Inside the Beast's Castle

Bonus-Chapter-Epilogue-Thing

I glanced at Brennen, who tickled Lily and Raul so much that they started squealing.

A smile formed on my face. Three years after we married--when he first found out that we were going to have a child--he panicked. Memories of his first marriage and how it ended surfaced to his mind every night, waking him up with screams in his throat. Always reluctant to let emotion roam free because of his time with Beast, he kept his concerns bottled up inside until one day, he broke and let it all go.

The day when he held his son in his arms.

I smirked and barely shook my head. For a kid named after one of the best men we'd known, he had a lot to live up to.

He took after his father. Same golden hair, same large eyes. Everything was the same, except for where Brennen's eyes were deep brown, Rail's were sparkling green.

Lily was next. She lived my to the innocent sound in her name, until she wanted something. Then she'd become an unstoppable mischievous machine. Her hair was my color--dark brown, her small eyes were the same color as her father's.

Someone slid next to me.

"Daddy!" Lily shrieked. "You're supposed to stay over here!"

Brennen widened his eyes in false surprise. "Really? I thought you and Raul were happy of there together. These seats are made to sit two" he pointed to the two children, the twisted his finger around to us. "And two. Not three and one."

I sat up. "Why don't you two tell stories?"

Raul bounded up to stand on the seat like he was declaring land captured. "Oh, oh! Tell us the never ending story!"

I squeezed Brennen's hand, giving him the go-ahead. A small grin formed on his face. "Once upon a time..."

I sat straight up and yelled along with the kids, "No!"

Peals of laughed twinkled from the opposite seat.

"Oh, so you don't want the one about the girl with the shoe," Brennen teased.

"No!"

"What about the one with the boy who found a way to the sky?"

"No!"

He bit back a chuckle and placed his hands over his face. "What about the man who sings and wears a mask?"

I answered for the kids that time. "Haha, no."

"The one about the girl who goes to a strange castle, Daddy."

Brennen met my eyes and grinned. "You know, you two heard that last night."

"So?"

I laid my head on my husband's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Lily, you start it," Brennen said.

Lily's eyes sparkled. She opened her mouth and started spurting out the words to the story.

"A long time ago..."

I turned my daughter out and squeezed Brennen's hand.

"Didn't sleep well?" he whispered.

"Not at all," I replied. "Bad dreams."

He kissed to top of my head. "Dreams are just that--dreams."

"And nightmares are just our fears we need to face."

Brennen rubbed my arms, giving me unnecessary warmth. He leaned back, drawing most of his attention to the kids.

There are still nights where one of us wakes up in terror. Whether it be me with my dreams of fire, or Brennen with his dreams of blood, one of us needs the other.

But having someone to turn to in those times is comforting. Having the love of another is what we need.

Nightmares are nightmares. Daydreams are daydreams. They end, and life begins. Everyday.

I snuggled to Brennen more. "Are we there yet?" I whispered.

He laughed lightly. "We're only just beginning."

The kids fell silent; they probably fell asleep in the middle of my story. The only sound was the rocks hitting the bottom of the carriage.

It was nice--the silence. Very rare in my life.

A high voice piped up. "I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Me too."

So much for silence.

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