"Never dreamed that a home could be dark and cold."
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Reaching back, I scratched my shoulder fiercely. The dress they put me in was itchy. When I first saw it, I was excited that I was going to be allowed to wear something so delicate. It was crimson silk with a gold trim around the neckline, sleeves, and waistline. The neckline sat just underneath my collarbone; the sleeves were three-quartered and it had a high waistline. My hair was pinned up into a messy bun, with several of my brown curls falling out. The only shoes they could manage to get me to put on were flat ones matching the color of my dress.
I felt like I needed to roll around in mud or something because they bathed me. I hadn't been that clean in years and had actually gotten used to the feel of dirt. Nervously, I fingered my necklace. They wanted to take it away at first, but I threatened to fight if they tried, so they decided I could keep it as long as I hid it underneath my dress in the presence of the beast.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped. I tucked my necklace in and stuck my head out the window.
"Are we there yet?" I asked. I was not very good at sitting still for a long time. I had wanted to ride a horse up to the castle, but the king decided that I should be escorted. It was probably so I wouldn't run away. The driver looked back at me tiredly.
"No miss, we are not."
"Why have we stopped then?"
Worry was etched into the driver's face. He kept looking around frantically like he was trying to find someone. Finally, I realized who he was looking for. The guard that had come with us to show the way to the castle was missing. Catching the driver's eye, I stepped out of the carriage and onto the muddy ground. The driver stepped down from his horse. We both searched around the buggy, looking for the guard that came along.
"When did you last see him?" I inquired. How can someone vanish so quickly?
"Only a few minutes ago, Miss." The driver's voice was quivering. His fear had started to rub off on me. A shiver ran down my spine as I ran my eyes around the area again, the trees blocking my view. In the distance, a wolf howled. The forest suddenly appeared to grow much darker. I looked at the driver in alarm, making sure he noticed it too. By the way his eyes had grown to the size of plates, I would say yes.
"Let's get back on our way," I suggested.
He seemed more than happy to oblige. Then, as we walked to the carriage, the thing that howled appeared out of the brush. My throat constricted in fear. In front of me was the biggest wolf I had ever seen, if it could even called a wolf. Its black eyes searched the driver and me hungrily, as if deciding on which of us to eat first. Saliva came off of its pointy teeth as it opened its mouth and licked its lips. The black tail on the thing swished back and forth, daring us to move first.
Very slowly, my hand moved to the dagger the king had given me, hidden in the folds of my dress. I found its hilt and grasped it firmly, pulling it slowly from my skirt.
"When I say so," I started whispering to the driver, "move very slowly toward the carriage. I have a knife in my hand in case that thing pounces."
The driver didn't seem to catch my words. He stood very still, almost as if he was paralyzed. I whispered to him again. Finally, he nodded, still not taking his eyes off the wolf. At first, my plan of moving slowly worked perfectly. Then, I heard a snap under my foot.
A twig. Of all things to step on, I stepped on a twig.
The wolf howled then came charging forward, directly toward us.
"Run!"
I didn't know who screamed that word. It may have been me, or it may have been the both of us. The carriage was only a few feet away to begin with, but we were both too stupid to get into it when the wolf showed up. The driver jumped onto his horse as I scrambled into the carriagе. I didn't get a chance to close the door because a big, clawed paw blocked me. My eyes grew wide. Somebody was screaming but I couldn't tell who. The head of the wolf was in the space with me, snapping its jaws, trying to bite whatever it could.
Then it yelped. Unconsciously, I had plunged my dagger into its neck. Warm blood ran down my hand as I yanked the dagger out from its jaw.
The wolf was dead.
I stared at it in shock. I had never killed anything before. The dead animal was pulled backward and I noticed the driver. His face was still very pale, and his hands were visibly shaking.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." My voice shook. "Thank you Mr.--" suddenly I realized I didn't know the driver's name. I looked at him apologetically. He grinned or did the closest thing to a grin that he could.
"Camden. No mister to it, Miss."
"Thank you, Camden."
Camden smiled again. "No, Miss. Thank you."
*****
The rest of the ride to the castle was relatively painless. No more creatures attacked us, but we also didn't stop again. Neither Camden nor I said anything about the guard that had accompanied us, but we both assumed that he had been killed by the wolf. I rode up front with Camden the rest of the way, helping guide him the best I could. When we reached the edge of the forest, the horse jerked to a stop.
