[FIC] For Who Could Ever Learn to Love a Beast? - Chapter III
For Who Could Ever Learn to Love a Beast?
Overall rating: R - NC-17
Summary: In the middle of a forest, stands a castle in which lives a King who, in return for protecting the town below him, takes in a mortal girl once every twenty years. Twenty years has passed. A girl is chosen. What will happen when Love gets in the way?
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,134
Chapters: [1] :: [2] :: [3] :: [4] :: [5] :: [6]
Chapter 3
A Perfect Night
Twenty years were up. The tension within the town palpable; the air seemed to buzz from the very weight of it. Although it had become an honor, accepting the fact that you were giving your life away to someone most suspected to be a monster was still difficult. All unmarried women of suitable age were overwrought with nervousness and for a while, it seemed the whole town was in mourning. They never knew until that last second which of their daughters would have to be given up.
Most Choosings always had a favorite - the one girl that was sure to be picked. This time was no different; everyone expected it to be the second Beaumont girl. It was a thought that brought envy, pity and relief all at the same time. Fleur was almost weeping from joy at all of the attention it was bringing her.
Alette stared out of her window, wishing her father were home from the urgent business trip he had gone to. He would not be back for days to come - he would miss the Winter Festival and consequently, the choosing.
Alette sighed. Lately, especially at night, she felt sure someone was watching her. Every night since the Masquerade Ball three weeks before, she found a rose on her pillow. She wondered now if she should worry - if she should question the suspicious origins of those mysterious roses…In truth however, she was more than a little flattered, collecting the roses in a secret box she hid beneath her bed. At night, the scent of roses lulled her to sleep and she would dream things she knew were wrong to dream. Lately, she awoke to find herself wondering if she was still pure; her dreams were so…vivid. She remembered every detail of the heavy rain slashing its way through the window and those many hands caressing her sk…
"ALETTE!" Alette was snapped out of her reverie and was relieved.
She did not like where her train of thoughts were taking her.
Alette hurried down the stairs to see what Fleur could possibly want. She found her sister standing on a stool in the tiny living room, arms out while Nathalie pinned together a gown around her. Alette gave her sister an inquiring look.
Do you think this dress is suitable for the Choosing at the Winter Festival? I thought of perhaps wearing a white gown. But oh, would that not be just too clichéd? These ruffles? Too much, do you think?" Fleur asked, looking down at herself, lifting the shimmering pale blue material off the ground while Nathalie pinned it to the right length.
Alette paled.
"Fleur? Fleur that is…That is my material…" Alette whispered.
"What? Oh. Yes. About that, well, Nathalie and I both agree that blue would flatter me so much more than you. What, with my lovely skin…Really Alette, with all the time you spend in the sun, you would think you would gain some color. I mean any color! You look like death."
Alette self-consciously touched her cheek, which was growing red in anger.
"I bought that! I bought that material with my own money! I worked hard to earn that money from Monsieur Vicar! Here you are telling me you're…just going to take it?" Alette demanded, absolutely appalled.
"Do not be such a wretched thing, Alette. Let us just pretend this is your present to me. A present to me for being such a wonderful sister. Then, when I am chosen in the winter festival, He will provide for you, Nathalie and Papa. Then you can buy all the blue material in the world." Fleur laughed.
"You don't actually want to be chosen do you, Fleur?" Nathalie whispered, "You know the stories as well as I. He’s terrible and cruel…"
Fleur rolled her eyes at Nathalie.
"I know that, you ninny. But I cannot help being the most beautiful girl in town. I will be the natural selection. You forget, he is still the king. And I, naturally, would make a perfect queen." Fleur said, twirling on the chair, admiring herself from her reflection in the window.
"You, sister, will just have to give your material to me." Fleur said, turning her back to Alette.
"Then what will I use Fleur? For my dress?" Alette cried, hardly believing her ears.
"I don't know. Why not just wear what you wore at the Masquerade? You looked presentable in that. Or any of your other gowns. They might need some fixing up. But it shall be no tragedy dear sister. Besides, do you even have any hope of outshining me? Really, whether you wore a blue gown or not, that thought is preposterous." Fleur replied.
“Fleur!”
Alette did not know what to think. She did not want to say anything, for fear of starting an all-out fight with her younger sibling. Looking over at Nathalie, Nathalie could not seem to make eye contact with her. She knew that fighting Fleur would mean dragging Nathalie into it as well; and Alette knew exactly whose side Nathalie would be picking. Alette could only sigh, furious at both her sisters. She picked up her cloak and left.
Wrapping her cloak tight around her, Alette walked aimlessly around town. She was still deep in thought when she bumped into somebody.
“Oh pardon -” She looked up to find Henri Lavelle smiling down at her. Alette took a step back. She could not see the reason for her sisters' adoration. Of course, he was rich and he was handsome. But the blessings stopped there. Henri always had a way of looking at women that was less looking than it was leering. Henri placed his hands on her waist as if to steady her. Alette's face reddened. She stepped away from him, feeling slightly ill that he had touched her.
"Where are you off to, Alette Beaumont?" Henri breathed on her face.
"No where, Monsieur. Just taking a walk." Alette whispered breathlessly, not looking up into his face.
His fierce green eyes were cold.
"Maybe I should accompany you?" He said, his hand threatening to come to rest on her waist again. “You know how inappropriate it would be if I, as a gentleman, left you wandering about on your own with no…protection.” He smiled again.
"It is fine, Monsieur. I was just heading home." Alette whispered, fighting the urge to laugh at his description of himself as a “gentleman”.
She tried to walk away from him but he blocked her path and followed her when she changed direction.
Is that so, Alette? Is your home not the other way?”
