Beauty Within

by Emily L Goodman

  By the time they all came down for dinner, Erin, at least, looked much subdued; and even Millicent looked as though she had taken some steps to calm herself and rearrange her expectations. Callista approached them cautiously as they appeared in the large entryway.

  “Um…I had Mrs. Martel make our favorite,” she said softly, looking from Erin to Millicent. “Roast leg of lamb with parsnips—and I’m sure she’s whipped up something incredible for dessert.”

  “Yum,” Millicent said encouragingly. “I can’t wait to taste it! That’s one of the good things I do remember from my time here: the food is quite incredible.”

  “Mrs. Martel is a good cook,” Erin said grudgingly.

  “Did you talk with her about menus?” Callista wanted to know. “She’s basically made everything I’ve ever asked her to put together for me.”

  “I never really,” Erin began—and then she froze. Callista didn’t need the faint prickling between her shoulder blades to know that Griffin had appeared. Erin’s expression was enough.

  “Hello.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

  Callista looked up—and into the hated mask. She’d tried—hard—to convince Griffin to just leave the mask off. Erin had already seen what was beneath it, and the others already knew. He, however, had refused. “Hi,” she said quietly. She had given up being shy with him a long time ago, but somehow, it was different now, with her family here.

  Theo cleared his throat softly.

  Oh. Right. Manners. Callista blushed faintly, but managed to keep her composure. “Griffin, you’ll remember Millicent and Erin.” She indicated her sisters with a faint incline of her head as she moved forward, claiming his arm. “And this is Anastasia, my eldest sister. Stasi, this is Griffin.”

  To her credit, Anastasia might have swallowed hard, but she kept her composure as she looked up at Griffin. “It’s, ah, nice to meet you,” she told him. Unlike Millicent and Erin, she remembered her curtsy.

  “It’s nice to meet you, as well.” Griffin bowed to her and cautiously didn’t offer his hand. Callista knew why, but she squeezed his arm reassuringly anyway.

  He patted her hand gently in return. She wished she could see his smile, but no—the mask was there to make her sisters and Theo more comfortable.

  She sighed anyway. It had the potential to be a long two weeks.

  Conversation at dinner that night could have been very stilted and awkward, with Erin staring down at her plate in silence and Griffin struggling once again to fit food through his mask instead of being able to eat it like a normal person. He’d lost the knack for it; Callista could tell that he was having less luck at it than before. Thankfully, however, Theo and Anastasia shared one knowing look and began a conversation about horses that had both Callista and Griffin jumping to join in.

  It was nice, having her family gathered around the dinner table together—and for a little while, Callista managed to completely forget that there was anything wrong and just enjoy herself with her family. She thought even Griffin might be enjoying himself, at least a little. She caught hints of what she thought was a smile behind the mask; and if he didn’t eat much, he did at least manage to get a few bites through the mask.

  She was, she decided, pleased with the way things were going. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad while her sisters were here after all.

  After dinner, they all excused themselves with smiles—and Griffin, she thought, with only a little bit of relief. Did he miss their usual nightly walk through the gardens? She hoped so—because she knew she was missing her time with him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  An Early End

  Breakfast on the first morning since her sisters had come was served in their individual rooms so that no one had to rush to get up—and so, Callista knew, Griffin could actually eat breakfast instead of simply picking at his food. He had to eat at least a couple of meals a day in order to not lose weight again; and she didn’t want him suffering just so he could sit across the dinner table from her sisters.

  She considered going up to his rooms to have breakfast with him. Meals taken with him, days spent in his company—those had become her norm, and it was odd to even contemplate being by herself instead of being by his side.

  Unfortunately, before she could get out of the hallway where the guest rooms were located, Erin poked her head out the door.

  “I thought I heard you!” she declared. “Come in! We’re all in here.”

  Callista sighed, but joined her sisters—and, to her surprise, Theo, who normally took breakfast earlier than the rest of them.

  Then again, a glance at the clock was enough to tell her that it was early, by her sisters’ standards.

