Bonnie and the Beast

In the Dark Ghostly Woods, far away from any other kingdom or village, the sun never shines and the birds never sing their sweet songs. All the trees bear no fruit or leaves. All the creeks run with malice and annoyance. Dark gloomy clouds hover over the forest ready to storm down at any given second. In the middle of the woods, is a meadow with dead, brown grass. They sway in the wind hoping for a purpose or a reason in life. No creatures scurry about. All are still in the woods and the only musical note playing is the wind blowing in between the trees. The trees moan in depression and they wale in pain when their branches fall.

Nothing stands in the forest, except for an abandoned village that no one has set foot in for centuries. Some of the houses have crumbled to the ground due to a lack of care. Others still stand due to trees growing through them and out the roof, but there is something in particular that still stands. In the middle of the abandoned town is a statue of a noble king holding his sword at his side.

In a village far away from the Dark Ghostly Woods, lived a family in a wooden, two-story cottage with a front porch. Leading to the house was a stone walkway with buttercups on each side. The aroma of the flowers welcomed every visitor and creature to the lovely cottage. Alongside the porch, were white rose bushes that were in full bloom. Sometimes the townspeople would see nice young women come out and pick them. What she did with the flowers was never discovered, but only the people who were welcomed in the home knew. On a rainy day, the aromas of both flowers would come together to form a new scent. The scent was different for everyone who got a good whiff. So, on rainy days, everyone in the village would open their windows to take in a good whiff.

Inside the cottage lived a manipulative man and his two children. One day the man found out that all the other men's daughters were getting married. The man didn't like being the only father in town with a single daughter. So one day he went to his children, who were seated in the living room, and said, "I'm sending you two on a quest."

"What do you mean by quest?" asked his son, Jacob, knowing that there was a reason behind all of this.

"I'm glad you asked, my dear son," answered the man. He turned his head to look at his daughter, Bonnie, who was seated on the far end of the couch, "I want you to take your sister to every village to find a lover for her."

"WHAT!?" they both yelled.

"You just can't do that!" protested Jacob, standing up to face his father.

"I've made my decision, both of you are leaving at sunrise tomorrow."

The siblings traveled far and wide for five days trying to find the perfect man that lived up to their father's expectations. Each village came closer and closer to that image and each man was worse than the last. Bonnie was starting to get concerned about what type of life she would be living in just a few months.

Jacob recognized her doubt and fear and wondered what he could do to lighten up the mood. At that moment he saw a sign that led to the Dark Ghostly Woods. He smiled and said, "How about we take a quick detour to the Dark Ghostly Woods."

Bonnie looked over at him, "Why? Know one has stepped in those woods since forever."

"Well in the last village that we were in, I heard a rumor that there were ruins of the Niagara Kingdom."

Bonnie smiled, "Well, it couldn't hurt to go see some ruins of the most powerful kingdom in the world."

The two of them set off, towards the Dark Ghostly Woods. When they arrived, they saw lifeless trees and no creatures wondering about them. They drove through the ruins of the little town that was crumbling through the ground. Trees were growing out of the roofs of the buildings. That's when Bonnie saw the statue of the nobleman in the middle of the town. Bonnie looked at the figure curiously, "Jacob stopped in front of that statue."