Beast

This is, hands down, the scariest thing I've ever written.

“What’s the matter, Zayric? Not a fan of greenery?” Liza teased as she watched the crown prince push his salad surreptitiously around his plate.

“You didn’t eat all of yours either, I see.” Zayric retorted. “I hardly think you’re in any place to judge me.”

“Now, now, children. No arguing at the dinner table.” Tam cut in, his eyes twinkling.

“Oh be quiet curly-top. You shouldn’t be passing judgment either.” Cleven chided him, trying, with much difficulty, to gracefully eat the rest of his soup.

“Curly-top?” Tam mused, cocking his head toward Cleven. “Hmm. It’s not my name, but it’s semi-affectionate while still a bit degrading. Well executed, sir. Although your brother’s nickname for me has a better ring to it.”

“Insolent buffoon.” Zayric muttered to his salad.

“See? That’s much more melodic.” Tam proclaimed triumphantly, taking a large victory gulp from his flagon.

“Poor Zayric!” Liza giggled, patting his shoulder in mock sympathy. “He tries so hard to insult Tam and he can never quite do it.”

“It’s quite admirable, really.” Cleven agreed, nodding toward Tam. “It’s like water rolling off a—”

“I grow bored of this mindless prattle.” Zayric drawled, rising abruptly. “I am retiring to the main parlor.”

“Please don’t let us detain you!” Tam called merrily after him, taking the prince’s moody glare in stride.

“I’ll go with him.” Fallin volunteered hastily. “He’ll break something if he’s left alone for too long.”

 

“He’d break something? Ye God! Sometimes I wonder which of them is really the beast in this family.” Tam muttered cynically.     

“You really ought to be nicer to him, Tam. His life isn’t easy.” Liza admitted when Fallin had vacated the room.

“Since when have you ever defended him, Eliz- Ellyra?” Tam asked suspiciously. “A few dances and some private fencing lessons seem to have rocketed him firmly into your good graces.”

“We did talk before the lesson you know.” Liza responded hotly, her cheeks flushing.

“Oh? What about?” Tam asked, his arms folded neatly across his chest.

“I can’t tell you.” Liza snapped. “It’s a confidential secret.”

“Oh, a confidential secret, eh? And supposing it was a public secret? What then?” Tam asked, but his playful tone waned with every syllable, leaning more toward annoyance than jovial wit.

“You know what I meant!” Liza replied sharply, flustered.

“Tam, leave her alone.” Cleven broken in quietly. “Was it about the real story behind what happened to me? The politics and the embargo and all that?”

Liza nodded grudgingly, her lips pursed.

“Embargo!?” Tam exclaimed. “What, on food for our kingdom? Is that what that blasted Clemantias has been planning all this time?”

“You shouldn’t have told him.” Liza said ruefully. “Now they know our secrets.”

“They?” Tam snarled, his face paling with rage as he turned on Liza. “They! As if we’re some kind of enemy or a threat! He really has intoxicated your brain!” His pale fist slammed down on the table so hard that it shook. “I thought I could trust you, Eli- Ellyra!”

“He has a point!” Liza retorted. “The Fairy Queen started all of this in the first place! Someone has to take responsibility for it!”

“Oh, and that person can’t possibly be Zayric because he’s clearly just too good of a person to have had any hand in it at all!”  Tam spat furiously, his voice rising with every syllable he spoke. “Cleven looks the way he does because of Zayric’s inner ugliness! Did he ever tell you that? Did he include that crucial fact into his little sob story? Because that’s the kind of spell that the Queen Alarken casts! Moral ones that affect change in people and in Fate! It’s Zayric’s own damn fault that—”

“Enough!” Cleven’s roar, coupled with a resounding crash and clattering of dishes, was enough to silence both parties and to cause every ghost in the castle to freeze in its tracks. Quickened footsteps signaled that Zayric and Fallin were on their way, and by the time the crown prince skidded to a stop in front of the door, his brother was crouching menacingly on the table, his claws tearing through the white linen, his overturned goblet sending a crimson stain spreading beneath his paws. Because Cleven’s behavior had always tended toward a more gentlemanly than beastlike manner, it was surreal to see the wild, unrestricted fierceness in his narrow golden eyes.

“Douse the lights!” He commanded, and with great rapidity his orders were followed. Panic thickened like fog as the darkness smothered the room and everyone in it, leaving the only light the glimmering reflection of Cleven’s eyes.

