The Beast Within

by SL Perrine

  “In Pylira, we have the energy of magia that lives there, and we can draw from it.” He waved a hand over the rosebush and the blossoms opened and shrunk back to buds again.

  “What about here?” I picked up a petal that fell to the ground.

  “Here, what we draw from, we eventually kill if we're not careful, by stripping it of all its energy.” He looked at me and then my hand, where the single petal danced.

  “I’m not killing anyone to do magic.” I closed my fist around the petal, crushing it.

  “No, not like that. The energy I’m pulling is from nature; plant life and insects mostly. The rest comes from ourselves. That’s why you passed out last night. We forgot to teach you to pull from nature.” He looked back to the rosebush.

  “So, I made myself really tired?” I chuckled a little at the sound of it, but by the scornful look on his face, I knew he was not happy. “Why so glum?” I poked at him.

  “Renee, this is very serious stuff. By not teaching you properly, I could have gotten you killed.” He stood and turned away from me. I saw the petals on the rosebush wither and fall to the ground. His fatigue was swiftly gone, and I could see the color rush back to Ty’s face.

  “Ty, it's okay... I’m okay. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I stood and placed a hand on his arm to turn him, but he didn’t budge.

  “If you had died, then this would all be for nothing,” he snapped back.

  “What would?” He wouldn’t look my way, which bothered me. Finally, he turned and faced my direction. He looked like he studied my every feature.

  “I came here knowing I would be trapped away from my family. That would all be for nothing if you weren’t here.” He shook his head.

  “I don’t understand. What is it you’re not telling me?” I yelled at him. He put his head down and turned back to the rosebush. The buds grew from the stems and bloomed, stopping mid-way. I marveled at the colors–deep purple, red, orange, blue, and even a few white petals–more vibrant than I’d ever seen. “Ty?” I scoffed at him.

  “I tried to tell you last night. I almost got it all out before I noticed...” His words trailed off. I don’t remember moving, but I stood in front of him and lifted my hands to his face so he looked at me.

  “I’m fine. Just please tell me what is bothering you.”

  His hand wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer to him, his gaze still locked on me. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me, soft and slow. There was a spark of power surging between our bodies, igniting a fire in my belly. Our lips parted, but the energy lingered. There was a longing as he broke the connection between us.

  “What was that?” I asked breathlessly.

  “I had to see if it would work.” The sadness in his voice shook me. I’d been kissed before, but never had a guy been sad-looking afterward.

  “If what would work?” I asked, still a little breathless.

  “Spark a memory in you; one that would tell you who you are.” His answer confused me as everything between us had. It was a while before I realized we still stood, clasped together. A wave of nausea and dizziness hit me and I had to hold him tighter.

  “What’s–” I felt faint and struggled to hold on. He scooped me into his arms and walked with me to the bench on the gazebo I never noticed was there.

  “How do you feel?” He pushed my ringlets from the corner of my mouth and tucked them behind my ear.

  I tried to keep my eyes open and look at him. “I don’t know.” I could see a halo of white light around him. The air was so warm, I couldn’t even feel it against my skin. I sat and memorized the contours of his face, the way his hair fell to rest on his forehead; the dimple on the left side of his chin. I could have sworn his eyes sparkled.

  “Sit here a moment. I’ll get you a drink.” He moved from my side only briefly, but even that was painful to bear. I yelled to him.

  “No, don’t leave! I don’t know what this is, but I know you can’t leave right now.”

  “So, there it is,” he said, and a smile crossed his face. All of a sudden, he looked like all his burdens were gone. The light hovering around seemed to sink into him. His eyes lit up more, and I knew they were the brightest, clearest blue I’d ever seen.

  “Did you do something to me?” Panic struck. How could I let him get so close? How did he get me to let my guard down? I needed to make sense of what happened to me; to make sense of why I felt like I couldn’t be separated from him.

  “No, it’s not like that,” he pleaded.

  “I feel drained like before. Oh my goodness! Are you draining me? What–” My head spun with possibilities of what could be happening. He was buio after all, and I let my guard down and trusted him. What was I thinking?

  “Renee, it’s going to be okay. If you’ll let me, I’d like to tell you everything. I promise you're fine.” He reached out to grab my hands, but I pulled back.

  “I don’t–” I tried to speak; tried to tell him I felt like I was going to pass out. As I started to, the nausea and dizziness went away and I was left feeling different. I looked over to the tree inside the yard and noticed it had been returned to its former gloomy self. I realized what he said, about drawing energy from nature, and understood why the yard looked disheveled before.

  “Okay?” The worry in his eyes reflected back at me. Maybe it was okay to trust him. Maybe this wasn’t his doing.

  “Yes, and I’d like to hear what you have to tell me.”

  “Renee, I’m the Prince of Buio.” I think it was the first time I saw him smile. He looked like a small child who had gotten the best gift ever.

  “So, you’re here to find me? That’s why you left your home. You think us getting married will save your clan, and I’m just supposed to what…?” It was absurd. It was worse than I had imagined. Why would he keep that from me all this time, only to tell me now?

  “You said I could tell you everything.” With that confession, I didn’t know if I could sit there and listen to it all, but he was right.

