Winter's Rose ~A Beauty and the Beast Retelling~

The New Kingdom

"Once upon a time," She began. "A Prince was cursed by an evil sorceress to turn into a beast-- she wanted to take the kingdom for herself. The Prince's rage he killed the evil sorceress, but her curse remained. The Prince, in his beastly form roamed the castle and the woods searching for a way to undo the curse. Years past, until the beast came across a young lady whom was desperate to save her family. He kept her in his castle. Slowly the beast fell in love with the girl--he offered her marriage and a life of luxury. She had agreed. One day, the girl had to return home, leaving the beast behind. In the village, the towns people heard of a beast in the castle and decided to hunt the beast. The girl ran to save her beast, she confessed her love to him. The beast's curse was broken, and he returned to his princely form. The two of them married and lived happily ever after."

"That isn't a true story, Mama." Loraina protested. "Beasts don't exist."

Rosalind smiled down at her daughter. The ten-year-old was head strong like her father. The mother and daughter duo sat on Loraina's bed. She combed her daughters hair-- the honey colored curls falling off the brush

The small house that she had visited nearly nine years ago had grown in size. William had built onto it when their son was born; the house wasn't able to fit everyone anymore. The ring that had once hung on a chain now resided on Rosalind's finger.

The grounds of the castle were alive once more. The kingdom was never resurrected, but perhaps it was better that way. William and Rosalind had created a farm on the fertile soil. They grew crops and sold them in the town--the wages were meager, but they were happy.

Rosalind and William had eloped a few months after she had made her visit. Loraina, who had been one and a half at the time didn't seem to remember a time when William wasn't in their lives. She loved her father. She was still called Rainy, but William occasionally called her his Little Princess.

When Rainy was five, Rosalind gave birth to Teddy-- William had insisted that they name their first born son after her father, Theodore. Teddy, had Rosalind's dark hair, and William's light eyes according to Selene. William was determined to do everything with Teddy that he had missed out on with Rainy. He helped school the children, he wanted them to know their history.

A few months after William and Rosalind had been married they took a trip to the city. She had written a letter to Selene explaining to her that she would not be returning to the city to live. The reunion with everyone was beautiful. Rosalind forgave Silas for not revealing the truth to her.

Silas and Selene never married, but they raised Ben together as if they had been. Ben had grown up to be quite the delightful young man.  Rosalind's Aunt Aggie had passed away two or three summers ago--she hadn't heard until after the funeral. She did visit her grave which was next her mother's memorial and her father's final resting place. She had not spoken to Andrew in years, but she did have correspondence with Annalise who informed her that he was drinking himself into the grave. This sent a pang through her heart, but she couldn't bring herself to be sad. Annalise had married Stephan a few years ago and they were now expecting their first child. Cassandra and Jasper had struggled to have children for a long time, but they were recently blessed with a baby boy who they named Derek.

"Mama, I want to hear a real story." Loraina pouted. How could Rosalind explain to her child that she just told her a very true story?

"Another time, let's find Teddy and your father." Rosalind suggested. Loraina held her mother's hand as they walked down the narrow stairwell of the home. Her son and husband were out under the oak tree. Rosalind and her daughter walked out into the sweet spring air. She could hear William's deep laugh and Teddy's squeals of delight.  "What are they doing?"