Rose and Bane: (A Dark Paranormal Beauty and the Beast Retelling)

by Brea Viragh

  I felt confident of that love no matter what else might come our way.

  Or so I thought until a resounding boom echoed through the castle—the sound of a fist pounding on the front door.

  Chapter 20

  “Don’t get up,” Merek urged through kisses, his voice husky. “Let someone else handle it. That’s why they’re here. Stay with me.” He pushed aside my sweat-dampened curls, attempting to keep me at his side, and kissed me again. Hungrily.

  Oh, how I’d missed this.

  But a storm had begun to brew inside of me yet again, echoing the swirling snow outside, and I had a sudden bad feeling about who might be on the other end of that knock. Emotions shook me to my core and drew me away from him. It was something I could not shake no matter how badly I wanted to ignore it.

  I reluctantly broke the kiss. “I’m sorry, my sweet. It’s urgent.” I pecked the tip of his nose in apology. “I have to go. Something is wrong, I can feel it.”

  His brow furrowed. “Whatever it is, we will face it together.”

  I’d been forgiven, I realized gratefully, no matter what I’d done to us. No matter the obstacles we’d both had to overcome to get to this moment, we loved each other.

  No matter what.

  But the foreboding grew more intense, the tightness in my chest a warning that all was not well. Yet somehow I felt it concerned me, not him, and there was no reason to embroil him despite his declaration of facing anything together. This, I felt in my bones, was something I had to face by myself.

  I placed another kiss on the tip of his nose, then rose quickly. The pounding on the door had not ceased, and I wondered why none of the servants had responded. “I’ll go see who it is. No need for both of us to go.”

  “But—”

  “Merek,” I said gently, “trust me.”

  I hurried downstairs, drawing my arms around my chest to fight off a sudden chill. Gustaf appeared to be about to answer the summons at the door, but I held up a hand to stop him. Despite his rather disapproving glare, I reached out for the old metal handles and pulled. The double doors opened with a creak.

  The shock of seeing my mother’s face on the other side was enough to have me holding on to the doors for support.

  She wore a long wool coat with brown tweed patches covering the bare spots, a red-and-gold shawl draped over her gray hair. Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and mine popped at seeing her.

  “Reila!” she burst out. Looking nearly as shocked as I felt.

  Although I’d acknowledged that strange earlier apprehension I’d felt and my insistence that this was something which concerned me personally, still I’d never expected Patricia to be at the door. I’d never expected her to have made the trek through the snow to a place she’d sworn she would never go. I glanced over her ashen features, saw the way her hands trembled, and my heart began to twist painfully. She’d gotten too pale, her skin thin and wrinkles sagging her brow, dragging her jowls.

  “What are you doing here?” I shifted under Patricia’s scrutiny, taking in the long shawl over her head, and the threadbare coat wrapped around her bony shoulders, the gloves covering her shaking hands. “How did you make the journey? And why? Has something happened? It’s Thomas, isn’t it?” My throat closed suddenly and I nearly choked at the thought.

  She glanced left and right as though to make sure she hadn’t been followed before saying in a hush, “I came for you. I couldn’t take it anymore. I miss you. Your brother misses you. You need to come home, Reila. This place isn’t for you.”

  As if the snow wasn’t enough to fill me with a chill, her words did a damn good job and I shivered, the moment surreal.

  “Momma, were you ever planning on telling me about my past? About my true relationship with the Crown Prince? Or did you want me to forget?” I held my arms out, keeping one hand on each of the double doors, effectively barring her entry until I could understand. Understand what, exactly, I didn’t yet know, but the curious sense of foreboding crept higher along with the icy chill slithering up my spine.

  Patricia simply stared at me. Ignored my questions. “Reila, come now. It’s freezing out here. Let me come inside where we can talk.” And there it was, her stern “mother voice.” Letting me know she wasn’t about to answer my questions but rather speak her own piece.

  I sucked in a breath. “I think you need to go back to the village at once.” I refused to look away from Patricia—refused to let my mother look away from me. “It isn’t a good time for you to be here. Did you leave Thomas alone? He must be frantic with worry by now.”

