True Love's Release
A long time ago in a small village there lived a man named Benjamin. He was a poor farmer of very common and humble origins. He wasn’t very good looking either, being rather tall and bulky. His skin was tough as leather from years of hard work and his face, though not hideous, was far from handsome. The only remarkable feature he had were his eyes. They were as blue as the clear, deep ocean. No matter how gruff and uninviting his exterior, one could see his kind nature reflected in his eyes.
Benjamin was a good and generous man who was always willing to help whoever came his way. It was this generous nature that one day got him into trouble and ended up changing his life forever.
He was walking past the village market when he heard shouting. A moment later, a boy came running out toward him. Assuming that this boy had something to do with the commotion, Benjamin swooped into action and grabbed the boy. He then carried him, kicking and screaming, back to the old woman who was causing all the fuss. “Alright, lady. Here’s the boy. What’s going on?
She was a frightening sight, all bent and weathered like a prune, with rotten teeth and dirty, matted hair. She glared maliciously at the boy in Benjamin’s arms, then pointed with a gnarled finger that was barely more than twisted bone. “That urchin stole from me!” Her voice was horse and screeched like sheering metal.
Benjamin looked at the boy. “Is this true?”
The boy looked down for a moment, then up at Benjamin. “All I took was one apple from that barrel she’s selling. I was starving and figured one little apple wouldn’t hurt.”
Benjamin stared at the boy for a moment. When he didn’t look away, Benjamin knew he was telling the truth. Releasing the boy, Benjamin walked over to the barrel, looked at the sign and pulled out his money bag. Counting out the money, he added a little extra and handed it to the old woman. “Here, mother. Now you can return home and the only one to suffer anything from the boy’s action’s will be me.” He picked up the barrel, then turned to the boy. “You remember this day, son. Next time you get in trouble, there may not be someone like me to bail you out.” With that, he headed home, not thinking any more about the old woman.
But she wasn’t just any old hag. She was, in fact, an evil witch. And Benjamin had made her furious. She had been watching the boy, planning how to lure him into her trap. It had worked perfectly until Benjamin had gotten involved. Now there was no way that she could take her revenge on the boy without putting herself in danger.
Then she remembered Benjamin’s words: ‘The only one to suffer anything from the boy’s actions will be me.’ “Very well, foolish interloper. If you wish to take the punishment for the boy, so be it.” She then muttered a terrible curse, and in his home, asleep in his bed, Benjamin morphed into a terrifying creature.
His hair grew long and shaggy, then spread across his entire body. His teeth grew into sharp fangs and his nails into wicked claws. His body and even his facial features transformed, becoming more feline in nature. The only thing that remained unchanged were his eyes. They still remained the gentle pools they had been before the spell.
He didn’t even notice anything was wrong until he awoke the next morning and looked at himself in the antique brass mirror he had inherited from his mother. At first, he stared at himself, unbelieving, wondering if he were still asleep. But soon realization of the reality of the situation struck and he cried out in horror and disbelief. How could it be possible that this had happened to him? He finally realized it must have been the old woman from the market. She had looked furious when he left, but he never would have thought that she was a witch.
Benjamin spent the next few days locked in his house, trying to come to terms with his new fate. When he finally got the courage to leave, he wore a long, hooded cloak to hide his appearance. He searched the entire market to try and find the witch, but had no success. She had disappeared without a trace.
He eventually revealed himself to some of his friends, hoping they would understand. He was sadly disappointed. Whenever they saw his face, they would all react with horror, wither making an excuse to leave fast or just screaming in his face and running. And it wasn’t long before word spread around the village and the locals began threatening to take up arms against Benjamin. He tried to reason with them, but no one would listen, so he decided it would be best if he just left. One night, he packed his bags and his few belongings into his wagon and slipped off into the cold, uncaring dark of night.
Benjamin traveled around the country side, looking for a new place to settle down and call home. He could maybe stay somewhere for a few weeks, but eventually, someone would see his face and he would have to leave again.
