True Beauty

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"We're not going anywhere," said Axel. "And April has already said that she's taking my place. Would you rather if April went, or find somewhere else to live and worry about him tracking us down and killing me? If we chose the latter, then what would you do if I died? April would have no choice but to be Rupert's wife. None of us want that, and you know it, Olof."

He rested his chin on his hands. "I think that April is making the right decision, as much as it pains me. We have to let her do what she feels is right."
 
"He's right Olof." June told him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know... But... You're my sister April. And Axel's like a brother to me. I just want you both to stay here and be safe." He said as he burrowed his head in his hands, his voice filled with despair over the situation.

"I know. But I'll be fine, I promise." April told him and gave him a hug.
 
"I wish we could that, but one of us has to go back. I promised the be-" Axel quickly covered his hand with a shocked expression on his face. "I mean the master of the castle."

He started praying that no one would notice what he almost said.
 
June looked at her brother while frowning. He seemed to almost have said something else. But what? She shook herself and decided to forget about it. It was probably nothing more than a miss on his part. Olof didn't even notice Axel's mistake.

"We should probably head to bed. It will be an early morning tomorrow." April said, trying to make sure that non of the other two thought too much on what Axel had said. Before going to bed, all of them cut off a small piece of their hair and gave it to April whom put it into her mother's locket. She hung it around her neck and decided to never take it off no matter what.

Olof didn't sleep much that night, his thoughts was occupied with his dear sister whom would disappear from them very soon. June did think about it far into the night but were far too tired to not fall asleep soon enough. April didn't sleep for a single minute that night.

Morning eventually came and April hugged her brother and cousin goodbye after they had eaten breakfast together. "I will miss you all so much." She told them. They told her the same and wished her a safe journey and a happy life, if possible.

"I'm ready." She then told Axel, and was happy that she at least could have him with her until they arrived. He would give her the courage she needed to face the man, or beast.
 
Axel let out a sigh of relief. At least no one really noticed that he almost revealed who, more specifically what, the master of the castle was. "I think it'd be best if we went to bed now," he agreed. "April and I will have to leave at first light."

Like June and Olof, he cut off a small piece of his hair and gave it to April who put all three pieces of hair into her mother's locket. Axel could hardly sleep that night. He occasionally fell asleep, but the thought of leaving April to the creature that threatened his life worried him. What if the beast said that he wouldn't harm her just to let him take her to him? What if April is as good as dead once she sets foot in the castle?

He waited patiently while April hugged his cousin and sister one last time after they had breakfast.

"I am ready," April told him.

He only nodded and mounted. "Follow me."

They hardly exchanged words for most of the trip to the castle.
 
They traveled for some hours, but rather counting hours April counted the seconds until she would have to leave her cousin. Or the seconds she got to spend with him. Even though it was silent between them, it felt much more comforting that talking would have, as words would be filled of nothing but grief at that point.

Eventually they arrived at the castle. April looked at the gates to the castle, amazed over the size. Rarely had she been outside the house since her parents died, and the town didn't have any building that majestic.

Shaking slightly she dismounted the horse. She looked at her cousin and gave him a smile, trying to hide her fear. "I guess this is goodbye." She said, not knowing how to act in that situation. How did one say farewell to a loved one? "But I'm sure we will meet again in the future. We won't be separated forever." She then told him. She could not believe that it was the end of their life together. One day they would definitely meet again.
 
Arriving at the castle, Axel also dismounted his horse, even though his chin was quivering. "I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?"

He almost burst into tears again when April said that they won't be separated forever. "I'm so sorry it's come to this." He pulled April into a hug.

"Say your goodbyes and be on your way," a voice echoed.

Axel sniffled and let April out of his embrace; he mounted his horse and galloped off.

"Did you come here willingly?" the voice boomed again.
 
April unwillingly let her cousin move out of their embrace and then watched him ride away. The voice echoed a second time and April turned around to see if she could see the man. But so far he was no where in sight.

"Yes, I came... Willingly to take my cousins place." She told the voice. Her hands were tightly entwined in each other as she tried to stop them from shaking. "Will you keep your word of not harming him as long as I stay here?" She asked him, as she needed to hear it with her own ears.
 
"I will not harm anyone," the voice said soothingly. "I especially wouldn't harm you. Come inside so you can be warm."

A figure on top of the stone wall surrounding the castle opened the gate and quickly disappeared.

"Anything I have is yours if you wish," the voice continued. "All I ask is that you do not leave the castle grounds."
 
Why hasn't he showed himself? April wondered as she and her horse stepped in on the castle grounds. How could she trust a man that hid in the shadows? But she did not have a choice, her cousin would suffer greatly if she were to turn back. "I understand. I promise you I won't leave." She told him.

First she led her horse to the stables, then she walked towards the front door of the majestic building and walked inside. She constantly looked around so that she might catch a glimpse of the supposedly beast that so far had lurked in the shadows.