Alette, irritated that he had the nerve to use her first name with so much familiarity, quickened her pace, but he only matched it. Could he not see that she did not want to be with him? Alette decided that apparently he did not, as he attempted to take her arm. She stepped sideways, avoiding him. He grabbed her arm and she nearly screamed in indignation. Instead, she pulled herself roughly away from him, and ran. Meanwhile he followed her in an arrogant leisurely pace every now and then pausing to greet others as if he was enjoying the chase too much to end it. It was a little while before he all at once seemed to stop. Curious and more than just a little hopeful, she turned to look at him.
"The sun is setting. I do not think you want to go that way, Mademoiselle." Henri said, crossing his arms and looking down the length of his nose at her as if in victory.
Alette looked ahead of her and saw she was heading straight into the woods. Henri went towards her and she grimaced as he roughly put his arms around her waist; the binding of the vines and her corset aggravating her all the more. Suddenly, she realized there was no one else around them. She was alone with Henri Lavelle. She pushed away from him; she would rather die in the hands of demons than have to take being in Henri's brutish arms.
Alette stumbled a little and suddenly she was in the woods. Henri was only a few feet away but it seemed like looking out of a window into another world. The woods seemed darker than the world beyond it. Henri, and the village outskirts around him seemed to shimmer hazily in the fading sunlight, as if he and everything else but the woods, were a mirage, just an illusion, imaginary - that nothing but the woods were real. Everything else seemed a dream.
Henri advanced towards her snapping her out of her trance. Watching him enter the woods was like watching him wade into water. For a moment, something hazy settled around Henri’s shoulders but she didn’t take a closer look as she stumbled deeper into the woods. She was too scared to go too deep but kept a distance far enough to be just beyond his clutches. Henri appeared to be brave today as he walked towards her.
“Come now, Alette, stop this silliness and let us go back out” he seemed to laugh at her.
She kept going, hesitant for all the potential danger around her, but more determined to avoid Henri.
After a while, she heard him call out to her again.
“Alette! Come back here! I demand it!” He was no longer amused. He was absolutely livid.
“Damn you girl! Come here at once!”
He began to run after her, and she in turn ran away from him, swallowing a scream as she did so.
She could hear him behind her grabbing at her cloak, but she managed to dodge him every time. She prayed she would not stumble on the rocks and fallen trees that littered the forest’s floor. She didn’t even notice when she’d begun crying. All the while, he followed, screaming out at her. He went from threatening her to trying to coax her into coming back with him, assuring her there were no hard feelings; that he’d take her safely home. She did not acknowledge him let alone believe him and it seemed to infuriate him all the more.
She ran faster and faster still. His footfalls behind her seemed to be all she heard. The rustling of leaves as she swept away branches, leaves, shrubbery…breathe was all she could remind herself as she hurtled over a stone clumsily almost loosing balance.
Breathe.
After what felt like forever, she stopped. The sound of his running was gone and she was left with silence that thrummed as incessantly at her ears as Henri’s foul words did.
Henri was gone. She was alone again. She steadied herself as relief washed over her in torrents and her fear ebbed away slowly.
The moment, however, was short lived. She gazed at her lengthening shadow. Looking up, she suddenly realized why he had left. Alette's heart froze over when she saw the sun was gone and the moon was steadily rising high up in the sky.
Breathe.
Her breath appeared in front of her in the cold like a foggy mist. It seemed like her spirit was leaving her little by little with every breath she took. Shakily, she turned around and walked back from whence she came. She continued walking but after a while, she felt like she had passed the same tree at least four times. Alette steeled herself. She was lost. In the woods. At night. Alette's breath was coming in sharp gasps now. She was panicking.
She closed her eyes, trying to ease her fears, trying to remember all the instructions from the Matriarchs on what to do when one was lost in the woods. Sit and wait for someone to find you. She remembered. But no one would. No one knew where she was. The only one who did, would not bother telling anyone. Henri would have to explain why she had run away from him into the woods in the first place…No. Nobody even knew she was lost. Panic coiled around her in a death hold. She was alone in the woods.
But that was nothing compared to the fear she felt when she first heard the low growls.
Her stomach sank. A scream formed in the deep depths of her throat but would not come out. She was frozen in fear. At first, she tried dismissing the snarls as being part of her imagination. But the growling continued followed by the scratching, scratching sound of forest debris being upturned by approaching creatures. She clenched and unclenched her fists, praying. She found she could hardly move from the horror. The small hairs at the back of her neck raised in attention. She was sure it was not from the cold.
It was then that she saw the several pairs of eyes, burning amber, burning cold, staring out at her from the dark. Alette could not breathe. She choked out a breath and it seemed to take all her strength to choke down another. Slowly, the sleek animals crept out from the dark, their silver coats glistening in the moonlight.
Wolves. Was all Alette could think.
She shut her eyes, trying to think, what to do. They slinked their way towards her, seeming to glide with surreal grace. They were crouched low, ears thrust forward, fangs bared all the way to their livid-red gums.
She screamed when suddenly, one of them attacked, grabbing a hold of her skirt and attempting to rip it. Another jumped and in a moment, Alette was on the ground, staring up at the beast in the eyes. Alette looked away, unaware that hot tears were streaming down her face with a new fervor, flowing down cheeks that had not yet even had the chance to dry. She apparently had not stopped crying since Henri Lavelle began his chase.
The weight of the wolf pressed down on her, making her cry out in pain. Her corset was digging into her ribs. She bit down hard on her lip and immediately regretted it. She broke the delicate skin and blood began to trickle down her chin. It excited them all the more and they gathered in a circle around her. She knew she should have been trying to fend them off; block her face with her arms - anything! Yet she did nothing. The wolf atop her seemed to be regarding her, assessing her, waiting for her to move. She did not. She was frightened any sudden movements would set them off.
The first wolf had realized her skirt was not part of her body and had moved on. She felt its tail brush her arm and she cried out in surprise at first, when it bit down hard on her thigh. But soon hot pain was coursing through her and her cry stopped abruptly, the pain too much for her to bear. As soon as this was done, the one on top of her snapped at the first wolf and immediately, its grip on her thigh relented. It had bit her through clothing and she thanked her stars that it had not pierced skin. Still, her thigh throbbed from the pain. She was getting dizzy with fear and worse, she could not breathe properly for the weight atop her.
