Chapter Text
There once was a merchant who had three daughters.
The eldest, Willa, was by far his favorite. He would regard her as his one true heir, and teach her everything he knew about commerce and trade. He rarely remembered he had other offspring, except when it came time to scold and reprimand them. He spoiled the oldest girl quite often, so much so that it made her quite mean to her siblings, especially to the youngest, who was a constant target of her biting temper.
The middle daughter, Wynonna, was much nicer than her older sibling, despite her rebellious temperament. She was considered as someone with a strong character, all while remaining a little rough mannered. Truth is, the girl could swear with more gusto than any sailor on the seven seas; but still, she had a good heart, and cherished her little sister whom she affectionately called baby girl.
The three sisters were extremely attractive, but the youngest one, Waverly, nearly gleamed. When she was little, almost everyone was fond of her, and would lovingly refer to her as the little beauty; As she grew up, she went by the nickname Beauty.
Waverly was nothing like her sisters. She was the sweetest, kindest, and most warm-hearted girl you could find in the kingdom, the surrounding kingdoms, and probably all the kingdoms in the entire land. It seemed like no bad sentiment could ever emanate from such a small statured person. Everyone who crossed her path would compare her to the most radiant ray of sunshine, or sometimes, to an angel escaped from Heaven. Even still, the girl never paid much attention to their affections, let alone took advantage of them. She remained her kind-hearted self in all situations, doing her best to please everyone, whilst incurring the wrath of her eldest sister without complaint.
All at once the merchant- Ward Earp was his name- lost his whole fortune, except for a small homestead a great distance away from a village ironically called Purgatory. The place was quite isolated, and far from anything exciting. The weather in this area was harsh enough to make living arduous. The whole family had to move there and learn to live a life far different from the rich and appealing one they were accustomed to in their hometown.
Upon moving, the father who was already inclined to drink, truly became a drunkard, intoxicating himself from morning to night. The three daughters, who were now of the age to wed, alas, had no choice but to remain at his side. Their greedy father refused to allow them to marry anyone who was not wealthy. So, they resolved to live a simple life- the merchant drinking his life away, and his daughters bickering around the house, cursing the day they moved to this dark and cold part of the country. Only the youngest, Waverly, seemed to make the best of the situation. She took advantage of their isolated location and lost herself into the small collection of books she succeeded in keeping throughout the loss of the family’s fortune.
One day, a few seasons after they had moved to the homestead, the merchant received a letter informing him that one of his ships long thought lost at sea had docked. At that moment, Ward was certain his luck had changed, as he was about to regain his former fortune. Everyone hoped this would be the end of the tough days, and they would soon live the way they had before.
As he was preparing for an expedition to the far-away harbor where his ship was anchored, the merchant asked his daughters what gifts he could attain to please them. Willa answered she wanted a mare, for she was very fond of horses and their stable only housed the old work-horse now destined to carry her father to his destination. Wynonna asked him to bring her some fancy liquor, so they could celebrate with something better than the biting wine he drowned himself in all day long. Waverly said she wanted nothing but for him to travel safely.
“Is it so?” Ward accused. “Do you have so little faith I’ll get my gold back that you decline my offer? Why can’t you answer a simple question without casting doubt upon me?”
The girl held back a sigh, and tried to quickly think of something to appease her father.
“Well, if you insist, Father, bring me a rose. Roses are my favorite flower as you know, yet they are very hard to grow on these rocky lands of ours.”
Ward groaned in his usual way, all while seeming satisfied with the answer. He put his long coat on, and left the homestead.
As Waverly went back to her room, she realized she had been an idiot not to ask for a new book. She had already read the few ones she possessed so many times that the ink had started to fade. Unlike her sisters, the girl was very fond of reading, and could spend endless plain days studying volumes of all kinds. Of course, she had a concealed preference for romance novels, but her intellect was equaled only by her charm. The young woman was oddly passionate about history records, chronicles and journals, and could even decipher ancient prose written in obscure languages. She had made a habit of researching for the sole purpose of growing her knowledge of the world. This peculiar hobby was not the best to make friends, and if not for her sister, Wynonna, the girl would have been terribly lonely. It didn’t seem to affect her too much though, and for now she was simply enjoying the prospect of a few days without her drunk and insufferable father.
The merchant went on his journey to the harbor, but when he finally arrived, he was distraught to discover that the merchandise would not be released to him. He fought tooth and nail for days, but the harbor-master and his men refused to turn over their findings. After a great deal of trouble, he departed the city just as poor as before; if not more so, after counting all the money he had spent on wine at the local tavern.
Intoxicated as he was on his way back, Ward found himself lost in a thick, dark forest. It started to rain, then snow fiercely. The weather seemed to worsen even more with every passing minute. The merchant was soon freezing cold on his old horse, far too inebriated to find his way back home through the woods. After going in wide circles for a few hours, he saw a light at some distance through a long row of trees.
