"Beauty and the Beast: Part 1: Nicholas" by C. L. Corbin

Nicholas sat in front of the fire- well, really it was no longer a fire, just a few embers that refused to die out, giving off a cozy warmth- and rocked his daughter, Rose, in her cradle. Rose was fast asleep. All was quiet and warm and comforting. He looked down at her soft round face, and thought of how much it looked like her Mother’s…

Rose’s mother had died a few weeks after she gave birth to Rose. It happened so fast. No symptoms, just one moment she was there, the next, she was gone. Nicholas had loved her more than anything, a kind of love that did not fade even after the months that she had been gone. He had been so stricken with grief for a long time that he could hardly function- he shut down his carpentry business and lost much weight from hardly eating. The only thing that had kept him going was Rose- she was little and helpless, and she needed him, and somehow through her Nicholas saw his wife. He loved Rose because she was all he had- everything he had known that was good in his life was somehow linked to her.

Rose slept soundly, her little hands balled into fists. There was no noise in the house at all, except for the occasional sound of a crackling spark in the fireplace. Her eyes, startlingly blue, were closed, and her long black eyelashes brushed her cheeks. She was a pretty baby, cheerful and good-natured. She hardly ever cried and she slept soundly through the night. Suddenly, though, three loud knocks on the door sounded clear and heavy in the silence. Rose’s eyes opened and she instinctively held her arms out for Nicholas to pick her up.

Nicholas opened the door with Rose in his arms. A tall, thick man with a long beard and a scarred face- the village blacksmith- was standing on his doorstep. “What can I do for you?” asked Nicholas, trying to sound cheerful. He was annoyed to have someone pounding on his door in the middle of the night.

“Sorry ‘bout the disruption- but it’s import’nt I talk to ye.” The man said, his voice deep and unpleasant.

“….Yes?” Nicholas asked. There was a sharp breeze coming into the house now, and the last thing he wanted was for Rose to catch a cold.

“Yer bills, Nick. Ye haven’t paid ‘em since that wife o’ yers died. An’ we feel sorry for ye an’ all, an’ we been kind to ye and let the money thing slide, but it’s been almost a year now she’s been gone and we can’t let ye live without payin’ bills much longer. It’s just plain takin’ advantage of us, it is!” The man said, his voice getting louder as he got more worked up.

“I’m terribly sorry… It’s just… Taking care of Rose takes my time… And I don’t have a job….” Nicholas trailed off stuttering in front of the imposing blacksmith.

“I know it’s hard an’ all, I un’erstand that, but it’s not an excuse, Nick. Ye got ta do what ye got ta do.” He said gruffly.

“But I need to take care of my daughter!”

“Ye need to pay yer bills an’ yer taxes, else ye’ll lose yer house!” The blacksmith said. Then he turned without another word and walked away into the inky darkness of night.

Nicholas stood in the doorway, cradling Rose in his arms, and didn’t know what to do. He had been so wrapped up in Rose’s welfare that he had forgotten about work- and it was not as though getting a job in this town was easy. But he had no choice.

Over the next few weeks, Nicholas applied for many jobs, but was not given any of them. He was not popular in his village, and he knew perfectly well why- his wife, Rose’s mother. She had not come from the village, making her an outsider, and she did not have the sandy blonde hair and green eyes that all villagers had- she had black hair and blue eyes, exotic-looking to say the least. She had not fit in. And, even in her death, the fact that Nicholas had once been married to her made him an outcast too. It’s not my fault! He thought angrily. She was a wonderful woman. She didn’t look like them- so what? But he could do nothing about it, and he did not get a job.

Weeks later, a cold, windy evening when all the villagers had their doors and windows tightly closed to keep out the chill of the wind, they came. The village representatives knocked down Nicholas’ door and walked inside, dusting the floor with frost, and pulled him out of his bed.

“We warned you what would happen. We told you to pay your taxes and your bills. We have put up with you this long, but you refused to live by our rules. And now it is too late. Get out.” The men said, as Nicholas pulled Rose into his arms.

“I can’t!” Nicholas cried. “I have nowhere to go.”

“You must. We cannot let you stay when you defy the rules that every other villager must follow.” The leader of the group said, thrusting Nicholas out the door.

“You can’t do this to me! I have a daughter, she’s only a baby! Where will we go?” Nicholas screamed, but the men ignored him.

“Leave,” they said. “We don’t care where you go. Just leave.”

Nicholas watched in horror as the men struck matches and lit his house afire, until it was completely engulfed in flames. All he could do was hold Rose tightly to his chest and run out of the village- after all, there was no where to go and he couldn’t stay there. Anywhere would be better than there. Rose let out a small cry of protest but otherwise made no noise. Nicholas ran faster, through the trees as wind whipped at his face and bare hands. He couldn’t feel anything - just the gentle reassurance of Rose holding onto him. It was so dark that he might have been blind, so quiet that he might have been deaf. He couldn’t think of anything, wouldn’t comprehend what had happened. He was going to get away, and that was all that was important.