  “I’m not leaving without you,” she said. “I want you to come home with me now. Allow me to come inside first to warm these old bones and then we’ll be off. Rudy can handle the weight of both of us. But we must leave soon otherwise the sun will set and we may lose our way in the woods.”

  “You rode Rudy here?” At least he’d made it home safely, although I wondered how he’d been able to make the trek again through those same woods. They must have been extremely lucky not to have encountered any dangerous creatures. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you understand. I’m not leaving here.” But she made a good point about the cold, and looking closer I could see a distinct blue hue to her skin. She was freezing and in danger of suffering from hypothermia.

  Was I such a terrible daughter? She was my mother, after all.

  I stepped away from the doors, allowing her entry. “Come on inside, Momma, and let’s get you something hot to warm those bones. You’re right, I apologize for seeming rude. But who is watching Thomas?”

  Red flags of alarm rose around me as she stepped past me in silence, and my nervousness grew with the seconds ticking by. I quickly closed the doors against the cold.

  Patricia shuffled into the echoing foyer and, taking it in as though for the first time, her mouth dropped open. “Oh. My.”

  The realization hit me with a start. For her it was the first time. Though I’d been planning to announce my engagement to the prince at that ball, I’d never invited my mother to the castle. She’d never stepped foot here, no matter how many elegant parties I’d thrown.

  Truth was I’d been…embarrassed. Embarrassed at how she’d allowed the bank to take everything from us, spending what was left of her coin keeping us at the tavern in Bellmare instead of investing it wisely. We’d been forced to move to the dilapidated cottage instead of building a future after Father died. Living in penury. Barely scraping by. I’d resented her for that. Did not want her to be part of my new life in the castle.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts. That felt like an entire life that now belonged to someone else. Not me, certainly not me who’d chosen to treat her mother so callously. That was the old me. And I was not proud of it.

  I guided Patricia into the front parlor, where I was grateful that Gustaf had laid a fire. Fighting off a terrible sensation of regret, I took her in my arms, my gaze over her shoulder and focused on the hearth. “I’m sorry you felt you had to come looking for me. Did you not get any of my letters? I wrote to you and kept you abreast of the situation,” I said against her neck, breathing in the familiar scents of paint thinner and, yes, cigar smoke.

  Though I noted she still hadn’t answered my question about Thomas.

  “You’ve been gone for so long. Letters or no letters, I worried about you. I worry—” She broke off, shaking her head, and I tugged off her coat and coaxed her to sit in the wingback chair closest to the fire. At least in this small, comfortable space, the hearth provided ample heat.

  I watched her settle, her hands outstretched to the fire, shaking. Trembling, more like.

  “Your arthritis is bad?” I asked unnecessarily.

  Patricia seemed to sink in on herself, wrapping her arms around her knees on a silent sob, her head dropping. “It’s been terrible without you, Reila. I know you believe you were the one keeping our family to the outskirts of the town but it simply wasn’t true. The moment you left, the people…they didn’t bot
her to pretend anymore. They didn’t bother playing nice with either one of us. Thomas has been bullied more and more, and none of my paintings have sold at the market. We were ostracized.”

  I listened to her uneven breaths for a moment longer before sliding down onto the floor beside her, laying my hand against her leg. I could feel how her body quaked, not just from the cold, and I knew there was more she wasn’t saying. “Whatever is going on, you can tell me. I’m here for you.”

  “The villagers don’t trust you. They know about your powers.” Patricia sniffled, using the back of her sleeve to wipe her eyes. “They know you’re a witch. They have always known, and it was only their fear of you that kept us in relative peace.”

  The knot of tension in my stomach refused to loosen. I’d been so focused these last few months on breaking the curse, not giving much thought to the state of things at home, trusting that if there were any problems a message would reach me immediately. Not the case, apparently.

