Beauty Beheld: A Retelling of Hansel and Gretel (The Becoming Beauty Trilogy Book 3)

by Brittany Fichter

  “Actually, I wouldn’t. Considering that he is none other than my brother.” The anger that had been building within him warred with his morbid curiosity. Suddenly, the need to know burned so heavily in Ever’s stomach that he stood and walked to Garin without hesitating as he had done for the last five weeks. The time for petulance was over.

  “How did this happen?” he asked, pain choking him as he spoke. “After all the lectures about duty and self-denial and selflessness, how could he treat my mother and me like this?” Rodrigue and Louise had never been close in the slightest, but it still irked Ever that his father could have been so unfaithful. “And the Fortiers always sire boys first,” he bellowed. “Why was she a girl?” It didn’t matter, of course, but Ever was tired of mysteries and riddles.

  “Walk with me,” Garin said, holding the door open. Ever complied, and soon they were walking in the direction of the tower. “As to why Sacha is a woman,” Garin said, seeming unfazed by Ever’s childish temper tantrum, “that is easy. Whatever Fae woman sired Sacha was not the Fortress queen. Therefore, the Fortress traditions did not apply to her. As to your father, I’ve been thinking about that.” He pulled out a key and unlocked the heavy door that led into the tower. After their run-in with the Glass Prince three years before, the door had been completely remade, and now was three times heavier, thanks to its triple iron casings.

  “Your father would take off on personal missions of sorts,” Garin continued as he locked the door behind them. “I recall one such mission about two years before he was married to your mother. A bear touched by the Sorthileige was rumored to be running about the southern forest, and your father went to deal with it. He was gone an exceptionally long time, though, for the kind of errand it should have been, two weeks at least. When questioned upon his return by your grandfather, he simply said he had discovered more pockets of the dark power and had worked to rid the countryside of them. As this was in line with his character and dedication, we didn’t think twice. After that, he continued to claim that he was receiving messages from other individuals dealing with the darkness in the same vicinity, and continued to return there, even after he was married and you were born. “

  “He was gone so much,” Ever said as he began to thumb through a book, only to slam it shut in frustration. “I never questioned his intentions on such campaigns. His constant absence from Mother and from me was only duty, he said.” And Ever had believed him, never considering that his father was absent because he was finding familial fulfillment elsewhere. Ever had been a fool.

  “Your father loved you,” Garin said in a gentle voice. “He was often at a loss as to how to show it, but it for all of his pains, look at what you have become.”

  “An arrogant fool who knows how to shed blood better than he knows his own people,” Ever said, the words tasting sour as he spoke them.

  “A strong, vigilant leader,” Garin corrected him, placing a hand on Ever’s shoulder. And this time Ever didn’t shake it off. “Yes, you have sinned. But do not forget the first lesson you learned from the Fortress. Because it is one that many of your forefathers never learned. The Fortress loves you, and uses you in spite of your shortcomings, or even through them! Just look at the wife you were given, even though you did everything in your power to push her away at first. You have been willing to learn and grow, and you have been forgiven. You are not the same man you were four years ago, Ever, nor you will not be the same man you are now in another four years.”

  “Perhaps,” Ever stared at the ground, “that is why I am not yet a father. The Fortress knows how I could ruin the life of a child.”

  “Now whatever would make you say such a thing?” The shock in Garin’s voice made Ever look up.

  “My father, despite his best intentions, ruined so much in me. And look what he did or didn’t do for this... sister of mine. He was with me often enough that he couldn’t have given much time to her. Maybe the Fortress knows I’m enough like my father that I would do the same.”

  “Nonsense.”

  But Ever shook his head. “You said yourself that Henri is much like me. What if I do to him what my father did to me?” Ever could just imagine himself pushing the boy to his limits, forcing him into a role that allowed him no choices.

  “What happens if no one loves him?” Garin asked, fixing two steely eyes upon Ever. “You maintained pieces of your natural self because I was here, and because of Gigi and the servants, and sometimes, even, your father. Because of the Fortress. Now, imagine yourself as a boy, and ask yourself what ultimate rejection would have done to you.”

