Morgana - A Tale of Beauty And The Beast

Chapter Eight

Chapter 08

SHE went back to her room, her eyes fixated on the ring. She took a couple of long, drawn out breaths and lay down on her bed. She tried not to think of her sister, and instead let her mind become filled with the Beast.

"Take me to the Beast. No matter where my mind is, take me there."

She turned the ring three times and fell to sleep.

When she awakened curtains hung over her bed of silver blankets. Outside a thunderstorm was raging as if Poseidon himself was enraged. The rain was coming inside the open windows. This is very bad... She got out of the bed and ran to the door. The torches barely lit as she came by. A sure sign of but one thing – her beast was dying.

"Oh dear Unseen One! Let him be spared! Take what you want from me but let him be spared!" she cried out as she ran through the halls searching rooms. Downstairs in the main hall the pixies were accumulated together. Great masses of them. Several of the bluebell pixies flew up to her and began chirping in their language.

She didn't know what was being said, but she could guess, "Show me where he is! Please I beg of you!"

Just as she said it a bout of lightening clapped so bright that it lit the sky up as day. The pixies took off ahead of her down a hall that led to the terrace and the gardens. Oh dear heavens! He is outside in this?!

She ran and finally ran past them out into the gardens themselves. Lightening came close to hitting her several times. The thunder crashed in deafening proportions. On the edge of the forest she seen a figure laying in the leaves, among a bunch of red roses with white blushes... the very ones she had seen in her vision and asked her father for.

She ran to him, and flung herself down beside him, "Oh dear Beast! Please let him be spared!"

She pulled him into her arms and his eyes opened weakly as the rain fell upon his face in heavy sheets. Both of them were already soaked clean through, but she could not feel it.

"Mor... Morgana," his voice came out weakly, and there was not a trace of animal in it. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I promised you I would come back, didn't I?" she said trying not to weep again – she had done enough of it the last couple of days.

"I thought you had forgotten." he coughed and closed his eyes, "At least I got to see you one last time. Night is ending and soon... all will fade. A wisp of air will I become. Soon... I will go."

"You cannot go... I am here. I know I am late in coming but I am here. I need you to stay with me. Please. Please."

"Why Morgana? Your family needs you... I release you from your oath. You are free." he gasped heavily, and grasped her hand in a death grip, his eyes going wide for a moment.

"No, do not die. I love you, and I will be your wife. But you must... fight. Please."

He began to gasp again and out of nowhere a cloud which was obscuring the moon floated away, revealing a full, harvest moon. It bathed them both in light. It permeated her very inner being and she felt her eyes close. Power tingled in her limbs as it did before, only it felt it would explode, and when she opened her eyes she found that both she and the beast were submerged in the blinding light. It lit the whole garden, and she was sure it could be seen through the heavy portion of The Veil that guarded this place.

Then, as if by a force of hands he levitated out of her arms, away from her several inches and a different light surrounded him. A red light. Fiery and wonderful. It died out and he gently fell to the ground. She watched for several moments for movement and when she saw none and the aura about him fade... her heart welled up with tears that exploded out of her, and she screamed to the heavens above as louder than she ever had before. As she did the storm subsided leaving only its damp earth behind, and a full, silvery moon beaming down. When her eyes turned back to the figure before her, her beloved Beast, she saw an aura around him. The fiery aura, and he began to move.

"Beast!" she surged forward and to his side, but when he turned it was a different person. A Fae – a beautiful Fae with long black hair and pearly skin was before her.

She jumped back, "Where is he? Where is my Beast? Please give him back!!!" she cried out, tears streaming down her eyes.

The man sat up and reached out to her, "Morgana... I am the Beast!" he grabbed her hands and laughed,. The voice was relatively the same, "Don't you see?"

She looked at him carefully and then finally his eyes, and she seen the same eyes she had come to love and adore staring back at her. She smiled, "It is you. How...?"

"You freed me... and at it looks like at no great cost to yourself... It seems the Fates only wanted your lovely red locks. For now they are lovely as starlight."

Morgana pulled several strands of her hair from the back around to look at and seen they were all white. Her mouth pinched in frustration.

"Your hair is still beautiful my dear. You... you used your power to change my fate again. You must be careful of that." he said helping her stand up with him.

"I fear I may use my powers only one more time selfishly..." she said upon reflection of her sister's dilemma.

"Yes?"

She shook her head. "Not now. You said you could tell me what caused you to be like this..."

"Oh yes... you're not going to waste a minute of time, are you?"

"I've wasted enough already. Please put an end to the mystery."

"My mother is the witch, Hera. About 50 years ago, she asked me to take part in the torture of one of my father's many sons. I couldn't bear to go through with even seeing that again after seeing what she did to Hercules, so I refused. Well, you know my mother's temperament. She banished me here, and turned me into a beast. She said someone would come eventually, and I'd have the chance to turn back into a normal Fae, but I grew doubtful. Then it seemed you had forgotten me... and I just couldn't go... on." He looked at her and away, faking a smile. "I'm afraid I cannot go back to Olympus. This was my land, and home for over a century before the spell. Now, tell me, what has happened to you...? You seem distressed still."

"It's my sister..."