Beauty and the Beast

Angry Villagers

Tara watched curiously as more men came out of the carriage and went inside the inn. The one whom Thor had been talking to, a lanky, graying man, went up to her, and bowed. Tipping his hat to her, he said, "Please don't be alarmed, madam. We are from the Anderson Lunatic Asylum; we've come to take your father off your hands."

"Excuse me?? I don't need you to take anyone off my hands!" The young woman moved around stranger toward the blonde, smug looking noble. "Did you call them? How could you do this?"

Captain Thor Larsen shrugged coolly. "I was only thinking of you'" he smirked, "He's been running amok, rattling on about beasts and talking teacups! It's better this way. You wouldn't want him to hurt himself again, would you?"

"My father is NOT crazy, Thor, and you know it! Call off those men, now!"

"On one condition," he grabbed Tara's arm, pulling her closer to his face, "say you'll be my wife." Rage flared up in young woman's chest, fury glared from her eyes. So, that's what this had all been about. And just when she was beginning to think she'd misjudged him, that there was some shred of human decency in him, it had only been a plot. 

"Never," came the resolute reply.

"Then you leave me no choice." The authoritative man nodded and the graying fellow went inside the inn. Not long after, he was followed by his henchmen who was dragging Dr. Erskine by his arms out into the brisk evening air. By now, the commotion had attracted many onlookers, curious about the cause of all the shouts. 

"Don't you take him anywhere! My father was telling the truth, and I can prove it!" Tara reached into the hidden pocket of her cloak and pulled out the enchanted mirror that the prince had given her. "Show me the beast!" The crowd of villagers gasped in terror and surprise as the surface of the mirror changed, revealing the man, with deep blue skin and gleaming eyes like red coals.

"It's true, there really is a beast!"

"What a hideous creature!"

"Are we safe with something like that around?"

Tara scurried to keep the people from panicking. "Please, everyone, calm down. He may look scary, but I assure you he's not. He wouldn't hurt a fly--"

"Of course we're not safe!" Thor wrenched the mirror out of the woman's hands and rushed into the middle of the crowd. "Just look at it! If we let that monster go free, it's only a matter of time before he comes and wreaks havoc on the entire town! You know what beasts like that are like;  we've heard the stories!"

"No, everyone, please, stop for a moment and listen!" The doctor's daughter's shouts and pleas fell on deaf ears as the villagers scurried in panic around her, mothers grabbing their children by the hand and pulling them into their homes, elderly men scrambling to lock the doors of their businesses, and the shouts of Thor rallying any able bodied men to join in on the fight. Ex-soldiers and worried fathers gathered around the blonde man with torches and swords and clubs ready for battle. The brown skinned woman watched helplessly as the mob of villagers followed the captain, who now happy to have a reason to resume his military position, rode his horse proudly out of Flam, past the countryside and into the dense forest for an unprovoked fight against a creature he knew nothing about or understood.  

Tara stood behind, alone, in the snow covered village square. Never had she felt such an emptiness. In saving her father, she had unleashed something far worse unto an innocent man. Hot tears began pouring down her face. For a moment, she wasn't aware of anything or anyone until she felt the touch of her father's arms around her shoulders. Wordlessly, they walked out of the town center and to their cottage on the hillside, each holding the other. Just as the aging doctor was about to lead her inside, she pulled away, with a certain boldness that he hadn't seen on her before. "No, I can't leave it like this! I have to go back! I have to warn him; he's been so kind to me, and all I've ever given him in return was grief. It's the least I can do for him!"  The 20 year old turned around and headed down the path to where Giuseppe's stable was kept, with Erskine's voice ringing behind her.

"What are you doing?" he called, as she saddled the horse and stepped into the stir up.

"I'm going to save the life of the man who saved mine!" Tara replied back, pulling herself into the saddle and with a quick wave, dashed in the way the villagers had gone, across the meadow and into the forest. Erskine watched the beautiful young maiden until she disappeared beyond the treeline. He chuckled to himself. "That's my girl."