Beyond What You See

Chapter 1 - The Contract

The carriage tossed from side to side along the abandoned road in the woods, slightly shaking its passengers, who were only the coachman and the girl inside. The carriage was old but honorable, testifying for a wealthy and aristocratic owner. The girl inside didn't seem to notice.

Strange, she thought, how she never thought she would find herself such a respectable match.

She was raised in a common household. Her parents have left St. Hubert and traveled to the city to find a job, after they lost hope of life in the small town. They said once they find work they would send her some money – but despite their promise, she never knew what became of them. She never heard from them whatsoever, so she began to work as a servant in Lord Morel and his wife's house, and finally sold her house and moved in with them. She was merely a servant; not a person you would think would marry a count.

On the other hand, her exterior was rather appealing, and not once she turned young men's heads in town; But then again she never took noticed of that. She didn't look much in the mirror — she had no time between all the domestic chores that were her responsibility.

If she was to look in the mirror, there would be a slender girl, of already eighteen years, which never thought herself inferior to anyone despite her obvious low status. This caused her to look straight in the eyes of any man, no matter his position. Her face was heart shaped and rosy blush usually veiled her cheeks, sweet lips and eyes with thick black lashes – a mere flutter of her eyelid could make any guy to fall at her feet. Her hair was golden and had the ability to cascade in loose waves down her back, but that almost never happened, as she often braided it into a practical braid that wouldn't bother her in her housework.

The sun was high in the sky. The road had passed through lanky trees which casted long shadows, and she remembered it was a sign that they are approaching the castle. Where her groom was awaiting her. She did not want to think of him, but found that she couldn't refrain from doing just so.

The groom was a mystery to her; he was the solitary count that no man in St. Hubert has ever laid eyes upon. Rumors spread, as they do, attempting to explain his absence from the town. They said he was a misanthropist, or condescending toward the town's people who weren't even close to his status. It has always seemed absurd to her, seeing as Lord Morel and his wife were quite high-leveled. And there was another rumor that everybody knew to have actual foundation: they said the reason to his solitude was his appearance.

The rumors were divided by different opinions. Some claimed he was hunchbacked, others claimed he was just plain ugly, and some said he had a terrible unimaginable grotesque. There was also a rumor calming he looked like some animal but it was, in her opinion, entirely unrealistic. She frequently rolled her eyes over this type of rumors.

In any case, she was ought to wonder why would a rich count should look for a wife in such an odd way. He could have come down from his isolated castle, stay at House Morel at St. Hubert, and search for a proper wife. Or even, if he was ugly as rumored, send a messenger to choose a bride.

Instead, there was the contract.

The contract was vaguely but widely known in town, yet no one ever mentioned it until a few years ago. For obvious reasons, people preferred to forget.

She was nearing fifteen years of age when she first heard about the contract. She returned at noon from the market, with a basket full of roots, which she had intended to plant in the patch behind House Morel. She came through the main entrance and passed by the drawing room on the way to the kitchen, where the door to the back was. She halted to a stop at the entrance of the drawing room, as she heard exited voices of her lady, Madame Morel, in the middle of a heated conversation with her best friend.

"…And only now he remembered?!" Madame Morel called dramatically.

"Madeleine," her friend reprimanded, "I agree with you that this demand was a surprise, it came as a surprise to all of us, but if you were to think about it you'll see we could have predicted it on our own - if we could bother to check the contract from time to time. My husband told me about the clauses in the contract, there is no divergence from protocol in this current demand..."

"Yes, I have heard all about these conditions." The lady said with a scorn. "upon reaching twenty springs of the Count Fitzroy, the townspeople of St. Hubert will offer him one of the town's single girls, who is of the appropriate age," the Lord's wife stressed in a mocking voice: "to marry him. If for three whole years there won't be found any suitable girl that will marry the Count..."

The young girl approached the drawing room during the exchange, in order to hear better, and eventually found herself standing inside the room. Her curiosity pushed her to intervene in the conversation.

"What? What happens if not?"

"Rose!"

The Lord's wife gave her a stern look for intervening in a conversation of others. "Don't you have more important things to do than listen to gossip?" she asked firmly, however Rose was not deterred.

Madame Morel was a bit condescending, but she had never been tough on her. Rose was like a daughter to her. Either way there was no need of the lady to be too strict, seeing as Rose had a highly developed sense of responsibility. Thus the jobs that needed to be done were always accounted for.

Rose waited quietly for the lady to continue, and Madeleine gave in.

