The Heart of The Beast

by Susan Kohler

  “So are we going to try to catch up with my brother?” the Beast grinned as he lowered Beauty to the soft fur rug on the nursery floor. “He is three babies ahead of us.”

  “I know not, but it seems we are certainly going to have plenty of our own babies.” Beauty kissed her husband, her lover. “I’d wager that our second is already on the way.”

  “Tis not possible!” the Beast exclaimed, placing a tender hand on her abdomen. “Tis only been a few weeks since the night you seduced me.”

  “With you, M’lord, a few weeks is plenty of time to do the deed. I’m not certain of course, but for some reason I feel like I got pregnant that night,” Beauty told him archly. “Would you be pleased if it were true?”

  “I would be stunned and pleased beyond words.” The Beast kissed her soundly. “Mayhap this time I’ll get a girl with your looks and a nice, quiet disposition.”

  She laughed openly into his face, “You’ll have no such luck, M’lord. I can promise you that.”

  She reached up and pulled the Beast down on top of her soft body, whispering in his ear, “Love me, M’lord, here and now with the babe sleeping next to us and your father outside the door.”

  The Beast made no reply but took her into his arms and began to make tender love to her. He kissed and stroked her with tenderness and passion, building her to frenzy that threatened to overwhelm her senses. In a short time they were both sated, gasping with exertion and glowing with pleasure and a little bit of sweat.

  That evening as they sat by the fire, the King was fascinated and captivated by Beauty as he watched her with his son and grandson. She was so full of love for them both that he was both enchanted and content with the future he pictured for this family. When the Beast was called away by one of the servants, Beauty and the King sat and talked quietly together.

  “Your Majesty,” Beauty said softly, “I seem to remember something that troubles me.”

  “What is that Lady Isabella?” the King gazed at her with genuine affection.

  “At our wedding, I made some unflattering references about the Beast’s parents and the harsh way he was raised. I want to apologize for my remarks. I did not know he was your son,” she said softly.

  “No apology is needed, Beauty.” The King met her eyes head on. “Your remarks were honest, entirely accurate and very well deserved. The fortunate thing is, I have truly changed and finally learned a different way to treat the people I love. I’m very lucky to have been given a second chance to know my son. He’s a grown man now, strong and brave, but also loving and wise. He is a man who I’m proud to call my son but I know that I was not the one who taught him how to be a man. That is something I have to thank you for.”

  “You honour me, your Majesty,” Beauty smiled at him.

  “Beauty,” the King asked with a seemingly casual tone, “I haven’t seen Lady Althea since dinner. Do you know where she is?”

  “The last time she was here she spent most of her spare moments in our barn,” Beauty replied. Then she remembered just what Lady Althea, the King’s daughter, had been doing in the barn. “Training with my bother, Tom.”

  “Ah yes, she dresses as a man, trains as a guard and travels with Sir Richard. Tis not exactly how I hoped my only daughter would behave.” The King shook his head before continuing, “At the wedding, I noticed a considerable amount of affection between her and your brother Tom. Indeed, the air seemed to turn very warm whenever they were together.”

  “I must admit, Sire, Tom cares very much for your daughter. I truly hope that won’t be a problem, Majesty,” Beauty said softly.

  “I’m not sure how I feel about it. Tis the same for every father, I suppose. No man is ever good enough for his daughter,” the King smiled softly. “Whether she be commoner or princess.”

  “Tom is a very good man, your Majesty,” Beauty said, “but I know well what you mean.”

  The Beast returned to them. “So what mischief are you two brewing without me?”

  “We were discussing Beauty’s brother, Tom, and his attraction for Lady Althea,” the King said. “Tis too bad he can claim no title, not even his knighthood.”

  “He would be lord of the castle if not for us. I mean, when he inherited from the old lord,” the Beast pointed out. “And I was about to petition you to grant him his knighthood. I think he’s earned the honour. He has proved to be of rare courage and great service to me and to your Majesty when he saved my life in the battle with Gerrin. His loyalty still astounds me, since for a long time he hated me.”

