatter abruptly died.

  "I'll get it," Pippa told her, and she bounded over the side of the bed to answer the door.

  The boar-headed butler was there, and he gestured that they should follow him down the hall.

  Pippa glanced back at Belle. "Time for dinner."

  Belle swallowed hard, but she gave a brave nod.

  The two women followed the silent butler through the maze of the castle halls. Pippa thought the hallways were beginning to look familiar, but she could have been mistaken. A lot of the doors and the stonework looked alarmingly similar.

  When they entered the great hall, though, she was surprised—and pleased—to see that it had been decorated. When Pippa had first seen this room, it had been silent and empty, devoid of everything. Now a fire blazed in the enormous stone fireplace at the far end of the hall. A massive wooden table had been set up for dining, with three chairs at the far end: two on one side, one on the other. A bright red decorative table runner had been laid down the center of the table, and the walls hung with colorful banners of the same vivid red. As Pippa passed one of the banners, she noticed the gold embroidery lining the edges. It was set with the crest of a lion roaring. She glanced over at the decor and wondered if it was a coincidence that they resembled the beast. Probably not.

  Their host lurked at the far end of the room. He'd changed into new clothing for their dinner, a white shirt evident under his ever-present cloak, and he wore a pair of puffy-seeming pants that went to the knee. She would have laughed at the get-up on a human man, but there was no laughing at the beast. Instead, Pippa was pleased that he was trying so hard. Even his lion mane seemed combed. She cast him a beaming smile even as Belle slid a little closer to her.

  "Good evening," Pippa said cheerfully.

  He said nothing, but gestured at the table, indicating that the women should sit.

  4Belle automatically went to the side of the table with the two chairs, her hand still clutching tightly at Pippa's sleeve.

  Pippa frowned at the place settings. Two chairs on one side, obviously for two sisters. But if they sat across from the beast instead of next to him, they'd be losing out on a superb opportunity. Pippa detangled her arm from Belle's and pulled her chair out for her sister, an idea forming in her mind.

  Like Pippa hoped, Belle sat down in the chair offered her.

  Immediately, Pippa went to the opposite side of the table and sat in the chair by itself.

  Belle made a terrified whine of protest and started to get up.

  "Come and sit?" Pippa asked the beast, gesturing at the chair she'd left for him.

  As she watched, his leonine eyes narrowed at her, but he obligingly went and sat next to Belle. Her sister's back went ramrod straight, her body stiff with a mixture of distaste and fear, and her big eyes pleaded with Pippa to change seats with her.

  Pippa ignored it. She smiled brightly at the two sitting across from her. "So what's on the menu tonight?"

  "Venison stew."

  "Oh good," Pippa said. "For a moment there, I was worried you were going to say pork."

  Given the look of their butler, that would have been rather hard to stomach. When the beast's eyes narrowed again, she added, "I'm just famished, and I love venison stew."

  Belle looked confused for a moment. "You do?"

  Pippa kicked her under the table.

  Belle's lower lip thrust out in a pout, and she went silent.

  As the odd butler came by the table and began to set out delicate plates for them, Pippa fiddled with the folds of her skirt. The room had gotten quiet again, and she guessed that was to be expected. She doubted the beast was good at small talk, she certainly wasn't, and Belle wasn't chatty when she was in the same room as the beast. Still, it was awkward.

  No better time than to give her apology to the beast. "I wanted to say that I was sorry, by the way."

  The beast looked away from Belle and back over to Pippa, his furry brows creasing. "Sorry?"

  She nodded. "When I said what I said earlier, I was rather mean to you. It was unthinking of me and I apologize. You've been very kind to us so far."

  4This time, Belle was the one that kicked her under the table, a silent statement of disagreement. Pippa scowled at Belle and rubbed her shin. Dang! Belle had stabby, pointy little toes. Pippa was going to have a bruise in the morning if she did that again.

  "I was not offended," the beast said in a low, almost growly voice. "You are in a strange place. You are bound to be a bit overwhelmed." He glanced over at Belle. "I know you are here for me."

  Belle was silent. She seemed to be physically leaning away, scooting to the far side of her wooden chair as if she could somehow escape her dinner companion. Her gaze remained glued to Pippa's face.

  "We are," Pippa said. "Belle's here to marry you, and I'm here to, uh, smooth things along."

  "You could marry him," Belle said in an unhappy voice.

  "No, I can't," Pippa said, straining to keep the cheer in her voice.

  "Papa said either one of us, though," Belle pointed out as stew was ladled in front of her.

  Pippa kept the smile gritted on her face. All right, Belle, you little shit, Pippa thought. Don't make me come over there. "But you're the young, pretty one. I'm too old to marry. A spinster.