"He would remove his protection off the town." Madame Morel told the girl.

Oh. Rose nodded gratefully and walked away from the two women, out of the living room and to the kitchen, her original destination from earlier. As she stepped out of the back door she was already busy with thoughts of the strange contract and the sellswordsguarding the town – under the Count commands, apparently. She thought, this explains why he can make demands towards the town.

But it did not explain many other things.

The subject occupied her thoughts much more than she intended. She tried to fathom how this situation came to be in the first place, but it seemed that no one actually remembered when the contract was written or what the circumstances were. All she could do was wonder how might the town cope with the peculiar requirements.

As she hurried across the streets of St. Hubert, Rose detected groups of girls talking among themselves at the well or in the market; to her regret, she had no time to stop, and therefore was never able to befriend anyone. Besides, since her friend demise there wasn't any more room for new friends. Still she observed them so as to evaluate their opinion about the contract. Though the general mood was of curiosity and interest, Rose knew no girl thought herself an actual possibility.

None of them wanted to marry a man they had never seen in their lives – and such an ugly one at that! Truly, marriages were often arranged by parents, but then the bride and groom were always to meet at least once before the deal was closed. Agreeing to a pig in a poke was simply unreasonable. One after the other, the girls found ways to evade the terms of the contract: quite a few married the first man that proposed. Others were sent out of town to live with relatives in other places. When the messenger of the Count came to find out if there were any suggestions, there were far fewer young women in St. Hubert that were suitable for marriage...

The Messenger came once a year, always in the middle of the summer festivities. On the first time he came he asked the Town Council if there were any suggestions; there was none. The next year the excuses were already fixed: no girl was fitting for the noble Count, or agreeable to the proposal, and even so there was still another whole year until the Count will remove his protection.

A few months before the summer festivities of the third year the Council realized that in the absence of a suitable single girl, the problem was worsen and it called for an emergent solution. Rose understood this just as well.

While the Council tried to offer gifts and compensations to the girl that would agree (and mostly to her family), Rose began negotiating with herself.

She saw more and more serious and grim faces throughout the small town. People no longer held cheap the contract or for that matter anything else that seemed trivial. Rose had seen girls trying to guess who would be interested in marrying the Count, and fathers who tried to persuade their daughters to agree, but each girl that was considered an option did not consent. They had the sense that something was wrong.

Rose felt practically alone in the town. Her parents disappeared and no one had heard from them for five years, even if not by their intention - Rose knew that they would never abandon her on her own knowingly. They loved her. Except for her friend that left her for the damned disease, only the Lord and his wife knew her (and their son, when he was home). She had no proposals. She wasn't aware of it, but the boys of the town used to follow her with their eyes only from a distance, as they were too anxious to approach her. In their eyes she was as a beautiful image that was not for the touching.

In light of all this she asked herself what does she has to lose. She had no parents; no friends; no suitors, and she was only a simple servant that will probably remain so for many more years. In her opinion, the situation could only get better. Sometimes she tried to imagine what would her life be as the wife of a count: she knew that her time will be her own, as she had known the Lord's wife was. She figured he would want her to have his children (what else could a man want from a wife), but that was fine with her, because she wanted children too. The rest of the time she could do whatever she wished, maybe even read books.

She loved reading books since the first time she had learned it from her father, but ever since she worked at the Morels' she wished she had more time to do so. The idea had great allure for her.

As the summer festivities drew near, the town grew less and less cheerful than ever. By this time, her marrying the Count seemed less madness and more as a possibility. Therefore Rose found herself one day asking Madeleine Morel to bring her offer to the Council.

Initially, the Lady was shocked and surprised. Then she tried to convince her that it was a bad idea to offer herself, and that she shouldn't do anything reckless. But Rose had thought about everything: She was a lass of eighteen, and already considered the matter rather seriously. She had a sensible answer to any objection that the Lady presented her with.

Eventually the madam stopped objecting and passed the offer on, and the entire Council assembled at House Morel to speak with the girl.

It was a strange day at House Morel when elders of the Council sat in the living room, crowded as they were numerous. They stared at the beautiful young girl who worked for the Lord, who was standing up proudly while offering herself as a match for the Count, in order to save the town. She amusingly took notice how most of them never paid her any attention before, and never knew she even existed, as she was only a servant.

To her surprise, most of what they said was in order to persuade her to change her mind. Although the Council members wanted to protect their town, they preferred to find another way – a way that won't require sacrificing of even one of the daughters of the town.

