The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 6 =-

"Where have you been? We have been worried sick over you," her mother murmured in the softest of tones. Annelie didn't respond for a long, quiet moment. She could feel her father's gaze staring straight at her back, practically through her. If only for a moment, I can keep him from becoming overcome with his own unexplained obsession, she thought. 

"Oh, mother! Let me help you both work today! We can't just slack off now," Annelie exclaimed. She rushed over to grab her cloth apron, tying it firmly behind her back. 

"Annelie?" her mother murmured. Rather than responding to her mother's inquiries once more, she moved over to clean her hands in a tub of water. Then, she shook her hands ineffectively dry, not even bothering to grab a cloth. Before any more questions could be thrown her way, she began to roll out dough on one of the wooden counters. 

The eyes moved off of her back after another long, suspenseful moment, and she could hear the sound of heavy boots moving off towards the front of the bakery once again. Annelie's shoulders dropped from their unconscious raised movement. "Well... we must work," her mother commented, her voice very quiet. "You will tell me where you were, won't you darling?" 

The question and the way her mother's lilting voice caught made Annelie's resolve crack. Her mother had been there for her, so many times, so very many times. They had sought comfort in each other's company on nights when Merrick would sneak off to the Beast, or drink himself into near-unconsciousness. At least, when he went to the Beast, he didn't harm his health with too much ale. 

Annelie continued rolling the dough, though slower than before. "Mother, do you believe you could help me carry some flour in from the very back of the store? It is quite heavy and I reckon I'll need some assistance," she murmured. Her mother's footsteps paused somewhere behind her back. 

She felt a softer gaze move over her figure before a hand came onto her shoulder. "Of course I will," her mother replied. As soon as Annelie turned, she knew she couldn't keep anything from her. 

The trust in her mother's gaze, and the way that her mouth curled just so upward made it hard to keep any secret. "Wonderful," Annelie commented. She turned and began to the back storeroom of the bakery, heading over to the flour. There were two giant sacks, unopened, and leaning against the farthest wall from the front of the bakery where her father roamed. 

"Mother... I know you worried, and for that, I am incredibly sorry. I just couldn't outright explain things. Father, he is obsessed and I couldn't possibly... Ah, I've gotten ahead of myself," Annelie started. She paused, seeing her mother's furrowed brows and slightly parted mouth. "Let me begin properly..." 

Thus, she explained in eloquent terms of how she had run off into the Dark forest, was found by the Beast's servants and taken into Rose Castle. She explained that the Beast was a cruel, cruel man, that she never wanted to see him again. Her mother listened in silence, instead of interrupting as her father would have done. 

There were no questions, not one. Annelie continued, her hands moving widely to express her discontent with having seen the Beast yelling in the room. She, though being descriptive throughout most of her story, declined to acknowledge her idiocy with the window. Rather, she skipped it entirely, saying that before she could properly think of a route to use as an escape, that she had been found by the terrible Beast. 

From there on out, she told of her discomfort and rage at being made to stay in the castle for the night. How she was unfairly locked into a bedchamber by the horrible monster that roamed the halls. 

When all was said and all was done, her mother nodded her head and moved to smile slowly. "This Beast who you hate so terribly, what has he truly done to offend you, my dear?" her mother asked calmly.