The Alchemist And The Beast

Chapter 4

Thunder was rumbling in the distance.  Quirin let out an irritated sigh.  He hadn't left the town much and it was becoming apparent that he had taken the wrong turn. "You don't happen to know where we are, do you? Because I don’t..."  he snorted. "I am becoming my son, talking to animals as if they can answer..."

Fidella let out whinny of distress.

"Woah, woah, girl.  It's just a little thunder."  He had her turn right.  Snow began to drift down.  "And snow?"

It was June.  How was there snow?  To top it off, there was a low growling sound.  Immediately, Quirin suddenly noticed the wolves.  Where in Corona had they come from?

"Go! Go, Fidella," he urged.

The wolves chased after them and Quirin tried to think quickly.  Before he could manage to come up with a plan, the carriage suddenly snapped off from the horse.  Fidella ran, leaving him behind.

"Oh, come on..." he muttered under his breath.

For the sake of survival, Quirin ran when the carriage stopped.  He stumbled across a gate.  He didn't question it.  He slammed it shut and locked himself in.  Then he made as much distance as possible between him and the gate as the wolves began to claw it.

Panting, he looked up at the large manor.  It looked big enough to be a castle almost.  He made his way over to the door and knocked on it.  "Hello?"  He cracked the door open.  "Hello? Sorry to intrude.  I am seeking some help..."

The place looked completely abandoned.  There was an inch of dust on the table to his right.  Sighing, he entered the place.  Hopefully, it truly was abandoned, but it was getting cold and he needed shelter from the wind.

"He must have lost his way in the woods," a voice whispered.

"Shhh!"  Another hissed.

"Excuse me?" Quirin turned around, but could find no one.  He did notice that the candlestick and the clock in the table were without dust, which seemed ominous to him.  "Hmm... interesting..."

"A man of taste," the clock said.

"He was talking about me," the candlestick replied.

"Gah!"  Quirin cried with surprise.

"Sorry!"  The candle began.

"Whatever was out there must have been frightening.  Should we offer to warm him by the fire?" The clock asked.

Quirin grabbed the handle to the door and flung it open.  He rushed outside in spite of the cold.  He would take his chances with the wolves.

In his panic to get away, he tripped over a ledge and landed by a bush.  A white rose caught his eye, momentarily distracting him from his previous terror.  His mind wondered about Varian and how his son would handle the thought of his father being dead.

Quirin picked the rose.  Perhaps he was worrying for nothing and would make it home just fine on foot.  The wolves would be a problem, but perhaps he could find a way to scare them off.

Suddenly, a large creature came out of nowhere, tackling him.  Quirin grunted and tried to fight it off.  It roared in his face.  He tried to push it off, but his head slammed into a rock, causing him to go unconscious.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Varian sat in the grassy field.  He was startled out of his deep thought by the sound of a frenzied horse.  Quickly, he stood up and turned to it.  Grabbing her reins, the horse came to a stop.

"Woah, girl," he soothed, petting her snout.  "Fidella?  Where's Dad?"

A sinking feeling came into the pit of his stomach.  "You have to take me to him!"

He pulled off all the wagon pieces and climbed onto her bare back.