“I need to follow the light,” he thought, “It might be my only chance to survive the night without freezing to death.”
He followed the weak light through the storm, falling from his horse several times until the annoyed animal threw him off for good, and disappeared into the night. The man rose up with great difficulty. He walked, or rather crawled in the snow, still following the light, until he reached an immense iron forged gate. As he passed through the heavy, squeaking gate, he could see a splendid garden and a path leading to a magnificent palace. Exhausted, freezing, and drenched to the bone as he was, he managed to close the distance to the mansion, hoping to find warmth and rest.
The front door wasn’t latched, all he had to do was push and it opened wide, and produced a long squeak. Despite the darkness of the entryway, he could discern a huge stairway straight ahead.
“Hello! Is there anybody here?” he called nervously.
No answer.
“I’m a merchant. I got lost in the forest. I’m only seeking shelter until the storm is over,” he added.
He dared a few steps, and noticed a stream of light as it filtered up from underneath a door to his right. He knocked, but still received no answer. He decided to enter anyway.
The room was warmed up by a few logs burning in the fireplace. A long table stood in the middle of it, with bread, fruits and wine on it. He ran to the hearth to dry his clothes and warm his limbs. Rubbing his hands together, he took a few minutes to contemplate his surroundings before calling out again. The place was sumptuous, royal even, decorated with gold and warm wood. Whatever kind of people lived here, they assuredly were wealthy enough to pay little mind to him having a bite to eat.
“Is there anyone here?”
After receiving no answer, Ward sat at the table, and promptly helped himself to a generous pour from the jug of wine. The beverage was sweeter that the sludge he was used to, surely the best wine he had ever tasted. After having downed a few cups, he served himself a large portion of the food spread out before him. Now with a full stomach and an empty wine jug in hand, Ward found his eyes growing heavy and his tiredness caught up to him. He fell asleep within minutes.
A nasty ray of morning sun that filtered through the heavy curtains woke the merchant from his sleep. He grunted, not at all pleased by the dryness of his mouth, and rose from the dining table. His limbs were numb, and his neck ached terribly. He put on the cloak he had taken off the night before, and lumbered back to the main entrance. Fresh air would do him some good, as it could help ease his hangover and the heaviness still in his limbs.
The storm was long gone, and the weather had shifted into a pretty nice day. He roamed for half an hour outside, trying to clear his blurry mind enough to think of a way to get back home safely. He recalled that his naughty horse had run away and left him without transport. The vast domain certainly had stables on-site. If only he could find them, he could borrow a horse to ride to Purgatory. He followed a stone walkway in hopes of finding the building. The place appeared less daunting in the daylight, but Ward found it odd that the land seemed to be deserted. The discomfort he felt walking the grounds stayed with him with every step. He hoped he could make his leave soon.
Luck was on the man’s side, for he found both stables and a good horse. As he was on his way back to the iron gates, he passed a glass house and saw the shades of a thousand roses inside of it. He recalled the presents he had promised to his three daughters, and the shame he would feel if he returned to them empty handed. He reckoned that the only gift he’d be able to make now was the flower Beauty had requested. So, after hastily dismounting the horse, he entered the glass house knife in hand and cut the stem of a rose.
As soon as the flower was detached from its expansive rosebush, he heard a great noise behind him. Upon turning around, he found himself face-to-face with a terrifying beast. Ward wanted to scream, but a sudden paralyzing fear made the sound remain stuck in his throat. The monster was gigantic, standing several feet taller than himself. It wore human clothes, but was covered in fur as deep red as blood. Its appearance was beyond anything the merchant could have been prepared for- a mouth filled with pointed fangs, hands ending in sharp claws, and two angry horns atop its head.
“How dare you!” the creature shouted in an awful, cavernous voice. “I saved your life by allowing you into my home, letting you feed yourself and drink my wine, even staying quiet while you took my best horse, and in return, you steal one of my roses, which I value beyond all else. You'll die for this offense.”
The merchant fell down on his knees and joined his hands.
“My lord,” said he, “I beg you to forgive me. I didn't intend to offend you. I have three daughters that I've raised since their mother abandoned them, and I promised the youngest one that I would bring her a rose when I come back from my journey. “
“My name is not my lord,“ replied the monster, “but Beast; I do not enjoy compliments, so do not imagine I am to be moved by your flattering speech. But, you say you have children, so I will not kill you right away. I will let you return to them, in order to say your last goodbyes. In three weeks you shall come back here to receive your sentence; unless one of your kin loves you enough to willingly take your unfortunate place.”
Ward, who was now crying, bowed low, and thanked the giant for the merciful delay.
“Enough!” the Beast declared. “Go on, ride the horse you stole from me, and go back to where you come from. I don’t want to see your face, or hear about you until your time has come.”
