Wolves and Beasts

Rose raced through the frozen forest as fast as her legs could carry her. Flying over the knee deep snow now solidified thanks to a thin layer of ice from the previous day’s rain.

The fragile layer cracked and Rose could feel it give way under her feet as she ran. Threatening to cave under her feet if she slowed in her mad dash.

Then she heard the wolves.

First one howl and then another followed by barks and yips as she saw them out of the corner of her eye; their tongues lolling out of their grinning maws, happy for a chase.

Fresh fear drove Rose to an even faster pace, but still the wolves raced at her side, darting and snapping at her legs and cloak almost as if this were only a game to them.

Rose leapt into the air when a large black wolf nearly closed their jaws around her ankle, feeling rather than seeing his sharp teeth snap closed around the space her leg had just been.

But the jump had cost her the momentum she needed to stay on top of the ice.

Rose’s leg crashed back down through the thin layer and plunged deep into the snow, catapulting her forward straight over a drop off.

She landed hard on her hip, the sound of the fall muffled by a layer of snow.

Icy cold seeped up and around her hip, and Rose realized that she had fallen onto the surface of a newly frozen pond.

The wolves growled from above.

Rose didn’t even bother to look. Instead, she started to scramble over the ice that groaned and cracked beneath her weight.

Still the wolves paced around the edges of the semi-frozen pond, no longer enjoying the chase, they wanted to feed. Their eyes hungry and teeth bared, they cautiously ventured out onto the ice.

Rose stopped in the middle of the pond, her lungs burning from the cold air, chest heaving, breath clouding up her vision. She was nearly ready to give up. Her only thoughts were of which would be the less painful end: the freezing water bellow, or the hungry wolf pack.

Then she noticed the wolves were no longer watching her. They were looking at something on the ridge behind her.

Before could even turn to look, a low rumbling growl so menacing it seemed to shake everything around it sounded from the ridge.

She knew that growl.

She had heard it only a little while ago in the deserted castle.

It was the reason she had run until it felt like her lungs would burst and made her think that death by wolf would be preferable.

The wolves whined.

One of the less timid ones crept forward, jaws open to snatch Rose’s cloak and drag her off.

The Beast roared in rage and Rose curled herself into a ball as she felt it crash onto the ice next to her, batting the wolf away as if it were no more than a toy.

But the newly frozen water couldn’t hold their weight and an instant later Rose was plunged into its dark freezing depths.

The cold water paralyzed her instantly. The shock of it knocking all air out from her, causing her to lose consciousness, the last thing she was aware of was the wish of being able to have seen her mother one last time and the feeling of something sharp scratching her back before her world went dark.

~ ~ ~

The next thing she knew Rose was waking up on a couch covered with thick quilts and pillows and in front of a blazing fireplace along with her body shivering violently.

She glanced around confused as she tried to sit up.

“Be still. Your body has not yet recovered from the chill of the water.”

Rose’s eyes instantly snapped to a section of the room where the voice had come from. It was a deep voice, though it sounded ill used and rough from neglect.

“Who are you?”

“The master of this castle, and of you.”

“I have no master.”

“You do now. Such is the price you agreed to for the life of your mother.”

“Then step into the light of the fire, that I may know whom I serve.”

There was a pause, then Rose heard a large body shift and step forward. Her eyes grew wide and her heart leapt into her throat as a monstrous beast stepped forward, not just any beast either, it was the Beast that had terrified her into running away.

“Well girl, What do you think? Can you serve a beast such as I?”

Rose swallowed, “I don’t think I have much of a choice.”