At first, this constant rejection made him sad and lonely. He desperately wished for someone to understand, to see him for who he truly was. But the continual disappointment soon turned to anger, as pain tends to do. He eventually decided that humans weren’t worth the heartache. ‘Beast’ they called him, so ‘Beast’ he became. He hardened his once gentle heart, becoming cold, distant and unfeeling. He still roamed the country, but now he no longer looked for friends or home. He never settled anywhere until one day, while coming to a new town, he spotted a castle.
It was old and appeared long since abandoned. The lawns and gardens were severely overgrown to the point of being wild. When he reached the nearest town, Beast asked around about it. Every answer he got was the same: The castle had been empty of any human inhabitants for decades. It had once been a lavish and beautiful palace, but now it was haunted by terrible spirits that would curse anyone who dared enter.
Beast, not believing in spirits himself anymore, decided that this would be the perfect home. He could play up the haunting tale, give them ‘proof’ every once in a while, to keep anyone from getting nosey. He would still be able to go into town in his cloak, but he wouldn’t have to worry as much about exposure.
And that was how he lived the next several years; alone in the foreboding palace. Beast spent many long days tending to the plants inside while being sure to keep the outer perimeter just as wild as before, so it wouldn’t raise suspicions.
But even though he enjoyed not having to deal with the cruelties of the normal humans, he eventually found himself becoming a bit lonely. To ease these feelings, he began going into the surrounding towns more often.
It was on one of these visits that he would make a fateful decision. There was a traveling carnival in one of the nearby towns, and Beast decided to go, just for an excuse to get out of the palace. There were more people there than he had seen in a long time, but he stayed hidden deep in his cloak and no one seemed to pay him much attention.
He noticed that there seemed to be a large concentration of people in one area, so he headed over to see what the excitement was. It was a sideshow, complete with jugglers, acrobats, and everything. One tent, in particular, seemed to be getting a lot of interest, so Beast decided to check it out. When he entered, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Sitting in a chair on a raised platform at the back of the tent was a woman. Her skin was rough and scaly, like that of a lizard, but it was her face that kept Beast’s attention.
In her eyes, he could see a pain so deep that it tore at his heart. He had only ever known such pain in one other person; himself. She did an admirable job of hiding her emotions, projecting a façade of total calm, but Beast could tell how terribly all the screams and gasps and jeers wounded her. Seeing her anguish made Beast’s cold heart begin to melt. He couldn’t bear to see someone else treated so cruelly by the ‘normal’ people.
Unable to stand looking at her any more, Beast left the tent and wandered blindly around the carnival. He had long ago decided that he would spend the rest of his existence alone and never let another person into his life. But how could he leave her here, knowing how the rest of her life would be spent. It took him the rest of the day to make up his mind, but as the last guests were starting to leave, Beast made his decision. He hid in a storage tent and waited till everything was quiet.
Once he was sure that all the villagers were gone and all the carnies had retired to their tents, he slipped out of hiding and quietly snuck to the woman’s tent. Once there, he took a last look around to make sure he hadn’t been spotted, then he silently slipped in. Staying in the shadows just inside the tent, he looked toward the back to make sure she was still here.
Sure enough, there she was, still sitting in the same chair. But it wasn’t the same scene as when he came in here the first time. She was now chained and shackled to the platform and was no longer making any attempt to hide her despair. If Beast’s heart was beginning to melt before, a full spring thaw had struck him now.
Walking forward a few steps into the light, he cleared his throat to get her attention, not wanting to scare her. She jumped a little, turning to look at him. She at first seemed scared, then confused. “Who… who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you. To set you free.”
She looked at him in even greater confusion mixed with disbelief. “Why would you want to help a freak like me?” She spit the word ‘freak’ as if it were the most distasteful word in the world.
“Because… I understand what it feels like to be judged, ridiculed and hated because of your looks.”
She scoffed at him. “And what would you know about being a freak?”
Beast gave a sad chuckle. “Perhaps more than you realize. And I’ll prove it, but please, don’t be afraid. I swear I won’t harm you.” Taking a few steps closer so that she could get a better look, he removed his hood and looked up at her.
She jumped back as far as her restraints would allow, her hand flying to her mouth. Beast stayed perfectly still, allowing her to become accustomed to his appearance. “What… Who are you?”
