Beauty and the Beast (CAMREN CONVERTED)

Helping Camila

Narrator's POV

On the trolley, Ally escorts Lauren from the dining room. "Surely you're as trapped here as I am. Don't you ever want to escape?" Lauren asks the teapot. "Camila's not as terrible as she appears. Somewhere deep in her soul, there's a princess of a fellow, just waiting to be set free." Ally replied to the raven-haired girl.

Lauren takes this in, a valuable piece of the puzzle. She looks up at the massive staircase. "Dinah mentioned something about the West Wing..." Lauren said. "Never you mind about that. Off to bed with you, poppet." Ally said nervously. "Good night." Lauren waved off to Ally. "Nighty-night. Straight to bed!" Ally replied to Lauren.

Ally moves off as Lauren climbs the stairs toward her room. At the top, she hurries up the staircase leading to the west wing. She walks up to a massive wooden door, slightly ajar.

Furniture lies in rubble, curtains are shredded, evidence of the beast's temper. Wary, Lauren investigates when—

Lauren sticks to the shadows. With a start, Lauren wheels to find—the eyes that belong to a royal portrait. The subject seems to be a teenage girl but her face has been slashed beyond recognition.

Only the eyes survived. Dark brown and engaging. Resembling the eyes of Camila. She realizes that this is the "princess of fellow" Ally was referring to. Lauren leans in to study the painting. A royal family stands by the castle. The uncle's image has been slashed. The queen remains pristine. Kind and beautiful.

Lauren moves past a large four-poster bed, its faded coverlet gray with dust like no one has slept in it for years. On the floor, she sees a makeshift bed made of straw, torn bits of fabric, and crumpled blankets, the resting place of a nocturnal carnivore.

Lauren turns and sees the glow coming from the glass jar by an open window leading to the balcony. Inside the jar was the enchanted rose. Mesmerized, Lauren approaches the rose.

She lifts the jar, leaving the rose unprotected. She reaches out to touch the rose.

But a shadow cuts across Lauren's face. "What are you doing here!?! What did you do to it!" Camila said. The beast bears down on Lauren backing her up. She puts down the bell jar. "Nothing," Lauren said frightened. "Do you realize what you could have done!?! You could have damned us all! Get out! GO!!!" Camila yelled.

Lauren runs. Camila turns and covers the rose, panicked and protective. Belle races down the west wing staircase. "Mademoiselle—what are you doing?" Dinah asked surprised. "Getting out of here!" Lauren replied quickly. "Stop!" Shawn yelled.

"Go go, Ophelia!" The footstool jumps up and ran after Belle. "Yes, Ophelia stop her!" Lauren barrels down the main staircase, Ophelia in close pursuit. Ally enters from the kitchen, wearing a tea cozy. "You don't want to go out there!" Ally warned the young girl.

At the top of the stairs, Shawn sounds a whistle as the windows quickly shut. Lauren hits the bottom of the grand staircase and runs towards the door—only to watch it bolt itself locked. "Stop her!" Ally yelled. Ophelia runs in front of Lauren to block her exit and growls. "Who's a good dog?" Shawn said.

Then suddenly, the dog's growls turn to playful yaps, as she stands on her hind legs and pants playfully. "What? No, it's not playtime! Bad dog! Bad dog!" Shawn said. "What part of 'stop her' don't you understand, dog?!" Ally said to the footstool.

Ophelia spins and scrambles outside, scooting through the low postern door within the great front door. In her excitement, she's provided Lauren with an escape! Lauren then snatches her cloak from a bewildered Demi, and shimmies out through the same 'doggie door.'

"Please, don't go! It's dangerous!" Dinah yelled after Lauren. Ally rushes forward but it's too late. A look of dread settled on her face.

Gracie's hooves hit the snowy landscape. Through the woods, she looks back to see if Camila followed her. She only sees a glimpse of the castle, she thought she has escaped. Surely, she has escaped.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees shapes of a dozen of white wolves flitting through the trees, closing in on her. Lauren forges on—the wolves were not bothering to hide anymore they've emerged from the trees to take down their prey, closing in fast.

Lauren pushes through the undergrowth to find that she has reached a frozen pond. Gracie doesn't hesitate and gallops onto the ice, and across the pond. The sound of ice cracking under her hooves ate deep and low. And increasing.

Gracie's hooves slide on the ice as the wolves close in. Lauren makes it across the pond onto land. But before Lauren can feel any relief—a wolf's jaws snap at Gracie's thigh and then another. The horse bucks wildly—causing Lauren to make a controlled leap onto a snowbank. She seizes a thick branch and wields it as a club—as the wolves surround her, jaws slavering.

Lauren swings her club as one wolf lunges at her, its bared teeth like razors. She beats it away and turned to confront another. It bites the branch clean out of her hands. Lauren turns and looks upon a rock promontory, the scarred Alpha is about to take a diving leap onto her. It jumps, and she flinches—but just as the wolf is about to make its horrible landing.

Camila appears and catches it in mid-air! With supernatural force, the beast hurls the wolf across the frozen pond, howling! All the wolves dive into Camila at once, tearing shreds from her cloak. She strikes at them as the wolves scurry, yelping.

The oversized Alpha climbs onto the beast's back, goes for her neck. Camila slams together the wolves on her arms, dropping them—then reaches back and seizes the Alpha. The wolf and Camila snarl inches from each other—the beast squeezes and then hurls the Alpha into a stone ledge, knocking it out. The remaining pack retreats in panic, their yelps echoing through the trees.

Lauren watches as Camila whimpers in pain. Her shoulders slump as She collapses in the snow. This is her chance, Lauren could run. She looks past Gracie, to the woods—to freedom. But then turns back, and slowly approaches the wounded beast. Lauren covers Camila with her blanket. Camila stirs as one eye opens. "You have to help me...you have to stand," Lauren whispers to Camila.

Camila is slumped across Gracie's saddle. As Lauren takes the reins and began the long walk back to the castle.