Alette shut her eyes.
"Please…" Alette whimpered to the wolf above her, the one that was obviously the leader, feeling stupid that she expected the wolf to understand.
And so it was much to her total surprise that Alette felt the weight on top of her relent. She looked down and saw the wolves all back away from her - all of their tails but the leader's, between their legs. The leader's head was low on the ground, in a stance not unlike the one he had taken on earlier before landing atop of her, his ears - one of them badly mauled she noticed - lay flat on his head. Yet somehow, this seemed to be less threatening and more…reverent?
Alette carefully propped herself up on her elbows, slowly so as to not excite the wolves or farther damage her ribs. It was then that she realized that the wolves were not looking at her but above and behind her.
Alette froze in her attempt to sit up. Carefully, with eyes dropped to the floor, she twisted her body round and saw a pair of boots. Alette's face paled when, for a horrible moment, she thought they belonged to Henri. Funny, how she would rather throw herself at the wolves than be saved by him. He would expect some sort of repayment. Her undying gratitude and so much more…Yet the more she looked at the boots, the more she knew they did not belong to the loathsome Henri. Her eyes traveled farther up and came to rest upon her savior’s face. Or where his face should have been. Instead, she stared into darkness: his face hidden by a hood. Alette's eyes widened with recognition.
"You…It’s you…"
+++
He swept through the forest, restless. He had left a rose at the girl’s bed. Before leaving however, he paused, looking beneath her bed. There, in a small wooden chest were all his other roses, where they called out to him sweetly. Their fragrance filling the room in subtle overtones of musk. They were all in various stages of wilting but as he touched them, they became as fresh now as they were the day he picked them. Taking his hand away, the flowers continued their wilting.
Just outside the bedroom, he heard Alette’s sisters squabbling over dinner, he was about to leave when he heard Alette’s name. He paused.
“That Alette! Completely irresponsible!!!”
“Fleur…To be honest, I -”
“Leaving like that!!!”
“To be honest, I am more than a little worried. It is dark…do you think…do you think we ought to tell someone? That she’s missing?”
“Missing! Oh this is exactly what she wants! For us to go and tell the entire town that sweet little Alette is ‘missing’. No Nathalie. You cook the dinner tonight. We will not give Alette the pleasure of having the entire town looking for her!”
“But…She has been gone for hours!”
“Oh honestly, Nathalie. If you are going to fall right into her little trick, you may. I however, refuse to…”
He did not stay to hear the rest as he swept out of the room.
Alette? Missing?
He searched the town for her, blowing through like an angry storm. Passers-by were ruffled as a strange wind blew right past them and then, as suddenly as it came, was gone. She was nowhere within the town boundaries. He cursed. There was only one other place she could be.
He swirled about in the forest, his demons retreating into their dank and dark places as he whirled by them in fury. Something a lot like worry seemed to overcome him as he drove deeper and deeper into the forest. They wouldn’t know not to harm her…Here, she was vulnerable. Here, she did not have his protection. Yet.
Finally he found her.
Umad’s pack surrounded her, and there, atop her, was their leader himself. Alette was looking up at Umad. She seemed dwarfed by the large alpha male and circling around her was Ulav, the beta female, sleek and white with jaws snapping threateningly at both Alette and Umad in turn. She was young and had a lot to learn - patience being one of them.
He approached them, and wordlessly asserted his presence on the wolves. Instantly, all the wolves but Umad backed down, tails between their legs, ears flat against their heads in the submissive stance. He looked over at Umad. For a moment, the wolf seemed a little suspicious. Umad sniffed Alette one more time, looked back up at him before backing off gently from Alette. He stood with head lowered and tail curled by his leg, his pack sulking in the darkness behind him.
Alette meanwhile, seemed to lay there for a moment looking on at the wolves incredulously. From his vantage point behind her, he could not see her face as she sat up. He would have left if she had not turned to him at that very moment.
As she turned, stray hair from her bun fell about her face, framing it in the moonlight. Her limpid blue eyes widened in recognition as she looked up at him. Her words were so quiet they could have been mistaken for her breathing - they floated across from her to him seeming to build invisible bridges between them. It felt like an eternity before either of them moved.
He put out a hand for her which she took after hesitating a moment. He gently pulled her up. For a moment all Alette could do was stare. Then, collecting herself, she managed to thank him.
"Th-thank you." Alette whispered.
He merely nodded in reply.
"Thank y-you…again, I mean."
His head cocked to the side a little. “Mademoiselle?”
Alette's spine tingled. There was something strangely familiar in his voice. Yes, she did hear it once before but she never listened to it as she did now. She was sure that she did not know him - but his voice. She knew his voice so well. Too well for someone who’d only heard it once before. Then what? Was he someone from the village? No…From another town? She knew no one from another town. Then where? Her dreams? She thought, half laughing to herself.
But Alette remembered her dreams and blushed. No one ever spoke in her dreams. There was never any need for words. She cast her eyes modestly down and tried to drive her dreams away. Then she remembered the roses. She started receiving them after she met this stranger in the woods all those nights ago…But then, it could all be one big coincidence. Alette shook her head to clear it, but then stopped as she remembered what an unladylike thing to do it was. But it was all so confusing! If the roses weren’t from him, then who else?
The girl looked up at him again, her blush still evident in her cheeks.
"You are the one, who took me home that night. That night - when I was ill." Alette finally answered him. "No one would have thought to look in here for me. I would have…I would have been in here for a long time. It seems, Monsieur, that you have a knack for saving me…" She smiled shyly up at him, trying to surreptitiously wipe away her drying tears.
Again, he only nodded. For a while they merely looked on at each other. He clenched and unclenched his free hand, shaking off the last remnants of adrenaline in his system. Already he was getting very possessive over this mortal girl.