  And not pretty."

  The beast was silent, watching their exchange.

  "Who cares if you're pretty?" Belle said with a sulk in her voice. "He's a beast."

  "Belle," Pippa warned. "Be nice. We're his guests, and you're going to marry him."

  Belle shook her head and turned pale, pushing the newly-filled bowl away from her as if she'd lost her appetite.

  Pippa kept smiling like a fool, even though her face was starting to feel the strain of it. She was not going to let Belle destro
y this. Muffin had told her this would be a challenge, but Belle would just have to freaking get over it. If she would only take a minute, she would realize the beast could be quite nice.

  Theoretically.

  She picked up her spoon and ladled a bit of stew, tasting it. Delicious. She smiled encouragingly at Belle and took another bite.

  The boar-headed butler returned a moment later with a covered silver platter and placed it in front of the beast. For the first time, Pippa noticed that he did not have a soup bowl in front of him. Uh oh.

  4The butler removed the lid from the platter. Chunks of raw meat lay on a large plate, fresh and bloody. The meat had been cut into bite-sized pieces and piled onto the plate and rested in a small river of dark blood. As Pippa spooned stew to her mouth, the beast stabbed a chunk of bloody meat with his fork and ate it, chewing methodically. Raw.

  Belle blanched. Pippa did the same, though she tried to hide it a bit better. Raw…meat? Dear lord. Was the man determined to make it impossible to pull him and Belle together?

  The beast saw their expressions, and Pippa could have sworn that his lion-jaw clenched a little. He put his fork down, his paw resting on the table between himself and Belle. He looked over at his bride to be, but she just cringed and stared at the floor.

  This was not going well. Time for drastic measures. Pippa got up from her chair and straightened her skirts. "I need to use the uh, facilities. I'll be right back."

  Belle sat on the edge of her seat, alarm written into her lovely features. "But—"

  Pippa waved a hand at Belle. "I'll be right back. Don't wait for me. Just keep enjoying your dinner."

  Belle's gaze dropped back to the ground.

  The beast frowned in Pippa's direction.

  God, did she have to spell it out for him? She gave the beast a meaningful look and a head nod, indicating that he should converse with Belle while she was gone. When he still looked blank, she raised a hand and made a talking gesture, then swiftly exited the room, congratulating herself on her brilliance. After all, it would be much harder to ignore the beast if he was talking directly to Belle, right? Right. Pippa grabbed her skirts and headed down the hall. She paused in a nearby alcove and sat on a stone windowsill, waiting.

  There were no clocks in the enchanted castle, so she stared at her nails and out the dark window as she waited for time to pass. Mentally, she tried to tick the minutes. Surely it had been at least five minutes at this point. Maybe ten? She waited a bit longer, her foot tapping impatiently. She had to give them time to get to know each other, she told herself. This had to work.

  The sound of a door slamming caught Pippa's attention. Someone was coming out? She

  peeked out of her alcove, confused.

  At the far end of the hall, Belle dashed out of the dining hall and ran away. Even from the opposite end of the hallway, Pippa could hear the loud sobs of her sister.

  4Well, shit.

  Frustrated, Pippa headed back toward the dining hall. Before she could open the door, the beast stormed out. He took one look at Pippa's surprised face, snarled, and stormed down the hall in the opposite direction.

  Okay, so her great plan had ended up being not so great. With an unhappy sigh, Pippa headed off after Belle, suspecting that a long evening of soothing Belle's frazzled nerves and convincing her of what a great guy the beast was lay before her.

  ~~***~~

  The next morning, there was a soft knock at the door. Pippa climbed out of bed and answered it as Belle snored on, squinting at the early morning sunlight.

  The boar-headed butler was there at the door, another silver platter in his hands. He indicated that she should step out into the hallway.

  Pippa did so, curious. She shut the door carefully behind her and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her nightgown close to her body. "Breakfast?" she asked with a yawn.

  He shook his head and lifted the lid off of the platter.

  A single white handkerchief lay upon a plate.

  Pippa leaned over it, and then touched it to see if it was covering anything. Nope, just the handkerchief. Confused, she looked at the butler. "I don't understand?"

  He picked it up and waved the handkerchief in the air. She stared at him, frowning.

  And then it dawned on her. "Surrender?"

  He nodded.

  A triumphant smile curved Pippa's mouth. "He wants my help, doesn't he?"

  Again, the butler nodded.

  Maybe last night's dinner fiasco had been a good thing after all. "Give me time to get dressed."

