Beauty and the Damned

18 | Out of the Walls

The forest was hard to maneuver and she was thankful they didn’t have to go through another forest again. But when she asked Rowan where they were going to stay the night, she almost choked on his answer.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked and stopped walking to stare at him walking ahead.

“Unfortunately not,” he said and stopped walking to look at her.

“Do you seriously want me to sleep on the ground—“ She heaved a frustrated breath. “We have to hurry. There must be a town near here. I heard the town nearest to the village is—“

“Three hours away. It’s three hours away on foot. We don’t have a wagon or anything to ride on and it is almost sunset.”

He’s got a point. She has to settle down before sundown. But she wouldn’t sleep on the ground. Never.

So she continued walking and walked past him. “We continue to walk until we reach this town,” she said.

She didn’t hear Rowan follow her but then she heard him say, “Even as you transform into—“

“I can walk even in sundown, Rowan. Hurry up,” she said and her voice was so commanding that she heard scuttling behind her. Rowan was already walking beside her, looking at her as if waiting for her to say more but she didn’t say anything.

“Are you sure?”

She gave him a sideward glance. “It’s better than sleeping on the ground, Rowan.”

“You’re calling me Rowan.”

She muttered a silent curse as she remembered what happened yesterday between them when she called him Prince and he liked it. She cleared her throat and removed the memory from her mind.

“You can call me Ariadne if you want. After all, in this journey, I am not Queen and you are not a Prince.” She did not dare look at him. Not when she could feel him staring at her too. Ariadne continued walking and not looking at him for as much as she can.

When it was almost sundown, she realized she needed to undress.

“Where are you going?” Rowan asked.

She looked at him and said, “It’s almost sundown. I have to find someplace to transform.” She did not wait for him and walked towards the forest on the side of the road. There are no people or even wagons around and the trees are big enough for her to hide. She pressed her back on one of the trees and she heard Rowan’s footsteps coming closer.

“Stay there,” she said when she heard Rowan near her. The footsteps stopped.

“Is there anything I can do?” Rowan asked.

She started removing her clothes and tossed them behind. She heard Rowan whistled as she kept on tossing the clothes.

“Care to tell me why are you suddenly undressing? Your clothes do not magically appear and disappear when you are transforming?” Rowan asked and she rolled her eyes.

“No, smart ass. It gets torn. So I have to remove it as I did not bring spare clothes.”

Rowan did not say anything but she could tell he was picking up her clothes on the ground. She removed her underwear and tossed it too.

“Nice,” Rowan muttered she tossed her brassieres.

“Shut up, please.” She groaned and waited for the sun to come down. And she finally felt her bones breaking, she bit her lip to stifle her grunts.

“Holy f**k, what was that?” Rowan asked. He heard how her bones were breaking.

“Nothing,” she said, grunting.

“Nothing? I swear I heard bones breaking—“

“It’s fine, Rowan!” she yelled but then calmed herself down before she said, “It’s fine. It’s normal. I—“ she grunted when her spine rearranged. She heard Rowan mutter a curse.

“It’ll be over in a bit,” she said, breathing hard. Her body was starting to get covered in fur and her hands are becoming claws. Her fangs grew and grew until her it couldn’t fit in her mouth. She was breathing hard until her breaths became huffs.

The sun was down and Ariadne had become a beast. She heard Rowan’s cautious footsteps beside her and she looked at him. There was still awe in his eyes as she stood and towered over him. In his hands, he was holding her clothes, folded neatly. His eyes roamed around her and she smiled.

“A shame you couldn’t talk,” he said.

She huffed, equivalent to rolling her eyes.

“Then we better hurry, Your Majesty. The town is still an hour away. We have to get there by dinner,” Rowan announced and started walking. She has never been outside before in her beast form. She never realized how nice it was to walk in the night, without people, without anyone who would give her scary glances. It was one thing she was afraid of--having people see her and be scared of her. She has already provided enough fear to them before. She doesn’t want to instill fear in them ever again. What she did in the past was enough. 

Rowan walked and she followed suit. With her heightened senses, she could hear the distant sounds and as they walked further, the distant sounds became clearer and clearer. She could hear lively music and laughter which means that they are near the town where they will be staying.

"We're almost there," Rowan announced and they continued to walk.

She has never been to the town. Before, when she goes somewhere, a whole entourage is coming with her. She couldn't roam around however and wherever she likes. Now, it seems like the situation is still the same for how could she roam around in her beast form?

“I think it is better if you go there, Your Majesty,” Rowan said and she stopped walking to see what he was pointing. It was a dark alley, perfect to conceal her presence. She realized they are already near the town. She could see the bustling streets in the distance. The people are too busy to notice there was a beast in their town.