Alette felt slightly dizzy as she looked into the dark depths of his hood. It was odd that she could not see his face at all and yet somehow it bothered her less than she was sure it should have. Looking up at him was an odd experience. It was terrible and wonderful all at once. It was a lot like looking out over the edge of cliff with that odd feeling that you shall tumble down down down and yet…and yet, you hear a calling deep within to just jump. Jump for those few brief seconds of flight and freedom...He took half a step back from her. The movement startling her slightly and she realized she still had a hold of his hand. She gasped and quickly pulled away only to run quickly behind him upon hearing the low growls of the wolves she had nearly forgotten about. The stranger before her merely had to look their direction for them to silence themselves. Alette wondered at his complete power over the wolves.
“You want to go home.” It was not a question.
Alette nodded in reply anyway, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
“First, I wish to ask something of you.”
Alette took a subconscious step backwards, clasping her hands together, afraid of what he may want.
“Come share the Moon with me.” He said.
Although relieved, Alette cocked her head a little to the side, confused and still more than a little apprehensive. What does he mean? She wondered.
He signaled for her to follow him. She merely nodded again and did as she was asked. They walked ahead in silence; he breathed in the air and noticed a faint scent on her that was distinctly male. He glanced at her direction. She seemed to sense his eyes on her and she looked at him, her facial expression unreadable but her eyes filled with uneasiness and fear.
“You were with a man earlier. That is why the wolves attacked you. They smell him on you. They would have left you alone otherwise.” He said to her.
He was surprised at his sudden anger. Why would he care that she was with a man earlier? The town was full of beautiful women, all getting ready for him. Even this particular girl’s sister, who was said to be the most desirable of them all, was probably getting ready for him at that very moment. Yet he did not want her. He wanted this one. He would spend twenty years with this one.
Alette was slightly taken aback by this and brushed her arms and body off. Did she really smell of…Henri?! She was disgusted. She did not blame the wolves for attacking her.
“I assure you. I did not want to be with him. But Monsieur Lavelle is…he is…” Alette could not find any words that could describe him that were not uncouth.
She merely grimaced and was unable to finish her sentence. She wished she could scrub his smell off of her.
“Spoilt, rotten man. He is too used to getting his way.” Alette whispered and then blushed a little in embarrassment. She quickly glanced over to him and she did not know whether she ought to be relieved or not, that he did not respond.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Alette was getting cold and she was worried about her sisters. They were unable to cook. She glanced around, anxiously. Then she shook her head, remembering the incident earlier on. She did not really mind so much about the material. It was only material after all, even if she did work hard for it. What bothered her was that none of her sisters seemed to respect her. Alette sighed.
He noticed the sudden change in the girl. Earlier, she had been uneasy and frightened. Now, she just seemed weary and tired. He knew it was not from their excursion. He stopped. Alette stopped as well and looked at him. He gestured towards the clearing between the trees and Alette looked out towards that direction. He heard her gasp.
Alette was dumbfounded. She was afraid to blink, afraid that if she did, the vision before her would disappear.
“Oh my…” was all Alette could whisper after several moments.
Alette finally had to blink; her eyes were beginning to water. Before her, set out like a jeweled carpet, was a crystal clear lake - the moon hovering above it and reflected in its depths as a round disc, white as snow. Stars, the few that were bright enough to shine along the moon, shimmered as well on the mirror-like lake It almost seemed like they were gems waiting to be picked out of their glossy satin-lined basket.
Then, as if on cue, snow began to fall. Strangely enough, none seemed to touch the lake, leaving its crystalline surface undisturbed. Around it, like a string of pearls, fell the snow, sparkling like so many diamonds.
“It’s beautiful.” Alette said, turning her head towards the stranger besides her but seemingly unable to tear her eyes off the landscape set out in front of her.
She did not notice as he took her gently by the hand and led her towards the edge of the lake. He applied some downward pressure on her hand and she automatically sat down on a log behind her. He remained standing and reluctantly let go of her.
“It’s a perfect night, Mademoiselle.”
Alette only nodded. It was all she could do in her mesmerized state.
There was something about the scene that brought tears to Alette’s eyes. Everything was so pure and at peace. It seemed like a very long time since she felt that way. She felt she truly had the moon with her, and she was sharing it with the strange man who stood besides her. Finally, she took her eyes away and looked up. He had been watching her intently without her knowing. She blushed and looked down at her lap.
“It is late.” He said.
He held out a hand, which Alette took and she stood up, shakily. She had not realized how cold she was until now. He led her again out of the clearing and into the woods. Alette did not look back, knowing it would make her even more reluctant to leave.
After a while, Alette could see the edge of the woods and was surprised that she wasn’t as relieved as she expected she should’ve been.
“I cannot go farther. You know your way from here.” He said.
Alette saw that this was where she entered the forest.
“Thank you. For sharing that with me. And taking me home…” Alette said.
She smiled at him.
He nearly inhaled sharply at the sight of her smile. She was beautiful. She was not perfect: but therein lay her beauty - in her imperfections. She bowed her head and made her way out of the woods. He turned away but turned back again when he felt a hand on his arm.
“May I come back?” Alette asked.
He cocked his head to the side. He regarded her for a long while. The longer he took, the less sure she seemed about herself. Finally, she stepped back from him.
“I apologize. That was a…an inappropriate question. Do not worry; I will no longer be a bother in your woods.” She turned and began to walk away.
“These are not my woods.” He began.
She looked over her shoulder at him before slowly turning to face him.
“Come again tomorrow. The moon will still be full. I will take you to the clearing if you want.”
Her face lit up; her smile radiant.
“Yes. Please.” She said, clasping her hands together.
He nodded and she turned to run out of the forest. She was several feet away before she stopped and turned towards him.
My name, monsieur, is Alette!” she called out before running towards her town.
He smiled. He already knew.
