Thaw

"𝐢𝐟 𝐢 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧?"

❅

Elsewhere, in the midst of a raging storm, Phil and his trusty steed, Fury, navigate their way through the darkening forest.

Phil was never one to admit to his fears, for he knew that it would make him look weak; and, as a single father raising a beautiful daughter, looking weak was something that he could never afford to do.

However, now, as he struggles to find his way on the route that was so well-known to him, he admits to himself, if nobody else, that he is a bit scared.

Not scared of the storm of course, that would be ridiculous. What truly terrified Phil to the core was the darkness surrounding him, and the unknown creature lying beyond that darkness.

"Come on, Phil, remember your morning mantra: 'gaslight, gatekeep, manboss.' You need to manboss this shit right now," he whispers to himself in an attempt to hype himself up. "Yeah, that's right, I'm the man. Who's the man? I'm the man!"

Fury neighs something along the lines of an agreement, and the noise startles the old man.

"Say, Fury, you don't happen to know where we are, do you? Because as of right now, we seem to be hopelessly lost."

Suddenly, as the unsuspecting pair approaches a fork in the dirt trail, a blast of lightning strikes the tree in front of them, blocking the pathway to the left.

"Hey, hey, it's okay boy," Phil coaxes the horse gently, although he too is shocked at the sudden sight. "I suppose we can go this way, you know what they say: one path closes, another one opens."

Phil prays that his words soothe him just as much as his steed as they venture down the significantly darker path on their right. As they wind the turn, they are suddenly greeted with the forest coated in a small layer of snow and frost.

"It's alright, boy. It's just a bit of snow, after all," Phil murmurs, hoping to ease his nerves as well as Fury's. ".....in June......"

However, as they continue down the path, Fury appears to become more and more agitated, whining and neighing at an invisible presence on their left.

Suddenly, Phil's breath catches in his throat as he too sees the approaching threat: wolves.

"Come on, Fury, pick up the pace. Quickly!" He yells, his words laced with true fear as he nudges the horse to speed up.

As the carriage wheel hits a rock on the path, Phil is suddenly lurched forward into the snow below, all of his belongings spilling out of the wrecked cart as Fury, now disconnected, races off into the forest, leading the pack of wolves away.

As Phil lifts his head up, he is met with a tall, icy gate looming before him. All common sense thrown aside, he quickly races into the courtyard beyond and slams the gate shut just as Fury rushes in as well, separating himself and the vicious wolves at the other side.

Grabbing Fury's still-attatched reigns, Phil begins to lead him further into the winding courtyard, gaping at the magnificent shrubbery and plants that surround him.

"Look, boy, there's hay!" He announces as they near the entryway. "And water. You're all set, my friend. I'll go pay my respects to our... unwitting hosts," he announces, making sure that Fury is sheltered from the falling snow before making his way up the grand stairway.

As he reaches the doorway, Phil takes a step back and admires the black castle surrounding him. The architecture is nothing less than phenomenal, and he can't quite figure out how the lampposts manage to stay lit with nothing to shield the flames from the falling snow.

The magnificent doorway before him swings open on it's own accord, and Phil quickly hurries inside to thank his kind host.

"Oh, thank yo-" he stops, seeing as nobody was behind the door to open it for him.

Incredulously, Phil turns to push the door shut behind him, shocked to find how heavy it actually is.

"Hello?" He asks warily, stepping cautiously into the corridor in front of him. "I'm simply a weary traveler, seeking shelter from the storm. Sorry to disturb you," he announces, placing his wet coat on a seemingly out of place coat stand nearby before turning to the blazing fire.

As he quickly approaches the fire, Phil can almost swear that he hears whispering to his right. However, as he turns in the direction of the voices, all that he finds are a candelabra and a mantel clock, both made out of the same golden material as the coat stand.

"Beautiful," he remarks, observing both objects on the windowsill before venturing further into the castle. Although he's certain that he can hear a beautiful piano playing music, when he looks into the adjacent room that he assumes to be the ballroom, all that he is met with is a piano that looks quite untouched within a room coated in frost.

"How peculiar..." he remarks to himself, before loudly announcing, "I'm just going to warm myself by the fire."

After thoroughly warming himself back up beside the large fireplace, Phil hears a clanging come from the room across from him. As he ventures inward, he is shocked to find a large dining room with a feast set for one.

Suddenly realizing just how famished he truly is, Phil rushes toward the still-warm meal, sitting down swiftly in the chair before grabbing a piece of bread to eat. A soft scraping noise, however, quickly breaks him out of his food-induced reverie, and his eyes nearly bulge out of his head at the sight of a small teacup moving towards him unprompted.

"Mom said I wasn't supposed to say anything because it might be scary," a voice-- no, the cup itself-- whispers. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Phil stammers, shocked for a moment before quickly standing up and rushing back to the entry way in a dazed panic.

"I, uh, truly cannot thank you enough for.... for your hospitality," he stutters, hastily removing his coat from the coat rack that he could have sworn was on the right side of the door and not the left. "I'll, uh... I'll be going now."

Phil rushes out of the strange castle with a renewed vigor, quickly remounting Fury and rushing towards the gateway that he entered from. However, before he can make it all the way back to the gate, he suddenly remembers Belle's request.

"Wait," he tells Fury, who quickly halts and lets Phil dismount as he approaches a beautiful alcove full of roses.

His eyes widen slightly in shock as he approaches one, taken aback by its pale blue hue.

"Amazing," he whispers, gingerly reaching his hands out and plucking a single rose from the others.

A loud thump echoes from behind him, and, as he turns, Phil cannot help but let out a yell of terror at the sight before him.

Standing at nearly 7 feet tall, a terrifying monster looms in front of him, evidently very displeased at the trespasser's actions. With skin as blue as the ocean and eyes shining as red as rubies, he rushes towards Phil, grasping him by the neck with the force of a thousand horses.

❅

As Belle ventures out of the cottage and over the her small garden, she is suddenly startled when she hears a familiar horse whining out. As Fury's hoofsteps become closer, Belle gasps when she sees the usually gleaming white horse covered in dirt and mud. And, more importantly, without her father.

"Fury! Where's father?" She exclaims, attempting to calm the horse as much as she can whilst trying to soothe her own nerves as well.

Belle rushes down the road and towards the forest where Fury came from, but her father is nowhere in sight. Running back to her cottage, she quickly mounts the white horse.

"Take me to him."

❅ ❅ ❅