Beastly

Why me?

Laurel held the coat worn over her night dress tightly to her body as she strolled through the corridors of the castle, it would never feel the same again,it was bound to happen,but not this soon and not to a man like that.

She walked through the court yard,the night wasn't as cold as what it had been in Coundour, the air was cool and it didn't pierce into the skin,then she decided to take a walk through the garden, she never thought she would take walks through the castle floors by this time of the night but here she was, doing just that,she felt suffocated inside the castle so she decided to take a breather, and with that,she walked through the secluded part of the woodlet.

"You said that you would be waiting,"she said looking up at him."what did you mean by that?",she held his gaze.

"How did you know that I would be coming back?"she asked the question that has been on her mind for quite some time.

"I say things ,milady, they mean very little."he countered.

"The words of a mere gardener should not matter to you,milady"he said lowering his gaze,he knew she didn't like it when he belittled himself but it was the painful reality she would have to face.

"That isn't the truth, tell me what you meant."she said ignoring his last words entirely,she knew he was trying to divert her attention from the main topic but she wouldn't let him and to do that she had to be focused one of the ways being releasing herself from his embrace. Why was he lying?, what was he keeping from her?

"You don't-"

"Beatrice."she heard her voice from behind and she stiffened,she couldn't see his face properly but she knew that he was as scared and surprised as she was ,no one ever ventured to this part of the garden especially not by the time of night so why did her mother come?,did she follow her?,what was she to do now?,she closed her eyes and clenched her fists,what would she say?.

"Beatrice?"laurel said calmly as she approached her,she had seen their shadows as she walked deeper into the garden,at first she had thought that it was just one of the stable boys and a maid servant stealing a time for themselves away from prying eyes but when she got closer and heard the supposed maid servants voice she was shocked to realize that it was a very familiar voice in fact the voice of her first daughter and she just had to be sure she wasn't making assumptions so she called her name and when she didn't answer she called her again as she stepped closer and she turned,she tried to shrink into the hood on her head and as it was dark laurel took another step forward to stand in front of her then slowly she raised her hand to her good and took it off.

"W-what are you doing?" Laurel asked not seeming to understand what was going on.

"You,"she said looking up at the young man who dared to touch her daughter "who are you?"she asked barely able to hold her temper.

"Darion, my queen."he said with a bow while Trice remained rooted in place.

"The gardener."he said finally hitting the point Trice that always turned her expression sour.

Laurel closed her eyes as she searched for reasonable words,she had found her daughter, the crown princess in the arms of a gardener, what was there to say?,she calmed herself.

"Beatrice, up to your room now!, and you,I want you away from this castle by dawn, your services are no more needed here."she flared.

"Noo!,mother you can't."she said almost sinking to her knees but he caught her before she could.

"Shhh."he said calmly and she turned her head to look at him.

"No,no,no."she muttered visibly shaken by the thought of his departure.

"Mother please, you can't, please."she pleaded but laurel turned her face away,of all people, a gardener was not among the lot.

"Do well not to show your face here again ,I would make sure you spend the rest of your life in the dungeon."Laurel continued to say,hot tears trailed down Trice's cheeks,she turned around and hugged him like she wasn't going to let go.

"You can't leave me."she whispered,it would kill her,she might never see him again,what was she supposed to do ?,if it wasn't going to be him,then no other.

"I'ld be back."he said to her with a confidence that startled her, she pulled away from him and he smiled into her face,it felt like it was just the both of them."I love you."he mouthed then he turned and left,she stood there for a while ,no meaningful words ready to form on her lips,she should be thankful it was her mother who had caught her but she was sure her mother wouldn't keep it from him,she would receive endless lectures by the morrow ,she finally let herself fall to the ground and before she could make out visible objects,she blacked out.

Thrianna lay in bed cuddled up in his arms,she didn't fight it tonight,she didn't have the strength to and she didn't know why but she was becoming painfully aware of him and it wasn't something she found joy in,it scared her to hell.

"Why me?"she asked after a while of sleeplessness.

"What?"he asked innocently.

"You could have had any other woman at the ball,some even more prettier than the rest yet you choose to bring sorrow to my family."she said just staring blankly at his chest.

"In my defense ,how was I to know that you were a winter when I asked you for a dance."he said and she willed herself to look up at him,her eyes crowned with obvious disbelief.

"Asked?, you forced me,"she said lowering her eyes again "this is not the way to court a woman you plan to marry."she whispered very lowly but he heard it.

"Sleep Cathrianna."he said and she closed her eyes without putting up a fight,she was unusually quiet this evening,he knew she didn't play to marry him,he knew that if she was given a chance she would most likely run away but he would show her that she didn't have a choice,her options were greatly limited and the sooner she learnt that, the better for her.