April walked up to a lit fireplace and stretched out her cold hands to warm them up. It didn't help for the shaking though as that was caused by a completely different problem. She felt awfully alone even though she knew that someone was close by. "Uhm... You.. You haven't told me your name m'lord." She said as if talking to air. He might still be outside, but he might also be close enough to hear.
 
"Please, do not call me m'lord," the voice said. "You are mistress here." There was a short pause. "You may call me Philippe."

The figure had moved from the stone wall to the open hallway upstairs as it looked down on April who was warming herself by the fireplace. "Are you this April that I have heard about?"
 
"I am." April confirmed, not completely certain where his voice came from as the room echoed. "Forgive me for asking but, why do you stay hidden in the shadows Philippe?" She asked as her curiosity over this beast master started to overtake her fear. It didn't seem as if he would hurt her after all. If that had been his intention then he would most likely have done it already as her cousin was too far away already to know.
 
"I-I don't want to frighten you," Philippe said hesitantly. "I am just a beast..."

He slowly walked down the hall while keeping his eyes on April. "Tell me... what has that man told you about me?"
 
Even Philippe was calling himself a beast, could it truly be so? "He told me that you gave him shelter from the storm, and that when he picked a rose for me in your garden you were angered to the degree of wanting him dead if I didn't take his place. He also told me that you aren't... human." She told him.

Maybe she changed his story slightly, a hideous beast was what Axel had truly called him. But she weren't going to use those words. "Why did you give him the choice between my freedom and his life?" April asked him. It had certainly been as much her fault as her cousin's, but why make her stay there for the rest of her life? Why not kill her as he would have done her cousin?
 
"I did," said Philippe. "I noticed that he was lost while I was on my way back and I made sure the light was bright enough for him to see. I had pity for him and didn't want to die in the cold. So I opened my home to him. I have been alone for so long that only the roses bring me some happiness. And he dares to take one. I only gave him a choice because I thought that you might..."

He gulped silently. "It might seem strange to you, but I was hoping that you might stay here with me. I didn't want to resort to killing him."

He leaned over the railing a little. "W-Would you like to.....see me?"
 
It seems incredibly strange to her. She could understand that he was feeling lonely, but still... His way of dealing with it was odd.

"I will stay here for a long time." She started. "So I would have to see you eventually either way. Why not now?" He couldn't have thought of hiding in the shadows forever, could he? Either way, she was rather curious. There was still the doubt in the back of her mind. He couldn't be a real beast. Maybe he simply looked very deformed. Some people was incredibly frightened for humans like that. But Axel shouldn't have reacted like he did just because he looked a little bit odd.
 
Now?

What if I scare her? What if she wants nothing to do with me? What if she wants to run off in disgust and fear?

"All right," Philippe said timidly with his raspy voice. "I'm coming down the stairs..."

Stepping out of the shadows, a beast with the head of a werewolf, the arms and body of a tiger, the legs and feet of a ram, and the tail of a horse walked down the flight of stairs and looked at April with his brownish blue eyes.

"If you think I'm horrid looking, I won't be offended," he said with sadness entering his tone.
 
Nothing could have prepared April for what she saw, her cousin hadn't exaggerated the slightest when he had told her that it looked like a beast. She unconsciously took a few steps back and the shock was clear on her face.

But somehow she was able to calm down, he might look like a monster taken right out of a book, and he obviously was incredibly aggressive when it came to his roses. But he had given Axel a place to stay when he needed it, and he hadn't hurt her yet. And the sadness in his tone reminded her of how human he was, even with such an appearance.

"H..How did you become like that?" She asked with a slightly shaky voice. It was hard to believe that he was simply born like that. If he was born of human parents then he shouldn't look like an animal, if he was born from animals, then how could he speak like a human?
 
"You won't believe," he said, turning away from her. "But I'm cursed. That is all I will speak of it."

Philippe turned his gaze back at April. He wasn't surprised that she stepped back and was shocked, but he was taken back by the fact of her not screaming in horror or calling him a monster.

"Please, just give me a chance. I'll never intend to hurt you in any way and my heart is good."
 
Cursed? That sounded like something right out of a fairy tale. But her mind couldn't find any other explanation to it. Her body started to relax slightly, but at the moment she did not get closer to him.

"I'm sure you mean well, and I know you love your roses so it must have hurt when someone picked one without asking, but a truly good person with a good heart would have forgiven the action when noticing how sorry the perpetrator was. It's never wrong to get angry when someone hurts you, but threatening to kill them is never something a good person would do." She said, more in an explaining manner than a blaming one. Because she truly wanted to believe that he was good, but lost. And she hoped her judgement was right.

"I do believe that you treated my cousin wrongly, just like he treated you wrongly. But everyone are worthy of a second chance. So just don't hurt anyone again."
 
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