Beastly Desires

Chapter Two

Sébastien awoke in his bed chamber, startled and dazed. His body felt heavy and his breathe felt hot in his throat. He reached to cup his neck and scurried back against the headboard of his bed. He threw out his hand in front of him, greatly appalled.

He horrifyingly beheld his hand- his paw. No longer did he see his tanned callused fingers, but the paw of some horrid beast. Its long, hairy fingers curled into dagger sharp claws. The fur that covered them was thick and the color of the deepest black. The claws that reached for him were made like obsidian glass and the palm of his paw was scaled in green obsidian. He did not know what to think, what to believe as he flexed his hand- what once was his hand, his fingers.

A deep shudder of fear went through him and he pulled the blankets from his lap and gasped. Black fur and scales lined his torso, dipping into the waistband of his trousers. His eyes ran across the frayed fabric, tuffs of fur sticking out from the slash marks along his thighs and ended at his feet. No longer were their toes, but clenched talons similar to his hands.

"No!" Sébastien roared. The windows across his chamber shuddered and splintered from the sheer vibration of his pain filled bellow.

He leaped out of bed and bounded to the mirror that leaned against the far wall. As he got closer his steps became slower, hesitant. He was afraid of what he might beheld if his hands and feet were anything less. He took a deep breathe before stepping into the mirrors reflection.

The chandelier fell with a loud crashing noise, glass and metal sprayed outward, scattering across the wood floor. The sound that rippled through the air, through the bed chamber, through the castle was pure rage. Glass vases rattled and fell off their podiums. Books shook loose from their places on shelves. Walls splintered and banisters bowed at the agonizing noise.

Sébastien knelt in front of the shattered mirror. Its shards, sprawled around him revealed slithers of a beast frozen in rage. Smoke billowed out from his mouth, falling in soft tendrils at his feet. His eyes, lakes of inferno, swelled with smoldering tears as he beheld what curse was laid upon him.

A beast. A frightful, black beast.

...

Sébastien sat in his study. He clutched a pitcher of wine in his paw. He brought the pitcher to his mouth and downed its contents in one great gulp. Its sweet, acidic relief was temporary and made his stomach flare up. He felt molten iron rumbled deep within. Smoke seeped from his nostrils and he hung his head back off his chair, blowing out a stream of smoke.

The door to his study opened and his eyes darted to the man who walked in. He did not bother sitting up but looked grudgingly away toward the window above his desk. Below the tower he sat in, tall, intimidating, spikes jutted from the gate below that kept his castle closed to the outside. Snow covered its iron teeth, sealing it shut in an icy embrace. Sébastien closed his eyes and shuddered at the memory of the power that went through his body that horrid day. The curse that made him into the beast he was.

He dragged his paws across his face and turned to receive the man who came to stand beside him.
Neil stood with a platter of food and another silver pitcher. The butler grimaced, taking the empty pitcher from the desk and shaking his head in a worrisome manner.

Sébastien growled, clamping his chin down onto his fist. "Don't pester me about my drinking habits. I have every right to indulge in this mind numbing relief."

Neil frowned and laid the platter of food down onto the desk, swapping out the empty pitcher for the new one which looked to be filled with water Sébastien noted or rather smelled. The liquid did not smell like the sweet, floral aroma of wine.

"What is this?" He seethed. Neil only shrugged.

The butler had been around since Sébastien was a babe. His once full head of shiny brown hair was now balding in the middle and the color of wheat. Had he known the boy he waited on for twenty-eight years would be his untimely death?

Neil softened his face, the corner of his mouth lifted up in a half smile. He put a reassuring hand upon Sébastien's shoulder and gave him a tight squeeze. Then motioned toward the door.

"I know. I know." Sébastien sighed.

He knew Neil was trying hard not to plead with him about leaving his study. It had been a couple of weeks since he's been outside. Every time he left the confines of the castle to roam around the gardens that surrounded it, he felt a heavy chain attached to himself, dragging behind him. And when he came close to the gates that chain felt like it would yank him back if he stepped too close. It clung to his very soul, its icy teeth clamped around him. It felt like death hovered over him. He knew why of course. Knew that death would easily come if he walked outside those gates. Its immediate embrace sometimes called to him.

"I'll be out in a bit. Please, let me eat my lunch in peace. And bring me more wine." He gritted out, pushing the pitcher of water away.

Neil only nodded before leaving.