The Beast Within

by Serena Valentino

  Nanny and Tulip looked at each other in wonder. Usually they would be shown up to their rooms so they might refresh themselves after their long travels. But Lumiere ushered them past many vast and beautiful rooms until they finally arrived at a large door wrapped to look like an extravagant gift with a big gold bow.

  “What is this?” Nanny snapped.

  “Go inside and see for yourself!”

  Tulip opened the giant gift wrapped door to find a winter wonderland within. There was an enormous oak tree stretching to the very height of the golden domed ceiling. It was covered in magnificent lights and beautifully ornate finery that sparkled in their glow. Under the tree was an abundance of gifts, and standing among them was the Prince, his arms stretched out as he waited to greet her. Tulip’s heart was filled with joy. The Prince seemed to be in wonderful spirits!

  “My love! I am so happy to see you!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him.

  “Hello, my dearest. You are in quite a state from traveling, aren’t you? I’m surprised you didn’t insist to be taken to your rooms to make yourself presentable before showing yourself.”

  The Prince scowled as if he were looking at a dirty servant girl and not the woman he loved.

  “I’m sorry, dear, you’re right, of course.”

  Lumiere, always the gentleman, and eager to please the ladies, added, “It’s my fault, my lord. I insisted she follow me at once. I knew you were excited to show the princess the decorations.”

  “I see. Well, Tulip dear, soon you will be queen in these lands and, more important, queen in this house, and you must learn to decide for yourself what is right and insist upon it. I am sure next time you will make the right choice.”

  Tulip colored a deep crimson but found the most authoritative voice she could manage.

  “Yes, my love and prince. Lumiere, if you will show Nanny and me to our rooms so we may ready ourselves for dinner…”

  With that, she left the room without even a kiss for the Prince, for she was rushing to avoid letting him see she was on the verge of tears.

  How dare he suggest she was unseemly to come into his company upon her arrival? Did she look so grotesque? Lumiere seemed to hear her very thoughts.

  “As I said when you arrived, dear princess,” he said, “you look beautiful as always. Do not heed the master’s words. He has been rather distracted as of late.”

  Nanny and Tulip just looked at each other, wondering what this visit had in store.

  It seemed to Tulip there were fewer servants than the last time she visited, though the castle didn’t seem to suffer for it; it looked even more grand than usual, having been decorated for the solstice. Her favorite court companion, Pflanze, a beautiful black, orange, and white cat, was in attendance to keep her company. “Hello, beautiful Pflanze!” she said to her little friend, and she leaned over to pat her on the head.

  “So you’ve named her? What a strange name. What does it mean?”

  Tulip looked up to see the Prince standing over her.

  “Oh! I don’t know! I thought you came up with it. I was sure it was you who told me her name,” the princess responded.

  “It wasn’t me. I don’t even like the beast!” he said, giving Pflanze a dirty look as she gave him her customary side glance and adjusted her paws.

  “Someone else must have told me, then,” said the princess.

  “Indeed! That is clear, someone else would have had to tell you! I could puzzle that out on my own! And like the featherhead you are apt to be, you’ve completely forgotten who told you. But clearly someone else told you!”

  “Yes,” said Tulip in the tiniest of voices, trying desperately not to let her lip quiver as he went on.

  “Never mind! I see you’ve not changed for dinner yet! Well, we can’t keep Mrs. Potts waiting. What you’re wearing will just have to do! Come! I’ll escort you into the dining room, even if you’re not fit for the grand affair planned in your honor.”

  Tulip’s heart sank and her face turned scarlet. She had, in fact, changed for dinner and made herself up considerably well—at least, she thought so. She was wearing one of her finest gowns and had thought she looked quite beautiful before she started down the stairway. She made a special effort to look flawless in light of what had happened upon her arrival. Now she wanted nothing more than to run away from this place and never come back again, but she was trapped. Trapped with this terrible prince! She didn’t care how rich he was, or how massive his kingdom or influence; she couldn’t stand the idea of being married to such a bully. How would she get out of it? She didn’t know what to do. She decided to stay quiet on the matter until she could talk to Nanny.

  After dinner Tulip asked the Prince if he’d like to go on a walk, and he agreed. He was being sullen and quiet but not cross, so for that, at least, she was thankful. They walked around the lake, which was frozen this time of year but still breathtakingly beautiful.

  “Could you show me the observatory, sweetheart? The sky is very clear and I should like to see the view you’ve spoken of so frequently.”

  “If you’d like.”

  They walked the long stone spiral staircase until they reached the top floor of the observatory. Even without the telescope, the view was spellbinding. Tulip could see the entire sky through the glass domed ceiling. She felt as if the stars were winking back at her for how joyfully she looked upon them.

  It seemed they were not the only ones who had decided it was a good night to stargaze. Someone was already looking through the telescope when they reached the top of the stairs.

  “Hello! Who’s there?”

  The observer didn’t answer.

  “I said, who’s there?”

  Tulip was frightened, especially after the Prince motioned her to get behind him for protection—but as the Prince got closer to the intruder, he realized it wasn’t a person at all, but a statue.

