The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 13 =-

Her mouth morphed into a thin line and she only nodded her head. "Yes... except you will not age nor be able to bear children," the woman continued, weaving the spell as she went. "Until you find a woman who loves you and you can say the same, you will be immortal, and forever lonely." She turned away to stare at the barren yard and barren iron gate. 

Her form floated above the ground, light shimmering off her form brighter and brighter. A single vine began to climb the gate. It was joined with many more following quickly through the iron. 

Thorn dangerously gleamed in the dull light of the stars. The wind blew, uncovering the blue-tinged moon in the sky. 

At that moment, roses bloomed on the gate, one after another. 

"Ah, the only one who will be able to open or touch this gate from the outside will be beautiful... yet dangerous. She will teach you more than you can ever hope to learn from your books, dear Prince. The girl will teach, but she shall die because of you," the ghost explained with a slow smile. 

"She will... die?" the Prince asked, eyes slowly widening. 

For some reason, the woman who the ghost spoke of, he was lost in thought of her. Despite his harshness, his stone heart and his cold exterior, he felt fear and guilt for whoever touched the gate. 

"Yes. You will know, as these roses, and the chance to break this curse will die. You, your loyal servants, should they choose to stay, and whoever else walks these grounds will not age. You will be left loveless and exiled from the world," the woman finished. 

He stared at the roses, out on the cold, snowy staircase. The woman had long since disappeared by the time he turned back to where she had once stood. "She will die... unless she never comes and touches the damn gate," he whispered aloud to the night. 

With a harsh twist, he disappeared inside the castle once more. 

The Prince, from there, told his servants to vacate if they did not truly wish to serve him for eternity. None left. 

From that day on the Prince proclaimed he would become a beast, if only to save the woman he was bound to kill because of a curse. 

Annelie stared at the pages of the book in her lap. Her eyes were unable to leave them. There was more... more about the man who was known as the Prince. It seemed as if from there on out the Prince wrote in the first person, and had written in it for a long, long time. Except, the points in time in which he wrote seemed to be stretched out in the book. It was almost as if years had gone by before he would touch it once more to add in another entry. 

She swallowed and set the book down on the bed, right beside her. 

Her mind churned with unwanted thoughts, and she closed her eyes tightly. The Prince, the gate covered in roses, and the undeniable fact that something about the castle was amiss. It all began to make sense to her. 

A sudden need to continue reading hit her, startling her mind into action once more. She grabbed the book and flipped to the page she had left off. Slowly, she laid down on the bed, getting comfortable there. The book was held carefully in her hand as she continued to read where a new page started. 

The curse that the woman spoke of, it is true. I have not aged in the past five years and have been left unchanged. My servants, all are frozen as if time has stopped around us all. If this is my punishment, why does it have to affect them as well? 

They do no deserve to be stuck as they are. Yet, they tell me that they cannot imagine life without the castle walls around them. 

Perhaps they are idiots, every single one of them... At least I have their worried looks to fill my days, rather than just an empty room, an empty castle. 

Last year, the town has stopped trying to get in contact with me. They have finally realized that I will not be involved in my own kingdom any longer, even as they suffer. 

I know they do not understand why I have forsaken them so, but it is a necessary precaution if I am to save the girl I am supposed to love. 

Love? 

What is that word? 

I have never known in my life to carry such emotion. It has always been lust, never love. How strange, this curse. Yet, if I keep to my plan on keeping the girl safe, then I shall never know what true love feels like. 

It is a small price to know that she will live and that one day, if I am strong enough, I may be able to break this curse. 

More time seemed to pass between his writing. Slowly, she knew exactly what was going on and why the Beast she had come to know had been so cruel. 

Entry after entry, she read on. There were little things that worried the Beast as he came to be consumed by his own loneliness and anger. The Beast, the part of the Prince in which he created to just scare off those around him, became a part of him. At once, he was the Beast and the Beast was the Prince. No longer could he distinguish which was which, and it scared him at times to find that he was liking being the monster. 

As Annelie read on, the life of the man she had judged so harshly became clear. Yet, before she could finish up to the latest entry, the door was pushed open in a harsh manner. 

She jerked the book closed and pressed it to her chest. Her heart trembled as she saw the large form of the dark-haired man who she knew as well as he knew himself. He was angry. No... he wasn't just angry, he was raging. 

He stormed across the room, grabbing onto her arm with a single hand. Somehow she was lifted off of the bed, her legs hitting the edge of it as he grabbed the book with his other hand. "You dare to take my things! Have I not welcomed you enough? How dare you, you thief!" he shouted at her. He threw the book across to the wall, and it hit was a harsh thud. 

Annelie closed her eyes and shook her head back and forth quickly. "N-no... please! I-" she was cut off as he grabbed her face with his other hand. He pulled it so that his dark eyes were on her. 

"Look at me, you thief! I want to see your eyes as you make up excuses and lie to me!" His voice echoed off of the walls, making her body tremble as bruises were probably slowly forming on the wrist he held like he could break it at a moment's notice. 

Annelie opened her eyes and stared into the intimidating dark void that was his gaze. She swallowed as she shook her head. "I-I didn't! I d-didn't take a-anything from you! I-I found th-thi-this book on my bed! I swear!" she exclaimed with tears rushing into her green eyes. Instead of his gaze softening and sense returning to him, he scoffed. 

"Oh, so this is how you want to play you little, pampered brat? Well..." the Beast started with a sneer on his face and a flash in his eyes that frightened her far more than his words could. 

He threw her onto the bed once more and chuckled as he stood at the side, staring down at her. Annelie tried to crawl away, but his hand wrapped around her ankle, keeping her in place before him. "Please! I didn't take anything!" she pleaded, shaking all over. The man before he was not the man she had grown to know. In his place was the full form of the Beast that he had become over the years. 

Suddenly his body was on top of hers, holding her down so she had no way of escape. Sobs began to leave her as she was forced to look up into his eyes. "Please..." she whimpered. Yet, his eyes were so cold, and there was no amount of words she could say to make him snap out of whatever had taken him over. 

Like a violent wave, his lips crashed down onto her's, demanding her surrender and taking all in once fell swoop. Annelie tore her mouth from the Beast's and turned her head away with another sob escaping her. Then, her head was jerked back to the side where he could cover his lips with hers once more, canceling whatever protests she could make. 

His weight became suffocating, and she couldn't breathe. Fear pounded through her, overtaking whatever wonderful sense of pleasure he had brought her before. This time, she wanted nothing more to escape the Beast's grasp and make a run for it.