The snarls and deep, throaty growls now emanating from his maw sounded as if they shouldn’t belong to him, so few minutes ago a mild prince whose change had only been one of physical appearance. Despite all this, however, the rippling sinews of his powerful muscles and the grace with which his four elegant legs carried him as he prowled closer to Tam harkened to a twisted sense of animalistic majesty. When his hairy face was only inches away from Tam’s he spoke again, his voice softer, but full of ominous authority. “You will not speak more of this.” He regarded Liza swiftly, and then turned his voracious gaze back to Tam. “Understood?”

Sweat poured down Tam’s face as Cleven’s hot, salty breath pressed against his face. “Yes.” He managed to whisper dizzily, trying and failing to escape Cleven’s unwavering gaze. He had the very distinct impression that he was being regarded as prey.

“And you? Girl!” Cleven barked, turning his head to face Liza.

She did not respond, except for the soft thump of her head against the table, signifying her swoon.

“Hm.” Cleven grunted, observing this. “Take her away, brother and teacher. Leave the unwinged diplomat with me.”

“Uh, sire, I can easily stay and monit—” Fallin began, sensing Tam’s obvious distress.

“Silence!” Cleven bellowed. “You will assist brother in taking this peasant girl to her room until she is recovered. Go! All ghosts shall vacate as well!”

Even Zayric did not attempt to argue, and the two men immediately did as they were told, although Tam, now left quivering and alone beneath Cleven’s carnivorous stare, felt a small, momentary pressure on his shoulder before Fallin and Zayric left the room. In the darkness couldn’t tell which of them had touched him, and the strength of the pressure led him to doubt that it had been Fallin. He had little time to consider this, however, before Cleven’s breath had resumed its assault of his face, an action which blocked out any of Tam’s other thoughts.

“W-what do you want from me?” Tam asked, his voice shaking far more than he would have liked. “She was treating us like enemies! You know that that isn’t true! And even if it were, everything Queen Alarken does has some reasoning behind it. She has control over—”

“I care little about what she has control over except in the case that pertains to me.” Cleven interrupted, turning to stalk to one end of the table and snapping up a thick leg of mutton in his jaws.

Tam exhaled slowly, glad for the relief from Cleven’s oppressing breath. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, however, his face twisted in disgust as he watched the beast prince tearing the flesh of his meal away from the bone. “We aren’t your enemies, Cleven. You know that. Queen Alarken must’ve had a reason…”

“I just said I don’t care!” Cleven howled, a sound which chilled Tam to the bone and a process that sent bits of half-masticated meat all over the already ruined tablecloth. He strode quickly back to Tam, growling and for all the world seeming to enjoy the obvious distress in pallid face. “As far as I’m concerned, you are the enemy! Your kind did this to me! You fear the darkness – I live in it! You flinch at the shadows – I thrive in them! You are content to deny the existence of ghosts while they serve me every day! It is a cruel punishment designed by a cruel race and thrust upon an innocent victim! Fate! Fate is what your beloved Queen pioneers and yet she of does not so much as blink when the curse alters the life of one whose influence could cause a brutal and bloody war that could result in the destruction both our kingdoms! Your whole race is flawed! So flawed that its fate should be obliteration…” Cleven stared maliciously at his curly-topped counterpart. “Perhaps that elimination should start with you.”

Before any amount of time elapsed in which anything other than a snap-judgment could occur, Tam’s violent push away from the table saved his life, narrowly keeping his jugular intact  and barely out of the reach of the five lethal claws aimed at it only milliseconds before. The very memory of the growl-like laugh that ensued just after this incident would haunt Tam for the rest of his life.

“Very quick, fairy.” Cleven commented. “Perhaps I shouldn’t kill you now. The better target lies helpless upstairs.”

Despite the hopelessness and danger of the situation, Tam’s unfailing loyalty to Cypress – not to his king or his queen, or even to his kingdom, but to Cypress – took over his brain and forced his words out past his panicking instincts. “Your fate is sealed if you harm him.” Tam warned threateningly. “If you dare to kill him now, the entire fairy kingdom will descend upon this land and tear it apart. You’ll live as a miserable and violent beast for the rest of your very short life.”

“You’re in no position to be making threats, fairy.” Cleven spat, although his eyes did turn from him. There were a few moments of silence, and in those moments every fiber of Tam’s being wanted to tear from that accursed black room and take its chances with the night, but the eerie vision of Cypress’s vulnerable, unwinged body being ripped apart by Cleven’s hungry jaws  allowed him to stay where he was.

