I felt so angry at how I was acting yesterday toward him. I felt so much sadness for him, partly due to what I saw in the fountain. Taking a step toward him, I said, “I don’t mind sharing the space here. I’m sure there’s enough room for the both of us.”
He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. Hesitantly, he turned around and walked to where I was standing. He paused when he reached me then walked on. He walked to the fountain and got on his hind legs, which made him a couple of feet taller. He touched the water as I had and stared into it, seeing something that I couldn’t see. A moment later, he turned around and walked back. He walked past me then said, “Breakfast is ready. I’ll escort you to it.”
Not so scare of him anymore, I followed after him. He didn’t hide in the shadows when he got inside as he did before but walked where I could see him. We walked in silence until somehow we came into the dining room. He sat at one end and I at the other as food was pushed out and set upon the table.
I tried to find civil conversation but I couldn’t let anything out. I ate and ate until the food was gone then we sat in silence, looking at anything but each other.
Then suddenly, he said, “I would let you go home if I could but the palace has a mind of its own and will not let you out now that you have seen me. I’m sorry. If I had been paying attention, you wouldn’t have seen me and be stuck here. It’s my…”
“Fault? No. You told me you looked like a beast and you hid for my safety. It was my fault. If I hadn’t have been so curious, I wouldn’t be in this situation but home.”
We lapsed into silence again. He looked out the window and I at the ground. I still felt guilty. I knew that this whole situation was my fault. I hated my curiosity now more than ever. I looked up at the beast and saw that he was gone. I looked all around but he wasn’t there anymore. Feeling lonely, I got up and walked to the door.
I left the dining room and went walking around the castle. If I was to live in this place, I had to know some of the places. I didn’t know how long I walked but I knew that it was past midday. I didn’t know where I was going and I didn’t know in which wing I was in but I knew that I had to walk around or I would go crazy. He didn’t seem to have accepted my apology. I was truly angered at that. I put myself out to apologize to him and he didn’t say anything but just disappears.
I stormed around the corner, anger blinding me and making me unable to see where I was stepping for I was upon Sir Philip before I could stop. He screamed in surprise and I fell backward on my butt from the surprise. On the ground, I looked down at him as he placed his hands on his ‘hips’.
“You should pay attention to where you’re going Miss Rose,” said Sir Philip.
“I’m sorry. I’ll remember to do that next time.”
“Where are you going in such a rush,” he said as I got up.
“No where, just walking,” I said as I walked past him into the hallway.
Realization finally dawning on Sir Philip for some reason, he ran after me and to ahead of me to stop my progress. I drew back, curious why he was acting like this. “You cannot go there,” he said,
“Why?”
“It is…not safe. Any hallway would do but this.”
“Where does this lead to…”
“No where,” he said as he grabbed a fold of my dress and tried to drag me away.
I stopped and he was pulled backward by the force. I glared down at him, wanting to know what he was hiding. “Tell me, Sir Philip.”
He must have recognized authority in that glare because he began to cower and say, “No. No…I cannot. I…can’t. No.” With one last glance up at me he looked down and said, “Please do not make me. The master will be very displease if he found out that you were in the west wing. He doesn’t like anybody there, it’s forbidden….ahhhh.”
After I heard the word ‘west wing’, I knew that I had to go. He screamed as I moved away quickly from him and turned back to the way I was going. He tried to stop me, pleaded even, but I was stronger than him and I wanted to know why the west wing was forbidden. Sir Philip was making a big deal out of this so there must be something hidden in the west wing.
I guessed at every turn of the corners but I knew that I was going the right way because every time I made the correct turn, Sir Philip would wail louder. I was afraid that the beast would hear it but he hadn’t heard it after so long so I just ignored him. I turned the last corner and came upon a big wooden double door. Sir Philip had stopped wailing and was now trailing behind me. I touched the wooden door and it creaked as it opened up.
Beyond, the room was dark and dull but not so much after my eyes got adjusted to the dimness. The room was a wreck. Everything was in tatters or torn. All the furniture were broken and dusts were so thick on the ground. I stood in the middle of the room, staring at everything around me. There was a balcony at the opposite side of me and the sky was dark outside as I stared.
I looked to my left and there was a frame there with the picture in tatters. Curious, I walked to the picture. I could tell bits and pieces of the picture; amber eyes, brown hair, a nose, a smiling mouth. I reached up to smooth most of the picture in place, trying my best so I could see every feature. Half way there, a large shadow fell across me and I looked at the balcony. There, standing inside the door, was the beast. I shrank back as he walked closer and I could see the anger in his eyes. He was truly mad.
I stumbled backward on Sir Philip and looked down to see if he was okay. He was hiding behind me and I knew that he was scare. I looked back up at the beast and almost screamed. His face was right in front of me, glaring down at me. I could see his blood red eyes and feel his breath on my face. Suddenly, without any warning, he roared and got on his hind legs. He knocked over a standing chair close to me, making me back up farther. He stalked after me, hitting everything in range.
I was really scare by this time. I turned as soon as possible and ran for my life. I somehow knew every corner and was turning the right way. I didn’t know how long I ran but when I stopped, I was in front of the door to the garden. Too scared to be reasonable, I pushed the door and ran out. I ran through the paths until I came upon the wall with the rose briars. I picked up a stick and heedless of everything, I started to try to clear the briars away.
I was too scared to notice anything happening around me. All I knew was that I had to get away. The beast was wild with anger and I didn’t want to be near him or be here. I would die if I stayed here. I raised the stick and was about to hit the briars but it was snatched from my hands and that was when I realized that the rose briars were alive. They were tall and everywhere. They had surrounded me when I was too busy to notice.
Slowly, the briars began to close around me. Their thrones seemed sharp and blood thirsty at that moment. They got closer and closer and I had no idea how to stop it. The sky was dark now, indicating that it was late dusk. I didn’t know what to do and there was nothing there to stop it. I opened my mouth to allow more air into my lungs but at that moment, the briars closed in until they were pricking me hard and instead, I screamed. I screamed in pain and in help.
I didn’t know who I was expecting but no one came. The briars pressed deeper and I screamed again. They were all up and down my body, pinned to every ounce of skin. I glanced down and I saw blood seeping from every contact. I was about to scream again but the briars loosened and looking up, I saw why.
The beast was tearing at the briars that came at him as he came to help me. They were pricking him but he didn’t scream unless it was deep, then he would knock it away. The briars still held me captive but they were more focused on the beast. They attacked him and tried to keep him away but he eventually reached me. Tearing me from the clutches of the briars, the beast held me close to his body as he pushed his way out. I was exhausted by the lose of blood but I knew that the beast was more hurt than me.
He raced to the door and once inside, he closed the doors behind him. I could still hear the banging of the briars as they tried to get inside. He either felt confidence in the door or was too exhausted, because he walked slowly on, still carrying me in his arms.

(What do ya think?)