  “What’s this?” He was nonplussed. There had never been a statue up here before, and how on earth had someone gotten it up here without some sort of elaborate apparatus? There was no way something that heavy could have been brought up the stairs without his knowing.

  Tulip started to giggle in nervous relief.

  “Oh my! It’s just a statue! I feel silly for being so startled!”

  But the Prince still had a look of confusion on his face while she prattled on.

  “But it does look kind of creepy, doesn’t it? It almost looked like it was giving us a side glance when we walked in! And how odd a pose for a statue, leaning over looking into the telescope! It obstructs our ability to look through it completely! I’m sure this wasn’t your idea, dear! Honestly, I don’t think I like it. I can’t tell if it’s meant to be a man or a woman. Male or female, though, it does look horrified, don’t you think? Like something terrible came upon it and turned it into stone?”

  The Prince hardly heard what she was rambling; his mind was suddenly violated by terrible disembodied voices from the past.

  Your castle and its grounds shall also be cursed, then, and everyone within will be forced to share your burden. Nothing but horrors will surround you, from when you look into a mirror to when you sit in your beloved rose garden.

  The Prince shuddered at the sound of the witch’s voice ringing in his ears. Was he cursed after all? First the drastic change in his appearance and now this strange event?

  His servants trapped within stone? He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be trapped like that. He wondered if the person trapped could hear their conversation. If the person was aware he had been entrapped in stone. The thought sent shivers up the Prince’s spine.

  “Darling, you look peaky! What’s the matter?” Princess Tulip asked.

  The Prince’s heart was racing, his chest felt heavy, and it was hard for him to breathe. He suddenly realized everything the sisters had said was
coming true.

  “Tulip! Do you love me? I mean, truly love me?”

  When she looked at him, he looked like a lost little boy and not the spiteful bully he’d been to her as of late.

  “I do, my love! Why do you ask?”

  He grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

  “But would you love me if I were somehow disfigured?”

  “What a question! Of course I would!”

  Her heart was again softening to the Prince. Not since the night they had met and he had asked her to marry him had he been so kind.

  “You know that I love you, my darling! I love you more than anything!” he said desperately as tears welled up in her eyes at his sweet words.

  “I do now, my love! I do now!”

  Princess Tulip was happier than she had dared hope on Solstice Eve. She hadn’t imagined such a turn of character in the Prince, but since that night in the observatory, he’d been nothing but sweet to her.

  “Oh, Nanny! I do love him so!” she whispered while sipping her spiced wine.

  “How quickly you pivot from one emotion to another, my dear!” said Nanny.

  “But, Nanny! His disposition has fluctuated greatly from one moment to the next! But I do feel he’s finally himself again.”

  Nanny did not look convinced.

  “We shall see, my dear.”

  The Prince did look glad, Nanny had to admit, and he seemed to be falling all over himself to make Tulip happy. It was almost comical, actually, quite like a mockery of love. But her Tulip was happy, so she didn’t press the matter or cast an evil eye in his direction. She did notice, however, Pflanze, who was perched on Tulip’s lap, looking at the Prince with hateful eyes. Nanny had to wonder why that cat disliked him so. Perhaps she too saw through this ruse.

  The Prince was very pleased with the Solstice Eve gathering. He was a bit exhausted by his attentions to Tulip, but he had decided there was no better way of breaking the curse than marrying Princess Morningstar. It was clear she loved him a great deal, so he was halfway there. All he had to do now was make the sisters believe he loved her, too.

  Of course, there were indeed things about her that he loved. He loved her beauty, her coyness, and her keeping her opinions to herself. There was nothing he hated more than a girl with too many opinions of her own.

  He liked that she showed no interest in books, and that she didn’t prattle on about her pastimes. In fact, he had no idea how she spent her time when she wasn’t in his company. It was as if she didn’t exist when she wasn’t with him. He imagined her sitting in a little chair in her father’s castle, waiting for him to send for her.

  He loved how she never gave him a cross look or scorned him even when he was in the foulest of moods, and how easy she was to manage. Surely that counted for something; surely that was a form of love, was it not? And he figured the sweeter he was to her, the more quickly he would reverse the curse.

  So that was the aim of this visit, to show the sisters how much he loved Princess Tulip Morningstar. But how would he get their attention?

  Oh yes, they had said the Prince and his beloved had to seal their love with a kiss. Well, that would be easy enough. He would just have to spirit her away to a romantic setting and bam! A kiss! A kiss she would never forget!

  He arranged the entire thing with Lumiere, who was best at planning such romantic things.

  “Romantic interludes,” he called them. “Oh yes, Prince, she will melt into your arms in utter delight when she sees what we have in store for her, mark my words!”

  “Wonderful, Lumiere. And Mrs. Potts—she’s sorted a hamper for the picnic, has she?”

  “Everything is taken care of, even the nanny. We invited her to a tea party downstairs so she will be very well occupied and you lovebirds will be able to fly free without worry of her watchful gaze.”

  The Prince laughed. Lumiere was always so poetic when he spoke of love, so devoted to the notion of it. The Prince couldn’t go wrong with having him arrange this little escapade, and he was sure Tulip would be very happy.

