She reacted exactly as I had hoped. “It can’t be that silly. Tell me what it is, I promise I won’t laugh.”
“I was wondering if, perhaps, you would like to dance with me? I have lovely music in the ballroom. But it’s been a very long time since I have had someone to dance with.” I pretended to be shy and embarrassed.
Belle stood and held out her hand. “I would love to dance with you, Beast.”
I accepted her hand and we hurried up to the ballroom. With a flick of the switch, the music drifted through the room and embraced us with its melody.
I took Belle in my arms and twirled her around. Girls loved dancing, that was something I had learned over the years. If you could get a woman on the dance floor, she would instantly love you all the more.
And I, naturally, was an exquisite dancer.
We danced for so long that Belle’s cheeks flushed a rosy shade of pink from the exertion. It made her glow in the light of the candles. I could see then why Gus had chosen her out of all the other girls in the village. She did have something that was beautiful, almost like an inner light.
When the clock struck midnight, we finally decided we were too tired to continue. I escorted Belle back to her rooms and wished her a goodnight.
By the way she looked at me in that moment, I was certain she was falling in love with me even further. After all, who wouldn’t love me? I was quite a catch – beast or not.
I awoke the next morning feeling like my time as a hairy beast was coming to an end. I would win the bet with Gus and be transformed back into my gorgeous self. I was going to have the kingdom in the palm of my hand.
So when I passed Belle crying in the library, I was completely baffled. “Belle, what’s wrong?”
She looked at me with tear-stained cheeks. She had obviously been weeping for a while. “I miss my papa so much. He’s all I could think about when I awoke this morning.”
“I’m sure he’s perfectly fine,” I pointed out.
A whole new wave of sobs racked her body. “I have never been away from him for so long. I do worry about him.”
There were two things I knew for certain. One was that Belle was in love with me, I had worked that out the previous night. The second was that I needed some peace and quiet. I wasn’t used to having anyone live in the castle and Belle was testing my last nerve.
“Maybe you could go visit your papa,” I suggested. It was a big concession on my part, but I was comfortable she would return. And having the castle to myself, even for a few hours, sounded very appealing.
She looked at me with big blue eyes, barely believing what she was hearing. “Really? I could go see Papa?”
I nodded, putting as much kindness into that gesture as I could manage. “You may. But you must take something with you.”
Belle didn’t care what item she had to tote along for her journey. She couldn’t leave the castle fast enough to visit her poor, precious papa.
What I gave her was a mirror. I told her it was so she could be reminded of her beauty, but it was actually enchanted. Through that mirror, I could see everything Belle did. Somebody had to keep an eye on her.
And if she didn’t return to the castle, I would be able to locate her without breaking a sweat.
I propped the mirror’s enchanted partner on the table while I ate my lunch in peace and quiet. It was wonderful having the place to myself again.
True to her word, Belle went straight to her former home. She held the mirror the entire way, barely giving it a second glance. If I had given that mirror to the ladies I normally associated with, all I would have been able to see would be their faces as they stared into the thing incessantly.
As her happy reunion with her father played out in the mirror before me, my mind wandered to just how different Belle was from the other women in my life.
The women I invited to the castle were perfectly polished, beautiful without a doubt underneath all their makeup. They could dance effortlessly and giggled excessively.
Belle was the exact opposite.
She wore no makeup but that didn’t seem to affect her beauty at all. There was something that shone from inside, an inner glow that seemed to work just as well.
She could dance, but I lost count of how many times she had stepped on my toes. I had beastly feet which tended to get in the way of dancing, perhaps that contributed to the clumsiness.
And Belle definitely did not giggle. You had to earn her laughter. But when you succeeded, you were treated to a smile that could bring a weak man to his knees. Her laughter was like the melody of tinkling bells.
Belle was definitely different from my usual girls, that was for sure. I didn’t think she would grow on me the way she had.
Looking around the castle, it almost felt… empty. Peace and quiet now transposed to loneliness. I missed the shuffling of Belle’s feet as she hurried along, the turning of her book pages as she read in the corner, the way she would hum to herself when she thought nobody was listening.
My eyes were suddenly pulled back to the mirror as an unwelcome face appeared. Someone had interrupted Belle’s reunion.
And that person was Gus.
CHAPTER8
“Why, it’s the beautiful Belle,” Gus said, flashing his too-white smile at her. He was not supposed to be at Belle’s house.
“Gus, hello. What are you doing here?” Belle replied.
“I am here to see you, of course.” There were those teeth again. “Someone told me you were spotted and I had to come see for myself. Where have you been hiding, my adorable girl?”
