“No,” Mr. Beast eventually answers. “My parents and older brothers live in another kingdom.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised. “Is Another Kingdom the name of their kingdom?”
“Huh? No.” He laughs. “It’s called the kingdom of Horatio. Only this kingdom has weird names. I wasn’t born with the name Beast, either.”
“What’s your real name?” I ask.
“Mike.”
I snort-laugh. “Mike? That’s so normal-sounding!”
“Yeah, well, I was normal back then,” he says wistfully. He pours some oil into the pan. For the first time, I notice that he has only three fingers on each hand. Well, really more like a claw than a hand. I bet that doesn’t help his painting skills.
“Why did you move away?” I ask. “Was your family scared of you?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to suck them back in. How rude! “Not that you’re scary. You’re not scary. Nope. You’re the opposite of scary. You’re calming. Like a scented candle. Or diaper rash cream.” I don’t know where that last one came from. Although I do have vivid memories of my parents having to buy a lot of diaper rash cream for my brother.
“It’s okay. I know I look scary,” Mr. Beast says. “But that’s not why I left. My family was never afraid of me. They pitied me. And they kept trying to set me up with different girls. My mom even gave me her emerald engagement ring to propose to someone with. But I never got the chance. The girls would take one look at me and freak out. One literally ran out of our palace crying when she first saw me.”
“That must have hurt your feelings,” I say, feeling terrible for Mr. Beast.
He nods. “And it really upset my parents,” he says. “So when I was eighteen, I moved out here to my grandad’s empty castle. I changed my name. That’s that.”
“That is so sad,” I say. “Although it is a nice castle.”
“Yes,” he says. “It suits me to be in the middle of nowhere. I’m a homebody. And I love the big kitchen. I like cooking. I like cooking for lots of people.”
“Good. Because my brother and I like to eat. And we don’t want to go yet, either. Can we all stay a little longer? Please?”
“To be honest, I do like having you all as guests. It’s nice to have someone besides Mr. and Mrs. Butler to talk to. Not sure if you noticed, but they don’t hear that well.” He plunks the chicken into the pan.
“I’ve noticed,” I say.
The chicken sizzles.
I clear my throat. “Mr. Beast, why did you get cursed?”
He tenses. “Excuse me?”
“Why did the fairy curse you? What did you do?”
He sighs. “I didn’t do anything. Nothing. Jax — the fairy — just cursed me.”
Jax. I remember Mr. Beast stomping his foot and mentioning Jax when Jonah and I arrived at the castle.
“You must have done something,” I say. “Were you mean to him?”
“Not that I know of. I hope not. I was just a regular prince. I had seen Jax around my kingdom once or twice, but I didn’t know him well. And then one day, I went into the garden and there he was. Sitting in a tree. I’ll tell you what he said when he cursed me.” Mr. Beast puts down his spatula and leans closer to me. “He said that I was too handsome and too rich and I had it too easy and that it just wasn’t fair. And the next thing I knew, poof, I was a beast.”
I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach. “So he did it because he was jealous?”
He nods. “I guess so. Jealousy makes people do horrible things.”
My face burns. “It does. It really does. What happened next?” I ask.
“Jax explained the curse. He said I would only go back to my regular self if and only if I convinced someone to marry me. The catch is that they couldn’t know that I’d been cursed. Which makes breaking the curse pretty much impossible. Because who would want to marry an ugly animal?” He frowns and covers the pot with a lid.
I stand up straight. “Mr. Beast, that’s what I want to talk to you about. Beauty will marry you. I asked her and she said she would! She likes you!” I say. Okay, fine, she doesn’t exactly like him, but she doesn’t not like him.
And now that I know the curse was because of jealousy, I feel even more pressure to make it right.
Mr. Beast shakes his head. “She doesn’t like me. She stomped on my foot!”
“The foot-stomping was an accident,” I say. “Promise me you’ll give her a chance. All you have to do is ask her to marry you and you get your happy ending! Don’t you want your happy ending?”
He hesitates.
