Before Beauty

by Brittany Fichter

Nevina was smarter. Raising her knife, she began to walk towards Isa. Golden flames wrapped around the knife, spinning faster with each step.

  On an instinct she didn’t know she possessed, Isa knelt and slammed her fists against the floor. She could once again feel the darkness trying to ensnare her as it had on the balcony when Ever had proposed, but this time, she was ready. The power that swirled around the knife was strong, but it was no match for the power that now coursed through her. And though she had struggled to push back against the weight of the evil strength before, Isa suddenly found it nearly effortless. The presence of the Fortress flowed around and through her, and for the first time in her life, Isa knew without a doubt what she had been born to do.

  After Isa’s first strike, Nevina had stumbled, but regained her balance quickly and continued to approach. Again, Isa pounded the floor, and this time, the blue flame flew out from her hands and traveled up to the princess’s knees, making her stop momentarily. Still, with a struggle, the princess pressed on, a look of fury upon her face.

  When Isa struck the ground a third time, however, the flame raced up Nevina’s entire body. The dark princess writhed for what seemed like an eternity before letting out a shriek of rage. Finally, she fell limp.

  Isa stood there, staring down at the bodies for a long time. Eventually, as the black sky began to turn gray through the wall of windows, footsteps sounded on the stone steps outside the door. A handful of the servants burst through into the tower, along with a number of Chiens. They came to a halt when they saw her, and it was only the expressions on their faces that made her think to look in the mirror. Turning to it, she realized why they looked so terrified.

  Her eyes blazed with a wild blue, as did the ring on her hand. She hadn’t noticed the Queen’s Ring until now. Ever must have placed it there, she decided absentmindedly. Looking back in the mirror, she saw a look on her face that she had never worn before, feral and dangerous. Her hair had fallen out of its place, and was covered in sweat and blood, making her look even more menacing. That was when, out of her peripheral vision, she realized Ever’s body was gone.

  “Isa.” Garin finally made his way through the crowd. He approached her slowly with his hands out in front of him, as if she were a wounded hound. “You are going to be alright.”

  Isa looked up at him, suddenly terrified. “They took him, Garin,” she whispered.

  “No, dear.” The steward finally reached out and took her hands. Their warmth helped draw Isa back to herself. “The Fortress has taken him. He was its son, and it loved him. It will give his body a more fitting burial than we ever could.”

  With that, Garin dropped to one knee before her, still holding the hand that wore the ring. “And now it is your burden and privilege to lead us into the next page of Destin’s future, should you accept it. Are you willing, Isabelle? Are you ready to be our queen?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  You

  The Fortress’s purge was finalized when the dark princess was bound, gagged, and put to death according to the law of the land. Exhausted, Isa didn’t want to attend the hanging, but Garin told her it was an unfortunate duty of the monarchs to oversee the deaths of the people’s enemies.

  Recovering herself was a little easier once that was done. By the time the sun rose, the dirt and grime were gone, and the white marble glittered in the light of the morning. The gardens bloomed with new buds, with no signs of the charred dust they had been set to the night before. It was as if there had never been a battle of any kind.

  Similarly, according to reports, Soudain had been purged and healed as well. The stone army had apparently returned to its human state at the same moment Ever had healed Isa. After pouring through the Fortress and finishing off Nevina’s forces, they had run down into the town and slaughtered the Caregivers as they had attempted to escape with as many townspeople, willing and unwilling, as they could find. By the time the sun had risen, however, all signs of bodies and blood were gone. Instead of a war-torn landscape, gardens and farms were suddenly filled with the ripest produce the farmers had ever seen. Even the Chiens who had come with their masters were healed, and could speak again. Everything seemed not only as it should be, but better.

  In the days that followed, people flocked to see their new queen, the once crippled dancer who was said to be now the most powerful ruler in the land. Isa’s own family ran to her with open arms, her parents sobbing with joy, Launce bursting with pride, and little Megane as happy to see her as ever. As they held her, however, she realized their embraces still left her feeling empty. She held on to them tightly, but deep down, longed for the arms of another.

  Garin and Gigi were really the only ones who understood her pain, and she realized quickly that she preferred their presence to all others’. Gigi didn’t ask incessant questions like the rest of the well-meaning courtiers and servants. She would simply hold Isa, crying her own tears along with the young woman. And though he was less expressive about it, Isa could feel the pain that Garin carried with him. Human or not, he had lost a son.

  The coronation ceremony was to take place a week after Ever’s death. Isa relied on Garin to take care of the customs and rituals she knew nothing about. She tried to smile and do as her royal tutors instructed her to, telling her when to sit, when to rise, when to speak, and when to refrain. But the emptiness inside was gnawing, and the weight of loneliness was more than she had ever expected it could be.

  The morning of the coronation, Isa snuck out of her new chambers, which had once belonged to King Rodrigue. She’d discovered quickly that her new powers allowed her to slip past people unseen if she so wished. Silently, she made her way down to the rose garden. The last time she’d sat on the stone bench had been when Ever had sat beside her, just eight days before. The memory seemed like a different lifetime.

