Debbie Banna - Shattered Dreams, New Beginnings

Loyalina pulled at a mint plant growing among the tomatoes. “Well, you sure ended up in the wrong place,” she said, tossing it aside. The sun was warm and the garden, one of her favorite places to spend the day, was the place to which she had been drawn. When first she had come here she had been amazed that the beast had not only planted vegetables in his garden but had also surrounded it with a wall of flowers. This was from where he had plucked the roses to grace her nightstand each morning. There were also daisies, poppies, and a variety of wildflowers with long, lacy leaves. It shouldn’t have surprised her to find that the beast possessed an eye for beauty but then, she had discovered a number of things about the beast that she had not expected. She had also discovered a few things about herself that she had not foreseen. The heart, it seemed, was unfathomable and unpredictable, even to its owner. Caught up in her musings, Loyalina did not notice the approach of the men.

The beast moved hesitantly to where his beloved knelt, head deep in tomatoes. He looked at Wolf over his shoulder, then turned as if to walk away. Wolf nudged him forward, giving the pitiable creature a shove, which drew the attention of the girl. “Oh, Beast. You’re back. I didn’t expect you so soon. Dinner won’t be ready for an hour or more yet. Wolf, “ she said as she saw him begin to move toward the kitchen, “you stay out of that chicken stew. I’ll have your hide if you leave us without a meal again.” Wolf stopped in his tracks and looked sheepishly at her. Then he lifted his head and tried to feign innocence. She laughed at the foolishness of his expression. “It’s okay. We forgive you. But the lamb chops would have made a better meal than the vegetable pie I had to make to replace it,” she reprimanded. She wiped her hands on her apron and turning, she faced the beast. “What is it, dear Beast? I dare say you look distressed about something.”

The beast glanced back at Wolf again, who nodded encouragement, then he spoke. “I...have something to tell you…no...to ask you…or maybe both,” he stuttered. Then looking noticeably uncomfortable, he dropped his eyes to stare at the ground.

“And this something can’t wait,” she teased. “I am covered in dirt and quite a sight at the moment. Are you sure you need to talk now?”

“No, I don’t think I really need to…” he began but Wolf moved to his side and pushed him forward again. “Ah, actually, yes. I do need to talk with you now…while I can still do this,” he rushed, his words tumbling out all at once.

Loyalina stood and brushed the mud from her hands. Then looking the beast in the eye and breathing deeply, she encouraged, “Go on then. What is it?”

“I…Loyalina, he stuttered, “I think you know how much you mean to me.” She nodded. “And I know you will probably never feel the same for me but I have to know. Do you think you could ever learn to love me?” He paused and watched her face carefully. Her expression did not change as she listened. Again she took a deep breath and, looking in his eyes, she answered.

“Beast, I do love you. You have been kind and dear to me, more even than my own brothers. I have chosen to stay here because you have found a special place in my heart and I am willing to make your house my home.”

She had said that she loved him, but this love was not what the beast desired. In frustration and fear he almost shouted at her. “No! This is not what I mean. I love you, my little beauty. I love you with my heart and soul and everything within me. I do not want your pity. I do not want only your friendship. Loyalina, I want you to become my wife.” Having said this, he dropped his eyes in embarrassment at having shouted his proposal at her. Then afraid of what he might see but still needing to look, he glanced up into her eyes.

Her expression had not changed. She waited until his eyes met hers before she again spoke. “Beast, I have suspected that this is what you might be preparing to say. And I have thought about it long and hard. Dear Beast, I know not what is happening within me when I look into your eyes. Do I see what I want to see?” Is my imagination running away with me when I see you as the handsome prince of my dreams? I guess most people would think me crazy but I can tell you beast, that I do love you. I am willing to give my heart and my life to you as your wife.”

Disbelief crossed the face of the creature standing frozen before her. Then, remembering his friend, he looked back to where Wolf remained waiting and, smiling, gave him a ‘thumbs up’. Then, turning back to his beloved, the beast asked, “Are you sure? Are you doing this out of pity or do you really love me?”

Heaving a sigh, Loyalina drew near to the ugly creature and wrapped her arms around his massive body. “How can I make you understand that I do not see you as ugly? If I cut off all of my hair and covered my face in mud, would you love me any less?” she asked.

“No,” he replied”

“Why, Beast? she questioned him.

“Why, because the beauty within you would overcome your outward disguise,” he answered.

“Then you understand why I love you, Beast. You cannot fool me. Your heart is as handsome as any who ever walked the face of the Nine Kingdoms. It is the man you are inside that I love,” she declared emphatically.

In wonder and amazement, the beast pushed her away so that he could look down into her face. “Then, my precious one, if you love me, kiss me.” Without hesitation she lifted her shining face to his and he drew her near, touching his fleshy lips to hers.

For a moment, the couple disappeared from view as a whirling gray cloud enveloped them. Then, they became visible once more. Loyalina opened her eyes to the sound of Wolf whooping and cheering, and to the face of the man in her vision. In the place of the great ugly beast, there now stood a dark haired, handsome young man. She started to pull back but then looked up and, in an instant she knew. It was the eyes. They had remained the same. The eyes she now gazed into were those of her beloved, the one she had seen there all along.

