Rose of the Oath by Hope Ann

Author:Hope Ann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: free, quick read, christian fantasy, beauty and the beast, young adult fantasy, fairy tale retelling, retellings, beauty and the beast retelling
Publisher: Hope Ann

I heard the wolves howling that night. Cold light danced over the ceiling, sending faint fractals in all directions. I turned away from the window, pulled my pillow over my head, and finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Gleaming eyes and snarling fangs invaded my dreams. Cold and ice. A bow in my hands and a cry on my lips. Figures, crumpled in the snow. Wolves circled round, snarling. Closer and still closer. A figure, lurking in the gloom of the forest. Another shadow rose, this one outlined in ragged fur while a great blade glittered in the moonlight.

The mansion was silent when I awoke. The day was gray, the faintest light reflecting from crystal to crystal.

I dressed and pulled aside the curtain. The valley was still and undisturbed. Muffling a sigh, I strode downstairs. The kitchen was empty when I entered, the ashes cold.

My brow furrowed as I pressed one hand against the doorframe. Biting my lip, my other hand slid to my dagger as I glanced over the room. After several months, we’d come to some sort of understanding, the beast and I. He made breakfast. I cared for lunch. Dinner was a combined work.

I slipped back to the corridor. “Hello?” There was no reply.

Of course, there was no reply. I scowled at myself and pulled a lamp from the wall. Muddy tracks led from the door. My frown deepened as I traced them to the dining hall.

The room was dark, but I froze. My gaze fastened on the figure slumped over the table. I crept closer, my feet whispering over the tiles.

The beast was asleep, his head resting in the crook of one arm, a quill hanging limply from his fingers. Parchments lay scattered about him, some empty, others full of scribbles, and a few graced with line after line of flowing script.

I scowled at myself as I rounded the table.

My breath caught at the streaks of blood staining his face. A triple row of deep scratches. Rusty brown smeared across the parchment, and who knew what the new tears in his cloak hid? That cloak… something seriously needed to be done about its ragged state.

I darted to the kitchen and stirred up the fire. After heating water to a lukewarm temperature, I gathered bandages and ointments and slipped back into the dining room.

The beast’s regular breath stirred the parchments as I placed the bandages on the table and hesitated. Glancing once more at his face, I lifted a paper filled with writing and skimmed the now familiar script.

Who hath believed our report? The Oath of the King shall never fail.

My eyes narrowed.

His promise to those who rebelled will stand completed. The price shall be paid. The Prince will give it willingly; no enemy shall take it from him…

Still the King’s Oath. Did the beast think of nothing else? I picked up another parchment and another. The same words flowed over all of them.

From whence has it been heard, or who hath done such a thing? Yet the King shall grant His enemies this victory, and the Prince shall rise up to their defeat.

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