Beneath The Beast: The Devil's Bride

Chapter 4: 'Take this leap of faith with me, my dearest and I promise I will not let you down'

Chapter 4: 'Take this leap of faith with me, my dearest and I promise I will not let you down'

Evanescent(adj): lasting only briefly, then vanishing quickly, even from memory.

Lorraine was at peace after her torment, but a voice in her head kept telling her that she was only getting an evanescent glimpse of tranquility before her nightmare would unfold before her eyes again.

Despite her having a fun day, fitting her dress for her party and there being only 5 days till she turned 18, she just couldn't shake off the feeling that she longed for more in life. A part of her was quick to assume that it was due to William denying her the opportunity to feel like she was becoming more of a woman and allow her to invite her crush. It was a big blow but she did not believe it could have such a strong hold over her emotions.

The water was nice and warm, closer to blazing hot than room temperature, which was how she liked it whenever she took her evening showers right before sleep. She was careful not to hurt her finger that had only been treated a few hours ago as she felt the temperature of the water. She was not a fan of cold showers or baths and a simple injury to her nail was not going to change that.

She removed her silky soft white robe, leaving it on her bathroom counter before stepping into the shower.

The feeling of gratification and warmth was immediate when the water ran down her back and flowed down to her feet.

She allowed the shower head to wet her hair and face before squeezing her face wash into her palms, applying it to her face.

The smell of citrus and honey filled her nostrils as the face wash foamed up on her skin. Her moment in the shower was all she needed to let all her worries run to the back of her mind and allow her mindful indulgence.

After rinsing the face wash, she proceeded to shampoo her hair and wash her locks of dark brown hair, feeling its soft texture as she massaged her scalp.

Her mind started drifting to possible strategies that she could use to get to meet Ben, ask her mother for permission to invite him maybe, perhaps find a way to sneak out and leave the captivity that was stopping her from living her best life. It was exhausting to think about but when she imagined how disappointed Ben would be if he was suddenly told that he could not come when his sister's invitation still stood, it hit her right in the gut. She was a teenager trying to live her first love story and it was on multiple occasions that she had to force thoughts of Prince Benjamin out of her mind,hating how attached she was getting even before they'd met in person.

A tug at her hair forced her back into reality as she froze, trying to make sense of what had just pulled her hair. Her window began to shake and she could hear the whistle of strong wind, even through the noise of the running water. Deciding to shrug it off after spending waiting for the next sensation, she grabbed her body wash and lifted the cap off its lid.

Before she could even think of proceeding with her shower, a hand grabbed her by the right shoulder and a sharp object ran down her back, forcing her to drop the container of blueberry flavoured body wash.

It could not be, she thought, It just could not be happening again. She wanted to slap her face and stop dreaming if she indeed was only imagining things.

Her immobile body gave the sharp object a chance to begin to travel further down her back, seemingly drawing something. That was when she tried to scream, but similar to their last encounter, the beast had her unable to make any noise. She yelped and pushed herself further against the glass wall of her shower to get away from whatever it was that was touching her.

The beast was relentless, invading more areas of her body with those rough, large hands that just chilled her. She knew that there was no one in the shower with her so her attacker definitely had the greater advantage of invisibility over her.

She felt a hand move to cup her breast, triggering an even greater struggle from Lorraine. She pushed and shoved herself away from what was holding her down till she was a panting mess.

After what seemed like minutes of her trying to escape, Lorraine finally fought herself out of the shower, grabbing the first towel from her rack and dashing back into her room.

Catching her breath was no priority at the moment, she knew she needed to get out of her room fast and running out in a towel dripping wet was not an option. Being a princess came with many rules and one of them forbade such embarrassing behavior where any of the staff could see her.

So Lorraine dried her body as fast as she could, yanked the first dress her hand touched in the closet, threw it over her head and wore a pair of knickers before running out of her room.

The emptiness and silence of the hallway impacted her thinking ability. She did not know where to run to. Escaping to her parents' room to confide in them was not on the table. Lorraine already knew that her father had to make an appearance in their parliament and if things were as usual, Maureen, her mother, had gone with him.

A glimpse of light shone in her mind and she finally knew where she needed to go. Walking straight down the hallway she stopped at a narrow white door that was only four fours away from her room but on the opposite side.

Giving it a gentle knock, she pressed her ear against the wood so she could hear when a response came from within the room.

Right before she could try knocking again, the door opened in front of her and Mara emerged from the doorway.

"Mara! Thank goodness you are here! I am so happy to see you!" She held her close to her body, speaking the words right by her ear.

