Beauty and the Beast Read online

  In the near-total darkness, Riley jumps over fallen logs, ducks under low branches. I yell when I see danger, and he obeys. We are a good team. After hours of this, I am both exhausted and wide awake. “We are almost there,” he says with certainty. And a moment later, we emerge from the dense woods. Without the tree cover, the dark is a bit less total. Riley skids to a halt and I climb down, my legs so shaky from gripping that I do not try to walk. I lean against him and look around. Objects slowly reveal themselves as my eyes adjust. The moon first, then some stars. Then a vast openness on three sides. An openness that leads to … the sea! I turn frantically from side to side as more and more of our surroundings become visible. There is no denying it. I grab Riley by the arm. “I have been here before!”

  “But I do not understand,” I say, relieved that for the moment at least, the almost unbearable buzzing in my head has now ceased. “We are in the middle of nowhere, and that forest was nearly impassable. How could you have gotten through it?”

  Beauty points at a distant shoreline. “We came from across the sea, from that port over there.” She whirls around. “And that’s where I found Veronica’s crystal! Right there in that dried-up brook!”

  I shake my head in disbelief, although after the last few months, nothing should surprise me. “Why would we wind up here, amidst these ruins?”

  Beauty lifts the crystal from her neck. It seems to glow with its own light. In a strained voice she asks, “Do you think the crystal led us back here, and it wasn’t the pull of the witch at all?”

  I consider her question. If that is true, we might be nowhere near the witch and may as well give up. If we figured correctly, sundown tonight will bring the witch’s deadline with it. Then I remember something. “The buzzing inside my head has ceased completely. That must mean we are in the right place.” I turn in a circle. “But how could we be? Nothing lives in this barren land, let alone a witch.”

  Neither of us speaks for a moment. We both just stare at the desolate landscape. Then Beauty says, “Think about it, Riley. If you were a witch, you would want to keep people far away from your hiding place, right?”

  “Being a beast isn’t bad enough? Now I’m a witch, too?” I can’t help trying to make her smile. The corners of her mouth twitch and I wish I could be the one to kiss her, rather than the other way around.

  “I’m serious,” she says, punching me lightly on the arm. “What if she enchanted this place to try to make people leave?”

  Before I can answer, Beauty lifts her stone and peers through it. She gasps, yanks the necklace over her head, and tosses it to me. “Look!” I hold it up and watch in amazement as the ruins of the old buildings disappear. Gone are the crumbling stairs, the moss-covered columns, the dust and mud. In its place is a huge, gleaming estate, surrounded by trees and fountains and babbling brooks and animals roaming free. Although it is not yet dawn, the sun shines as bright as noontime. I lower the stone. Instantly, the dark and ruins return. I hold it back up, and the white marble building reappears, brilliant in the sunlight. I see no people anywhere on the flower-lined paths that wind through the estate. I reach out for Beauty’s hand. “She is in there, I know it. I can’t say how, but I do.”

  “Then let us do what we came for, before someone sees us.”

  I hold the stone up again and seek out the best way to get inside. “There is a path on the left side, well hidden by the lemon trees. We can enter there and stay close to the hedges. We can duck behind them if we see anyone.” I put the necklace back over her head. “You should keep this, in case I … well, just in case.”

  Beauty nods, squeezing my hand, and we creep forward. Keeping the stone in front of her eye, she leads us to the right spot. “All right,” she says, stopping. “One more step and we shall be inside.”

  I hold my breath, not sure what to expect. Some sort of alarm to sound, perhaps. Instead, we find ourselves in the bright sunlight, on the stone-covered path, the ruins nowhere to be seen. We no longer need the stone to see!

  “The enchantment must be on the outside only,” Beauty whispers. “The witch knew no one would get close if they saw only ruins.”

  We leave our heavy cloaks behind a large rock and creep forward as quietly as possible. We pass no one. I cannot see any of the animals I had spotted before, either. Only small, well-kept farmhouses, bright green lawns, ponds and fountains. Mother would love this place. I am about to share that thought with Beauty when she suddenly stops and shrinks back into the trees. I quickly follow. Only seconds later, a beautiful young woman appears in front of one of the farmhouses, much too close to us for comfort. Her long, curly hair nearly reaches her waist. A large black-and-white spotted cat trails behind her. The woman bends down and begins petting the cat until it purrs. I want to warn the lovely woman that a witch is near, but I dare not risk being seen.

  As we watch from the trees, a mud-splattered pig crosses the lawn and chooses that moment to shake its rear end. Mud flies onto the lady’s skirts, and she rears back and kicks the pig halfway across the lawn. It whimpers and runs directly toward us! We shrink back even farther. The woman swoops up the cat and heads down the road, fortunately in the opposite direction of our hiding spot.

  The instant the woman is out of sight, Beauty reaches out and hugs the squirming pig, trying to comfort it. “I think that beautiful woman is the witch!” she gasps as the pig continues to wiggle. Beauty only tightens her hold.

  She is right, of course. I should have known by the fact that the tingling has now returned. Not nearly as powerfully but just as insistent. The time is near. “I need to follow her.”

  “We need to follow her,” she corrects me, bending her head toward the pig, murmuring kindnesses. The pig visibly relaxes. I cannot help but smile. Beauty has the same effect on me.

  She nuzzles the pig once more, then gives it a kiss on the top of its head. If I live a hundred years, I shall never forget what happens next. The pig stops moving completely. Then in a blur of movement and color, it falls from her lap and starts … changing! Beauty jumps up and we grab hold of each other, transfixed by the scene before us. The pig’s limbs have become arms and legs. A second later, a man in peasant garb lies twitching and panting on the ground. He is shoeless and hatless, and in serious need of a shave.

  We both hold our breath while the man catches his. Then his eyes fix on me. “Ye gads!” he exclaims, looking me up and down. “The witch must have really hated you!”

  “Are you all right?” I ask, kneeling beside the pig-turned-man. He is still staring up at Riley, shaking his head back and forth.

  “Enough already,” Riley says, rolling his eyes. “I get it, I’m huge and hideous. But she made you into a pig, and that’s not anything to brag about.”

  I turn to Riley. “Did you know the witch had cursed others?”

  “I had suspected,” he admits. “But I did not want to frighten you further by telling you.”

  “You can tell me anything,” I say, a bit hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, stepping to my side. “I will keep things from you no longer.”

  “Thank you,” I tell him, reaching out my hand for his.

  “Hello?” the man asks, leaning on a lemon tree for support as he stands. “Can we focus on the larger issue here?”

  “Sorry,” I say, my cheeks warming.

  “Sorry,” Riley mutters, squeezing my hand before letting it fall.

  “All right, then. First of all, my name is Mumford. I am much indebted to you, young lady, for the kiss. I had long given up on anyone breaking the curse.”

  “No offense,” I reply, “but the witch said the girl has to love you before she kisses you. While you were cute as the pig, I would hardly call what I felt for you love. More like sympathy and gentle affection. Perhaps something else ended your curse?”

  The man shakes his head. “The witch lied. ’Tis only the kiss that matters.” He nudges Riley. “But all the better if she loves you first, right, old boy?”