by Susan Kohler
That night Beauty and the Beast made love long into the night with tenderness and simple joy, content with the day and with each other.
The next day, at the other part of the fair and festival, the Beast’s men and Sir Richard’s men met on the training field in a series of contests at arms including a small tournament between the two knights themselves. Both knights had their men march onto the field in a colourful procession with trumpets blaring and banners flying. All the men wore coloured tunics over their chainmail. The tunics matched the colours of the knight they represented. Both knights had on their best chainmail and armour, covered by silk tunics, with their shields highly polished and shining in the sun. Both men had large colourful tents set up well away from the action to rest and change in. People from the village watched from the sidelines and cheered whenever they saw a worthwhile competitor.
The two men’s soldiers were all very well trained and fully armed so the opposing forces were fairly well matched. Of the Beast’s men, Beauty’s brother, Tom, proved to be the best at various events, including lance and swords, while Sir Richard’s short, slight guard proved to be good with the mace and at archery. Other events included a footrace, a horserace and contests to see who could jump the highest and the farthest.
There was to be a final combat to decide the victor between the top guardsmen from both sides. Wrestling was to decide who would be named the best soldier.
The first day, the Beast and Sir Richard competed with each other with the broadsword and bow and arrow. They did so without adding their scores to those of their teams. At the end of the first day, the teams were evenly matched.
As the Beast and Sir Richard stood together away from Beauty, Sir Richard asked the Beast a seemingly casual question. “What do you know of the character of Beauty’s brother Tom?”
Tom had already removed his helmet and chainmail in preparation for the wrestling to come. He stood impassive, watching as the small soldier from Sir Richard’s guards rode over to one of the grooms standing nearby.
“He’s a good man, hard-headed and hardworking. He’s trustworthy and surprisingly loyal to me. We had some trouble once between us but he recently saved my life. I like the man. Why do you ask?” the Beast replied, idly watching Sir Richard’s small soldier dismount.
“Because the soldier he’s about to wrestle, the one who’s tied with him after a full day of games, is my sister, Lady Althea,” Sir Richard winked and looked around briefly before adding, “and yours.”
“That’s Althea!” the Beast was astonished. “But she was just a child when last I saw her, and a girl child, as I seem to recall. How comes she to be one of your warriors?”
“She’s grown up. She’s also inherited our father’s hard head and iron will, that be how. She refuses to be relegated to what she calls women’s work. She craves the excitement and travel of following me.”
“She also seems to like Tom well enough,” the Beast commented wryly. “Mayhap too well.”
“He thinks she’s a man and he treats her as an equal, as just another soldier,” Sir Richard pointed out. “That’s about to come to a sudden end when she dismounts and removes her helmet and armour.”
Almost at the moment he said it, she did indeed remove her helmet and some of her armour in preparation for the wrestling match. To the great surprise of both the knights watching, Tom gave no indication of shock at all. Instead, he pulled the girl into his arms and kissed her soundly and with no small amount of passion before continuing to prepare himself for the hand to hand combat. As the kiss went on there were catcalls and whistles from the watching peasants and the guards on either side. It was apparent to all who saw it that this was no probing, tentative, first kiss either. This was a kiss of full passion and promise. Many onlookers were stunned but none more so than Beauty.
“Did you know that the soldier was a woman?” Beauty rushed over to ask the Beast and Sir Richard. “Do you know who she is?”
“I did not know it was a woman until Sir Richard told me just now, but now that I do know, I also know who she is. Her name is Lady Althea and she is Sir Richard’s sister,” the Beast paused before adding softly, “and mine.”
“Your sister? So that means Sir Richard’s your brother? Why didn’t you tell me?” Beauty asked quizzically. “And why didn’t you tell me your sister was here?”
“About Lady Althea? I just said I didn’t know she was here myself. Not until just now when she removed her helmet. I haven’t yet greeted her or even had a word with her myself,” the Beast explained.
