Courting the Beast
by
R. J. Ross
***
Published by:
R. J. Ross at Smashwords
Courting the Beast
Copyright © 2010 by R. J. Ross
* * *
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
***
Courting the Beast
***
Chapter One
Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a princess. She was not a beautiful princess. She was not a kind princess, nor a vague, yet still adorable princess. In fact, she was none of the things one expected from a princess at all. This princess was a tomboy. When she turned twelve she had the royal guard set up basketball tournaments in the royal ballroom. When she turned thirteen she rode as jockey in the royal races, and won. And when she was fourteen she adopted a baby dragon from the “adopt-a-dragon” foundation and took up practicing mock knight and dragon battles with her new friend.
It quite befuddled her fairy godmother, to say the least. It drove the poor dear to drink, actually, and this is where the story begins.
***
The GodLady bar and grill, hotspot for fairy godmothers everywhere, was crowded as usual, with a mournful fairy singing about where the cowboys had gone at the karaoke machine in the corner. But it was a smaller crowd that had the most attention. One of their own needed some sympathy.
“I don’t…” Marilynn said with a bit of a slur as she picked her “Sparkling Magician” up, peering into the contents of the purple drink for a long moment. “I j’st don’t get it… How come I’m the only—the only one ta’ get stuck with a boy fer a girl?” She looked around the table at the others in her profession, mourning her fate. “An’ d’ya know how much of a pain it is ta get her a curse? Prick her finger on a spindle, they say, she don’t even know how ta’ sew! Live with dwarves in the woods, they say, she’d get tossed out before the day is over, she’s a slob!”
“You poor dear,” the fairies said as they patted Marilynn on the back.
“An’ ya’ can’t even send her off ta’ be captured by a dragon. Ya’ know why? Because she’s been adopted into the dragon clan, and every single dad-blasted prince in the area knows it already!” Marilynn took a large gulp and let out a loud burp before going on. “She’s gonna be seventeen in a month and not once has she been sick a day in her life! She can lift her own weight, box like a champ, and I once caught her,” she moaned, horrified by the very idea, “watching football.”
“For the boys?” the fairy next to her asked hopefully.
“For the play tactics,” Marilynn wailed. “She had the entire Royal Guard out in the back field the next day, playing football! And not even tag! The tackle sort!” She sniffled and blew her nose on an overly lacy handkerchief, so loudly that it sounded like a goose’s call. “I j’st… I j’st don’t know what to do about it anymore… I give up. She’s a lost cause, and my name will be forever blem—ble—ruined! I’ll be known as the not-so-fairy fairy godmother!”
“Well you’ve tried all of the usual routines, haven’t you?” the pretty little blonde fairy across from her asked. Marilynn looked up at her through bloodshot eyes, not happy at all by the fact that she was at least four hundred years older than this little twerp. She was also a good two hundred pounds heavier, as well. She used to have a figure like that—
“I’ve been doing this job forever, you know,” Marilynn said, irritably. “Of course I’ve tried all the usual routines!”
“Even the one with the three dresses and the walnut?”
“D’ya know how hard it us to get her in a skirt? Making her dress in three different dresses would take more magic than all of us combined! And her mother’s still alive.”
“Oh.”
“And isn’t nearly pretty enough for that curse.”
“Oh… right.”
“How about—“
“Excuse me.” All of the fairies glanced up blankly as a distinguished looking man stopped at their table. “I couldn’t help but overhear about your little… problem. And I think I might just have a solution.”
“Take a seat,” Marilynn said, waving her drink through the air. “It’s a free country, after all. Well, it’s not, but right now I don’t rightly care.”
“My name is Winstead. I’m a fairy godfather. And I think we can help each other out a lot.”
***
Jaylee Andronia Rose Opal Jamison, Princess of the Royal Kingdom in the Hills, daughter of Matthison Michael Andrew Thomas Jamison the fifth, was making her way through the hills to Dragon Territory with a whistle on her lips. She was covered in streaks of mud, her pants were torn at the knees and a faint trace of blood was still trickling from her wound. Her boots were barely visible through the coating of dirt and grime. All in all, Jay was having a good day. “Hey, Bizby!! Bizby, I know you’re here somewhere, it’s at least ten degrees warmer in these woods!” she shouted, looking around for the roly-poly dragon she had “adopted.”
She heard a soft snort from the right and started to turn and give chase. “Bizby, my royal ass hurts! I fell on it at least three times today, so don’t make me chase you down!” she bellowed.
