Finding Beauty in the Beast

Chapter 13

Joseph huffs as he drags the last body from the castle. He drops it at the bottom of the pile and takes a few steps back. He pours alcohol all over the pile and then throws the bottle in with it. He takes a roughly made torch and walks inside. He lights it in the sitting room using the fireplace and walks back out. He tosses it onto the pile and it erupts into flames. He stares at the flames and sits on the ground a few feet away. Meanwhile, Cora and Elias have been cleaning up the castle after materializing some time last night. They stop when they hear a door open upstairs. They look at each other knowingly and walk into the front room.

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My eyes had been open for a while now but everything was just coming into focus. The pain from the fight lingered through my body as it began to heal faster. I sat up in bed and winced at the soreness of my muscles. I stretched and slowly slid off the bed. I stumbled over to the wardrobe and pulled out a loose light colored dress. I slipped it on and also pulled on a robe. I walked across the room and stepped out into the hallway. I balanced myself by trailing my right hand on the wall as I made my way to the stairs. The front door opened just as I reach the stairs and Joseph walks in with a torch. He keeps his head down as he disappears into the sitting room. I froze when I saw him and I sucked in a breath. He comes back out of the sitting room with the torch on fire and leave out the front door. I sense eyes and know that Cora and Elias are watching me as I begin to descend down the stairs. I blatantly ignore them as I make it onto the floor. I make it to the door and step outside. He was just sitting about ten feet away from the pile with his head hung low. I could feel the connection between us beginning to grow again after being severed temporarily by my death. I smirk slightly.

"You know, that's going to be seen for miles." I say calmly.

He looks up sharply and spins around. His eyes widen in disbelief and his jaw drops open.

"V-Valerie." He breathes and jumps up. He rushes to me but stops a few feet away. "How?" He touches my shoulders gently.

I frown and grit my teeth. "The curse won't let me."

He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me tightly. I wrap mine around his waist and burry my face in the crook of his neck. He squeezes me slightly and lets out a sigh.

"I thought I lost you." He whispers to me.

"You did." I whisper back but he doesn't respond.

We stay like this for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's embrace. Finally I pull away and he reluctantly lets go. I shuffle back but he keeps my hands in his.

"I...I want to go with you." The words are my own but they feel strange and almost enlightening. "I want to go to the prairielands with you."

"But you said-"

"Things are different now." I say shaking my head weakly. "I have some things to tell you."

"Let's go inside then...you must be freezing." He said and gestured for me to walk in first. We walked inside and he pulled me past the stairs. "You should eat."

I stopped just before we walked into the dinning room. He looks back at me and frowns.

"Everything has been cleaned already..." He says gently. "It's okay."

I nod my head understanding his words and he pulls me through the doorway. The memories of my death caused me to wince and I stop again just a few feet inside.

"Let's just go to the kitchen." He says and stands in front of me. He blocks my view from the rest of the room and puts an arm around my shoulder. I nod slowly again and he leads me through the room quickly. Once inside the kitchen, he lets go and walks to the other side of the room. I walk to the table and take a seat while he walks around gathering food and placing it on the table.