EVERNA Beauty and the Beast - Retold by Alistair Kane, A Fantasy Short Story

 

EVERNA Beauty and the Beast – Alistair Kane

In the bustling city of Vochaux, on the south coast of Arcadia Empire, lived a wealthy merchant, Jean-Luc Passant, and his three daughters, Alicia, Fleurina and Beatrice.

One day, Jean-Luc and his assistant, Sebastian LeRoy, set out on a business trip to Xenticen City in the northwest coast of Arcadia. Before departing, he asked his daughters what they desired upon his return. The first and second daughters requested lovely dresses, but the third, Beatrice, declared, "Father, I only require a perfect rose plucked by your hand."

The father was startled. “A rose? Why not a nice diamond ring or necklace instead? Xenticen is famous of its fine jewelries beside fancy dresses called the haute couture.”

Beatrice shook her head and explained, “I had a dream that I’ll find my true love in the place where a perfect rose was found. I happened to read in a book I borrowed that the rose can be found in the Celc Forest. The forest lies in the alternative way from Vochaux to Xenticen and back, so I think this will be a good time to find the rose.”

Puzzled, Jean-Luc replied, “I don’t understand the purpose for the rose you said, dreamy girl. But all right, I’ll try to pluck a perfect rose without being pricked by its thorns and remember its place.”

As fate would have it, on his way back from Xenticen, Jean-Luc had to cross through the deep forest near the Ruins of Celc, the old capital of Arcadia to fulfill Beatrice’s request. It was a much longer and harder way than the main road merchants usually took. The sun had already set, and the merchant was exhausted, desperately seeking a place to rest. Suddenly, a massive castle loomed in the distance, and Jean-Luc went there. It was Nimm, the castle once belonged to the Principal of Celc in Arcadia Empire.

Jean-Luc and Sebastian went into the castle to find nobody. The table was laden with delicious food, and both men ate heartily. The bedroom was sumptuous, and they slept soundly on the soft and fluffy bed.

The following day, still alone in the castle, Jean-Luc spotted a beautiful rosebush in the lawn and remembered Beatrice's request. He plucked a perfect red rose from the bush, without being pricked as promised. To his surprise, a ferocious-looking beast sprang out of the bushes. The double-thorned furry demon-like huge, humanoid beast was clothed in fine silk tunic and coat. And it roared, "I gave you food and shelter! And now, you are stealing my roses!"

Jean-Luc trembled in terror and explained the reason for his action. The Beast decided to release him only if he sent his daughter Beatrice to the castle in his stead. Jean-Luc, bound by honor, agreed, and Sebastian ran back home to tell the daughters of the Beast's demand.

The girls wept bitterly, but Beatrice, driven by her deep love for her father, bravely declared, "I will go. Please be safe and wait for me, Father."

==oOo==

Beatrice Passant went all the way to Nimm Castle with the faithful Sebastian as her guide. She couldn’t help but gape at the wonders of the castle hidden in the thick Celc Forest with city ruins scattering here and there. It seemed that Nimm Castle was the only building left intact in the outskirts of the once vast city.

Upon entering the palace, Beatrice and Sebastian were met with the menacing, huge Beast. Mistaking him as a demon, Beatrice passed out in the Beast’s mercy. But, as she regained consciousness, she found herself tucked in a clean, comfortable bed, with Sebastian tending to her every need. Beatrice began to think differently towards the demonic-looking Beast.

Days passed, and Beatrice grew accustomed to her new life in the Beast's castle. The Beast treated Beatrice with a lot of kindness. He was never rude to her. He let her stay in the biggest room and let her roam in the beautiful garden. Beauty would sit near the fireplace and sew while the Beast kept her company. They even shared the love of books, which were found aplenty in the well-preserved castle library. At first, Beauty was afraid of the Beast but slowly, she began to like him.

One day, as they sat by the fire, the Beast asked Beatrice to marry him. She hesitated, fearful of his monstrous appearance and was still bitter of him still holding her father hostage, and refused his proposal flatly.

