A Tale That Never Was
Chapter 18: Predator and Prey

With the courtyard quiet again, the four friends exchanged glances of concern and uncertainty. Selvina didn’t need to hear anyone’s voice to know that they were all debating the idea of helping Belle and Beast or leaving them to deal with Gaston and his soldiers on their own. This matter truly did not concern them in any way and had Selvina not overheard Frollo’s discussion she would have never come to the castle in the first place. This would have all happened without her presence and she would have been none the wiser.

Her eyes found Cindy’s and a rush of determination and power flowed through her body, tensing her muscles, strengthening her resolve, sharpening her vision, and making her hands curl into fists. “We have to help them,” she stated.

“Selvina, think about this,” Jack warned. “We’d be going up against this world’s greatest bounty hunter and twenty soldiers. I can hold my own in a fight but I only have a dagger and they have swords, axes, shields, armour and numbers. This isn’t our fight.”

“Cindy wasn’t our concern either,” Selvina spat back.

“Again with Cindy,” Jack said with an exasperated sigh. “How often are you going to use that argument?”

“Hey!” Cindy said with a frown on her face. “She’s right, Jack. No one needed to help me but she did and I’ll always be grateful. Belle and Beast are in trouble and you just want to let them die?”

“No…I don’t want them to die. I just…well, this doesn’t concern us. Why should we risk our lives for people we don’t even know?”

Selvina straightened her back and jabbed a finger at Jack’s chest. “My brother died saving people he didn’t know, Jack. He fought fires for a living and he saved a family of five just before their house collapsed on him. They had been declared dead and no one else was going to risk their lives for them but he did. He did it because he knew it was the right thing to do, just like how helping Belle and Beast is the right thing.” She had buried the memories of her older brother deep inside and it pained her to resurface them but she felt that Jack needed to hear about it. She needed Jack at her side. Wiping away some tears that had risen along with the memory, she waited for his decision.

There was a click behind her and she glanced back to see Red fitting bolts to her crossbows. “You can stand here and decide all you want, Jack, but I’m going in.” She fit a bolt to her other crossbow and was off before anyone could say a word, her red cloak and hair flapping behind her.

Cindy and Selvina fixed their eyes on Jack, their gazes piercing into him.

With a sigh, he raised his hands in deference. “All right, we’ll do it your way, Selvina. I suppose dying doing something right isn’t the worst way to go.” He then unsheathed the dagger he had hidden in his boot and chased after Red. Selvina and Cindy, weaponless, exchanged a victorious smile and then followed.

They entered the keep and stepped into the Great Hall, the morning light shining beams of brilliance through the tall windows along its side. A soldier lay facedown at the top of the grand staircase, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his neck. Jack rushed up the steps and put a few fingers in front of the soldier’s nose.

“He’s alive,” he said to Selvina and Cindy as they scrambled up after him.

“Red’s no killer,” Selvina told him. “She uses bolts with a poison that puts people to sleep.”

“She might want to change into killing shots when she meets Gaston,” Cindy said with a red-faced frown on her face. “If I could I’d kill him myself.”

Selvina’s eyes widened in surprise. She had never seen Cindy so furious. Gaston hadn’t even insulted her and yet she was acting as if he had. It made her wonder if she herself had been treated similarly. Cindy was perhaps two or three years younger than she was, fresh into her teen years, but that did not mean she was too young to feel deep emotional pain. “Are you all right, Cindy?”

“I’m fine…”

Which meant she was anything but. Selvina was a master user of those two words and she put a hand on Cindy’s tense shoulder as they followed Jack through the halls, hoping to comfort her. “You can tell me what’s bothering you, you know.”

Cindy’s shoulder relaxed and she blinked her eyes rapidly, as if fighting back tears. She looked at Selvina with a pained expression and nodded. “I’m sorry, Selvina. I…I didn’t mean to act like that. I’ll tell you later…”

“Fair enough,” Selvina said with a smile.

“Watch your step,” Jack said as he skirted aside another fallen soldier. This one also had a bolt sticking out of his neck.

They came to a juncture between three halls and Jack took a moment to think before turning left, down the newest hall. Selvina and Cindy followed close behind him and they all suddenly stopped when the sound of fighting was heard up ahead, around a bend and down another hall. Without a word spoken between them, they raced forward.

