[DISCONTINUED] A Beauty and A Beast (Garmau AU)

Chapter 5

Aphmau was so urgent to help her mom that the ride only took a few hours. It was almost as if Issa was as desperate as she was, because even the horse didn't rest on the way to the palace.

Aphmau wore her cloak in case she was attacked by bandits or if it got cold.

As she neared the castle and the looming structure came into view, she gaped at he incredible view.

It looked like a castle that only existed in fantasies or books she had read, but not even her imagination could've come close to how beautiful it was.

She shook it off, knowing her mother was inside and probably being hurt or starved or worse. Aphmau shook her head as to disperse her thoughts before she could envision the worst possible scenario, and continued to ride her horse until she approached the palace steps.

She slid off with haste and rushed up the stairs. Wait. Whoever lives here probably has guards or some sort of defense.

Aphmau noted how she had been in such a hurry she hadn't grabbed any sort of weapon or protection, so she settled for a wooden stick that laid on the stairs,

It was about the size of her torso lengthwise and thick enough to not crack if she tried to break it over her knee.

She hmphed and finished the walk up the steps. The doors were absolutely massive and so heavy duty that she almost tripped in shock when she managed to open them with ease.

So they're not locked... Than that means they probably knew I'd come! I've gotta be ready... for... anything...

She lost her train of thought as she looked around the inside in shock.

Everything was so royal and high class that she assumed she must've been having some sort of lucid dream. But when she continued to look around, it became apparent that this was indeed real life.

The floors were made of fine stone, and pillars held the ceiling up with golden decorations and other incredible designs on and looping around them.

Although the place was rather large and majestic, it looked nothing short of deserted. Hardly any furniture covered the floor, and everything was extremely dusty.

On the other side of the room sat two household objects.

Travis and Laurence watched the woman in utter silence, both shocked and intrigued at her sudden appearance.

"Look at that beauty!" Travis whisper yelped to his clock-y friend.

Laurence softly scoffed. "I'm not blind idiot."

"But what if she's the one!" This made Laurence roll his eyes. "You know! The one that'll break the curse!"

Aphmau was snapped out of her daze as the voice of a man saying 'curse' reached her ears, and she whipped her head towards the two.

"Who said that?!" She asked in a demanding voice. "Who's there?! What have you done to my mom?!"

She rushed towards the area where she heard the noise and stood right in front of the clock and the candelabra.

"Hello?" She called once more, and the two objects held their breath in anticipation.

Then, a sneeze interrupted the silence. It was feminine, and Aphmau could recognize the high pitched sound from a mile away.