  Everything he had told her about the strength had begun to make sense to her. Although there was certainly much he had hidden, Isa was beginning to understand the cryptic words and strange riddles he had used when discussing his elusive power.

  When Launce had asked her about it the day before, she had been able to tell him little. There just weren’t words for what now bonded with her lifeblood and made her heart beat.

  She also understood why she hadn’t been ready when Ever had asked her to marry him. She had been trying so hard to be strong that she’d missed the point of the strength completely. It hadn’t ever been hers to be begin with. The Fortress’s power was too great to ever truly belong to a human. It was something completely other. The moment Marko had whispered that Ever was going to die, her heart had cried out. Without thinking, she’d run to the Fortress, the presence that had become her greatest comforter whenever she felt alone. Despite not being physically at the Fortress, she had somehow known it would follow her. And her cry had been answered. It was only the realization that she had belonged all along which had opened her eyes, and it seemed, her strength.

  “I took too long,” Isa said without looking up as Garin sat down beside her. “I should have known sooner that all I had to do was ask. I could have healed him!”

  “Whether you knew or not wasn’t the point.” For the first time in a week, Garin had shed his black garments for those more fitting of a steward welcoming his new queen. Not that Isa cared what he wore. “You might have made a mistake, but it would not have mattered in the end. Our missteps aren’t powerful enough to thwart the carefully laid plans of this strange place. Ever had been searching for peace for a long time, and this end was the only way he could find it.”

  “I wish that made it easier,” Isa whispered.

  Garin put a hand gently on her shoulder. “Ever would want you to rejoice for his end. He gave all that was left of him so you could have a life worth living. He wanted you to find joy, Isabelle.” Garin looked up at the rising sun and tried to give her a teasing smile. “Now, if you desire to keep that life, I suggest we return you to the seamstress. She might have both our heads if your gown isn’t perfect
in time for the ceremony.”

  And before she knew it, Isa was standing outside the massive throne room doors. She attempted to stand as she had been instructed, chin high, shoulders back, taking small steps when the horns sounded so as not to step on her flowing white and blue dress. The pearls that dangled from her ears were cold against her neck, reminders that this wasn’t a dream. She had expected to feel jittery and afraid during this ceremony, but oddly, she felt calm. This was where she was supposed to be.

  If only she had not been left to do it by herself.

  “Presenting Her Majesty Elect, Isabelle Marchand, Chosen of the Fortress!”

  The throne room was brighter than she had ever seen it, full of light and even more full of people. The draperies and chandeliers glittered with hanging diamonds that caught the light and threw it everywhere that the sun didn’t directly reach. As she walked slowly down the red velvet aisle, the people bowed, falling row by row. Isa didn’t understand the strange look on their faces until she glanced down. As she walked, spiraling blue flame swirled around her faster and faster. It made her so dizzy, in fact, that she had to look away to keep from stumbling.

  Finally, Isa reached, the holy man. He smiled kindly down at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile back. In a low voice, he began to recite the ceremonial ordinances before taking the ring from its pillow on the short pedestal that stood between them. She had given it back the day before so that it could be properly accepted in front of the people. Garin said it was all for appearance’s sake though, since her true coronation had taken place when Ever had placed the ring on her finger.

  The holy man began by asking the people if they accepted her as their queen. The choral answer was loud and sure. Though Isa struggled to pay full attention to the holy man’s words, she had the charges memorized. He was now asking her if she was willing to accept the life of sacrifice this ring required of her.

  “I am willing.”

  None of them would be sitting here now if she wasn’t. How could the holy man or anyone else in the crowd truly know about the sacrifice that had already taken place for her to have this position?

  “Do you bond yourself forever to the Fortress and what it demands of you, relinquishing your own ambitions and designs?”

  “Yes.” Isa felt a tear slip down her cheek. She was glad her back was to the crowd. Before the priest could ask the next question, however, he was interrupted by the sound of the enormous doors opening once more. When Isa turned to see who had interrupted the ceremony, she nearly fell to her knees.

  A man stood in the doorway. His posture was straight, and his bearing was regal.

  Isa began to tremble.

  The man’s hands were not misshapen, nor was his face gaunt or pale. Strong limbs were clothed in deep blue, but Isa could not bring herself to look at them for long. She stood still, frozen by the fear that she had truly lost her mind.

  The crowd gasped as they recognized him, and quickly fell into an uncomfortable silence, looking back and forth between the ruler they had just accepted, and the one that should have been.

  Their discomfort was nothing to Isa, however. All she cared about was working up the courage to meet his eyes. And and when she did, she let out a cry of joy. Even from across the great room, they burned a fierce blue. She couldn’t pull her own eyes away from them as he began to stride down the aisle. Before she knew what she was doing, she was sobbing, running to meet him.

  He caught her in his arms and held her close. There were so many questions Isa had, but he allowed none of them. Bending down, he took her face in his hands and kissed her with a resolve that shot heat through her lips and all the way down to her fingertips and toes, and she clung to him for fear of collapsing on the floor in a heap.

  Isa had never been so afraid in her life. This must be a dream. And yet, when he finally released her enough to look into her eyes once again, she didn’t wake up. Her heart stumbled as she reached up to touch his face. The bridge of his nose, the shape of his chin, even the angle of his jaw line was completely familiar, and yet, he was a stranger to her. He, in turn, seemed to be memorizing her features as well, a hungry look in his eyes.