“Ahem.” Jay jerked, flushing slightly as she realized that someone was in the woods with her. She turned, raising an eyebrow at the sight of a golden haired prince. He wore old fashioned clothing of the finest silk, and had an almost glowing crown perched on his perfectly coifed hair. “Forgive me this intrusion,” the prince said as he moved forward to take her hand. “Could you help me? I seek a princess.”
“You sure?” Jay asked. “You might be better off looking for a prince.”
The prince blinked, reaching out to take her hand, only to grab thin air. “You are not a princess?”
“I am. But I never asked to be. And I sure as heck don’t need a pretty boy like you ‘seeking’ me,” she said, turning away. “Why don’t you try the Kingdom in the Valley? They’ve got a couple of princesses to spare! Bubbly airheads, every one of them. I’m sure they’d just love that face of yours.” She had never liked pretty men, and unfortunately all of the princes in the area qualified as that.
“You lack grace, respect, and gentleness. You walk around in men’s clothing and frolic with beasts,” the prince said, seeming to grow in front of her until a tall golden fairy male stood where the prince had once been. “If you seek to be a beast so much, then I shall grant you your wish!” Before Jay could understand what he meant, a shot of white light came from his hand, hitting her square in the chest and knocking her backwards. Her head hit something hard and she lost consciousness, never seeing the look of satisfaction on his face.
“Well, there’s step one,” he said as the glow dampened again. He reached into his golden cloak, pulling out a single pink rose. Gently he dropped it on the chest of the beast, patting her now furry cheek with fondness. “You know the rules, sweet, turn into a decent princess before the rose withers and dies or you’ll be stuck in this form.” He disappeared, leaving the now furry and rather horrifying female lying on the ground.
As night fell over the woods a small dragon crept out of hiding, wrapping itself around the beast and letting out a mournful cry.
***
“Rumor has it that the old castle on the hill is haunted,” one buxom little brunette said as she leaned over the counter of the flower shop. Alex didn’t even glance up from where he was getting her change. The girls in the town always bought flowers whenever he was in, but that didn’t mean he had to be polite about it. “By a werewolf,” she added, finally getting his attention. He loved werewolf tales. Horror stories of any type, actually. And here was the promise of one living only a few miles away!
Alex was by far the best looking man in the kingdom, much to his irritation. His blonde hair had a smooth, sleek gleam to it even when he didn’t wash it for a week, so he had wound up chopping it off. It kept growing back. His eyes were as blue as the sea, deep and mysterious even to him, which was why he had started wearing sunglasses every time he walked outside. His body, no matter how much he worked out, never bulked up. Sure he was defined, but every time he walked with a group of guys he looked like a “scrawny mama’s boy.” And his skin, he thought in downright irritation, was as smooth and soft as a baby’s, regardless of how many hours he worked outside.
Girls loved him, guys hated him, and every single adult in the village swore that he was secretly gay. No matter how much he protested it didn’t help, especially when strangers came into town, just to look at his face.
He had tried to get glasses, but his eyesight was perfect. He had tried to get braces, but his teeth were perfect too. What was worse, though, was that his family ran the local flower shop. Being surrounded by beautiful flowers just tripled his unnatural beauty, as he had been told many times before. He glanced up as he realized that the brunette was speaking again. “But you wouldn’t be interested in that,” she said with a sigh. “You’re much classier than that.”
“Not really,” he said as he handed her the change. “Thank you for your business,” he added, fighting the urge to shove her out the door. He turned and pretended to mess with the flowers behind him in order to make it clear that he was done with her. After a few long moments he heard the bell over the door ring, and he glanced over to make sure she had left. She had, much to his relief, so he pulled out his horror novel and went back to reading, leaning back in his backed stool and kicking his booted feet onto the counter.
Her words were stuck in his head. An actual werewolf, how cool was that? Not that he wanted to be attacked or anything, but still, if he caught it he would be considered a hero, a tough hero, at that. Instead of “Oh look, there’s that good looking boy!” he would hear “Oh look! There’s the werewolf slayer, Alex!” Of course that would probably be followed up by, “isn’t he so good looking?” but it still would be the most important part!
He closed his book, riveted by that thought. Being known for something other than his face would be great, no, better than great. Even in school no one had believed he made his A’s in the correct way. They thought he had suckered the teachers with his pretty face. But no one could claim beating a werewolf was done by being pretty! Werewolves didn’t care about looks, after all! He brought his feet down, putting the book under the counter once again as he stood. “Hey, mom? Where are the camping supplies?”
