Beauty and the Beast

4

"What is this place? This can't be the King's Castle." Chris gawks when they approach. 

"It has to be, that's where he was going and I don't think there's another castle in Evercrest?" She shakes her head. 

"Stevie, is this really a good idea?" Christopher questions as they're stopped at the semi-a jar iron gate. 

"Christopher it's going to be dark soon, we have to go." She tells him.

"No, I'll go. You stay here." Her little brother demands.

"Alright first, I'm older than you and you don't get to tell me what to do. Second, it's getting dark and we're in the woods and I'm not going to stay out here by myself and become wolf bait." Stevie growls as she spurs her horse forward and presses into the courtyard. 

The castle is dark, spooky, and eerie and she just gawks up at it.

"This place gives me the creeps." Chris sighs as he dismounts and goes to help his sister off.

"I kinda like it. It's like something out of one of my books. Come on, let's go explore. Daddy's around here somewhere and I'm going to find him." Stevie states as they start on the cobblestone path. 

Stevie gasps when she sees it and she immediately runs to the Fedora that she knows is Jess' and she picks it up and shows it to Christopher who just bites his lip and shrugs.

"This is daddy's he's here." Stevie States getting closer to the front door. 

***

Meanwhile, in the sitting room even though it had been twenty-four hours the servants were waiting for their punishments. 

"You just couldn't stay quiet could you?" John insists pacing in front of the fire.

"I was trying to be hospitable. There was one time where we had commoners come in and out of this place like clockwork. Now, look at us, in our forties and fifties just sitting here rotting." Mick is all about the theatrics so he throws his hands in the air for effect.  

Neither of them hears the door creak open or anything until Chip comes bounding into the sitting room. 

"Momma there's a girl here." He climbs onto her lap.

"Oh Chip, I will not tolerate you telling fibs." Christine scolds him.

"But Momma, I'm telling the truth. I saw her." Chip nods.

"Chip, listen to your mother. There is no fibbing." John scolds his son. 

"But daddy I'm serious." He whines.

"He's right, I saw her." Sarah Fleetwood, Mick's wife, and the maid peeps her head in from the kitchen door. 

"See I told you." Chip states matter of factly. 

It was then that they heard two voices. "Dad' "Daddy" 

"Do you hear that?" Mick asks. 

Christine, John, and Mick all bolt up towards the doorway and they eye here.

"Do you see that." Christine cheers.

"There's a girl in the castle." Mick states.

"I know it's a girl." John crosses his arms.

"Do you think she could be the one...the one that breaks the spell?" Mick looks to the two of them.

"Do you not see that she's with a man." John states.

"DAD!" Chris calls out as Mick gives a curt smile to John and Christine. 

"So he's her brother that doesn't mean anything," John replies. 

"We should follow her." Mick creeps out the door into the hall. 

Christine goes to join him but John gives her a sharp look before trailing after his tall friend. When John catches up, the two intruders had passed the door that they needed to be in to get to where Jess was being kept so Mick wiggled his eyebrows at John and made a loud noise drawing their attention before quickly ducking behind a pillar. 

"Daddy?" Stevie asks pushing the now ajar door open and climbing up the stone stairs.

"That's odd I could've sworn I heard someone." Stevie looks at her brother.

"I know, I heard it too. DAD!" Chris calls causing an echo in the tunnel they were currently climbing. 

"IS ANYONE HERE!" Stevie calls after a moment. 

"TEEDEE, CHRIS?" They hear and their heads immediately flash to a cell where their father is being kept. 

They share a look and then they run to him. 

"Daddy, we have to get you out of here. Oh my goodness, your hands are like ice." She says when she takes his hand that he had outstretched through the bars. 

"No, you guys need to leave right now," Jess demands.

"Who did this to you?" Chris inquires.

"There's no time to explain it. Just go and never turn around. NOW. " Jess tells them.

"Daddy, I'm not leaving you." Stevie hisses.

It was then that she was grabbed by the shoulder and pins her against the opposite wall. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Lindsey bellows. 

"HEY! THAT'S MY SISTER!" Chris yells but Lindsey's head snaps to him with the look of a killer in his eyes. 

"Who are you?" Stevie asks shakily still pinned to the wall by his strong hand.

"I am the King. Who are you?" He spits. 

"My name is Stevie...Stephanie, This is my brother Christopher, we've come for our father. Please let us out." Stevie begs as Lindsey lets go of her and starts heading for Christopher. 

"He's shivering he needs to warm up and it's not doing him any good in this stone building." Chris tries to explain.

"Well, then he shouldn't have been trespassing." Lindsey hisses. 

"He didn't mean any harm he just wanted to bring you some of his treats. Please. I'll do anything." Chris tries to reason. 

"There's NOTHING you can do." Lindsey growls. "He's my prisoner." 

"There must be something," Stevie begs. "Wait...take me instead." 

"YOU!" Lindsey growls.

"Stevie no," Chris warns.

"You would take his place." Lindsey softens. 

"Teedee, you don't know what you're doing." Jess shakes his head from his cell. 

"If I did, would you let him and Christopher go?" Stevie sighs. 

"Yes...but you must stay here with me forever." Lindsey insists. 

Lindsey didn't know why but as soon as he touched her, well flung her against the wall, he felt an electric current zip through his body. His heart fluttered looking into her big puppy dog brown eyes and he had the urge to run his fingers through her long straight blonde hair. Not to mention the stirring of butterflies in his belly and little Lindsey down below his belt.

"Stephanie I won't allow it." Jess states.

"Take me instead." Chris jumps in.

"NO, think about Lori. I don't have anything going for me except for that Library down in Evercrest. I'll be fine." Stevie looks to her brother and her father.

"It's done the girl stays with me forever," Lindsey states pushing past the brother and the sister before letting Jess out. 

Once Jess is free from the cell Stevie sits against the stone wall of the dungeon and lays her head in her hands. She knew what she just committed to but it didn't make her any less scared. 

"Stephanie listen to me, I'm old I've lived my life." Jess wraps his arms around her. 

It sickens Lindsey quickly and he grabs the father and son by the arms and thrusts them into John.

"Drop them off at the waterfall." He spits. John obeys and Lindsey goes the opposite way.