AaBack's Grimm: Dark Fantasy Fairy Tale #2 Friends Reunited: The Janus Beast, The Rose Beauty, And The Cursed Duckling
Page 11
* * *
Jane made it to the bathing house before it closed and was able to rid herself of the dirt and grime of the day. She removed her bandage and found her arm completely healed. Whatever the head maid put on it, must have done the trick. Jane put her well used Flash t-shirt and cargo shorts along with her undergarments back on. She needed to go shopping and purchase pajamas and at least two more sets of clothes to allow for laundering, but for now she would have to deal with living the grunge life. Jane returned to the barn loft and slept little, tossing and turning on the bed of hay with a single blanket as her mattress and cover. It was her dilemma over what to do about the two Beasts that kept her up and when morning's light broke through the loft's window, she got up, freshen up a bit at the water basin, and then headed to the bakery. She had three deliveries to make before she took up the bear claws the Beast ordered. The trip seemed longer than usual, and her legs were starting to feel the burn of back-to-back mountain rides.
At the castle...
As soon as morning broke, the Beast went out to the balcony where he could see the estate's main gate in the distance, and he waited for the female elf to return. For hours he waited for her to appear, but she never did, and as 10 A.M. came, he thought she would never come. The master who roams the night wouldn't tell him what occurred the night before, nor would he tell him if she decided to take their case or not. The Beast wondered if it had been an ill conceived idea to allow her to see his other half. Maybe he should have warned her before she took his test to expect trouble, and his decision to let her go in blind may have cost him dearly. The more the Beast thought about it, the more anxious he became, thinking the female elf may never return and that he may remain as he was forever.
He turned and started to head inside and go to his study, when he heard a guard shout who had been posted at the main gate. The Beast turned and his heart lifted with hope when he saw the female elf ride in on her two wheeled contraption. He wanted to run down to the front door and rush out to her to discover her answer, but he contained his excitement and waited for her to be brought to him. The Beast headed for his study, realizing just because she was there didn't mean she successfully acquired the other's name or that she would accept the position. He still needed to hear it from her lips, so he paced his study as agonizing minutes went by.
One of his servants brought the female elf to him, and she wouldn't look at him as she normally did. The female elf seemed to take great care in making sure that she didn't look at him. The Beast wanted to jump right into the conversation, but he maintained his manners and questioned her, "Would you like something to eat or perhaps you would like something to drink?"
"I would prefer to talk about the matter that we spoke of last night."
He didn't like the way she sounded and feared she would reject the position.
Jane told him, "I met with you last night, and I discovered something." She lifted her eyes and stared right at him as she accused, "You have lied to me. When I questioned you who the master of the castle was, you told me that you were the master which is true, but it's also not true. I can't have such tiny lies between us if I'm to help you."
"Does that mean you will..?"
"Please don't interrupt me until I finish," she said, turning away from his excited and pleased expression, and then she admitted, "I'm having a hard time telling you this and can't answer any of your questions just yet." Jane paused and then continued, "I did as you wanted me to. You wanted me to take a test, but what you really wanted... You wanted me to see the other part of you that I'll also be helping." She put a hand to her own shoulder as she went on, "He was so angry and annoyed with me, and I still don't understand the reason for it." Jane realized she'd gotten off track a bit, so she got back on subject by saying, "You wanted me to discover your name, and I did find out the name of the one who roams the night, but that's not your name. Your name must be Faris'Solar which means knight of the day, and you must be the master who monopolizes the light."
Hearing her utter his name was the sweetest thing he had heard in years. The Beast didn't think she could pass his test, but he hoped. He hoped more than he realized as he stood there in stunned reveille.
The Beast said nothing to her, so she inquired, "Have I passed your test? Do you wish for me to take on your curse and see if I can break it?"
"You have, and I do, and might I say I am amazed he told you his name."