'We will find someone else' they said at first. 'We will think of another way' they tried to persuade when it didn't help. But she believed they could find no way to overcome a signed and sealed contract. One of the old men asked her anxiously if she knew what marriage meant. She replied by yes, and no one offered to make sure that she did. The Madam was different in that she took note to herself to talk to Rose on that matter.

When they saw she was determined, there was no other option but to agree. In lack of any other option the Head Council described to her the conditions of the Count in the contract: as soon as the messenger would come to town she will go with him to the castle of the Count, and the wedding will take place at the castle. There were a couple of other small things that didn't plague her mind, about the husband's duties to take care of all of her needs. It sounded completely reasonable to her.

On the other hand the Lord Morel (who was also a member of the Council) told her what the gifts promised by the Council were, jewelry and various other artifacts. Moreover, the best dressmaker in town would sew for Rose a wardrobe appropriate for a Countess, or at least the Count's bride. Rose was happy to hear that she won't go to the Count in poverty, like the simple maid she really was.

Rose recalled those days while she looked at the changing landscape outside the carriage window. She wasn't unafraid; in fact the fear filled her heart the whole time, from the moment the Council agreed to her offer, and throughout all the preparations.

The dressmaker measured her body and sewed beautiful dresses of rich fabrics she never dreamed she would wear. The gifts promised by the Council were packed in suitcases, as well as gifts from some of the town's people who felt grateful. Girls who never spoke to her came up to say goodbye in tears. They all felt like they were sacrificing to the gods, and not merely sending her to be married. Rose thanked them all gracefully, and promised repeatedly that she wasn't upset with anyone. She didn't want them to mourn her too much and their sincere concern touched her.

On the day the messenger appeared in his carriage, madam Morel asked to speak with Rose alone before she leaves. The things she had told her about the husband's duties to his wife opened her eyes, and at the same time made her exceedingly anxious. Once the Lady saw the surprise and worry on Rose's face, she regretted not telling her about these things before. Only then she realized that it might have convinced the girl to change her mind. Rose calmed her, saying that it wasn't like that at all. But the truth was that her fears grew with the knowledge, and her stomach turned unpleasantly every time she thought about it.

The carriage came to a halt in a jolt. Rose peeked out the window and saw the reason: they reached the castle.

The castle rose high above them, and was bursting with multiple towers and lengthy windows. She estimated it was approximately three times bigger than House Morel, the biggest mansion in town. The thing that attracted her attention even more than the outsized castle, was the garden through which they passed.

She got out of the carriage, smoothing her hand over the green dress she was wearing. It was a simple shaped green dress, with a flowery pattern around the neckline and sleeves that came down to her elbow. Suddenly she doubted whether the dress was too simple; after all, it was her wedding day. She reminded herself she chose that dress because she liked it right away, and it made her feel at ease. Besides, it was too late to change to anything else. It will have to suffice.

Several servants appeared unexpectedly and took her suitcases to an unknown destination. The coachman, who was in fact the messenger, jumped out and immediately started walking. He strode in a hurry and Rose, trying to keep up with his pace, took a mental note to come back to the garden later, and have a slower and thorough tour. From what she could discern in a brief glance, there were cypresses standing on both sides of the entrance, lots of various other tall trees, and also flowers and shrubs mostly grown wild.

Secretly, she began to plan how she would take care of the garden, up until it would flourish and grow to adorn the castle.

The messenger led her through the main great door, not bothering to use the big knocker. He entered without looking back, and walked into the castle with a long determined stride. He didn't wait for Rose who tried to keep up with his fast speed; his long legs caused her to nearly run after him in order to not lose him.

"The ceremony will take place in the great hall," the messenger commented to her when they marched down the long corridors of the castle. So soon? She wanted to respond, but couldn't find the courage to do so.

Eventually the messenger stopped in front of a large door with two torches burning with a soft light on either side of it.

Rose was glad for the pause. Panting, she placed a hand over her heart and breathed in deeply for several moments. Suddenly the door opened, even though the messenger did not try to open on it, and Rose found herself looking at a red-headed girl in maid's clothing that emerged from the door.

"Vlad!" the maid called in a startled tone, and then her gaze turned over to Rose and her whole face lit up. "Is this she?"

"Indeed," the messenger replied. "We were just going to come in." Rose nodded at her, in an attempt to appear more recovered than she felt, all the while trying to catch her breath.