“I am free! At last! Darling, thank you. You have set me free with your love. I thought I would never find someone like you, someone who could see past the outer me and look deep into my soul.” He took her into his arms again and kissed her, this time with passion. When at last he found the strength to break away, he spoke. “I have much to tell you, my love, about who I am and from where I come. It is a long story and one you’ll need to know for your life and mine will become one.”

She smiled, overwhelmed at what had taken place, and looking up at her beloved, she spoke. “You certainly do have some explaining to do. But, as I can no longer call you Beast, I’d like to know what I should call you.”

Taking her hand and leading her in the direction of the house, he answered shyly, “Allistar. Prince Allistar.”

Tony’s back ached and his feet hurt. He must have been nuts to think that he could walk to the eighth kingdom. After crossing the border out of Kissingtown, he had managed to hop a ride with a farmer who was headed back toward the castle. But when the road forked, one branch turning north, the other continuing east, Tony found himself back on his feet and traversing the length of the forest alone. Somehow, the road looked different than it had when he, Virginia and Wolf had traveled down it together. On and on it rambled and for the next two days, he saw no one. He could have sworn that the trees were beginning to look familiar. “Ah, you’ve seen one tree, you’ve seen them all,” he muttered to himself. As he trudged valiantly on he wondered how he would know when he had reached the Eighth Kingdom. It’s not like they have many signs out here, he thought. By the third day, Tony began to wonder what he had been thinking when he volunteered to set out on this crazy mission in the first place. This brother of Adora’s could be anywhere. Or he could be dead. From her description of him, Tony wasn’t sure he really wanted to run into him in a dark forest anyway.

By nightfall, weary and lost, his depression began to return. For the last few hours his mind had been on the last trip he had taken through the kingdom with his daughter at his side. “It’s no use,” he shouted at the trees. I don’t really belong here. I don’t belong in either world, do I?” he asked himself. “Some hero I am. Did I think that I was some handsome prince responsible for saving a damsel in distress so she would fall madly in love with me? I think I’m getting too old for these fairy tales. Virginia, I wanted to do this for you, too. I hoped that somehow, by helping this girl, I’d be able to make up for not being the father you needed me to be. I’m sorry baby. I’ve failed you again,” he finished sadly. Throwing his pack to the ground, he flopped down beside it and, without bothering to eat, felt promptly asleep.

The air in front of the run-down cottage began to shimmer and glow as if something magical were about to occur. Then a form became visible and solidified, and the glow retreated into the gloom of the wood. Matilde brushed her shoulders to rid them of the remains of traveling dust, which she had used to take her to this place. It had been a very long time since she had visited this part of the forest and then, only once. She had been called upon by the counsel of the nine kingdoms to be among the witnesses to the authenticity of a death. News of the demise of the wicked queen, Snow White’s stepmother, had spread throughout the kingdoms and Cinderella had asked for volunteers to accompany her to verify the news. Matilde, though not sure why she had agreed to be a witness, responded.

In the end, there were only the three of them; Cinderella, Snow White and herself. Snow had shuddered as they neared this part of the forest, preparing herself for the sight she would soon face. It had been many years since she had looked upon her stepmother. Her last glimpse of the woman was at her wedding the woman danced out the door in a pair of red-hot shoes, which was the punishment for plotting her evil schemes. Of all the places to which she could have run, it seemed ironic that she end her days in the cottage of the seven dwarfs.

The three women had entered the cottage, not knowing what to expect. The house was dirty and in disarray. It had not been properly cared for in a long time. The curtains, so lovingly sewed by Snow in her days with the dwarves, were still hanging but ripped and stained. The windows themselves were blackened and crusted over with dirt. None of them that thought to bring a candle or matches with them but Snow crossed the little kitchen and wiped the filthy window with her handkerchief. A ray of light had entered the gloomy cottage, streaming through the now clean spot and directed their gaze to the open basement door. A premonition had prompted Snow White to descend to the basement, her friends close behind, where they had found the body of the queen slumped over a table of potions. In her lap, lay an open book of spells and in her hand she still grasped a deadly looking hair comb.

Snow had gasped, suddenly realizing what her stepmother had become. If she had been wicked before, at the end she had become evil to the core. Still, it had not stopped her from shedding a tear for the woman who had so totally sold herself to corruption and reaped the wages of her choice. Distracted by the sight of the dead queen, the woman had failed at first to see the large, coffin-like box in the middle of the room, laying flat upon a pedestal. They had all remarked how odd it was that she seemed to have been preparing for her death. In the end, Snow White insisted that they place her in the box and allow her to remain in the house. It seemed a fitting way to bestow some dignity on a wasted life.

Matilde’s remembrance of that day faded as she gazed at the cottage in front of her. There was no desire in her to visit the basement of this place again. But something within her prompted her to begin her search here. Snow White had instructed her to listen to her heart, and right at this moment, it was driving her forward with an urgency she could not ignore or deny. Somewhere in this forest, she knew, walked the objects of her quest. If only she could located them in time before…before what she did not know, but heeding the ache in her heart, she turned from the house and hurried on.