Enchanted [ON HOLD]

Chapter 9

     The Beast stared unflinchingly at me, waiting.

     "Well?" it demanded. Once again, I was reminded of its snarling teeth. I guess the older people got, the less patient they become.

     "Uh..." I fumbled for the best way to put across my difficulty. "Well, maybe you could show me how to help you be...free?"

     The Beast was indignant at my ignorance, but then it glanced at Finnegan behind me and over the trees where endless greenery prevailed, and finally sighed. Or rumbled deep in its belly. "I can't do it."

     "You...can't do...what?!"

    The monstrosity hung its head, almost in shame. A creature of glory, of prestige, in a moment of humiliation. "I am shackled to the will of my masters until they release me. It is my folly to forget. Indeed, they stumble that run fast."

     Screws were turning in my head, digesting the piece of information it told me. "You are a creature vulnerable to the commands of others. That means you're like the Genie in the lamp! If only they let you go, then you are truly free. Unless someone else makes you theirs, of course."

     "Of course, I've been used by the same creatures for centuries."

     I went on. "But you're not the vicious animal they want you to be. What are you? What can you do?"

     The Beast gazed into my eyes, and for the first time I saw something else other than hurt and anger: pride. In the peaceful silence, only the sounds of our breathing were heard. His ragged and animalistic, mine shallow and choppy. Realising it had been a while since any sound was heard from Finnegan, I assumed he had fainted.

     "I've been here during the Dark Ages. I've been here to see the Kingdom rebuild itself. I've watched kings fall over themselves to get the throne. I've studied the good and bad in all beings. I am, to put in an ugly word, an oracle. But much more than that. I repay kindness with good will, evil with a curse. Prophesying is my gift, so they say, but I prefer 'advice'."

     He looked at me, as if to say 'Are you following me?'. I repeated to myself that I wasn't surprised, that I wasn't shocked, and if I could go through an enchanted hedge, talking fairies, a bubbly water sprite and a witch, I could certainly handle an oracle-beast. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

     "But I will free the man behind you at no cost."

     That said, the Beast crawled on all fours to Finnegan and with a swipe of its sharp claws, endeavoured to release Finnegan before I had even muttered anything. I wanted to point out that Finnegan's head would be concussed if the Beast just dropped him from that height.

     But it was all covered, because the Beast showed extraordinary gentleness the way it protected Finnegan and lowered him safely. Suffice to say, the latter's face was tomato-red.

     Rushing towards Finnegan, I checked if there was the rise and fall in his chest, to see if he was still breathing. He was. Unthinkingly, I placed his unconscious head on my lap and watched his closed eyes.

     "Charlie Woollerton, as a token for your goodwill towards me, I would like to give you and your companion a piece of advice: 'A King with magic in his blood will be the downfall of the glory of this Kingdom.' Bear this in mind, when you embark on your travels."

     The Beast's pupils disappeared, and all that remained in its sockets were white spheres. I thought he looked even more terrifying. As soon as he closed his mouth, his eyes rolled around, and they returned to normal. Focusing his eyes on Finnegan and me, he frowned.