ch.5

That summer, they ended up finding more “freaks” in traveling circuses and such that came into the villages, and they would always set them free and bring them back to the palace to join their ever-expanding “family”. 

 

Beast remained the master of the palace, and by the end of the year, he decided that it was no longer necessary for him to travel outside the palace walls, and instead would send the others out to get any supplies and to rescue others of their kind. Ingrid worried about this change in attitude, but Beast always told her that there was nothing wrong, and it was none of her business if he wanted to stay home.

 

And so life continued for many years, the palace population slowly but steadily growing, Beast becoming more and more reclusive with each passing week. He continued to swear there was nothing wrong, but some of the oldest residents, such as Ingrid, began to wonder.

 

Then one spring, during a horrific storm, there was a pounding on the massive front doors. Ingrid went down, accompanied by Andrew and Carlos, two other residents of the palace. When they opened the door, the three were shocked to see a little old woman standing on the steps.

 

She was bent against the cold, her hair and cloak plastered to her body by the pelting rain. You could see that she was shivering lightly under her thin wrap. She looked up at them when she heard the door open. After a brief inspection of those who had answered her knock, she bowed her head. “Please, Good Masters, Good Mistress, I beg you grant me shelter from this terrible storm. I am but a poor old traveler who was passing through the forest when the storm broke.”

 

The three looked at the woman, then at each other. It was Carlos who spoke first. “Por supuesto, Señora. Please, come in before you catch your death.” He held out his hand which she took shakily and smiled up at him and she walked into the entrance.

 

Ingrid smiled at the older woman, but Andrew was nearly incensed. “Carlos, my man, have you lost your senses? Forgive me, Madam, but we aren’t the masters of this palace, and if the true master was to find out that we had allowed you to enter here…”

 

Carlos snorted at Andrew. “Ah, Andrew, no sea tonto. Have a heart. We can’t very well leave the poor woman out there to freeze, can we?”

 

Ingrid answered before Andrew had the chance. “Of course not, Carlos. Come along, Dear. We’ll get you warmed in front of the fire and I’ll see about getting you some dry things to wear.”

 

Andrew was nearly in a panic. “But if the Master finds out that we let a normal in here…”

 

“Oh nonsense,” Ingrid scoffed. “It would be simply monstrous to leave this poor old lady in the storm. And don’t you worry about the Master. You know very well that he hardly ever comes out of his chambers anymore, and if anyone knows the secrets of this palace besides him, it’s me. If we get any hint that he’s coming her way, we can spirit her off to another part of the palace in a wink.” Andrew knew better than to argue with Ingrid when she had made up her mind, but he kept a sharp eye open the whole rest of the night, just waiting for them to get caught.

 

Once the lady was dried and fed and was sitting in front of a fire with a cup of tea, she asked about the palace, and Ingrid and Carlos told all they knew of Beast’s past, his finding of the palace, and his rescue of all the strange ones, as they referred to themselves. The old woman said very little, but seemed quite impressed with the tale of Beast’s generosity.

 

“I do worry about him, though,” Ingrid concluded. “He seems to be becoming more and more distant and temperamental as time goes by. I’ve tried to get to the root of the problem, and I believe it has something to do with his past, but he tells so little about his life before finding the palace, I can’t get any hints as to what it might be.”

 

The old woman nodded and patted Ingrid’s shoulder. “I understand my dear child. Don’t you worry your mind about it. I don’t think there is anything you can do for him that you aren’t doing now. But who knows? Perhaps happiness will come in the future when you are least looking for it.”

 

Ingrid was very confused by her words, but she didn’t want to say anything.

 

A while later, they all went to bed. When everyone was asleep and the palace was quiet, the old woman got up and slipped outside without anyone noticing her. The storm had stopped and the full moon came out from behind the clouds as she stepped out onto the lawn. Turning back to the palace, she looked up at the northern tower with a smile. “Dear Benjamin. My sister did such cruelties to you that were far worse than anything you deserved. But despite all the hardships you have suffered, your heart still remains pure, though buried deep within a stone vault. I wish I could undo what my wicked sister has done to you, but it isn’t allowed for one witch to reverse another’s magics. But I do leave you with this chance to save yourself." She held out her hand toward the tower, and began to cast her spell. "By mercy alone canst thou escape thy prison; When one who’s heart has been blinded to true beauty can once again be made to see; When that which the world has broken is once again restored to hope; Through true love, all shall find release.” Finishing, she turned and walked toward the gate. With a final glance over her shoulder, she smiled up at the palace, walked into the woods, and was gone.

 

When the rest awoke the next morning, they were shocked that the old woman had disappeared. They covertly searched the entire palace, but she was nowhere to be found. They eventually decided that she must have left during the night. For some reason they couldn’t explain, they had a strange feeling of hope somewhere deep inside of them, though they never really spoke of it to anyone, including eachother.

 

When Beast went to his table that morning, he found a small scrap of paper with just a few words written on it. Being a lowly farmer in his prior life, he had never really learned to read, but for some reason, he found he could read this note: “Through true love, all shall find release.” He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he felt a spark light inside him for the first time in a long time.