“Hi, guys.” Beauty appears at the door to the kitchen. “I picked out a book for you, Abby. I have it in the other room.”
“Oh, thanks,” I say.
“I picked out one for you, too, Mr. Beast,” Beauty says.
Mr. Beast looks up in surprise. “You did?”
“I know you said you’re not much of a reader, but in this book, the main character is a chef and there are recipes sprinkled throughout the book. And some magic.” She blushes. “You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. But I was looking for books for Jonah, and I thought you might enjoy this one.”
Mr. Beast also blushes. “Thank you,” he says.
“Isn’t she thoughtful?” I say. “And sweet! So sweet!”
“Very thoughtful,” he says.
“Did you give a book to Jonah?” I ask.
Beauty nods proudly. “I did. It’s called Blue. It’s about a boy and a crocodile.”
“That sounds perfect for him,” I say. “Is he reading it?”
“He said it looked boring but a deal’s a deal and he promised to try it.” She grins. “He’s been reading for at least forty minutes now.”
“He has?” I’m shocked. Jonah never sits still and reads. Wow.
“Do you need help?” Beauty asks us.
“No, we’re good,” Mr. Beast says. “It will be ready in a few minutes. We’ll come get you. Thank you again for the book.”
She smiles. “You’re welcome.”
“See?” I say after Beauty leaves. “I told you she likes you!”
He shrugs, but I can see he’s also smiling.
When our stir-fry is ready, we bring the food out to the table.
I pop my head into the living room, where Jonah and Beauty are both reading books on the sofa. “Jonah, Beauty, lunch is ready.”
Neither of them looks up.
“Hey, Jonah?”
No response.
“Jonah?”
He turns a page. “Hmm?”
“Lunch!”
He nods.
“Are you coming?”
He nods.
“We made chicken stir-fry.”
He nods again.
“It’s chicken and ketchup stir-fry,” I say to get his attention.
“Uh-huh.”
“With ketchup ice cream.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Dipped in ketchup.”
No response.
“Jonah!” I call out. “I guess you like the book?”
He looks up for a second and then looks back down. “I do! I really do! But I only have two chapters left! Can I read at the table?”
“Sure,” I say, surprised.
He brings his book to the table and almost trips as he walks.
Beauty sets down her book and joins us.
Jonah sits in his seat and continues to read.
“This is delicious,” Beauty says, taking a bite of chicken stir-fry. “Mr. Beast, you’re really a terrific chef.”
Mr. Beast smiles. “Thank you. I had help.” He nods at me.
Jonah closes the book with a happy sigh. “That was amazing!”
“You’re done?” I ask, shocked.
“Yes!”
“But I’ve never seen you read a book that fast!”
“I know!” Jonah exclaims, digging into his stir-fry.
“What was it about?” I ask him.
“A blue crocodile!
And I know crocodiles aren’t really blue, but it’s fiction! It’s an adventure about a little boy named Levi whose best friend is a blue crocodile! And they meet pirates! And mermaids! And they go through magic underwater tunnels!” Jonah’s eyes are sparkling.
“No way!” I say.
“Way.” He frowns. “But now I’m sad.”
“Why? You should be happy! You found a book you like!”
His face squishes. “But it’s finished.”
Aw. “You can read it again,” I say.
He gives me a funny look. “Why would I do that? I already know what happens.”
“But it’s still fun. I’ve read each of the fairy tales lots of times. I learn something new every time. Speaking of which, maybe you could read those next. Maybe that will spark some memories.”
“Maybe,” he says, but he’s flipping through his Blue book.
“You can read it again, or you can read fairy tales,” Beauty says, and then pauses. “Or you can read the sequel.”
Jonah’s eyes pop out of his head. “There’s another one?”
“There are ten. It’s a series.” Beauty smiles. “That’s your surprise for losing the bet and liking the book!”
“No way!” Jonah cheers. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard!”
We all laugh.
Mr. Beast looks around the table. “This is … fun.”
“See?” I say. “I told you! Does that mean we can stay a little longer?”