  “How did he save your life?” Even Beauty knew not the story, for the two men never mentioned it.

  “Whilst I was fighting the renegade guard, Gerrin, one of his men tried to attack me from behind. Tom stepped in at great risk to himself and killed the knave. He was almost felled by the man’s sword. He guarded my back for the rest of the battle,” the Beast smiled ruefully. “When I first met Beauty he already hated me, and with good reason. He held the loss of his title and lands to be my fault. He believed I was guilty of heinous crimes against women, including the one he had chosen to marry. Of course, he also denounced me for keeping Beauty from seeing her family. And finally, at one point I had ordered him to be whipped and hung. So his show of loyalty to me was even more remarkable than it first appeared.”

  “Just how did you come to know and love Beauty?” the King asked with great curiosity. “You never told me the whole tale.”

  “Tis a tale I’m very much shamed by, Sire,” the Beast told him, “even though the results of my actions are better than I ever dreamed. It started this way: There was an accusation of theft against Tom, who at that time worked in my stables. I ordered him to be hung without even bothering to hear any evidence on the matter. Beauty came to me and pleaded for his life. She even offered to give herself to me. In my heartless arrogance, I told her I would hang her brother and still take her virginity. I couldn’t seem to realize why this would bother her.”

  The Beast paused and shook his head, remembering, “She was very brave and strong. She convinced me that there was a difference between taking a woman by force and having someone who was with me willingly. She bartered not only her body but also her willingness and her affection to me in order to convince me to let her brother go free. In exchange, I made her promise to stay with me and never see or speak to any of her family again.”

  “Tis a measure of how much you’ve changed that now you and Beauty are happily wed, and that now Tom would defend you at considerable risk to himself,” the King told his son gently. “You should be proud that you were able to make so vast a change.”

  “Tis Beauty, I’m very proud of,” the Beast told him, “she changed me in many ways and made me happy. I was very harsh with her when she first came to me. I used to tell her she was merely a possession like my horse or my sword. I even struck her for little or no reason. Beauty never once wavered from her course, but she was ever calm, patient and faithful, and very forgiving of my faults.”

  “What faults?” Beauty quipped. “Your temper, your arrogance, your stubborn streak or your constant refusal to see others as real people?”

  “Well yea, those faults,” the Beast admitted, smiling. “Although you are as stubborn as I am, Milady.”

  “Tis different,” Beauty teased him, “I’m not stubborn, I’m merely right more often than you are.”

  “Cease you two. I’ve no need to quench any strife twixt the pair of you. I’m still considering your remarks about Tom. Well, I can knight the man,” the King mused. “He’s certainly earned that. I just have to think on things a bit. I think I’ll find Tom.”

  “Or Althea,” the Beast said reaching for Beauty’s hand.

  “You’ll probably find them together,” Beauty pointed out as she and the Beast headed for the stairs.

  The King was still grinning as he wandered out to the stables. The couple wasn’t there. Next, he checked the garden and found them there. They were strolling hand in hand. They stood for a
moment by the fountain and exchanged a tender kiss. The King paused to watch them for a moment and saw what he needed to know in their faces. The love between them was real. He returned to the castle without speaking to them. He spent the night deep in thought.

  The next morning, he summoned Tom.

  When Tom appeared, the King said, “I wanted to speak to you, Tom, for two reasons: First, I know that you’ve been spending time with my daughter, Lady Althea.”

  “Lady Althea is your daughter?” Tom paled at the very thought. He had not yet learned that the Beast was the King’s son. “I did not know, Majesty.”

  “Nevertheless, you know that as my daughter, she must have no less than a titled knight. Several good men with great wealth and titles have asked for her hand.” The King paused. “Tis true, you do have noble blood. You are by right of title the lord, though your lands were lost to you.”

  “A worthless title, Majesty,” Tom stated calmly. “And no knighthood.”

  “I have thought long and hard about you and my daughter,” the King said.

