Lover

"Wake up!"

"Austin, wake up!" Thomas joined in whatever she was trying to do.

"Why don't you wake up?!" Emma groaned, burying her face in her palms.

"Do we have a plan?"

"No."

"Great."

"Oh my God, Austin! Your bloody beast is going to the city now and I swear to God, if someone innocent dies because of that beast, I will be the one killing you."

"That's so cool." Thomas chuckled.

"And I am going to marry someone, in real this time. I will live happily with him till the very end and won't ever think of you. We will all forget about you as easily as plucking out grass."

"Have I mentioned to you that he was the beast who killed your former fiancee?"

"Oh. How did he know that it was him? Who told him?"

"Long story. Later."

"Alright then. I will hear it from him. Now let's make him mad enough to wake up and punch us."

"Yeah." Thomas cheered.

"You know what Austin," Emma started. "You are the most blind and worthless person I have ever met."

"You are useless."

"Even if they let you out, you wouldn't be as useful as you were by killing people for money."

"That is so true."

"I loved you only because of your looks and money_"

"WHAT?!"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, I am trying to make him angry by saying so."

"HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY LOOKS EITHER!" Thomas high-fighed Emma. She started laughing.

"I despise you, always."

"We all do!"

"I regret meeting you!"

"Yeah, you just read my mind out."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, you are so awesome."

"Thanks. We should go out sometime. Austin will hate it!"

"Why didn't I think of it before? Let's go for lunch."

"Deal!"

"What do we do with him?"

"This world is a better place without you him and will be a better place with this beast roaming_"

Loud screams came from the city. Both of them snapped their heads to the direction. The beast was going further into the city and attacking people.

Emma began to panic. "Dad…" She whispered to herself.

"Your dad is out there." Theo said. "You should go to him."

"We can't stop the beast from attacking anyone. All that we can do is wake Austin up."

"But it is not working. So you should go to your dad." Theo offered. But she shook her head.

"What am I going to do by going there? He knows how to teleport and I know he won't dare to fight with it."

Thomas let out a sigh. He has given up his attempts and sat down. He is losing his friend to the beast. Austin is not hearing anything. His soul is not inside him anymore. The beast is taking over him. All that is left is his glowing red eyes.

"Emma?" Thomas called.

"Yeah."

"I got a strange idea."

"Let it out."

"Austin can't hear us, because his soul is being taken by the beast. So his soul is no longer in him. It is now inside the beast. That means… instead of talking to Austin, we should talk to the beast."

Emma stared at him silently for a minute or two. She was deep in thoughts. The beast is now having a soul to do things on its own. That soul is Austin's. He is right. Beast now has his soul. Is the beast really Austin? She should go and talk to it. It won't hurt to try and what is left there to do?

Thomas noticed her eyes sparkling up. He stood up extending his hands, ready to teleport away.

"Does that mean the book is wrong?" She asked.

"Everyone makes mistakes at some point." Thomas remarked. She smiled at him.

"Take us with you too." Mabel barged in. "We have to apologise too. We did so many unforgivable things to him." Emma nodded with a smile.

They are guilty and ready to correct their mistakes if a chance is given. That's what everyone needs. No one is perfect. No one can. Everyone has their own small imperfections. That's what makes them unique. They all teleported to a rooftop where the beast was visible. It's time to make Austin realise a few things.

"Austin!" Emma screamed at the beast and it turned its eyes to the noise.

"It is responding." Thomas let out a sigh.

"I am talking to you. I know Austin is in there; inside you... I just want you to know that I love you even if you are a wizard or a beast or non-wizard or a dog or a_"

"Disgusting lizard?" Thomas asked, screwing up his face and Theo snickered.

Emma smiled, "Yeah, even if you are a disgusting lizard, or even a cockroach... I just want you around me every time. All I ever wanted is your presence around, your laughter and clumsiness. To make sure we both are alright. To hold you as close as possible during thunderstorms. To be a strong wall to lean in. To dance around the dining table at midnight. To be your firefly.

"Why won't you give me a chance? You just imagined that I am going to reject you because you have a beast in? We used to share everything. Why haven't you told me about this? Did I become a stranger to you? How long will it take you to realise that I love you? Or are you running away from me?"

The beast is now calm and it is staring at Emma. Theo slowly walked in front of Emma, trying to protect her from the beast if it attacked. But she caught his sleeve and shook her head no. He obliged. The beast didn't move. It is listening.

"I know I have only seen a side of you all those years. This is also your face and I am accepting it. You were trying your best to be a perfect man for me and trying was enough for me. Now you no longer need to hide your face from me. Do we need to be that distant?

"I will accept your every side, Austin. Whenever you are angry, sad, mad, happy, excited, depressed, confused. I love you, who you are. I love you. I love you. I love you. I am ready to scream it to you till it sinks into your heart. I am ready to accept whatever or whoever you are. I am accepting your beast side also. Don't doubt me.

"You don't have to run away from me; from anyone. You are trying your best to impress everyone so that they won't hate you for your darkside. Trust me, we love you no matter what you are.

"Even if your soul is forever trapped in this beast, I will love you and be by your side through every crisis, every phase, every side. Cause I have seen a beautiful side of you. Apart from this darkness, I still can see the bright and sweet person who loves to watch the sky and paint. It is hard to see you suddenly change. I know you are hurt. But it's alright. I will definitely be there to fix you. We all will be.

"Please stop killing these people. They are raised to be this way. They have their own reasons that you have to accept. Killing them off is never a wise decision. Just give them another chance. They sure will learn to love, like I do."

Thomas stepped forward. His face is stern, "So you thought we were going to hate you or leave you. Never knew that you were so insecure. You are my little brother, Austin. And it will always remain the same. Thought you knew."

Theo cleared his throat and started. He is scared that he won't forgive him, "I am sorry, Austin. I took advantage of you and your powers. I never tried to understand you. I should have known. I am sorry and I won't repeat this to anyone. Forgive me… Please."

"I am sorry, dear." Mabel said, her eyes filling with tears. "I feel like I am the one responsible for this fate of yours. I should have let you go instead of bringing you to Theo. I apologise, Austin. But now you are my son. We all are a family. Please forgive us."

"Austin," Emma asked, "It's time for you to stop your hatred for the city. Let's leave this place and run away to Silversteele like we planned. We can start a new life with our new family. Please stop killing people."

The beast stood still, gazing at the 4 small humans down there, trying to stop him from its mission. He is assigned to kill everyone and everything. But somehow, the beast withdrew.

It knew it couldn't do this. It can't imagine a life, ruining everything and everyone, without family or friends. Its life would be meaningless, the same as before…

Now he has a family. He got a girl who will love him throughout. She is ready to accept this side of him. He always doubted what her reaction might be. She indeed loves him. He doesn't deserve her. He hasn't done anything in his life to deserve her. He is a killer. He decided to grow out of it, but ended up worse. He is the curse and she is the angel. Angel can save the curse from happening, right?

Maybe there is still time; to do something worth telling. To make her feel proud of him. To make her the luckiest person. To not make her regret the kindness she has showered on him. He will live a life, both for himself and for his love. He had made the decision;

To be the lover…