  “Well, that’s pretty much what it comes down to. Right?” My anger was fueled.

  “No, it’s not just that. I’m not here because the prophecy said we can end the curse. I’m here because of what the prophecy means.” His smile still lingered. He was clearly excited about something.

  “I don’t understand any of this. I feel like every time I talk to you, I have to ask for clarification on some new insight. I want the whole story.” I waved my arms in frustration. I saw his smile widen. “What is so funny?”

  He sat beside me and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, which he seemed to do a lot. The energy I felt when we kissed returned with his touch, and I felt dizzy once more.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked as he rubbed his thumb along my cheek. “I’ve been trying to get that reaction from you without scaring you.” He played with my ear and the electricity buzzed between us. I felt dizzy, but something else as well. It was something that hadn’t happened until the kiss. "What does it feel like?”

  “It…feels like a… an electric shock.” I batted his hand away.

  “And when you thought I was going to leave your side, what did that feel like?” His eyes pleaded with me more than the sound in his voice. I considered it for a moment. The thought of him leaving my side made me feel like a rubber band tied us together. When he left my side, it pulled, and with it came pain I couldn’t bear.

  “Why would I feel like this?” I asked and turned away from him so I didn’t see him grinning.

  “What did you feel?” he pressed.

  “Ty, please just tell me!” I spun back around.

  “I need to know, Renee. I haven’t felt this in so long. I need to know if it’s real or if someone spelled me.”

  “Spelled you, for what?” My frustration peaked.

  He looked irritated. “To throw me off; distract me from the reasons I’m here.”

  “I felt like my insides were being twisted in knots; like my soul was being ripped from inside
me,” I finally said.

  “The curse not only made the Buio King, my father, a beast, but it altered our very lives.” He took my hand, thought better of it, and let it go. He stood and paced the length of the gazebo.

  I pulled my feet onto the bench and hugged my knees to my chest. “I’m listening.”

  “This may be hard to hear. I only didn’t tell you before because I didn’t know how much you would believe. The rest I was forbidden to say because of the curse. I’ve wanted to tell you every day for the last year. You have to believe that,” he began slowly.

  I tried to convey irritation in my body language as much as with my words. “Ty, spit it out.”

  “Okay.” He stopped and stared into the yard, making sure not to make eye contact with me. I wondered what could have him so unnerved. This wasn’t the Ty I knew–so calm and self-assured. This Ty was more like a seventeen-year-old boy than a hundred-year-old sorcerer. “I was engaged before the curse.” He looked down at his hands, which were picking at the paint chips of the gazebo.

  “Oh.” Stunned at the reaction I felt in my gut, I searched for a better response, but he continued, and I sat silently so he would keep going.

  “When my father turned to dark magia, my mother swore to me he would never be able to hurt me or my betrothed. However, the curse was enacted and all the women of our clan were gone, for the sake of the curse.” He stopped for a moment and looked back at me.

  “They were killed by the curse?” I asked.

  “They were to appear to have been killed, but their souls will one day be reborn in time for the curse to be lifted.” He looked hopeful.

  “Is that how you lost a few women you cared for?” I asked, confused.

  “Yes, one was my mother, and the other, my fiancée.” I could see the pain in his eyes.

  “How did your mother know about the curse?”

  “Well, she was best friends with the queen; the true queen. My mother never saw herself as such. She warned my mother so she could warn the other women of my father’s realm. They were angry at first, but mother said they knew it was something that had to happen to change things back to the way they were. They also didn’t have to be around while the men of my clan were at their worst.”

  “I guess that makes sense. I just don’t know how my family could have anything to do with this.” I stood and walked to him, but he stepped away. “Is that why there are only men from your clan here? Because buio women don’t exist right now?” I tried wrapping my head around my family cursing an entire group of women and young girls to death. “Wait. When you say the queen–”

  “Yes, but you need a clear head to hear this,” he said as I attempted to walk towards him. I knew he meant our touch would make me dizzy again, so I sat. “There is just so much you need to know. I want to make sure I don’t leave anything important out. Our mothers had been best friends their entire lives. At one time, so had our fathers, until my father felt he was deserving of more than he had.” He turned back to face the yard. “Anyway, when the women died, my betrothed died.” The pain in his voice made me shudder. I felt as if we shared his pain.

  “What? You weren’t even married yet.” I was angered by that. I stood and went to his side to console him. As I laid a hand on his shoulder, I was taken back to my dream.

  “Renella, you must choose!”

  Oh, no, no…no.

  “This cannot be happening.” I had to get out of there. I ran off the gazebo and to the front gate. I heard his footsteps, but more, I felt him behind me.

  “What do you mean, Renee?” he yelled as he followed. He caught up to me as I hesitated at the fence. His hand on my shoulder pulled me back. When I turned, I didn’t see him.

  The woman I looked at was taller than me. Her curly brown hair trailed down to her thighs. She wore a navy blue, floor-length dress, which enhanced the blue of her eyes. Her skin had the look of porcelain. She was beautiful.

  “Renella, are you okay?” she spoke to me. Wait, was she speaking to me?