  “Honey, I’m so sorry.” Patricia raised her head, tears dripping down her cheeks. “Gray came back to the house to see you several weeks ago. At first I told him nothing. But he kept returning and things were growing worse and…he bartered for information and I could not say no to him. Not when it meant putting food on the table for Thomas.” She sucked in a breath on a wrenching sob. “He knows where you are.”

  My bones turned to ice. “He knows what, exactly?”

  Patricia lunged to grab my hands. “Please understand. There was no money for food. With winter coming, it was all I could do to keep wood on the fire. Gray came with food but wouldn’t let us have it until I told him where you are. The moment I did, he—”

  She shivered against an angry gust of wind creeping through the cracks near the window. Her fingers twitched as they clutched mine. “I don’t know why, after I’d already told him where you’d gone, but…he grew irate. He pushed the door open, shoved me out of the way. Thomas came to my defense but he’s only a boy—” She almost broke down with the retelling. “Then Gray grabbed him.”

  Red clouded my vision. “Did he hurt Thomas? He’s just a little boy!”

  “You don’t understand. Gray took Thomas.” Patricia sobbed. Her head dropped down and when she tried to speak again, her voice was muffled. Wet-sounding. “He took my baby away, saying something about your memories. How without your memories you were easily controlled. But if you stood even the smallest chance of getting them back, if you somehow managed to help the prince resume his human form and thus take his rightful place as ruler—”

  Patricia broke off abruptly at the sound of footsteps. I turned to see Merek in the doorway, taking in the scene. Gustaf trailed behind him with a tray of steaming tea, setting it on the worn ottoman in front of Patricia before scurrying out of the room.

  Merek crossed to stand in front of the fire, one arm on the mantel, his gaze fixed to the flames, his expression vacant. Concealing his concern from the rest of the world behind a mask of indifference. But I saw the way his muscles tensed, his fists clenching and his jaw working.

  “Gray Matthews works with the town council, the ones who have been overseeing the ruling of Bellmare during my…absence.” Merek paused on the last word and I couldn’t help a tiny flare of guilt. “The last I heard he was a rising star.”

  “Risen,” I corrected. “He holds the highest position possible within the council. The people listen to him. His family is the wealthiest in Bellmare.”

  He nodded. “They will not want to take a chance of having their power and authority disrupted. Not to mention whatever havoc you might create if you happen to regain your magic and decide to turn it against them. No, he will not take a chance on letting you outside the iron fist of his control.”

  He spoke to me, for my benefit, filling in the blanks at last. I’d never told Merek how Gray had approached me with the proposition of marriage. Or how I’d rejected him.

  “He has my brother,” I said.

  Patricia’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two of us. “Oh, my God… Reila, you…y-you did it,” she whispered in awe. “You found a way to break the spell. The prince is human again.”

  “The prince is standing here listening to you with two working ears.” Merek whirled and locked his gaze on Patricia, his eyes intense. “And yes, she did break the spell. As she promised.”

  Without hesitation I rushed to him and reached out for the comfort of his arms. My heartbeat raced as I watched my mother’s face from the safety of Merek’s embrace.

  Worry etched the lines on her forehead even deeper, and pain from her arthritis had her trembling like a leaf in a gale. “Oh, this is terrible, terrible,” she moaned.

  “What? Why? Why is it terrible, Momma? He’s human again.” I squeezed Merek to show both of them just how much I cared.

  “No, you don’t understand,” she insisted. “Prince Merek is next in line for the throne, but he hasn’t accepted the crown yet. Their greatest fear is that you’ll find a way to reverse the spell and restore him to his rightful place.”

  I looked at her incredulously. Why was that a bad thing? Then I felt Merek stiffen in my arms.

  “Yes,” he said softly. “As long as I was the Beast, I would never have accepted the crown, preferring to stay hidden away from public view. The council feels their power and authority threatened. I daresay there are some who would love nothing better than to take the throne away from me, by force if necessary.”

  “That can’t be true,” I said to him, though it was beginning to make a lot of sense. “Besides, they don’t yet know that the curse has been broken.” I turned back to my mother. “There’s more, isn’t there? You didn’t come here to tell me about Thomas. At least, that wasn’t the only reason. What else brought you to the castle, Momma? Tell us.”

