The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 3 =-

She gulped, having underestimated the drop to the ground by quite a bit. She shook, eyes searching for some way down to the ground without breaking her legs or any other bones. "Mademoiselle!" A voice called from somewhere outside of the bedroom door. Panic filled her, causing her feet to lose purchase on the edge. 

A scream left her as she tipped over the edge. Her hands scrambled for purchase as she felt the world shifting around her. Her nails curled into the hard stone her feet had once stood on. Her mind swirled and the world dipped and twirled around her. If she had been on the ground and not so focused on surviving, she knew she would have gotten sick immediately. 

"Mademoiselle!" the voice shouted, and she heard doors close to her own being opened and closed. Her eyes closed as she struggled to keep a hold on the stone. There was no hope of her climbing back up, her body too weak and her muscles too unformed. 

Part of her said to just accept help from whoever searched for her, yet the other part screamed that they would trap her. The Beast would have her in his grasp and suffocate her entirely. She let out a soft sob at the idea and looked for somewhere to help her get down. There was only a steep drop to the ground that would no doubt break her bones. 

Why? Why have I gotten myself into this mess, she thought. Perhaps... perhaps it would be better for mother and father to not have me as a financial burden? No... I cannot think like that. I have to survive, if not for them, but myself!

Annelie struggled uselessly to tug herself back up to the stone ledge as sounds of people moving grew louder. A huff of breath left her, and suddenly she couldn't breathe at all. Her body jerked down some, losing any progress she had made and nearly sending her tumbling to the ground. 

Her green eyes squeezed shut as she tightened her hold on the stone. Her hands were white, and her arms strained. They hurt so badly, but she could only think of her survival. "H-help," she brought out weakly. Her voice was easily carried off by the wind, taken to somewhere else entirely. "Please," she begged. "Please, someone... someone... help m-me." 

She knew her plea had to have fallen on deaf ears, but the door to her room opened with a slam. Loud thuds hit the ground as someone traveled through the room, searching. Annelie couldn't open her eyes, feeling her fingers sliding, numb and completely frozen. "Help," she tried once more. "H-help me..." 

Annelie felt one hand lose grip and the other follow suit, unable to handle her weight on its own. She felt the air whizzing past her head, and her blonde hair spilling up around her face. Her clothes billowed as she knew she was falling. Her eyes wouldn't open, couldn't open. 

Then, a jarring jerk and a tightness around her one wrist snapped her out of whatever acceptance had overtaken her. She tilted her head up, eyes wide and filled with unshed tears. A onyx gaze met her own, stealing her breath and filling her with dread. 

The fall almost seemed to be better than whatever she would have to face with the Beast. Her mouth opened and nothing left her as she stared. He growled. "Give me your other hand!" he shouted. She moved her mouth once more, trying to reply, before just giving into what he had told her to do. 

Her hand moved up, where he grabbed her other wrist. With a tug, she found herself going up. A groan left the Beast as he pulled her into the room. She fell over him, and found herself with her hands on his chest and her body trembling from the mixture of cold and fear. Annelie tugged herself away, sitting back against the wall. Her eyes closed as she gulped in air, almost greedily. 

I am alive, she thought. I am unharmed... because of the Beast? 

She didn't know what to say, her mind too shocked by all that was happening to come up with something, anything. 

"You're welcome. Now, leave my castle, and this time, you might wish to take the stairs," the Beast growled. She jerked and her eyes moved up to his, and she found herself frozen all over again. The onyx eyes she had heard her father talking about so romantically were so cold, almost like the wintry world out the window. 

Even so, she didn't lose herself for very much longer. Anger fused in her chest and she couldn't believe the rudeness of the man who had just saved her life. "Hmph! As if I would ever offer thanks to somewhat like you! No wonder no one comes here anymore," she spat, her green eyes lighting with fire. "I will gladly leave and never return!" 

Despite her bravado, she shook as she stood. Even so, she couldn't help striding forward to leave the room. Only then did she noticed the servants gathered there, staring at her with wide, wide eyes. 

"Excuse me," she whispered to them, finding it was impossible to be unkind to them. The Beast, that was another story. He deserved all the hatred that found him in the town. Yes, he deserved all of it and so much more! 

She huffed out a breath, walking down the hall, body exhausted. Annelie refused to ask anything of the Beast. She would rather freeze than stay another second with him!