There was a startled intake of breath, and then Bellenya shoved Karyna away and retreated. Karyna stumbled forward and would have fallen, but Ritter moved swiftly to catch her. He helped her regain her balance, and she rested a hand on the corner of the table, catching her breath. Her eyes flicked to the vase in the center of the table then toward Ritter, her gaze confused and troubled.
“Are you all right?” Ritter asked.
Karyna nodded and turned toward the princess. “Bellenya!”
“What do you want with me?” Bellenya’s voice rasped as she recoiled into the shadows beyond the glow of the rose. The ruined train of her gown snaked in her wake.
“We’ve come to bring you home,” Karyna said, holding her hands out as if to embrace the princess. “You’re safe now. Come with us before the enchantress returns.”
“Karyna,” Ritter spoke softly; his voice held a note of warning. “I don’t think there is an enchantress.”
Her brow furrowing, she cast him a sideways glance. “What do you mean?”
His head had stopped throbbing, but the ache was still there. He saw the denial in Karyna’s eyes, denial he wished he could embrace, because the truth was too painful to bear. He spoke the words though he feared they would sear his tongue. “Bellenya cast the curse.”
“That’s not possible,” Karyna argued, but her protest was weak. “It can’t be.”
“Bellenya,” Ritter said, feeling as though his throat might close around the words. “Why?”
The shadow beyond the rose leaped forward, and the pink glow illuminated a haggard face, a weird mask of the beauty Bellenya had once been. “Why?” she snarled. “You ask me why? In all this time, has he admitted how he wronged me? He never came to find me! No one came, no one cared. Has he come to beg forgiveness? Well, he will never have it!”
“What are you talking about?” Ritter demanded. “What happened to you, Bellenya?”
“He rejected me!”
The words exploded from the broken princess’s throat like thunder roaring across the sky. Her face crumpled in pain, and her wrath spread out from her like a terrible tempest. The air in the chamber grew chill, and a wind howled around the room, catching Karyna and pushing her off balance. When she caught herself on the table, the impact knocked over the vase, which fell to the floor and shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.
The rose that had hovered above the vase also fell to the floor and lay amid shards of glass.
Bellenya let out an anguished wail and threw herself upon the rose, her hands scrabbling for it, lifting it tenderly and cradling it to her bosom. Karyna and Ritter backed away, uncomprehending.
Then the shadow of the princess stood, and darkness shimmered around her. Ritter watched, helpless, as her aspect wavered and changed. She seemed to grow taller, looming over them. Her skin became even paler, and her fingers warped into long, wicked claws. Shadows like wings sprouted from her shoulders, and her eyes grew wild and fierce. She was still Bellenya, but she was no longer the princess. Now she was every inch an enchantress.
Holding the rose in one clawed hand, she cast a murderous look at Karyna. “You!” she hissed. “You will pay.”
Bellenya raised a hand and motioned ferociously. The shards of glass whirled in a sudden tornado and spun toward Karyna. Ritter was helpless to stop it. He heard himself shouting at Bellenya as he tried to reach Karyna in time, but before he could take a second breath, a huge shape crashed through the window and landed in front of Karyna, shielding her from the glass.
“Barend, no!” Karyna shouted, and Ritter stared in wonder at the beast who was his brother.
The glass shards did not appear to penetrate the beast’s thick fur, and Bellenya hissed in fury. Barend reared up as Bellenya leaped forward and struck him with a raking sweep of her clawed hand, knocking him out of the way with surprising strength. She lunged toward Karyna, who scrambled back, tripped on her long skirt, and fell to the floor. Ritter moved to defend her, but Barend was quicker, leaping to interpose his body between the enchantress and Karyna yet again.
The large room seemed quite small as the two foes clashed together, their growls and screams resounding off the walls as they battered against one another again and again. Bellenya hissed, and orange fire blossomed in her hands. With a snarl she hurled the fire at Barend. It washed over him, and he gave a howl of agony. The air filled with the acrid stink of sulphur.
