Beastly

Chapter One

     Bella's windshield wipers were going a mile a minute, trying their hardest to keep the rain and sleet out of her vision. She had her hazards and high beams on, and she was praying that nobody would need to drive past her on these narrow country roads. She was struggling to make out the directions from her GPS when a. loud clap of thunder boomed.

     "Damn it!" She exhaled as she realized that she had missed her turn. Finding a patch of flat land amid the hilly landscape, she steered her little Renault off the road and tried to make a u-turn. She made the turn and was shocked by the overgrowth of trees that lined the road. Despite it being four o'clock in the afternoon, it was nearly pitch black thanks to the thick canopy above.

     Grateful for her high beams, she continued. She checked the GPS again to make sure that she was on the right road. It looked like it had been years since anyone had driven down the dirt path. Just as she had feared, the little road was leading her towards her destination. A sinking feeling in her gut warned her that there wasn't anything good at the end of this drive.

     She had been asked a couple of months ago to conduct an architectural survey of an abandoned chateau in northern France. A development company was interested in flipping the place and converting Chateau Monblais into a boutique hotel. Her firm wasn't accustomed to working overseas but Bella's graduate research on architecture and the French neo-Gothic had made her a prime candidate for the role.

      When she pictured a winter spent in northern France, she was hoping for something along the lines of Escape to the Chateau. One google of Monblais revealed her newest destination would be anything but charming. The castle was built more for fortification than fashion in the seventeenth century. Large, imposing turrets blotched every corner of the property and a wall surrounded the site to keep out intruders.

     Nevertheless, having a French chateau all to herself sounded a heck of a lot better than spending another season arguing with her parents over who she would be spending Christmas with. In a flash, she booked herself a room at the nearest bed and breakfast (forty minutes away) and told her bosses to reserve a spot for her on the next flight to Paris. 

     That's how she landed here, on the outskirts of an ancient protective wall. She had been told that Monblais has been abandoned nearly since its conception in 1672. Some French lord had built the castle in an effort to protect his family and serfs, but he and his entire clan were killed in a feudal battle before they could even take up residence. You can imagine her shock when she pulled up to the front drive and it was filled with a bunch of shiny black BMW's. 

     Perhaps these cars belonged to people who worked for the developing company. Maybe they were here to assess the property. Adjusting her blazer and straightening out her pencil skirt, Bella took a deep breath and approached the front door. Her knocking seemed to echo throughout the room behind, but eventually, she heard footsteps approaching.

    When the door opened, a young man dressed all in black appeared. "Bonjour," Bella began, trying her hardest to remember the French she had practiced before arriving. "Je suis...ici..."

     The man held up a hand to stop her. In perfect English, he responded. "American?" 

     "How did you know? Are you with the developer?" The man crinkled his solid brows in confusion. Bella wracked her brain to recall all the moving parts to this project she had taken on. "The contractor?"

    "What are you doing here?" He interrupted her again. She had heard rumors about the brash attitude many Europeans adopted when dealing with Americans, but they were all on the same team here, weren't they?

     She dug through her pockets and passed her business card to the man. "Maybe noone told you but my name is Bella Harding. I was brought over to conduct a survey of Monblais." She noticed that the man wasn't reaching for the card so she nudged it closer to him for his inspection.

     He finally took it and glanced over it briefly before his eyes seemed to glaze over and he blanked out. "Excuse me?" Bella interrupted. "May I please come in? It's rainy and I've been traveling for a long time. The sooner I conduct my analysis the sooner I can leave and get out of your hair."

     The man seemed to snap back to the present and offered her a grin that looked more menacing than anything. "Right this way Ms. Harding." He opened the door even wider and gestured for her to come inside. 

    Finally, some manners, Bella thought to herself. Upon entering the castle, she was shocked by the immaculate state everything seemed to be in.  Where she had expected cobwebs and rats to be everywhere, the palace was decorated with beautiful antique furniture. The front hall seemed to be a hive of activity, and she noticed how all the busy people there stopped what they were doing and openly stared at her.

     The man who greeted her at the door instructed her to follow him as he made his way through the populated halls. Hurriedly, Bella scrambled to procure her clipboard, notepad, and pencil to jot down notes as she was led through the castle. 

     She noticed the beautiful stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings, and was impressed by how well everything had been maintained. "Man, your crew works fast!" She said with surprise. This caused the man to turn back around and face her with more confusion in his eyes. 

     "I'm just saying, if you ever took your staging business to North America, you would be in high demand," she added with a whistle. 

     "Please just follow me, Ms. Harding," he said with an eye roll. 

     She wanted to ask him where they were headed, but she didn't want to irritate him any further. She was only supposed to be here for one month, two months tops. The sooner she could finish and get out of everyone's hair, the sooner she collected her check and went back home. She noticed that the corridors they were taking became less and less populated with people, and the hall she was being led down had a very gloomy vibe. 

     Perhaps this is where they wanted her to start her survey? Maybe there's something cool down here-like a dungeon! Immediately, her mind buzzed with ideas for how the hotel could convert the unseen space into a wine cellar. She was so caught up imagining wine tastings and French sommeliers that she didn't realize she was following this stranger down a dark, dank stairwell.

     "Hey wait, where are we going?" She called out ahead of her, but she didn't receive any answer. With trepidation and a lump in her throat, she continued ahead. When they stopped in front of an opened cell, Bella's heart began to pound in her chest. The man looked at her with a wicked grin before shoving her into the small, confined space. "Wait! What are you doing?" She shrieked.

     As she got up from the cold stone floor to look back at him, she noticed that his eyes seemed to glow in the dark. He didn't answer her, and in the dim light of the dungeon, she heard his steps as he turned around and walked away.