Hiding From Light: A Beauty and the Beast Genderbend

Chapter 11

A/N: An interpretation of what the Lady of the Castle could look like^^^

"People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed." -Trolls, Fixer Upper, Frozen

Brandon ran. He ran like he hadn't run in a long time.

The forest did not attempt to slow or stop him, but in his haste, he received a few light scratches anyway.

He'd never so blatantly displayed his abilities before, not to his family, not to Gabrielle, and certainly not to overall society.

But that didn't mean he didn't know of them or have extreme control over them.

Something about that castle... it brought everything he'd repressed to the surface. At home, he'd repressed that side of him so much, sometimes he forgot it existed. Not here. Here in this castle, and the surrounding woods, he felt freer, and more like himself.

And that terrified him.

The forest blurred before him, and he lied to himself, saying it was just snow streaming into his eyes. Really, it was him moving so fast, struggling to place distance between himself and the castle, as well as outrun the fear chasing him, even here.

He only stopped when breathing became painful, constricting, and freezing in his lungs. He grasped onto a low branch of a tree, gasping and coughing, while the wind started tugging at his jacket.

He stood up, about to continue on when a growl sounded from off to his left.

He turned slowly and exhaled when he saw the silver wolf, baring its teeth aggressively and looking about to jump on him.

He held his hands out in a placating gesture, speaking to the wolf as though it were a person.

"I just want to go home." He said quietly. "I'm not looking for a fight right now, and I don't think you are either."

The wolf's expression changed slightly, and it sat back, tilting its head to the side, considering.

Brandon held his breath. Maybe he'd get away.

But that's when the others showed up.

A pack of silver wolves surrounded him in a circle, with the one that he assumed to be the alpha the closest to him, staring at him.

He tried to step away, but the teeth came back into sight, along with a snarl.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "We can't just stand in the snow all day."

Another growl.

Brandon allowed that side to rise to the surface. The wolves all backed away slightly, and he took it as his chance to bolt away, running through the forest toward where he knew the path to home was.

The wolves howled and gave chase, running after him.

He stumbled into a clearing, a frozen lake with thick ice sliding beneath his feet. He tripped, just as one of the silver wolves pounced.

Brandon fell onto the ice with a smack, rolling away from the outstretched claws, only to be pinned by the alpha.

The wolf bent down, about to surely tear his throat out, when he freed one hand and flashed a bright beam of light into its face.

The wolf was flung off him and he staggered to his feet, waiting for the next attack that was sure to come from the remaining wolves circling him.

Just before one could pounce on him, another wolf, this one bronze, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, tackling the silver one and starting an ensuing fight of snapping jaws and snarls.