  Ever held Garin’s gaze unhappily. He didn’t want to even contemplate that outcome. It would have been disastrous for the entire kingdom.

  “Because,” Garin continued, folding his arms defiantly, “that is exactly what is happening to that boy right now. I can see it in his eyes. He’s desperate to find a place for himself and his sister. And if he cannot find it through natural means, he will look in places that no child or adult should even consider.”

  Ever stood still for a long time, warring with himself. Part of him, the part that often sounded a lot like Isa, knew what he should do. The other part, which sounded more like his father, much to Ever’s disgust, was very, very afraid. “Isa has been asking,” he began slowly, “about what we plan to do with the children.” He took a deep breath. “What do you know of Blood Sealing?”

  Garin frowned but didn’t seem completely taken by surprise. “That is a serious matter indeed, Ever. I am not surprised Isa wishes to know, but how do you feel about such an undertaking?”

  “They have no one.” Ever shrugged. “The girl seems harmless enough right now, but the boy needs someone to teach him how to use his power correctly before he accidentally obliterates an entire village. And Genny has become Isa’s shadow...” He looked at his feet, suddenly frightened of what he might see in his mentor’s eyes. That the children were part Fae still concerned him, and he fully expected Garin to capitalize on such a glaring risk.

  Instead, however, Garin simply said, “Follow me,” and turned. Curious, Ever followed him to the northern side of the tower. Garin went over to an ancient chest that sat against the window wall and undid the lock. Ever wondered how he had never noticed this particular chest before. It was so old that the blue paint had all but peeled off completely. With a creak and a good deal of encouragement, the lid finally came up and Garin reached inside. Ever peeked over his shoulder to see a small pile of about a dozen scrolls on yellowed, cracking paper laying inside. What on earth could those contain?

  “Here it is.” Garin’s voice was muffled from inside the trunk as he rummaged around. Finally, he stood and pulled out a scroll that had been rolled and tied carefully with a ribbon, but the ribbon was so thin that its crimson color was all but gone. Reverently, Garin took the scroll back out to the large wooden table and slowly unrolled it. It took Ever a moment to make out the faint markings on the page.

  “This is in the old language!”

  Garin nodded. “This oath is as old as the Fortress itself.”

  “Has it ever been used?” Ever leaned closer and squinted to make out some of the smaller words.

  “No. There has never been a Fortier to go childless. Even when the first son was killed, there was always a younger brother or sister to take his place.”

  Until now, Ever thought unhappily.

  “I will not try to persuade you one way or another,” Garin said in a still voice. “This decision is for you and Isa alone. But,” he leaned forward, “should the two of you complete the covenant, the match will be binding. The children will be your own flesh and blood in the eyes of the Fortress and the Maker. There is no going back.”

  “Thank you, Garin.” Ever took the scroll and carefully rolled it up once again. Despite his love for his steward, he needed someplace where he could be alone. He needed to speak with the Fortress.

  As Ever began the long walk down the stairs, he shook his head. It was all too confu
sing. I need guidance! He reached out to lean against the wall. I want to do what is right. But my fear is crippling me. Ever stopped where he was and sat on the step, placing his head in his hands. Tell me what to do!

  “Your Grace!”

  Ever’s prayers were interrupted by a panicked shout that echoed up the tower, and with it, the pounding sensation that something was wrong. “What is it?” He stood as the breathless chambermaid paused just steps below him.

  “A demon has come... in Master Henri and Miss Genny’s rooms!” She doubled over as though she might faint. “Queen Isabelle is holding it off, but—”

  Ever didn’t hear the rest of the woman’s words, for he was already halfway down the tower steps.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Decisions

  Ever burst into the children’s chambers. When he stopped he should have been between the hearth and the two large canopied beds, but instead, Ever found himself in a swamp. Stinking gas bubbles rose and popped at the surface of a rancid pond, and chirps, grunts, and all sorts of other sounds assaulted his ears. Only the sounds of the children’s screams drew him forward.

