The beast
The wind whipped against you, your eyes watering at the speed that Philipe ran, the feeling of his powerful hooves pounding against the earth as he galloped along at full speed through the forest. The trees a pallette of blurred dark colours as you rode past, the thick layer of fog that coated the forest limiting your vision to Philipe's head and nothing further. Philipe started to slow as a large gate came into view, stopping a few meters away from it and not daring to make another step. Jumping off you dropped his reigns, slowly stalking towards the massive iron gate, four meters of solid rusted iron bent into beautiful curved petals and sharp thorns. The neigh and huff came from Philipe: a warning not to move any closer. Behind the gate on the other side a large castle stood, tall towers reaching into the sky disappearing behind the dark clouds that loomed over the area, sharp jagged spiralets shooting out, seeming sharp to the touch. The old Castel bound in ivy, which seemed to have a choke hold on the building as it wrapped around it. A long cobblestone path leading up to the castle lay in front of you, pushing past the heavy iron gate with much effort due to the weight of it, you moved forward. Philipe reared up before bolting in the other direction out of fear for the place, what was in there to scare him so much? Back homewards he ran, you weren't worried, knowing he remembers the way home. Cautiously walking up to the castle the sound of your own footsteps like thunder in the eerily silent place. Something lay on the ground just up ahead a black pile of fabric discarded and muddied, as you stepped closer realizing you recognise it, you run up to inspect it closer. It was papa's cloak, why was it outside? Quickening your pace towards the castle along the path, weeds creeping up between the cracks. The realization that something may be very wrong was indeed evident.
Giant oak doors stood in front of you, raising a hand to the knocker you knocked on the door hopping for an answer but none came. Slowly pushing the door open and letting out a soft questioning
"Hello? Is anybody there?”
No answer came. Walking into the castle, the high ceiling had stunning paintings on them depicting the sky and heavens but old cobwebs hung from them like tiny hand crafted chandeliers, marble pillars with intricate carvings of flowers and ivy on them seeming to match the outside that bound the castle. A grand staircase at the end of the large hall, splitting off into two in opposite directions, a long dark marron carpet draped the floor of the stairs, it had been so dark from all the years of dust built up. Stepping up the stairs of the grand staircase, your voice bouncing off of the walls echoing around the castle as though it would never stop. Your voice was not alone, whispers along with your voice were heard, they mumbled something you couldn't understand barely being able to hear them yourself, shadows danced in the corner of your eye. Climbing up the endless stairs you called out
"Papa?"
A rough cough was heard from way up in one of the towers, this snapped your attention, quickly bounding up the stairs to the location of the sound. The whispers from the walls becoming louder the higher you climbed and the darker it got. Grabbing a lit torch from one of the windowsills of the tower to be able to navigate better. As the coughing got louder the pace you ran up the stairs went faster, the steady beating of your feet against the stairs could be heard echoing, as you reached the top you realised the coughing came from one of the cells, calling out one last time
"Papa?!"
Noticing his arm reaching out from inside one of the cells quickly running up towards him before dropping to your knees in front of the cell to be at eye level with him. Noticing his sickly pale appearance, clothes torn and ripped, eyes sunken and his voice was rough and hoarse as he spoke broken up with coughs. His larger hand gripping yours.
"How did you find me?" Bringing his hand to your cheek to feel the temperature.
"Your hands are like ice, I need to get you out of there" you state holding the torch off to the side. Gripping your hand tighter in his as he spoke
"I need you to get out of here"
"Who did this to you?" You questioned ignoring his request.
"There's no time to explain you must go"
"I won't leave you" you continued to argue.
A harsh cold grip held your shoulder ripping you away from the cell door. Dropping your torch in a nearby puddle of water, in the process, plunging the room into darkness once again. The silence of the room overtaken with the sound of metal scraping against metal and stone, the whirring and clicking of machine parts filling the silence as a deep rumbling voice spoke echoing in the halls like thunder striking the sky.
"What are you doing here?"
"Who's there? Who are you?" You question with a shaking voice.
The thunder like voice replied.
"The master of the castle" his booming voice filling every corner of the room with its presence. Backing up against the wall attempting to make yourself as small as possible. You were like a gazelle in the presence of a lion, a fish caught in a trap. And it was too late to escape. The only light in the entire room was a window through which moonlight shone.
"I've come for my father, please let him out, can't you see he's sick" you shakily beg responding to his first question.
"He shouldn't have trespassed and stolen from us" he roared the threat in response, you heard your father softly mutter
"It was just a rose"
"And for that you shall remain here" he threatened lowly turning away to leave you, the whirring and clicking of the metal filling the void, there had to be something you could do, anything to get your father out, he was to sick he wouldn't last in an environment like this. There had to be something anything you could do, he did not deserve to be locked up over something so small as a rose.
"WAIT!" you called out standing up to your full height from where you were on the floor backed up against a wall.
"The rose was for me, let me take his place, take me instead" you tried to bargain. He stopped in his track at the suggestion tilting his head to the side so you could barely make out his profile, still shrouded in complete darkness,
"You? You would do that?" he questioned almost confused by the notion.
"If I take his place you promise to let him go"
"Yes but you must promise to stay here forever"
The thought did scare you, spending the rest of your life in a dark, cold, dingy tower but you had to do it for your father, glancing up at the still shrouded figure, a streak of moonlight separating you.
"Come into the light"
Taken aback by the request but complying anyway. A long metallic arm reached out to you. As it hovered right in front of your face, a glowing red light in the middle as though it was inspecting you, staring right into your soul, it almost seemed alive as though it had a mind of its own. As it moved away from your face two more planted themselves firmly on the ground in the light of the moon with a heavy thud, cracking the stone beneath them from the sheer weight and force. Steadily more of the mechanical arms came into view in the moonlight, shining on the metal. Clothing, first thing to appear in the sliver of light, dark leather hung from his frame, ebony black gloves covered his hands. His large frame coming into the moonlight taking up every ray that came through. He was a giant, the metal arms making him seem even larger, dark reddish-brown hair, his eyes set in a stone cold gaze that you could feel from behind the sunglasses perched on his sharp nose. A metal corset sat around his stomach with long painful looking scars spreading from the corset up to his chest. Everything about him screamed danger and to run away. Backing away in fear at the man in front of you til your back hit the door. Turning away unable to look at the beast of a man feeling the arms wrap around you from behind the bars.
“No! I cant let you do this”
Composing yourself you step into the moonlight with the beast lifting your head to look him in the eyes.
“You have my word”
”Done”
Dropping to your knees as the weight of the situation started to dawn on you, the shock seeping deep into your veins. Swiftly striding past you, he unlocked the door with a slam against the wall. You heard your father being dragged away by one of the powerful arms as the other carried the beast down the stairs of the tower. Reaching out to grab at your father, a plea to wait falling on deaf ears. Running to the window inside the cell you see your father being thrown into a carriage before taken away towards the forest. Sitting down on the damp, cold floor of the cell trying to process everything that just happened. Peter tried to propose, your father had gotten kidnapped, and now you're trapped in a beast's tower like a princess with no hope of ever getting out. Curling up in a dry corner of the stone cold room, your knees tucked to your chest, arms wrapped round them. Sitting tired from the days events and all the stress of it. Alone to stew in your misery.