“No, M’lord, dolt. Why didn’t you say ere now that you and Sir Richard were brothers?” Beauty smiled tensely. “Or were you ashamed to introduce me to your brother? After all, I’m not your wife, am I?”
“Beauty, I’m not ashamed of you. I love you and I’m very proud and honoured that you care for me. Remember, you have been introduced to Sir Richard. I just didn’t want to tell you that he was my brother until all our business was finished. I wanted to concentrate on having my brother get to know my intended bride without worrying about the King’s affairs. That’s all, I was getting around to it.” The Beast seemed sheepish.
“Sure you were.” Beauty was strangely hurt, but she shrugged it off as she watched her brother wrestle with Lady Althea.
The wrestling match lasted longer than anyone watching would have suspected. Although Tom’s strength was clearly superior, he held back. Also, Lady Althea was skilled and practiced at wrestling men much stronger and larger than herself. She knew some rather unorthodox wrestling techniques and tricks that were designed specifically to make up for her lack of size and brute strength, and she wasn’t shy about using them. Tom was also hindered quite a bit by his interest in her slender body and his desire not to cause her any injury.
After a while he did pin her though, winning the match and the guard’s part of the tourney. He stood and reached down a hand to help the girl up from the ground. She glared up at him before reaching a hand up to his. When she was standing, he quickly swooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. He silenced her shrieking protests by swatting her hard on the buttocks with a large hand, and without breaking stride he carried her towards the barn.
The onlookers laughed aloud but Beauty was still feeling disappointed with the Beast. She had the feeling that he was, perhaps, ashamed of her and that there was a reason why he had been so slow to introduce her to his family.
“Mayhap after Sir Richard left, you would have told me who he really was,” Beauty sighed.
“No really, Beauty.” The Beast knew she was still hurt and angry but he couldn’t fathom why. “Truly, I had planned to tell you tonight. Sir Richard just wanted to see how things went for me, if I was well and happy, before he said aught of our relationship.”
The Beast could see that Beauty was still not entirely satisfied with his reply. He sighed. Who could hope to understand a woman anyway?
“Milady, we really had planned to surprise you tonight,” Sir Richard told her gently. “In fact, Lady Althea was going to surprise both of you tonight. Mayhap we can even get her into a dress for the occasion. That would surprise even me.” They all laughed.
Beauty’s sense of whimsy returned. “Do you know what the strangest thing is? Last night when I went into the kitchen, I found Gwyneth and the cook kissing. By the by, I gave them your blessing and your permission to marry,” she told the Beast.
“So? You presume to speak for me? Just like a woman.” The Beast jested loudly before he continued softly, “Tis a good thing you were right. I am glad for her and very pleased with your news.”
“That’s not all. As I walked in the garden to take in the night fragrances, I found my mother and Seth embracing. They told me they planned to marry and asked my blessing,” Beauty continued, smiling softly, “which I gave.”
“Good, she can nag someone besides me,” the Beast growled in mock severity. “Seth should be knighted; he has a lot of courage.”
Beauty flas
hed him a warning look then she continued, “Next, I walked into the stables and found Nate kissing Claire.”
Her voice trailed off as her mood sobered. “They’re both so very young, I wonder if it will be a problem.” Her humour returned. “I then wondered aloud as I spoke to Nate who I’d find together at the tournament. Nate suggested it would be Tom and one of Sir Richard’s guards. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant. It sounded strangely like he was insinuating that Tom would, um, how do I say this, prefer the company of men to women, but he said it was just that I was sure to find Tom challenging the smallest of Sir Richard’s guards at swords. He implied that Tom and the small guard greatly enjoyed practicing with each other.”
“Apparently they have been practicing with something other than swords,” Sir Richard said.
“In truth, let us hope Tom has kept his sword sheathed,” the Beast remarked, cynically. “She is our sister, after all.”
“His sword?” Beauty was puzzled, and then blushed, “Oh I see, you mean his... ”
“You really are an innocent, aren’t you? Or at least you were before I came along,” the Beast grinned wickedly. “That imp, Nate, must have already known something we didn’t. Let’s find him and ask him what he knew.”