Beast paused for a moment. Though he had long ago begun referring to himself as ‘Beast’ in his head, he had never said the name out loud. But which was the more true identity, Beast or Benjamin? “Call me…. Beast.” With that one small sentence, he felt as though he had put the final nail in Benjamin’s coffin. His heart gave a twinge, but he felt it was for the best. His old life was gone, and trying to hold onto it would only cause him more pain. “And who are you?”
The woman looked at him in confusion and suspicion for a moment, but then seemed to let it pass. “I’m called Ingrid. But do you mind if I ask how you’re planning to get me out of here? As you can see, I’m chained up here. I can’t get out of these cuffs and I won’t be unchained until just before they let the guests in.”
Beast carefully came up to her so as to not scare her anymore, then began to examine the chains. After a moment, he glanced up at her. “I think I can break these, but it’ll take a great amount of strength.” With that, he began to pull on the links as hard as he could. He strained so hard that his muscles began to tremble and sweat beaded his forehead through the downy fur on his face.
Finally giving up, he relaxed and looked around the tent. Finding a couple of stones, he placed one on the platform next to Ingrid and laid the chain across it, then picking up the second, he cocked it back and with all his might, smashed it on the link, creating a stone and metal sandwich. He smashed the steel again and again, then set the stone aside and picked the chain back up. Examining it, he found he had made a large dent, weakening the metal. Getting another strong grip on it, he began pulling and twisting it back and forth. After a bit of manipulation, the link gave out with a squeal of protest.
Releasing his breath in a large gust, he turned to her with a satisfied look on his face. “There. Part one done. Now, to get out of here without anyone noticing.”
“Thank you so much! But how are we going to get out of here? The rest of the roust-abouts are certain to be wandering the camp. If they catch us, we’ll both be locked up.”
“Actually, most of the camp is asleep,” Beast informed her. “How else do you think I was able to get in here without anyone noticing? But it will be best if we stick to the shadows until we are well away from here. My palace is about five miles from here. If we put a good foot under us, we should make it back well before sunrise.” Walking to the front of the tent and motioning her to stay back a bit, Beast carefully peered out through the flap. Seeing that no one was around, he motioned Ingrid to follow and they slipped out together into the camp.
The next few minutes were perhaps some of the most harrowing of Ingrid’s life. They slipped out of camp among the tents, coming within inches of some of the carnival workers. A few times, Ingrid was sure they had been discovered, but Beast had become an expert at slipping undetected through the shadows and eventually they made it past the last tent and out into the surrounding woods.
They stayed quiet for the first few minutes of their walk, making sure no one had followed them. But as soon as they were sure they were in the clear, Ingrid let out a laugh of relief and joy. She was free for the first time in her life.
But her joy was short lived as she soon realized one glaring fact. She stopped dead in her tracks, and a few paces ahead, Beast stopped and turned back to her. “Are you alright? Do you need a rest?” he asked, concern in his gruff voice.
“Yes.. I mean no. I’m fine, it’s just... I just realized that maybe I didn’t think this running away business all the way through. You see.... I ... I don’t have anywhere to go, and no money to get anywhere even if I did.”
Beast thought about this for a moment. It hadn’t occurred to him either that she would be homeless after he freed her. He thought about it for a moment before he said anything. “You’re right. I didn’t think about that either. I suppose that ... well, if you wanted, you could come and stay with me if you wanted to for now. I live all by myself in a large palace. There would be no one to bother you, and you could stay as long as you wanted while you figure out what to do next.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying even as the words were leaving his lips. But to his surprise, he found that he didn’t regret them.
Ingrid looked at Beat in surprise. Had he really just invited her to come live with him? It had amazed her that he had wanted to rescue her from the carnival, but now he was asking her to live with him, and they were little better than strangers. “Thank you. That’s very generous of you.” They smiled at each other and continued on their way. Now things were much lighter and Ingrid felt the happiest she had been for longer than she could remember. True, she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect of life alone in a palace with Beast, but he seemed a nice enough man, and he had set her free, so he couldn’t be all that bad, could he?
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X As predicted, it took them several hours to make their way through the rough country between the carnival camp and the palace. When they caught their first glimpse of it in the first rays of sun light, Ingrid thought that it seemed a rather frightening place. Coming closer to the overgrown gate did little to ease her fears. She was beginning to doubt the sanity of following Beast in until he opened the gate and she could see inside.
