Beast - a retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 2

I'm sitting on the back of an enormous horse that's been provided by the Beast King. And when I say enormous I mean gigantic, it's about a third bigger than any of the stallions in my father's stables. But I suppose it would have to be this size to carry the Beast men around on its back. These men are about seven feet tall and have the strength of ten men. I've only ever seen them once in my life when they came to my father's castle, and they were intimidating to say the least. Their faces reminded me of that of a lion and their bodies were huge and well-muscled; the body of that of a warrior. There's no man on earth that's more powerful than the Beast men, and that's exactly why my father enlisted their help to protect his Kingdom. Now that the Beast men are on our side no one will ever be able to threaten our Kingdom ever again.

And that's why I've come to find myself astride the biggest horse I've ever seen, riding through a dark forest on my way to meet my destiny. I don't know what the Beast King will do when he sees me. He obviously expect me to be some kind of great beauty, so what will he do when he sees me?

I'm so busy pondering this that I don't see the low hanging branch in front of me before it hits me smack in the face. The impact nocks me of the horse and the next thing I know I find myself flat on my back, staring up at the trees. Everything is spinning and my head is throbbing painfully, but I manage to sit up on my elbows. I gently touch my fingers to my forehead. There's no blood but I can already feel a bump forming underneath my fingertips.

I look over at the horse who, thank goodness, is still waiting for me. But there's no way on earth that I'll be able to get back on its back by myself. Damn it! I'm going to have to walk next to it for who knows how long until we reach the Beast King's castle. I sigh with frustration. This is just what I needed. I'm going to arrive at the Beast's castle with my dress ruffled and dirty and with my hair all tangled up. He's going to think my father's given him a troll instead of a daughter.

But there's no way around it now. The Beast is just going to have to take me as I am. So without further ado I get back up on my feet, grab the reigns of the horse, and let it lead me deeper into the forest.

I've finally arrived at the Beast's enchanted castle. My dress is torn, wrinkled and dirty, I'm sweating and my dark hair is a tangled mess. I must look terrible and I'm just glad that darkness has fallen so that hopefully the state of which I've arrived in isn't quite as obvious.

I see my first Beast men as I enter the gate that leads to an enormous courtyard. The white walls of the castle in front of me stand luminous like a ghost in the night. It's a huge castle, much bigger than my father's back home. But I don't get a chance to compare the two any further as the Beast men have gathered in the courtyard to watch my arrival.

As they get a better look at me they look increasingly more furious. No one says a word as I cross the courtyard. Maybe the darkness isn't hiding the state of my appearance quite as well as I'd hoped. Maybe they can see in the dark in much the same way that a cat can? In fact I believe I've heard rumors about the Beast men that say that besides incredible speed and strength they also possess superior senses. So maybe they really can see in the dark. I wonder if they can hear my fluttering heart as well?

I finally arrive at the stairs that leads up to the huge double doors of the castle. My horse takes it upon itself to reacquaint itself with the stables and I'm left on my own. I hesitate. The Beasts looks so angry that I'm not sure if I'm welcome here anymore. Perhaps they want me to leave again? If only there was someone here I could ask.

Almost as if someone's heard my thoughts, the double doors open up in front of me. I carefully peek inside but I don't see anyone there who could've opened the doors. As I enter the grand hall there's not even  a whisper of sound. There are two large stairs that seems to lead to the upper level of the castle. I see a flicker of movement up there, so I decide to climb the stair to my right. It happens to be the flicker of light from an oil lamp. In fact several oil lamps hang on the wall along a long corridor. As I move along the corridor the lamps light up and I get the distinct feeling that I'm being guided along to somewhere. And since no one has come to greet me at the door, I don't feel like I have any other choice but to follow the light wherever they decide to take me.

I walk past several closed doors and I begin to wonder if I'll ever reach my destination. But then finally the lamps are leading me to an open door. It's a room; a beautiful room. The room has a fireplace and there's already a fire going as I enter the room. On the wall to the south, huge floor to ceiling windows leads out to a balcony. The walls are covered with tapestries that depicture birds and flowers. To the right there's a large closet packet with the most beautiful gowns I've ever seen. And to the left there's a door that leads to a bathroom. I'm thrilled to discover that it has a toilet and running water – my own father didn't even have that installed in our castle until five years ago.

Just as I enter the bathroom the golden taps to the bathtub turns on by themselves. I guess the rumors are true; this really is an enchanted castle. On a table by the tub soaps and fluffed towels have been laid out for me. Somehow the castle must've noticed that I'm in dire need of a bath. I take the hint and strip out of my dirty gown. By the time I've dropped the gown at my feet, the tub has filled and the tabs turn themselves off. I sink into the tub and enjoy the feeling of the warm water engulfing my body.

A bath is just what I needed. It's almost as if the castle can anticipate my needs because once I leave the bathtub and towel of, I find a robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. And when I reenter the bedroom, I find a tray with delicious looking food that has been set up by the fireplace. After the day I've had I'm famished and quickly finish off most of the food on the tray.

Feeling squeaky clean and full I'm then ready for bed. Once again the castle seems to know what I need because on the bed lies a white nightgown made in the softest cotton I've ever felt. I curl up in the bed and soon sleep peacefully. How the Beast King will react to me is something I'll worry about tomorrow.