They turned the bend and gazed down the hall with the commotion just in time to see Red being thrown at them. She landed on her back hard and slid down the hall a short distance before stopping at Jack’s feet. There was a large bruise on her face and she seemed dazed but alive.

“There was once a bounty on your head too, Hood,” said a voice down the hall. “I should have claimed it when I had the chance.”

Selvina looked up from Red and saw Gaston standing further down the hall in front of another juncture, rubbing a fist. He had two crossbow bolts at the back of his thickly muscled neck but they didn’t appear to affect him. With a wince he pulled them out and tossed them aside.

“Your friend should know that her cute poison doesn’t work on me,” he said to them. “I’ve become immune to most.” He held his sword in his left hand and transferred it to his right when he spotted Jack’s dagger. “So you three are working for Beast?”

“We are here to do what’s right,” Jack answered him, raising his dagger defensively. “You need to leave them alone.”

Gaston grinned arrogantly. “Sorry, kid, but it’s my job to see that monster dead.”

“I thought you loved Belle!” Cindy shouted at him, her face red. “Why are you doing this to her?”

“I’m not doing anything to her. She’s locked up in a cozy little room while I cleanse this unholy attraction she has with an animal. She needs mental help and once Beast is dead I will give to her because I do care. She will be well and will see that Beast had her under some spell the entire time. She’ll thank me for killing him and we will live a happy and wealthy life together.”

“You’re the one who needs mental help!” Selvina growled. “Beast doesn’t have her under any spell!”

“And you know this for certain?”

“I do!”

“Tell me, green eyes, how long have you known Beast?”

“Long enough to know that he isn’t the monster here.”

Gaston laughed heartily, his voice echoing throughout the wide halls. “Ah, quite poetic aren’t you?” He pointed his sword at Jack. “Enough of all this talk. You will stand down, boy, or I will gut you like a boar.”

Jack stood his ground, the hand gripping his dagger trembling. His jaw was tight and his eyes were steady but Selvina could tell he was terrified. She bent down to where Red lay and brushed some hair from her face. “Stay still,” she whispered to her before she pulled out one of Red’s daggers from its sheathe and stood at Jack’s side. She was also afraid but she wouldn’t let Gaston hurt anyone else. Beside her, Cindy stood defiantly, her fists raised.

Gaston raised an eyebrow, as if impressed. “Who are you three to stand against me?”

“I’m Jack and I’ve killed giants. You won’t be much of a challenge.”

Well, one giant, Selvina thought, but she wasn’t about to correct him. “I’m Selvina and no job is worth breaking the bond of true love. You should know that, Gaston. If not, then I’ll help you remember…” Selvina could hardly believe she had managed to say those words against a man who looked capable enough to bend in her half with two fingers. It was strangely exhilarating.

“I’m Cindy, and I hate your rotten, sin-drenched guts.”

Gaston pursed his lips and nodded. “Excellent choice of words, little girl. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought you to be my daughter. Your parents raised you well.” His face suddenly darkened and he set his gaze on Jack. “Three children will not stand in the way of Faeryum’s greatest bounty hunter, no matter how well they can insult.”

Jack bent his knees and Selvina tried to do the same. Cindy was already in a battle stance, as if she had been fighting her whole life, which was probably close to the truth. Gaston took a quick step forward but abruptly stopped and glanced to his side down an adjoining hall, where three soldiers dashed toward him.

“We’ve spotted him, sir,” said one of the soldiers after taking a moment to catch his breath. “He burst through one of the keep’s windows and ran into the forest, as you said he would. The men outside are in pursuit.”

Gaston grinned toothily. “Excellent work!” He sheathed his sword and pointed a finger at Selvina, Jack and Cindy. “Arrest those three! They were in league with Beast and Belle. I’ll let Judge Frollo deal with them when we take them back to Our Lady.” As the soldiers advanced on the three he burst into motion, heading down the hall his men had come from.