  My urge to shake her nearly overwhelmed me, as did my desire to retreat into the routine Merek and I had developed over the last few months, just the two of us. The moment the curse broke it seemed the outside world could not wait to sink its teeth into us again.

  “I came to warn you. Gray has rallied the villagers and they are on their way now,” Patricia stated sadly. “They will be here shortly. But not for the Beast.” She looked directly into my eyes, and I saw real fear there. “For you, Reila.”

  I clutched my beloved as if clinging to a spar after a shipwreck. Buffeted by waves of trepidation.

  They are coming to take me from Merek.

  Chapter 21

  My mind screamed at me to do something, to retaliate, to use whatever magic power I had to hunt down these men and not just stop them but make them pay for what they planned to do. The anger hovered over me, waiting to descend and take hold. To work the same kind of magic I had the night I’d transformed Merek.

  “Well,” I said to Patricia, my nerves jangled, “that explains why you wanted so badly for me to leave with you.”

  Merek gathered me closer still.

  “We don’t have a lot of time, Reila,” she pleaded. “If we leave now, we can make our escape before they arrive. Rudy is still outside.”

  Panic ached beneath my sternum at the thought of losing everything Merek and I had begun to build. The dream we’d lived in until now. “I’m not leaving—”

  Merek cut me off. “She’s right. You need to go.”

  I turned to him with wide eyes, shocked at his words. His heart beat erratically against my own. “You can’t mean that. You don’t know what you’re saying!”

  “I absolutely do.” He bent his head down to meet my eyes. There were no more words for the longest time. Only the sound of my heart thundering in my ears.

  “They’re going to stop at nothing to keep things the way they are, and that includes getting rid of you,” he finally said. “You pose a huge threat to their way of life. I’m honestly surprised they’ve allowed you as much freedom as they have in the past.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” I clutched him fiercely, knowing if I released my hold on him I would drop t
o the floor, my knees gone. “I’m not leaving you!”

  Not when we’ve finally found each other again. Not when I know everything now.

  He shook his head. “I insist. You will take the service road, away from the castle. There will be fewer eyes to see you there. Go, now, and when the men arrive, they will find themselves deprived of their prey. I will keep an eye out for Thomas on the off-chance Gray decided to bring the boy along for leverage.”

  “No! There has to be another way,” I argued. “I’ll stay and fight. I’ll draw my magic to me and—”

  “And,” Merek supplied, “we will figure it out when there’s time to do so. Right now, it seems we’ve run out of it.” He tilted his head as though hearing something too far away for me to make out. “I’ll find you again, I promise,” he assured me, “as soon as the threat is taken care of. Right now, you and your mother need to leave.”

  “But they have Thomas!” I cried, grasping at reasons for me to stay.

  “All the more reason you must go. Go save your brother. Save your brother and I’ll make sure you have a home to return to. All of you. Don’t think this is an easy decision for me but at the moment our backs are to the wall.”

  Merek helped Patricia to stand, then grabbed my hands. “You’ll remember the way back to me,” he said, bending down to capture my lips in a quick, sweet kiss that nevertheless was rich with promise. “We’ve wasted enough time. Go. Your brother needs you.”

  I didn’t have any energy left to argue with Merek, not when my fear for Thomas hurt my chest and urged my feet to move.

  I grabbed Patricia and tugged her to my side, trying not to focus on her quivering or the way she kept her gaze on the floor rather than on the prince. I myself couldn’t look at Merek as I strode past him but for vastly different reasons. We walked toward the door. Back toward the life I’d known after I cursed myself to forget everything I’d already lived.

  The two of us hurried out into the biting cold and I had to remind myself to slow down for her. She couldn’t walk as well as she used to, the arthritis stiffening her joints and making it especially hard for her to maneuver in the snow. Nothing but sheer panic could have brought her out in this weather all the way to the castle. Panic for the safety of her children.