Page 13 of Seven Princes: A Very Dirty Fairtytale

As soon as the sun set, I could see the transformation happen before my eyes. The chest I had been resting on grew larger and larger, as the arms started to grow thicker and hairier. The claws grew out from his fingers, and the fangs grew large from his teeth. The horns grew out of his head and everything became bigger and thicker until with a flash of light, the transformation was complete.

This 6ft tall, beautiful man was now this 8ft beast stood before me. The transformation naturally woke him up and we was horrified about the fact that I could see him. I was just stood there in wonder at what just happed.

“Don’t be scared” said Adam, strangely I wasn’t. He had talked me through it and clearly it was him behind the mask of the beast. I approached in cautiously and touched him, almost to confirm it was real.

“It’s fine, I’m not scared, let’s go back to bed” we were both tired.

“Thank you” said Adam, who was obviously apprehensive about someone seeing him in the beast form for the first time whilst knowing who the human was behind it.

“Nothing to thank me for” I said back to him, as my heartbeat returned to normal following the shock of the transformation.

He lay down on the bed and a lay there with him; I put my head on his chest as we both fell asleep. He seemed peaceful that I had reacted so well to his secret; it was obvious now why he didn’t want me to stay. I could have laid there all night, but my world was once again about to be rudely awakened.

Bella – The rude awakening

I awoke to the front door of Adam’s house being flung open. In poured a number of men including Isaac and Ralph. We were both startled out of bed, but not as startled as they were at seeing the beast. Before I could explain why they shouldn’t be alarmed, Isaac shouted “kill the beast!” as the soldiers in the house pulled back their bows and shot a flurry of arrows into the beast.

I let out a huge cry of “No!” at what had just happened and I was in shock. “You have to save him” I shouted at the two brothers. I was grabbed by the men and taken away from what they thought was danger. I wanted to try and explain, but I knew it was a waste of time. They did what they thought was right and any truth from me would be taken as ramblings from a terrified woman.

They tried to clothe me and feed me, but I didn’t want their help and was crying at the loss of a man they had no idea I’d just lost. I regained my composure to hear what they had to say. I was informed that the battle with the Gattzam was won, but we’d sustained losses and that patrols were sent out to ensure my safety and bring me back to the castle.

“As soon as our father heard about the attack, he sent us to help” said Isaac. “We’ve always had a bad relationship with Gattzam and we weren’t going to stand back and let them take over your castle” he continued. It made sense, they were the most unpopular kingdom in the land and stopping their expansion was in everyone’s best interest.

The brothers told me that they had been driven back to their kingdom, but might strike again. As soon as the fighting was over, patrols were sent out for me to try and find out where I had gone.

I asked them how they had found me in the middle of the dark wood. They said that no-one else wanted to go in there for fear of meeting the beast, but Josh had told them that I knew my way through it and that I may have hidden in there. I asked about Josh and how he had been doing. They said that he had forgiven me, but still didn’t want to see me. He had fought at the castle, but had gone back home once the fighting was over.

“Who died?” I said, as my concern immediately turned to everyone in the castle and more specifically to Max and John. They said that no-one notable had died, but losses were minimal. So John was alright, I thought, but I’d have to wait and see to check if Max was fine. He should have stayed out of the fighting, but I know what he was like. The castle remained intact for now, but everything was still uncertain. We didn’t have the biggest army, but it was big enough. My concern was a question that I needed an answer to.

“Who killed my father?” I asked, wanting closure on the incident. “It was the King of Gattzam”, said Ralph. He went onto explain that they had captured one of their soldiers and obtained all the information. He said they had been planning an attack for a while, but wasn’t sure when they were going to execute it. The confusion after the wedding was a perfect opportunity. They saw my father leave on his own and decided to ambush him, and stage it as a robbery so they could give themselves time to prepare their army.

I believed what Isaac and Ralph were telling me, but I was obviously suspicious. The last time I had seen these two men, I was just about to abandon their brother at a church. Why would they help me? I could see why they would not want the Gattzam kingdom to thrive, but why not take the castle themselves? I know they had a great relationship with my father, but the thirst for power does funny things to people. I wondered if they were actually taking me back to my castle, or somewhere else. As far as it looked right now, they had come to save me, so I’d wait and see before making any more judgements.

My initial fears were put to one side as I was clearly being taken to my castle. Riding over the drawbridge I could see that it was bloodstained. There were bodies to be seen, but thankfully they were dressed in Gattzam uniform. Then again, any of our men would have been taken away first out of respect. I still wondered what the true losses were. Isaac and Ralph dropped me at the castle before riding back to their kingdom.

I wondered if John was okay and if Max was still alive. I wouldn’t have to wait long to wonder about John. He was there to greet me as I stepped down from the carriage. There wasn’t a mark on him, not a blemish on his clothing and there was a smile on his face. Of course he looked like that, he was a gentleman, but also a ferocious and skilled fighter.

“Nice to see you alive and well” he said to me.

“And you too” I replied. I hadn’t done any of the fighting, I’d run away. It may have been for the best, but I felt like a fraud. “Is Max okay” I whispered to John, weirdly he was the only person in the castle aware of my affection towards him.

“He’s fine, all the servants were untouched” he said. I breathed a sigh of relief. I needed to inspect the castle and see what damage was done. The people seemed uplifted by seeing my face. It was as though I bought hope to the place. They had repelled the attack and the place was in high spirits, despite a few losses. There was still a lot to be done though. We had to repair the castle, build up the army and make sure the whole land knew we were no longer an easy target.

We knew that the Gattzam may attack again, they were surely all or nothing. They had to retreat and lick their wounds and rebuild, but there was no coming back from a failed attempt. If we couldn’t attack them soon, someone else surely would, knowing they were weak. We couldn’t do it just yet, and may have more battles to fight first.

Josh’s kingdom still seemed like our closest allies and George’s kingdom seemed reluctant to make the step to invade, we may be safe for now. For any other kingdom to invade, they’d have to go through one of the three that surrounded us. That was unlikely, but if someone exterminated the Gattzam then it was possible. For now, castle life was more optimistic. Before they were scared of being invaded, it happened, and we’d won, with a little help from our friends.

At this very moment though, we were vulnerable. The army was bruised, bloody and low on numbers. I was in charge and needed to make clear decisions. The girl who was unhappily trapped in the room under her father’s command had quickly turned into a woman. With the help of John by my side, I was confident that our castle could survive this moment in time. There was still going to be many challenges to come however, and if the fight was to return to the castle, I wouldn’t be running away this time.

Bella – Uninvited guests

We were repairing the castle and treating the soldiers when there was a cavalry headed over from the valley. At first it was feared we were under attack again, but it soon became clear that it was only a small bunch of troops heading to the castle. We wondered who they were until they got closer; it was Isaac, Ralph and a group of soldiers heading on their way. Given the way they had helped out during the battle, we weren’t going to be turning them away. We let them into the castle to see what the meaning of the visit was.

“Hello Isaac, Ralph, for what is it I owe this pleasure” I said in a suspicious tone. There was still tension there from what happened with Josh, so I was wary of being too welcoming.

“We’ve been sent by my father to help protect the castle.” He said, which seemed like a very noble deed.

“I’m sure we’ll be quite fine on our own” I said, knowing that, while we were vulnerable, I didn’t want it to be seen that the castle needed help.

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