"Beauty and the Beast"

Chapter 21

Hey! sorry it took so long but i was stuck! ow it is flowing nicely and the next update will be coming soon because i cannot leave it at this!!!

Recap: Martin was injured and Faith is waiting for him to go home. He wants her to stay in the village while she wants to go for a visit and come back to 'Lewis' (who is actually Adam but he has yet to get the guts to tell her who he really is) :P While back home Melanie is getting reacquainted with the village.

Melanie:

It had not taken long to learn that while she had been away Charity’s family had earned a respectable reputation here. Charity and Patience had always seemed so shallow and materialistic but they have grown up, at least Charity has. Poor Patience has fallen into Victor’s trap. Melanie knew that if something did not happen and soon, Patience would end up much like she had, used and thrown away.  When Melanie had realized this she had made it her goal to take her under her wing.

Victor had not been too much trouble since the scene with Caleb when they had first arrived but Melanie knew better then to hope that he would back down. His pride has been tarnished and Patience had been kept away from him. He was just biding his time.

Since arriving home, I have had more drama in my life then I ever remember having, even initially after the episode with Victor…

Back to the story:

Faith walked up to Martin’s room and knocked. It had been three days since he arrived and he was completely healed. An injury like his normally would have taken weeks to heal but Lenora had a gift. She explained that fairies wielded the magic of remedy.

“Yes?” A voice called out from the room.

“Martin? Are you ready?” She had not finished speaking when the door swung wide open. Martin’s torn and bloody clothes had been replaced with a fine new tunic and britches, much to Martin’s dismay. He refused to accept anything from ‘Lewis’. It hurt Faith that he still held a contempt toward her host. He also spent all their time together attempting to convince her to remain at the village. She just could no longer think of it as her home, the palace was her home now.

“Yes! I cannot wait to be out of here!” Faith let out a defeated sigh and led the way to the front room. Placing her bag in front of the grand entry she strode to the huge ornate doors of the throne room. She knew that is where she could always find ‘Lewis’.

“Lewis?” She called out as they entered the dark room. She shook her head and began opening the curtains to let in the light. Lewis needs to stop this brooding darkness! He lives in it in more ways then one… She looked around the room and saw him at the far end, staring at the portrait of the last king, his human form from long ago. Sometimes Faith wondered if ‘Lewis’ even remembered being human. This curse has been with him so long that he believes himself more a beast then human. “Lewis, we are leaving.” That seemed to pull him out of his stupor. He let out a toothy smile and came over.

“I have something for your journey,” he said as he handed Faith a carefully wrapped parcel. “Are you certain you do not want me to come along?” Faith really did want him to go, she felt safe in that dank forest with him by her side. However, with Martin’s arrival, Faith thought it best not to stir the pot any more. She had told him last night that she thought it best if Martin escorted her back to the village… without him. This was not the first time that ‘Lewis’ had tried to convince her to let him come along just to ensure her safety.