Ch. 3

It was on one of these visits that he would make a fateful decision. There was a traveling carnival in one of the nearby towns, and Beast decided to go, just for an excuse to get out of the palace. There were more people there than he had seen in a long time, but he stayed hidden deep in his cloak and no one seemed to pay him much attention.

 

He noticed that there seemed to be a large concentration of people in one area, so he headed over to see what the excitement was. It was a sideshow, complete with jugglers, acrobats, and everything. One tent, in particular, seemed to be getting a lot of interest, so Beast decided to check it out.

 

When he entered, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Sitting in a chair on a raised platform at the back of the tent was a woman. Her skin was rough and scaly, like that of a lizard, but it was her face that kept Beast’s attention.

                

In her eyes, he could see a pain so deep that it tore at his heart. He had only ever known such pain in one other person; himself. She did an admirable job of hiding her emotions, projecting a façade of total calm, but Beast could tell how terribly all the screams and gasps and jeers wounded her. Seeing her anguish made Beast’s cold heart begin to melt. He couldn’t bear to see someone else treated so cruelly by the ‘normal’ people.

 

Unable to stand looking at her any more, Beast left the tent and wandered blindly around the carnival. He had long ago decided that he would spend the rest of his existence alone and never let another person into his life. But how could he leave her here, knowing how the rest of her life would be spent? It took him the rest of the day to make up his mind, but as the last guests were starting to leave, Beast made his decision. He hid in a storage tent and waited till everything was quiet.

 

Once he was sure that all the villagers were gone and all the carnies had retired to their tents, he slipped out of hiding and quietly snuck to the woman’s tent. Once there, he took a last look around to make sure he hadn’t been spotted, then he silently slipped in. Staying in the shadows just inside the tent, he looked toward the back to make sure she was still here.

 

Sure enough, there she was, still sitting in the same chair. But it wasn’t the same scene as when he came in here the first time. She was now chained and shackled to the platform and was no longer making any attempt to hide her despair. If Beast’s heart was beginning to melt before, a full spring thaw had struck him now.

 

Walking forward a few steps into the light, he cleared his throat to get her attention, not wanting to scare her. She jumped a little, turning to look at him. She at first seemed scared, then confused. “Who… who are you? What are you doing here?”

 

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you. To set you free.”

 

She looked at him in even greater confusion mixed with disbelief. “Why would you want to help a freak like me?” She spit the word ‘freak’ as if it were the most distasteful word in the world.

 

“Because… I understand what it feels like to be judged, ridiculed and hated because of your looks.”

 

She scoffed at him. “And what would you know about being a freak?”

 

Beast gave a sad chuckle. “Perhaps more than you realize. And I’ll prove it, but please, don’t be afraid. I swear I won’t harm you.” Taking a few steps closer so that she could get a better look, he removed his hood and looked up at her.

 

She jumped back as far as her restraints would allow, her hand flying to her mouth. Beast stayed perfectly still, allowing her to become accustomed to his appearance. “What… Who are you?”

 

Beast paused for a moment. Though he had long ago begun referring to himself as ‘Beast’ in his head, he had never said the name out loud. But which was the more true identity, Beast or Benjamin? “Call me…. Beast.” With that one small sentence, he felt as though he had put the final nail in Benjamin’s coffin. His heart gave a twinge, but he felt it was for the best. His old life was gone, and trying to hold onto it would only cause him more pain. “And who are you?”

 

The woman looked at him in confusion and suspicion for a moment, but then seemed to let it pass. “I’m called Ingrid. But do you mind if I ask how you’re planning to get me out of here? As you can see, I’m chained up here. I can’t get out of these cuffs and I won’t be unchained until just before they let the guests in.”

 

Beast carefully came up to her so as to not scare her anymore, then began to examine the chains. After a moment, he glanced up at her. “I think I can break these, but it’ll take a great amount of strength.” With that, he began to pull on the links as hard as he could. He strained so hard that his muscles began to tremble and sweat beaded his forehead through the downy fur on his face.

 

Finally giving up, he relaxed and looked around the tent. Finding a couple of stones, he placed one on the platform next to Ingrid and laid the chain across it, then picking up the second, he cocked it back and with all his might, smashed it on the link, creating a stone and metal sandwich. He smashed the steel again and again, then set the stone aside and picked the chain back up. Examining it, he found he had made a large dent, weakening the metal. Getting another strong grip on it, he began pulling and twisting it back and forth. After a bit of manipulation, the link gave out with a squeal of protest.

 

Releasing his breath in a large gust, he turned to her with a satisfied look on his face. “There. Part one done. Now, to get out of here without anyone noticing.”

 

“Thank you so much! But how are we going to get out of here? The rest of the roust-abouts are certain to be wandering the camp. If they catch us, we’ll both be locked up.”

 

“Actually, most of the camp is asleep,” Beast informed her. “How else do you think I was able to get in here without anyone noticing? But it will be best if we stick to the shadows until we are well away from here. My palace is about five miles away. If we put a good foot under us, we should make it back well before sunrise.” Walking to the front of the tent and motioning her to stay back a bit, Beast carefully peered out through the flap. Seeing that no one was around, he motioned Ingrid to follow and they slipped out together into the camp.

 

The next few minutes were perhaps some of the most harrowing of Ingrid’s life. They slipped out of camp among the tents, coming within inches of some of the carnival workers. A few times, Ingrid was sure they had been discovered, but Beast had become an expert at slipping undetected through the shadows and eventually they made it past the last tent and out into the surrounding woods.

 

They stayed quiet for the first few minutes of their walk, making sure no one had followed them. But as soon as they were sure they were in the clear, Ingrid let out a laugh of relief and joy. She was free for the first time in her life.  

 

But her joy was short lived as she soon realized one glaring fact. She stopped dead in her tracks, and a few paces ahead, Beast stopped and turned back to her. “Are you alright? Do you need a rest?” he asked, concern in his gruff voice.

 

“Yes.. I mean no. I’m fine, it’s just... I just realized that maybe I didn’t think this running away business all the way through. You see.... I ... I don’t have anywhere to go, and no money to get anywhere even if I did.”

 

Beast thought about this for a moment. It hadn’t occurred to him either that she would be homeless after he freed her. He contemplated her perdicament before he said anything. “You’re right. I didn’t think about that either. I suppose that ... well, if you wanted, you could come and stay with me for now. I live all by myself in a large palace. There would be no one to bother you, and you could stay as long as you wanted while you figure out what to do next.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying even as the words were leaving his lips. But to his surprise, he found that he didn’t regret them.

 

Ingrid looked at Beat in surprise. Had he really just invited her to come live with him? It had amazed her that he had wanted to rescue her from the carnival, but now he was asking her to live with him, and they were little better than strangers. “Thank you. That’s very generous of you.” They smiled at each other and continued on their way. Now things were much lighter and Ingrid felt the happiest she had been for longer than she could remember. True, she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect of life alone in a palace with Beast, but he seemed a nice enough man, and he had set her free, so he couldn’t be all that bad, could he?

Reviews

[DF]

I just finished reading the first three chapters. The scenes are set up very well and give the reader a solid sense of place. I was hoping for more description of the castle, but maybe that's coming in future chapters. I'm looking forward to seeing where this is headed.

-DF