Inside the Beast's Castle

Chapter 20--Is This a "Normal" Conversation?

"And you, child. We will have fun with you. Just like we did your mother."

I gasped and bolted from my bed before my body could even realize I was awake. My feet hit the cold floor and I felt a chill run all the way up my spine, shaking me like an earthquake. In fact, my whole body was shaking--and not from my feet hitting the floor.

I closed my eyes to try and halfway tried to wake up the rest of the way and halfway tried to block out the black-masked man that showed up in my dreams again.

Only the first one worked.

Instead of pushing away the image of the man, I only managed to bring him to the front of my mind, along with the rest of my dream. Again, his warm breath tickled my ear as his scratchy hand rubbed my shoulder.

I could see him too clearly. The mask that covered his head, the eyes whose gaze I couldn't escape from.

The same as the man in the forest.

Snap out of it, Zara.

Because, hey, you know ordering yourself to stop panicking always works, right?

Wrong.

I crouched down at the side of the bed and gently placed my forehead against the mattress, squinching my eyes shut.

"One," I whispered.

"Two."

"Two girls in one night, boss? Dang, we're gettin' fancy, aren't we?"

The man holding my arm shook me around. "Shut up, Four. We're saving this one for another night."

I could hear the crackling of the flames mix in with my mother's killer's voice. All I wanted to do was to see who was under that mask of his, even though every part of my body told me otherwise.

My small, eight-year-old hand crept up toward the man's face and caressed the knit-together material softly.

"Zara."

Except that didn't come from the man that held me. The voice was too sweet, too kind, too warm.

It was my father's voice.

I turned around, suddenly free from the other man's grip, and smiled at my father as he held open his arms for an embrace. His hair was a luxurious shade of brown with no traces of white--how it was before my mother died.

My feet slapped the white floor as I ran to my father. The bright light around me was almost blinding. Without a second thought, I buried my head in his shoulder. The smell of freshly-baked bread made its way to me. It was the smell that used to come from him--not alcohol. He was how he used to be, how I loved him as.

A smile pulled at my lips, which I allowed to break free. "Baupa."

A gruff voice thick with the Upper Kingdom's accent answered me. "Baupa's not here right now."

A sharp breath of air entered my lungs and I scrambled away from the man I was holding--no, more like was holding me. My father's warm embrace was gone and instead, I saw the king. King Regol's sapphire eyes glinted furiously at me as he held out a long sword in front of him.

"You, child. You disobeyed me!"

My heart thudded against my chest frantically. "What did I do?" I asked.

I already knew what the answer was.

The king shook with rage. "You didn't kill the beast! You family will now die!"