"Wait a second," the maid stopped him. It was clear he was going to take Rose in without delay. The maid checked the young girl from top to bottom and back up again. Rose recognized relief in her eyes, then concern, and then... pity?

"Miss, you look as if you ran just now!" She cried, patting Rose's shoulder. "Well," Rose replied, "Vlad walked... pretty fast." She inhaled deeply. "I'm Rose... pleased to meet you." She did not forget her manners, and she immediately liked that maid, whatever her name was. She had a pleasant face covered with freckles, and was probably close to her thirties, but her mischievous smile made her seem younger.

"Lucinda, you can call me Lucy. Come and sit for a moment, refresh yourself," she pointed a couch that stood not far from the large door.

Rose looked at her gratefully and sat down, while Lucy instructed Vlad to go inside and ask them to wait for the girls. Then she sat down beside her and laid her hand on Rose's hand.

"Miss, what do you know about your future husband?" she asked outright.

"Not much..." Rose was embarrassed to admit, and the maid shook her head, making noises of disapproval.

"That's not good. But I guess you would have much time to spend with him and discover it all for yourself after the wedding. Except... What do you know about his appearance"?

Rose thought for a moment, and then told her about the rumors, and what was her opinion about most of them. Lucy bit her cheek before she exhaled in dissatisfaction. "M'lady, I must tell you something." Rose opened her eyes wide; her curiosity overshadowing momentarily the fact that no one has ever called her m'lady.

"What is it?"

"The master... well, the rumors aren't entirely false. I think he even distributed them himself. His exterior... is not…"

Rose waited patiently when Lucy cleared her throat in discomfort.

"- Human."

"What?"

"He doesn't appear human. In fact, 'animal' would be a pretty good description of him. That is, he doesn't look like any animal you'd see in the woods, but he's pretty beastly, and even though he is somewhat human, well, maybe you should see for yourself." The maid saw the question on Rose's face, and went on:

"I had to warn you beforehand. Make sure you wouldn't faint in front of him. It wouldn't be desirable. Although now that I've seen you, I guess you're not the kind of girl that'd faint."

A million questions spun in Rose's mind and she was unable to decide which one to ask first. Finally she stammered, "I am going to marry a beast?!" she instantly blushed, hoping she didn't sound as silly as she felt.

The maid picked up the shock that emanated from her, and rushed to explain, "Oh no, he's not actually a beast. I mean he's not acting like an animal. His inside is human, just like you and me. And he is acting exactly like the Count that he is – it's only his outside that is intimidating. But I'm sure you will soon discover that he a pleasant person." After another thought she added, "And he didn't ask me to tell you that."

Rose did not find the development to her liking, but she did not have the option to withdraw anymore. It was too late, after all she was already in the Count's castle, and she already agreed to give her a hand in marriage. She reminded herself she had done so to save the town. That thought brought back the contract, and caused her to contemplate the nature of a count who writes a contract in order to force someone to marry him. However she had no time to delve into that thought, or even say it out loud, as the red-headed maid got her to her feet. Lucy did her best to smooth Rose's hair and dress, both disheveled from the journey and the run afterwards.

"Well, aren't you lovely...'' the maid murmured as she stroked aside a stubborn lock. "There, you're ready."

She opened the door and waited for her to walk in.

That's it, Rose told herself. Now I'll meet him. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the door and to her new life.

Adam has already finished lunch and was standing impatiently in the great hall, when one of the servants informed him that the carriage arrived. The servants behind cleared off the table when he rushed to the window. He wanted a chance to see the carriage that brought Vlad, and the girl who might become his wife.

Who is she? He asked himself. Who is the girl that agreed to be a wife of a man whom she has never seen or met, that agreed to do so because of a contract? And what did it say about her?

Since the arrival of the letter from St. Hubert that announced that the girl was found, his sleep was too light and haunted by dreams. Dreams about a girl whose face he did not see, but her golden hair was engraved in his mind. He knew that her hair color was perhaps only a desire of the heart, but he still had a feeling that it was really her.

Rose, she was called. He liked that name.

As was expected from a groom on his wedding day, he was fearful just as Rose was. However his fears were far different than hers, and he wasn't even sure that her fears were greater than his.

The contract was not his idea. It was entirely his mother's doing. The contract was a combination of several coincidences, and a clever use of opportunities. It took place many years ago, when there were countless road bandits, and his mother used the family money to help the small town that was close by – the town of St. Hubert.

He was rather young back then, a boy on the verge of youth, and his mother saw an opportunity to ensure his future. She did not have any inhibitions when it came to him; she was ready to do nearly anything to save him.