“Take me to him, fairy.” Cleven commanded when the agonizing moments were up.

“To Cypress? What will you do?” Tam dreaded to hear the answer to this question, but the grotesque image in his mind filled him with the bravery to ask.

“That is none of your concern.” Cleven growled brusquely, gliding from the table in a smooth, sleek motion that, for a second, reminded Tam of water slipping from the clouds.

Tam remained motionless; uncertainty and paralyzing fear froze him to his seat.

“Now, fairy! I am not a patient being!” Cleven barked, snapping at the leg of Tam’s chair and breaking it easily in his teeth, although the wood was strong and sturdy.

“Yes you are!” Tam wanted to scream. “You’re one of the most loving, kindhearted, patient beings I’ve met, fairy or human! What’s happened to you? Why are you behaving this way? How has the beast you seem to be taken you over so suddenly and so completely?” But despite his bravery, Tam could not say this. If he refused to cooperate he knew, or perhaps he thought and in his position behind the mask of fear he thought he knew, that Cleven would kill him, and possibly everyone in his way until he got to Cypress

. Even if it were just to give Cypress a few more minutes, even if it wouldn’t make any difference, even if it might allow him to scream before Cleven got to him and if it would somehow save Cypress’s life, Tam knew that he had to stay alive for as long as possible, and so he silently arose, forcing his legs to wobble through the darkness – now complete, since the ghosts had completely killed every light in castle – until he stumbled clumsily into the stairs, Cleven’s breath threatening against his calves.

The soft, sinister chuckles that followed him on his way both terrified him and filled him with rage. How dare Cleven laugh at his predicament? If any scrap of the real Cleven remained in that body, it would be humiliated at his forced behavior. The real Cleven, the noble and forgiving prince, would never, ever have laughed at another’s misfortune, however slight. As Tam fumbled his way up the stairs, he fought the urge to turn around and scream at the grotesque monster that had replaced their gentle, caring Cleven, whom he had known for only a few weeks, but a few weeks had been enough, and call him – it – a hypocrite and a liar. The whole nightmarish scene stank of chicanery, and yet it was far too real for Tam to believe that he was dreaming. He tried to slow his pace as he stepped from the top step and into Cypress’s hallway, but a menacing growl from Cleven kept his steps evenly paced.

As he pushed open Cypress’s door his blood pulsed faster in veins that now seemed full to the point of bursting. He tried to scream, but his voice was firmly locked away with the bravery that had allowed him to keep his life. Cleven pushed past him and snarled that if he dared to move a muscle, Cypress would be dead before Tam could take two steps. This threat caused Tam to crumple against the wall, shaking and weak, the sweat plastered on his face cooled by the breeze rushing in through the open window. Cleven sneered at him and slowly approached Cypress’s bed, his paws absolutely silent on the carpeted stone floor.

It was only now that Tam realized that Cleven was no longer standing erect, possibly because it gave him the appearance of being more man than beast. Now that the beast inside him had taken hold of his consciousness, he was required to walk on four feet instead of two. Tam could feel himself losing his grip of reality as he watched his friend Cleven swing onto two paws, resting the front two on the edge of the bed and pulling back the covers with his teeth.

There was one second of dead silence.

Cleven’s eyes turned, ever so slowly, to face Tam’s – they were narrower than ever and filled with what could only be recognized as hatred. As Tam began to lose consciousness, finally giving in to the fear that had so quickly claimed Eliza, he could hear Cleven’s two questions, fired at him in rapid succession:

“Where is he, fairy? What did you do with the crown prince of ___?”

 

*

 

Cypress

was glad to be outside again, under the stars. It was constricting, always having to be in the castle, especially only having to be in one room. The fresh air helped immensely and made him feel like his legs had somehow atrophied. He was still puzzling over how he had managed to get down from the window without hurting himself, as he couldn’t quite remember what his strategy had been to get out of the castle in the first place. It was as if he had simply woken up outside instead of in his borrowed bed, so he had, very logically, decided to go for a walk in the evening air.

The last thing that he could remember having done in his room was eating dinner. Marina had brought him a silver tray as usual, saying that everyone had just started eating downstairs and that it was a pity he couldn’t join them. Cypress concurred; he’d missed seeing everyone, especially Tam. As he ate, Marina filled him in on the details of that day, so he wouldn’t be behind on the news when he eventually got back on his feet.