  Only then did Ever remember what Garin had said about the Fae creating illusions, and how Isa had said the candy house was only an illusion for the children. Was this how the Fae had killed Leroy so easily, blinding him first before going in for the kill? Ever inched forward. “Isa!”

  “Ever!” Isa called back, much to his relief. The Fae must not have been strong enough to block their senses completely. “We’re by the window!”

  “I can’t see you. You’ll have to keep talking!” He needed to follow the sound of her voice through the mist that surrounded him. But as he was looking for Isa and the children, where was the Fae? Were there more than one?

  “It was hiding under the bed when I arrived,” Isa called back. Her voice was strong, but Ever could detect a tremble. “I was able to graze its arm with my sword, but nothing else.”

  “Where is it now?” Ever felt like his skin was crawling, knowing the creature was there in the room with them somewhere. He still only felt the oppressive wet air of the swamp upon his skin and saw misty, deathly ripples in the water as he walked upon the moss-covered log that spanned the frightening, gray depths.

  “I think it’s in the hearth.”

  “Henri, Genny,” Ever said, praying the children would listen, “grab onto Miss Isa’s skirts. Isa, hold out your hand. I’m going to pull you back towards the door. Then, Isa, I want you to find Garin, and keep the children with him until I kill this miscreant.”

  “Miscreant?” A thin voice warbled.

  Ever froze, his left hand outstretched toward Isa. The voice came from his right.

  A hazy figure stepped out from behind one of the swamp trees, and two slitted green eyes glowed at him. “You are hasty to judge a creature you’ve never seen, Your Majesty.”

  Ever’s title was said like a curse word, and Ever gripped his sword more tightly as he stepped away from Isa and the children and toward the creature. “I see that you are in my home, uninvited. Hiding in the room of two children is hardly a way to get in my good graces. Now that you have my attention, would you like to tell me why you’re here?”

  It didn’t answer though. In a second, the swamp was gone, and the room was blacker than any darkness Ever had experienced before.

  “It’s got me, Henri! It’s got me!”

  The little girl’s shrieks awakened a new kind of anger in Ever. A ball of flame appeared upon his left fist. In the light of the blue flame, he could see Isa with her sword held out protectively before Henri, who clung to her skirts. But Genny was gone.

  “Ever!” Isa shrieked, her eyes wide. Following her eyes, Ever turned to his right to see green mist materialize into the thin form once again. Its new form was like more like a human than the reptilian creature that had appeared only moments before. But the slitted eyes were too far apart, and its mouth was far too wide. And it was staring at his flame as though in a trance, even as it held Genny pinned to its side.

  At the same time, Henri shouted as well. Ever kept his fire lit as he turned to see a second creature holding one of Henri’s legs, trying to loosen the boy’s grip on Isa’s skirts. This creature was suddenly staring at his fire, though, too.

  Isa met Ever’s eyes, and gave the slightest nod before yanking Henri back and pinning the creature to the ground with her sword. Ever whirled and threw all of his weight against the first Fae. It dropped Genny’s arm as Ever slammed into it. The fire disappeared from his hand, but a few sparks fell into the hearth, and the tinder within it began to rise. With a shout, Ever thrust his sword through where the Fae’s chest should have been. But before his blade could draw a single drop of blood, the creature dissipated into the green whorl of light drops, which swung around and wrapped themselves around Ever’s throat. Invisible fingers began to materialize, crushing his airway.

  “Isa!” Ever rasped. “Go!”

  With the flame gone from Ever’s hand, the creature that Isa had pinned looked back up at her and dissolved. Isa didn’t wait for the Fae to materialize again. She darted past Ever and his foe and grabbed Genny by the arm, but just as she threw the door open, Henri let go of her hand and took a step back toward Ever. As Ever fought for air, he tried to motion to the boy to go and leave him be, but a determined look came into Henri’s eyes.