He saddened when he thought about her. At present he ruled the great castle on his own and took care for all of its matters; his mother was most of the time only a distant memory. He was sorry she wouldn't be there to meet the girl that perhaps would become his wife.

He watched from distance when Rose got out of the carriage and looked around. He strained to see her face but she was too far away. Still her hair glistened in the sun and his heart jumped. It was truly her.

In his opinion it was a sign.

He followed her with his eyes until she disappeared behind the cypresses surrounding the entry way. After a while that seemed like forever, he turned to his servants. "What's taking them so long to get here?" Lucy, one of the maids, volunteered to go find out. Vlad entered after a minute.

"Sir," Vlad bowed. "Your fiancé is just outside the room."

"Why-" wouldn't she cone in, he wanted to ask, but Vlad was quick to continue.

"Lucy asked to speak with her before she'd come. Besides, sir, I'm afraid I exhausted her," He said in an apology.

"Is she well? What did you do to her?" he was filled with worry. Adam was surprised to hear his own voice, and thought, I am concerned about her before I even met her. He wasn't used to worrying for anyone except for his mother, and it has been so long since he did that too.

"Sir," Vlad raised his hand calmingly, "I was in a hurry to get here, and she is breathless from the walk."

"Oh," Adam thanked him with a look. Vlad was only the butler, but seeing as the castle consisted of only him and the servants, their relationship was unlike the typical master-servant relationship. He was in need for a friend and Vlad was a close friend ever since he arrived at the castle. He listened to all of his thoughts and knew what was on his mind. The butler understood his current worry.

Adam turned again to stare out of the window. All that was left to do was to wait patiently.

The great hall was meant for dining for the majority of the time, and was respectably fair, adorned with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and vast scenery drawings that decorated the walls. Daylight poured in through the large windows that faced west whenever the curtains were pulled aside – as they were now. In the good old days, his mother told him once, many joyful dances was carried out in there.

Not these days.

The priest that would marry them, if the ceremony shall take place, traveled to the castle from a distant village. Adam didn't want to be insensitive with St. Hubert's people and ask them for a priest. However at the moment the current priest seemed to be displeased with the mission he was given. He sat on the other end of the room and did his best not to look to the Count. Adam didn't care. Apart from the priest, there were a numbered few servants that wanted to witness the matrimony ceremony. But that was all.

Adam's head turned at once when the door opened.

First came in Lucy, and afterwards…

His breath caught and his heart missed a beat. And then beat with doubled speed. His eyes raked over her form hastily, and then once again, slower. His gaze registered her slender figure in the flattering green dress, her golden hair arranged with two green hair pins, and finally her smooth complexion.

This is not fair, he thought in distress. She is too beautiful.

Her pretty big eyes captured him immediately, and he felt as if he could never stop staring into them. They were deep brown colored, he noticed. Then, in a way that defied all logic, she approached him.

He wanted to reach out to her, touch her, confirm she wasn't a dream, but suppressed the urge. She faced him, examining him closely without a trace of bashfulness. The expression on her upraised face surprised him. He expected fear, even disgust, but her expression held neither. Curiosity. He blew out the air that was locked in his lungs.

"Hello Rose."

"Your highness..."

His voice surprised her. It was a voice of a young man, only slightly deeper and… remarkably human. It did not suit his appearance.

Lucy was right to prepare her, but now when she was looking at him, absorbing his peculiar appearance, she thought her fear was overdone.

He was indeed a beast and a man composed.

He stood on two legs, and was one and a half heads higher than her. He wore human cloths, expensive, fancy cloths. Blue well sewn trousers and a tailored jacket with stitching over a ruffled white shirt; it was attire suitable for a count.

At first sight they looked ridiculous to her, covering such an animalistic figure.

His hands were too large, covered in brown fur to his knuckles, the overt parts covered with coarse skin and his fingers ended in sharp looking claws. His legs were thick and his barefoot feet resembled his hands, if somewhat bigger.

His face was… she thought, some kind of a mixture of a wolf and a bear. But he was also somewhat human. The face area wasn't covered with fur and his skin was coarse and rough, similar to his hands. His teeth were yellow and two sharp tips of fangs were showing. His brows bulged, almost shadowing his eyes, but when she got a glimpse of them… she was hooked.

His eyes were bright and as blue as sapphires.

