Love's Curse Ch. 16

"I do not take it as an insult. Much has changed in seven years. I am ready to see him now, Lynn, if that is permissible?"

Lynn nodded and moved towards the door, "Of course, General, if you will follow me I will show you to the master's chambers."

Karas nodded to Mayguel and turning smartly on his heel followed Lynn upstairs.

* * *

Lilandra had grown restless in her room and finally she had snuck out. She knew that the guests were all downstairs so she should be safe on this floor. Besides she had an urge to look at the roses in the display case. It had been growing steadily over the past few weeks though she had not confided this secret to Beast or Lynn. She HAD to see the roses, now, and thus she was on the move. She would face whatever punishment later but she had to have at least a glimpse.

At the other end of the floor, Zanthiel had quietly entered the passageway. He had heard rumors from the townsfolk that there was a girl here that the beast had taken captive. He hadn't had a woman in months and there was a bounty on her head for the man who could steal her away without getting caught.

Finally Lilandra made it to the roses and stood gazing longingly at them. Her eyes kept returning to the black one. It was the most lethal but something about it was sad. It had a beautiful appearance but a deadly interior. "I feel as if you are trying to tell me something, something important but I'm not understanding. My mother always said that just because plants and animals do not speak, does not mean they do not have stories to share." She caressed the glass before pressing her face against it. She had the urge to rub the black rose all over her skin, between her breasts....

The firm grasp of two strong meaty hands on her upper arms brought her out of her daydream, the low growl of lust recognizable from the man behind her. "Well, well. Looks like the rumors were true. You're coming with me little lady, there's a fine bounty on your head."

Lilandra's eyes flew open and she tried to break free. She did not know this voice! "Let me go this instant!" she yelled.

The hand moved over to her mouth, silencing her cries. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, little lady. But keep squirming if you want, I like my women with fire when I take them." He spun her around and pushed her against the glass hard enough to crack it. "Now see what you did? You made me hurt you."

She felt shards of the glass dig into her back and she whimpered. She needed help. Without thinking, she attempted to kick him between the legs. Her aim was a little high and she missed the spot she was aiming for but kicked him instead in his inner thigh.

"Ow!" HE growled and slammed her into the glass again, harder this time. With the glass weakened from the previous slam, it shattered this time, spilling shards of glass, soil, and the roses all over the floor.

Her head was ringing and she felt more pain. That meant more cuts. Her body had finally healed from what her father had done and now this. She was going to be a very ugly woman if things like this kept happening. She squirmed and managed to bite his hand at the same time slamming her boot heel into his foot. She had to save the roses! They meant much to Beast and she would be damned if she let some intruder ruin them. Her life and virtue momentarily forgotten, Lilandra tried to get free.

He roared in pain at the bite and the stomp, lashing out in retaliation and backhanded her hard across the face. "You little BITCH! How dare you do this time me!"

"Ahh!" the force of the slap sent her reeling and she fell to her knees, her palms being cut open. Her eyes watered and through the tears she spotted the roses. She grabbed for one and her hand connected with the black one. She tried to get to her feet and run. She had to get away from this man.

Her luck ran out as his strong hands grabbed her skirt, dragging her back towards him. "You think you can expect to do that to me and not face the consequences? Well think again!"

"Get off me! Help!" She flailed about trying to injure her assailant enough to run. In her struggles the black rose she was clutching slapped Zanthiel in the face and three of the thorns sank into his skin. Lilandra didn't notice nor did she care. The man was going to hurt her and she couldn't stomach the thought of what he was going to do.

He screamed in agony as the venom of the roses seeped into his skin. He shot upwards ripping it from his flesh, but it was too late, the veins in his face were already turning black, crawling slowly across almost half his face as the venom infected him. It was old and very weak, but it still packed a nasty punch. The room began to spin for him, his knees going weak as he collapsed.

Lilandra scooted backwards and stared in horror at the man on the floor. She sat and sobbed, too relieved that the man had stopped hurting her to notice her own wounds. "Beast, Beast I need you," she whimpered.

There was a slam from down the hall as the great doors to the Beast's chambers flew open. He had felt the incident, the venom of the roses had called out to him, told him they had claimed another victim, and with that he knew the treachery the soldier had tried to perform. He stormed down the hallway, Lynn and Karas hurrying after him, not sure what on earth was going on.

"My Prince! Wait!" Lynn called as he and Karas ran to keep pace with the angry Aries.

"Sire, what has happened?" Karas demanded as he pulled out his sword, ready to do battle in his Majesty's honor.

"This is no concern of yours, General, someone has violated MY sanctuary and so I will be the one to deal with them."

As they rounded the corner, Lilandra and the soldier could be seen, Karas growled as he recognized the boy, there would be serious trouble for Zanthiel. However before he could act, Aries was upon the soldier, grabbing him and smashing him against the wall hard enough to shake dust down from above.

"My Prince! If you kill him, we won't know what prompted his attack on Miss Lilandra," Lynn scolded Aries, hoping that his tone would get through to Aries. Carefully stepping around the glass, Lynn stopped by Lilandra. He saw her clutching the black rose and he sucked in a quick breath. "Sire, she's holding the rose and she's bleeding," Lynn added as he saw that one of the thorns had pierced Lilandra's skin.

