The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 15 =-

While Annelie rested, Vardan dwelled on what he had almost done in his rage. It was unacceptable, his actions. He knew it more than he would ever show, but he was disappointed in himself for acting out of anger rather than listening to Annelie. Yet, there had been that moment where she had said his name, told him that it wasn't really him who was in control. In that moment, he knew that it hadn't been him, but the Beast he had tried to make of himself all those years ago.

His parents... that was a topic that brought him agony in the worst of ways. They had been sweethearts, the truest of romantic couplings. He remembered how his father told him of their tale that had swept him away when he had been young.

Once, there was a woman, as fair and beautiful as the stars in the sky. Her dark hair was swept back in a long braid and she was the youngest princess. Her father was harsh, to the point of being cruel. Years before she had lost her mother in the process of her trying to give birth to what would have been her younger brother.

Yet, she did not mourn for the woman, as their father had been horrible to her for all the years in which they had been together. It had probably been relieving to escape such punishment as to be locked in a castle with a man who did not love. So, she thought of her mother in fondness, in a sweet way, and almost in longing. Part of the youngest princess wanted to be with her mother, wrapped in her arms, spirited away from the castle in which she had grown chained to.

That is what made her wander. She would travel to the babbling brook, her golden hazel eyes sweeping over the ground in search of something pretty to add to her collection. At times she would grab a rare jewel, and other times, a sparkling rock.

What she found one day changed her life.

The young princess was kneeling by the river, her hands covered in mud as she searched, the water quickly becoming murky, when a shadow descended upon her form. It was dark and blocked what little light she had been using to search for another gem.

She tilted her head up, eyes flaring, when she noticed the most handsome of men. He stood beside a pearly white stallion, a smirk curling his lips. He wore armor, the kind that shone in the dim light that filtered through the leaves of the trees above. Even his teeth sparkled in the light, making him, somehow, all the more appealing to the young princess.

Both were relative in age, on the cusp of becoming adults. He bent down to the ground next to her, taking strands of her hair in his hand and letting it slowly slip through his fingers. "Like silk..." he commented.

The young princess moved back, confused at the man's actions. "It is most uncourteous of you to talk so freely when we do not yet know even my last name. Your actions are most reproachable," the young princess exclaimed, her hand traveling to rest over her heart.

This caused the man to pause and to stare consideringly at the princess. "Terribly sorry, fair maiden. If we are to give our surnames, mine is not so simple. I am first Prince Aidan Sulvier of the great kingdom of Ardaigh. You are..." he explained with a low bow, before taking her hand in his, despite the mud that coated it. The smirk was once more on the Prince's face and she found herself bristling.

"I am Princess Lilian Beux of the grand kingdom of Xaveu," the young princess stated with her eyebrows rising.

For a moment, both went silent. Suddenly, the prince seemed to look at her in a more considering manner. He nodded his head slowly, before trying to bring up the back of her dirty hand to his lips. Lilian pulled away with a hushed, unintentional exclamation.

Her heel dug into the soft soil next to the bank. Before she knew it, she was sliding down into the waiting brook. Water splashed at the small stones that outlined the bank, and the young princess found herself soaking wet in the middle of the cloudy brook.