A Blessing and a Curse

Chapter Three

*Malcolm's POV*

I don't know how long I can keep my secret from her. She is very observant. Hopefully, she won't find out until she falls in love with me. Assuming that I can get her to fall in love with me. That may prove to be a problem, but I could probably get more time if I convince her father to let her marry me.

"So, this trial run is to determine whether you two will marry or not, correct?" my father asks, unsuccessfully trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Um, I suppose so," Katrina says.

"Would you like to marry my son?" my father asks, making the both of us blush.

"I, uh, we'll see," Katrina says nervously.

"I believe what my father means to say is would you be okay with marrying me?" I ask, unintentionally making things more awkward than it has to be.

"I suppose... maybe..." She looks away and says, "May I be excused?"

"Of course, Lady Katrina," my father says, seeing her discomfort.

She gets up and quickly scurries away.

"You do know that she is your only chance. None other could even think about loving you for who you are. You must win her over or we will all die," my father tells me in a low voice.

"Yes, of course, Father, but I believe that she may find out too soon. She is smart and observant. What if she finds out before either of us are ready for her to?" I whisper.

"Then you must hope for her to understand. If she doesn't, we are doomed."

"Don't we still have the next generation?"

"The curse states that if by the fifteenth generation after the spell was cast, your generation, one of the men have not found someone who loves them as they are, the whole Buckingham bloodline would cease to exist. In other words, if you don't get her to love you for who you really are, anyone who has even a drop of Buckingham blood will die."

I hear the open door creak.

"Who's there?" I say. Whoever is there must have heard our entire conversation.

The person near the door scurries away, but not before I catch a glimpse of unmistakable blond hair.

Katrina just heard our whole conversation.

*Katrina's POV*

I run to my room and lock the door. I think Malcolm saw me.

I just can't believe it! Malcolm really is cursed! Not just that, but the whole Buckingham bloodline depends on me falling in love with Malcolm. I'm supposed to love him for who he is. Honestly, I don't know who he is other than his name and title. Something tells me that loving him for who he is is supposed to be a challenge. That means there's still a lot that I don't know about Malcolm.

I hope I can save the Buckingham bloodline, but how can I love Malcolm for who he is if I don't know who he really is? I know that in order to love Malcolm for who he is, I have to get to know him, and I know exactly what I'm going to start with.

I open my door and come face to face with Malcolm.

"About what you heard..." he says.

"It's okay. Why don't we pretend that I never heard any of that?" I suggest.

"So, you'll still give me a chance, knowing what you know?"

I sigh. "I'll give you a chance. I mean, how bad can you be? I can't hold having a curse against you."

"I hope you can still say that after all this is over."

"We'll see, but does the whole Buckingham bloodline really depend on me falling in love with you?"

He grimaces, then solemnly nods.

"So, would it be really bad if I don't fall in love with the real you?"

"You heard what my father said, right? If you don't fall in love with the real me, then everyone who has even a drop of Buckingham blood will die," he confirms.

"I- How can I not even consider you when the whole Buckingham bloodline depends on me doing more than just considering you?"

"Can you just not worry about how the whole Buckingham bloodline depends on you falling in love with me? Can you just focus on getting to know the real me?" he asks.

"I guess I could."

"Well, if you're going to get to know the real me, there's something that you should know..." he says hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"You know what you heard last night?"

"W- Was that you?"

He grimaces again then nods. "It's the curse. Every night at midnight, I turn into a cross between a wolf and a bear."

"Does... Does it hurt to change?" I ask.

"Very much, but it's impossible to resist. It's a bit like Beauty and the Beast, isn't it?"

"It is. I guess I didn't realize that."

"That's why you should always be careful about what you wish for," he says.

"What does that have to do with this?" I ask, confused.

"The one who got us into this mess foolishly wished out loud to be able to live his favorite fairy tale. At the time, it was Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, a nasty enchantress heard him and made his wish come true. I never knew that magic even existed."

"I didn't either, until now. I always thought those kind of things were only in children's stories."

We both laugh about the curse, which is nothing like we expected. We talk for a while and I realize that he is actually quite sweet and kind, but he just happened to get caught up in the curse. I'm thinking he's not all that bad, but I want to see him as this "beast" before I make any decisions.