The Beast and I: Volume 1

by Praks, Alexia

  Of course, now that he explained it, the book I was reading just before did mention something along that line. Though I must admit that it was quite hard for me to understand. It sounded too technical for my mind to register.

  I furrowed my brows. “But I’m sure I don’t have any magical qi like you do, Aslan.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, but I’m sure you do, darling, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to communicate like this. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to survive the transition between two realms.”

  I blinked. “What does that mean, Aslan?”

  He said, “Not many humans can travel between realms, Lilly, unless they happen to have an immense magical qi within their body.”

  That made my heart race. Did that mean I had magical power? God, I seemed to be discovering many unknown things about myself again.

  I licked my lips and asked, “What about Paul? Ria’s husband? He was from the other side, wasn’t he? Did he have magical power, too?”

  Aslan said, “Ria told you about Paul, did she? Hmm… Paul did, but his was very weak. Hence, it took him two years to fully recover.”

  “I see,” I said, though I didn’t quite understand it all.

  We were both quiet for a moment, then Aslan said, “Lady Lilly McTavish.”

  I noted the amused, teasing tone in his voice, and I blushed.

  I said, “I needed a surname to sign up to the library system to check books out, you know.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, I know, darling. But I do like the ring of it. You don’t have a last name?”

  I shook my head. “Not that I know of, anyway. Mother always called me Lilly, so I was simply known as Lilly. She never told me what my last name was.”

  “It’s meant to be then, that you should use my surname, darling.”

  I said, “Don’t sound so cocky, Aslan. The moment I discover what my mother’s surname is, I’m changing it in the system.”

  He laughed. God, even through the WiFi network I could still hear the rumble of his chest as he merrily laughed out loud, as if I was right next to him. When he managed to stop, I asked, “Aslan?”

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “What’s a university?” I did want to ask Ria about that, but since I was “online chatting” with Aslan now, I might as well ask him.

  He said, “A university is a school, a place where we learn unique and advanced things. There are teachers and students who research things we don’t know about yet.”

  “Oh.”

  “Are you interested?”

  I nodded my head furiously, even though I knew Aslan couldn’t see me. “Yes, very,” I said.

  I thought that it’d be a good place for me to research the village, the other side of the realm, and more importantly, my mother and her past. But of course, I knew that I had to start with the castle’s library first.

  “Aslan?” I asked.

  “Hmm?”

  “When are you coming home?”

  I thought I heard a chuckle, but I wasn’t sure. This was followed by a silence, which made me think that he wasn’t going to answer my question. I was about to say “never mind” when he asked, “Are you missing me?”

  I refused to admit the fact that deep down I did want to see him. Instead I said, “I’m just worried, that’s all. You’re a king. I mean, what if you’re hurt? Your kingdom would be vulnerable to attacks and such like, you know.”

  He chuckled, which made me frown. When he managed to stop, he said, “I’m glad you missed me, sweetheart. I was beginning to worry that you had forgotten about me.”

  I said, “I certainly didn’t forget about you.”

  “Then I can’t wait to see you again. I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”

  His words made my heart skip a beat. My being was filled with this new sort of ecstatic emotion that I had not felt before. Instantly, I shut that feeling down and said, “I’m tired, Aslan.”

  He chuckled. “Then we’ll log off the chat for tonight. Good night and sweet dreams, Lilly.”

  I smiled, my eyes droopy. “Good night, Aslan.”

  A moment later, I heard a slight beep. I didn’t know if it was because it was so quiet, in the middle of the night, that I was hearing the slightest of sounds or if that little beep was the noise of Aslan’s logging off the WiFi communication network. Either way, I wasn’t going to worry about it now because I was too tired to think.

  I gently stroked Winter’s furry body as I lay there, slowly drifting off into slumber, my mind on Aslan the Beast.