  “And what conclusion have you reached, Majesty?” Tom asked boldly.

  “I have concluded that you are a surprising suitor for my daughter,” the King replied. “You are not the most powerful nor the wealthiest, nor even the highest born of her suitors, yet it is you who she loves.”

  “Sire?” Tom asked quietly, but with a trace of humour in his voice. “These other suitors, do they all still have their heads?”

  “The knighted ones do.” The King eyed Tom with a new measure of respect. “That is the second thing I wanted to talk to you about. The Beast told me that you saved his life in battle. He petitioned me to grant you your knighthood. Kneel.”

  Tom hid his nervousness as he knelt before the King. It was more than a little intimidating to have so powerful a man holding a sword over his head and touching it to his neck, especially when he’s been seen kissing his daughter.

  “I dub thee, Sir Thomas.” Soon the simple ceremony was complete and Tom was knighted.

  “Rise, Sir Thomas,” the King said firmly.

  “Now, you are a titled knight.” The King waited expectantly looking Tom straight in the eyes.

  “An empty title with no lands and nothing to offer Lady Althea, your Majesty, else I would beg you for your daughter’s hand in marriage,” Sir Thomas said softly. “For I do love her very much.”

  “What if I told you that there’s a castle and vast lands included in her dowry?” the King asked. “A castle just over two days ride from here.”

  “The dowry matters not. Does your Majesty, the King, actually want me to ask for Lady Althea?” Sir Thomas was merely thinking without realizing he’d spoken aloud.

  “Ask the question!” the King burst out. “If you are really bold enough to be a knight of the realm, ask the question.”

  Sir Thomas knelt again on one knee. “Majesty, I humbly ask for the hand of your daughter, Lady Althea, in marriage.”

  “Lady Althea begged me long ago to let her have some say in choosing her husband. Tis unheard of, I know, but she can refuse any suitor, I have given her that right,” the King sighed. “I give you my permission to propose to her. I will approve of the match if she does.”

  Sir Thomas rose, stunned, and mumbled, “Thank you, your Majesty. You have made me very happy this day.”

  “Leave me,” the King smiled, “I think you have some important matters to attend to.” The King smiled as Tom sped out of the room in search of Althea.

  Tom found Althea in the garden. He stood silently and watched her for a moment before he approached her. The sight of her took his breath away as it always did. He noticed, however, that she seemed upset and agitated.

  “Lady Althea, I have just come from the King,” Tom said as he approached her. “And I have a question for you.”

  “I have several questions for you also, Tom,” Lady Althea said nervously beginning to pace. “What are we going to do about my father? He knows about the love between us. He’ll never agree to our marriage as long as you’re without a title or a knighthood. He may even do something to you to keep us apart.”

  “Tis going to be aright, you’re worried for naught.” Tom began to tell her about the conversation he’d had with the King.

  “I’m not worried for naught,” she interrupted, “he’s had several wealthy and titled knights offer for my hand already. He told me I had some say in my choice of a husband but he may yet decide to marry me off to one of them if he fails to approve of you.”

  “Quiet woman!” Tom roared, then continued softly, “I said, I’ve just come from the King. If you’ll but cease your raving and listen for a minute, I’ll tell you what happened.”

  “Sorry, Tom. I didn’t mean to rave.” Lady Althea reached for his hand. “I was just nervous.”

  “I know, my love,” Tom smiled at her gently. “I was nervous too when your father first sent for me, but he was very nice. He said I was of nobility indeed, and,” Tom flushed with pride, “he knighted me for saving the life of your brother Sebastian. He said that only a knight of noble blood could offer for your hand in marriage. Then he said that if I could gain your consent, he would approve the match.”

  Tom dropped to one knee. “Lady Althea, my love, will you marry me?”

  She leaned over to kiss him before answering. “Yea, my love, I will most happily marry you.” Tom rose and returned her kiss with all the passion and love he felt for his woman, his tender warrior.

  The newly engaged couple went in search of the King to share their happy news. Pleased and touched, he gave them his formal blessing. Then they disappeared to plan the future and spend the day in each other’s arms.