Chapters:
+ [1]+ [2]+[3]+ [4]+ [5]+ [6]
<
|| Next>>
Overall rating: R - NC-17
Summary: In the middle of a forest, stands a castle in which lives a King who, in return for protecting the town below him, takes in a mortal girl once every twenty years. Twenty years has passed. A girl is chosen. What will happen when Love gets in the way?
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,134
Chapters: [1] :: [2] :: [3] :: [4] :: [5] :: [6]
Chapter 3
A Perfect Night
Twenty years were up. The tension within the town palpable; the air seemed to buzz from the very weight of it. Although it had become an honor, accepting the fact that you were giving your life away to someone most suspected to be a monster was still difficult. All unmarried women of suitable age were overwrought with nervousness and for a while, it seemed the whole town was in mourning. They never knew until that last second which of their daughters would have to be given up.
Most Choosings always had a favorite - the one girl that was sure to be picked. This time was no different; everyone expected it to be the second Beaumont girl. It was a thought that brought envy, pity and relief all at the same time. Fleur was almost weeping from joy at all of the attention it was bringing her.
Alette stared out of her window, wishing her father were home from the urgent business trip he had gone to. He would not be back for days to come - he would miss the Winter Festival and consequently, the choosing.
Alette sighed. Lately, especially at night, she felt sure someone was watching her. Every night since the Masquerade Ball three weeks before, she found a rose on her pillow. She wondered now if she should worry - if she should question the suspicious origins of those mysterious roses…In truth however, she was more than a little flattered, collecting the roses in a secret box she hid beneath her bed. At night, the scent of roses lulled her to sleep and she would dream things she knew were wrong to dream. Lately, she awoke to find herself wondering if she was still pure; her dreams were so…vivid. She remembered every detail of the heavy rain slashing its way through the window and those many hands caressing her sk…
"ALETTE!" Alette was snapped out of her reverie and was relieved.
She did not like where her train of thoughts were taking her.
Alette hurried down the stairs to see what Fleur could possibly want. She found her sister standing on a stool in the tiny living room, arms out while Nathalie pinned together a gown around her. Alette gave her sister an inquiring look.
Do you think this dress is suitable for the Choosing at the Winter Festival? I thought of perhaps wearing a white gown. But oh, would that not be just too clichéd? These ruffles? Too much, do you think?" Fleur asked, looking down at herself, lifting the shimmering pale blue material off the ground while Nathalie pinned it to the right length.
Alette paled.
"Fleur? Fleur that is…That is my material…" Alette whispered.
"What? Oh. Yes. About that, well, Nathalie and I both agree that blue would flatter me so much more than you. What, with my lovely skin…Really Alette, with all the time you spend in the sun, you would think you would gain some color. I mean any color! You look like death."
Alette self-consciously touched her cheek, which was growing red in anger.
"I bought that! I bought that material with my own money! I worked hard to earn that money from Monsieur Vicar! Here you are telling me you're…just going to take it?" Alette demanded, absolutely appalled.
"Do not be such a wretched thing, Alette. Let us just pretend this is your present to me. A present to me for being such a wonderful sister. Then, when I am chosen in the winter festival, He will provide for you, Nathalie and Papa. Then you can buy all the blue material in the world." Fleur laughed.
"You don't actually want to be chosen do you, Fleur?" Nathalie whispered, "You know the stories as well as I. He’s terrible and cruel…"
Fleur rolled her eyes at Nathalie.
"I know that, you ninny. But I cannot help being the most beautiful girl in town. I will be the natural selection. You forget, he is still the king. And I, naturally, would make a perfect queen." Fleur said, twirling on the chair, admiring herself from her reflection in the window.
"You, sister, will just have to give your material to me." Fleur said, turning her back to Alette.
"Then what will I use Fleur? For my dress?" Alette cried, hardly believing her ears.
"I don't know. Why not just wear what you wore at the Masquerade? You looked presentable in that. Or any of your other gowns. They might need some fixing up. But it shall be no tragedy dear sister. Besides, do you even have any hope of outshining me? Really, whether you wore a blue gown or not, that thought is preposterous." Fleur replied.
“Fleur!”
Alette did not know what to think. She did not want to say anything, for fear of starting an all-out fight with her younger sibling. Looking over at Nathalie, Nathalie could not seem to make eye contact with her. She knew that fighting Fleur would mean dragging Nathalie into it as well; and Alette knew exactly whose side Nathalie would be picking. Alette could only sigh, furious at both her sisters. She picked up her cloak and left.
Wrapping her cloak tight around her, Alette walked aimlessly around town. She was still deep in thought when she bumped into somebody.
“Oh pardon -” She looked up to find Henri Lavelle smiling down at her. Alette took a step back. She could not see the reason for her sisters' adoration. Of course, he was rich and he was handsome. But the blessings stopped there. Henri always had a way of looking at women that was less looking than it was leering. Henri placed his hands on her waist as if to steady her. Alette's face reddened. She stepped away from him, feeling slightly ill that he had touched her.
"Where are you off to, Alette Beaumont?" Henri breathed on her face.
"No where, Monsieur. Just taking a walk." Alette whispered breathlessly, not looking up into his face.
His fierce green eyes were cold.
"Maybe I should accompany you?" He said, his hand threatening to come to rest on her waist again. “You know how inappropriate it would be if I, as a gentleman, left you wandering about on your own with no…protection.” He smiled again.
"It is fine, Monsieur. I was just heading home." Alette whispered, fighting the urge to laugh at his description of himself as a “gentleman”.
She tried to walk away from him but he blocked her path and followed her when she changed direction.
Is that so, Alette? Is your home not the other way?”
Alette, irritated that he had the nerve to use her first name with so much familiarity, quickened her pace, but he only matched it. Could he not see that she did not want to be with him? Alette decided that apparently he did not, as he attempted to take her arm. She stepped sideways, avoiding him. He grabbed her arm and she nearly screamed in indignation. Instead, she pulled herself roughly away from him, and ran. Meanwhile he followed her in an arrogant leisurely pace every now and then pausing to greet others as if he was enjoying the chase too much to end it. It was a little while before he all at once seemed to stop. Curious and more than just a little hopeful, she turned to look at him.