The Beast, however, did not let her refusal cloud his heart. He continued to treat her with tenderness and love. On the top of it all, he decided to release Jean-Luc at once as sign of his sincerity. Beauty demanded to go back to Vochaux with her father first, and she'll come back to Nimm Castle after 7 days added with the traveling time. The beast agreed.

Then Beatrice left and went home with her father and Sebastian. During her time in her hometown, Beatrice became wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of her daily life with her family, and the memory of the Beast and his castle faded from her mind. She forgot her promise to return to Nimm Castle after seven days in Vochaux. And as the days passed, she convinced herself that the Beast was just a frightening figment of her imagination.

But one night, Beatrice had a nightmare that shook her to the core. She dreamt that the Beast was gravely ill and about to pass away. He was crying out her name, begging her to come back to him.

When Beatrice awoke from her dream, she realized that she had made a mistake in forgetting about the Beast. She realized that she had grown to love him and that he was more than just a fearsome appearance. She knew that she had to return to Nimm Castle and be by the Beast's side, no matter what the cost.

The very next day, she set out for the Beast's castle, riding her horse alone with great haste. She was determined to save the Beast, to show him that her love was real, and to make things right.

As Beatrice arrived at the castle, she saw that everything was the same as when she had left. The garden was still beautifully maintained, the rooms still pristine, but there was an eerie silence. She called out for the Beast but heard no response. As she searched the castle, she saw that the once-beautiful rose bushes were now destroyed and broken, their thorns scattered everywhere.

She finally found the Beast lying on the floor of his room, barely breathing. His body was convulsing, and his eyes were wide open, but they were lifeless. Beatrice fell to her knees and started to weep. She held Joachim's hand and whispered, “Please don’t die, Beast! I will live with you forever!”

True to her words, Beatrice kissed the Beast’s forehead near its eye.

Suddenly, the Beast's body started to glow, and its features began to shift. Its claws disappeared, and its hair receded. Its eyes, once fierce and terrifying, became soft and kind. In moments, the Beast had transformed into a handsome young man at Beatrice’s age.

Beatrice was astonished. She had never seen such a transformation.

The young man explained, “My name is Joachim Deveraux, and I was a prince, the sole heir of the Duke of the Principality of Celc. Centuries ago, dragons, demons and monsters invaded Celc. The leader called Morgoth spared my life, but he cursed me to live as a Beast all these years and could only be relieved when someone sincerely fell in love with me. You are that person, Beatrice. You have broken the curse.”

But their happiness was short-lived as the Beast's soul, expelled from Joachim’s body possessed a rat and transformed into a gigantic monster called the Behemoth. The creature was enraged and started attacking the castle. Joachim and Beatrice knew that they had to work together to defeat the Behemoth.

They fought the Behemoth with all their might, and it was a long and grueling battle. Joachim only had his sword, which he had kept and preserved for centuries as the Beast. The Behemoth was powerful and relentless, but Joachim and Beatrice were determined.

After hours of fighting, Joachim finally buried his sword deep into the Behemoth’s eye. They finally succeeded in killing the Beast, ending Morgoth’s curse once and for all. It turned out that Morgoth had planted the fallen Behemoth, his favourite monster in Joachim’s body, allowing it to grow back as a full-sized mortal Beast. However, Morgoth was thwarted before he could “harvest” his “crop”, and Joachim lived alone like an immortal hermit in this secluded castle.

And by the will of Vadis through dreams, Beatrice has been the one who passed the logically impossible trials of loving a fearsome creature and freed Joachim from the Beast at last.

Joachim held Beatrice in his arms, and they looked out at the beautiful garden, which had been restored to its former glory. He said, “I am forever grateful to you, Beatrice. You have shown me the true meaning of love, and I will always cherish you.”

And then, Beatrice and Joachim, Beauty and the Beast were married. Jean-Luc, Sebastian and the rest of the family moved to Nimm Castle too and were appointed as a minister and palace attendants. Slowly but surely, Celc was being rebuilt to its former glory. The Prince and Princess of Celc were surrounded by their friends and family, and together they lived happily ever after.

Illustration Source: April Lee (aprillee.com)