  Next, the King sought out Nate and Claire. He had a plan for the future for each of them. He wanted Nate to foster out to Sir Richard as a squire until he could mature and gain his knighthood. He also wanted Claire to visit him at court, to learn more social skills and confidence from the ladies-in-waiting. Then he thought Claire could move into the castle with Sir Thomas and Lady Althea and help them in the organization of their castle.

  He knew that as soon as Nate earned his knighthood the young couple would want to marry, and had decided to help them get a good start in life. Both of them were grateful for the King’s attention and his offer of help. They were saddened by the idea of leaving Beauty and the Beast, as well as being separated from each other, but they both knew this arrangement would be truly to their advantage in the future. They gratefully accepted the King’s offer.

  The next day Sir Thomas and Lady Althea had a simple marriage ceremony in the chapel with the King and the rest of their family looking on. The newly married couple promptly disappeared into their private chamber and was not seen except during a few of the meals until they left for their new home.

  The next few days were poignant, sad and very busy for both Beauty and the Beast, as so much of their family prepared to move on with their lives. By the day before the scheduled departure, both of them were tense and harried.

  On the last day of his visit, the King went to the kitchen and spoke briefly with Henry and Gwyneth before he went in search of Beauty and the Beast.

  “I want to spend a day alone with my grandson,” the King said gruffly. “I spoke to the lad in the stables and had horses saddled for the two of you. Leave us.” He winked, “Go for a ride and have some fun in the woods. Make love in the sunshine, relax together and enjoy each other.”

  “What if James needs me?” Beauty asked quickly. “Your pardon, Majesty, but you simply can not take care of everything, he’s still nursing.”

  “James will be fine. If I can rule the land, I can certainly care for one small infant,” the King laughed, “and Gwyneth is fixing a noontide meal for me to bring to you when the lad is ready to nurse. I’ll bring the food and the infant and find you. I’m sure Nate can help me with that. Go spend the day with my son, Beauty, and make an old man very happy.”

  “If I saw an old man here,
I would certainly want him to be happy,” Beauty said, “but there’s only you, Majesty.”

  Beauty and the Beast rode out together. As soon as they cleared the castle gate, they took off in an unspoken race. The couple sped across the countryside in a full gallop, heading towards the path that led into the forest. They slowed the horses to a soft canter, although the two steeds still felt the call to run full out. They rode deep into the forest until they came to a narrow path only suited for a slow walk single in file. They followed this path to the river where there was a place they both favoured. They dismounted and tied up the horses.

  The spot was a soft grassy bank along the river shore with a tree covering the grass with cool shade. Beauty and the Beast spread out a blanket and sat on it. They talked with joy and sadness of the changes they were facing, especially the hoped for baby, and the departure of Tom, Nate and Claire.

  Slowly, as their feelings were released and their fears aired, they began to cuddle in each other’s arms. The Beast started kissing Beauty with all his love and caring tenderness. The passion grew as it always did between the two of them, and soon the Beast was gently removing Beauty’s clothes.

  As she lay nude on the blanket, Beauty looked up at him. With lust in her eyes she watched him shed his clothes and join her on the blanket. He took her into his arms and they made love. They had no need of their tricks, the exotic or erotic positions, the games of tickling, wrestling or playful spankings. No need for exchanging oral sexual favours. No use for the changing of paces, of holding back from the brink and then working towards it over and over again. They just made love with joy, passion and true love.

  At midday, the King joined the lovers. Beauty nursed and changed the baby before the three adults ate the meal of cold roasted chicken and fresh fruit with crusty bread and wine. When the meal was finished, the King left Beauty and the Beast to return to the castle, taking the baby with him.

  As Beauty and the Beast savoured the remainder of the afternoon, they made love repeatedly. They finally used the tricks, positions, sex play, oral sex and delayed climaxes for the second and third times they made love. By the time they folded the blanket and remounted their horses, that blanket was well used indeed.