Ritter coughed and choked as smoke filled the room. Once more he tried in vain to reach Karyna. Part of him desperately wanted to stand and fight alongside his brother, but he knew in his heart that he could do little good against such a foe in open combat.
Bellenya attacked again, hurling Barend across the room. He landed on the table, and it collapsed into kindling beneath him. Seeing an opening, Ritter darted to Karyna and pulled her toward the window as Barend picked himself up off the floor and charged at Bellenya with an inhuman roar.
“When our path is clear, make for the stair and run!” Ritter whispered in Karyna’s ear.
She nodded, her face pale, her eyes wide and terrified. Together they awaited their chance.
Though Barend was strong and fierce, much larger than the enchantress, Bellenya was clearly more powerful than he. Their whirling, furious dance of death filled the room. Another burst of magic knocked Barend to the ground; and then Bellenya turned on Karyna, blood dripping from the hand clenched around the stem of her rose. She raised her hand to strike, but Barend was there once more. His jaws clamped down around Bellenya’s arm, yanking her to one side.
“Now!” Ritter shouted, and he and Karyna darted across the room, through the door, and down the steps.
The sounds of battle continued behind them as they emerged into the wide hall below. Karyna continued running until she reached one of the doorways to an open sitting room, but there she paused and looked back, trying not to gasp for breath. Ritter had stopped, drawn his sword, and stepped to one side of the stair, where he now stood listening. There was a crashing above, and then the sounds of pursuit came pounding down the steps. Barend burst out into the hall, his claws slipping and skittering on the marble floor. He came to a stop before Karyna and stood staring at her, his sides heaving, then dropped to his belly and laid his heavy head at her feet.
Karyna had time only to murmur, “Oh Barend!” and fall to her knees beside him before Bellenya came hurtling down the final steps, her eyes wild and her entire focus on Barend. But Ritter swung the flat of his sword at Bellenya’s legs, tripping her. She sprawled to the ground with a shriek of rage; and before she could rise, Ritter pressed one knee into the middle of her back and pinned her wrists to the floor with his hands.
“Bellenya, stop!” he shouted. His arm ached where it had been wounded, but he ignored the pain. “This isn’t you! It’s the curse!”
Bellenya snarled and writhed, trying to free herself. “Let me go!” she screamed.
“Stop this!” he shouted again. “Look what the curse is doing to you! Look what it’s turned you into! That’s Barend and Karyna you’re trying to kill, do you hear me? That’s Barend!”
Bellenya froze, and the fury and hatred drained out of her face. The shadows around her flowed away, shimmered across the floor, and vanished; the enchantress was gone. She quieted, and Ritter slowly backed off, allowing her to rise. She rolled over and sat up, obviously confused, and her gaze met Ritter’s.
“What? Ritter?” she whispered. Her gaze fell on Barend, and her face paled. “Oh!” She gave a tiny sob. “W—what have I done?” She cradled the rose to her breast, staring down at its petals, her eyes glassy.
Ritter wearily stood up. He looked at Karyna, who nodded to let him know that both she and Barend were all right. Then he reached down, took Bellenya by one elbow, and lifted her to her feet.
“Bellenya.” His stern voice cut through her daze, and she looked up at him. “Can you break the curse?”
She shook her head and raised an arm as if to ward off a blow. “I don�
�t know! I don’t know,” she moaned. “What have I done? I didn’t mean to . . .”
“Can you tell me what happened that night? The night of the ball?” Ritter asked, his tone relentless.
Bellenya turned her face away, shame spreading across her features. “I thought Barend was going to propose. I had dropped hints all evening. We went for a walk, and he picked me a rose, said it was a birthday gift.” She paused and took a shuddering breath. “Then . . . he told me I was like a sister to him, that he loved me but could not care for me in that way. He rejected me.” Her eyes brimmed over with pain. “I couldn’t bear it. I was angry, embarrassed, and hurt. I felt the magic take shape. It spilled out of me. I couldn’t control it. I was terrified, so I fled. Darkness closed over me, and when I could see again, I was here.”
“Why didn’t you come home?” Ritter asked.