The interior of the grounds belied the frightful exterior. In fact, she was rather enchanted by what she saw. While the outside seemed to be even wilder than the forest they had just left, the inside looked as though it had been painstakingly and lovingly maintained. Hidden by the wall, there were flowers blooming everywhere. More flowers than Ingrid had ever seen in one place. There were at least a half dozen varieties of roses, lilies, violets, pansies, and some flowers that Ingrid couldn’t even identify. Here, the bushes and trees were trimmed and pruned to give them a more tame appearance instead of the unruly look of the wild ones growing along the wall.
Ingrid explored around for a while, Beast keeping her in sight but giving her her space. “Oh, this place is so wonderful! I’ve never dreamed of even setting foot in a place this amazing, let alone living there.”
Beast smiled. “I’m glad you like it. Would you like to see the inside?” Ingrid followed Beast up the steps of the palace to the front door. With a strong tug, the door swung open, and Ingrid gave a gasp. The ceiling stretched high above her, and in front of her, there was a giant staircase leading up to the second floor, which wrapped around them about 10 feet up in a grand balcony.
Stepping to the middle of the hall, Ingrid spread her arms wide and turned around a couple of times. When she stopped, she faced Beast with a smile. “Am I dreaming? Is this really where you live?”
Beast smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yes, for the last several years it has been. It took me my entire first summer here to get the gardens fixed up. They were in a terrible state. I spent that winter cleaning up the palace as well. Speaking of which, since this will be your home for as long as you like, you are free to go anywhere that you like, accept the northern wing on the second floor. Those are my rooms and I enjoy my privacy.”
Ingrid thought that this seemed a little strange, but she let it pass. She had far more interesting things on her mind. After asking permission, she explored the castle. She snuck around quietly, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. As far as she knew, she and Beast where the only ones here, there was no one to disturb. But Ingrid couldn’t help but feel completely out of place. When you’ve lived most of your life in a tent, it takes time to get used to a palace.
The outside of the palace was smooth grey stone, stained with age. The inside mostly the same color, with marble staircases and banisters and faded tapestries hanging on the walls that looked as though they had once been vibrant and bold. There were dozens of rooms, including several bedrooms, two bathrooms that had been the height of luxury in their day, a library and a drawing room.
The kitchen was a bit on the small side for such a large place, but the dining room was extravagant like nothing Ingrid had ever imagined. Solid hard wood paneling with ornate carvings covered all the walls and in the center of the room was a table that was twice as large as the big wagons the carnival had used to haul everything from town to town.
It was several weeks before Ingrid began to feel that this place was actually her home, but she soon took to life here, though she acted more like the head maid than the lady of the manor. While Beast was usually kind to her, he usually kept to himself. Ingrid kept herself busy by taking care of the gardens and the castle, making sure that everything was neat and tidy. When she was finished, she would sometimes spend her evenings reading. She couldn’t read very well, but she pushed herself to learn more and was quite glad she did. She tried to get Beast to join her, but it was never any use. He would sometimes sit and watch her, or sit quietly staring off into space, but she never once even saw him touch a book, much less ever try to read one.
By the spring, Ingrid and Beast had learned to live together in almost total peace and harmony. They stayed out of each others ‘ way for the most part, spending some evenings together, sometimes traveling to town together. But mostly they were alone. It was far better than being stuck in the carnival with all the jeering people filing past her day after day, but it wasn’t quite perfect.
That summer, they ended up finding more “freaks” in traveling circuses and such that came into the villages, and they would always set them free and bring them back to the palace to join their ever-expanding “family”.
Beast remained the master of the palace, and by the end of the year, he decided that it was no longer necessary for him to travel outside the palace walls, and instead would send the others out to get any supplies and to rescue others of their kind. Ingrid worried about this change in attitude, but Beast always told her that there was nothing wrong, and it was none of her business if he wanted to stay home.
And so life continued for many years, the palace population slowly but steadily growing, Beast becoming more and more reclusive with each passing week. He continued to swear there was nothing wrong, but some of the oldest residents, such as Ingrid began to wonder.