  “We couldn’t sleep,” Stasi confessed a little sheepishly. “I mean, how do you just roll over and go back to sleep when you’re in an enchanted castle, you know?”

  “I can see where it would be difficult,” Callista admitted, winking at her.

  Stasi giggled. “So.” She helped herself to a plate full of breakfast as she spoke, her eyes sparkling. “Do you have plans for us for the day?”

  “Well…” Callista hesitated. “I’ve been telling my friends in town that you’re coming,” she said hesitantly. “I thought we might go pay the city a visit, introduce you around.”

  “That sounds like fun!” Stasi declared heartily—a little too heartily. Was that relief in her eyes? She ducked her head, taking a quick bite of a strawberry before Callista could get a good look at her.

  She sighed. Clearly, Erin had been up long enough to express her opinion on at least one topic this morning. “I should warn you,” she began.

  “Oh, let me guess. There are boys in town with all sorts of ideas.” Erin rolled her eyes, talking across the top of her. “Really, Callista, you’ve been far too sheltered. There are boys everywhere, and when they’re not your brothers, you do have to know how to handle them properly.”

  “I—”

  “Please don’t worry when Millicent and I engage in a little flirting,” Erin continued. “After all, it’s been quite a while since the last time we were in company where it was considered acceptable. We might be out of practice!” She giggled, but it wasn’t the sweet giggle Callista was used to. It sounded a little sharp, a little conceited.

  Callista frowned at Stasi, asking her sister with her eyes what on earth was going on with Erin. This wasn’t normal for her sister, was it? It didn’t seem at all like the Erin she thought she knew; but right now, she wasn’t the least bit sure that she knew her sister at all?

  Stasi just shook her head faintly. Whatever was going on, she wasn’t talking about it yet—or wasn’t able to.

  Callista sighed and let Erin ramble on. She left pauses in her conversation as though she expected someone to interject, but she didn’t appear to notice that no one was, either.

  Well, fine, then. Let her talk herself to death, Callista thought a little irritably. And then let her be surprised when talking about the castle does her absolutely no good and no one can remember what she told them five minutes later.

  Erin was still in fine form when they made their way down to the town about an hour later. She complained about the walk—it wasn’t “ladylike,” and they should have taken the carriage instead. She was displeased with the heat of the day—with summer drawing to a close, the days were quite hot, but they weren’t outside for that long. And then there was the way she looked at Callista, as though she was a slightly intriguing bug that had somehow found its way across her path.

  By the time they actually made it to the town, Callista had begun to wish she had joined Griffin and Theo on their ride instead of coming into town with her sisters. She’d hoped that her favorite brother and her friend would have a chance to get to know one another—and she’d encouraged Theo to have Griffin take the mask off, if he thought he could bear it, just because she thought that might be better and easier for everyone involved than if Theo had nothing to do but stare at that mask all day.

 
She wasn’t sure if he’d taken her up on it or not, and she was sort of wishing she’d gone with them to see. Wouldn’t it be interesting, watching her brother and her friend get to know one another? And Theo was such a good judge of character—he would be able to tell her if the kindness, the rich personality, everything she found herself starting to—well, not fall in love with, but care for—was real or just something that Griffin had manufactured so that she would fall in love with him. He would know.

  He had to—because she was terribly afraid—

  “Callista!” Arabella threw herself at her as though she had been missing for weeks, even though it had only been a few days since her last trip into town. “You’re here!”

  “I told you I was going to be.” She hugged her friend back, then carefully disentangled herself. “Arabella, do you remember me telling you that my sisters were coming?”

  “Oh—right!” Arabella’s eyes brightened. “And I guess this must be them.” She looked from one of them to the next, frowning faintly. “They don’t—is it insulting to say that they don’t look much like you?”

  Callista shrugged. She was used to hearing it. She knew she was nowhere near as beautiful as her sisters—though she did think that she resembled Stasi, at least a little. “This is Millicent.” Millicent curtsied. “And Erin.” It was Erin’s turn. Her curtsy was considerably deeper, utterly flawless. For a moment, Callista was confused—and then she saw Frederick and Barrett.