Jane didn't want to speak about Moon Beast, so she went ahead with the rest and told him, "I have conditions if I'm to take the job. I want complete access to every part of your castle and every inch of your estate. If I ask a question, you're never to lie to me. You're never to hide anything from me. I really hate it when people lie to me even if it is just a little."
"I agree to your terms. Are there any other conditions?"
"I never want to speak to your other half again," she replied and then she asked, "Is there a way for me to ask him questions without actually being in his presence?"
"There is some time after the sun sets and the moon starts to rise and there is also some time right before the sun rises and the moon nears the horizon that the two of us can communicate with each other. I can ask him questions at that time, but there is no guarantee that he will answer them. The two of us do not get along."
"I also want you to promise that you'll never hinder my investigation into your own or someone else's curse."
"I can agree to that," the Beast told her.
"If you accept all of my terms then, we'll begin now," Jane told him.
She started to ask him a question, when he stepped forward and took her into her arms. Jane didn't expect this and wondered what he was doing. She was tired and mentally drained, and it felt good to be held, so she stood there a few moments in his embrace.
"I am sorry," he finally spoke. "I am sorry I put you through what must have been a horrible ordeal." The Beast needed to give her a reason for his actions, so that he didn't sound like a monster, and so he told her, "I needed to be sure that you were capable of seeing through the spell on us. I never wanted him to hurt you, but I see now by how you reacted to me, he must have been very cruel to you."
"He was," she admitted. "I also thought he was going to hurt me. I've never seen someone so angry before."
The Beast stroked her head as he stated, "There is nothing to fear from me. The one you are afraid of is trapped in the darkness. Please, do not see him in me. I am nothing like him."
Jane knew it to be true. Moon Beast was nothing like his caring side who had her in his arms, and she wanted to stay in his arms forever.
"Thank you for the apology," she told him as she gently pulled away from him and then she bashfully stated, "I better get to my questions."
"Of course," the Beast told her, wondering if he lost his alluring charm.
"How long ago were you cursed?"
"I have not kept track of the years since I was hexed, but I was cursed when I was a young man."
"Is Moon Beast part of you or an evil manifestation of yourself?"
The Beast couldn't answer her.
"I'll have to think of another way to ask that question, so for now I'll begin my investigation of the castle and grounds. I'm going to begin by walking your estate. Please allow me to do this by myself. I can't be distracted by you, I need to concentrate."
"Of course, but before you return to AaBack, do report your findings even if there is nothing to report."
"I will, oh, I just thought of another question that might seem weird to you, but can you tell me what my name is?"
"It is Jane."
She smiled as she closed her eyes. The World of Grimm was scary and confusing at times, but there people remembered her. "Thank you. You don't know how good it is to hear someone speak my name."
"Since you brought up the subject of names, I heard you call the master who roams the night, Moon Beast."
"I did. The name suit
s him better." She noticed how he reacted and she asked him jokingly, "Are you jealous that I gave him a name and not you?"
"What if I say that I am?"
"I'll call you Sun Beast if that'll make you happy. You're the light and he's the darkness. I would have to say Faris'Solar does suits you, knight of the sun." Jane thought it would be a good time to refer to their short time together as children and she questioned, "Are you sure you aren't a knight and protector of the realm?"
"My position should be clear to you," he told her.
"Maybe I'll be the knight then. I can be a girl knight."
Jane waited for a reaction, but none seemed to come, so she turned and headed for the Hedge Labyrinth a little disappointed. It was so long ago that they met as children, she couldn't expect either one of them to remember her. It distressed her to think they may never remember her, and then she decided to put those thoughts to the side for now because she had an investigation to conduct.
Sun Beast moved to the door of his study and watched her disappear around the corner. He went back into his room and opened his left hand that had tingled the moment she had given him his new name. A tattoo of a bright sun was on his palm, and he knew at that moment he was right in trusting the ugly duckling. She had to be a swan under all those layers of ordinary and soon this Jane would break his curse.