“Are you going somewhere, dear?” his mother, a slightly plump, cheerful woman wearing jeans and flannel asked as she peeked out of the back room. “Well, it is the weekend! You and your friends have fun, okay?”
“Um… right. But where’s the camping stuff?”
“I don’t know, ask your father!”
“Yeah, but dad’s in the fields!” he said as he headed up the stairs in the back of the shop to the second floor. That was where he and his parents lived. He had tried moving out once, right after graduating, but someone had given out his address and the entire place had been ransacked by girls. Living at home seemed to be the best option, that or buying a giant guard dog. He had been tempted several times to do that.
He started searching through the various closets, finding things he had never realized existed until he came upon the old tent that his parents had used when they were younger. It looked a bit worn. He grabbed that and the sleeping bag beneath it, then started digging for the ice chest.
“You should probably rethink this.” The voice came out of nowhere, and Alex groaned as the tell-tale sparks of gold appeared in front of him.
“Hello, Winstead,” he said irritably as his fairy godfather came into sight. “Look, I swear I’m not going to marry a princess. I wouldn’t have one of those air-headed bimbos if you paid me. I don’t want a gold laying goose, I don’t have a cow to trade for beans, and for the last time, I will not chase after a dozen princesses, regardless of where they go to at night!”
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before,” Winstead said, shaking his head. “But I meant running off to chase a werewolf. You realize that there’s a chance you could be cursed as well, don’t you? And regardless of what I might have given you as far as protection spells go, it will not guard against lycanthropy. Dragons, perhaps, the small ones, that is, but--” He turned and followed as Alex grabbed the ice chest from the closet and headed for the fridge to fill it.
“So what?” Alex asked. “I just have to keep from getting attacked, right? And seriously, there’s no such thing as a dragon.”
“You believe in werewolves, but not dragons?”
“I’ve never seen one in my life.”
“Which?”
“Well both, actually. But that’s not going to stop me from looking.” Alex put his supplies down by the stairs and headed into his room to get his clothing for the trip, pointedly closing the door in Winstead’s face.
“Hardheaded brat,” Winstead muttered before he disappeared once again.
***
The castle was empty. It had a hollow feel to it that almost sent Jay over the edge. She stared down at her furry, clawed hands blankly for a long moment, not quite daring to go towards the mirror at the end of the main hall. She was afraid of what she would see. The gray fur was definitely not the color she would have picked.
Walking was difficult as well, she thought as she looked down at her arching dog-like feet. Her boots were gone, lost somewhere in the woods on the way back here. Bizby had left her as well, heading off to who-knows-where. She could only hope he knew a way to fix her little problem. She blamed the fairy man. “I was right--” She stopped, startled by the deep grumbling voice that came from her lips. “Hello?” she asked, almost jumping as the sinister voice echoed in the hall. “That… is going to take some getting used to,” she muttered, trying to keep it from echoing. She sounded like a man! A man with a long history of smoking, to be exact, and she didn’t like it.
“Chak?” she called, looking around the empty palace, feeling her heart pound against her chest. “Guards? Anyone?”
There was no reply. Slowly she crossed the room, not quite daring to look into the mirror for a long while. It grew old fast, though, so she glanced up, jerking back at the sight of a hybrid mix of her own face and a wolf’s. Her eyes were the only thing unchanged, she thought as she stared into the dark brown orbs. They looked odd in the gray and black furred face, especially sitting over a slight muzzle with sharp, deadly looking fangs.
Something swished behind her, and she turned, only to find herself facing the empty hall again. Slowly she twisted, looking down behind her. She had a tail, as well. Wonderful.
“Isn’t it the prince that’s supposed to be turned into a beast??” she roared to the sky, shattering the mirror behind her with the loudness of it. After a second she couldn’t help but look down. At least she was still a female beast, she thought, looking for a good point in the situation.
Then again, she realized as she took another step forward, forcing herself to get used to the loping walk of her new form, she could probably rule on the basketball court with this form! That was, if the guards were around to play against her.
She took the stairs three at a time, racing through the entire castle to see if there was anyone there at all. Finally she found herself on the roof, staring through tears at the small village far down the hill. There were people there, she thought numbly, people that would never accept a creature that looked like her. With that last depressing thought she let out a howl.
***
The sound sent a chill down Alex’s spine. He had barely started, he thought in disgust, and already he was jumping at the slightest little howl. Pathetic. He snorted and moved deeper through the woods, pushing a branch out of his way with his hand. It was warmer in this forest than it was supposed to be, he thought in wonder. Perhaps it was a magical forest that stayed the same no matter what season it was. But that wasn’t true. The leaves on the trees were changing color.
