Before Beauty (9 page)

“
Let Launce do it,” Deline told
him as the girl bounded off. “She’s been dying to see you, and the
horse will take at least half an hour.”

“
I know.” Ansel finally looked up
from the tea they’d placed in his hands. “But I have something I
must tell you all, and I am afraid it will frighten
her.”

At this, they all stopped what
they were doing and stared. Isa felt a chill touch her heart. For
though he spoke to them all, it was her he was looking
at.

“
We must pack what little we can
with great haste. Take only what you need. I will send a message to
Marko. We are leaving tonight after the sun sets.”

Dumbfounded, Isa looked at her
mother and brother, but they seemed to be as much at a loss as she
was.

“
We’re doing what?” Launce was the
first one to find his voice.

“
We’re leaving with the Caregivers
tonight. All of us.”

“
But…why?” Deline
frowned.

“
Father,” Isa put her hands on her
father’s arm and knelt close to him, “what happened?” Her touch
seemed to calm him some, but when his eyes met hers, they were wild
with worry.

“
Isa,” his voice was hollow and
old, “it is all my fault. I have done something terrible, and I
cannot undo it. This is the only way I know how to save you. I…I
was caught out on the mountain when the storm hit. I was afraid I
would freeze, so I took the only familiar path I could find.” Ansel
swallowed loudly before looking beseechingly at the rest of his
family. “I sought the shelter of the Fortress.”

The silence was deafening as a
familiar feeling stirred in Isa’s heart. She suddenly knew what
kind of turn her father’s journey had taken.

“
The place is surely cursed,”
Ansel spoke again, shaking his head at his tea. “I used to laugh at
such superstitions, but there was hardly a light in the entire
stronghold.”

“
The servants?” Deline placed her
hand over her heart.

“
Shadows….phantoms. I do not know.
There are no bodies to serve the prince, but the spirits are
certainly not lacking. And they do his bidding as well as any
staff.” He shivered. “And then there was the prince. I don’t know
how, but he somehow escaped the enchantment. At least, he still has
a body I mean. I couldn’t see much for the darkness. He saw me,
however, and he demanded to know about my family.”

A sob suddenly wrenched itself
from Ansel’s body. “He said he would send a plague upon you all
with his power if I did not obey! Isa, forgive me!” Her father
dropped his tea cup on the floor and clutched at her hands
desperately, his brown eyes desperately searching hers. “I tried so
hard to shield you. I told him only of your strengths, and as
little as I could. And yet, he has demanded that you come to the
Fortress to stay with him.”

Horror gripped Isa. Even under a
curse, would he never stop? Why couldn’t he simply let her be? As
the fear moved through her, however, it was quickly replaced with
an even stronger emotion. How dare he? How dare this man threaten
her family, using them as leverage to wage this strange war upon
her?

“
We can make him leave his hiding
hole to come here and face us like a man! We could gather a
militia!” Launce was fuming when Isa realized they were still
talking.

“
No, we do not know the true
strength of his power,” Ansel replied. “It would be best if we
simply went with the Caregivers. They are our fastest way of
escape. I don’t think he’ll be able to reach us on the third day if
we leave tonight. We’ll be nearly out of the kingdom by
then.”

Isa quietly stood and slipped back
up to her attic. Her family meant well, but their attempts would be
fruitless. They didn’t know the true power the prince wielded. She
did.

The accident had taken place
fourteen years before, when she was only nine, but the day was
etched into her memory like writing on a tombstone. Lean and
nimble, she’d weaved her way through the crowd to the street to see
the handsome young prince as he rode by. She’d seen him from a
distance a number of times when visiting the Fortress with her
father, but this was the closest she had ever been to him. Someone
had bumped her from behind, however, and it had sent her sprawling
right into his horse’s path.

How noble he had looked when he
had jumped down to help her up. It had taken her a moment before
she could shake the giddy fog from her mind, and by then, he had
left her side. Instinctively, she’d run and grabbed his sleeve,
unaware at the time that it was inappropriate to touch a
sovereign.

The pain of the horse’s hooves had
been excruciating, but what she had never told anyone was that the
pain hit before the horse’s heavy hooves ever touched her. The
moment he shook her off, a white hot pain had shot through her, as
if he’d taken a branding iron and made her blood burn. The animal
that had trampled her seconds later had left its mark for the rest
of the world to see, but Isa could still recall the first pain more
clearly than that of her broken ankle and wrist.

If the prince had threatened her
family, Isa had no doubt that he had the ability and the intentions
to carry through with his plans, Caregivers or not. There was no
other choice.

Isa would have to go to the
Fortress.

She nearly had nearly started back
downstairs to tell her family, when she quickly realized they would
never listen. Her father would die before he let her go, and her
headstrong brother would probably get himself killed as well. She
would need to leave before they had a chance to try anything
foolish. So she returned to the family, but stayed quiet. Her
father was instructing them on how to prepare for their
journey.

“
We must bring as little as
possible and go about our business as normal for the rest of the
day. I don’t want anyone aware that we’re all leaving. Only the
Caregivers will know.”

“
And our mercantile?” Everyone
turned to see little Megane standing in the doorway, her face
white.

“
I am sorry, Megs.” Ansel sighed
and held his arms out to her. “I didn’t see you standing there. No,
we will have to leave our shop. But it will be alright. We will
have one another, and we will set up a new life in the new land
where Marko takes us. But we must not tell anyone, you understand?
Anyone at all.”

Megane nodded seriously, her
golden curls and round blue eyes shining brightly in the fire’s
light.

“
That’s my girl,” Ansel put his
hand gently on her head before dismissing them all to do as they
were told.

