He heard a knocking on the door and looked at the familiar girl that was standing outside. The sudden knocking had jolted him from his thoughts. After getting startled, he went to see who was at the door from his second-level window.
Why did she look so familiar? The pretty girl that stood outside had long, blond hair that was blowing in the wind. He vaguely remembered hazel eyes belonging to the owner of that hair.
Then, realization dawned on him. She was that one girl. The one that he stayed with for quite a while. He mentally smacked himself in the head, wondering how he could have forgotten her.
Still, he was impressed. He never told her who he really was or where he lived. She really must have fell entirely for his act. If she found him, he must've either messed up or she was desperate enough to hunt him out. Maybe he shouldn't have been with her for that many weeks.
Or maybe he didn't act well enough that time. He had been very distracted lately, with a certain issue about the kingdom. He ignored the thought of the issue and brushed it away.
He put on a grin and tousled his dark-brown hair. He casually walked down the curving stairs, making her wait a little longer. Making people wait was torturous for them, but amusing for him. He arrived at the door, grasped the handle, and pulled the door open.
As soon as he opened the door, the blonde girl threw her arms around him. He was jolted back by the unsuspected force. He had to take a few steps to regain his balance, before he got a closer look at her. She had bright eyes and she was sniffling a little. She smelled of salty tears and flowers.
"Kaiden! Oh, Kaiden! I've missed you so much! How come you haven't come back to see me?" she cried. Kaiden realized that didn't remember her name. But then, he had never been good with names.
He would've frowned if he hadn't remembered that he needed to keep up his façade. He was actually surprised that she even remembered him after a couple of weeks. Clearly two months was too long to be with one person.
Or perhaps not enough if he still didn't remember her name. But the thought of a relationship longer than two months filled him with distaste.
His thoughts were interrupted when the girl started talking again.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a duke? I would've accepted you, no matter what you are," she chittered, fussing over him.
"I'm sorry, I've been busy. But I need to tell you something," he said smoothly.
He may have forgotten to end their relationship before he traveled to the coast for a few weeks. It was his fault that it didn't end cleanly. Maybe now he should correct his mistake.
He was going to tell her that it was over, but her face brightened and she interrupted him.
"I know what you're going to say. Don't worry, you can make it up to me by coming to my house and meeting my mother! She's been waiting for three months now!" she exclaimed. Kaiden paled slightly. Parents? That was an enormous issue that he tried to avoid.
Once again, before he could talk, the girl interrupted him by latching onto his arm and dragging him. Kaiden was slightly surprised by her hidden strength, because he had never been dragged off like that. Perhaps it had something to do with her comment about her mother that threw him off balance.
"Let's go," she commanded, looking back at him for a brief moment. She walked him to the front gates of his castle, where he saw two horses.
He thought about just telling her no, but when they got to the horses, the girl waved her hand and told him to get on. Suddenly, he felt compelled to comply to her wishes. It was as if he was a servant and she was his master.
Confusion swirled in his mind. Why was he acting this way? What could possibly make him act like a mindless fool? The questions were at the tip of his tongue, ready to be asked.
But he kept quiet and absent-mindedly rode the horse next to her. They passed towns, small buildings, and fields. Smoke from the chimneys could be seen from far distances. He knew some of these towns, along with its villagers, because of business he did with them every once in a while.
They mostly kept away from the houses and stayed on a dirt path. The trotting noise was the only sound that accompanied them on the way.
Before he knew it, they were both by a small cottage towards the outskirts of one of the main villages. Smoke came out from behind the cottage, and the light hit it in a way that made it seem as if dark shadows were crawling over it. It seemed to clash with the pale yellow color of the cottage.
The girl jumped off of her horse and told Kaiden to do the same. After he got off, she waved her hand to shoo the horses away. As if she had commanded them, the horses obediently trotted away. Then, the girl walked up the stone path that led to the house and opened the wooden door.
The door creaked open as the girl called out to her mother. "Mother? I brought him back! You can meet him!" she called.
He paled once more. The girl, mistaking it for nervousness, murmured to him not to worry. His throat felt dry and he couldn't manage to get any words out.
A woman in a dark robe appeared and then went up to hug her daughter. She looked like an older copy of the girl. Her blonde hair had a few silver streaks within but their hair color was nearly the same.
"Agatha, I see you've brought him home," the girl's mother said quietly, yet loud enough for Kaiden to hear. Kaiden finally knew what her name was.
"Yes, I did. The waiting is over," Agatha smiled. Her mother smiled back before she turned her attention of Kaiden.
Agatha's mother stared at Kaiden, studying him. She looked back at Agatha and gave her a smile of approval. Then, she steered them into the house.
It was a quaint little place. The heat from the fire place filled the rooms. There was a small wooden table that looked like it was barely big enough for three people.
"Dinner is ready!" Agatha's mother announced. Three bowls of soup rested on the table. Agatha had clearly planned this out beforehand.
Kaiden automatically sat down. Internally, he was screaming in confusion about why he felt as if he wasn't in control of his body. Did Agatha have some sort of power? If she did, then why hadn't he noticed it before? His fingers were stiffly clutching the spoon, and his head hurt. He needed to clear his head.
While Kaiden was mentally resisting the mind webs clouding his thoughts, Agatha started to frown. She felt that something was off. Or that something would go wrong. Her mother sensed the same feeling and tensed ever so slightly.
"Can I speak with you privately?" Kaiden managed to get out. Agatha's eyes flickered to her mother before gazing into Kaiden's emerald green eyes.