When they found Nate, he was indeed a valuable source of information. He had seen Tom wrestling with the small guard alone in the barn where no one else could see. Something raised Nate’s curiosity so he watched the two wrestle from a hiding place in the back stall.
“When Tom pinned the young guard to the ground and he stared deeply into the guard’s eyes I was surprised,” Nate told the trio. “But I was well and truly shocked when he leaned down and started kissing the youth with all his might. I’ve never seen kissing like that before, except for when I spied on you, Beauty, and the Beast.”
Beauty’s eyes narrowed. “You spied on us?”
The Beast said gruffly, “Remember lad, I still have the dungeon.”
“I’m truly sorry, M’lord, Beauty, I meant no disrespect.” Nate blushed before he continued, “Watching Tom with the guard, kissing, made me feel funny. I was so startled that I dropped the brush I had been using to groom your horse and gave meself away. Once I had revealed my presence, Tom introduced me to the young guard. I was sure surprised to find out that she was not only a woman, but also your sister, M’lord. I was glad too. After seeing the two of them kissing, I wanted to try it for meself. So I did. That’s when Beauty found me kissing Claire.”
“Did you like it?” the Beast asked with some of his own curiosity.
“Well, yea,” Nate told him, “but it was different for Claire and me. She’s afraid of men, you see, because of the men who raped her, so I had to be real slow and gentle with her. I couldn’t do it like Tom did with Lady Althea, holding her so tight and pushing my tongue down deep into her throat. I had to be real careful not to scare Claire any worse than she’s already been scared.”
“Nate, what you’ve just said shows wisdom some men never seem to learn.” Beauty gave the Beast an evil eye before she kissed Nate’s cheek. “I’m truly proud of you right now. Remember you’re still very young. If you’re patient and gentle with Claire now, someday you will be greatly rewarded. I promise you that.”
That night Tom joined them for dinner along with Lady Althea. In spite of living and training along with Sir Richard’s men, Lady Althea was truly beautiful, slender and of average height for a woman. It was only when she posed as a man that she seemed to be short. She had the same green eyes as the Beast, but her hair was a shade lighter, with traces of fire in the colour. She wore a green velvet gown, trimmed in gold and white. The gown was cut low at the bodice and fit snugly at the waist before flaring out like a bell. The sleeves fit snugly at the shoulders and flared from the elbows to end in wide points at the wrists, so that the inner lining of gold was revealed as her hands moved. Her hair was covered with a green velvet band and pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. Slippers made of green velvet and gold trim completed the outfit.
It was a joyous meal. The reunion between the Beast and his sister was both tearful and touching. He kissed Lady Althea’s face and hugged her until she protested from the lack of air. Sir Richard was publicly acknowledged for the first time since his arrival at the castle as the brother of the Beast. The maid, Gwyneth, was in heaven. She was now free to fuss openly over Sir Richard and Lady Althea.
Even Margaret had taken her real name back now that it was known she was the wife of the old lord of the castle. She was introduced to the Beast’s brother and sister as the Lady Margarite, and her sons were introduced as Thomas and Nathaniel. Even Beauty, resplendent in a red silk gown, took her real name for the evening, Lady Isabella.
The Lady Margarite sat proudly at the table with Seth, the man who was her former husband’s manservant and now was her fiancé. Nate and Claire sat together, laughing like children one minute and gazing shyly at each other the next. Tom and Lady Althea argued and ate and argued some more, but the sparks flew through the air around them and all those watching felt the passion behind the heated words. Although Gwyneth was very glad to be with Sir Richard and Lady Althea once again, her real focus was on Henry, the cook she planned to marry.
Beauty and the Beast formally announced their plans to marry but they kept the joyful news about the coming child to themselves for the moment.
“I hope you can stay until the wedding,” Beauty told the Beast’s family. “M’Lord Sebastian said it would take about a fortnight to fetch a priest.”