He took a deep breath and told himself it was his imagination. Why would a forest be warmer than any other place? It didn’t make any sense. He shrugged his father’s fleece coat off, feeling overly warm, even if it was only his imagination. The trees grew close together, making it hard for him to get through without getting scratched by tree limbs. It was beginning to get irritating. Why didn’t they have a road or something?
“Hello, sonny.” The voice made him turn, almost whimpering at the sight of an old woman sitting on a stump in a clearing that he swore hadn’t been there before. Yet another fairy planning to lure poor guys to their doom, he thought. It was just too bad for her that he knew this tactic.
“I refuse to share my food with you, so you can make me ugly now,” he said pointedly. “Maybe a horn, or some other disfigurement. I’d prefer not having frogs drop from my lips when I speak, but it might stop those idiots from bugging me--”
“You are a cynical one, aren’t you?” she asked. “How do you know I’m not just a poor old woman looking to rest her feet?”
“You’re in the middle of a forest that’s supposed to have werewolves,” he said. “And I swear that clearing wasn’t there a minute ago.”
She laughed, changing into a rather plump looking fairy godmother with curly silver hair. “Oh dear, you won’t work at all.”
“Won’t work at all for what?” he asked.
“You don’t know?” she asked, looking surprised for a second. “Well of course you don’t. You don’t happen to have a beer to spare, do you?”
“If I do, are you going to make diamonds fall from my lips whenever I speak?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not unless you want me to.”
“I don’t. Trust me I don’t.”
“My name’s Marilynn. And you are?”
“Alex Flowers,” Alex said, sitting down on the stump that appeared in front of the little fairy godmother before digging through his ice chest and pulling out two beers. “And I’m here to hunt a werewolf.”
“Aren’t you a bit too…”
“Pretty?” he offered.
“Young, dear.”
“I’m eighteen, almost nineteen,” he said. “And I’ve seen every werewolf movie ever made,” he exaggerated. “I brought my dad’s old shotgun, and a silver fork.”
“Silver bullets?”
“I’m just a flower seller. Those things cost an arm and a leg!”
“Ah, yes, yes…” she said as if that made perfect sense. “You realize you’re probably not the one that’s supposed to be doing this, right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well let’s say this is a wolf tale. Now the obvious hero in a wolf tale would be the kind woodsman, right?”
“So what? We’re both horticulturists.”
“Okay, let me try again,” she said as she took the beer he handed her and pulled out her own bottle opener, popping it open with expertise. “Let’s say it’s a prince cursed because of his arrogance. The obvious hero would be?”
“A girl,” Alex said, groaning. “So it’s the beast story? How do you know it’s not a werewolf that actually killed everyone in the castle and made himself at home?” he asked, not willing to give up. “Including the woodsman!”
“You’re just intent on getting yourself killed, aren’t you?” she asked with a sigh. “Okay, go on. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!” She turned, waving her hand at the trees that blocked the way to the castle. They moved out of the way, opening a path. “The castle is waiting for you, Mr. Horticulturist.”
“Wow… something actually useful from a fairy,” he said looking slightly awed as he grabbed his things and got to his feet. “Thanks—” He stopped as he realized she was already gone. “Now why can’t I have a fairy godparent like her?”
He started down the path, feeling a little uneasy as a dark, unnatural fog appeared in front of him. Soon it surrounded him, eclipsing his vision so he could barely see his hand in front of his face. He stumbled, almost falling, but still he kept going. He was going to catch that werewolf, darn it. And even if he didn’t he wasn’t going to give up this easily!
He kept walking, moving his way up the hill and closer toward the castle, regardless of how many times he tripped. Had this been a voyage to save a princess he wouldn’t have made this much effort, he thought irritably. But this wasn’t a princess. This was a werewolf! With that thought he was energized again, and narrowed his eyes, peering left and right on an off chance that he might see it. He had even brought his camera, just in case. Not that he would admit to that.
“Go back.” The voice was deep and gruff, startling him into standing still for a long moment as he tried to find the source. “Go back, you’re not welcome here.”
“Who are you?” Alex shouted, still unable to see a thing.
“Get lost already, you overly pretty moron!” the voice shouted. “I’ve got enough troubles to deal with!” He heard something then, a scrambling mess of twigs snapping and leaves being stepped on. Whoever had been yelling was gone, leaving him standing blind in an unnatural fog.