  ~~***~~

  Dressing in medieval clothing? Not so much fun. For one, the lacing of the bodice was not a solo task, and Pippa was trying to be stealthy. By the time she struggled into lacing herself up, 4she was sure that either Belle would have woken up or the butler would have disappeared. But that wasn't the case, and when she slipped back into the hallway, he nodded at her and then gestured for her to follow him.

  She did and, a few minutes later, she found herself standing in front of a wooden door that looked rather familiar. The butler left her there, and Pippa lifted a hand and quietly knocked.

  "Enter," called the beast.

  Pippa pushed the door open and was not surprised to see the beast's messy chamber in front of her. There was daylight this time, at least, filtering in through the half-torn curtain over the dusty window. By daylight, though, the state of the room was even worse—now she could see fine cobwebs in the corners of the room and a light layer of dust on everything. The floor was covered with bits of broken wood and crockery. It was like he just didn't care.

  And that was sad, really.

  Her gaze wandered over the mess until she found him, curled up on a couch, his cloak acting as a blanket. His massive back was to her. Sulking, she guessed.

  There was a fire in the fireplace again, and she carefully avoided it and moved to the center of the room. Pippa clasped her hands in front of her and kept her face impassive. "You asked to see me?"

  "I yield," he said in a dull voice.

  "Oh?"

  "Your sister hates me. She will never consent to be my bride."

  Pippa traced her initials in the layer of dust on a nearby table. "Not with the way things are going, no. So what are you going to do about it?"

  He rolled over and sat up, and gave her a look of utter frustration. "Do? What do you propose I do, lady? Your sister cannot stand the sight of me."

  For some reason, his annoyance made her feel a bit better. Anything was better than that depression. Pippa waved a hand casually. "Belle's just a bit flighty. You need to make her see past the fangs and fur and to the true heart of you."

  That made him bare his teeth. "Lady, this is the real me."

  "Okay. Then you need lessons on wooing a woman, because you're failing miserably. That's what I'm here to help with." She glanced around, and then brushed a hand over the red velvet seat of a nearby chair, dusting it off. The stuffing was half ripped out of the seat, but it was 5whole, so she didn't much care. Pippa sat and regarded him. "If we're going to get this marriage off the ground, you need to compromise. Just because you're a beast on the outside doesn't mean that you need to act beastly to her. You can still be a gentleman."

  "Do not lecture me on manners, lady, when yours are sorely lacking. It is clear you have never been to court."

  She rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about court manners and how to hold a fork. I'm talking about being a decent person to my sister and not trying to scare her out of her wits like you did last night." She watched his face for a reaction and was pleased to see him flinch. "What exactly did you do, anyhow?"

  He was silent.

  "I can't help you if I don't know," she said in a cajoling voice.

  "I…tried to kiss her." His gaze turned defiant, teeth bared, as if daring her to mock him.

  "Oh dear." Pippa frowned, imagining how that had gone over. Belle sitting and staring at her food, waiting for Pippa to return, when the beast swoops in and tries to
maul her. "And this after you'd been eating a bowl of raw meat, eh?"

  He glared at her.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought. Okay." Pippa clasped her hands in front of her and pursed her lips, thinking. "Jumping right into things is not going to work with Belle. Think of it like…I don't know, like chess. You wouldn't throw your king out there on the first move."

  His golden eyes lit up, a spark of pleasure flaring in them. "You play chess?"

  "I…well, it's been a while, but yes."

  "Would you…would you play with me?" His voice was gruff, but she caught the note of longing in his voice. "It has been many years since I have had the opportunity. We do not often have guests."

  A surge of pity moved through her at the hopeful look in his eyes. Poor guy. She wondered how long it had been since he had any sort of conversation or company. No wonder he was such a nightmare. No wonder he was grabbing at Belle as soon as her back was turned. He was probably terrified they'd both slip right out of his grasp again and he'd be left all alone once more.

  "I can play," Pippa said, and gestured at the room. "But I don't see a board."

  5He lumbered to his feet, his large, ungainly beast form looming over her. It didn't scare her now, though. All she saw was a lonely, cursed man, not a monster. "I scattered the pieces long ago, but they should still be in this room." He moved to an overturned lounge chaise and pushed it aside, then snatched a black piece off the ground and held it up for her in triumph.

  "Well, you find the set, and I'll fix up the table," Pippa said with a smile, taking it from him.

  "And I'll tell you how I think you should approach Belle."

  "I am listening," he said, kicking aside a pile of broken wood and searching the floor for more pieces.

  Pippa straightened the small table in front of her and considered it. She grabbed a scrap of material that was dangling from a nearby broken chair and ripped it off, then used it to dust the surface of the table. A moment later, a heavy marble chess board was shoved under her nose. She took it from him with a smile and set it on the table, placing a black pawn in its proper spot.