The Beast's Beloved

by Amber Burns

  “A healer could not help him?” Olaf asked incredulously after easily overhearing the conversation. “We’re talking about a magical healer, yes? One with glowing hands, and all that?”

  “Yes,” Klaryssa replied with a nod while looking over her shoulder at the youngest of the three men.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Olaf retorted.

  “Not even a little bit,” Kelder agreed.

  “It makes about as much sense as one farm falling barren when the surrounding others continue to thrive,” Dresdyn mused with his brows drawn together in deep thought.

  “How do you think I feel?” Klaryssa asked sadly. “I was so certain then when Cerridwyn and I scraped enough money together for a healer, that everything would be alright. Instead, my father continues to wither away, and our land becomes increasingly incapable of giving life to vegetation.” She hung her head before returning her gaze to the road ahead.

  Dresdyn reached over to Klaryssa and tenderly squeezed her shoulder before drawing his hand away. “We will get to the bottom of things, my sweet,” he assured. “And if the Keep’s healer is also unsuccessful in improving his health, then at the very least, your father will spend the remainder of his days in comfort.”

  Klaryssa smiled and used the edge of her cloak to wipe away the tears that had rolled down her face. “Thank you, Dresdyn,” she murmured. “I know I’ve been saying those words a lot, but I truly mean it. Thank you.”

  “It is my pleasure,” Dresdyn replied before returning his gaze to the road ahead and falling into silent thought once more.

  “Think that maybe someone cursed your farm?” Olaf asked. “Or cursed your father?”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Dresdyn remarked darkly. “If there is a dark practitioner on my lands, I will ferret them out,” he snarled.

  Klaryssa turned in her saddle so she could look back and forth between the three men. “A curse? You think someone cursed my father and our farm? To what end? For what purpose? In all the years I’ve been alive, I’ve never known my father to hurt or wrong anyone.”

  “Be that as it may, M’Lady, you did say that your family farm put others to shame,” Kelder ventured. “Could’ve been a case of jealousy.”

  Klaryssa looked at the behemoth of a man with great incredulity. “You’re suggesting that someone had my father and farm cursed out of jealousy?”

  “People have done much worse for much less,” Dresdyn said darkly. “Rest assured, my dear, I will get to the bottom of this. Blaiddwych as my witness, I will find the culprit.”

  They fell into silence after that, and they quickened the pace of their horses. Klaryssa was more desperate than ever to reach her family now, for if her father was truly cursed as the three men believed, then she did not wish to leave him and Cerridwyn alone. Alone, they were defenseless, and easy prey to whoever had turned their malicious eye upon them; but, once in Dresdyn’s protection, they stood a better chance.

  “Blessed Dynol,” Klaryssa whispered under her breath as she pushed her steed harder. “Please let us not be too late.” As the familiar sight of her family’s cottage came into view in the distance, she pointed with one hand. “There!” she cried while kicking the sides of her horse. “We’re almost there!” Her eyes were focused on her destination. “Cerridwyn!” she cried once she was sure she was close enough to be heard. “Father!”

  “Kelder, Olaf, fan out!” Dresdyn barked over his shoulder. “Look for anything suspicious, but remain within calling distance.”

  “As you command, My Thane,” Kelder replied with a nod and a smirk that Olaf mirrored.

  Dresdyn turned his focus upon Klaryssa as the two warriors branched off to do as instructed. His horse easily caught up to his mate’s, and they gradually pulled them to a halt together. He remained quiet as he dismounted and sniffed the air for any telltale scents of magic.

  “Cerridwyn?” Klaryssa called as she hurriedly dismounted. “Father? Where are you?”

  “Klaryssa?” Cerridwyn stuck her head out the window, and her eyes widened as a smile spread over her young face. “Klaryssa! Papa! Papa, Klaryssa’s back!”

  Cerridwyn vanished from the window only to dart out from the door moments later and race towards her sister who met her halfway. The two sisters threw their arms around one another and embraced each other tightly.

  “Are you alright?” Cerridwyn asked frantically. “Where were you? We were beside ourselves with worry!”

  “I’m sorry, little sister,” Klaryssa answered fervently. “It wasn’t my intention to frighten you and father.” She gave her sister a final squeeze before gently drawing away with a smile. “So much has happened since I left yesterday, but I promise that everything will be alright now.”

  “What do you mean?” Cerridwyn asked in confusion before drawing her brows together when she saw the tall, hooded man for the first time. “Who’s that?” She blinked upon finally noticing the finery in which Klaryssa was dressed. “And where did you get these clothes?”

  Klaryssa looked over her shoulder at Dresdyn, and her smile grew as she returned her gaze to Cerridwyn. “Those questions can be answered with one answer. Wynnie, this is Lord Dresdyn y Blaidd. He rescued me yesterday when I was attacked by bandits and has since chosen me to be his bride.” Her face was aglow with delight.

  “Wha…?” Cerridwyn asked bemusedly.