For a moment she couldn't think clearly. When she regained her composure, she realized his eyes reserved his humanity. They were the eyes of a young man and they revealed to her it was not a monster standing in front of her.

And then his voice… she did not know what to make of his voice.

"Adam," he told her.

"Excuse me?" she didn't understand.

"Call me Adam. My first name."

"Oh." And she realized that until now she never knew – and didn't figure – he would have a first name; not the mysterious count, and not the overgrown beast facing her now. Suddenly she realized they were one and the same.

"I guess… after all you're going to be my husband," she said quietly, and no longer could look in his eyes. Instead she lowered her eyes to her hands, fiddling over the green shawl that was covering her shoulders.

"Yes, about that…" he sounded unsure and she raised her eyes in surprise. The beast, the Count, looked around him to make sure none of the servants (and especially the priest) was listening in on them.

"Listen, Rose…" he stopped, enjoying for a brief moment her name on his mouth, then continued in a low voice. "I must tell you. I know you came here to marry me on the account of the contract," he rubbed his brow in a very human gesture, "but I hold no desire to take a wife who was forced to marry me. And I also don't want," he exhaled loudly through his nose, "to force you to do something that you don't wish to do. Therefore… I am letting you go."

"Letting me go? I… I don't understand." whatever did he mean? Did he not go a long way for the sole purpose of fetching a wife? And now he is setting her free?

He began pacing in front of her restlessly. "I'm letting you off the contract. It was not me who wrote it, and until recently it did not occur to me to resist it. But ever since I comprehended that…" he stood and gaped at her. "You can go back. You wouldn't be obliged to marry me. I will keep the protection over the town. Just say the word, and you're free to go." He rubbed his forehead again and she realized how hard it was for him to say that. He meant what he said, but – was not eager to say it. She scanned his face again (trying not to be distracted by his fangs) and realized that he could really free her – if she'd wish for it – but he wanted her to stay. Did he actually want to marry her? Even though he didn't know her?

She assumed that considering his looks, she was probably his only chance to ever wed.

"Do you… want me to go?" she didn't know why she'd asked that, only that his eyes showed vulnerability she never believed such a cruel-looking creature could express. And she knew even though she was trapped in a contract, he offered to let her go. And because he did, she couldn't help but feel her heart expanding inside her chest.

"No," he responded without thinking, and the sincere answer mortified him. This girl… Rose, she made his stomach flip and his blood to run. He didn't know what to do with that. And she was way too young and beautiful to get stuck with him, he reminded himself.

"So why are you letting me go?" she asked, her expression filled with wonder.

"It wouldn't be the right thing to do, to force you to wed me because of a contract. The choice is in your hands," he added, reminding himself she didn't make her choice yet.

"You can sit and think about it," he showed her the chairs near the long dining table that was moved aside to the wall. "I will wait." He walked away from her reluctantly, and went to stand beside the priest.

She watched him walk away and settled in one of the chairs absent-mindedly.

He would let her go. Except he did not want her to. She needed to ask herself what were her feelings.

He intrigued her. Despite his alarming appearance, his inner character shone through the interior layers. Despite being a beast he insisted on being fair. And he was gentle, with his speech and actions.

And she… she left her home because there was no one left for her there. She wanted to save the town since it seemed no one else could have done it – even though now she knew it was pointless.

The truth was, she had no better options.

She considered for the second time all the aspects, as she had done when she considered it for the first time. Only now she was aware of much more variables of the equation.

The Count, Adam (what a pleasant and unexpected name for a beast!) became much more mysterious in her eyes, now that she knew why he was hiding away in his castle. But who was he? How did he come to be such an unusual mixture of animal and man? How did he become a count? Her heart drew her to discover the answers to those mysteries. Moreover – her heart wanted to discover him.

She had never had a suitor. She didn't get much chances to get to know someone, to find out whether she would like to marry him, and truth be told she regretted it. Actually, there was one guy she liked, but she gave up on him a long time ago.

Lastly there was the issue of the husband's duties, as was explained to her by the Madam. After a long contemplation of the subject, the idea was scary for her exactly as it was before she knew of his beastly look. You could say it was scary either way.

She stopped the rational thinking when she realized what her heart was leaning towards. She didn't think herself particularly brave but now she thought that if she will choose the easy way, the doubts and questions will haunt her forever. 'What could have been?' 'Did I miss something?'

She has chosen.

For better or worse, the choice was made.

Hope you enjoyed it! And hopefully there will be more to come soon enough.

Tell me if you are interested to know what happened to their names... until then - see ya!