"Of course," she replied, taking his arm and leading him outside. It was grey and gloomy out, darkness about fall. She sat down on a rock while he stayed standing up.
Kaiden knew he had to get rid of her, before she got more attached. He couldn't ever be tied down and Agatha needed to know that. But how to do so without her making a scene in front of of her mother...? Angry parents were a pain to deal with. Especially when they demanded marriage agreements, which had happened a few unfortunate times.
"This thing has to end. I don't love you. We should part our ways," he decided to be blunt and outright. She froze for a few moments and then stiffened.
"Why?" she quietly demanded, her eyes tearing up. "You said you loved me!" She continued, growing louder and angrier. "You promised that we would would be together - forever!"
"I lied!" he hissed back. Kaiden was a little surprised. The girls would never argue back, they would only cry and beg for him to come back. He usually picked ones that didn't argue back, but clearly, this time was different.
Agatha's eyes turned stony before blazing intensely. Kaiden could see her hands clench into fists.
"How could you! You've fed me lies, and for what reason? Enjoyment? Was my love for you a joke? Was it funny to see me fall for you? Or when you lied to my face the entire time?!" she was furious. "Mother!" she screamed.
Agatha's mother was there in an instant. It was as if she had magically appeared out of thin air. She looked just as furious as her daughter, as if she already knew what had happened.
"He had told me he loved me, but now he admitted that he had been toying with my feelings," Agatha explained. Her finger stabbed the air in his direction. Her mother's expression turned dark as she whirled around to face Kaiden.
Kaiden felt helpless at the moment, like he had when he was acting mindlessly. He didn't know what to do. One angry woman was enough, but two? He could see her mother's eyes blaze with the same fire that Agatha owned.
"You fool with my daughter, you fool with me! And for that, you shall be punished!" she threatened. She turned to her daughter and said, "I will help you with any spell if you need my help."
Kaiden's eyes widened. Spells? Did that mean they were both witches? Was that why he felt like he was being compelled to follow Agatha's orders earlier?
After her mother gave her permission, Agatha began chanting, and cursing him. She stalked around him like she was a predator and he was her prey. He wanted to move but he felt like he was frozen. His eyes were allowed to move back and forth between the two witches. Agatha's mother was the one chanting the spell that made him stay in one place.
Lightning flashing in the sky made it seem more dramatic. The bare branches on the trees seemed to want to pluck him off the ground, adding to that effect. The experience was truly menacing.
As Agatha chanted things in a different tongue, Kaiden felt as if a force was shoving itself into him. Then, it felt like he was being attached to a heavy burden, one that was resilient and unyielding.
"I curse thee to live helplessly, switching into the monster you truly are, with no mercy and emotions, where you can suffer from your lies and the inability to control yourself!" Agatha yelled, making sure Kaiden understood the full extent of the curse. He could feel that it was a powerful curse to cast and one that would not easily be broken.
As if the discomfort from earlier was a prelude, the pain struck him swiftly and without mercy.
Kaiden felt pain tear through his skull. He fell to his knees, clutching his head, trying to will the pain away. Tremors convulsed through his body. Voices started to fill his head, whispering of cruelty. Burning sensations churned within his body. He felt like he was being burned inside out for eternity, even though it was only for a few minutes. He felt himself writhe on the ground, twisting his body.
He finally understood what her curse meant. He could hear his alternate self, the one he knew would be coming soon, and it felt evil and horrible. He heard his new, other self whispering promises of evil to him.
Agatha, still heartbroken, decided to make his pain worse. She knew the only thing that could torture him more was to offer him hope. Hope that she would most definitely crush to pieces, just like what he did to her.
"You can reverse this curse," she began her magic quietly. Her arms waved over him, for dramatic effect. Hope briefly flashed in Kaiden's eyes. Agatha laughed humorlessly on the inside. He had yet to hear the requirements.
"You must find a pure-hearted girl who truly loves both you and the beast, and has to be freely willing to kiss you at the end of this year at midnight," she continued. It seemed easy enough for Kaiden, until Agatha said the rest.
"Oh, and you must love her the same way too: whole-heartledly and devotedly." Agatha smiled cruelly.
Kaiden's heart dropped. Love? He felt destroyed. He can never love, and Agatha now knew that. Pain flashed once again, making Kaiden realize yet another another obstacle. He only had a little under eight months before the end of the year.
"If you don't succeed, you'll just stay a monster the rest of your life," she murmured sweetly into his ear. He flinched away from the sound of her voice. He was feeling strange and light-headed.
Kaiden quickly thought about the curse. What kind of monster would he turn out to be? Would he be able to live with it? What will the monster do?
Questions filled his head before he finally blacked out. His body slumped fully to the ground and stayed still.
"I hope you suffer," Agatha said bitterly to the unconscious man. She dragged him to the horse and magically ordered the horse to bring him back to his castle.
She thought of the two months they had spent together and the love she had developed for him, despite the short amount time that she had known him for. Now that was gone, because of him. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to keep the tears away.
"Farewell, beast."
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Picture of Kaiden on the right :D ====================>
A/N
Harsh right? Actually, maybe not. He kinda deserved that.
Right now it seems pretty similar to the actual story (which it should since its a re-telling) but it WILL be different.
I didn't really bother editing this so ignore the mistakes and grammatical errors. If they're really big/annoying/noticeable then feel free to comment about it.
Please: read/enjoy/comment/vote/fan!!!
:D