“How could I go back to that humiliation? How could I face the gossip, the jeering? I knew they would all be laughing at me behind my back. I couldn’t face it. When no one came looking for me, I knew the truth: Nobody cared at all.” She stared at Barend, her eyes wide. “I never imagined . . .”
“It’s worse than that,” Ritter added. “Nobody came looking for you because everyone who was in the Throne Room that night, including your parents, was turned to stone. They’ve been trapped there as stone statues for the past two years.”
Bellenya stared, shocked into silence.
“Can you free them?” Ritter demanded.
Bellenya hid her face in her hands, clasping the rose to her cheek, oblivious to the sharp thorns embedding themselves ever deeper into her skin. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t know how to undo it!” she wailed.
“Is that the rose Barend gave you?” Ritter asked, his voice thoughtful.
Bellenya gave a tiny sob. “Yes.”
“How has it stayed alive all this time?”
“Magic,” Bellenya whispered. “I couldn’t let it go. It was all I had left of him.”
“I think it’s time to give it up now, sweet lady,” Ritter said quietly, placing his hand over hers. “It’s time to forgive my brother and move on.”
A shudder passed through the princess’s body. “How?” she cried, her voice despairing.
“You’ve been holding so tightly to your humiliation, your bitterness. That is what has been feeding the curse and keeping the rose alive. Let go of it! It’s destroying you. Come home to the people who love you. This,” he gestured at her, “this is not you.”
Bellenya’s whole body convulsed again. Then, closing her eyes, she opened her hands and let the rose fall to the floor.
The air around them turned golden, blinding and brilliant, almost too brilliant to bear. Ritter closed his eyes and flung up his hands in a vain attempt to block the light. But when the light cleared and he dared to look again, he found himself standing beside the rosebush in the Queen’s Garden outside Thorndale Castle, along with Bellenya, Karyna, and the beast.
The bush was in full bloom, every rose a brilliant, living scarlet.
Ritter looked down and saw the rose that Bellenya had dropped. He bent down and picked it up, staring in wonder. It had turned to stone.
Chapter 10
BEFORE THEIR EYES the form of the beast blurred and dissipated like fog when the sun kisses it. There stood Barend, dressed in his best raiment as he had been on the night of Bellenya’s ball, with no sign of the wounds he had sustained while in beast form. He blinked at them, his expression confused. He took a step toward Karyna and then stopped, staring down at his hands and plucking at his own waistcoat, an expression of wonder on his face. Barend looked up at Karyna, his eyes wide.
“Dear one.” He took her hand and held it to his heart, full of emotions he could not express. He had so much to say to her, though just in that moment he could find no words.
“Barend,” Karyna breathed, her face alight with joy.
He turned to his brother next. “Ritter!” The two men embraced, their voices inarticulate with exclamations and laughter.
Barend stepped back, holding Ritter at arm’s length. “You’ve grown up,” he accused.
“Tried not to.” Ritter grinned, a twinkle in his eye.
Barend’s eyes found Bellenya at last, and the laughter died on his lips. She had turned away, fingering a leaf on the rosebush. Her shoulders were hunched as if she were trying to turn herself invisible. Barend approached her cautiously.
“I am sorry,” he said in a low tone. “I’m so sorry that I could not be what you wanted me to be.”
Bellenya kept her eyes fixed on the ground. “I’m the one who’s sorry,” she whispered. “You offered me friendship, and I paid you back for it with misery. I’m . . . I cannot begin to . . .”
“I forgive you,” Barend said simply.
A tear trickled down Bellenya’s face. “I don’t blame you for not loving me. No one could ever love such a beast as I am.” Her eyes filled with anguish as she turned to Karyna. “Karyna, dear friend, can you ever forgive me? I wish I could say I didn’t know what I was doing, but . . . I would be lying. A part of me did know.”
“Of course I forgive you.” Karyna stepped forward and put her arms around Bellenya. Bellenya stiffened for a moment at the embrace, and then she put her face into Karyna’s shoulder and sobbed. Karyna patted her back gently.
“There was another reason I could not love you as you wished,” Barend said quietly.
