Between A Rose And Its Thorns (ON HOLD)

That hurts!

Lucinda's point of view

After long, treacherous hours I finally see the creeping castle. I smile and quicken my pace, pulling the horse and my sister behind me.

We walk up the steps, a sigh escapes my lips as I felt the warmth of the fire caress us in its warmth.

"Hurry, his wounds need tending," I say, guiding the horse to the large chair in front of the fire. "Go to the kitchen and find a bowl then fill it with water."

She shakily nods and scurries off down the hall. I blow a piece of hair out of my face, pondering how I was going to get him onto the chair.

An idea comes to mind. "Come on girl, come on," I urge the horse. She follows me to the side of the chair. Standing on my tip toes, I push him off the horse and onto the chair. He groans as he hits the cushion, slowly readjusting himself.

"I got the water," Isabelle says, coming in with a bowl full of water.

"Perfect," I smile at her and gently take it from her grasp. I kneel beside the fire, placing the water as close as I could get it. "Now, we..." I look up at my sister, nervously staring at the beast as she stepped from one foot to the next. "Isabelle?" She faces me, I took notice as she watched the beast out of the corner of her eye. "Would you mind putting the horse back in her stable?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "Not at all!" She says, grasping onto the horse's reins, leading her back outside.

I huff, grabbing my apron as I wipe my face. I stand and walk to the kitchen in search of a towel or rag. My eyes widen as I walk inside, the kitchen itself was larger than our town's whole bakery! Taking long minutes, I found a decent towel. I exit the kitchen and walk back to the injured beast.

I look up at him with a scowl. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I say as I pass him. He pauses in licking his wound, glaring at me.

"I will do as I please," he snaps.

I roll my eyes and kneel beside the fire, holding my palm over the water, sighing as warmth licked my fingers. I look up at him and shake my head as he ignores my comment.

"It will get infected if you do that," I inform him, using my apron to grab the bowl, I stand and walk to him.

I place the bowl down and sit on my knees, dipping the cloth into the steaming water. "What are you-?" I wince as a roar shakes the castle as I placed the towel against his bloody arm. "That hurts!" He snarls, pulling his arm away from me.

"Oh, stop whining!" I snap.

"A beast does not whine," he snarls, glaring at me.

"Then you wouldn't mind me continuing," I say sweetly with a mocking smile. He growls at me, snapping his fangs at me.

"Don't push me," he glares.

I glance up at the sound of the door opening. I watch as Isabelle scurries past from behind the beast, rushing up the stairs.

I sigh and stand, grabbing his arm, I hold it still as I lightly tended to the wound. "Don't push me," I warn him as he started to move his arm. He huffs, sitting still mostly besides a often wince followed by a small whine.

"It's your fault," he mutters.

I stop, my eyes widening as I tighten my grasp on the cloth. "Pardon?" I grit through my teeth, staring at him. "How exactly is this my fault?"

"If you and your sister didn't run away, none of this would have happened!" He growls.

I stare at him and purposely push the rag against his wound. He snarls and grits his teeth in pain. "Do not blame things on others when you it was your fault!" I shout at him, stepping back as I dropped the rag beside me. "Lick your wounds for all I care, I'm going to get some sleep." I huff, walking off when I bump into someone.

Domain stares at me, his eyebrows creased together in confusion. "Mademoiselle? What are-?"

"Your master needs attending," I say, walking pass him. I walk up the stairs, my hand riding up the railing. I stop at the top of the stair case, my ears picking up a argument from downstairs.

It's not my problem, I decide and walk to the chamber Isabelle and I are sharing. I open the door, my breath knocked out of me as my sister tightly embraced me.

"Are you alright, Lucinda?" She asks me, releasing me from her deadly grip.

"Yes," I nod, yawning. "I would like to sleep now."

She nods, she too yawning. "We both could use it," she giggles. We crawl into the covers, I stare out the window, the stars staring back at me.

As I was about to close my eyes a roar boomed out. I huff and cover my ears.

It's going to be a long night, I thought. Isabelle's snores echo beside me. I groan and face plant into my pillow. A very long, long night.