Karas was torn. He didn't know who to help--Lynn or Zanthiel. Not that Zanthiel would get much sympathy from Karas. The younger man had violated the rules of the castle and he would pay for it.

Aries stared at the soldier, his grip on his throat tightening slightly before he growled in a low, dangerous tone to Karas, "General, from this point on this man is to be under constant guard. I want every man in your platoon interrogated to find out who else knew his intentions and I want to know by the end of today." He dropped the soldier and turned to look at Lilandra, kneeling down he gently took her hand and delicately removed the thorny rose from her hand. "I am sorry I allowed this to happen to you, Lilandra. You are very lucky there was no venom left in this rose where you grabbed it."

He was lying and Lynn knew it, but he could understand not wanting to panic Lilandra anymore than necessary.

"Beast, I'm sorry I disobeyed you and Lynn. I was told to stay in my room, but I kept thinking about the roses and how much I needed to see them." her voice was a mere whisper as she reluctantly let go of the rose. She looked down at her hand which had started to swell. "Am I going to die?" She remembered that he had said the roses were lethal.

Karas was staring at the young lady in appreciation. The girl was beautiful no doubt. "Will he live long?" Karas asked Lynn as he turned his attention to the unconscious Zanthiel.

Aries's soft furry paw lightly stroked her face. "No, my dear, you were very lucky today, you didn't get any venom in you. You held it just right. You are going to be fine. He isn't going to hurt you anymore. Now let's get you cleaned up shall we?" He gently picked her up in his arms, pausing to look at Lynn for a moment. "We will finish our meeting in the morning Lynn. Make sure the culprit doesn't leave..."

Lynn nodded and waited until his master was gone before speaking to Karas, "For now, yes, the venom from those flowers was very weak, he is truly fortune. However, if Aries is angered by him any further, I doubt even I can stop him from making sure no one finds your soldier ever again."

Karas shook his head. "I don't understand this. I know he's been in trouble, but this, even this is beyond anything he's ever done." Still puzzled, Karas grabbed Zanthiel's arms while Lynn grabbed the boy's feet. Together they carried him back downstairs and locked him in an empty room to await Aries's judgment.

* * *

Lilandra snuggled in against Beast, happy for the comfort his presence brought. She didn't look at the man who had hurt her. Would she ever learn to just follow orders? Sighing she closed her eyes and tried not to think about the pain in her back from the glass pieces embedded in it.

Aries carried her to his chambers, gently laying her down on the bed before closing the door. "Lie on your side, Lilandra, this will take some time...not having fingers will make this...interesting."

"Yes, Beast," she replied meekly and rolled over. The swelling in her hand had gone down, so the only pain left was that in her back.

"This will hurt a little but I will try my best not to hurt you too much." He leaned in and carefully began to remove the shards, the razor tips of his claws stung and nipped her flesh, but the glass was coming out smoothly.

She made no sound, simply clutched the sheets in her fists, twisting them until her knuckles were white.

He worked quickly and was done in under ten minutes. He scraped the glass into a bowl from the side cabinet before picking up a damp wash cloth and some bandages. He gently wiped her back clean of blood before carefully applying the bandages. "It seems perhaps the angels are jealous of your beauty, they keep sending people to disfigure you."

His words made her cry. She had begun to think that way of late. Or perhaps it was her own wicked nature as her father had often accused her of indulging in.

He paused once he was done and gently helped her up. "What's wrong Lilandra? I did not mean to offend you." He gently stroked her cheek once more, looking into her eyes, "I meant no disrespect by my words."

"I'm sorry I think it's the fear wearing off. I was so scared. One moment I was enjoying the roses and then he had a hold of me, hurting me...My one thought was that I wanted you to save me from him. Then he used me to smash the glass and scatter your beautiful roses," she had to stop talking because once again she was crying. "I hurt your roses! I'm such a clumsy disobedient oaf!"

"Shhh Lilandra, it's alright, there was no harm done to them. Their time had passed long ago. We have a whole greenhouse of them to replace them, remember?" He leaned forward, his cold canine nose lightly touching hers. "I have done worse to you in my time. You need not feel any guilt over this."

Her hands came up to tangle in his fur. She breathed in his scent, her mind marking it as safe. She would remember it for as long as she lived. "My mother once told me that everything, people, animals and plants were alive in their own way and should each be respected and that just because animals and plants may not speak people talk, did not make them any less worthy of consideration. I tried to save them but I was not strong enough. I know you have more but still the ones inside that he destroyed, they cannot be replaced."

"I know they are touched by your words, Lilandra. Thank you. But they will give new life to the next generation. It's what they would want, yes?"

Her eyes closed and then opened. A flame of fire seemed to dance in the pupils of her eyes. "Yes, that is something they would want."

"I'm glad you think so. How do you feel now? I got out all the glass, it will be tender for a few days though I'm afraid..

"I will be fine. I think I should rest."

He nodded and pulled back the covers of his bed, "Rest here as long as you like. I will be close by so do not worry."

A yawn escaped her and sleepily she nodded. Yes, safe in his room. She liked that idea.

He helped her into bed and gently pulled the covers up. He lightly stroked her hair and smiled. "Sleep well Lilandra, I am but a call away."

"Thank you, my Beast," she murmured, her eyes already closed as sleep claimed her.