"The sun is setting. I do not think you want to go that way, Mademoiselle." Henri said, crossing his arms and looking down the length of his nose at her as if in victory.
Alette looked ahead of her and saw she was heading straight into the woods. Henri went towards her and she grimaced as he roughly put his arms around her waist; the binding of the vines and her corset aggravating her all the more. Suddenly, she realized there was no one else around them. She was alone with Henri Lavelle. She pushed away from him; she would rather die in the hands of demons than have to take being in Henri's brutish arms.
Alette stumbled a little and suddenly she was in the woods. Henri was only a few feet away but it seemed like looking out of a window into another world. The woods seemed darker than the world beyond it. Henri, and the village outskirts around him seemed to shimmer hazily in the fading sunlight, as if he and everything else but the woods, were a mirage, just an illusion, imaginary - that nothing but the woods were real. Everything else seemed a dream.
Henri advanced towards her snapping her out of her trance. Watching him enter the woods was like watching him wade into water. For a moment, something hazy settled around Henri’s shoulders but she didn’t take a closer look as she stumbled deeper into the woods. She was too scared to go too deep but kept a distance far enough to be just beyond his clutches. Henri appeared to be brave today as he walked towards her.
“Come now, Alette, stop this silliness and let us go back out” he seemed to laugh at her.
She kept going, hesitant for all the potential danger around her, but more determined to avoid Henri.
After a while, she heard him call out to her again.
“Alette! Come back here! I demand it!” He was no longer amused. He was absolutely livid.
“Damn you girl! Come here at once!”
He began to run after her, and she in turn ran away from him, swallowing a scream as she did so.
She could hear him behind her grabbing at her cloak, but she managed to dodge him every time. She prayed she would not stumble on the rocks and fallen trees that littered the forest’s floor. She didn’t even notice when she’d begun crying. All the while, he followed, screaming out at her. He went from threatening her to trying to coax her into coming back with him, assuring her there were no hard feelings; that he’d take her safely home. She did not acknowledge him let alone believe him and it seemed to infuriate him all the more.
She ran faster and faster still. His footfalls behind her seemed to be all she heard. The rustling of leaves as she swept away branches, leaves, shrubbery…breathe was all she could remind herself as she hurtled over a stone clumsily almost loosing balance.
Breathe.
After what felt like forever, she stopped. The sound of his running was gone and she was left with silence that thrummed as incessantly at her ears as Henri’s foul words did.
Henri was gone. She was alone again. She steadied herself as relief washed over her in torrents and her fear ebbed away slowly.
The moment, however, was short lived. She gazed at her lengthening shadow. Looking up, she suddenly realized why he had left. Alette's heart froze over when she saw the sun was gone and the moon was steadily rising high up in the sky.
Breathe.
Her breath appeared in front of her in the cold like a foggy mist. It seemed like her spirit was leaving her little by little with every breath she took. Shakily, she turned around and walked back from whence she came. She continued walking but after a while, she felt like she had passed the same tree at least four times. Alette steeled herself. She was lost. In the woods. At night. Alette's breath was coming in sharp gasps now. She was panicking.
She closed her eyes, trying to ease her fears, trying to remember all the instructions from the Matriarchs on what to do when one was lost in the woods. Sit and wait for someone to find you. She remembered. But no one would. No one knew where she was. The only one who did, would not bother telling anyone. Henri would have to explain why she had run away from him into the woods in the first place…No. Nobody even knew she was lost. Panic coiled around her in a death hold. She was alone in the woods.
But that was nothing compared to the fear she felt when she first heard the low growls.
Her stomach sank. A scream formed in the deep depths of her throat but would not come out. She was frozen in fear. At first, she tried dismissing the snarls as being part of her imagination. But the growling continued followed by the scratching, scratching sound of forest debris being upturned by approaching creatures. She clenched and unclenched her fists, praying. She found she could hardly move from the horror. The small hairs at the back of her neck raised in attention. She was sure it was not from the cold.
It was then that she saw the several pairs of eyes, burning amber, burning cold, staring out at her from the dark. Alette could not breathe. She choked out a breath and it seemed to take all her strength to choke down another. Slowly, the sleek animals crept out from the dark, their silver coats glistening in the moonlight.
Wolves. Was all Alette could think.
She shut her eyes, trying to think, what to do. They slinked their way towards her, seeming to glide with surreal grace. They were crouched low, ears thrust forward, fangs bared all the way to their livid-red gums.
She screamed when suddenly, one of them attacked, grabbing a hold of her skirt and attempting to rip it. Another jumped and in a moment, Alette was on the ground, staring up at the beast in the eyes. Alette looked away, unaware that hot tears were streaming down her face with a new fervor, flowing down cheeks that had not yet even had the chance to dry. She apparently had not stopped crying since Henri Lavelle began his chase.
The weight of the wolf pressed down on her, making her cry out in pain. Her corset was digging into her ribs. She bit down hard on her lip and immediately regretted it. She broke the delicate skin and blood began to trickle down her chin. It excited them all the more and they gathered in a circle around her. She knew she should have been trying to fend them off; block her face with her arms - anything! Yet she did nothing. The wolf atop her seemed to be regarding her, assessing her, waiting for her to move. She did not. She was frightened any sudden movements would set them off.
The first wolf had realized her skirt was not part of her body and had moved on. She felt its tail brush her arm and she cried out in surprise at first, when it bit down hard on her thigh. But soon hot pain was coursing through her and her cry stopped abruptly, the pain too much for her to bear. As soon as this was done, the one on top of her snapped at the first wolf and immediately, its grip on her thigh relented. It had bit her through clothing and she thanked her stars that it had not pierced skin. Still, her thigh throbbed from the pain. She was getting dizzy with fear and worse, she could not breathe properly for the weight atop her.