"This is as far as I'm allowed to go, Miss."
My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at the castle in front of me. A wide walkway paved with stones ran all the way to the drawbridge in a curvy line from the entrance. I sucked in my breath.
Here goes nothing.
As I started to walk, I looked back at Camden as he left. A nod and a small wave was our exchange of goodbyes.
I hope he gets back home alive. Then again, I don't think any other creatures will attack him.
Panicked thoughts of what I'd do when I got inside the palace circled around in my head as I approached the drawbridge.
King Regol said to kill the beast. What if I can't bring myself to take a life again, even though the first one I took was a wild animal?
An unthought idea surfaced to the front of my mind. What if this beast kills me first?
I couldn't imagine what the beast would look like. I guessed something horrible, terrible, grotesque even. But what if he looked normal?
It would be hard to call him a beast then.
I reached the door. Steeling myself, I clenched my fist, then managed to knock on the smooth, wooden surface. The door swung open with a loud creak. Tentatively, I walked in.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
I half expected for there to be some thunderous yell telling me to get out. Nothing came. I looked around at my surroundings. There were stairs spiraling up to a hallway on either side of the wall in front of me. A chair sat in the middle of the wall. A small table was next to it, holding up a little vase. A dusty chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling. It was very dark in the room, like no light had ever touched it.
Slowly, I walked forward and, speaking in the best "noble" voice I could muster, I announced my presence. "I'm here for King Regol. I was told that I would meet someone here. If no one shows up, I'm going to leave."
Probably not the best idea to say that I'd leave.
Suddenly, a voice growled from the darkness. I looked around frantically, waiting for a four-legged monster to jump out. There was nobody to be seen. The voice growled again, then spoke.
"Name?" It sounded deep, and had an undertone of a growl, like many animals getting ready to fight each other.
I swallowed. "Zara."
There was a roar. I felt my breath catch. I was trembling, unable to stop myself.
"Full name?"
I thought for a moment before speaking. "Lizaveta Zara Tribeka." I couldn't help but cringe while saying my first name.
"You are the daughter of the king?" a hint of doubt rang in his voice.
"No, sir," I whispered. "I am the daughter of a..."
Of a what? Drunkard? Peasant?
"Answer me!" he roared.
I jumped. "I am the daughter of a knight," I blurted frantically.
A tense silence followed my statement. Every ounce of me was wanting to see the person--or creature-- that spoke, but I held back. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Where are you?"
Another earsplitting roar came from the darkness.
Oh, he didn't like that.
"Where I am is of no concern to you. Raul will take you to your room, where you will stay until I summon you. Understood?"
A small, thin man with gray hair appeared next to me, making me jump sky high. I guessed that this was the 'Raul' person that had just been mentioned.
"Hello, Miss," he drawled. I was unable to place his accent. His voice was almost fragile sounding. He touched my arm, his calloused skin rough. "Come now, I'll show you around."
I jerked out of his reach.
"Wait!" I yelled, addressing the voice. For some reason, I had gotten the sense that he was leaving. "You know my name now. Shouldn't I also know yours?"
"You are either very brave or very stupid person, Lizaveta" A sentence like that would normally be spoken in a joking manner, but the voice snarled when he said it. "My name will not be shared. I have been called 'Master', 'Monster', 'Beast', and many other names. Call me what you will."
With that, I heard a swish--like the swish of a cape--then nothing. I looked at the-person-who-might-be-Raul. A small smile played on his lips, like he knew what was going to happen all along.
A bit of annoyance hit me. Now I'm being laughed at.
"Shall we be going, Miss?"
A feeling of dread swooped over me, replacing the annoyance.
What on earth have I gotten myself into?
I gritted my teeth. This will all be over soon, assuming that I am 'summoned' by then.
"I guess so, Raul."
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Raul is pronounced so that it rhymes with 'pal'. I was going to go with the spelling of Raoul, but I realized that it was pronounced Rah-ool. I didn't want everyone to think that Raul's name rhymed with 'Paul' either. So, yeah!
Please comment and vote. I love hearing feedback!
Discussion starter: Will Zara be able to kill the beast, or so you think she won't be able to bring herself to try?