Beauty and the Lazy

Chapter 5: Kill the Beast!

The duo decided after lying in the snow for a while, to head back inside to warm themselves up before they catch a cold. Kuro laid down by the lit up fireplace, immediately relaxing. Mahiru went to the kitchen to make them something warm, upon returning to place down a bowl of hot soup in front of Kuro. "Here."

"Thank you.." Kuro mumbled, carefully eating his soup. Mahiru smiled at him and sat down next to the cat, leaning back on him. He started eating his soup, when felt Kuro wrap his tail around him.

They quickly finished their soups and just continued to relax by the fireplace. Kuro curled his tail more around the boy, hoping to get his attention. When he got no response, he looked up and saw that Mahiru was staring at the fireplace, completely closing his senses. The lion nudged the boy, getting him to come back to reality, "You alright..?"

"Yeah, just... I miss my uncle."

Kuro almost felt his heart shatter, hearing the pain and sadness in the boy's voice. He didn't know that Mahiru was feeling a bit homesick, missing his uncle that he thrown out to keep the boy all to himself. The lion wasn't even sure how to respond to his words. He got lost in his thoughts, looking away from Mahiru. The boy of course noticed and smiled at him, "I'm sorry. He's the only family I have left. I want to see him, make sure he's doing alright."

Then something crossed the lion's mind, knowing what he's getting himself into. "What a pain... There is a way for you to see him."

"There is?" The boy looked at Kuro with curiosity. He kept his eyes on the fireplace, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Yeah," he carefully got up from his position, with Mahiru doing the same, "Follow me.." Kuro began walking out of the room, the boy quickly following behind him.

They make it to Kuro's room, walking over to where the enchanted rose stayed. Kuro moved over to where the mirror lays, untouched for quite awhile. Mahiru looks over at him confused. "This mirror can let see anything from outside the castle. You can see your uncle." The boy nodded, reaching out to the mirror and holding it up in front of his face.

"Show me my uncle. Please" He muttered, looking away from the bright light the mirror emitted. When the light dimmed, Mahiru looked in the mirror is gasp in horror. His uncle was shown tied up to a tree, unconscious and on the verge of freezing to death. "Uncle!" Kuro looked at the boy surprised by the sudden shout.

"What happened?"

"My uncle is tied up to a tree, freezing to death. I... I have to get to him." Mahiru could almost feel tears wanting to escape from his eyes, not wanting to lose another family member close to him. Kuro frowned, knowing that he's gonna regret it.

"Go."

"What?"

"Can't deal... Go to him. He needs you right now." Kuro said, slowly looking up at Mahiru. The boy was surprised. "But what about-"

"I'll be fine... And keep the mirror," he gently nudged the mirror in the boy's hands, "Something to remember me by." As much as Kuro didn't want to give it up, he wanted Mahiru to at least remember him. Look back on him whenever he felt lonely. The boy clutched the mirror closely, giving Kuro a warm smile.

"Thank you..." He whispered, walking up to the Lion and placing his forehead on his, before quickly running out of the room and out of the castle. Kuro sighed and heard the horse outside, he walked over to the balcony and felt all his anger start to escape his mouth, as he let out a cry of anger.

Hugh walked in, noticing Kuro staring at the rose. "Are you and Mahi- Wait, where is he?"

"I let him go."