Mara let out a laugh out of confusion but hugged her back.

"What do you mean you are glad I am here, I am always here and I just left your room not long ago." She pulled away from Lorraine and looked her in the eyes.

Her eyes were not like she knew them. They did not glimmer with happiness and stay clear white, instead they showed great fatigue and were redder than usual.

"Lorraine are you alright? Is anything wrong? " she inquired, deeply concerned about her.

Lorraine just shook her head repeatedly, like she was fighting a thought crossing her mind. Her eyes immediately teared up and her head dropped so she was facing the floor.

Shocked by her behavior,.Mara grabbed her by her hand and let her imto her room, closing the door behind them.

"I do not want to go back to my room." Without warning, Lorraine blurted out, making Mara feel even more confused. If anything she was thinking that Benjamin was behind her actions, nothing about her room.

"Sleep with me, Mara, please. I am scared, I am terrified out of my mind." Lorraine looked at her with puppy eyes. Not the manipulative kind, but the sad, pitiable kind.

"Well what are you afraid of Lorraine, there is nothing to be afraid of in your room."

"There is, Mara, There is. There is a monster, a supernatural beast in my bathroom. It was here last night and I know for a fact that it is coming back."

Mara furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had known Lorraine for years and she was never the type of child to complain about monsters being under the bed, that something was haunting her or anything else of a superstitious nature. Her pleas came as a surprise and as much as she would have loved to help her, she was not up for getting in trouble with the king.

"Lorraine, it's okay really. There are no monsters in your bedroom. How long have you had it for? There is no way something has decided to come now." She tried to reassure her that it was safe to go back to her room but she was unmoved by her encouraging words.

"Please tell me you believe me. You do not think I am crazy or I was having nightmares, do you?" Her eyes spoke many words for her. She did not need to explain just how frightened she was for her to understand.

Something was telling her to believe Lorraine but another voice in her head was negating that, instructing her to keep a distance to avoid William's wrath or punishment.

She could not give Lorraine the response she knew she wanted nor explain to her that her father was the main reason she was being evasive, so she settled for bowing her head and looking away from her begging, teary eyes.

"It's him isn't it. You are scared that you will get in trouble with my father right?" Lorraine's voice sounded defeated as she spoke. She had overheard William telling Mara to not see Lorraine till it was morning and she already had ideas of how she would get punished for disobeying the order.

Mara's silence was the confirmation she needed to know that her father was behind her reluctance.

"It's just that I really do not want to get in trouble sweetheart. You know I would stay with you under different circumstances." She pulled Lorraine closer to embrace her in a hug, triggering sobs from her.

Mara patted her back in consolation and sadness, although it was still hard for her to understand why she would be that afraid to go back into her room alone or what monster she was talking about, if it existed.

"I will sleep in here then. Let me sleep in your room, Mara. My dad will not find out I promise. If I just lock the door he woll think that I am sleeping. I will make sure to leave early too. He usually does not wake up till 8, especially since he might be arriving really late,and I will be gone by then. Please Mara." She was out of breath from the fast ranting she had done but she was willing to do anything to convince her and if it meant losing her bresth in conversation, she was up for it.

Lorraine was a sweet girl, always had been. She had stuck up for the palace workers multiple times in front of her father and Mara always wanted to treat her in kind and make her happy. So she knew she had to provide help somehow.

"Okay." She started and Lorraine's eyes already glistened with hope.

"We will go back to your room and I will sleep on your small couch, just make sure no one sees me when I go in and check that the coast is clear when I need to leave in the morning. Your father can not find out about this, okay?"

Lorraine nodded and bit her lower lip in excitement.

"Thank you so much Mara, you will not regret this, I promise" she gave her multiple kisses on the forehead and smiled gratefully at her.

The odds were seemingly in their favour. Lorraine had successfully snuck Mara into her room, locking the door like they'd discussed.

Lorraine was hesitant to move deeper into the interior of her bedroom but after Mara had looked around, closed the curtains for her and checked in her closet, bathroom and even under the bed, she felt safer than she would, being all by herself.

"Thank you for staying with me, Mara. I do not know if I would be able to sleep without you being next to me." She smiled at Mara who was laying beside her on her large bed.

Mara did feel awkward sleeping in the bed, it was a princess's bed after all and all her life she'd been made to feel like an undeserving lowlife. It was always different when she was around Lorraine. She made her feel..like a normal human being. She was nothing like her father in her eyes.

