Beauty and the Beast (Moonbe version)

Chapter 5: Welcoming Dangers

(Still Lydia's POV)

"Uh, hey! Thanks for... thaaaat...?" I turned towards the door once I had entered, but nobody was there. The doors then closed on their own as I looked around,

"Did someone open the door and walk away...?" I thought, looking around. I didn't hear any footsteps or see any figures. As I wandered around the crackling of a fire caught my ears. I turned and noticed a lit fireplace, emanating such warmth that I ended up drawn to it. I crouched down on the carpet and sat there for a while, warming myself up. I hummed softly with a smile before looking around and shouting,

"Uh, whoever you are, th-thanks for helping me!" I became nervous when all I heard was simply my echo. I sighed and stared at the fire absentmindedly before hearing voices. They were quiet, as if not wanting to be caught. I leapt to my feet and got up, looking around anxiously. The voices shut up and all I heard was the fire. What caught my eye then was a candelabra and small clock. Curiously, I approached them and stared at the intricate designs in the clock,

"Woahhhh..." I muttered, before a sound came from the dining hall. I whirled around and listened as I heard the clattering of plates. Against my better judgement I went to the dining hall, ready to take a swing if necessary.

When I got there, I didn't see anything unusual... except for... a huge array of food! My mouth watered as I rushed to the table and stared at all the food: chicken, potatoes, the best stuff!! Before I could take a bite I paused,

"Are these... poisoned...?" I asked myself as I examined the food. There wasn't any clear signs of poison but what I did notice was bite marks. It seemed like someone had already taken a couple of bites out of the chicken and whatnot. I became worried as I touched some of the chicken. It was... mildly warm, but not fresh. Well, at least it wasn't poisoned. When I finally took a seat, a teacup was mysteriously slid over to me, the cup had a chip on its rim and was filled with hot tea. I tilted my head before the cup turned to me, the handle facing the other way, and a face revealed itself in its place,

"Mom said if I talk I'll get in trouble, but you'll keep it a secret, please?" It spoke. It had the voice of a boy, younger than me. I blinked a few times. I-I'm dreaming right? I'm going crazy. I pinched myself and nothing happened,

"Y-Yeahhh..." I muttered in reply, realizing this wasn't a dream. Suddenly my anxiety shot through the roof and I took off sprinting right out of the castle. The food, the gate, the fire, the doors, the teacup, this was crazy! I was in danger and I had to get out! Once I left I was greeted once again with the cold, snowy air. I shivered and hugged myself as I made my way down the steps, looking around for Emily, who was pacing around near a gate, not like the ones that opened for us when we first entered. I walked over to her and noticed what was beyond the gate.

A garden. A spectacular array of flowers of all variety and color dazzling the ground, miraculously kept despite the snow. I entered the garden and walked around, seeing how beautiful every single flower was. Emily started to huff and neigh as she shook her head, as if alerting me to something. I felt a shiver go up my spine but I brushed it off,

"It's alright Em... i-it's probably just the w-wolves."
I assured, mainly to ease my own mind. As I wandered I noticed something. A beautiful array of purple and yellow roses, evenly organized so that one color didn't overtake the other. I crouched down and stared at the flowers amazed, as Emily started making much bigger of a fuss, the shiver in my spine now turning into a squirmy feeling in my neck, like eyes were peering over me. I shook my head and stared at the roses, before carefully picking one, hoping to turn some of the roses into a bouquet. You see I... might have fallen for someone in the other town... a-and showing him the bouquet might make him like me...! Once I picked the rose though I was pricked by its thorns. I winced and hissed slightly as I looked at my fingers, blood slowly streaming down the pricked one. Emily then neighed loudly, as I turned to her confused,

"Whats wrong??" I then turned to where she was looking at, and my face paled, my eyes growing wide as I was petrified:

Eyes. Glowing turquoise and yellow eyes peering down at me in anger. The pupils were thin and wolflike, and the growl coming from the figure was finally able to get me to leap to my feet and run to Emily. I had finally realized why I was in danger. Whatever that was, it wasn't just a wolf, and it was what had taken those bites of the food...! I rushed to Emily and grabbed the reigns, but behind me the sound of something, or someone, landing in the snow made me freeze up, I could see a turquoise glow coming from behind me, as Emily started to panic. She kicked and flailed, as I lost my grip and fell into the snow with a yelp. I tried to regain my footing but a soft yet clawed hand suddenly gripped my ankle tightly. I gasped in fear and instinctively started kicking whatever was holding me, but I was suddenly lifted into the air. I yelped and whimpered scared as I noticed Emily back away, before dashing out of the gates and off back into the forest. I called for help as loud as I could, praying that Phoebe would be able to hear, before a sharp pain hit my neck and I lost consciousness.