  The following day, in the morning room, Tulip was working at some needlepoint while idly petting Pflanze as the cat pawed at some spools of thread that fell onto her red velvet cushion.

  Nanny was talking, presumably to Tulip, about Mrs. Potts’s cobbler and wondering how hard it would be to wrangle the recipe out of her, when Lumiere entered the room.

  “Excuse me, lovely ladies, but my dear Tulip, could you possibly spare your nanny for a few moments? Mrs. Potts has arranged a little tea for Nanny downstairs. I think she is eager for your company, Nanny.”

  Nanny looked at Lumiere with a sly grin.

  “And yes, Nanny, to be sure, she has baked a peach cobbler for the tea. She knows how fond you are of her cobblers.”

  Nanny smiled. “Tulip, dear, you wouldn’t mind, would you? You won’t feel too lonely if Nanny slipped away for a spot of tea with old Mrs. Potts?”

  Tulip grinned at her nanny and said, “Of course not, I have Pflanze to keep me company.” And then, looking at Pflanze, she added, “Don’t I, sweet girl?”

  Pflanze just looked at Tulip with her large black rimmed golden eyes, tinted with tiny flakes of green, and blinked them slowly at her as if to say, “Yes.”

  “See! I will be fine! Go have your tea!”

  And off Nanny went.

  Tulip didn’t know what she would do without Nanny. But she knew once she was married, she couldn’t justify having her in the household. She would, of course, have a lady’s servant—someone to do her hair, to help her dress, to arrange her jewels—but it wouldn’t be the same. She couldn’t imagine sharing her feelings with anyone but Nanny. Perhaps since she and Mrs. Potts had become so friendly, it wouldn’t seem strange to keep Nanny on. She would have to talk to her mother about that when she returned from her trip. But what if her mother was unable to spare Nanny or thought it was somehow inappropriate for Tulip to bring her along? That was just too dreadful to think of now.

  The Prince peeked into the room, taking Tulip’s mind off her future household concerns. She knew he didn’t like Pflanze sitting on his fine cushions, but she couldn’t help indulging the creature, and he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Hello, my love. I have a little surprise for you. Do you think I can steal you away while we don’t have Nanny to worry about? She’s always snooping around and wondering where you are.”

  Tulip’s face transformed into something shining and bright. She couldn’t remember ever being so happy, not even when her father gave her Cupcake, her favorite horse. Oh, Cupcake! She couldn’t wait to see her again. She wondered if the Prince would object to Cupcake’s coming to live here once they were married. So many things to think about.

  “Darling?” His voice brought Tulip out of her deep thoughts.

  “Oh, yes, dear, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about how much I love you! And how sweet you are for asking Mrs. Potts to invite Nanny for tea so we could have some time together alone.”

  The Prince smiled. His featherhead had puzzled out his ruse. What a surprise.

  “So you worked out my clever scheme? Aren’t you a cunning girl?” he said. “Come now! I have something I would like to show you.”

  “What is it?” Tulip squealed like an excited little girl.

  “You will just have to wait and see, my love, but first you will have to put this on.”

  He handed her a long white piece of silk.

  She looked at him queerly.

  “It’s a surprise, my love. Trust me.” He helped her tie the blindfold and led her to what she was sure was the courtyard. He let go of her hand and gently kissed her on the cheek. “Count to fifty, my dear, and then take off the blindfold.”

  He could see she was frightened.

  “My dear, you’re trembling. There’s nothing to fear. I will be waiting f
or you at the end of your journey.”

  “My journey?” Her voice sounded small and confused.

  “It won’t be a long journey, my princess, and the way will be quite clear. Now count to fifty.”

  She could hear his footfalls moving farther and farther away as she counted in her mind. It was silly to be so frightened, but she hated nothing more than the dark. Nanny had tried everything, but Tulip’s relentless fear of darkness never diminished. She tried not to count too quickly so she wouldn’t ruin the Prince’s surprise, but found herself becoming too fearful of the confining darkness. “Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!” She ripped the silk sash from her eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust before she saw the path laid before her. The tips of her toes touched the scattered pink rose petals that had been strewn across the courtyard to create a path that led right into the hedge maze. Her fears fluttered away as she quickly walked upon the petals, eager to venture into the maze constructed of animal topiaries. The petals led her past an exceptionally large serpent, its mouth gaping wide and bearing long, deadly fangs. The serpent twisted its way around the corner, revealing a part of the maze she’d never seen. It was a replica of the castle, almost exact in every way, except without the many griffons and gargoyles perched on every corner and turret. She imagined her future children playing here one day, laughing and making a game of the animals in the maze. What a lovely place this would be for children. She stopped her daydreaming and followed the rose petals past several whimsical animals, some of which she didn’t know. She often felt cheated having been born a girl, not having had tutors like her brother had or the freedom to explore the world. Women learned of the world through their fathers, their brothers, and, if they were lucky, their husbands. It didn’t seem quite fair.

  She was accomplished for a girl—she knew how to sew, sing, paint watercolors, and even play the harpsichord fairly well—but she could not name all the animals in what would soon be her own hedge maze. She felt stupid most of the time and hoped others didn’t see her in that light but feared they usually did.