Inside the Beast's Castle

Chapter 8--Quick Decisions

The girl bent down to the floor, picking up a small piece of glass. I quickly realized what it was she was holding. Painful memories came flooding into my head, memories of a woman holding a child, running for their lives.

Memories of an argument that turned into a fight.

Finally, the most painful memory of them all, one of a beautiful auburn-haired woman in a white dress, laughing at a joke I had told.

The hour before everything had gone up in flames.

I gasped quietly. Oh, this hurts. I still remembered their names, even after so many years of not allowing myself to think of them.

Rosalie and Henry Scott.

I touched the left side of my face gently, feeling the deepest scar that ran down it. There was a time where someone would have touched it with more care, tenderness even... even love.

I stopped myself. Those times of love and happiness are gone. Now it is just the monster.

I drew my attention back to the girl. She had put down the picture and gone to the window. Slowly, as if she was afraid, she opened it. I saw the tranquility sweep over her face, almost as if she was hypnotized. The sun's rays blinded me for a few minutes.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I just sat and watched her. I never thought one could be so happy just sitting in the sun, but the more I sat, the more I realized her joy. It had been years since I allowed myself to see sunlight and sky.

It had been years since I had changed views from the dark and dreariness of the castle halls.

It had been years since I was able to stop thinking about the Beast.

I didn't know how long I had been sitting, but I saw her jump up and close the window.

Panic washed over me. Did I make a noise? She can't see me--not now. Not without my mask.

I started to move to the exit, trying to get off the perch I sat on, but then her real reason for getting up was shown. In the corner, covered by a cloth, was the old piano. I watched her move toward it, her movements slow and deliberate. I'd never seen anyone so wary about what may or may not be under a cloth before. It was actually quite amusing.

She yanked the cover off the instrument and gasped, then a smile lit up her face.

I tilted my head to the side. She must have seen one of these before.

When I had gotten it, having a piano was a rarity. Only the richer people in kingdoms would have them.

Things change in two-hundred plus years.

The girl bent over the piano and started to play the out-of-tune instrument. The first few notes she hit were cringe-worthy, but after a minute she got the hang of it. The song she was playing was familiar. I couldn't quite pick it out the name until she started to sing softly to it. I doubted she even realized what she was doing. Then the words of her song reached my ears.

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our joyful hymn of praise.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A woman's laughter filled the room.

Joy. It was a joke.

She was laughing at something funny, her smile was contagious. She sat on a bench in front of a piano. It was nighttime, the vividness of her auburn hair was muted by the lack of light. She wore her favorite dress, a white one with lace covering the top.