“Meet me at the back of that inn over there.” Rowan pointed towards the tallest building that was there. She looked at the alley and huffed. She could manage. After all, she shouldn’t be seen. She felt Rowan’s hand on her fur and she looked at him who was also looking at her.

“See you, Your Majesty,” he said with a lopsided smile. Was it possible for beasts to blush? Because she was sure she blushed. She managed a huff and walked towards the dark alley. The alley was wide enough for her to fit so she walked confidently. Why would she be scared of something when she’s already enough to incite fear for the whole village. The inn was not hard to find so she made her way through the alley, trying hard not to make too much noise

She stopped on her tracks as she saw someone walking towards her. Judging from his poor balance and incomprehensible mumbles, she could tell that the person was drunk. Ariadne was quick to hide behind a huge bin. She waited before the drunk man passed by her and waited a little longer before the man turned to the corner. She heaved a deep breath before she started to walk again.

The building was tall so it wasn’t hard for her to navigate. What’s hard was finding some spots to hide to avoid the occasional appearance of drunks and homeless people. In her mind, she muttered something close to a curse and continued to walk.

When she arrived at the back of the building, she couldn’t see Rowan anywhere. Ariadne huffed and sat behind a closed door. She couldn’t believe she was doing this, sneaking around like a thief. She was never good at sneaking. Every time she tries to sneak out, she would fail and have the guards take her back to her chamber. But there aren’t any guards and she is not Queen tonight. She should be fine.

Ariadne was quick to hide behind the bin when she heard footsteps coming. The door opened and Rowan was standing there, roaming his eyes around. She came out of the bin and Rowan looked at her. He gestured for her to come and she couldn’t believe the audacity the man had to command her. But it wasn’t the time for her to be thinking of who’s commanding whom. After all, they are not Queen and Prince. For tonight until several nights to come, they are ordinary people traveling together in the most inconvenient way.

“You have to take the stairs,” Rowan told her and pointed towards the stairs at the back of the building. She looked at it and realized the stairs led to the highest floor. She looked at Rowan and huffed. She hoped he understood her being uncomfortable and her exhaustion. She thought about the comfortable bed she had in her chamber and the warm blanket. She thought about the moon that illuminates her room when the candles are out.

Rowan closed the door and led her to the stairs. “We are on the second floor so it would be quite easy,” he said and stepped on the stairs with her.

When they reached the second floor, Rowan raised his hand as if signaling her to stop walking and she did. He opened the door and took a peek to see if there was anyone around. When the coast was clear, Rowan motioned his hand for her to come and they walked the quiet hallway.

It was a long hallway and she is getting anxious. It got even worse when she heard footsteps coming their way. She didn’t realize she let out a low snarl that Rowan looked at her. Thankfully, he understood what it meant that he urged her to walk faster.

She pranced down the hallway and Rowan was trailing behind her until he said, “We’re here.” Ariadne stopped running and Rowan opened the door before she entered. As if on cue, she heard people walking down the hall, talking and laughing just in time for her to get inside the room and hide. She heard the people greeting Rowan good evening and the latter responded with the same energy.

Then Rowan got inside and let out a deep breath. “That was like sneaking my lover into my room back in the palace.”

She furrowed her brows and Rowan looked at her. “My apologies,” he said. If she could roll her eyes, she would have. But she only managed a huff and turned to walk to the window. She didn’t really care.

“We will stay here for the whole night and we leave early in the morning,” Rowan announced as he was also watching through the window. “I should get some food.” He then looked at her. “What do you eat?” he asked.

Ariadne shook her head. She would rather starve than eat something while in her beast form. Thankfully, Rowan understood it and nodded. He went and made sure to lock their room. Ariadne stood near the window where she could see the bustling street. With her heightened senses and the noisy surrounding, it made her headache. Everything was too sharp. The lights, the sound, even the cold bite of the wind.

She walked towards the bed. Ariadne could tell that Rowan is someone who had a fair share of traveling experience. She didn’t. Ariadne is just following him wherever he goes as he’s the one who knows where to find the person who could help her with the curse. She has never been to Cern and she doesn’t know what to expect. She only heard it is a powerful Kingdom. Aside from that, she knows nothing else.

After a few minutes, Rowan returned with a bowl of soup. It was enticing but she couldn’t bring herself to eat. Not when she doesn’t know what the soup is made from. Besides, she isn’t hungry.

“It’s freezing cold outside,” he started as he sat on the chair in the room. “Your furs are enough to keep you warm or do you still use a blanket?”

She did not respond and walked towards the bed. Without so much a huff, she stepped on the mattress and curled. Rowan’s jaw dropped.

“So where am I going to sleep?” he asked. Disbelief in his voice.

She huffed as if saying it isn’t her problem anymore. She heard Rowan groan before she closed her eyes. Perhaps it was the exhaustion that sleep came to her as soon as she wished it would.

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