"Everything is okay my princess, I am always happy to help and protect you." Mara returned a similar warm smile before moving closer to Lorraine to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"I know I may not be as flexible and strong as I used to be but no monster will hurt you while I'm here, I will send it straight to hell." She joked as she hugged Lorraine tightly, making her body bounce from laughter.

"Goodnight princess." Mara planted a final kiss on her forehead before allowing her to roll over on her stomach and find sleep.

She fought the urge to warn her against her sleeping position but it had been years and years of ineffective advice, so she just shook her head at the princess and proceeded to roll over onto her side, closing her eyes.

The night was as quiet as can be as they both drifted away into dreamland, no wind was blowing, trees rustling or animals making sounds. It was just the silence and breathing of sleepers, till it was all interrupted.

Lorraine's beast was living up to his promise and paying his bride a visit. Trees suddenly shook their branches vigorously and dropped leaves. Doors were being shaken within their frames and threatened to open.

The commotion was hard to miss, but despite the raging noise, only Lorraine was able to wake up, leaving Mara fast asleep beside her.

Panic immediately made her face pale and chest red. She had become too accustomed to the sequence of events that unveiled right before her monster made an appearance to believe it was just a regular storm.

She sat up on her bed contemplating her next move as her window continued to move from the stong wind. Waking Mara up was a selfish move in her mind, especially if this was just a windy night like there had been before. So she chose to stay upright on her bed, legs shaking and arms holding tightly onto her pillow. Her grip was strong enough to hurt her finger where the nail had lifted, but she refused to let go. It was the only way she could release her anxiety and worry and prevent herself from making un necessary screams.

With one swift push, the window flew open and Lorraine started to panic, knowing deep down what was next. She shivered on her bed, trying to look outside the window.

Her attempts to stay calm were rendered futile as her night light suddenly turned off, leaving her in the dark.

That was the final straw that had her running to the only fortress she knew, her covers.

Lorraine buried her head and entire body inside her covers and began to shake Mara.

Loud footstep noises that were in close proximity with her bed made the need to wake Mara up more urgent and meaningful. If the same thing that had been tormenting her since last night had come to continue its mission, she did not want to be the only one to witness it. Maybe Mara would finally see what she had been trying to explain all day and she would feel sane again without anyone telling her it was just a nightmare.

"Mara! Wake up! It's here! It's here!" She shook her and shook her vigorously to only have her make a small noise and turn over away from her, facing the window the beast had probably come out of, similar to the previous night.

Lorraine mustered courage she did not know she had and allowed her covers to open a bit to allow her to see the window.

A large, dark silhouette moved just beside the window and its size and stance only freaked her out more.

Not knowing what to do was her biggest problem and not knowing why she was a target for the creature was what frightened her most.

In an effort to get answers and get through to the beast, she initiated conversation.

"Who are you? What do you want from me!?" She had asked two simple questions. Two questions that anyone in her position would ask.

"Please leave me alone, you have no right being here!" She pronounced to the beast, yelling as loudly as her frightened, shaky voice could manage.

Immediately after the words left her mouth, regret hit her. Her harmless tries to initiate conversation had evidently infuriated her guest, forcing him to pull the covers off her and Mara with a tremendous amount of force.

She immediately shut her eyes and felt around her sheet in search for Mara's arm. Maybe if she held onto her, she would be much harder to attack, she thought, but her attempts to coil up onto her assistant's body proved to be a decision she'd wish she never made.

Her hands came in contact with rough scaly skin, the texture as the hand that was carresing her cheek just the previous night.

A hoarse, deafening scream made a shiver travel right down her spine after she had pulled her hand away. It was Mara and she sounded beyond frightened, she was almost giving off screams of agony as she she shifted around on the bed, making it bounce.

Her screams seemed never ending and she felt helpless for being the coward that she was and cocooning herslf instead of fighting off the beast with Mara.

The inducer of Mara's noises did not allow Lorraine any opportunity to have second thoughts and finally help the old woman out as in just a fraction of a second, everything went silent and Mara fell to the floor.

Light shone on petrified Lorraine's face as her door opened. She immediately turned her head to the light and noticed that it was Ragus who had opened the door.

His eyes travelled around the room, pausing when they landed on Mara's body on the floor. He shook his head with his eyes still on the side of the bed where she had fallen before looking back at Lorraine.

"Big big mistake." The words left his mouth as he once again shook his head and laughed barely audibly, closing the door on Lorraine.

A/N:

Here is another chapter for you my wonderful souls. Please comment your thoughts, I want to know what you think of the story so far.

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