The merchant didn’t need to be told twice. He ran outside the glass house to where he had left the horse. He mounted the animal, and disappeared from the domain hastily.
When Ward arrived at the homestead on the horse the Beast loaned him, his daughters burst through the door and ran to him. All three of them wore expressions of stupefaction and questioning. When his old horse had returned home the prior night without its rider, they thought their father had fallen in a ditch and passed away, likely after suffocating in his own vomit. At least, that was the way Wynonna had depicted his demise. The girls encircled him, and started to ask how and why he was showing up so late and on someone else’s horse. Ward shushed them and stayed mute as he entered the house. He grabbed the nearest bottle of wine, sat down in his usual chair and took a long sip of the beverage before starting to recount his misadventure.
“They took everything from me- the merchandise from the ship. They sold all of it, took the profits, and gave the excuse it was needed to pay the taxes and the sailors for their time and pain. I know full well that it wasn’t for the men or the taxes, but for their own wealth! They were too afraid that Ward Earp would rule the market again, like he used to do!”
“Still doesn’t explain the horse,” said Wynonna.
“I got caught in a storm on my journey back. There was so much snow, I couldn’t see anything. I got lost in the woods, but then, I saw a light in the distance. I followed it, but there were wolves. They made my horse rear back and I fell in the snow.”
The girls rolled their eyes in unison, for they knew there were very few wolves left in this part of the country.
“I ran like a mad man in the direction of the light. I reached a huge gate, and I saw that a mansion seemed to be the source of the light I had followed. I entered this building. The place was warm and bright, but there was no one to be seen. I just wanted to warm myself and rest before resuming my journey, and so I did. I spend the night alone, didn’t see nor hear a living soul. In the morning, as I was ready to leave, I crossed the gardens and saw the roses. I thought I could bring the one I promised Waverly. That’s when it appeared. A… monster. The most terrifying creature you could imagine, but ten times worse. A giant ogre, all covered in fur, with atrocious fangs and claws. It was angry, furious at me, all for picking a flower.”
Waverly couldn’t believe her ears. For once her father had remembered she actually existed, and it was only to cast the blame of his unfortunate encounter on her.
“Maybe you should drop the bottle you’re handling, Ward,” intervened Wynonna, “because you’re obviously already drunk as shit.”
“Quiet, Wynonna. I am not, and I wasn’t then either. The Beast is real, the proof is the horse that brought me home. The monster is coming for all of us if I don’t ride back to its house in three weeks, in order to surrender myself to it.”
“Father, no. This can’t be true.” Willa interjected.
“Alas, it is, for those were the exact words of the Beast. If I, or one of my daughters, do not consent to give up their life, this whole family will perish, enduring great suffering, and the name Earp will vanish from the surface of Earth.”
He sighed loudly and added, “I’m only here on borrowed time.”
Silence fell on the family until the oldest daughter started to speak.
“It’s all your fault, Waverly, with your stupid request for a rose when the winter is still upon us,” Willa blamed her sister. ”Don’t you realize how much you endangered our father? The Beast could have devoured him! And now that he’s back, it’s only for the chance to say goodbye. You condemned him to death, you selfish little scamp!”
Wynonna murmured something that sounded a lot like “Good riddance.”
Waverly kept her head low. She knew deep inside that she wasn’t to blame. It was totally unfair. First of all, she had not asked her father to bring her a gift. She only brought the rose in conversation because he had berated her, and she wanted him to leave her in peace. Also, she was certain the rose wasn’t the whole story, surely Ward had done something else to infuriate the monster; no one lost their temper in that way for only a flower. Still she did not protest, for she knew all too well that it was useless to affront her sister or her father on such matters. She had no real power in this house anyway.
As her sisters were arguing about her responsibility in their father’s misfortune, Waverly’s imagination began to wander. If they thought she was the cause of all the merchant’s troubles, she would show them she could untangle the whole situation on her father’s behalf. She was smart and brave, as brave as the heroes in her books. She could do this.
Before reason could stop her, she blurted out:
“I’ll go with you, Father. I will surrender myself to the Beast, so they’ll let you and my sisters live.”
The whole family remained speechless for a moment, until Wynonna finally spoke.
“Are you mad, baby girl? Did you hit your head or something?” She slapped her little sister’s arm upper arm ”Because, as long as I’m alive, there is no way I’ll let you do something so foolish. Your cute little ass stays right where it is, understood?”
Waverly crossed her arms and turned her head to avoid her sister’s gaze. Ward remained quiet, lost in his thoughts, then he cleared his throat and declared:
“We still have three weeks ahead of us to think of something. I’m sure we will figure out a plan to keep everyone in this family safe. Tonight though, I don’t want anyone in this house to discuss this matter further.”