Chapter Text
Rain pattered on the windows of the castle on the hill. The cold wind whistled through the dark trees and the sky cracked with lightning. The knock of a small wrinkled hand echoed in the entrance hall, prompting a dark haired man to open the door.
“Good evening my lord, might I request some shelter from this terrible rain?” The small silhouette on the steps of the castle asked. Lukas narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm, what’s in it for me?”
The old woman looked at the man leaning against the doorframe. Her raspy voice replied,
“I picked a rose that was on my path here, I hope my lord will accept it in return for his hospitality.” She smiled, her crooked teeth showing proudly.
“Mmmm… yeah, no.” The man said before shutting the door. He turned and began walking back down the hall before a knock on the door interrupted him. Once more he opened the door with a scowl.
“Go away.”
“I don't think you should turn me away, my lord.”
“Well I do. I don’t like you.” he began to close the door once more, but the figure stopped it with her foot.
“Why, my lord, appearances can be deceiving.”
“You appear to be a person I don’t want in my castle, old hag.” With that, Lukas shut the door one last time. Or, he tried to. Before it shut completely, a beam of light shot into the doorway, blinding him. Where there was a wrinkled old woman before, a fair young woman stood in a green cloak. She stared at him with cold green eyes.
“You truly have no love in your heart. How disappointing.” She looked the shocked figure before her in the eye. “Prince Lukas of Ardhalis, as your punishment for your cruelty I shall make your outside as ugly as your soul.” Lukas reeled in shock as his body morphed into a grotesque animalistic figure.
“If you do not learn to love, and earn the love of another, before your twenty-first birthday, you will remain a beast for the rest of your days.” She finished, turning to walk back down the palace steps.
“WAIT-” Lukas screamed, but she had vanished. He was alone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lila was reading a book. It was a most wonderful book. It was a book with a beanstalk and an ogre and- oh it’s the end of the story. She put it in her basket with a sigh. Why couldn’t good stories last forever? Lila got up and grabbed her basket, ready to get on with her day. Might as well head to the bookstore to grab another. She walked out the door and was greeted by the fresh smell of morning air. As she walked along the path she lifted her chin and let the sun hit her face. Flowers bloomed along her walkway; daffodils, freesia, red hyacinths, and zinnias all lined the path to the small stone bridge that led to the village square. The rock clacked under her feet as the houses became more dense, and the center of the village was lined with market stalls. The town was small, but bustling with people.
“Good morning Lila!” The baker greeted from inside his shop, waving his hand.
“Good morning!” She replied cheerily. The smell of the bread on the windowsill made her mouth water, but she was on a mission. Lila strolled into the bookstore, letting the old book smell hit her with satisfaction. The owner looked up from his work and greeted her with a smile and a scratch of his mustache. Lila then began searching the shelves for a book.
“Ah!” she spun around. “I need to return this book.”
“Thank you dear,” the old man replied, taking it from her hand and placing it on his desk, “Have you picked out another one already?”
“Yes! I would like to borrow this one again.” she exclaimed, taking a book with a blue cover off the shelf. The man looked at her with a smile.
“Why, you’ve checked that one out twice already! You must really like that book.”
“It’s my favorite one, Monsieur.” Lila said with a grin. The man only grinned back at her.
“If you like it that much then you can have it.” He stated.
“Oh, thank you sir!” She exclaimed, tucking it into her basket. “Have a wonderful day!” Lila walked out of the bookstore with her nose buried in her new book, unaware of her surroundings. Her walk back home was soon interrupted by a rather large figure standing in her path.
“Morning Lila,” The man with a freakishly strong chin greeted her with a very smug look. “How’s it been, living all by yourself in that little cottage of yours? Must be verrryyy lonely.” He ended.
“Oh! But I’m not alone Gaston, I have my cat!” Lila corrected. Gaston frowned. He did not like cats. He was allergic.
“That’s great and all but aren't there better things in life than cats and those silly books of yours?” He grabbed her book and flipped through it with disgust. He then tossed it behind him. “You ought to set your sights on the.. Finer things in life” He flexed his muscles like he was a model in a . Lila was very uncomfortable. And a little angry about the book.