  I’ve missed you, sweetheart. Aslan’s words kept echoing in my head. How could he have missed me when we had only just met? When we didn’t know anything about each other? He spoke and acted as if he had known me for such a long time, as if we were close. Then again, why, deep down inside of my being, did I, too, miss him? I, too, felt as if I had known him all my life?

  I didn’t know, and honestly, my head was starting to hurt the more I thought about it. Not to mention my whole body suddenly became weak and exhausted. I felt like I had a fever of some sort.

  I cleared my mind, and it was only then that I felt myself again.

  I tossed to the other side so that my back was to the fire and murmured softly as I closed my eyes, “Aslan, did you put another spell on me so that I would always think about you?”

  Deep within my sleep, I had a wonderful dream. In it, Aslan was suddenly right here beside me, embracing me. In his deep voice, he said something along the lines of, “You’re such a nuisance, aren’t you, sweet Lilly.” Then he lifted me up and carried me toward the bed. Once he laid me there, I refused to let him go and pulled him to me, snuggling myself against his warmth.

  I heard him say, “I’d kiss you if only I could.”

  I wanted to tell him to just pull off his mask and kiss me, then, if he so wanted to. But of course, I was deep in my slumber, dreaming, and therefore, couldn’t voice my opinion. Hence, I resigned myself to simply hugging him tightly against me instead, a smile playing across my lips.

  * * *

  The dream of Aslan beside me surely made me happy, and when I next woke up, I greeted the new day with a sense of determination that everything was going to be fine.

  I smiled when I felt Winter licking my cheeks. I shifted my gaze to the pup and said, “Good morning, Winter. You’re eager to be up today, aren’t you?”

  The dog replied with an excited bark.

  I sat up, and it was only then that I realized I was in bed. Surely, I had fallen asleep on the floor near the open fireplace last night, after my online chat with Aslan?

  I cocked my head to one side as I thought back to what had happened. Suddenly, my cheeks blushed hot as I wondered if what I had thought was a dream last night…wasn’t. Had Aslan returned home? Had he been here in my bedchamber last night? Carrying me into bed?

  I hastily got out of bed just as a few knocks came at the door. “My lady?” It was Ria.

  I cleared my throat and said, “Yes, Ria, you can come in. I’m awake.”

  The door opened and Ria appeared, a bright smile on her face. “Good morning, my lady. Did you sleep well last night?”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, very much so.”

  “Bath first again, my lady?” she asked.

  I nodded my head. “Yes. A bath, please.”

  “Of course, my lady,” Ria said, clasping her hands together.

  For the next hour, I did my morning routine of cleansing my teeth, face, and body, and of course, taking my time enjoying the hot spring bath. Once I was done, Ria helped me with my makeup and then dressing. Today, I wore a pastel orange gown made of lace and silk, with the sleeves resting about my elbows, the neckline low, and the skirt flowing all the way down, with the hem brushing against the floor. As I looked at myself through the mirror, I noted that the gown hugged my slender body perfectly, especially about the waist.

  I tuck my long hair, which today was styled into loose curls, behind my ear as I asked, “Ria, I was just wondering if Aslan h
as returned?”

  Ria chuckled. “He has, my lady. Very early this morning, so I’ve heard. It’s unlike him to return home at such an hour, mind you. He has always returned home during the grand hour of the day, when everyone could greet him.” She eyed me with interest. “But this time, he seemed to be in a rush.”

  “Oh,” I made the sound. “Maybe he has urgent business to attend to here?”

  Ria nodded. “Very urgent and enticing business, no doubt.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. Then I asked, “Since he has urgent business, does that mean he’s going to be busy all day today?”

  “Did you want to see him, my lady?”

  I nodded my head. “Yes. We chatted last night, you know. But I completely forgot to ask him some burning questions I have.”

  I didn’t miss Ria hiding a smile as she tidied everything up. “So, you and Lord Aslan chatted last night? Online, I suppose?”

  I nodded. “Yes, online,” I said. “But honestly, everything here is so new and different for me. I mean, WiFi, magical qi, and all that stuff.”