With a tight throat, Isa managed
to grab both of her parents in a hug before gathering her things.
They hugged her back, but Isa was sure they simply believed her to
be afraid. They didn’t know that it was probably the last embrace
they would ever share.

Wiping her suddenly watery eyes on
her sleeve, Isa finally turned and headed back to her room. She had
few belongings of any real value. A silver hairbrush from her
parents and a change of clothes were all she could find to put in
her bag. Megane had left her own bag open on her bed, so Isa
slipped her favorite childhood doll inside of it. Her sister had
always admired the doll, and though Megane was nearly too old for
playthings, she might find it a comforting reminder of Isabelle
after she was gone.

With that settled, Isa realized
that she needed an excuse to leave the house, particularly as her
father had just returned with such urgent news. Immediately, her
thoughts went to her horse. After losing her ability to run and
dance, Ansel had taught his daughter to find respite in the freedom
of riding. It had become a way of escape for Isa over the years,
giving her a chance to feel the wind rush past her as she moved
unhindered over the earth. Her parents would think nothing of her
taking one last ride through the countryside.

“
I’m going out for a ride,” Isa
announced to her family. It took all of her will to steady her
voice as she spoke. “I…I need to think.”

They nodded understandingly, and
her mother threw her favorite green cloak around Isa’s
shoulders.

“
Use mine. It’s warmer than yours.
We will be leaving just after nightfall, so be back
soon.”

Trying to smile, Isa nodded and
headed out to the stable. Using the special step her father had
made for her, she was soon on her horse and headed towards the
mountain.

Isa had never feared the mountain.
As a child, she had run up and down its familiar face with her
brother and friends like mountain goats. More hill than cliff, its
slopes were gentle, and its peak was rounded off at the top. It
would take a few hours to get to the Fortress because of the
melting snow drifts that still stood from the last night’s storm,
but the path would be easy enough to find. An ancient tree marked
its beginning, towering over all of its neighbors. From there, the
path ran right alongside a stream carved every spring by
snowmelt.

It felt strange to begin up the
path again. She hadn’t visited the Fortress since the incident with
the prince. It was too strenuous for her ankle, and her father had
thought it best if she wasn’t near the prince. The last time she’d
set foot on this path was when she was young and free, able to run
and dance without a care in the world. And now she was headed for
the domain of the man who had taken it all from her, strong leg,
strong hand, even her wedding.

Isa couldn’t help but shudder as
she tried not think about what he could possibly want from her. Did
he know who she was, or had he simply chosen to pour out his wrath
on the first passerby he could find?

Though the stories of the Fortress
monarchs had always painted them with at least decent senses of
honor and chivalry, Isa had heard stories of how the rulers of
other lands treated their wives and concubines. She wondered if
that was what he wanted of her.

Even admist such dire thoughts,
Isa was never left alone with her fear, however, for her anger at
what he had done, what he might want her to do, burned deep inside
as well. She would go, but she would not go quietly.

As the slope got a bit steeper,
Isa had to focus more on guiding her horse along the snowy trail.
As they moved, however, Isa began to sense that she wasn’t alone.
She looked around warily, hoping to spot a harmless animal in the
brush or the trees, but she could see nothing. The forest was
silent. Not even squirrels chattered. She tried to focus on the
road ahead, pushing her horse just a bit faster. But the closer she
got to the Fortress, the more she felt the prying eyes.

When she spotted the Fortress
entrance, Isa let out a sigh of relief and dismay, thinking she had
made it. At that moment, however, something large flew out of the
bushes and slammed into her, knocking her off her horse.

“
Launce!” she gasped as she stared
up into the face of her brother.

“
What are you thinking?” He
ignored her question. “I thought you might get curious, but I
didn’t think you would actually be stupid enough to go!”

“
If you get off me, I’ll tell
you!”

Launce sat back enough to allow
her to stand up. Isa scolded herself silently. She should have
known her brother wouldn’t let her leave without a goodbye.
Actually, she knew he wouldn’t let her leave at all. That was why
she’d slipped out of the house when she thought he was out visiting
his sweetheart one last time. Apparently, he’d been able to read
her better than she had thought.

“
Father might think we can outrun
the prince’s powers, but he’s wrong.”

Launce stared back at her with
unforgiving eyes. “So I am simply supposed to let you run off to
live with the madman prince?”

For the first time, Isa wondered
if she would actually be able to follow through with her plan.
Launce was strong, and though she was tall for a woman, he was a
whole head taller. It would be nothing for him to pick her up and
take her home against her will.

“
Would you sentence Megane to a
slow death of sickness and pain?” she asked. His eyes widened a
bit, so she continued. “Because he’s strong enough. Launce, I’ve
felt it! When the prince touched me in the street all those years
ago, I felt his power! It was more painful than I can describe. I
don’t know what he wants me for, but I do know that I want none of
it near Megane. Or Mother or Father. Besides, if I don’t do as he
says, do you think he’ll really spare me? My fate is sealed either
way.”

Isa sighed and leaned against her
horse, closing her eyes as she spoke. “But the rest of you have a
chance, particularly Megs. Let me do this for her. Please don’t
take it away from me.” She drew in a shaky breath and added, “I
don’t think either one of us could live with ourselves if something
happened to her.”

The icy look had melted off of
Launce’s face, leaving the torn, helpless expression of the little
boy Isa remembered from long ago. She breathed an inner sigh of
relief as she saw her words sink in. Launce had always been
protective of her, but they had grown up as a team. Megane was, on
the other hand, the baby. Pranks they had played on one another
were simply not played on her. The unspoken rule was that she was
to be protected above all else. And this was Isa’s only hope for
convincing her brother to let her go.