The lead soldier shield-rushed Jack and before the giant slayer could react he was slammed in the face with reinforced steel and wood. Dizzy and off-balance, all it took was another shield slam and a kick to the chest to bring him down. Selvina attacked awkwardly, fear guiding her motions more than bravery, and the soldier she fought blocked her weak stab and then kicked her in the shin. She cried out in pain and swung her dagger in anger but it was easily blocked. The soldier lunged forward and smashed his sword’s pommel in her face with terrible force. Her world went spinning and her head pounded like it was being repeatedly smashed against a wall. Unable to place her feet in any orderly manner she tumbled to her back as warm liquid oozed out of her nose and dripped down the side of her face. She heard the sound of a struggle and a thud and assumed it was Cindy falling until two more thuds soon followed it.

“Get up, Selvina!”

It was Red’s voice. She felt her arms get pulled up and blinked her eyes as the world slowly readjusted itself. When she was able to stand on her own she noticed three downed guards with three crossbow bolts in their necks. Red was helping Jack to his feet and Cindy stood beside her, unharmed.

“We have to move fast,” Red said as she moved to Selvina and wiped at her nose. It was only then that Selvina realized she had been bleeding. “I’m almost out of bolts and my poison isn’t going to last long on these soldiers.”

“Beast,” Selvina managed to say as Red finished cleaning her face. “The forest. We…we have…”

“We will, Selvina. We will help him.” She flashed a smile, which Selvina found odd.

“There is someone in those woods who will slow them down, maybe even stop them completely. They won’t get to Beast so easily.”

Realization dawned on Selvina then and she smiled as well.

Bigbad.

****

They exited the castle in great haste but Selvina suddenly stopped and glanced back the way they came. “What about Belle? Shouldn’t we find her and see if she needs help?”

“I’ll go,” Jack offered. “I’ll find Belle but you three should go on ahead and stop them from killing Beast.” He handed his dagger to Cindy. “You’ll need it more than I will.”

“Are you sure?” Cindy asked with a worried glance at the castle.

“The soldiers are gone into the forest. The only person left in that castle is Belle. I’ll be fine.” Before there could be any argument he turned the other way and sped off.

“Be careful, Jack!” Selvina called after him.

He gave her a wave and a wink before ducking under the portcullis and disappearing from view. Selvina eyed the castle’s entrance for a few moments before fixing her gaze on Red and Cindy. “Are you ready?” They nodded, determination on their faces, and the three girls set off at a brisk pace.

They saw a myriad of hoof prints on the trail and it cracked their resolve. The soldiers had horses. They might already have caught up to Beast and were killing him at this very moment. Such troubling thoughts spurred them onward and they ran as quickly as they could, the wind blowing in their faces and making their hair wave about behind them like a flag of red, gold and brown.

A few minutes later, when they were nearly exhausted, a large black shape suddenly leapt out of the forest and ran alongside them, long tongue hanging out of its mouth. Red grinned wide at Bigbad’s appearance, overjoyed to see him. She wasted no time grabbing a clump of fur from the wolf’s neck with her left hand and letting Bigbad haul her ahead for a fraction of a second before leaping up on one foot, swinging her legs up and over the wolf’s back, and seating herself just behind his shoulder blades. She reached for Cindy’s hand, who grabbed it eagerly, and helped her up to sit behind her.

Selvina looked up at Cindy’s reaching hand and asked, “Is he going to be able to carry us all?”

“Stop worrying about it and take Cindy’s hand!” Red ordered. “We have no time to waste!”

Selvina shut her mouth, nodded, and reached for Cindy’s waiting grasp. She then leapt up on Bigbad’s back, grabbing a clump of fur with her other hand, and climbed up behind Cindy. When all three girls were atop the wolf’s back Red urged him to increase his speed, which he did substantially. The three friends held on tightly as Bigbad tore down the path, his claws digging holes in the road and throwing up piles of dirt and dust behind him.

The wolf turned around a bend and the three girls gasped at the scene before them. A trio of deer were running directly toward them, their mouths open as if they were breathless. Numerous hares were running in the same direction, as were a few skunks, racoons, and a porcupine. With a glance into the woods at their sides they could see that the scene was similar. Forest animals of all sorts were fleeing in the direction Bigbad had come from, as if something terrible was ahead. Not only were they running but the forest was loud with their calls. Birds flew through air, cawing, squawking, tweeting, and honking. A bear charged through the underbrush, growling and grunting. A herd of elk galloped down the road, screeching and wailing loudly. Bigbad had to skirt aside lest he was trampled by them and the girls screamed and held on tightly as he suddenly leapt over a racing cougar, screaming and growling as it bolted down the road.