In the distance the silence was broken by the sound of the village’s clock sounding. Midnight. Suddenly Nicholas realized that it was a new day- in fact, it was Rose’s first birthday. “Oh, Rose!” Nicholas said softly. He had been making her a beautiful doll out of wood, but it was gone in the fire. He had nothing for her. And now, for the first time, everything that had happened came down on him like so many weights and he wept. But he had to keep going.

He no longer ran. He just couldn’t. He walked slowly, feeling pine needles under his feet, Rose’s hands holding onto his shirt. He didn’t know what he would do, or for that matter what he could do. He didn’t have food. He didn’t know where he was or where he could go. And he was scared, for the first time since his wife had died. Scared of what was ahead, events that where out of his control. He had always pictured Rose growing up safe and secure, living in a nice house with him there, in their village. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all they had, more than a lot of people had.

All of these thoughts ran through his head in a slur of confused sadness, and he hardly noticed where he was going. All he noticed was that one minute he was in the woods, and suddenly the woods were gone. He was standing on a hill, and below him were endless fields of rose gardens, thick and lush, sending out a perfume that made Nicholas feel light-headed. In the middle of the rose gardens stood a castle, square and thin and tall, with many turrets piercing the cloudy night sky. It was old, judging by the ivy that ran in thin strands all over the castle. And it didn’t have a single light on in any of its many windows. It was abandoned.

He made his way slowly down the hill until he reached the edge of the rose gardens. For an abandoned castle, the gardens were awfully well tended- the rosebushes were all cut into uniform square shapes, and fresh mulch lay thick on the ground. Everything was perfectly weeded. Rose slowly opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. She pointed to a nearby rose bush and looked at Nicholas expectantly. Nicholas walked over and Rose reached out a hand, brushing it gently along the rose’s petals. And then Nicholas knew what Rose’s birthday gift would be.

He slowly walked along the rose bushes, looking at each flower. They were all different, and he was determined to find a perfect one, perfect just like his Rose. As he walked, one in a bush several flowerbeds away caught his eye. He walked over and saw just what he had been looking for- a rose, beautifully shaped, without a single thorn. It was perfect.

Nicholas held Rose up and looked her in the eyes. “Rose, my Beauty, I know that many years from now you will not remember this. But this morning is your birthday. We are now living under very unfortunate circumstances. But, surprisingly, I have hope. Because ever since your mother, my wife, died, I have known we can get through anything together. You won’t grow up how I wanted you to live. Things won’t be perfect, but I will always take care of you, and I will make everything as perfect for you as I can. Happy first birthday, my Beauty.” And so Nicholas picked the rose and gave it to his daughter. She laughed and held it in her little hands, putting it to her nose and breathing in its sweet scent. Nicholas watched as Rose enjoyed her present, and for one moment that night his heart filled with joy. But the feeling did not last long.

Nicholas did not notice the dark fog that crept up around them, getting thicker and thicker and spreading until Nicholas looked around in alarm- he could no longer see. He held Rose to his chest tightly and looked around. He had seen much interesting weather in his life, but never pitch black fog so thick that you could almost feel it sift through your fingers.

Slowly a section of the fog parted and a tall man walked through. He was wearing a hooded cloak that covered his face and he walked slowly, deliberately. In moments he was in front of Nicholas, his arms crossed, his face hidden in darkness. “Who dares enter my garden?” He asked, his voice scratchy and deep.

“I am sorry… If I had known, I would not have come here…” Nicholas did not know what to say. He was scared.

“It is not that you came here. It is that you picked a rose.” The man replied menacingly.

“I…. I….”

“SILENCE! I would kill you if it were not for your daughter.”

Nicholas could not speak. He could only clutch Rose to his chest and pray that they would make it out of this horrid mess alive.

“But, instead I will spare both your lives. If you give me the child.” The man demanded.

“NO!” Nicholas cried, turning to run. The man held up a gloved hand and the fog became a solid wall, knocking Nicholas back.

“You must, or you will both die. Give me the child and I assure you she will be safe. I can’t give you that kind of promise if you refuse me.”

Nicholas didn’t know what to do. There was nothing he could do but give Rose to this strange man. He could try to fight him, but the man was well over six feet tall- Nicholas couldn’t do it. At this point he didn’t care if he died, but he wanted Rose to be safe- and the only way was to give her to this man. “All right,” Nicholas said, sighing. “But—will I ever see her again?”

The man chuckled and said, “That is not my problem.” He snapped his fingers and Rose was in his arms, leaving Nicholas clutching thin air.

“WAIT!” turned on his heel Nicholas cried, but the man and started to walk away. “I must know. Who… Who are you?”

The man turned around and pulled his hood off. Nicholas screamed at the man’s face…. It was terrible…. The man grinned and laughed a horrible laugh…. The last thing Nicholas heard before he went black were the words, “I am the beast.”