“We’d be honoured to stay,” Sir Richard replied.
He then took the Beast aside. “But why wait so long to send away for a priest when we have a friar travelling with us?”
“Why did you add a friar to your entourage, my brother? Seems like a strange addition to your usual assortment of retainers,” the Beast questioned. “Or is the King behind this?”
“You know our King,” Sir Richard replied. “When he has an idea, he likes it to come to fruition quickly.”
“I admit, I still have hard feelings for him.” The Beast paused. “I truly hope that I can be a wise and loving father to my sons and daughters when the time comes.”
“Tis strange. You never saw the human side of our father, and I never saw his cruelty.” Sir Richard paused. “Tis the difference between us. His first wife, your mother, was a bitter, evil woman who gave him two sons and died having taught him only the harsh and cruel ways of the world. My mother followed her. She gave him a son and a daughter, and taught him how to truly love and to be loved in return. He’s not the same father who raised you.”
“Love can change a man, ‘tis true.” The Beast spoke slowly, then sighed, “I now know that better than anyone, so mayhap when I’ve had a chance to see him and talk to him I’ll be able to forget the past and honour him for the man he is today, as I know I should.”
The next day was the climax of the tournament, the joust between the two knights. They were both using practice lances, lighter and more easily broken than regular lances. Their goal was to unbalance or unseat the opponent, rather than kill or injure him. Both knights had on gleaning helmets and shields, along with chainmail covered with brightly coloured tunics and heavy metal gloves. Beauty, watching from the stands in a light green velvet dress, had given the Beast a ribbon to tie around his upper arm as a token of her love.
The two knights were both evenly matched, so it took several passes for a victor to emerge. On the first pass, Sir Richard manoeuvred his grey stallion at the last minute so that even as he scored a hit against the Beast’s shield, he caused the Beast to miss him completely.
The Beast made up for it on the second pass, being ready for the other knight’s manoeuvre. He scored a hit and Sir Richard missed. At the end of every pass, grooms stood ready to throw them new lances to replace any broken ones. The two warhorses, Sir Richard’s grey and the Beast’s black stallion, pranced with barely controlled power at the end of the lanes before each
pass, tensed and waiting for the command to run. For several passes, the two knights either traded hits against each other or scored hits simultaneously on each other and the tournament continued.
Finally, his horse slipping at a critical moment, the Beast dropped his guard and was unseated. Beauty ran over to him as he lay flat on his back in the mud and stared up ruefully at his younger brother.
“M’lord! Are you injured?” Beauty asked.
“Only my pride, Beauty,” the Beast replied, reaching up to take the hand of his brother who had dismounted and come over.
Sir Richard had reached out a hand to aid his brother in rising to his feet. He should have been more cautious though, as the Beast easily pulled him down into the mud and muck beside him, laughing heartily all the while. Hearing the mighty Beast laugh openly as he wrestled his brother in the mud, the soldiers and villagers began to laugh too. That was fine. It was when Beauty laughed that the Beast had heard enough. Beauty soon found herself being grasped by the ankle and pulled to the ground, down into the mud and being tickled by both warriors; all the pageantry and decorum of the day was forgotten.
Sir Richard got out of the way as the Beast kissed Beauty soundly before rising and picking her up and setting her on her feet. The villagers looked on laughing and cheering loudly.
Beauty struggled to retain her tattered dignity as she looked at the two knights. “Men!”
She gathered her wet, muddy skirts from her ruined gown and stormed back to the castle. Ducking into the kitchen she ordered a hot bath sent up to the bedchamber, and took a leisurely bath and spent a long time getting dressed for dinner.
That night she feigned anger and let the Beast take a long time persuading her to make love with him. It was not only fun but she got lots of extra attention, lots of extra fondling, and lots of gentle caresses as she was slowly coaxed out of her anger. Mayhap I’ll get mad more often, she thought dreamily as his mouth loved her. His form of penance is exquisite.