“Red, what’s happening?” Cindy cried out over the din of the terrified forest. “Why are they calling out like that?”

Red had no answer. She gulped and shook her head. “I…I don’t know!”

Selvina looked up at the sky, beyond the great flock of birds darkening the sky. There was no smoke and no evidence of a forest fire. Her brother, the fallen one, had told her stories about large groups of animals, predator and prey, fleeing en masse from raging forest fires. He had described it as a terrifyingly beautiful sight and she couldn’t argue that it was, except that perhaps it was more terrifying than it was beautiful. There appeared to be no fire, however, so what were the animals running away from?

A pair of barking foxes dashed by them just before they turned left, following a sharp curve in the road. There they saw the first sign of Beast’s passing. It was a dead horse, its throat slashed open and a large pool of blood surrounding the corpse. Bigbad didn’t slow down, however, and the girls only had a brief glimpse of the animal before they were far ahead of it. To their right was a fallen tree. What made the three girls’s hearts stop beating for a moment was that the tree wasn’t uprooted. It was smashed apart, as if something powerful had bashed into its side and made it collapse. They could still see sap dripping down the freshly exposed wood. Before long they came across another dead horse, its head twisted at an impossible angle. The cries of the fleeing animals filled the air, even though they hadn’t seen an animal for a few minutes.

Another shattered tree.

A discarded sword.

A third dead horse.

Several broken arrows.

A dead soldier.

Two more destroyed trees.

What am I getting myself into? Selvina thought, her heart beating like a drum and the core of her body a block of ice.

And then there was a cry that drowned out all other sounds. It was a deep, guttural roar that shook the ground, made tree branches tremble, and brought a paralyzing chill to the three girls’ spines. It even made Bigbad skid to stop and pause.

Cindy, her eyes two globes of sparkling grey, asked in a voice gripped tight with fear. “W-w-what was that?”

“Beast,” Red said, her face pale. “I think…” After she composed herself she urged Bigbad to keep moving. Obediently, the wolf took off again, though not as fast as before. A few minutes passed, as did more dead horses, two more slain soldiers, and many more fallen trees.

And then they saw it.

Up ahead and to their right, a hundred yards or so into the forest, were over a dozen soldiers surrounding a creature of grey fur, silver hair, short spikes on its shoulders and sides, and large, white fangs. It was indeed Beast and he was wrapped in huge chains but was resisting powerfully. Soldiers hauled the chains tightly, hoping to immobilize him, but he towed them up, using his unimaginable strength and swung them about as if they weighed nothing. The soldiers did not relent, however, and as he dealt with four of them holding on to one chain there were eight pulling on two more. Stumps dotted the area where Beast had broken the trees with his own strength. Even now, the girls watched as a group of soldiers let go of one chain and he whipped it about, slicing it cleanly through a large tree’s trunk with hardly an effort. The tree groaned and cracked as it tumbled through the air, hitting the ground with an earth-shuddering thud.

The soldiers called to one another, looping another chain around Beast, this time around his neck, and five soldiers heaved on it with all their might, making their quarry stagger. He let out another booming roar that seemed to daze the soldiers for a moment. Beast took the chance to steady himself and begin to advance on the nearest men, his pale eyes flaring with feral fury. He moved ahead three steps before crying out in a high-pitched wail as a black arrow sunk into his chest. The soldiers soon recovered from the roar and some fired bolts from their crossbows but they only bounced off Beast’s thick hide. A second black arrow zipped through the air, thudding right next to the first, piercing the skin and digging deep. Beast wailed again, his cry so deafening that the girls had to shield their ears with their hands.

Gaston came into view from behind a tree. His hood was up and his guard was clasped together, protecting his vulnerable neck and jaw. He made an imposing and intimidating figure as he circled the injured Beast, like a predator savoring the sight of its wounded prey. He held a dark, wicked-looking bow in his hand and tendrils of amethyst and mauve snaked around its surface like serpents of light. He had a quiver slung on his back beside his sheathed sword and he slowly pulled out another black arrow. Its tip crackled with violet energy and he notched it to his bowstring.