How had it known he was overly pretty?
He grunted and kept walking.
Chapter Two
“Princess….” Jay jumped as she entered the castle again, looking around wildly. “Princess… you forgot the rose.”
“What?” she asked. It was bad enough that she had had to chase off that blonde boy, but now she was hearing voices? Maybe she was actually just insane, she thought, almost cheered by the idea. She was perfectly normal on the outside, and this was all in her head. Yes, she could handle that. They would stick her in some closet or tower and pass her off as the crazy relative that every good royal family had. She would grow old and die in her little chair in the corner—
“You forgot the rose, princess.” The voice came again and she jerked as she finally recognized it. That was Chak, the head of the royal guards.
“Chak, where are you?” she asked, looking around. Still there was no one there. “Don’t tell me I’m even more insane than I thought.”
“The rose… you left it in the forest. You have to—“ His voice faded, even for her enhanced hearing, and she groaned.
“Fine. I’ll go get the rose. Why not? It’s not as if things could get more messed up!” She turned and walked out of the castle again, wishing, just once, that she could have gone with a more convenient curse. “Maybe dwarves aren’t so bad, after all,” she muttered as she trod through the woods. “Sure, cleaning is a pain, and I’ve never cooked a day in my life, but at least you can see them when you’re talking to them! Even if you have to look down. This… this is just creepy.”
Invisible servants, furry skin, and a rose, that’s what she had now. She scowled and scratched her neck, groaning as she realized something. With fur came fleas. She let out an irritated bellow, falling to the ground and rolling as they seemed to attack all at once. She itched! And the little suckers bit! She bumped into a tree then leaned on it, rubbing her back against the bark with a grumble. “Flea collar,” she muttered even as she twisted to get to another area. “Gotta order a flea collar.”
She stopped as she smelled something tasty, turning and heading in the direction without a thought. There was someone in her woods, and she didn’t much like it, but who knew when she would get a good meal? Could invisible servants still cook? She jerked to a halt as she realized who was sitting at the fire in the small clearing. He hadn’t left? That annoying pain! And now that she looked a little closer, he looked a heck of a lot like the prince that the fairy man had been pretending to be.
That thought alone was enough to make her decide. She had to get rid of this guy, and fast. Especially since, much to her horror, he had already found the rose. It sat in a beer bottle to the side of him, glowing for some odd reason. Great. There were two options. She could either jump out to scare him off so she could get the food and the rose, or she could sneak around, steal the rose, and run.
Her stomach grumbled loudly and made up her mind for her. With a growl she jumped into the clearing, knowing she would look ridiculous, but unable to think of anything else. “Give me your food,” she growled.
He stared at her, not moving.
“I said to give over the food!” she bellowed.
His hand reached behind him, groping for his backpack as he started to stutter. “Don’t—don’t leave until I get a picture,” he said, finally finding a pocket in the bag.
“A picture?” she demanded, unable to help herself. “I’m about to kill you and all you want to do is take a picture?”
“It won’t take a moment,” he said, bringing up the camera and snapping a shot. She yelped and covered her eyes as the flash blinded her, just in time for him to tackle her to the ground. “Caught you,” he said. “When they find out I’ve got a living werewolf--”
“Werewolf? You idiot! I’m cursed!”
“Lycanthropy--”
“No! Fairies!” she said, struggling to get him off of her. “I’m not even a prince! My servants are invisible and I’ve got fleas!”
“Fleas?” he asked. “Seriously?”
“No, not seriously,” she drawled. “Yes, seriously! I’m a walking carpet here, darn it, and I’ve got fleas!”
“You’re not a prince?”
“I’m a princess.”
Alex jerked back as if she had slapped him, groaning loudly. “That bastard!” he said. “Who does he think he is, making me chase after yet another princess? I should sue! Breach of contract or something, it’s got to be illegal!”
“Who said I wanted you to chase me?” she demanded. “The last thing I want hanging around is a pretty boy with a werewolf fetish!”
“I do not have a werewolf fetish,” he snapped.
“You were probably hoping I was a prince instead of a princess, too. You look like a girl.”
“Yeah? Well at least I’m not the one with fleas!”
“I dislike you,” she hissed as she got to her feet, standing in all her furry, dirty glory. Her clothes were a little tighter, but were still the ripped, muddy mess that she had been wearing that morning. Her tail was driving her crazy, it kept moving when she didn’t expect it to, and it made her jump.
“You sure as heck aren’t my favorite person, either,” he told her. “Just what kind of princess has fleas?”