Alette shut her eyes.
"Please…" Alette whimpered to the wolf above her, the one that was obviously the leader, feeling stupid that she expected the wolf to understand.
And so it was much to her total surprise that Alette felt the weight on top of her relent. She looked down and saw the wolves all back away from her - all of their tails but the leader's, between their legs. The leader's head was low on the ground, in a stance not unlike the one he had taken on earlier before landing atop of her, his ears - one of them badly mauled she noticed - lay flat on his head. Yet somehow, this seemed to be less threatening and more…reverent?
Alette carefully propped herself up on her elbows, slowly so as to not excite the wolves or farther damage her ribs. It was then that she realized that the wolves were not looking at her but above and behind her.
Alette froze in her attempt to sit up. Carefully, with eyes dropped to the floor, she twisted her body round and saw a pair of boots. Alette's face paled when, for a horrible moment, she thought they belonged to Henri. Funny, how she would rather throw herself at the wolves than be saved by him. He would expect some sort of repayment. Her undying gratitude and so much more…Yet the more she looked at the boots, the more she knew they did not belong to the loathsome Henri. Her eyes traveled farther up and came to rest upon her savior’s face. Or where his face should have been. Instead, she stared into darkness: his face hidden by a hood. Alette's eyes widened with recognition.
"You…It’s you…"
+++
He swept through the forest, restless. He had left a rose at the girl’s bed. Before leaving however, he paused, looking beneath her bed. There, in a small wooden chest were all his other roses, where they called out to him sweetly. Their fragrance filling the room in subtle overtones of musk. They were all in various stages of wilting but as he touched them, they became as fresh now as they were the day he picked them. Taking his hand away, the flowers continued their wilting.
Just outside the bedroom, he heard Alette’s sisters squabbling over dinner, he was about to leave when he heard Alette’s name. He paused.
“That Alette! Completely irresponsible!!!”
“Fleur…To be honest, I -”
“Leaving like that!!!”
“To be honest, I am more than a little worried. It is dark…do you think…do you think we ought to tell someone? That she’s missing?”
“Missing! Oh this is exactly what she wants! For us to go and tell the entire town that sweet little Alette is ‘missing’. No Nathalie. You cook the dinner tonight. We will not give Alette the pleasure of having the entire town looking for her!”
“But…She has been gone for hours!”
“Oh honestly, Nathalie. If you are going to fall right into her little trick, you may. I however, refuse to…”
He did not stay to hear the rest as he swept out of the room.
Alette? Missing?
He searched the town for her, blowing through like an angry storm. Passers-by were ruffled as a strange wind blew right past them and then, as suddenly as it came, was gone. She was nowhere within the town boundaries. He cursed. There was only one other place she could be.
He swirled about in the forest, his demons retreating into their dank and dark places as he whirled by them in fury. Something a lot like worry seemed to overcome him as he drove deeper and deeper into the forest. They wouldn’t know not to harm her…Here, she was vulnerable. Here, she did not have his protection. Yet.
Finally he found her.
Umad’s pack surrounded her, and there, atop her, was their leader himself. Alette was looking up at Umad. She seemed dwarfed by the large alpha male and circling around her was Ulav, the beta female, sleek and white with jaws snapping threateningly at both Alette and Umad in turn. She was young and had a lot to learn - patience being one of them.
He approached them, and wordlessly asserted his presence on the wolves. Instantly, all the wolves but Umad backed down, tails between their legs, ears flat against their heads in the submissive stance. He looked over at Umad. For a moment, the wolf seemed a little suspicious. Umad sniffed Alette one more time, looked back up at him before backing off gently from Alette. He stood with head lowered and tail curled by his leg, his pack sulking in the darkness behind him.
Alette meanwhile, seemed to lay there for a moment looking on at the wolves incredulously. From his vantage point behind her, he could not see her face as she sat up. He would have left if she had not turned to him at that very moment.
As she turned, stray hair from her bun fell about her face, framing it in the moonlight. Her limpid blue eyes widened in recognition as she looked up at him. Her words were so quiet they could have been mistaken for her breathing - they floated across from her to him seeming to build invisible bridges between them. It felt like an eternity before either of them moved.
He put out a hand for her which she took after hesitating a moment. He gently pulled her up. For a moment all Alette could do was stare. Then, collecting herself, she managed to thank him.
"Th-thank you." Alette whispered.
He merely nodded in reply.
"Thank y-you…again, I mean."
His head cocked to the side a little. “Mademoiselle?”
Alette's spine tingled. There was something strangely familiar in his voice. Yes, she did hear it once before but she never listened to it as she did now. She was sure that she did not know him - but his voice. She knew his voice so well. Too well for someone who’d only heard it once before. Then what? Was he someone from the village? No…From another town? She knew no one from another town. Then where? Her dreams? She thought, half laughing to herself.
But Alette remembered her dreams and blushed. No one ever spoke in her dreams. There was never any need for words. She cast her eyes modestly down and tried to drive her dreams away. Then she remembered the roses. She started receiving them after she met this stranger in the woods all those nights ago…But then, it could all be one big coincidence. Alette shook her head to clear it, but then stopped as she remembered what an unladylike thing to do it was. But it was all so confusing! If the roses weren’t from him, then who else?
The girl looked up at him again, her blush still evident in her cheeks.
"You are the one, who took me home that night. That night - when I was ill." Alette finally answered him. "No one would have thought to look in here for me. I would have…I would have been in here for a long time. It seems, Monsieur, that you have a knack for saving me…" She smiled shyly up at him, trying to surreptitiously wipe away her drying tears.
Again, he only nodded. For a while they merely looked on at each other. He clenched and unclenched his free hand, shaking off the last remnants of adrenaline in his system. Already he was getting very possessive over this mortal girl.
