Looking back at me was Gwen, with bloodshot eyes. Her once bright emerald eyes now a dull green color. My heart instantly hurt for her, she stared at me not saying anything as she continued to sniffle.
I slowly sat beside her, not saying anything as her sobs progressively grew quieter. She looked up at me, I wanted to ask her what was wrong but I didn't want to intrude so I just wrapped my arms around her as she returned my hug, and soon she hiccuped, breaking the tense silence. I laughed and soon she joined me before we both quieted.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as she pulled her locks behind her shoulder.
"Not right now. Right now I just want to go back to bed." I nod as she gets up, and gestures to ask if I'm coming. I shake my head and she waves farewell leaving me in the library. I decide to look around for a bit. As I stroll through the shelves something hard falls on my head causing me to groan. I look down to see a notebook and I pick it up. I gingerly turn the page, marveling at the ancient paper beneath my finger tips. The leather bound book settles into my hands as I sit down in a book. I soon realize it's a journal with a few entries. I start reading from the beginning.
December 31, 1756
The woman came again, asking for Erik. He still refuses to tell me who she is and says she's unimportant. She knocked so naturally I answered it. When she asked who I was I told her I was Erik's wife. She grew furious, she began to speak in a strange tongue, her words didn't make sense and her eyes began to grow into different shades. I haven't told Erik what she said, and I'm not sure that I should. I can still hear her words ringing through my ears. "Mark my words girl, you'll regret what you've taken from me. And one day, you'll feel the pain I had to endure." I'm so frightened. I don't know what to do.
April 17, 1764
I'm so happy, my baby was finally born! Erik was so happy that we finally had an heir, after we had all those miscarriages. I couldn't feel more joy than I do when I hold him in my arms. His eyes are just like mine, icy blue in hue. I can tell he's going to be handsome like his father. He held a grand ball for me, everyone was there, I'm so happy. Nothing could ruin this bliss.
I skip a few until I'm near the end.
January 6, 1785
I saw her. She came. That wretched woman. She took away the two things that meant the most to me, my son and my husband. She laughed as the tears started to fall, saying it was my fault when I don't even know what I did. I can still see her face when she cursed him. My baby has to live an eternity like that, all because I did something I don't even know. This is all my fault. I haven't seen Erik since t happened, he refuses to come out of his study, he refuses to see Julian and I. I miss him. I miss everything. It'll never be the same, my baby has to live on wth this constant pain. Oh what have I done.
Julian? Cursed? He was alive in the 1700s?! I just seem to dig up more questions as I'm here longer. Light begins to break through the window and soon darkness envelopes me.
I wake up to heavy breathing and someone yanking an object out of my hands.
Someone growls at me causing me to jerk awake. I look up to see Julian, his face mere centimeters from my face. Usually I would have blushed from the intimate position but Julian's mad. Fuming even. I quickly back into the recesses of the chair as far as possible as he growls out, "Where did you get this?"
I look down to see him holding the journal. I shift uncomfortably under his gaze as he stares down at me.
"It fell on me last night when I was searching for a book." He seems to be just as mad as I explain to him.
"How much did you read?" I satire at him before answering,
"Just a few pages."
"What did you read, Aspen?" He heaps menace into my name as I can feel the anger rolling off him. Before I can reply, he slumps into the chair beside me, rubbing his face in irritation.
"I better explain." I raise a questioning eyebrow as he sighs. "Everything." My eyes grow big as he gets ready to spill.
"This woman. I had only seen her once, she was breathtakingly beautiful, like you wouldn't understand. She hated my mother, but we didn't know why. I saw her when I was 21, she came, she didn't look like her normal self, she was old and withered asking for a place to stay, we let her stay in one of the guest rooms."
He shakes his head in anger as he grabs onto fistfuls of his hair.
"We should have never let her in. We all went to sleep, but she crept into my room. She woke me up, she started to chant a strange language. She was some sort of enchantress, I didn't understand what was happening until it was to late. By then my parents had woken up. My mom came in with tears because of me. My dad just stared at the women in horror. He knew who she was. She laughed at them when they came in, I still remember it. 'This is what you get Erik, for choosing her, instead of me. This is your fault Adelaide. Now you'll feel the pain I endured.' She laughed and left in a mist."
"It was to late by then. She had already done it. Turned me into that monster that I am. She made me a beast. Each night when the moon grows full I have to change into the beast she intended me to be all the time. But luckily something backfired and it only occurs on full moons."
Do you ever have that moment when your completely speechless? I had no idea how to respond, to many questions I waned to ask. But what surprised me was he was so vulnerable in that moment. Something after being here for two months I wasn't used to.
He begins to get up but I grab his arm quickly. Asking the one question that had been pressing on me for a while, "How are you still alive?"
He just shrugs as I spitter in disbelief, "But, your... That's impossible! You'd be over three hundred... What?" He covered my mouth before continuing,
"She cursed me so I would have to stay like this."
He looks like he's about to speak again but I cut him off, "I need a little time to take all this in, do you mind?" He nods and gets up, exiting the dark library.
I shake my head slightly, trying to clear the jumble of thoughts that plagued my mind. I slowly sank down farther into my chair, as it enveloped me in its folds.
At this point everything was just to weird. I shut my eyes, trying to answer the countless amount of questions but came up short, and soon a sleep enveloped me.
I woke up to find myself curled up in a chair, covered in a blanket. I snuggled in closer reaching for the darkness that sleep and offered but stopped when I heard the clearing of someone's throat. I looked up to see Gwen and Luke hovering over me. I shrieked, sitting up quickly before settling my eyes upon them again.
"What do you want?" I say groaning from the bright light.
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Omfg BATB HAS FREAKING 831 views, I never thought it would get past 60 let alone 831 I love all of you. And if you don't mind I would love if you would check out my other book Runaway Mate.
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YOU ARE READING
Beauty and the Beast
Fantasy"Why me?" I said just loud enough for him to hear me. Julian turned around and was next to me in a heartbeat making me gasp. He slowly lifted my chin so he could see my face clearly. His face was still shrouded in darkness. All that was visible to...