  “You Highness…Prince Everard…” the holy man mumbled as he tried to take back control of the ceremony. “I am sorry, but the people have already accepted…” At a loss for words, he finally looked at Isa desperately. “Your Majesty! You are now the rightful heir to the throne, and you alone. Unless, of course, you choose to marry this man?” His anxiety in questioning Ever’s claim to the throne was evident as he looked at the powerful man who stood before him. The crowd leaned forward, both uneasy and fascinated by the predicament. But Ever simply gave her a gentle smile and touched her face with the back of his rough fingertips before dropping to one knee.

  “I was going to ask you the same question,” he whispered, his voice husky. “Will you marry me, Your Majesty?”

  Isa fought to answer with an even voice. “With all my heart.”

  With a smile that put the sun to shame, Ever led her back to the front of the throne room, where they finished the coronation vows side by side, just the way Isa had mourned the loss of less than an hour before.

  The rest of the wedding vows were said along with the vows of coronation, something Isa was immensely glad for, as she wished immediately to simply be alone in the quiet of dusk with him once more. At least they wouldn’t have to have another ceremony a well.

  The servants scurried to turn the coronation ceremony into a wedding celebration, with Gigi leading the fuss all the way, but Isa couldn’t have cared less if they had all worn sackcloths and feasted on bread and water. Her mind was full of nothing but questions. How had he come back? Where had he been all this time? How had he been healed? She didn’t get to ask him, however, until it was time for the dance.

  Isa’s heart leapt in her chest as everyone watched her walk away from her family to meet Ever on the crystal floor, just as the tradition demanded. Funny, she thought as she went, that her captivity in the Fortress should teach her the origins of the dance she had wanted so badly with Raoul. As they met in the middle of the crystal floor of the balcony, she curtsied.

  “My lord,” she murmured. “May my life strength be bound to yours.”

  “My lady,” he took her hand and kissed it softly. “Never will I let them part.”

  As the familiar music began to play, Isa realized that just how different this dance would be from all the others. Tonight, Isa was wearing the silken slippers without fear of going lame. She laughed as her groom swept her across the floor in a dance that felt more like flying than anything she had ever felt in her life. Glancing at the ground, she gasped as blue flames rose around them, encircling them as they moved. She looked up at Ever in wonder.

  “Blue is a lovely color on you, my lady,” he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

  “Why didn’t it do this before? All those times we were dancing, and I never saw it at all!”

  “It was always there. You just had to see that you were the one the Fortress had chosen.”

  Suddenly, the Fortress wasn’t the only one that wanted her, Isa sensed. That hungry look returned to his eyes, and Isa couldn’t deny that she felt the same desire rushing through her.

  “Can we go somewhere alone, just for a few minutes?” she pleaded.

  A mischievous, boyish look came to Ever’s face. “With pleasure.”

  A few minutes more and the dance was over. The priest announced that the marriage ceremony was complete, and the crowd stood to cheer for its new king and queen. Isa knew she should be thrilled and thankful, but she suddenly wanted nothing more than to simply be alone with her husband.

  True to his word, once they exited the dance floor, dozens of other couples flooded it, and he led them quietly down a dark set of stairs. A few minutes later, they were seated in the rose garden.

  Isa opened her mouth to begin asking her questions, but before she could utter a word, his lips were pressed firm
ly against hers. The evening spring air was still chilly, but his strong hands, now ungloved, kept her warm as they gently explored her face, then her neck. Her breathing hitched as they found their way to her waist and the small of her back. She could feel his desire as he drew her even closer. Isa fought to get control of her thoughts, knowing that if she gave him just half a minute more, her chance to ask would be gone for the rest of the evening.

  She had to push his shoulders back with quite a bit of force before he realized she wanted to stop, and she had to laugh a bit at his confused expression.

  “I just need to know…How are you here?” she gazed at him in wonder, tracing the contour of his brow with her finger. “You gave me all your strength. How did you survive?” Suddenly, she felt ridiculously as if she might begin to cry, although she wasn’t sure why.

  Understanding lit his face as he took her left hand. Before answering, he gently explored her wrist where it had once been broken. “When I was little, I never wondered at the wisdom this place exuded. It brought me peace, and that was enough. As I grew, however, and followed in my father’s footsteps, I forgot the truth I had known since I since birth. I deluded myself into believing that the strength was mine, and that I was responsible for it all. I failed to realize that such a responsibility is a burden far too great for any man to bear.” His face now solemn, he looked into Isa’s eyes, and for a moment, she saw the sadness in them that had haunted him for so long.

  “And you. What I did to you as a boy was more than I knew how to endure. Garin told me that I could be forgiven, but my father made it very clear that I was never to go near you again. I could have done the right thing at any time, but my pride was too great. I simply couldn’t stand to look at what I had done, and as a result, you haunted both my dreams and my waking moments. By the time you returned to me, I was so desperate to hold on to my dwindling power that I was too much of a selfish coward to give it up to you.” He paused and took a deep breath.