Steel Roses

Promise One: Skating

Beldon stood out on the middle of the lake a week later, looking towards the distant forest. When you skated out on it you realised just how large the lake was. There could have been rowing races out here in the days past, when the lake was actually a proper lake rather than just a frozen mass.

Gliding across the surface towards the forest, he kept a distance of about twenty feet, who knew what was in there after all. And although he was almost certain the lake counted as part of the castle grounds he didn't want to take any chances.

The rustling in the tree alerted him to company and he spun to see another of those dogs stepping to the bank. Beldon was about to race away from it when the dog lay down.

He stopped, staring, confused. The dog lay down on its front, rested its head on its front legs and just looked at him.

"What? Beldon muttered, his breath escaping him, then he glared. "I'm not going to escape!" he snarled at the dog, "you already proved that I can't go anywhere without your kind appearing to stop me! Just leave me alone!"

The dog just watched him, tilting his head to the side slightly and Beldon let out a hiss.

"Ugh, I'm eventually going to lose my fear of you and just get irritated by the sight of you!" he said.

The dog yawned at that, revealing a mouth filled with blood stained razor sharp teeth and Beldon recoiled, almost slipping.

"Alright, alright, still more scared then irritated," he said, before spinning away and skating back towards the castle. Turning once he had gained enough momentum, he looked back to see the dog still lying there, watching him, seeming content in the snow.

He turned away again and looked towards the nearing shore, and spotted a figure he recognised.

"Beast!" he called in delight – and surprised himself with the level of delight he felt.

The Beast, who had been walking in the opposite direction, stopped at the sound of his voice. He was a long distance off, but against the white, his dark cloak stood out easily, and the silence carried Beldon's voice without trouble.

Beldon skated to the edge of the lake as The Beast came to meet him.

"I assume you weren't coming to join me since you were going the wrong way," Beldon said, folding his arms.

"Ah, no I wasn't," The Beast admitted.

"Where were you going?"

"The rose garden."

"Oh yes?" Beldon said, tilting his head to the side.

"I was going to collect some of the roses. Some fall when they are ready to be collected, in full bloom with their stems."

"Oh yes, like the purple ones I collected."

"Like them."

Beldon looked at him for a moment, then held out a hand. "Won't you join me for a moment?"

The Beast shook his head, his shoulders straightening. "I couldn't, and I don't even have skates."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, this is lake ice, it's not smooth enough to be any real danger," Beldon said, reaching for his hand.

The Beast pulled back.

"Beast."

"You... you don't have to touch me," The Beast said.

Beldon looked at him then raised an eyebrow. "It's just your hand, and it's gloved. Don't make it sound like a chore, unless I repulse you—?"

"No," The Beast said, so quickly he cut off the end of Beldon's sentence.

Beldon smiled and grabbed The Beast's hand, dragging him forwards so suddenly The Beast didn't have time to react. He was yanked onto the ice, Beldon skating backwards, gripping his hand tightly as The Beast panicked – though he kept his balance perfectly well.

Beldon set a hand against his chest to steady him, laughing. "You're fine," he said, "your balance is natural. I bet you used to skate on this lake a lot."

The Beast was quiet, watching his feet, his hand tightly clamping Beldon's.

Beldon just smiled, taking his other hand and pulling him across the ice, slowly gliding backwards. The soft wind caught The Beast's hood and knocked it backwards, but The Beast was so concerned with his feet he didn't even notice.

It gave Beldon time to really look at the face in sunlight.

No, there was no denying it; it was a frightening face, a monster's face that belonged in nightmares.

And yet the eyes were so human, they seemed to overpower the horror of the beast. The sheer concentration in the bright green eyes made Beldon smile.

"You have amazing eyes," he said without thinking.

The Beast seemed to freeze, despite still moving forwards, because Beldon was pulling him forwards, and his eyes flicked to Beldon's.

He shifted his feet and forced them to stop.

Beldon looked at him, then blinked. "Sorry," he muttered, looking down, "That's not what one man wants to hear from another." he quickly pulled his hands away, locking them behind his back.

The Beast just looked down at the top of Beldon's head, watching the sunlight highlight the different shades of blonde. The Beast slowly reached forwards, as if to stroke Beldon's hair, then caught himself and snapped his hand back to his side, so suddenly Beldon's started. He was a young man, for goodness sake.

The Beast spun away, making his way back across the lake with such ease Beldon felt the fool for ever thinking he should have held his hands.

"You should wear a clock when you come out here," The Beast said, stepping back not the shore and looking back at him, noting that Beldon was only wearing a shirt and waistcoat. He turned away but not before he saw Beldon look at the ice again, slowly rubbing his arm. The Beast stood for a moment, then said, "And perhaps you might send for me the next time you think to practice some music," he said.

Beldon's head snapped up. The Beast didn't turn to see, but Beldon smiled happily at the words as The Beast walked away. Beldon grinned to himself as he started to skate again.

He became awfully happy when The Beast gave him such attention, he wondered why, was he that deprived of attention?

Oh dear, he thought, perhaps he was becoming needy.