Beautiful Beast

Chapter 24

KALISTA

T

he note slips from the envelope with a whisper and I look upon neat, slanted writing.

Dear Kalista,

Would you do me the honour of joining me for the evening meal? It will be a grand celebration of my labours and I guarantee, we will feast like we have never feasted before.

Please arrive promptly at seven o'clock.
Arawn

I smile as I reread his words—they are laced with humour and teasing. What a foolish, yet utterly charming prince.

Slipping the note into the pocket of my gardening skirt, I begin to ascend the staircase. When I am nearly halfway, a low rumbling begins, and I frantically cling to the balustrade. It quickly escalates till the entire palace trembles with the gravity of it. My knuckles turn white and I scrunch my eyes closed. Perhaps the entire staircase will collapse and it will take me with it. Or perhaps the ceiling will fall like it did in the music room.

As expected, an immense crash sounds throughout the palace, but the moment it does, the rumbling slows, then fades till the building is once more standing still. Another petal fell, but somehow, I do not care this time. There is another individual in this palace who could very well have been injured or killed. I untwist my stiff arms from around the railing and force my shaking legs to carry me down the steps.

"Kalista?" A voice shouts from somewhere inside the palace and the sound shoots warm beams of relief through me.

"Arawn. Are you alright?" I call back, steadying myself on the bottom post of the staircase.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yes, I'm alright." We both survived another petal. How many are left now? Truthfully, I am too afraid to find out.

With the relief that Arawn is safe, I once again ascend the staircase. Somewhere there is damage to the palace, but I will examine it tomorrow; now, I will dress for dinner and then spend an enjoyable evening with Arawn.

Tiredly, I push open the door to my rooms, but strangely, all is silent. "Beedy?" I call, noticing that everything has collected one more layer of dust. Frightful. I will be sneezing all night.

"Beedy?" I say again, stepping further into my room. Where is she? She is always here. "Bedelia? Bedelia, wake up," I shout, but the only reply is the echoing of my own voice. Something snaps inside of me and a tear slips from the corner of my eye and trails down my cheek. Somehow, I had always assumed that she would be with me until the end, that I would always have her.

I stand frozen for a moment, then rigidly move to my dressing room. It is a tedious chore to fasten the ties on my dress and to tame the wilderness that is my hair, but with the help of magic, I manage to make myself look presentable.

Hiding my trembling hands between the folds of my dress, I descend to the kitchens. Arawn is there, nervously arranging the silverware. He has set out plates for us on one end of the great table and they are illuminated by a golden candelabra that he likely took from the dining room. In the center of the table is a bowl of roses in various shades of pink, white, red, and yellow. It is all quite quaint but sweet. Strangely, I think I prefer it over a lavish banquet with decorations and musicians and gaudy costumes.

At my entrance, Arawn glances up. "Welcome, my lady." He bows and motions to a chair, "Won't you join me for supper?"

"Thank you, I would love to," I say and sit at the table worn from years of use. I cannot help but notice that Janine is not nearby. If she was, she would not tolerate Arawn using her kitchen without supervision.