And now he was! Quite unexpectedly. He supposed he must have fallen asleep between finishing his dinner and listening Marina’s informative little update. Oh dear. Hopefully he hadn’t fallen asleep during her update. He’d done this on several occasions before and, despite his perfectly valid excuse of fatigue-inducing illness, he always felt sorry when he did. No matter what the circumstance, he thought it was inexcusably rude.

Cypress

’s sharp ears discerned a faint howl in the distance. How strange! A howl from that direction must mean wolves. Turning to look, he was struck with puzzlement. But that couldn’t be right. The castle lay in that direction, and it would make very little sense for a howl to be coming from there! Unless, of course, wolves had somehow infiltrated the castle. Oh! Or perhaps it wasn’t wolves at all. Maybe it was just Cleven. Yes, that would make sense.

Frowning, Cypress tapped his chin and tried to think of an instance during which he could remember Cleven’s howling, but he came up with none. Why could this be? Was it a defense mechanism? No, it was too mournful for that. A nonverbal form of self-expression? No, it was too harsh and short for that. Perhaps a cry for help! Cypress hastened his steps back toward the castle, although he was reluctant to leave the gentle embrace of the evening air.

 As he hurried back the way he had come, a thought struck him. Had he ever actually told anyone that he was going to go for a walk? He sifted through his recent memories, but he simply could not recall. Perhaps that meant that he had simply left without notifying anyone, or leaving them any hint of his expected return time. How distressing. Cypress

would clearly have to return and right that situation as soon as possible, and so he broke into a run.

 

*

 

“Do you think we should—”

“What? Help? How in the seven Hells are we going to help?! There’s nothing to be done! We can’t hurt Cleven.”

Fallin shifted uneasily. “I don’t like the way he was looking at Tamarisk. We’ve got to do something.”

“Tamarisk should be able to handle himself.” Zayric replied shortly.

“Against a beast twice his size and well-equipped with claws and teeth? Somehow I doubt it.”

“Fine then. You go. I want to make sure Ellyra’s all right.”

Fallin hesitated, but the howl from downstairs sent an involuntary shiver coursing down his spine and strengthened his resolve. “All right. You’ll come if…”

“If I feel it necessary.” Zayric said, waving his hand. He was glad that the darkness covered his sweat and the tremors of his flesh; he didn’t need Fallin to see how worried he really was.

With a quick nod the professor departed and hurried quickly down the stairs. When he had gone, Zayric reached out and awkwardly took hold of Liza’s wrist, feeling around patiently for a pulse. The movement caused her to stir and she released a soft moan before her eyes fluttered open. “Zayric?” She asked sleepily. “What happened?”

“You fainted,” he informed her. “Cleven ordered us to bring you up here.”

“Oh God Cleven… what’s happened to him?”

“He’s gone mad. Remember how I was telling you about his little episodes? This is one of them. The worst one yet, from what I could tell. I still can’t believe this hasn’t happened to you sooner.”

Liza’s lip trembled. “Will he… will he be all right?”

“It usually passes soon enough.” Zayric assured her, though Liza thought that as reassuring answers go, this was not very reassuring.

“So… what should we do now?”

“Wait for it to be over. He’ll probably break some stuff, but it’s nothing those ghosts can’t fix and rebuild.”

“Oh.” Liza would’ve asked what would happen if any people were still downstairs with him, but she was distracted by a more pressing question: “Um, Zayric?”

“Mmm?”

“Why are you holding my wrist like that?”

Liza was sorry that the lights were off, because judging by the mortified sputtering noises, the look on Zayric’s face must have been priceless.

“I was just… taking your pulse when you woke up. I got distracted by talking to you.”

“Ah. And what’s my pulse?”

Zayric, who, in all honesty, had just found the necessary vein a moment ago and quite by accident, had to wait a few seconds to respond, and when he did it was slow and slightly puzzled. “It’s… rapid. Very… rapid.” He let go of her wrist and stepped away.

“Oh.” Suddenly Liza was very glad the lights were off.

 

*

 

When Cypress reentered the castle he immediately noticed that everything was much darker than usual. In fact, none of the usual lights were on. He found this particularly strange since generally Cleven left instructions to keep light in the castle for his guests. Had Cleven’s eyes gotten more sensitive while Cypress was sick? He would have to ask.

Fumbling through the darkness, Cypress managed to bash his hip against the table and then he nearly slipped and fell on his face due to some spilled wine. Spilled wine? How puzzling! The ghosts never allowed any spills to last for more than a few minutes. Something strange was definitely afoot.