  Still sniffing the air, albeit more subtly than before, Dresdyn strode forward and stood beside Klaryssa. “It is all true, little one,” he said with a small smile before scanning his gaze over their immediate area. He could smell as well as feel magic permeating the air, though, it was weak...dying. “As is the part your sister has yet to tell you.”

  Klaryssa beamed. “You and father are to come to the Keep and live with us.”

  The color had drained from Cerridwyn’s face, and her wide eyes remained fixed upon the man beside her sister. “L...Lord y Blaidd?” she whispered before hurriedly dropping to her knees. “My Lord!”

  “There is no need for that,” Dresdyn said while motioning for Cerridwyn to stand. “After all, we are to be family within the week.”

  “Where is father?” Klaryssa asked upon seeing that her father had not so much as come to the door. “How is he today?”

  “Not good,” Cerridwyn replied sadly while rising to her feet. She motioned for the pair to follow her as she led the way into the cottage. “Papa?” She quietly made her way over to the old chair in which Coeden sat. “Papa, Klaryssa has come back, and she has news,” she said with a tentative smile while kneeling beside her father. “Papa?” she asked upon seeing that her father’s dulled gaze had become decidedly more alert as it locked upon Dresdyn who entered behind Klaryssa and lowered his hood.

  “Oh, father,” Klaryssa said as she rushed forward and knelt on Coeden’s other side. “I’m so sorry to have worried you,” she said before going on to explain everything that had happened since the previous day, taking care to leave out the salacious and intimate details.

  All the while Klaryssa spoke, Dresdyn and Coeden’s gazes remained locked upon the other. Dresdyn’s nostrils flared ever so slightly before he slowly breathed out through his nose. Coeden was the source of the magic he felt, but Dresdyn could sense nothing unclean or dark resonating from him, and that made him doubt that a curse was in play. All the same, Dresdyn was no mage. He was fully aware of just how wrong his assumption could be; though, he would not know for certain until he had a moment to conduct an investigation.

  “My heart is gladdened by seeing that you are safe, my sweet, beautiful ‘Ryssa,” Coeden rasped while weakly gripping Klaryssa’s hand. While he turned his gaze toward his eldest daughter, he nevertheless continued to watch Dresdyn out of the corner of his eye. “But my heart is filled to the brim seeing you so happy. It has been so very long since I have seen you smile like that,” he said with a tired smile.

  “Everything’s going to be alright now, father,” Klaryssa said as her eyes welled up with happy t
ears. “Did you hear what I said before? Dresdyn and I are to be married by week’s end. We’ve come to get you and Cerridwyn, so the two of you can live with us at the castle. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  “To that point, my sweet,” Dresdyn interjected smoothly. “Why not help your sister ready for the journey? It will give your father and I a chance to get acquainted,” he added with a smile while turning his gaze towards Klaryssa and offering her his hand.

  Klaryssa hurriedly wiped away her tears and then kissed her father’s cheek before accepting Dresdyn’s help up. “Excellent idea, my rescuer,” she murmured with a smile as she momentarily held her betrothed’s hand against her cheek before drawing away. “Come on, Wynnie.”

  “What should we even pack?” Cerridwyn asked bemusedly as she rose to her feet and fell into step beside her sister.

  “Things of sentimental value,” Klaryssa answered with a smile while taking her sister’s hand in her own. “Things that truly can’t be replaced.”

  Now alone with the older man, Dresdyn regarded Coeden silently. Then, slowly, Dresdyn lowered himself to one knee; and, just as he was just about to open his mouth, Coeden spoke first.

  “I thank you, for your timely intervention on my daughter’s behalf,” Coeden rasped before coughing. “She is precious to me...they both are.”

  “There is no need to thank me,” Dresdyn replied while spying the nearby bucket of water, and then drawing out the ladle so he could offer Coeden a drink. “My intervention was fortuitous for not only Klaryssa, but for me as well. Your daughter has become quite precious to me since entering my life,” he added with a small smile.

  “Yes, I imagine she would have,” Coeden replied before taking a sip of water. His gaze remained fixed upon Dresdyn’s face. “I know what you are,” he whispered after swallowing.

  Dresdyn blinked. “Pardon?”

  “Don’t play coy with me, boy,” Coeden replied in a low voice. “My body might be withering with every passing moment, but my senses are as sharp as ever.” He muffled a cough. “I see what you hide behind your facade, even though my daughter cannot.”

  Dresdyn stiffened. “If this is the way you speak to all your visitors, then it’s no wonder someone cursed you and your land,” he remarked wryly while regarding Coeden with slightly narrowed eyes.

  Coeden raised both eyebrows. “Cursed? What are you rambling on about?”

  “How else would you explain the state of your land, as well as the state of...well, you?” Dresdyn quipped. “Then, when you consider the fact that I feel magic emanating from you, can there be any other explanation?”

  Coeden sighed. “There’s no curse lad,” he said with a small shake of his head. “What ails me can’t be fixed.”

  “Forgive me, but I have yet to encounter a problem that I cannot fix,” Dresdyn replied.

