Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 69

In the springing of the night Charlotte opened her eyes and behold, she lay in the green-hung chamber wherein she had so greatly longed to be. She quickly moved from the downy bed and left the elegant bedroom to look for Alastor. She would find him,  and she would comfort him, and she would tell him of sweet coming days, wherein she never more would leave him.

"Alastor!" She called adoringly. "Alastor! Darling! I've come back! I've returned!"

Yet no voice answered her call, she could hear nothing but the empty silence. Going down the various hallways and corridors, she noticed changes in the atmosphere that unsettled her. There was no light, no light at all. No warmth, only a chilled coldness. When she checked the rooms she discovered them ransacked and nearly all the furniture  had been left in shambles. She couldn't see the servants anywhere and they didn't come when she called out to them. But worst of all was when she glanced out that one window to see that every rose in the garden had withered away to ashes.

"Oh no."

A cold dread overcame her and she set forth to the bed chamber of her beloved. Going up the stairway, she prayed from the depths of her heart and soul that the man she adored was still alive and well. She swore to herself that if anything awful had befallen him then she would never go on. She would never forgive herself. Never, never, never.

At long last she reached the door and opened it. She rushed inside and that's where she found him. Alastor now laid motionless on the stone, cold floor with his last expression being one of great pain. Charlotte sank down upon her knees beside him and put her hands over her face. She grieved. She gave herself reproach and upbraiding.

"He's dead!" She wept bitterly. "I should never have left him alone! I should have not been blind to my family's flaws! I have betrayed him and now I have lost him!"

But then she heard the sound of something moving. She looked up from her hands and saw the beast come to himself. He opened his eyes and looked upon her with sad disbelief.

"Charlotte?" He inquired weakly.

"Oh how you frightened me!" She spoke with relief. "I feared the worst."

She moved to touch him but he flinched, sat up quickly, and tried to distance himself from her.

"Oh God! I know that I am a sinful wretch but am I really deserving of this?!" He let out a torturous moan.

"Alastor what is wrong?" Charlotte asked concerned.

"Go away phantom!" He cried. "Lord please! Take my life! Damn me to Hell if need be! But I beg you do not punish me like this! Not with this cruel trick of the mind!"

"It's no trick Alastor. I really am here."

"No! No! You're just a sick dream! A figment of my disturbed mind!"

"No it really is me! Touch me! I am real!"

"No you can't be real! You just can't be!"

Her heart ached at the sight of how damaged he had become, and she was to blame. She had left him to the mercy of his self-loathing and now he felt nothing but sorrow. He had lost all faith in any tenderness reappearing in his life. Oh how could she let this happen?

"Alastor forgive me!"  She embraced him before he could distance himself further. "I am the monster, not you! I shouldn't have stayed away for so long! I should have known what my absence would've done to you!"

At first Alastor was just waiting for the moment when he would wake up. When he would discover that this was just another dream that would torment his heart. He blinked his eyes countless times, expecting her to disappear any minute. But she didn't disappear. No matter how many times he blinked, she still remained. His trembling arms dared to return the embrace. He touched her and she was still here.