Somehow Cypress managed to make it up the stairs, but once at the top he found things particularly disorienting. With his eyes only half-adjusted to the light and no further sound cues to tell him where to go, Cypress was left wandering the darkened halls rather aimlessly. “Hello?” He called hopefully, and waited for a response. Nothing. Where was everyone? And then… a faint movement! Yes! From that room to the left!

He seized the door handle and turned, stepping into the room. The minimal light from the large window allowed him to see the shadowy figure of someone sitting up in bed and as he drew closer he realized it was Ellyra.

“Ellyra! How are you feeling?” He asked enthusiastically, glad to see a familiar face.

“Is that you, Cypress?” Ellyra moaned, her voice little more than a tremulous whisper.

“It’s me.” Cypress answered, drawing closer in concern. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know.” She admitted. “I feel like everything’s been so fuzzy in my mind until just now, but suddenly all the fuzziness is starting to come back. How are you? Are you better?”

“Oh yes, much.” Cypress enthused. “I took a walk today. But I’m worried about you. You’ve not been well. There’s been talk of hallucinations.” Cypress could discern Ellyra’s shudder.

“I’ve seen the most horrible things.” Ellyra whimpered. “And now it’s going all fuzzy again I don’t know if I can stop it…”

Cypress

crossed the room and extended a comforting hand, placing it on her thin shoulder. “I’ll stay with you.” He promised reassuringly.

“I-it’s so… dark.” The small girl squeaked, her muscles tensing. “I wish it would go away.”

Cypress

thought back to the first evening he’d met her and how jumpy she’d been in the dark. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Ellyra seemed to relax slightly and for a few long minutes they were quiet. Then she said,  “The fairy lights should come back.”

“The what?” Cypress queried, confused.

“The fairy lights.” Ellyra babbled. “The little glowing orbs that were strung all over the trees.  Daddy used to say that my mother planted them before I was born, before the darkness  took her away. They were like cats’ eyes. Like Cleven’s eyes But paler. Less yellow. Less narrow. Less… less… l-ess…” She yawned. “Sleepy.”

 Cypress

rubbed her shoulder. “Then you should sleep. Maybe you’ll dream of fairy lights.”

It was just light enough for Cypress to observe the smile spreading across her face as she closed her eyes. “Fairy lights.” She whispered. “Fairy…”

 

*

 

After many moments of awkward silence, Liza had opted to sleep. She was worried about the situation, but heaviness tugged on her eyelids and she wasn’t sure what she could do to help anything besides pray that everything would be over soon and that no one would get hurt in the process. She felt inexplicable safer with Zayric around, although that could have been a function of her current state of vulnerability. He hadn’t exactly said that he would stay and watch over her, but she liked to think that he would anyway.

And she was right; Zayric did stay, although it was honestly against his better judgment. He didn’t like not knowing what to do, but in this circumstance he figured that staying put would be just as helpful as getting lost in the dark. But it wasn’t just that. He needed to think about something that Cleven had said before they left, something that had been bothering him this whole time. “Leave Tam with me.” He breathed into the darkness. “Leave the unwinged diplomat with me.”

 

Author's Note

This chapter took over three months to get off the ground, but once it did I couldn't stop writing. Actually it might be safe to say that this chapter nearly wrote itself. I didn't plan for ANY of this in advance; it just sort of happened, is why I love this chapter so much. This is the last thing I have for now, but hopefully I'll finish the next chapter soon!

Reviews

[Hannah!]

This was really intense.

The suddenness with which Cleven changed from a man to a beast...was alarming, but it was a great...wow. It was just really well done. Even considering that I'd already 'witnessed' one of Cleven's mad spells, this took me completely by surprise. Now that I've gotten to this point, I completely understand your earlier characterization of Cleven. His former almost-perfectness made this transformation all the more...startling? Terrifying? Confusing? At any rate, you did an amazing job setting this up and quite possibly an even better job executing it. I get the feeling that it was a long time in coming.

Even with that in mind, though, I think my favorite part of this chapter was the scene with Cypress. When her wasn't in the bedroom, that was so anti-climactic--and then the whole scene with him outside seemed to take place in a completely different world. It almost gave me chills.

Excellent chapter. Definitely my favorite so far.

[SamBug]

I really liked reading it. It was too long to read at just one moment but I did read the beginning and I must say that you exectuted the words properly and I was quite impressed. Please read over some of my work. I'd like some ideas on how to make my writing a great piece of work like this one. Thank you.

[Mick Parsons]

Very interesting stuff; I get a good sense of who these characters are in relation to one another.