His hooves dug into the soft forest floor, kicking clots of dirt up behind him. He was unsteady and taller than he was used to and his horns kept catching on low branches. He could hear Heckler chasing him, crashing through the brush behind him. Gaston's head caught on a branch and he snapped back, the sharp horns that now rested on his head flew back and into Heckler's throat. The weight of the man pulled Gaston backwards and on top of the dying body of Heckler. He felt the sharp pain of a knife entering his back and the wetness of blood in his fur.
He pulled himself away from the dead villager, which snapped one of his horns off n the process. He fell forwards away from the corpse and felt a string hit his leg as he tried to regain his balance, it was pulled tight and in an instant he was trapped in a net, he couldn't move, his hands were caught in the netting and he couldn't get free. He trashed about hoping that he could loosen himself from the trap be he could not, no matter how hard he tried, it felt like the more he struggled the tighter the net became.
He would be found int he morning by some hunter, held above the dead body of a man, covered in blood, he would be put down like a bear and maybe someone would steal his skin and make a blanket. Gaston watched the moon as it passed above the trees, hiding its face and reappearing until the sun rose, he was going to die soon, even though he has fought so hard to survive, to run from his pursuers. The sky shifted from golden sunrise to sunny and pleasant morning. After a few hours that felt like aeons, he heard the crunch of twigs and leaves under a boot and knew that what was coming was coming, or rather who, but this was it, a sad dead without glory.
YOU ARE READING
The Curse
FantasyWe know the story of Beauty and The Beast, Snow White, and The Frog Prince. We know them well, but what about the after? What about Gaston, the Evil Queen?
