The Beast's Bride

eight : ocho

Chapter 8

Ten years ago...

“Pa, what do I do when I’m scared of something?” 

I’m ten years old. I had just finished watching a scary horror movie with Ron and refused to let grandpa leave me in my room to sleep for the night. Nothing bad can happen when grandpa is near. He’s strong and a famed war veteran. He battled against the nightmare of my nightmares.

Grandpa sits himself on the edge of my bed. “There’s nothing else to do but to face it. I always believe that what doesn’t kill you, should be afraid of you.” 

I pull my blanket all the way up to my nose. “Afraid of me?”

He nods. “Yes. Fear is all in the head. Conquering it is the greatest strength.” 

“What if I’m afraid of monsters or ghosts?” I ask quietly looking towards my open window. 

Grandpa brushes my messy hair back comfortingly. “Dare them to come near you. Face them head on.” 

That night, I slept outside my room on the balcony with a stick ready to challenge whoever came at me. I figured if the terrifying creatures do come, it’s best that they do it away from my white bed sheets. Grandma doesn’t like stains on them. I’d rather fight a monster than her. 

Present...

“Pa, can I sleep in your room tonight?”

Is what I wanted to ask my grandpa during dinner but instead, I sucked it up and smiled. Just like ten years ago I would face my fear.

When dinner is done I go back to my room and pick up the flower that’s still on my bed. I place it with the others on my bedside table. None of them have wilted or showed signs of wilting. 

I lay in the dark staring at my window while watching the shadows move. The weather has been really good today. Not a single drop of rain fell. Yet again, the smell of tobacco wafts itself into my room and I feel oddly relaxed by it.

My eyes watch the shadows dance around until they form into what looks like a head of a horse. Two blood red eyes appear. The same eyes that I saw in the woods a few days ago. 

For some reason, I didn’t feel afraid anymore. I close my eyes and let sleep take me. 

A high pitched scream wakes me from my sleep. I twist around my bed to see the time. It’s six in the morning. 

Another scream. This time it’s even louder.

Panicked, I jump up out of the bed and rush out to the balcony to see what’s happening downstairs. I freeze in my steps at the sight before me. My entire balcony is filled with an overflowing amount of wild flowers. 

My flowers. 

I gasp, my eyes widening. What in the world? 

The screams continue and I step on the flowers making my way to the railings. I had to refrain myself from shouting as well. 

Our garden and backyard have grown dramatically overnight. All the flowers have bloomed beautifully and the grass from our yard became at least a foot taller than it was yesterday. The plants and trees surrounding our house are suddenly bearing large ripe fruits ready for harvest. I saw them only yesterday and they were nowhere near this. 

It’s as if someone dropped a freak steroid potion all over our property. 

I find Lia by the maid’s quarters staring right at me. The way she looked at me made it seem like this was all my doing.

“It’s the grand gesture.” They whisper amongst themselves.

Agatha comes out in her pajamas looking equal parts startled and determined. “Fix this at once!”

I don’t stay to watch how they clean everything up. Instead, I lay in bed and stare at the flowers on my bedside table. They’re still perfect, showing no sign of withering anytime soon.

My heart thumps in my chest. The urge to vomit is strong. 

What was happening? 

This has got to be a mistake. A bad dream maybe?

The door to my room opens and Ron walks in. “Why aren’t you ready yet?” 

I sit up. “What?” 

“It’s almost lunch. I was sent up to get you. Are you sick?” He asks, coming to stand over me to check my temperature with the palm of his hand. “You’re burning up.” 

“Ron, didn’t you see what happened downstairs?” I ask, swatting away his hand.

He frowns in confusion. “The breakfast that you missed?”

“No.” I stand from my bed and walk to my balcony. “There’s-“

Nothing. 

Not a single wild flower. 

I swear it was there a few minutes ago. Was I going crazy? Did I simply dream about what happened earlier? 

Ron joins me and stares at my empty balcony. “What are we looking at?” 

I open my mouth to answer but no words come. What was I supposed to say? 

Ron takes my hand. He guides me out of the room and down the stairs. “Let’s get you some soup downstairs. I think you’re catching a cold.”

I stare at my feet feeling sick to my stomach. That’s when I see it. On the soles of my slipper is a crushed wild flower that I stepped on this morning when I went out.

I need to speak to Lia. She would know what’s happening. 

The rest of the household acted normal. It’s like earlier was just a dream. Agatha force feeds me hot soup while yelling at Ron for being such a slob. 

I was getting warmer. I even felt extremely feverish. 

Maybe I did hallucinate everything? 

By the time I get tucked into bed, I’m fully convinced it was all just a dream. A high fever nightmare of sorts. 

My dreams offer no solace. Monsters of every kind appeared in my restless sleep. I tossed and turned the entire night. 

I wake up drenched in sweat with my heart beating wildly. I sit up reaching for a glass of water and nearly jump right out of my skin.

“Lia?” I demand covering myself with a blanket. “What are you doing in my room? In the dark?” 

The girl in question was currently hovering over me. “You’ve been having bad dreams.” 

“Is that obvious?” I remark, reluctantly reaching for my water. My throat is so dry. It’s like I’ve been shouting all night. 

Lia opens my desk lamp which gives us better lighting. “You’re attracting more dark spirits.” 

She says this so casually that I choke on the water I’m drinking. “Pardon?”

Lia walks to my window, eyes focused on the woods. “He’s doing a lot to keep you safe. The spirits are so desperate to stop it that they’ve inflicted an illness on you.” 

“Who’s he?” I ask this not knowing if I want to know the answer.

 “I feel that the ceremony is soon. He’s already done the grand gesture.” She continues ignoring my question all together. 

I feel my mind reel from this information. “What are you saying?”

Lia turns to face me looking desperate. “You need to be prepared.” 

“You need to start answering my questions.” I huffed in annoyance. My head is throbbing painfully and my chest feels like something heavy is pushing on it. 

A faraway look goes through her face and I wonder if she’s drunk. “He’s the most powerful spirit guardian there is. He’s chosen you and he will have you.” 

My grandma would talk about spirits in the woods. Mostly, the bad ones that took misbehaving children but occasionally she would mention spirits that she believes are like fairies. It’s all superstition of course. None of that is real. 

It didn’t work in keeping me indoors before, it wouldn’t work now.  

I touch her arm. “Lia, I appreciate you talking about these things. It reminds me of Ma but I’m sick. I don’t think this is the right time-“ 

“Prepare, miss.” She repeats more firmly this time. 

Lia runs out of my room after that. With her strange visit, it left even more unanswered questions and a lot more confusion then there originally was. 

I don’t get to ponder it for too long because a wave of dizziness hits me. My body feels cold yet hot at the same time. I twist around in hopes that sleep will take away what I’m feeling.

My mistake.