Thorn in the Rose {Book 1 Of The Once Upon A Time Chronicles}

Chapter 49: The Hidden Statue

The darkness of the night covers my tear-stained face and the redness dotting the area around my eyes. Ever since the incident this morning today has been an almost non-stop crying fest. Thankfully Gaston knew what happened and was kind enough to give Adrien and me the day off. Adrien still did chores and even went out for a good number of hours, while I on the other hand spent the whole day locked in my room curled up on my bed allowing every tear that was cooped up in my body to flow down my cheeks. It's a miracle that I've managed to keep myself together long enough to get all the way here and it will be an even bigger miracle if I don't burst into tears the second I get to the castle.

Sensing my distress Dante snorts and shakes his head.

"I'm okay, boy. And don't worry we're almost there," I whisper gently patting his neck and sides.

A howl echoes through the air, and I make Dante pick up the pace. A stick snaps behind me swiftly followed by a low growl that causes the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck to stand up. Glancing over my shoulder I gasp when I see a large brown wolf creeping out from behind a mass of bushes with its teeth bared. A jagged scar covers its right eye and there is still dried blood from its last kill splattered across his fur. Growling it starts walking toward me and it isn't long before it starts running.

"Come on, boy," I edge him on pushing him into a gallop pushing him further and further as the wolf gets closer and closer.

I can hear its ferocious growls and the snapping of its jaws. Dante neighs as the wolf tries to lunge at his legs. Picking up speed the wolf quickly catches up to us and as it prepares to lunge again Dante kicks out his back legs knocking the wild animal flat off its feet as it lets out a loud whimper.

"Good, boy," I praise him.

Together we keep at the fast pace until we see the iron gates approaching. Slowly I lead him up to them and without getting off him I open the gates and we head inside. The second we reach his shelter I check him for wounds. Thankfully there are only small cuts on his legs which will heal quickly.

"Okay, stay here and rest, boy. You had quite the shock just now." A loud and distant bang suddenly rings through the air startling us both. "Don't worry, boy, everything is going to be okay. But what on Earth was that?"

Another loud bang and this time it's swiftly followed by a yell, "Merde ce truc!"

"Sounds like someone is having a bad day," I chuckle. As I tether Dante to his stall and start my walk toward the front door the yelling and banging continue. Holding onto the door handle I listen to the strings of curse words, some of which I've never heard in a sentence before, fly through the air left and right. Curiosity fills every bit of my soul and as much as I want to resist the urge to locate the source of the yelling... I'm not that strong.

"One little peep won't hurt anybody," I whisper to nobody but myself as I sneak alongside the lines of bushes looking for the commotion.

Eventually, I get to the source of the loud sounds. Staying tucked behind a large bush I silently watch as Beast attempts to lift a broken a large chunk from what used to be a podium. But with the weight proving to be too difficult for him, which I didn't think was possible, it falls out of his hands before he can even get it a few centimeters off the ground.

"For the love of God," he growls at the bit that narrowly missed his foot.

An unintentional chuckle slips past my lips alerting him to my presence. Slinking away further behind the tall bush in front of me I pray he doesn't come looking for me and will just let me slip away into the darkness. Or maybe Maurie will come looking for me and rescue me from a potentially awkward encounter.