  Right. Boys. She sighed softly. Arabella wasn’t going to be happy if Erin started making eyes at Frederick—and knowing the mood her sister was in right now, she would probably go after him just for the challenge.

  “And this is my eldest sister, Anastasia.” It was Stasi’s turn to curtsy.

  “Girls, may I introduce Arabella, Juliette, Frederick, and Barrett.” She gestured to each of them in turn, giving them time to curtsy or bow if they wished. Her friends did—all of them with a cheerful elegance that made Callista wish, just for a moment, that she possessed some of that innate grace.

  “How nice to meet you.” Frederick bowed low over Millicent’s hand.

  “I didn’t realize Callista’s sisters were so lovely.” Barrett chose Erin’s hand, a gleam in his eye that Callista recognized: it was the one he usually directed toward Arabella. “Tell me, my dear, have you ever been the subject of a poem?”

  “No.” Erin smiled prettily at him. “But you know, I am a singer. Music and poetry really are one and the same, don’t you think? Especially when done correctly.”

  Arabella snorted softly.

  Callista exchanged a smile with her friend. “Maybe he’ll turn his attentions to her while she’s here,” she whispered. “Just think of all the poems you won’t have to listen to!”

  “I say we encourage it,” Arabella said promptly.

  Callista giggled.

  Stasi turned their way, looking surprised. “Callista? What was that?” she teased. “Anyone would think you were enjoying it here!”

  “I told you, these are my friends,” Callista pointed out to her. “Now, come on. I know it’s early for sweets, but there’s a chocolate orange concoction in the local sweet shop that you simply must try.”

  “Chocolate and orange, hm?” Anastasia asked curiously.

  “Oh, you must try it!” Juliette declared, wrapping her arm through Stasi’s. “I declare, it’s a good thing we spend so much time walking through town and laughing when we’re together, or I would weigh a ton because of these things!”

  “Well, then, that is a dessert that must be tried!” Millicent declared, sticking her head over.

  At the sweet shop, each of them ordered their own dessert. The owner, Marguerite, looked over at Callista with a smile. “And one extra for the road?” she wanted to know.

  Callista nodded immediately.

  “Really? It’s good enough that you have to have a second one before bed?” Stasi teased her.

  “Oh, well…” Callista blushed.

  “Oh, go on, Cally, tell her,” Juliette said lightly, elbowing her gently in the ribs.

  “I don’t—”

  “She’s got a mystery lad somewhere,” Arabella declared.

  “Won’t tell us a thing about him, of course,” Barrett said, looking faintly put out.

  “Of course, that’s our Callista: must keep her secrets.” Frederick clucked his tongue.

  “Secrets, hm?” Millicent made a face at her. “What do you want to know? After all, as Callista’s older sisters, we know nearly everything there is to tell.”

  “Oh, we are going to have to chat!” Frederick joked. “But no, really, it’s the biggest mystery of all that has us all wondering.”

  “Mystery?” Stasi frowned over at Callista, clearly trying to figure out where there was any sort of mystery in her.

  “Well, yes. Where is it that she disappears to? Where does she come from?” Arabella spread her arms wide. “It’s not as though there are so many places in town where she could be, but she refuses to tell any of us. Just goes tramping off into the woods as though she’s trying to go straight through them, when everyone knows it’s tangled and snarled so that it’s impossible to get through.”

  “Oh, but—” Erin began.

  Callista wished she could step on her sister’s toes. Thankfully, Stasi did it for her. “Haven’t you told them?” she whispered, leaning close to Callista’s ear.

  “Can’t,” she admitted just as quietly. “It’s the curse—they forget it as soon as I tell them.”

  Stasi frowned, but shrugged. “I suppose it will have to stay a mystery, then,” she declared softly.

  Erin, meanwhile, was frowning at all of them. “Really, Callista, there’s no need for secrecy!” she said irritably. “She’s staying at the castle in the middle of the woods, that’s all. Millicent and I were there for a while before she was.”

