Chapter One

Chapter One

10/26/1582

On the day of my "wedding", I was confined to a shake in the back of the village. Men from the village guarded all possible exits, I had tried escaping the day before, so there had been more guards than there had been, for previous “brides.”

Hope was behind me now, I had subsided to my fate. So when night came, and they bound me, and dragged me up the mountain, I did not fight them, nor did I struggle in the slightest.

Once we reached the top of the mountain, the two men threw me in front of the manor and quickly fled. After they were out of sight, the rope bounding my hands dropped to the floor. And the gate to the manor flung open.

I looked around in confusion. “Wh-What’s going on?” I asked.

“Come in. Come in. Come in!” A voice beaconed me into the manor. Without thinking my legs moved on their own. I walked through the garden, past the fountain, to the front door. Like the gate had prior, it flew open. The voices begin to get louder, and music floods my ears as I walked in. “COME IN! COME IN!”

I walked past the Oak staircase, into a dimly lit hall. Paintings littered the walls, but I was too entranced to admire their beauty. Although I do take notice of one, a portrait of a man, who appeared to be the master of the manor. He had ash brown hair, blue eyes, and light skin. He was dressed all in black, besides for white fur draped across his shoulders. His piercing eyes seemed to follow my every move.

I made a sharp turn at the end of the hall, into the dining room. The voices ceased, and now only the sweet sound of the violin filled my ears.

Out of the trance, I frantically looked around the room. The floors were white marble, the walls white with a striped gold print, and a matching golden chandler lye center in the room. Under it is a grande table, spanning at least 40 feet. A feast was laid out, it was steaming as if it had been waiting for me. And it had. At the end of the table sat the man from the portrait. I would later know him as the beast.

The man, finally noticing me, looked up. He smiled and gestured to the chair across from him. "Come, come, sit." His voice was sweet, almost sickly, with a hint of malice.

I hesitantly sat down, "Who are you? Where's the-" He cut me off mid-sentence

"There's no time for questions." He glanced out the window, and smiled, "the moon is almost full." He turned back to me, "so eat now, eat, we're running out of time."

I reached for my fork, it was heavy silver, with floral detailing carved into it. I stare at it for quite some time debating on whether or not I should eat something. I went to put down my fork when my stomach growled, and the hunger set in. The townspeople didn't want to waste food on someone who was going to be dead in a few hours, so I hadn't eaten since my capture. The sweet smell of the chicken filled my nostrils, my mouth watering, I carve up a piece. I gently placed it on my plate. I glance at the man, who isnt eating, yet sends me a smile before I take a bite. Then another, and another, till not a spekt of food is left on my plate.

I reached for the bowl of potatoes when the clock struck two. The man stands up from his seat. He walked over to the partially opened curtains and flung them open. The moonlight floods the room. He turned to look at me, his eyes now bright red. Before he even opened his mouth, I knew that I had to - “Run.”

And run I did. I leaped up from my chair, and darted out of the dining room, down the hall. Not even a minute later, I heard the sound of footsteps, and panting, not far behind me. As I pass by a mirror, I get a glimpse of what's following me. It had in fact been the beast. It was at least 5 feet long, had black fur, long white claws, and blood-thirsty red eyes. Its mouth watered, as it jumped at me. It clawed at my leg.

Luckily I spotted something shiny in the distance, two crossed swords were mounted on the wall. Desperate, I reached for it, it was just within my grasp. I forced myself to reach out even farther, causing its claws to scrape off chunks of my skin. It buried its claws deeper into my skin, but not before I grabbed one of the swords off the mantle. It sunk its other claw into my left shoulder. As it towered over me, I used the rest of my strength to plunge the sword into the beast's chest.

The beast fell forward, collapsing onto me. It then began to take a new shape. The shape of a man. I let out a shriek and pushed the man off of me. I’m then able to see his face. It had been the man from supper. He had been the beast all along.

I somehow managed to get onto my feet. I stumbled to the end of the hall, before falling to the ground. From there everything went black.

By the time I came too, the manor had transformed, seemingly overnight. The painting of the man from the night before had turned into a portrait of me. Everything looked accurate, but something felt off about it. My hazel eyes seemed more piercing than before, almost deadly, my golden skin glistened, and my long rust-colored curly hair, which was normally up in a bun, was down my back. My clothing was estranged to me; I wore a long red dress, and black fur sat on my shoulders. That same black fur sat at my feet, where the beast had once sat. The blood had disappeared, and I would have thought it was a dream if it had not still stained the left side of what used to be my white dress. I picked up the fur, off the carpet, and wrapped it around me. I turned to leave, but an alluring smell drew me back to the dining room.

The walls were no longer white, instead they we're a deep grey, and with black accents. The once golden chandelier was now silver, and a red cloth lay on top of the grande table. Bread, fish, cheese, berries, porridge, nuts, and jam all sat atop the table. Along with water, wine, and other necessities.

I sit on the same chair that I had the night before. I decided to gorge myself, before leaving the manor. I needed the energy to walk back to town. After I had my fill I bandaged up my wounds and set off.

The farther I got from the manor, a voice began to creep up in the back of my mind. "Come back," the voice got louder, and louder and multiplied from one, to two, to three, to ten, to a hundred. And as more filled my ears, the louder they got. "Come back. Come back! COME BACK!"

Not being able to take the noise, I stumbled back to the manor. When I opened the door and walked back inside, they ceased.

It was then that I decided to stay for a while, after all, I had everything I could ever want at Whitlock Manor; food, water, clothes, and shelter. What more could I ask for?