Bellenya lifted her head, her face twisted with pain. “Why is that?”
“Because I knew of one who already loved you better than I ever could.”
Bellenya startled, pulling back from Karyna, and wiped away tears with one hand. “What? Who?”
Barend hesitated.
“Me. I do.” Ritter stepped forward, looking awkward. “I’ve loved you since we were children. I never said anything because it was obvious your heart was set on Barend, and I didn’t know how he felt. I know our parents all hoped for a match between the two of you, and I didn’t want to get in the way. But I loved you anyway.”
Bellenya swayed wearily. “I . . . I see. Oh, I’ve been such a fool!” A whimper escaped her lips and she wilted, sinking to the ground, her body shaking with sobs of remorse.
Ritter knelt next to her, his arms wrapping around her. He smoothed her hair with a gentle hand and whispered, “I will always love you.”
Bellenya quieted; she continued to weep, but her sobs of heartache were transformed into silent tears of unmerited joy. Barend took Karyna’s hand and led her away, leaving Ritter and Bellenya in peace.
On the far side of the garden, the doors leading into the Throne Room opened and people began to emerge, stumbling as they blinked in the sudden light and wearing extremely confused expressions. Happiness filled Karyna’s heart, a sweet ache she could hardly bear.
“Papa!” she whispered. “Oh Papa!”
She pulled her hand from Barend’s and raced across the garden into the throng of people. She ducked between lords and ladies, past dukes and duchesses, ignoring their exclamations and wrestling her way past those who reached out to stop her and demand answers. Her eyes searched the faces, frantically seeking.
And then she stopped, her heart pounding, her breath catching in her throat. The next instant she threw herself into her father’s strong arms, and the floodgates she had tried to hold firmly in place for two years burst open, and she wept and laughed all at once as he held her tightly and whispered her name into her hair. There would be time later for questions and answers and the work that would need to be done to set all to rights. For now, her father was alive, and that was enough.
Pandemonium reigned for several weeks. Emissaries were sent to Norvue to inform the king and queen that the curse had been broken and their son was free, and that both their sons were safe in Thorndale Castle. Word returned swiftly, conveying the royal parents’ relief at the news. There was a stern reprimand for Ritter, though the sting of it was lost in their joy at having their elder son r
eturned to them and in their following congratulations on Ritter’s engagement to Princess Bellenya.
Those who had been trapped in stone for two years wished to return home, and there was general uproar across the country as news of the curse’s end spread. Many rejoiced, though a few were resentful. Lord Fredrig numbered among the latter; he grumbled and tried to stir up trouble, but it never amounted to anything. Ritter and Barend were sequestered away with the king and queen, bringing them up to date on events of the past two years.
The day the curse broke, Willem the gardener discovered Tarak and Pippa grazing on the royal lawn. The horses gave him and Henry a merry chase before surrendering to a bucket of oats in wise Setella’s hands. Both Ritter and Karyna were relieved to learn that their faithful steeds had not been left behind at Rivenloch.
Through all the bustle and activity, Barend longed to speak with Karyna, but he found it difficult to get a moment alone with her and began to fear she might be avoiding him. Finally, after three weeks, life had settled down enough that the princes felt they could return to Norvue. They would be traveling home together, although Ritter would soon return to Suvall for the royal wedding.
On the last night before the princes were to leave Suvall, Karyna took refuge on a bench in a remote part of the garden and stared up at the stars.
A shape loomed out of the shadows—a tall form with a white shirtfront, not the familiar bulk of the furry beast. “Ah, here you are. May I?” Barend asked, gesturing at the spot on the bench beside her.
She nodded. “Of course, Your Highness.” She felt strangely shy and uncertain how to act around him now that he was back in human form. The easy friendship they had shared seemed to have vanished forever along with his beast-like form.
He sat, then reached over and took her hand in his. “No, please, you must always call me Barend. We are friends, you and I.”
Karyna felt an almost painful stirring in her heart, but she pulled her hand away gently. “I cannot do that, my prince.”
Five Enchanted Roses: A Collection of Beauty and the Beast Stories Page 24