Belle was taken aback by his questions. She was nervous, I could recognize her little twitches anywhere now. Gus leaned against the doorframe, blocking her exit.
“I… I’ve been at the castle.”
This was news to Gus. I had done a good job of hiding her all this time. “The castle? Not with that horrible beast, I hope.”
Horrible?!?
“With the beast, yes,” Belle conceded reluctantly.
Thunder rolled across Gus’s features, blackening his eyes. “He is dangerous, you should not be anywhere near him. You should be with me instead. Marry me, Belle. Please say yes this time.”
Marry him?!?
This conversation was growing more outrageous with every word he spoke. Gus was shameless.
He stepped forward and took Belle’s hands in his own. He looked deep into her eyes. “Belle, be my wife. Marry me and we’ll be so happy together.” And then he went in for the kill. “I love you.”
Belle was momentarily too stunned for words. She looked down at their joined hands and back up to Gus’s smiling face. I’m surprised she wasn’t blinded by those teeth.
“Come on, Belle, say no,” I muttered, watching on. My heart stopped beating while she made her decision. If Gus won, it was all over.
But there was something else too. Something outside of our bet. I would miss Belle if she didn’t return. Gus didn’t love her, she would be unhappy with him.
I refused to follow that trail of thoughts any further. I had to think of my own bet, what I would lose if she muttered the single word: yes.
“Belle, please,” Gus pleaded. He really was shameless.
“I… I… can’t,” Belle finally replied.
Like he was snapped out of a dream, Gus let her hands drop. “You refuse to marry me? What is wrong with you? Are you insane?”
That was the Gus I knew.
“No, I just wish to marry no-one right now. I do not love you, Gus. I’m so, so sorry.”
If thunder had described Gus before, only a tornado would do now. He spun around and flew out of that house so fast the door slammed in his wake.
Belle was left shaky and fearful as her papa held her. She sobbed quietly into his shoulder, the last thing I saw before I turned my mirror onto the table. I didn’t want to see anything more.
I had known Gus a long time. Probably longer than anyone else in the village. I knew him better than he knew himself. So it
was easy to predict what he was going to do next.
He was going to get revenge.
On me.
“Lantern! Lock down the castle!” I yelled, making all my servants scurry around the place. I had to close the castle walls or anyone could get through. I couldn’t risk that happening.
Everyone darted everywhere, closing and securing doors and windows. It had been a long time since we completely closed the place but it was a necessity now. I could not leave myself vulnerable.
“Your Majesty, it’s too late,” Lantern shrieked as he ran in from the front door. He rushed to my side, all in a dither. “They’re here. So many of them. Villagers. They’ve all come to… kill you.”
Kill me? That sounded plausible. I was an ungodly beast, after all.
There was only one thing left for me to do. Prince Francis did not wait to die. Prince Francis fought gallantly until he won.
“Thank you, Lantern. Today, we will fight,” I said bravely. Nobody called Prince Francis a coward.
I picked up a shield and sword from above the fireplace in my dining room. I had bought it only as a decoration, but it seemed like it might be appropriate for use in a battle.
Holding the sword high in the air, I strode from my castle and into the woods. I was not scared, I knew I would win. I always did.
Even seeing all the villagers as they approached from the opposite direction, I did not cower away. I met them in the middle of the woods, unsurprised to see Gus himself leading them.
“Gus, my oldest friend. It is good to see you,” I said jovially. They were not going to see any weakness from Prince Francis, even in the disguise of a beast.
“I am not your friend, Beast,” Gus replied, making sure all the villagers heard his words. “We are going to kill you and then your castle shall be mine.”
So that’s what he wanted? My castle? I should have just given him the darn golden rose.
“Ah, but you cannot kill me.”
“I can.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Can so,” Gus said. I could play with him all day long and probably never tire of it. We had always been too alike, even as children.
While we were bickering, the villagers grew restless. Without any warning, and with no direction from their despicable leader, they started charging for me. I was far outnumbered.
But I was Prince Francis.
I swung my sword at whoever came close and raised my shield to block their blows. We fought like soldiers, scurrying around and dancing with our weapons. I didn’t actually kill anyone, although I did want to several times.
Some retreated, others were too scared to get close to a beast, while others were struck with bloodlust as they kept coming back at me.
I spotted Belle behind them as one pushed me against a tree. She wasn’t fighting. Instead, her brow was etched with concern. Whether it was for me or not, I didn’t know. Perhaps she was just enjoying the show.
She made her way through the crowd, growing ever so much closer to me. I wondered what her intention was, or whether she was there to lay a blow herself.
It was time I tested Belle’s commitment to her promise.
