Beauty and the Beast - A Retelling
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    "Until the last petal falls,
    Hold my love close,
    As a flower in your coat,"
    He could almost hear her voice, her sweet, sweet voice. Yet, as his hands touched the cold stone, he knew it could not be true.
    Not even love could raise the dead.
    His heart ached as he reached for the rose in his coat- her last memory, her last gift. 
    Today, the last petal had fallen.
    As promised, he had held her love close.
    He placed the fragile stalk on the ground before the tomb. 
    He still remembered how they had met in a field of roses.
    She, a runaway princess in search of freedom.
    He, a commoner, an adventurer with great goals.
    Her lips, her cheeks were as red as the roses around her. He stared at her, in awe.
    She smiled gently, handing him a single rose from her bouquet.
    They would talk for what seemed like eternity- about flowers, the skies, the stars, the far away lands.
    The villagers would warn them- a Princess should not be so close to a commoner. 
    But oh, how they loved. 
    With her, he seemed to know no mortal fear. He seemed to forget about the whole world.
    And this was his flaw- he had forgotten that they were only mortal.
    He found her sprawled across the field one day. Yet, the colour had been drained from her cheeks. Her lips were parted, drawing in abnormal breaths. A dagger had pierced her stomach, and her pure white dress was now stained with red.
    He scurried to his knees, holding her close to her, assuring her he would protect her.
    "My love," She gently cupped his face, stroking his cheek. "You cannot protect me from Death."
    They remained in their last embrace for what seemed like eternity. She would gently caress his face as he cried on her shoulders, still holding her tightly, 
    "Stay. Stay with me." 
    To which, she only tucked a rose into his hand, her voice now faint and distant,
    "Until the last petal falls,
    Hold my love close,
    As a flower in your coat."
    He now stared at the cold stone, and not her lifeless eyes.
    The fragile stalk remained, sprawled across the ground as she had once laid.
    "Even after the last petal falls,
    I will hold your love close,
    As my own soul."
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