Beauty and the Beast (Moonbe version)

Chapter 17: Gathering the Mob

(I couldn't find any good images so here, have funny Moon drawings-)

(Fajr's POV)

I grinned softly as I approached the town again. I had tied Lydia to a tree as her horse ran away. I let it go, it's not like it can speak anyway. I returned to the village and went to the bar, getting off of Asteroid and pulling a soft frown. I entered as everybody looked at me concerned,

"Fajr! What happened with Lydia? What did she want?" Maria asked. I looked at her solemnly,

"We were... we were attacked." Everyone was shocked as they asked for me to elaborate,

"Phoebe has been kidnapped by a beast. Lydia asked me to help rescue her... and we took off. But... when we got there... the beast ambushed us..." I then said something I knew would rile up the crowd, "it had magic." They all became enraged. I don't know why they hate magic so much; it was annoying. I then continued,

"W-We tried to fight it off but it... it had the advantage... i-it even b-broke my arm..." I flailed my broken arm slightly. I had to break my arm to sell the story; it hurt, but I had to convince them somehow, "and Lydia... bless her soul... she couldn't protect herself and she... she died..." the crowd was aghast. They couldn't believe my story. And yet, they ate it up like a bowl of candy. Internally I had a huge smirk as the crowd rallied, vowing to slay the beast. With a soft smile I looked to the crowd relieved,

"Thank you everybody! We must work together to slay that beast and rescue Phoebe before it can hurt anyone else! We first must prepare a plan of attack, otherwise the beast will slay us all. Then, we gather our weapons!" The crowd cheered as I smiled, not noticing two people in the back looking at me skeptically.

(Maria's POV)

As I listened to Fajr's story something felt... off. I couldn't tell what but it seemed fishy. He was gone for no less than around 3 hours; how would a beast not be able to kill him in that time? What was he even doing? I turned to Rebecca as she also appeared skeptical,

"I don't think Phoebe would've been kidnapped." She muttered to me. I tilted my head confused,

"She's strong. Extremely so, remember?" She looked at me as I nodded, remembering the times we ended up going on missions or did activities at sports festivals with Phoebe.

Even when we struggled she would rise up and help us reach the victory. She was confident and outgoing, assisting those who needed it. The more I thought about it the more I realized she was right. Phoebe wouldn't get captured that easily; she'd put up a fight and she would win. Even if she did lose she'd find a way out of it! Everybody left the bar as Rebecca and I were left alone. I looked at Rebecca with a serious glare,

"We need to figure out the truth."

"But how? We don't know where that castle is." Rebecca retorted. I nodded contemplating,

"You're right. We might not know..." a smirk grew on my face, "but Lydia does." Rebecca looked at me shocked,

"But Lydia...!"

"If Fajr is lying about Phoebe being kidnapped, he might also be lying about Lydia being dead. It's at least worth investigating." Rebecca was silent for a moment before nodding confidently. We may be a bit snide at times, but we know one important detail:

Phoebe is our friend.