The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 24 =-

She walked along the line of the iron fence, eyes unseeing as she moved. Her mind was stuck on a single topic. She was stuck thinking about Annelie. The girl had become a light for the house, more than Annelie would be able to realize. Somehow, hope had grown that she would live and that the curse was a thing of the past. Yet, it haunted them still.

Navini had hoped that Annelie would be fine or would be smart enough to leave, but she wasn't and she didn't. Instead, she was somewhere, weakened and dying from the curse that was placed on them years before. Sadness engulfed her, so much so that she almost didn't hear the sounds of curses coming from the treeline. Her head rose at the faint noises, and her eyebrows furrowed delicately. She licked her lips anxiously. "Hello?" Navini murmured, voice weak and hoarse from crying.

When there was no response, she only cleared her throat once more. "H-hello? Is- Is anyone there?" she called out once more. "Annelie?" The name came from her, hoping above all else that it was her friend.

Her eyes peered into the trees as a shadowed figure slowly came closer and closer towards the fence. All at once it became illuminated, showing off the handsome, rugged features of a man. He wasn't someone she knew, though she doubted she knew many people that resided in the town by then. Yet, he seemed to stare at her, eyebrows furrowed and a curious expressed donned on his face. "Did you just say the name Annelie?" he asked without any preamble.

Navini blinked, her eyes widening before she unconsciously nodded her head. "Why, yes. I did say that name. Do you know her?" she asked with her head tilting ever so slightly to the side.

Her dark skin was a harsh contrast to the white of the snow, and her dark hair only added to the look. Yet, it made her look enchanting in the middle of the white world around her. Little did she notice the way that the man took a long moment to just watch her, interest hidden in the depths of his eyes. The same interest that was effectively hidden from his own conscious thoughts.

"She didn't happen to be staying here?" he asked slowly, not answering the question as his mind whirled back to Annelie, back to the way he had shot her and back to the way he had wanted her. Those emotions had quelled when her blood stained his hands. Somehow, he couldn't imagine being with the girl anymore, as if he had been tainted. Cassius couldn't even imagine touching another woman with the hands that had hurt another, someone he was supposed to care for.

"Yes, she was staying here for a time. May I ask you of your name, sir?" Navini murmured, finding herself wringing her hands over and over.

"My name is irrelevant, though if you must know, I go by Cassius," he muttered with sigh. Though it wasn't proper, he didn't ask the girl of her name, rather he motioned towards the castle. "Why was she staying here?"

Navini sighed and swallowed. "Well, the master of the house invited her here and he was quite insistent that she stay. We also have Gioia and Merrick staying here, her parents, as a matter of fact. I do have to ask, do you know where she is? Have you happened to- to see her anywhere?"

There was another long pause and it seemed the Cassius grew paler and his eyes became unfocused. "She is hurt and staying at my hou-" he began. Yet, before he could finish, his shirt was tugged forward by a hand that gripped onto the fabric like it was a lifeline in a vast ocean. He hadn't noticed how close he had walked towards the iron fence until her hand was able to slip through the bars and hold onto him like he was moment away from making a break for it.

"Can you take the master there?" she asked, suddenly breathless. A light had grown in her eyes, making them sparkle and shimmer. Her body practically vibrated with eagerness that she didn't even know she was showing him.

"Yes," he murmured. He didn't see that he had much of an option if the master of the house had been caring for her. Cassius figured it would be an old man that would come hobbling down the stairs as the servant girl disappeared inside the castle. The owner had to be old and the man who walked the grounds on moonlit nights had to be a legend. Of course, he didn't believe that the master would turn out to be the monstrous man so many had described.

Yet, when the man rushed out the doors to the castle and strode directly to him with Navini in his dust Cassius began to seriously rethink his beliefs. The man wasn't as gentle or as sweet at the servant girl. Rather, he gripped Cassius by the neck and puffed out air that rushed over Cassius' face. "Take me to her, now!" he shouted, voice echoing throughout the area.

It grew hard for Cassius to breathe, yet he found himself nodding his head, a deep sadness in his chest for the man who seemed so insistent upon getting Annelie. Perhaps there was something that had happened to make him have such a reaction. Yet, Cassius couldn't focus too hard on the specifics, rather lost in the way the monster's dark eyes bore into him and stunned him into a still, silent form.

He found that he couldn't deny the man, nor did he want to. Oh, he could easily tell the man he had been the reason she was ill, yet the idea of the way the man would react kept him from such action. So, instead, he nodded again.

At his agreement to the Beast's harsh demand, his throat was once more out of the man's grasp and he was able to suck in greedy breaths. "Meet me by the gate!" the Beast roared. With that, and a billowing whip of the man's cape, Cassius was left once more in the company of just the servant girl. Her eyes were wide with fear, but not for anyone but him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, moving towards the gate with soft steps, hand reaching out slowly towards Cassius. Yet, he shook his head.

"I must go," was all he muttered, before walking towards the gate, in the same direction as the Beast had disappeared off to. Navini followed like an anxious shadow, wringing her hands and watching Cassius with his bent shoulders and determined expression. She wished to tell him not to worry, that the curse had been Annelie's undoing. Yet, she kept her mouth shut, only walking along steps behind his form, the fence like a million miles separating them.  

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the gate, where the Beast awaited them. She kept her distance, the man's expression harsh on the rose covered gates. There was a decision to be made, one that could change everything at Rose Castle. 

There were a few servants who watched from the windows of the castle and from the wide open doors. None ventured out into the cold except for Navini who's body quaked. 

In a sudden harsh movement, Vardan grabbed the gate, blood coming from various sudden scratches on his hand and arm. He tugged it open, and it swung out. Before he could rethink what his actions would lead to, he stepped off of the castle grounds. 

A harsh wind howled loudly through the area and suddenly the Beast closed his eyes, feeling the beginnings of pain sizzling through him. "Lead me to her! Now!" he shouted at the tops of his lungs towards Cassius once his dark black eyes were opened once more. The other man didn't question the urgency, just began to hurriedly walk back towards the orphanage with the hope that somehow getting Annelie out of his space would take away the guilt pounding through his chest with every heartbeat.