CHAPTER 9
When Belle was close enough to see the villagers nearest me lay their weapons to my skin, I cried out. It was a primal scream of pain and hurt as I fell to the ground.
I crumpled there, my body lying on the forest floor as I tried to keep deathly still. I wanted her to believe I was dead, I needed her to believe that I had perished.
The villagers stopped with their attacks, a cheer of victory running through them all. They waved their weapons in the air, believing they killed the evil beast.
As I opened my eye just a smidge to see them, they started to leave the woods. With a triumphant hoot of celebration, they left my castle walls. No doubt heading toward the pub for some ale to end the event.
Belle remained.
She threw herself over my body as tears fell onto my fur. She hugged me, showing more compassion and emotion than any other woman I’d ever had within my castle walls.
“Oh, beast, I am so sorry,” she sobbed. I was extra careful not to move. I played quite the part, I must say. “I didn’t know they would do this. I tried to stop them.”
It was quite a heart wrenching scene playing out around me. I actually felt sorry for the poor girl. Nobody should be that upset about a beast’s death. Especially as ugly a beast as I was.
“He’s dead, let him go and come with me,” Gus said. I hadn’t realized he was still there. I had suspected the villagers might carry him off on their shoulders as their triumphant leader.
Belle’s fingers clenched my fur. Her touch was so, so tender in the cold forest. Her body warmed me far more than I expected it to.
“I can’t leave him.”
“Yes, you can. He is a lost cause. I am a far better match for you.” Gus spoke so smugly that I wanted to use my sword on him.
“I can’t,” Belle sobbed. “I… I… I love him.”
My eyes flew open at hearing those three words. My entire body tingled with the magic flowing through my veins.
She had said the words that would unlock me from my curse. My body was pulled into the air, I levitated there as Belle stumbled backwards from the shock. Gus merely reclined against a tree, already looking bored with the situation.
“What’s happening?” Belle asked. I was surprised she still managed to talk after everything that was happening.
Cords of magic glowed orange around my levitating body. Slowly, far too slowly for my liking, I was transformed back into the human body I loved and admired so very much.
It started with my legs, turning from furry brown into the booted feet I had when first cursed. It travelled upwards, over my torso and down my arms.
Finally, my beautiful face returned. All signs of the beast were gone, leaving nothing but my handsome self in its place. I was me again.
And I was gorgeous.
The magic subsided, returning me to my feet. Belle stood cautiously as Gus picked at his nails with disinterest. His mouth was curved with a frown, wrinkles covered his forehead.
“Belle, your love has released me from my curse,” I said, at least giving her an explanation. “Thank you.”
“You’re not a beast anymore,” she replied, still in shock, the poor dear.
“No, I am not. But I have won a bet!”
Gus’s head shot up at the mention of our wager. “You cheated.”
“I did no such thing. And now you have to visit my father with me,” I reminded him. Sure, it would be a long journey together, but we were still best friends at heart. A little attempted lynching wouldn’t get between us. We’d suffered through worse.
“Fine. I shall go pack,” Gus conceded. He left us there alone as he stumbled out of the woods, his shoulders hunched with defeat.
“A bet?” Belle asked.
“Yes. Whoever got you to fall in love with them first, won,” I explained happily. “And I am the triumphant victor.”
Belle crossed her arms and held a rigid posture, apparently not as pleased with the win as I was. “I was nothing but a bet? A wager? A gamble?”
“If it’s any consolation, I did enjoy having you around.”
She took a step closer and I thought she was going to hug me. Instead, she swung her fist and it collided with my chin. “I am no bet. You really are nothing but a beast.”
With no further words spoken, she stomped out of the woods like a thunderstorm. I let her go. I was back to myself again, I could get any girl I wanted.
Even if they might not be as warm and lovely.
Or as intelligent and kind.
Or love me so readily even though I had been a beast and ugly.
Maybe I had made a terrible mistake.
I shrugged it away. I didn’t need Belle. I was Prince Francis, after all. And I was awesome.
The End
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Jamie Campbell grew up in the New South Wales town of Port Macquarie as the youngest of six children. A qualified Chartered Accountant, she now resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Writing since she could hold a pencil, Jamie’s passion for storytelling and wild imagination were often a cause for concern with her school teachers. Now that imagination is used for good instead of mischief.
Visit www.jamiecampbell.com.au now for exclusive website only content.
Also by theAuthor:
A Hairy Tail
Ashes to Ashes
A World Without Angels
Angel’s Uprising
Gifted
Ignite
Unite
Divide
Conquer
Broken
Soar
Dark Eyes: Cursed
Liar
Songbird
The Star Kissed Series
Through a Tangled Woods
Trouble
Fairy Tales Retold Page 15