Alette felt slightly dizzy as she looked into the dark depths of his hood. It was odd that she could not see his face at all and yet somehow it bothered her less than she was sure it should have. Looking up at him was an odd experience. It was terrible and wonderful all at once. It was a lot like looking out over the edge of cliff with that odd feeling that you shall tumble down down down and yet…and yet, you hear a calling deep within to just jump. Jump for those few brief seconds of flight and freedom...He took half a step back from her. The movement startling her slightly and she realized she still had a hold of his hand. She gasped and quickly pulled away only to run quickly behind him upon hearing the low growls of the wolves she had nearly forgotten about. The stranger before her merely had to look their direction for them to silence themselves. Alette wondered at his complete power over the wolves.
“You want to go home.” It was not a question.
Alette nodded in reply anyway, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
“First, I wish to ask something of you.”
Alette took a subconscious step backwards, clasping her hands together, afraid of what he may want.
“Come share the Moon with me.” He said.
Although relieved, Alette cocked her head a little to the side, confused and still more than a little apprehensive. What does he mean? She wondered.
He signaled for her to follow him. She merely nodded again and did as she was asked. They walked ahead in silence; he breathed in the air and noticed a faint scent on her that was distinctly male. He glanced at her direction. She seemed to sense his eyes on her and she looked at him, her facial expression unreadable but her eyes filled with uneasiness and fear.
“You were with a man earlier. That is why the wolves attacked you. They smell him on you. They would have left you alone otherwise.” He said to her.
He was surprised at his sudden anger. Why would he care that she was with a man earlier? The town was full of beautiful women, all getting ready for him. Even this particular girl’s sister, who was said to be the most desirable of them all, was probably getting ready for him at that very moment. Yet he did not want her. He wanted this one. He would spend twenty years with this one.
Alette was slightly taken aback by this and brushed her arms and body off. Did she really smell of…Henri?! She was disgusted. She did not blame the wolves for attacking her.
“I assure you. I did not want to be with him. But Monsieur Lavelle is…he is…” Alette could not find any words that could describe him that were not uncouth.
She merely grimaced and was unable to finish her sentence. She wished she could scrub his smell off of her.
“Spoilt, rotten man. He is too used to getting his way.” Alette whispered and then blushed a little in embarrassment. She quickly glanced over to him and she did not know whether she ought to be relieved or not, that he did not respond.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Alette was getting cold and she was worried about her sisters. They were unable to cook. She glanced around, anxiously. Then she shook her head, remembering the incident earlier on. She did not really mind so much about the material. It was only material after all, even if she did work hard for it. What bothered her was that none of her sisters seemed to respect her. Alette sighed.
He noticed the sudden change in the girl. Earlier, she had been uneasy and frightened. Now, she just seemed weary and tired. He knew it was not from their excursion. He stopped. Alette stopped as well and looked at him. He gestured towards the clearing between the trees and Alette looked out towards that direction. He heard her gasp.
Alette was dumbfounded. She was afraid to blink, afraid that if she did, the vision before her would disappear.
“Oh my…” was all Alette could whisper after several moments.
Alette finally had to blink; her eyes were beginning to water. Before her, set out like a jeweled carpet, was a crystal clear lake - the moon hovering above it and reflected in its depths as a round disc, white as snow. Stars, the few that were bright enough to shine along the moon, shimmered as well on the mirror-like lake It almost seemed like they were gems waiting to be picked out of their glossy satin-lined basket.
Then, as if on cue, snow began to fall. Strangely enough, none seemed to touch the lake, leaving its crystalline surface undisturbed. Around it, like a string of pearls, fell the snow, sparkling like so many diamonds.
“It’s beautiful.” Alette said, turning her head towards the stranger besides her but seemingly unable to tear her eyes off the landscape set out in front of her.
She did not notice as he took her gently by the hand and led her towards the edge of the lake. He applied some downward pressure on her hand and she automatically sat down on a log behind her. He remained standing and reluctantly let go of her.
“It’s a perfect night, Mademoiselle.”
Alette only nodded. It was all she could do in her mesmerized state.
There was something about the scene that brought tears to Alette’s eyes. Everything was so pure and at peace. It seemed like a very long time since she felt that way. She felt she truly had the moon with her, and she was sharing it with the strange man who stood besides her. Finally, she took her eyes away and looked up. He had been watching her intently without her knowing. She blushed and looked down at her lap.
“It is late.” He said.
He held out a hand, which Alette took and she stood up, shakily. She had not realized how cold she was until now. He led her again out of the clearing and into the woods. Alette did not look back, knowing it would make her even more reluctant to leave.
After a while, Alette could see the edge of the woods and was surprised that she wasn’t as relieved as she expected she should’ve been.
“I cannot go farther. You know your way from here.” He said.
Alette saw that this was where she entered the forest.
“Thank you. For sharing that with me. And taking me home…” Alette said.
She smiled at him.
He nearly inhaled sharply at the sight of her smile. She was beautiful. She was not perfect: but therein lay her beauty - in her imperfections. She bowed her head and made her way out of the woods. He turned away but turned back again when he felt a hand on his arm.
“May I come back?” Alette asked.
He cocked his head to the side. He regarded her for a long while. The longer he took, the less sure she seemed about herself. Finally, she stepped back from him.
“I apologize. That was a…an inappropriate question. Do not worry; I will no longer be a bother in your woods.” She turned and began to walk away.
“These are not my woods.” He began.
She looked over her shoulder at him before slowly turning to face him.
“Come again tomorrow. The moon will still be full. I will take you to the clearing if you want.”
Her face lit up; her smile radiant.
“Yes. Please.” She said, clasping her hands together.
He nodded and she turned to run out of the forest. She was several feet away before she stopped and turned towards him.
My name, monsieur, is Alette!” she called out before running towards her town.
He smiled. He already knew.
Chapters:
+ [1]+ [2]+[3]+ [4]+ [5]+ [6]
<
|| Next>>