Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Chapter 2

     When I am as ready as Cedric and I can agree upon-his taste is rather more lavish than mine and as a result, it is difficult for us to correspond on an outfit-he leads me through halls, whose candles light as we approach.

     As we reach the staircase, Cedric says, “You are on your own from here. The dining room is the first door on your right.” Then suddenly, he has vanished and I am left alone in the dim candle light. There is nothing for it, but to meet the Beast. I cautiously amble down the staircase, searching furtively with my eyes through the dark atrium, hoping somehow that my sword will be lying there. Of course it is not, so I take a deep breath and move to stand just outside the dining room. A fire burns on the left wall, painting orange light across the floor and furniture. In the center of the room is a long table, laden with all sorts of delicacies. Only two chairs are positioned at the table, one that is covered in plush, royal blue cushioning, stands forlornly at the far end of the table, and is empty. The other seems almost out of place against the blue and gold theme of the room, is a black, high-backed chair with a design of roses carved in its wood and it is not empty. A porcelain hand rests on the table, its finger encircling the stem of a silver wine glass. It is the only part of the Beast I am able to see, except for the perpetual shadows that cling around her.

     “You are late,” her voice caresses the darkness seeming to draw it towards her.

     Swallowing, I walk stiffly towards the empty seat. The blue cushions are soft, but I do not lean into them, I remain alert, ready to run or attack. From across the table, she watches me like a hawk, her black eyes burning. It is difficult to make out her features, all of the candles are on my side of the table, but I notice that she wears black again.

     “There is no poison in the food, it is safe to eat,” I glance briefly at the feast before me. Will I be forever enslaved to her if I eat the food? I am hungry, but I would rather not end up like one of her invisible servants.

     “I am not hungry,” I lie, through gritted teeth.

     A haughty expression floods her face, “You must be, after your long journey.” She flicks her hand and I half expect something to disappear again, but she just calls for Cedric.

    I do not see him, but I hear his voice, “Yes, my Lady?”

    “Serve our guest,” she orders snidely.

    “As you wish,” comes Cedric’s compliant voice. Before my eyes a plate rises into the air, food floats to its surface, and then it lands smoothly before me. I eye the roast chicken, glazed carrots, herb roasted potatoes, and flaky pastry.

    “Will that be all, my Lady?” Cedric’s voice causes me to raise my eyes again.

    “Yes, thank you Cedric,” as she speaks she does not even glance towards Cedric’s shimmer.

    I watch his glimmering figure leave before voicing my disgust at the way she treated him, “Was that necessary.”

    She glowers at me for questioning her, “Yes, it was. Now, if you do not eat the food before you, I will recall Cedric and have him force it down your throat.”

    Shooting her a bold, repulsed look, I gingerly pick up my fork, stab an orange carrot, and lift it to my mouth.

    Her chin lifts, in victory, “What name do you go by?”

    I ignore her, she may be head over her servants, but she does not own me.

   “I must call you something. Unless of course, you wish me to call you sir, like Cedric does,” her voice is hard, angry that I disregarded her.

     But the comment causes me to imagine her treating me with the same contempt as she does a servant, so although my entire being opposes, I give her my name, “Arawn.”

     She hesitates a moment before beginning to say her name, “You may call me…”

     “Beast, I will call you Beast,” I interrupt. She will be dead soon anyway, I could really care less what her name is.

     At my words, she lets out a laugh that chills my bones and she states mockingly, “How ironic. Because it is your name that means untamed beast.”

     Her remark causes memories of teasing and bullying during my childhood to arise, but I do not let her see any emotion on my face.

     As if doing me a favor she says, “I suppose, I will tell you my name. In case, at some point you are in a good mood and feel inclined to use it.” Not likely your Beastly Ladyship. “My name is Kalista, it means most beautiful one.”

     It is not a name that befits her, she is too dark for beauty, especially inner beauty. I continue to eat my food all the while thinking how, under her penetrating gaze, I will be able to sneak the silver dinner knife into my sleeve.

    Unexpectedly her eyes briefly skitter to the burning fire and without hesitation, I take the opportunity. In one fluid movement, I snatch the knife from the white table cloth and let it fly straight for her heart. Faster than my eyes can follow, her right-hand stops the knife in midair and her eyes light up like smoldering embers before immediately turning to pits once again. Her inhuman speed and now the grace with which she stands makes my hands grow cold. She moves like a shadow towards me and it is not till she has stopped before me that I realize I stood and knocked over my chair when I threw the knife. Flinging the knife to the side, she directs the full wrath of her gaze upon me.

