His Beauty & Her Beast

Chapter 7

As we travelled throughout the castle, I smiled at all the fascinating areas the castle felt like a never-ending adventure. Yet I couldn't get my mind off him. "Is Leonardo your father?" I blurt out causing them both to burst into laughter. "Absolutely not, but to Gab and me we consider him as family, he has been there for us since the very beginning," Alice said gently as she looked down. Gabriel looked at her in sadness.

"We have arrived," Gabriel said as we stood in front of a door, as the doors began to open themselves, we see an enchanted room that appeared to be floating on clouds. "Hey, don't stand so close to the edge you might-" before I could continue Gabriel fell off the cloud. I let out a scream as I ran to the edge only to have a straight face plastered on me. Gabriel let out a hysterical laugh as he floated on another cloud below us. "ha-ha very funny, he does this all the time to scare me, and it gets me every time" Alice said as I let out a laugh. "You should have seen your face you were so scared. You like me don't you" he said as he poked my cheek.

I gasped as I gently pushed him. "I like the both of you, you remind me of a friend I once had, he was always cheerful and hyper. He always was so playful and excited for the day" I said as a few tears fell from my eyes as I remembered Ben. They both stopped and looked at each other.

"Had?" Alice said as she sat next to me. I could tell even if Gabriel was not looking at us, he was also listening, "before arriving .... To the castle... I was being pursued by a man who claimed to be my mate *Alice gasped*, he was horrible he killed for the fun of it, he was a dark and evil man. That's when Leonardo saved me... which was when the people of my town turned on me. That's when they attacked... in the process, my good friend Ben saved me and pushed me into the forest... but they killed him" I cried

"It's all my fault... if I had not ran and just accepted my fate then... he would be alive... he was so young and so pure" I said as Alice held me. Gabriel sat near us holding sad eyes towards me.

"Alice and I were 8 when our village was attacked centuries ago... we were the last ones the bodies of the people we loved were burned to a stake the screams of the villagers pierced our souls, but they kept killing... children, women and men were littered all over the floor.... and the blood.... Was almost poisonous to smell. It was then at the time known as the beast to us. he came down and Alice and I thought it was it... it was the end *Alice touches Gabriel's shoulder* I couldn't think of losing her.... she was all I had left.... But he did the exact opposite of what we expected. Using his large wings, he had just killed the bandits in one swoop along with putting out the fires. He placed a protective barrier around us, so we don't get hurt. We watched in awe as he used his magic to bury all those who lost their lives that day. Growing flowers and trees to re-nourish the dead forest, you should have seen it... he was amazing" he said as he gently smiled looking at his hands.

"What happened next?' I ask.

"Well since we didn't have anywhere to go, he offered to take us with him, he trained us and taught us how to read and write. Ms. Periwinkle is like a mother to us" Alice said as she smiled cheerfully.

"So, who was your alleged mate," Alice wondered "the Vampire King," I whispered as they both froze and stared at me with horror... "he was the one who massacred our village" Gabriel yelled in rage as I looked down.

"Regardless of the matter would you like to show me around some more?" I ask as they both get up in excitement "yeah let's continue theirs a bathhouse that's magnificent I can't wait to show you"

As we walk, we approach a dark corridor on our left side "what's down there?" I said but before taking a step the corridor disappears revealing a wall "What the?" I wonder. "That would be an enchantment spell placed by the master. Beyond that wall would be the west wing no one's allowed to go there," they both said