~The Beast~
It was impossible to turn on the television without coming upon a Christmas special. The radio Carina was always using was blasting holiday songs on nearly every station. She even came home with Santa Claus oven mitts and a gingerbread man tray because it was all the store was selling. Teigan couldn’t deny it any longer. It was that time of year again - whether he liked it or not.
For the last two years, he had spent the holidays alone and a beast. He couldn’t say he remembered how the day went. It came and left without any acknowledgement from him because he felt no reason to celebrate. He was angry and bored, the only thing occupying his mind was his new hobby of catching criminals and that had slowed down since the news stations reported less on crimes when the jolly day was near.
Even before he was cursed, Christmas wasn’t a pleasant time of the year. His normally stressed mother became a wreck in apprehension of her father in law and mother in law coming to visit. They were very much like their son and Teigan’s dad hassled her about everything being perfect for them. By the end of the day, the pent of passive aggression morphed into a big confrontation that ended in people storming out and something glass being tossed across the room. He could count on finding his mother crying in the backyard and his father not returning home until the next day - black out drunk. He wondered why his father never divorced his mother and hired a maid like he did with Carina. A maid was much closer to what he was seeking.
This year would inevitably be different. Bethany was going to spend it with him.
He had definitely planned to have let her go by then. He didn’t know how she felt about the holiday but either way she should have been able to spend it at home. It was only right for him to do something for her to make up for it.
He found her sitting on the couch admiring a hand knit sweater. Her brown hair was tucked behind her ears, the remnants of a smile lingered on her face. He made his footsteps louder so as to not startle her. She gave him a smile. A smile.
He was certain she had never given him an unwarranted smile.
“Look what Carina made me!” She held up the sweater to him. It was blue with an angel ornament stitched onto it. Balls of fluffy white snow coated it and it’s sleeves. “It’s an ugly Christmas sweater - except it’s not ugly!”
He found her appreciation endearing. Both his father and mother would have stuck up their nose at the sight of the gift - they wouldn’t even have considered it a gift. If it didn’t come with a receipt - they were uninterested. He envied her in a sense. He wished little things like that brought him that much joy growing up. He would have been a happier kid.
“It’s safe to assume you celebrate Christmas then?”
“Yep! Jesus is the reason for the season!" She pulled the sweater over her shirt. It fit perfectly. “I’m feeling really festive now.”
“Then you won’t mind going tree hunting with me?” He watched as her mouth fell open.
"You mean going out into the woods, finding a tree, and cutting it down to decorate?”
"No, I mean finding a herd of wild trees and shooting them."
She crossed her arms, fighting another smile. “Are you getting sarcastic with me? Because I can appreciate some good sarcasm.”
He got up from the couch, heading towards the door. “You coming?”
“Duh- yeah!” The day hadn’t even arrived yet and he was already more excited for Christmas than he had ever been.
~Beauty~
“What kind of tree are we looking for?” Bethany asked. They had wandered into the forest across the street from the house. It was only the second time she had gotten a peek of what it looked like from the outside. It was white with cobblestones decorating the exterior and grew smaller and smaller behind them. She hoped Teigan knew the way back.
There was still snow on the ground and the air was frosty. Her nose was red and she kept her fingers in her pockets for dear life - even Teigan had to put on a coat.
"It can't be too thin or else it won't stand up right and needs to have a good amount of branches so we can hang the ornaments," he instructed.
They walked around for a while until they reached a spot where the trees were small enough to bring back.
“How about we split up to cover more ground?”
Beth would have been stunned at his suggestion considering the last thing he would want is for her to have a chance to escape. However, considering their remote location and the temperature, it would be no use.
She wandered around in the opposite direction of him, answering to his Marco- Polo call in response every few minutes. She found a few contenders for their tree and fastened some ribbon around them to show Teigan later. After she grew tired of searching, she went back to the clearing they split up in. It had been a while since he called for her.
“Marco!”
She was met with silence.
