No more Beauties and Beasts.
Jean's fingers twitched. His eyes were wide. Unblinking. He drank in the light's glow.
No more happily ever afters.
Everything he had ever wanted.
Freedom. True Freedom.
No. He had read about things like this. Poison apples. Deals with demons. Promises too good to be true.
Magic always came at a high price. He'd be trading one fate for another. The Devil he knew for an angel he couldn't begin to know. He was leaving one cell, only to step into another.
Never be free. Never. Never.
He could shut to door now. Turn away. Run back to his dorm and throw his sheets over his head. He could choose the Blue Pill and return to his old life. He could enjoy it whilst it lasts. Enjoy those fleeting days of bliss before becoming a beast.
Or he could roll the dice. Become a new man. A prisoner to a different fate. Perhaps a greater fate than his. One free of royal obligations. A life not bound to a tale as old as time.
But it came at the cost of the life he was living. The price was too high.
For a man as rich as he, the 'price' of things had rarely deterred him. But there was one thing Daddy's Money couldn't buy.
That morning in the Hocus Latte.
Flirting. Laughing. Drinking coffee by the liter. The smiles. The cakes.
The whistle of boiling kettles. The scent of cocoa and cider. The warmth of steam and the chill of the morning breeze.
It felt like a lifetime ago. It all seemed to complicated then. But now? He yearned for that simpler time. Before disappearances and mysteries. Before strange memories and illusions. He knew his place. It wasn't perfect, but it was where he belonged.
He would have given anything to go back to that day. He'd take it all. The good and the bad. He would have given Robin a larger tip. Slapped Angel's back a little harder. He would have laughed a little louder and smiled until there were tears in his eyes. He would have lived each and every second to its fullest.
God, if he had his time again. He couldn't let it go.
Then again, it was always meant to end this way. Whether he became a Beast or a new man, he was always fated to change. To grow up and move on. It was a fate he shared with the rest of the human race. There were no spells that could break that curse. There would never be another morning like that one in the Hocus Latte. That moment had long since passed. It had died, like all moments do. All he could do now was carry it with him. Let it live on within him. Cresent. Angel. The others. They had all accepted their fates. It was time he joined then.
Times had changed. And now, he would too.
Jean smiled, his eyes glassy and red. He took a deep breath. And he took a leap. A gamble. He accepted his new fate.
He let the light wash over him. He didn't fight it. He welcomed it in. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. He felt it all twist and fray. It unravel like plucked wool. The spirit of 'Jean LeDompeteur de Beaumont' was peeled back like old wall paper. Crumpled up. Discarded. Deleted. Out with the old. In with the new.
The never was a 'Jean'. There never was a 'Beast'. He was a fairy tale. A story, living on in the heart of a new man. And his story was...
View attachment 4926
"Beautiful."
The Masked Man cooed to himself. It felt good to be back.
***
"Such foul creatures..." He tutted as Morgan fried the grunts.
"To rebel against their Heavenly King... Disguising..."
His hand drifted towards his face. His slowly removed his mask. His tongue danced upon cool edge as it slip away from his skin.
View attachment 4927
"Do you not recognize my beauty, mongrels?" Vega taunted.
"Pity. You've forced my hand. I have no choice but to sully my claw with your tainted blood. Death is a suitable punishment for your crimes against beauty!"
@Yun Lee @Takumi