Then one spring, during a horrific storm, there was a pounding on the massive front doors. Ingrid went down, accompanied by Andrew and Carlos, two other residents of the palace. When they opened the door, the three were shocked to see a little old woman standing on the steps.
She was bent against the cold, her hair and cloak plastered to her body by the pelting rain. You could see that she was shivering lightly under her thin wrap. She looked up at them when she heard the door open. After a brief inspection of those who had answered her knock, she bowed her head. “Please, Good Masters, Good Mistress, I beg you grant me shelter from this terrible storm. I am but a poor old traveler who was passing through the forest when the storm broke.”
The three looked at the woman, then at each other. It was Carlos who spoke first. “Por supuesto, Señora. Please, come in before you catch your death.” He held out his hand which she took shakily and smiled up at him and she walked into the entrance.
Ingrid smiled at the older woman, but Andrew was nearly incensed. “Carlos, my man, have you lost your senses? Forgive me, Madam, but we aren’t the masters of this palace, and if the true master was to find out that we had allowed you to enter here…”
Carlos snorted at Andrew. “Ah, Andrew, no sea tonto. Have a heart. We can’t very well leave the poor woman out there to freeze, can we?”
“Of course not, Carlos. Come along, Dear. We’ll get you warmed in front of the fire and I’ll see about getting you some dry things to wear.”
Andrew was nearly in a panic. “But if the Master finds out that we let a normal in here…”
“Oh nonsense,” Ingrid scoffed. “It would be simply monstrous to leave this poor old lady in the storm. And don’t you worry about the Master. You know very well that he hardly ever comes out of his chambers, and if anyone knows the secrets of this palace besides him, it’s me. If we get any hint that he’s coming her way, we can spirit her off to another part of the palace in a wink.” Andrew knew better than to argue with Ingrid when she had made up her mind, but he kept a sharp eye open the whole rest of the night, just waiting for them to get caught.
Once the lady was dried and fed and was sitting in front of a fire with a cup of tea, she asked about the palace, and Ingrid and Carlos told all they knew of Beast’s past, his finding of the palace, and his rescue of all the strange ones, as they referred to themselves. The old woman said very little, but seemed quite impressed with the tale of Beast’s generosity.
“I do worry about him, though,” Ingrid concluded. “He seems to be becoming more and more distant and temperamental as time goes by. I’ve tried to get to the root of the problem, and I believe it has something to do with his past, but he tells so little about his life before finding the palace, I can’t get any hints as to what it might be.”
The old woman nodded and patted Ingrid’s shoulder. “I understand my dear child. Don’t you worry your mind about it. I don’t think there is anything you can do for him that you aren’t doing now. But who knows? Perhaps happiness will come in the future when you are least looking for it.”
Ingrid was very confused by her words, but she didn’t want to say anything. A while later, they all went to bed. When everyone was asleep and the palace was quiet, the old woman got up and slipped outside without anyone noticing her. The storm had stopped and the full moon came out from behind the clouds as she stepped out onto the lawn. Turning back to the palace, she looked up at the northern tower with a smile. “Dear Benjamin. My sister did such cruelties to you that were far worse than anything you deserved. But despite all the hardships you have suffered, your heart still remains pure, though buried deep within a stone vault. I wish I could undo what my wicked sister has done to you, but it isn’t allowed for one witch to reverse another’s magics. But I do leave you with this chance to save yourself: By mercy alone canst thou escape thy prison. When one who’s heart has been blinded to true beauty can once again be made to see. When that which the world has broken is once again restored to hope. Through true love, all shall find release.” Finishing, she turned and walked toward the gate. With a final glance over her shoulder, she smiled up at the palace, walked into the woods, and was gone.
When the rest awoke the next morning, they were shocked that the old woman had disappeared. They covertly searched the entire palace, but she was nowhere to be found. They eventually decided that she must have left during the night. For some reason they couldn’t explain, they had a strange feeling of hope somewhere deep inside of them, though they never really spoke of it to anyone.
When Beast went to his table that morning, he found a small scrap of paper with just a few words written on them. Being a lowly farmer in his prior life, he had never really learned to read, but for some reason, he found he could read this note: “Through true love, all shall find release.” He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he felt a spark light inside him for the first time in a long time.
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