  Ria chuckled. “It can’t be helped that you’re confused, my lady, since you’re from the other side, after all. Paul told me the village is very…what’s the word? Behind, in terms of advancement, especially in the technology department.”

  I nodded my head. “Most things are done by hand and human labor,” I said. “It’s a lot of work.”

  “Of course,” Ria said. “We were like that, too, not long ago.” She chuckled. “Well, not long ago for us, merely a few thousand years, I suppose.”

  I furrowed my brows and asked, “Ria, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

  Ria blushed. “Now, my lady, I know I’m old but…”

  “I’m not judging you or anything, it’s just that Aslan is three thousand years old…”

  Ria nodded. “Now that you put it that way, I suppose the master does sounds old, doesn’t he? But lifespan on this side is longer in general. Because of the magic that exists here, we age slowly, which is good in a way. If you have strong magical power, like our Lord Aslan, then you practically don’t age at all.” She smiled. “I’m much younger than Lord Aslan, but since I don’t have a strong qi like him, I’m much older than him now, in terms of aging.”

  “I see,” I said. So, that was how it worked around here, then. The stronger your qi, the slower you aged and the longer you lived. No wondered Aslan was some three thousand years old. He must be very powerful, indeed.

  “Ria?” I asked the maid as we headed out of the dressing chamber back into my bedchamber.

  Winter trotted up to me in excitement at the sight of me, his tongue sticking out.

  “Yes, my lady?” Ria answered.

  I picked Winter up in my arms as I said, “Why aren’t there any portraits of Aslan or his family in the castle?”

  “Oh?” Ria turned to me. “Well, I suppose there really aren’t any around where you can see. They’re stored away until…” She smiled. “Until a later date when…everything is right as rain again, I suppose.” She smoothly changed the subject. “Breakfast, my lady?”

  Since I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, probing her about Aslan, I nodded my head. “Yes, please.”

  Ria was about to head out the door when I stopped her. “Wait, about Aslan. Is he going to be busy again tomorrow?” I asked.

  Ria chuckled. “I believe so, my lady. He will be so busy with his personal business this whole week that none of the important ministers will get a chance to consult him on the kingdom’s affairs.” She winked at me before she left, which of course, confused me. Why was she winking at me? I wondered.

  So, Aslan was going to be busy all week, and here I thought I’d get a chance to see him and ask him a few questions.

  I flopped on the sofa and sighed. Well, I’d just have to wait until he had his important work done, then.

  Some twenty minutes later, Ria and another maid returned with the breakfast trays. They served the meal outside on the balcony across the bedchamber, since the morning was beautiful.

  I sat, with Winter on my lap, staring off at the exotic scenery before me. From this side of the castle, I could see the garden that stretched far and wide across the land, and farther, there were miniature buildings and houses.

  “Is that the main town?” I asked Ria, nodding in that direction.

  Ria nodded. “Yes, my lady, that’s the city.”

  “I wonder if Aslan would let me go there one day,” I murmured to myself under my breath.

  The other maid, this one was slightly plump and with a pair of bear ears, said, “You can always ask him, my lady.”

  I nodded my head as I said, “Yes, I can always ask him, can’t I?”

  For the next half hour, I quietly enjoyed my morning meal of delicious toast, omelet, crispy bacon, and coffee. Once I was done, Ria asked, “Would you like to visit the west wing of the castle, my lady?”

  I blinked. “The west wing?”

  “Last week we only visited this wing, which is the south side of the castle.”

  “Oh,” I made the sound. And here I thought I had had a thorough tour of the whole place. So, there was more.

  I said, “Why not? Then I can read in the afternoon after lunch.”

  It looked like Ria couldn’t agree more, and thus we spent the morning touring the west wing of the castle, which contained many more rooms, including a grand gallery full of paintings—again none of Aslan or his relatives.