“Teigan!”
Nothing.
She picked up her pace and decided to go in the direction he had gone.
“Teigan?” She spotted several trees wrapped in red ribbon. He had to be close. Why wasn’t he answering her?
“Are we playing an impromptu game of hide and seek?!”
The trees got closer together, their roots sticking out from underneath the snow so she had to watch her step to avoid tripping. Their branches twisted out towards her like arms, reaching to stroke her rosy cheeks. Icicles hung overhead like tear drops suspended in time and anything Christmas like was out of sight.
Just beyond this section of the forest was another clearing. She leaned against a tree for support because her joints were feeling stiff from the cold. Beth had never experienced below freezing temperatures in her life but she imagined this was what it felt like.
“Teigan!”
She was shivering and her teeth chattered. If he didn’t show up soon she would have to start going back by herself. She didn’t want to test the chill of the woods, especially as the sky took on the orange glow of an approaching sunset.
A splashing sound echoed in the air.
Bethany scanned the area. There was no water around her.
The wind started up and a branch knocked her in the head. She fell with her hands and knees on the ground. She had hit something hard. It was ice.
Her eyes traced it further out and with a sinking feeling in her chest she realized she was standing on a frozen lake with a Teigan sized hole in the middle.
“Teigan?!”
Hands shot up from underneath her, desperate and pounding on the ice. A face pressed itself up against it, eyes pleading. His dirty blonde hair was a shiny, gold orb swishing around him, illuminating an expression she’d never seen on him; pure terror.
She rushed across the sheet of ice, slipping but refusing to fall. She picked up a rock the size of her head and signed for Teigan to move over. She brought it over her head and threw it into the ice. It crashed inwards. She kicked out the rest of it to make room for his body to fit through.
He propelled himself up and made it above the water. His chest heaving and skin tinted blue. She grabbed his hands as he coughed and sputtered - using all her strength to pull him up. Once the upper half of him was out he was able to make it the rest of his way on his own.
“W-we have t-to g-get off the ice -”
A sickening crack slowly filled the air like breath from a person’s lips. Bethany yanked him onto his feet but they had only sprinted a few feet when the cracks of the ice caught up to them. They exchanged a look of horror before being plunged into the arctic water.
The sky above them blurred and morphed into dark blue water, coated with white. Bethany was instantly chilled to the bone. Her body wanted nothing more than to stop moving. She fought, trying to get to the surface, but everytime she made it, the ice would slip through her fingers and none of it’s fragments seemed large enough or sturdy enough to support her. She was sinking deeper and deeper. Her mind urged her to prepare for the burst of water that would invade her lungs if she didn’t make it up again.
She had lost sight of Teigan in the commotion. Maybe he had made it out. Maybe he would reach in and pull her out before she drowned. The thought was proven wrong a second later as her leg brushed against flesh.
He was floating limply beside her. His eyes locked shut.
She held in a scream.
He began to sink deeper into the murky depths of the lake. Bethany locked her arms around his waist, tugging him up.
He’ll live, she told herself. He’ll come back. The curse won’t let him die.
She miraculously managed to hull him onto a chunk of ice. She could fit onto it too. The only issue was she was so tired. All energy had escaped her and it was no longer a matter of staying strong or pushing through. She would die before she got herself to safety. Her muscles ached and were trapped in blocks for cement. She gave a final heave that pushed the block of ice to the end of the lake and rolled Teigan’s limp body onto land. Her fingers uncurled from the block of ice and she felt herself sinking down.
A hand latched onto hers.
Her body tumbled onto the forest floor that was solid and unwavering against her back.
“Bethany?” The voice was hoarse.
She coughed, shivering so hard it hurt.
When she opened her eyes she saw Teigan sitting beside her with his hair plastered against his forehead, lips purple. His hands were already against her chest, ready to perform CPR.
He sighed and fell back with relief.
Their shallow breaths created white fog around them, proof that even after all they’d gone through, they were still breathing.