“Um, well, I have to go, uh, feed my cat. Didn't feed him this morning. I’ll see you around.” She lied, darted around him, grabbed the book off the ground, and scurried away. The walk home was significantly less enjoyable after her encounter with Gaston but she kept her mood up with thoughts of her book. It was hers. Her most favorite story, and it was hers. She walked up the steps to the front porch and set her basket on the cabinet inside the house. A meow interrupted her thoughts and Lila looked down to see her cat, Butcher, rubbing on her legs. His crooked whiskers and short brown fur paired well with his folded ears, giving the impression of a very angry looking old cat. Which was fitting, because that’s exactly what he was. She stopped to pet him for some time before cooking herself an omelet (and a tiny one for Butcher) which they both devoured quite quickly. She spent most of the day reading and rereading her new book while butcher slept on her lap. She then got up from her place on the couch and went back outside. Lila wandered out to the field beside her house and rested in the grass. There she sat and made a crown out of the flowers and grass around her for quite some time before getting up and walking back to the house. When she got closer to the house she stopped. She had left the door open. Oh no. Lila ran inside and checked every corner and favorite hiding spot of Butcher’s while shaking his food and calling him before walking around outside and doing the same thing. Her only companion was gone. She sat on the front steps, tears rolling down her face before wiping them away and standing up suddenly. She would have to check the woods.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Butcher had just finished his nap on his human when she walked to the door and went outside, leaving the door slightly cracked. He looked through the gap and saw a blue butterfly atop one of the yellow pansies Lila had planted earlier that week. Butcher wanted to catch it. He stuck his face in the space and the door creaked open enough for him to slip through. The creaking scared the butterfly, prompting it to fly away from the cottage and toward the woods opposite the field. Butcher, of course, ran after it. He wanted to repay his human for the delicious omelet she had made him. Butch loved his human. The grass melted to trees as he flew into the woods in hot pursuit of the butterfly. It fluttered about high above his head but that didn’t stop him from leaping at it every once in a while. It was starting to get dark out. Butcher didn’t care of course, and kept following the butterfly deeper and deeper into the woods until it landed on a bush not far from where he was standing. The bush shook suddenly, causing Butcher's fur to stand on its end and once again scaring the butterfly away. But the butterfly didn't seem as important when there was a wolf staring him directly in the eyes. Butcher started running. He ran to the nearest tree and climbed it as quickly as possible, the wolf’s breath on his tail as it gave chase. Confused, scared and a bit lost, Butcher started to yowl from his place in the tree. Hoping someone, anyone, would come to save him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lukas turned in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened and he lay there for a little while, trying to rest but not able to. A faint sound was keeping him awake and it annoyed him to no end. Scowling, he got up and got a cloak before venturing out into the cold night. When he arrived at the source of the sound he stopped. There was a cat in a tree, cornered by a wolf that hadn’t noticed him yet. If he backed away now the wolf probably wouldn’t know. But the cat looked so scared and cold from the icy wind that, against his better judgment, he snuck up behind the wolf. Lukas crouched behind it and then swiped his claws down its back. The wolf, completely unprepared for anything (other than grabbing the cat if it happened to fall), yelped, and ran away in a state of confusion. Lukas walked up to the tree and scooped it off the branch, shivering and cold. Then the trek back to the castle began. The cat leaped out of his arms the moment they got inside and immediately walked to Lukas’s favorite chair and curled up in it.
“Hey, get off-” He started to shoo the cat off the chair but stopped when he realized how swollen and scratched the cat’s pads were. He sighed and sent for some ointment. The cat had other plans. It got up and padded away just when Lukas was about to apply the medicine. Lukas followed after it into the kitchen. The cat sat on the floor, expectantly. The fuck does it want me to do? Cook for it? As it turns out, the cat was indeed hungry. Lukas fed it some leftover dinner from that evening’s meal before it finally let him put the medicine on its paws. It curled up in his lap, and they sat there on the kitchen floor.