  “The what?” Arabella frowned even harder than Erin was.

  “There’s nothing in that forest,” Frederick insisted calmly.

  “I suppose you’re going to just support her in it, then?” Juliette rolled her eyes as the curse took hold. “Fine, then. Keep your secrets. I see how it is.” She pouted prettily, but with a sparkle that let them know that she wasn’t really offended.

  “But—” Millicent began.

  “It’s no use,” Callista informed them. “I’m the mystery girl—and that’s how it stays.” She winked at Arabella and Juliette.

  “You just like the air of mystery. I’m telling you, someday, I’m going to sneak home after you, and you’re not going to be able to stop me,” Arabella informed her.

  “I’ll invite you someday,” Callista informed her.

  Erin shot her a sharp look. “Oh, you will, will you?” She kept her voice light, but Callista could hear the bite beneath it.

  She sighed. Clearly, her sister wasn’t going to decide that she liked Griffin—or the situation—any time soon. Well, fine.

  Erin did, at least, enjoy her afternoon in town. In fact, by the time they started back toward the castle that evening, she was back to her usual self—though she did frown down at the bag Callista was still carrying. “You’ve dragged that dessert around town all day,” she informed her. “Now, come on, tell us, since we’re away from your friends now: what are you really doing with it?”

  “They were right.” Callista blushed a little, but kept her voice steady anyway. “I’m taking it back for Griffin. It’s his favorite, and he can’t go down into town to get it himself, so…” She spread her hands.

  “That’s sweet.” Stasi smiled softly. Callista wondered if she was imagining doing the same thing for Peter someday.

  “That’s kind of messed up,” Erin corrected. “What, his oh-so-wonderful cook can’t manage to come up with a dessert for him? Come on, Callista, the guy is basically holding you prisoner. You can’t possibly think that the right response to that is to bring him his favorite dessert!”

  Callista gaped at her sister, unable to think fast
enough to form the words. Finally, her temper got the better of her. “Do I look like a prisoner to you?” she demanded.

  Erin looked her up and down. “Looks to me like in two weeks, the four of us are going to leave, and you’re not going to have a choice about whether or not you come with us,” she informed her.

  “Oh, you mean like you didn’t?” Her temper was well and truly riled, now. She couldn’t entirely help it. “Because the way I see it, you came flying home the moment you got the least little bit panicked about something, and he’s never held that against you.”

  “He made you come out, didn’t he?” Erin shot back. “He’s got his hands on you, now; and you’ve got less of a choice than I did, because if you have to leave, it’s Stasi next, and—”

  “Just stop it!” Callista threw up her hands in frustration.

  “Cally—” Stasi began.

  “No. She’s insulted him and insulted him and insulted him, and she hasn’t taken half a second to think about the fact that he hasn’t ever done anything to any of us!”

  “Other than insisting that we stay here for a year, you mean!” Millicent cut in.

  “Maybe.” Callista shrugged. “And maybe we’re as free as we’ve ever been. He asked for a year and a day—what is that, really?”

  “It’s an eternity for our careers,” Erin sniffed.

  “Your careers. Is that the thing that’s most important—” She pressed her lips together in a thin line for a long moment, doing her best to compose herself before she ended up saying something that she would regret even more.

  “What do you know about it?” Millicent demanded angrily. “You don’t have a career to worry about—there’s nothing stopping you from staying here!”

  “I said that from the beginning.” Callista’s voice was so frosty that she was surprised the ground beneath her feet didn’t end up coated with ice. “But no, you had to be the ones to come out here while everyone cooed over what a sacrifice you were making.” She clenched her hands into fists, the hand around the bag holding Griffin’s dessert shaking. “He doesn’t have a choice. Did you ever even think about that? The only way for him to break the curse—and it is a curse, Erin, since I’m not sure you ever even bothered to ask that much—is for someone to see past the beast and fall in love with the man. The only way for someone to fall in love with the man is for them to spend enough time with him to actually get to know him—and that means staying here. With him.”