He nods. “You can. In fact …” He glances across the table at Beauty. “I’m wondering if you’ll stay for good.”
“For good?” she repeats. Her fork clatters against her plate.
Mr. Beast stands up. He crosses the space between them in three giant steps. He gets down on one knee.
My heart thumps in anticipation. He’s on one knee! Does this mean what I think it means? Yes, yes, yes!
Mr. Beast clears his throat. He holds an emerald engagement ring in his furry fingers. “Beauty, will you marry me?”
He asked! He did it! He proposed on one knee! His face is looking so hopeful, too! Yay! I bop in my seat. As soon as Beauty accepts, the curse is undone.
Right?
Yes.
Unless I somehow messed it up. By, um, urging her to accept.
I swallow hard. I hope I didn’t mess it up.
Beauty’s eyes are wide. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it.
Is she going to say no? After all this, she BETTER not say no!
“I … I … I …” Her eyes tear up. “Yes. I will marry you.”
She said yes! Hurrah!
He proposed! She said yes!
Mr. Beast slips the engagement ring onto her finger.
How romantic!
Well, not exactly romantic. They’re not exactly in love. I kind of forced them into it. But it’s for their own good. Hopefully. And they will be in love. Eventually. Won’t they? This better work, this better work, this better work.
Just as I begin to doubt myself, Mr. Beast starts to sparkle.
Yes. Sparkle.
His brown fur shimmers and disappears. He starts to shrink, too. He gets smaller and smaller until he’s a normal height.
A normal height and suddenly very, very handsome.
Wow. Mr. Beast is gorgeous!
He has black hair, smooth olive skin, and a chiseled chin. He looks like a movie star.
Beauty’s jaw drops. “Who are you?”
Mr. Beast touches his bare cheeks. “It’s me!”
“Who’s me?” she asks. “What happened to Mr. Beast?” She glances at me. “Why is this guy so handsome?”
“It worked?” Mr. Beast asks, incredulous. “I’m handsome?”
“It worked!” I holler, jumping out of my chair. “You’re really, really handsome!”
I did it! I’m a genius!
Jonah jumps up, too, and we high-five.
“What’s going on?” Beauty asks. “Can someone tell me what’s happening? I’m kind of freaked out! Who is this guy? What happened to Mr. Beast?”
“I’m Mr. Beast!” he says. “Or maybe not technically anymore. I guess I can go back to being Mike.”
“You should be Mr. Handsome,” Beauty says.
Mr. Beast/Mike/Mr. Handsome runs to a mirror behind the dining room table. “I never thought I’d see my skin again!” he exclaims.
“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Beauty asks. “I’m very confused!”
I turn to Beauty. “A fairy named Jax cursed Mr. Beast — I mean Mike — and told him that he would be a beast unless he proposed and had his proposal accepted! And he did! And you did! And now he’s back to normal! He’s a handsome prince!”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me that?” she asks.
“We couldn’t. That was part of the curse. You weren’t allowed to know. You had to agree to marry him even though he looked like a beast.”
She bites her lower lip and turns to Mike. “But does that mean you only asked me to marry you because you wanted to get rid of the curse?”
He looks reluctantly away from the reflection. “Well … mostly. But you do seem really nice. You even picked out a book you thought I’d like. And Abby thinks we were meant to be together. She said you liked me and wanted me to ask. You’re the only girl who has ever liked me even though I looked like a beast.”
I can’t help but squirm. That’s not exactly what happened. Their entire relationship is based on lies and arm-twisting.
Maybe they shouldn’t be getting married?
I glance at Mike. No. He’s back to being handsome! And she’s Beauty. These two are meant to be together. It might just take a little time for the real love to bloom.
“When’s the wedding?” Jonah asks.
Now Beauty and Mike are the ones with frog eyes.
“Um …” they both mutter.
“Can you do it tonight?” Jonah asks. “Because I bet it will be fun and we really do have to go home soon. Right, Abby?”
“Yes,” I say. “We do. Tonight would be really convenient for us. If you can swing it.”