  This side of the castle estate also held the department of finance and the department of labor, as Ria told me. I wasn’t quite sure what they were and decided that I’d look it up later in the library, after lunch.

  Indeed, after a delicious lunch, I spent the whole afternoon in the library, finding books about the Forbidden Forest political system, which included bits and pieces of the department of finance and the department of labor and how they worked. By the time evening came around, I had a general understanding of how things worked here on this side of the realm.

  I must admit that the system here was so much more complex and sophisticated when compared to the village on the other side, which was very feudal and archaic from what Mother had taught me. Even though I had learned the basics of how life worked here, I had yet to understand how the Aurora Realm came about, and how it was connected to the other side where the village resided. God, there were just so many questions popping up in my head the more I discovered about this side of the world.

  I was just heading back to my room when Ria rushed up to me along the corridor. She called out, “My lady?”

  I paused and turned to her. I didn’t miss the fact that her face was quite red and she looked rather flustered. Had she been rushing around looking for me? I wondered.

  “What is it, Ria?”

  “I was looking for you,” she said, which confirmed my suspicion.

  “I was in the library, reading,” I said, grinning.

  “Oh, I see. Yes, that’s right. I have forgotten to look for you there.” She chuckled. “But anyway, please come with me, my lady.”

  She took my wrist and started leading me down the corridor, her pace so quick that I nearly stumbled trying to catch up with her.

  I asked, “What’s wrong, Ria? What’s the hurry?”

  “We must get you ready for dinner, my lady,” she said.

  I blinked. “Dinner? But it’s still early yet, and why do I have to get ready?”

  “Of course, we have to get you ready, my lady, since you’re dining with Lord Aslan.”

  “Oh,” I made the sound. I was going to dine with Aslan tonight? That got my heart skipping a few beats. I licked my lips, nervous suddenly. Yes, I admit that I wanted to see him, but now that I had the chance, I was a little frightened of the fact that he might want to start cuddling me again. After all, we hadn’t seen each other for over a week, and I just knew that would be the first thing on his mind.

  Back in my bedchamber, Ria went about doing he
r job of getting me ready for the important and unexpected dinner. She made me shower and then bathe in the hot spring pool, shampooing my hair and scrubbing my skin until I turned pink from head to toe. After that, she helped me apply body cream, the special one that’d made my skin even smoother and softer than the usual one I applied daily.

  When she started doing my makeup, I said, “Must I put on makeup, Ria? I’ll be going to bed after dinner, anyway.”

  She shook her head in the negative. “It’s a must, my lady. I wouldn’t dare let Lord Aslan see you without any makeup on.”

  “But he already saw me without any makeup on, Ria. The first time I met him, I was in a rag of a sacrificial garment and my skin was all bruised and…”

  She nodded. “I understand that, my lady, but that’s not the case anymore. You’re Lord Aslan’s beauty now,” she said, as if that explained the reason why I had to wear makeup for a simple evening meal with Aslan.

  I sighed, giving up on protesting. Ria could be quite determined when it came to me and my appearance. I had learned that the hard way on my second day here, when she wouldn’t let me leave the room until I had agreed to wear makeup and a proper dress. She had said that I must look the part as “Lord Aslan’s Beauty” at all times when in public.

  “Very well,” I said.

  She clasped her hands together in glee, and without further ado, she went about her work seriously—applying makeup on my face and doing my hair.

  Once she was done, some half an hour later, I stared at myself in the mirror in awe. My skin looked simply flawless, and my eyes were even more enhanced, especially with the dark mascara that was applied on my lashes. My lips were ruby red, while my silver hair was once again blow-dried and styled into long loose waves that rested down my back.

  “Come along now, my lady, let’s get you dressed,” Ria said, showing me the gown for tonight.

  I could only stare at such a lovely piece of artwork, the glittery beads sparkling before my eyes.

  I said, “Ria, that gown is a bit too beautiful for something like a simple dinner with Aslan, don’t you think?”