  “No,” Ever tried to yell, but he was too late. Henri held up a hand, and immediately, a little blue flame appeared inside his palm. The Fae stopped squeezing Ever’s throat. Instead of watching the little blaze as it had done with Ever’s ball of flame, the Fae disappeared and then shimmered into being right in front of Henri. It reached out and grabbed his hand that held the flame, and with its other hand, it grabbed Henri’s throat. Before it could squeeze, however, Ever threw himself upon the creature, blade down. And this time, his sword hit its mark.

  A sharp cry rang out behind Ever. He turned to see the second Fae, horror in its eyes as it stared down at its dead brother. Ever sprang at the living Fae and grabbed it by its scrawny neck before it could escape. This time, he kept his flame burning as he held it to the ground. And no matter how it squirmed and fought him, it couldn’t quite tear its focus from the flames that leapt from Ever’s hand.

  “Why are you here?” Ever growled as he pressed the Fae hard into the rug. But the Fae only spat on him. Ever lowered his hand until the flames began to singe the edge of the creature’s human-like hair. It screamed, and Ever pushed down with even more force. “Why have you come?” he bellowed.

  “It matters not,” the Fae hissed as it glared up at the flame with its slitted eyes. Its form shimmered, but it managed to stay solid. “She is coming, and she will avenge us.” It flicked a trembling finger at the dead Fae, which was now a pile of ash. “You think you have the right to—”

  “I have the right to protect the children within my home. And I will rid that home of vermin like you and your brother.” He squeezed the Fae’s neck once more, bringing his flaming fist just inches from its face. “Now, when will she be here?”

  “She already is.” With those words, the creature tried to kick Ever in the stomach, but Ever was faster, plunging his sword into its heart.

  The dark mist disappeared, allowing the light of day back into the room through the windows once again. As the light returned, Ever could see that the body at his feet was indeed human in shape, but only just. Lines that should have appeared around the eyes, mouth, palms, and fingers were nonexistent. The skin had no variations or spots of any kind but was one continuous color. Seconds later, it, too, dissolved into ash.

  “These must have been young,” Garin’s voice came from behind Ever. “They weren’t very good at imitating other forms yet.”

  Ever wiped the sweat from his eyes. “Thank you for keeping the door.”

  “I would have interfered, but you had it quite well under control.”

  Ever nodded. “Unfortunately, it seems you won’t have time to wor
k with the men after all.” He finally tore his gaze from the pile of ash and met Garin’s eyes. “She’s here.”

  Garin’s eyes began to fill with something that, if Ever hadn’t known better, looked very akin to hate. “Shall I tell Acelet to take his leave then?”

  Ever took a deep breath. “I’m only beginning to understand how to defeat them,” he said softly. “They wouldn’t stand a chance right now.”

  As Garin nodded and headed off, Genny began to cry.

  “Get her calmed down,” Ever told Isa. “When they’re better, give them to Gigi. I... I need to speak with you.”

  Isa looked at him curiously before picking the little girl up in one arm and taking Henri’s hand with the other. As soon as she was gone, Ever looked down once more at the pile of ash beneath his feet and shuddered. He had a decision to make and much less time than he had expected to make it.

  “Wait,” he called out, catching them in the hall. They stopped as Ever knelt before Henri. “Do you like it here?” he asked, knowing that he must look like that biggest fool in the world to the child. After weeks of stomping around the Fortress and muttering about the children’s antics, would Henri trust him enough to answer?

  Henri studied him for a long time, his blue eyes wary in his thin face. The more Ever looked at the boy, the more he saw himself. From the golden hair to the angle of his chin, the boy was his spitting image. But Ever had spent so long trying to push him away that he suddenly wondered if he was too late.

  “Why?” Henri finally asked.

  “I fear...” Ever took a deep breath. Admitting his errors had never been one of his strengths. “I fear I have not been entirely fair to you. You are of the Fae and the Fortress because the Maker created you so, and I allowed my fears to blind me to that. For that, I am sorry. But now, I wish to know what you think of this place. If,” Ever swallowed hard, “you could ever think of it as home.”