  I tested my dream and answered her back. “Yes, just a bit dizzy for a moment.” Yes, she had been speaking to me. How was it happening? “Where is Ty?” I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until she’d spoken to me again.

  “Tyson is with his father. He knows this must be done now. We must go. You have to choose now. Will you be with your family, or will you be with this family?”

  Then just like that, I watched the scene unfold from within my body. The words came from my mouth, but I hadn’t spoken them. “I don’t want to leave him.” As I answered, I could taste the salty tears flowing down my cheeks.

  “I know, dear. I don’t either. He’s my baby boy. But you have a choice. I don’t.”

  “What kind of choice is this? Leave him now, for who knows how long, and that’s even if we get what’s been promised. How do we know we will come back as we are now? Will I really remember my love for him? Will I remember him at all?”

  “You could stay, Renella.”

  “And never be with him. I would still have to leave him.” The tears were flowing more violently.

  “Your mother has promised. We will return in time for the curse to be lifted.” She held me in her arms for what felt like an eternity. Her embrace was comforting and familiar. “Renella…”

  “Renee! Wake up!” I heard Ty. He had me in his lap, sitting in the grass. “Where did you go?” I opened my eyes and he was there. Those same blue eyes I looked at in my dream were the same eyes I noticed the first day he came to me a year ago.

  “I’m right here,” was all I could say.

  Chapter -15-

  Ty asked me what happened. I didn’t really know what to tell him. I still don’t know what it was. I thought maybe it was a manifestation of his story into a dream, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured something else was going on. He said I didn’t exactly pass out. My eyes looked glassed over. I stared off into space, not responding to his calls. It was for a moment, but the look on his face made me believe he felt like it was much longer. I could tell he felt some sort of way about me. Whether it had been because of the curse and prophecy, I still couldn’t tell.

  I spent the rest of the weekend thinking about it at great length. After I woke up in his lap, Ty decided he could finish the story at another time. Most importantly, he wanted me to know he was the Prince of Buio. The rest, he said, could wait. As much as I wanted to know, I was glad for an intermission on the subject. He did, however, spend the rest of the afternoon showing me how to use the energy of the grass to make the roses bloom. I only managed white roses, and I’d fared well only for a little while, until I used my own energy. At that point, we called it a day. We didn’t know how many days it would be until the rest of his clan arrived or if it would happen. I didn’t want to hurt myself practicing so I could learn quickly, and what’s more, Ty didn't allow me to. His protective nature seemed very unlikely of a Buio Prince, but what did I know?

  Sunday, I decided, was a “me” day. I spent the day hiding away in my room. I had a lot of questions, but a day of sweets and a few good movies was exactly what I needed. I didn’t want to think of cryptic conversations about magic and lost loves. I tried to stay away from the princess topic altogether, but each time I changed the channel, I was confronted with The Princess Diaries and The Prince & Me. I settled on a cartoon movie about a superhero family and another one about talking cars. When those were over, I tried to read a book about vampires. Imagining a world revolving around the thirst of blood had me steering away from royalty topics until I realized they were the kind who sparkled in sunlight. What happened to vampires blowing up in the sun? It sounded like another fairy tale to me, so I tossed the book across the room and took a hot shower. By the time I was done scrubbing the weekend from my skin, I was happy to crawl into bed. Falling asleep was easier than I thought it would have been, but for a change, I dreamt of nothing.

  Monday came and there I stood, in front of the mirror on the back of my bedr
oom door, studying myself and working on my best apology face for Robin. After Friday night’s protection spell, I completely forgot about the homecoming game Saturday afternoon. After all that had happened, I wish I’d gone. I missed putting on my uniform, waving those annoyingly large pom-poms around, acting as if the only thing in the world that mattered was the score on the board and if there were any cute guys on the opposing team.

  I left my hair down to brush against the middle of my back, curls and ringlets wild as ever, like flames in a hearth. The usual school uniform's plaid green skirt and green shirt worked well with my red hair. I liked not having to fuss over my daily attire–the only plus about school uniforms. They made dressing in the morning uncomplicated, and I enjoyed all things uncomplicated.

  The walk to school was like any other day. I stubbed my toe twice while trying to maneuver the curb outside my house. I dropped my bag several times by the time I got to the corner, three houses away. One would think being a princess of any kind would make me graceful by default, but I guessed not.

  As I turned the corner from the cul-de-sac and headed down the street, which led to the school, I noticed a few faces I had never seen before. That could only mean more buio were in town. At that moment, I wished I’d studied with Ty on Sunday too. I could fight a mietitore, but not a group of boys, especially since I couldn’t split their heads off their bodies and shove them in a box to get rid of them.

  Before they got a glimpse of me, I ducked behind a fence. I couldn’t hear what they were saying from that distance, but I could see they appeared to be a group of free-spirited teen boys, like the rest. I thought the sudden increase of boys in town would be noticed at some point. I sat in the grass behind the fence and tried to think of a way to get around them.

  Just as I thought I could sneak away around the block, my cell phone rang, but before I could silence it, the boys headed in my direction. I felt a jolt of surprise as the tightness in my gut, which I hadn’t noticed since I got up, loosened. It was as if whatever pulled away from me was coming back.