Another Beauty and the BEAST story

Chapter XV

The iron gates stands wide open when I finally arrive at the marble castle I know so well. In spring it doesn't shine the way it does in winter, but still magnificent enough to steal whatever breath I have left. Philippe gallops through the gates and maneuvers masterfully through the slowly awakening gardens, the daring rosebushes and the aspen trees. Even though it all looks different without the cover of glistening frost or a coat of snow, the grounds are so familiar I whimper. The statues, the pond, the arrangement. Everything screams one word at me. HOME. 

But I don't have time to think about that. As I reach the gigantic front staircase, leading up to the entrance, Philippe skid to a halt and I'm off his back before we've even completely stopped. I pat his neck and whisper "good boy" to him before setting off up the stairs. My bare feet smatter against the marble, the stone cold from the freezing rain still drizzling from the clouds above. 

The front doors are open, probably forced by the villagers and Gabriela from their earlier arrival. The foyer, once peaceful and tidy, is a battlefield. A hilarious one.  My friends, the objects, are the forces defending the castle. In the masses I spot Mrs. Potts drenching the villagers in hot tea, accompanied by the stove running around with the gas turned up to the fullest. Monsieur Lumiere, a few meters away, is fighting with his candleholder arms, burning anyone daring to approach with his yellow, golden flame. And my wardrobe, running around redressing everyone in silly outfits and crushing those who still remain with his weight. Lastly I see Pierre the armor fight with one of the old swords at his waist, yelling in french as he attacks. Chip jumps out of my pocket to join them, and I don't try to stop him. This is his family and home, it's only natural for him to want to protect them. 

All of this happens in a few seconds, before I'm off again, barely stopping to catch my breath before heading towards the West Wing. Away from the foyer the castle remains untouched, precisely as I remember it, with the drapes and paintings and stone floors. No light shines here, so I fumble forward in the darkness, my feet guiding me by memory alone. The decorated door appear, kicked open, and I enter the room. The once sad yet artistic mess I witnessed in here so many months ago is wrecked, destroyed by something furious making it's way through the room. Gabriela, I'd guess. In the far off end, the glass dome with the rose still stands, but the balcony doors are wide open, clashing in the wind. I run that way, trying to ignore the tiny drops of blood splattered on the carpet around the rose.

The balcony is windy, my hair rippling across my face and my body almost pushed back inside again. I strain against it, making my way out on the balcony. I see Gabriela first. Her hair has ripped free from her previous hairdo, her clothes rippling in the strong winds as she balances on one of the statue-decorated bridges connecting the towers of the castle. Her eyes gleam with both desire and victory, while a wide smile is spreading across her face. She looks like she's lost her grip on sanity. 

And then my eyes find her. She's sitting a few meters ahead of Gabriela, brought down to her knees by some invisible burden. Her white dress has drips of blood, her hair slowly undoing from her frosted braid. Her eyes are dead, seemingly accepting the arrow from Gabrielas crossbow, aimed at her heart. Her slender fingers are curled against the stone, frosted almost up to her wrists. She hasen't used her power. My heart sings, my body bubbling with energy. 

"Get up! Get up, beast! I want to look at you, so why don't you fight back? Are you too kind, too gentle, to fight back?" Gabriela shrieks at Elsa, who ignores her completely, totally breathless from the burden slowly breaking her grip on life. Gabriele aims the crossbow, and I reach out my hand. 

"No! Stop!" I yell as loud as my lungs can handle. And everything happens so fast. The first thing that happens is that Elsa's head whips back at the sound of my voice, as it drifts through the wind and is carried to her ears. I see her mouth my name, as her eyes land on me, reaching towards her. The next thing that happens is that Gabriela pulls the trigger, and the arrow is set flying. A block of ice rises up from the ground, stopping the arrow a few centimeters from Elsa's head. I catch the breath in my lungs, almost choking on it. 

Gabriela seems surprised that her opponent suddenly decided to fight back, and they engage in battle, where both arrows and protective ice shields are exchanged. Without thinking I jump over the balcony railing, sliding down the roof tiles and jumping towards the bridge. 

"Were you in love with him, beast?" I hear Gabriela mock as I begin climbing towards one of the statues. "Did you honestly think he'd want you when he has someone like me?" She continues and I want to scream. I do want you. I only want you. An animal-like roar emerges from above and I climb faster, slipping on the roof tiles but stubbornly hanging on, refusing to let go and plummet towards assured death below. As I finally reach the bridge, I arrive in time to see a giant piece of ice pressing Gabriela towards the edge of the roof. Elsa stares daggers at the ice, and the person behind it, and her powers obey. 

"No! Elsa... Don't be the monster they think you are," I plead, and she blinks. The ice stops moving, and so does time for a while. I'm stuck staring at her, beautiful even drenched in rain and her dress in pieces hanging from her thin body. Her eyes meet mine, and the crystal clear intelligent ice pierces through me. But it doesn't hurt, or frighten me. Instead I welcome it, letting it embrace me, drinking her gaze and inhaling her appearance, everything from her scarred, bare feet to her frosted forearms. Her skins shimmers like moonlight in the light of the raindrops. 

The moment passes, and Gabriela stumbles to her feet in the background. She stares at us back and forth, and a dark rage seems to engulf her. "Get out," is all Elsa answers to the glare she receives, staring Gabriela down with the coldness of her eyes. Then she turns to me once more, breathing my name more like a whimper than the speech of the strong figure she's trying to uphold. And I do the same, exhaling her name as if it were the cure for everything. 

"Elsa," I say, reaching out my hand toward her. She reaches out her own and jog hurriedly towards me. But every story can't have a happy ending. Before she arrives, I see her eyes widen with pain, and at first I don't understand why. Isn't she happy to see me? For us to be together once again? 

But then I feel it. The burning sensation known as pain spreading throughout my chest, as well as the emptiness filling it. Drops of red liquid drop down and color the stone beneath me. I choke on my own blood and look down to find an arrowhead poking out of my chest. Ah, she shot me, is all I can think before sinking to the ground, my lungs struggling to breathe under the pressure of them collapsing, my eyes darkening to the cloudy sky above. 

In the background I hear Gabriela scream, but can't really place why. In my ears it's completely silence. I can't hear the thundering sound of raindrops anymore, can't her the endings of the battle downstairs, or the scream of a girl as she falls to her knees behind me, pressing her cold fingers against the wound. 

"You came back," is all she says as my eyes meet hers again. Time flows this time, slowly running out. I smile at her through gritted teeth.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't let them..." I cough. Damn it, I sound so weak. I have so much to tell her, "But this is all my fault... If only I'd gotten here sooner." Elsa shakes her head, holding back her tears with all her might. The frost spreads across her arms, almost reaching her elbows by now. 

"Maybe it's better this way," I say finally, not breaking her gaze. I feel time running out, and all I can think of is memorizing her face. The invisible freckles, the color of her eyelashes, the indents of her cheek. A piece of art that I want to gaze upon until my eyes are dried out.

"Don't talk like that. You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine... You'll see..." She says, pressing my raised hand against her face, her cheek cool against my feverish skin. If we weren't in the situation we're in, I would've teased her for being so naive. I would have told her that almost no story have a happy ending. It's only natural to anticipate something like this. Ha, the irony.  

"At least I got to see you one last time," I say, and then the sand of the sandglass break free, the glass shattering being the last sound I hear. I don't know if time stops or if it speeds up, but the pain disappears as suddenly as it appeared, and lightness swallows me. My lungs stop calling out for air, my heart stops pumping blood, and my brain stops telling it to fight back. Only one thought remains in my mind. 

I love you.