Prologue
Three tiny heads bent to peep through the plush curtains that swayed gracefully with the wind. "The beast was gigantic", said their new teacher, barely lifting her gaze from the book. "He lived in the massive castle all by himself."
"You mean alone?" asked the tiniest one in her tiny voice.
"Yes. All alone. And around his castle was his beautiful garden. It had all sorts of fruits, flowers of all colours and the beast loved his garden like his most prized possession. Anyone who trespassed never came back........
It was a very stormy night......" the young teacher continued, trying her best to dramatize by intonating her voice, unaware that the kids were no longer listening.
Through the swaying curtains, they had glimpses of him. He was a long thing, err, vertically long and wasn't exactly gigantic but had really broad shoulders and a slim waist- a tiger like physique. A trowel in one hand, he was busy tending to a delicate looking plant. As far as the window revealed, the view beyond was replete with rich foliage. Plants so exotic that the kids had never seen before.
"Is he the beast?" gasped the tiniest one, "hush...don't say that", said the elder, slightly frightened.
"Yes he is and he eats all bad children, now are you listening to the story or not?" Said their teacher.
"y..yes mam".
She went on with her all time favorite fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, not realizing when she had lost herself in it as it dawned upon her, wasn't this her own story? Was her state any better than Beauty, held captive in this gigantic mansion? Her captor was a devil incarnate and yet in some distant, dreamy reality he was all she hoped for- her prince charming.
But her life was no fairy tale and her fate unlike Beauty was sealed. Soon he'd wake her up from her dream and then hell will break loose, leaving her devastated.
She didn't realize when a boy slipped out of the room.
Atul adjusted his specks and walked towards the garden on wobbly legs, scared of what he might be faced with.
" A..are y..ou the b..beast?", A squeaky sound of a child startled him, he turned around to find a nervous kid, fiddling with his glasses.
"Oh, so thats what your teacher's been teaching you?", he inquired, sounding irritated.
"y.y n..no". Atul looked up. The beast was taller than what he had expected. He shuddered.
" Harpreet broke my pencil. He is a bad boy. Please eat him." He said in one breathe.
The beast raised an eye brow.
"okay, but you would have to carry out an errand for me in return for the favor."
"carry w..what for you?"
The man walked over to a table, pulled out a page from a diary and scribbled in a rather ugly handwriting-'How dare you say that to the kids'
" Here, hand this over to your teacher ." He said.
The kid took it with hands trembling in fright and turned to leave.
"Hey listen," a faint yet sly smile managed to emerge at the corner of his lips," I am starved, can't really wait for Harpreet...you seem to be appetizing enough!"
"Noooooo" screamed the kid and ran as fast as he could, almost tripping over into the swimming pool.
His smile vanished as if it had never been there. He retired to his chambers where an awkward silence awaited him. She was not there. It hadn't been long but he had become so used to her noisy self, so used to the sound of her anklets, the sound of her bangles as she pranced around his spacious room, her clumsy demeanor could barely conceal the pure beauty that she was. Was he still in love with her? Suddenly a fierce sense of possessiveness clutched at his heart, but she had betrayed him....