    “That was harsh and impolite, but you will have to try a little harder than that to kill me,” her voice is like ice.

     Anger bursts forth within me and furiously I step nearer to her, “Impolite? Harsh? I have every right.”       

    For the second time this evening, she speaks mockingly to me, “Do you really? And who of yours did I murder this time? Your lover?”

    “My brother,” I answer, pain clouding my words. How could she not even remember? Does she murder so many? “Do you go so absolutely insane that you cannot even tell whether your prey is male or female?”

     Anger snaps between every syllable, “I have never, a day in my life, been lunatic. Every night I spend within my palace walls, knowing that if I so much as set a foot outside I will be torn to pieces by the rabid wolves. It is not I, but they who murder senselessly.” Her statement takes me by surprise, but how can I believe the words of a sorceress?

    Suddenly she turns and it is a relief to have her eyes off of me. Taking a few steps forwards, she inclines her neck slightly towards me, just so that I can see the swirling pattern painted on her skin, above her temple.

    She speaks softly this time, “Would you sacrifice a drop of your blood for me?”

    How can she ask a question such as that? Have I not made my hatred clear? “Never,” I let that one word speak volumes, but she does not even flinch, just straightens her head and leaves the room.

     A few minutes after she has left, Cedric sounds suddenly at my side.

    “Sir,” he says with contempt. “I will take you to your room.”

     I follow him, surprised when we reach my room that he did not lead me to the dungeons. Entering, I begin to walk to the window when I hear the click of a lock. I spin and move quickly towards the door, it is locked from the outside. That was incredibly stupid on my part, I should have known they would not leave me free at night. 

     After exploring my room as much as is possible in the low light of the dying fire, I attempt to get some rest. But it is hopeless, my mind swirls in circles, wondering if my family has given up on me already, or if what the Beast said about the wolves is actually true.

     As if in answer to my thoughts, I hear a shrill, piercing howl. I bolt up from the mattress and scurry to one of the tall windows. Moonlight floods the outside world, turning it into a ghost realm. The wolf cry reaches my ears again and I search for the source of the sound. Past the pale colored gardens and across the open land, dark shadows pace back and forth along the tree line of the great forest. They are difficult to make out, but compared to the size of the trees the dogs seems almost as tall as large ponies. The stature and sound of these animals chills me almost more than the Beast does and if by some irony they are the murders of my brother than they are also the ones that deserve my wrath. I sigh and lean heavily against the window frame, there is nothing that proves the Beast speaks the truth. I am not about to believe her words, at least not yet.

     My eyes finally begin to grow heavy and I contemplate going back to bed. It is then that I hear the music. A sweet, mournful melody that rises and falls in a harmonious wave. I open the window so that I may hear more clearly. Where ever the music is coming from, it must be from a room whose windows are also open. Briefly I look down, the window is not an option for escape, due to the far drop to the ground.

    Without warning the music suddenly turns sharply, becoming angry. Who is playing music such as this? Surely not the Beast. No, it cannot be. I dismiss the thought with a shake of my head and slouch to sit against the wall. Maybe one of the servants is a pianist. But as my sleep fogged mind thinks the words, I know they are not true. 

Reviews

[Lavorther]

Beautifully written, as usual. It's very entertaining to read the same events through the eyes of another person. As they are both very different, this makes for an interesting story. It just makes the reader more immersed in the story when you know what both main characters are doing and thinking. Of course you could have gone with an all-knowing narrator, but that would've been far less interesting. Writing both parts in the first person also helps with this immersion.

I did notice the parts of the chapters are starting to get a bit out of sync. It's not really a problem yet, but that might be something to keep in mind when you write them.

I spotted one very small grammatical error:
"Because it your name that means untamed beast."
"it" should be "it's" or "it is".

[Emma]

Thank you again for reviewing :)
Yes, I was at first hoping to keep the chapters end at the same scenes, but then because the two characters do different activities of different importance, some chapters would be really long and others short. So I was thinking it might just end up being two books that have the same storyline, characters, etc., but aren't tied together when it comes to chapters and such. What are your thoughts?
I fixed the typo :)