Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 19

"I intended to find that castle and if Charlotte is indeed alive then I'll kill that beast and rescue her. Lucifer will be so grateful that he'll insist on giving me her hand as a reward and Charlotte would not dare defy or displease him. Not to mention the fact that I saved her will make her seeing me as her knight in shining armor and will have no choice but to swoon over me. It's full proof."

"Quick question though, what happens when you get caught and eaten by this beast?"

"Helsa I'm the greatest hunter who ever lived. None of God's creatures can outmatch me. I'll take this beast out with one shot and mount it's carcass on my wall."

"I still think you're not going to come back from this alive but do as you please brother. Only one thing."

"What?"

"If you die I inherit all that you own correct?"

Seviathan glared at her irritated before leaving her room and going downstairs to wear Lucifer sat. Just like his sister, Seviathan was gifted in manipulating ones emotions. Now he had never been able to manipulate Charlotte like Helsa could because unlike Helsa, he wasn't her family and she didn't want to love him. Lucifer on the other hand viewed Seviathan as a son, meaning the young man would be able to play him like a fiddle.

"My heart breaks for you Lucifer." He said with a sympathetic expression on his face. "No one as radiant as her deserves to be in the clutches of a monster."

"If only I had not plucked that damnable rose." Lucifer bemoaned. "If only I had just left the castle without taking anything. Oh my poor sweet Charlotte, I would do anything...Give anything just to have her back."

"I cannot bear to see you suffer like this sir. Nor can I stand spending another day thinking of Charlotte being in peril. I'll go myself to the beast's castle and retrieve her."

"It's no use my boy. I have tried that already but each time I enter those woods again I somehow lose consciousness and wake up right back in my own home. It's a forest of witchcraft."

"Perhaps it is because you are old and feeble. I am young, strong, and an excellent hunter meaning that I can track any animal. I should be able to find the monster."

"If by some miracle you can rescue my daughter you'll be forever in my debt. I don't have much to offer but I'll give you anything you want if it is my power to give."

"Your happiness and Charlotte's freedom is all I wish." He said. "But I must confess that your daughter's hand would be a most fitting reward."

"If you bring her back to me alive and she will be yours."

With that answer given Seviathan immediately made plans to hunt the woods for Charlotte. The next morning he saddled himself on to his horse with a loaded gun and made his way to the edge of the black woods. He was greeted there by an old beggar woman who was hobbling about. She had faded red hair with streaks of grey, wrinkled skin, wore a tattered cloak, yet her green eyes seemed as youthful as the dawn.

"Good day to you young man." She politely spoke in her aged voice.

Seviathan looked at her in disgust.

"Out of my way crone!" He snapped. "I'm on a very important hunt and I will not allow myself to be distracted from it."

"You plan to hunt in there?" She asked pointing toward the woods. "I would think twice about that if I were you. Very few have gone in there and come back. Should you not become lost forever in there then you shall surely be devoured by the beast who rules this piece of land."

"I fear no beast. All beasts are nothing more than prey to me."

"It is foolish to hunt for game and pride. Especially when the creature you hunt is one that you know nothing about."

"That's where you're wrong hag! I do not hunt this animal for game but to retrieve the bride which he has stolen from me."

"Stolen? The beast does not steal. He does not take from others. Everything in his grasp has been given to him willingly. Although in your bride's case, she has come to him willingly."

"Nevertheless I will not let my love be slaughtered by this beast. I intend to rescue her if she still lives."

The mysterious beggar suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"What do you find so amusing old woman?" Sevithan asked impatiently.

"You speak of love but you do not love this woman." She said. "You are not rescuing a damsel in distress. You are merely trying to steal her under false pretenses. In your mind she's a jewel you were planning to swipe but another thief beat you to the heist. So to speak."

"Enough! Silence! How dare you presume to know what my true intentions are!" He shouted. "Get out of my sight before I stomp you to death with my horse!"

"As you wish but you'll never find her or him." She said before wandering off and when she was certain that he could not hear her she muttered under her breath. "I'll make sure of that."