“An enchanted bow,” Red noted with an expression of awe mixed with dread. “That’s how he can hurt Beast with his arrows.” She swung her head back, locking eyes with Selvina. “If we don’t do something he’ll kill him!”

The soldiers hauled on the chains until they were rigid, keeping Beast in place. Blood dripped out from the arrow wounds and his breathing appeared ragged. Gaston’s arrows seemed to have hit Beast in the lungs, a normally fatal wound. He was growling at Gaston but looked too weak to fight back, his energy spent, his life slowly dripping into the grass.

A crossbow bolt hit Gaston in the left pauldron, bouncing off and tumbling to the ground some distance away. The bounty hunter turned around, his glaring eyes the only thing visible through his hood and over his guard. Red was charging at him, her second crossbow leveled and aimed for his head. She fired a shot but with reflexes far quicker than ever anticipated he leaned his head out of the way of the passing bolt and it flew harmlessly by. He raised his bow, pulled back on the string, and let his arrow fly in one fluid motion that was almost too quick to see.

Selvina, running toward Gaston with Cindy at her side, watched in horror as the arrow struck Red directly between her breasts and protruded from behind her back. Red Riding Hood wobbled awkwardly before falling over into the tall grass, lying motionless. Selvina and Cindy screamed in alarm and rushed to her side, their thoughts of attacking Gaston vanishing instantly.

Red gasped as Selvina slowly turned her over on her back. She looked at her and opened her mouth to speak but instead coughed out blood in torrents. Selvina’s eyes soon filled with tears and it became impossible to see. She wiped them away but they soon returned and she swore at them, her mind racing to find a way to save her friend. She wiped the blood off Red’s face and fought to steady her own quivering lips. Cindy held one of Red’s hands in hers and was struggling with her own leaking eyes. A shadow passed over the girls and there was soon the sound of vicious growling, snapping jaws, and a fierce battle. Selvina didn’t have to look up to know that an enraged Bigbad was tearing into the soldiers and hopefully Gaston as well.

“Sel…” Red tried to say. “R-r-r...”

“No, Red,” Selvina managed to utter as a river of tears flowed down her cheeks, splashing all over her friend’s unmoving body. “Don’t talk. Keep your strength. Stay with me. Don’t let go. You still have to buy your ship, remember? You have to see your brother Robin! You can’t leave yet!”

“B-B-Beast…”

“RED! Stop! Listen to me! Stop talking! Damn it, Scarlet! Please!” Selvina began to sob. It was too much. She couldn’t hold them back anymore. The tears flowed freely and it felt good to let them go. It was a diminutive comfort to the pain that wracked her body. There was an emptiness growing inside her, as if the part of Red’s soul that she had grown attached to was leaving her. She grabbed Red’s other hand and brought it to her face, wetting it with her tears.

There was a loud yelp and it made Selvina gasp. She snapped her head up and looked at the battlefield. Over a dozen soldiers lay dead and dying but to her terror and dismay Gaston stood unharmed. His bow was raised and his other arm was pulled back, even though the bowstring was loose, as if he had recently shot an arrow. Directly ahead of him was Bigbad, limping away with a black arrow in his lungs. Gaston launched another arrow and it hit the wolf in the neck, forcing another yelp out of him before he collapsed in a heap and lay very still.

This isn’t happening, Selvina thought as she bowed her head and shut her eyes. This is a nightmare. You’re still in the castle. Wake up already! Jack, where are you? Save me from this! Help me. Someone help me… Red, get up. Cindy…Jack…Bigbad…Sinbad…Captain Hook…someone…anyone…

She heard the swish of moving grass and heavy footsteps coming her way. Someone was walking toward her and judging by the sound of their coming they were not in a good mood.

“You little bitches cost me my bounty,” Gaston’s furious voice growled.

What? What did he mean by that? Did Beast get away? Selvina opened her eyes and looked up, her vision blurred with tears, and saw only two leather-wrapped legs in front of her. She couldn’t see Beast behind them. She looked up at Gaston’s hooded face for a moment before he brought his fist down on her and her world went black.

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