  “First time for everything,” Coeden rasped before coughing violently. He waved off Dresdyn’s attempt to give him more water.

  Dresdyn regarded Coeden silently and with furrowed brows. “What are you?” he whispered. “Something feels...off about you, but I cannot put my finger on it.”

  “First of my kind that you’ve encountered, am I?” Coeden asked with cheek and an impish glimmer in his eye, despite the agonizing failing of his body.

  “And, what kind would that be?” Dresdyn asked pointedly

  “It hardly matters now,” Coeden replied with an exhausted wave of his hand. “I am dying, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.”

  “Do you not think that for the sake of your daughters, you should try?” Dresdyn asked. “If you only knew the state Klaryssa was in last night because she had left you and her sister behind, you would not be so eager to give up on life.”

  “Give up? You think I am giving up, boy?” Coeden asked.

  “What would you call it?” Dresdyn asked simply. “Now, I do not pretend to know the sort of charlatan healer your daughters were able to secure for you with their meager funds, but the healer in my castle is very skilled. She will have you right as rain once more, if you simply give her the chance.”

  Coeden sighed. “As skilled as your healer might be, she can’t help me.”

  “Why are you so certain of that?” Dresdyn demanded.

  “Because she can’t bring my oak tree back to life!” Coeden snapped before coughing violently.

  Dresdyn blinked. “Your oak tree? What are you…?” Dresdyn’s eyes widened a little as realization flickered within them. “You’re a dryad,” he whispered.

  Coeden nodded.

  Dresdyn flicked his eyes towards Klaryssa and Cerridwyn who were in the process of filling a satchel with small trinkets. “Do they know?”

  Coeden shook his head.

  “Forgive me, but...how are you alive?” Dresdyn asked. “According to all the legends I have read, Dryads die when their tree dies.”

  Coeden sighed. “My oak tree was cut down four years ago,” he began. “The only reason I have lasted this long was because my tree was on my land...had been on this land for well over a century. The ties it had to the land were strong, and it allowed me to draw strength and life from the farmland itself.”

  Realization dawned upon Dresdyn’s face. “That is why your land became increasingly barren after years of being the envy of the entire fief,” he said softly.

  Coeden nodded, and tears began filling his eyes. “It pained me to do it, but I had to. My girls...my precious saplings, they were still young. I couldn’t leave them. I had to hang on long enough until they found someone else to take care of them.” He smiled tiredly. “And now, they have. Truth be told, I don’t care what you are, lad. Doesn’t matter to me. What does matter to me, is how you treat my daughter.” He coughed again. “My remaining time in this world has come to an end, for there is no life left on my land to sustain me. My body weakens with every passing moment. But, I will happily greet oblivion so long as I know my daughters will be taken care of and protected.”

  “I swear it on my life, ancient and honorable creature,” Dresdyn uttered solemnly. “I will spend the rest of my days seeing to Klaryssa’s happiness, and I give you my word that Cerridwyn will also fall under my protection. Neither of them will want for anything, and when the time comes, I will see to it that Cerridwyn marries a good man who will treat her every bit as well as I treat her sister.”

  Coeden regarded Dresdyn silently for several moments before giving a small nod. “I believe you,” he uttered. “And for your truths, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

  “I still say that you should tell them,” Dresdyn urged. “They deserve to know the truth about where they come from. They deserve to know the truth as to why, for all their efforts to save you, nothing could be done.”

  “Have you told Klaryssa the truth about yourself?” Coeden asked pointedly.

  “I fully intend to when we return to my castle,” Dresdyn replied. “She deserves to know the truth about the man to whom she is destined to be bound; however, she also deserves to know the reason as to why her father is now physically incapable of leaving the family farm. Both of your daughters do,” he added softly. “Even a blind man could see how much they love you, and how much you love them. They deserve the truth, rather than to live in constant guilt over not being able to save you.”

  “We’re ready,” Klaryssa said with a smile as she and Cerridwyn approached. Both were blissfully unaware as to the conversation the two men had shared. “Come, father, we’ll help you up,” she said while moving to help Coeden from his chair.

  “Don’t trouble yourself, my dear, beautiful saplings,” Coeden said while smiling lovingly up at his daughters while weakly patting Klaryssa’s hand. “This is your chance at a better life, and I have no place in that.”

  “What are you talking about?” Klaryssa asked incredulously.

  “How could you say that, papa?” Cerridwyn asked while gently placing a hand upon Coeden’s shoulder. “You’re our father, and we love you.”

  “O
f course, you have a place in our lives,” Klaryssa added emphatically while gently squeezing her father’s hand. “Please, don’t give up, father,” she entreated. “Everything is going to be alright now, you’ll see. Please, just come with us.”

  “I can’t,” Coeden whispered as his eyes welled with tears. “My precious ones, I can’t leave this land...not anymore.” He raised a trembling hand to brush against Klaryssa’s cheek, and then sighed after catching Dresdyn’s gaze. “Take me to the oak stump,” he said softly while allowing his daughters to help him to his feet at last. “I will explain everything, my saplings, just take me to the stump.”