Babes And The Beast

Chapter 5: Running

"Dipper, I think we took a wrong turn."

"I think we took a lot of wrong turns Mabel."

  The twins checked their surroundings. This was definitely not a place they had been to before. Looking out the nearest window, Dipper could see the sun setting. "It looks like we're in the West Wing." He said.

"Really?" said Mabel. They looked down the hall. Unlike the rest of the castle- which was somewhat inviting- this place was foreboding and filthy.

"You know," said Mabel, "If Bluebeards' wife hadn't gone into the forbidden room, he wouldn't have tried to kill her."

"Yeah. But then she would have spent the rest of her life married to a serial killer." Dipper pointed out

"Good point."

  So, they walked on, holding hands. The hall looked like it hadn't been touched in decades. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and layers of dust on the ground. All the doors were shut tight and all the furniture had been knocked over or broken.

In the east wing, there were bedrooms, sitting rooms, and even a dusty old ballroom. Wendy once said there was also a library that was being refurbished.

"I had some good times in that place." She had said. "Sneaking out of work and kicking back with a fun book in my hands." Dipper perked up when she said that. "So you did used to be human." He exclaimed, "I was wondering about that."

  It had been in searching for the library that they had gotten lost. Although, this was far more intriguing. At one point, they passed by a deer carcass picked clean to the bone. Mabel gagged, Dipper looked away. At another point, they cautiously opened a door to reveal a playroom with a big toy ship. On the wall was a flag with a strange coat of arms.

  Finally, at the end of the hallway, there was a master bedroom with the doors busted in. There was no doubt that this was where the Beast slept. If the hall was bad, this was a disaster scene. Smashed mirrors, splintered chairs, and a bed shredded into an unruly nest. Both twins cringed simultaneously.

"And I thought our house was messy." Said Mable.  

  Due to the rooms' size, they decided to split up and explore different parts of it. At the far end were French windows that opened out onto a balcony. Hanging on the wall near it was a series of lopsided paintings. Dipper examined each one carefully

  One of them was a family portrait of four people in costly clothes. Three of the faces had been ripped up, but one, a young man of eighteen, smiled out at him. He wore big glasses and had dark brown hair. His hand was raised as if he were waving. Dipper squinted. There was something off about his fingers...

"Hey Dipper look!" Mabel waved him over to her corner, where she found the only upright piece of furniture in the whole place. A wooden desk with a leather-bound book sitting in a glass case. As he came closer, Dipper could see a gold hand emblazed on the cover that gave a soft glow. For a second, he could almost see a face.

"It's just like the ones at the store." Mabel whispered. Dipper huffed.

"Who've thought the Beast was into writing?"

"Maybe it's a book of spells." She suggested.

"Or a list of victims."

Either way, they lifted up the glass lid for a better look. Before either one could touch it, the book opened on its' own and flipped its' pages to the middle.

"Huh?' Dipper stared at it. "It's blank?"

But even as he said this, letters appeared as if written by an invisible hand; forming in neat cursive script;