I guess we could leave before the wedding. Mr. Beast — Mike — is already back to normal even if they don’t get married. Although maybe the curse comes back if they don’t?
Better to make sure all loose ends are tied before we leave. I’d hate to go home and see a miserable Beauty and a depressed Beast on my jewelry box.
“I guess we can do it tonight,” Mike says with a big smile. “I’ll make us a wedding feast for dinner! And we’ll invite the whole kingdom.”
“My father is traveling,” Beauty says, and hangs her head. “And my sisters won’t come.”
“Their loss,” Mike says.
“I’m sure everyone else in Kingdom will come when they hear you’re getting married, Beauty,” I say. “Everyone loves you!”
Mike nods. “Beauty, I am forever in your debt, for agreeing to marry me and changing me back.”
She beams for the first time. “My pleasure. Happy to help.”
“Shall I send Mr. Butler back to your house to collect all your things?” Mike offers. “Since you’ll be staying for good?”
She blinks. “Here?” she repeats. She blinks again.
“Yes,” he says, looking at her strangely. “Here. Your new home.”
“Oh. Right.” She gnaws on her thumb. “My new home. Yes. Please. You can send Mr. Butler to fetch my stuff.”
“Perfect,” I say, ignoring Beauty’s obvious concern. “Jonah and I will stay for the wedding and then go home through the mirror. Everything is set.”
I get to dress up for a wedding! Yay! I’ll wear the fancy purple satin dress in my closet. It’ll be perfect. Maybe I can even wear it home?
“Should we do it in the Great Hall?” Mike asks.
“Ruff! Ruff, ruff!”
“Where’s Prince?” Jonah asks.
“It sounds like he’s outside,” I say. “Maybe he’s trying to tell us the wedding
should be in the garden. I’ll go see what he’s up to. Prince?” I call, heading outside. “Everything okay?”
“Ruff, ruff, ruff!”
Wow, it got cold out here. And it looks like it’s about to rain. I guess we should have the wedding inside.
“Prince?” I shout. “Where are you? Come inside, it’s going to pour!”
“Ruff!”
I spot Prince standing under a tree, pawing at the air and barking. Loudly.
“Prince, what are you barking at? Is it a bird?”
He barks even louder.
“Prince! Stop it!”
“I’m not a bird,” says a booming voice.
Huh?
I look up to see a young man swinging from one of the branches. He is wearing a striped blue-and-white suit. He has purple hair.
“Howdy!” he says.
“Hello,” I say. I feel that creepy-crawly feeling down my back. “Do I know you?”
He’s holding a silver-and-red yo-yo in his hand and he throws it up and down and up and down. “I’m Jax.”
Jax? Who’s Jax? Wait! “You’re the jealous fairy who cursed Mr. Beast!”
I take a quick step back.
“Jealous?” Jax pouts. “You’re right. I was jealous. He had everything. Wealth. Health. Extreme good looks. And he was even nice. All the girls wanted to marry him. They used to line up on the streets to meet him! Did anyone line up on the streets to meet me? No. Never! And I have magical powers! Did anyone care? No one cared! They all liked him for his looks! Blah. I had to do something about it.”
I hug myself and glare at Jax. “You did do something about it. You cursed him.”
He cackles. “Yes. And he was only supposed to turn back when a woman agreed to marry him despite his beastly looks.”
“She did!” I call out. “Beauty agreed to marry him! And she didn’t know about the curse! I swear!”
“I know, I know,” Jax sighs. “That’s why he changed back. I couldn’t stop it.” He flips over and hangs from the branch by his knees. “But! But, but, but. She didn’t agree to marry him because she loved him for who he was, now, did she?”
I clear my throat. “Well, not exactly …”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he says. He wags his finger at me. “She doesn’t love him! She agreed to marry him because you told her it was a good deed. And Beauty is quite the do-gooder, isn’t she? Orphans, soup kitchens, grumpy great-grandmas. You took advantage of her, didn’t you? You preyed on her weakness and found a loophole in my curse.”
Beauty Queen Page 7