“One that’s been cursed to being a beast!”
“What, couldn’t get the dwarves to accept you and your fleas?”
“They’d prefer you, no doubt. You just need to use more padding.”
“I am not a girl!”
“Doesn’t really matter to me. Just as long as you get off my property!” she bellowed.
“Fine. I’m leaving,” he said as he grabbed his things and the beer bottle with her rose in it. She didn’t even notice. She was too busy gloating over her win as he stormed away. She dropped down next to the fire and started eating his meal, groaning and falling back in contentment as her hunger was appeased.
“Good riddance,” she said as she started to get to her feet. Only then did she notice that the rose was gone.
***
“Winstead!” Alex bellowed as he stormed up the stairs leading to his home above the flower shop. “Winstead, I demand that you come tell me what in the heck you were thinking!”
“Alex?” his mom asked as her sleeping hat clad head poked out the door of her and his father’s bedroom. “What’s the problem, sweetie?”
“It’s nothing, Ma. Just a little problem with a lying, no-good fairy godfather,” he said, heading for his bedroom. “Winstead! I swear if you don’t--”
“I told you not to go,” Winstead said from where he was lounging on Alex’s bed, reading a book.
“She’s a princess!”
“She’s a beast,” Winstead corrected, putting the book down on the bed. “That supersedes her princess status. But the point is, you’re back and I take it the curse isn’t broken.” He stopped as he noticed the rose in the beer bottle that Alex was still holding. “And you brought that home because?”
“Huh?” Alex asked as he looked down at the rose. “It was going to die if I left it out there. Pretty, isn’t it?”
“You should take it back.”
“And what? Give it to that flea ridden princess? She’d kill it within a week.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Winstead said before disappearing, leaving the book lying on the bed, open to a very familiar old story. Alex walked over and glanced down at the picture of the beast, then promptly slammed the book closed.
***
The next night Jay went to get the rose back. She twitched as she was almost seen by a group of teenagers necking behind one of the stores. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to see her and run screaming. Well, it might not be so bad, but only if she could get that stupid rose back first. Then again towns were more apt to form lynch mobs than run screaming, it was some unwritten magical world law. Jay didn’t feel like burning any time soon, thank you very much.
She looked around, wondering just where that overly pretty boy had gotten to. Did he live in this town, or was he out on a quest? Maybe he was a prince in disguise. She sniffed the air, trying to smell her rose. It was a pathetic idea, she told herself even as she tried harder, just because she looked like a beast didn’t mean her smelling—“Found it,” she whispered in surprise.
With a glance to the right, then to the left, Jay set out at a trot, heading for the back of a two story building, her nose twitching once in a while to make sure she was right. The smell was stronger, so she started up the fire exit, peeking into a window to see who was there. An older woman was in the kitchen, bent over and looking through the fridge. She had a pile of food in her arms, and looked as if she was about to start a meal. She turned to put the food on the table, and caught sight of Jay.
A scream escaped her lips as the food fell to the ground with a loud crash that made Jay wince. She was about to run away when footsteps echoed through the room, and the same blonde boy from the woods came in, an old, rusty rifle in his arms. The older woman turned, pointing at the window, and the boy lifted the gun, aiming it straight at Jay.
“Oh crud,” Jay muttered before backing up slowly, both hands up. She wasn’t ready to be shot just yet! All she wanted was her rose!
Alex cursed and lowered the gun, heading for the window and slamming it open. “What do you want?”
“Shoot it, Alex!” his mother cried behind him. “It might be carrying rabies!”
“It’s not, Ma, just fleas,” Alex said, glancing over his shoulder for a second before looking back to Jay. “What are you doing here?”
“You stole my rose,” Jay said irritably. “Give it back!”
“It was lying on the ground in the middle of the woods. It’s not your rose!”
“It is too!”
“Just give it its rose back, Alex!” his mother said from behind him.
“Stay out of this, Ma!” Alex said over his shoulder. “It’s her fault I got stuck chasing through the woods in the first place! And it’s not her rose!”
“Her?” his mother asked.
“I’m a cursed princess, ma’am,” Jay said, rolling her eyes as she fought to keep from gazing at the food on the floor. She hadn’t eaten since the meal the night before, and that cold ham was starting to smell awfully good.
“Oh you poor girl,” his mother said, her tone changing completely. “Alex! How dare you be so rude to a princess? Come in, sweetie, you look like you’ve had a rough time.” She pushed past Alex and opened the window wider.
“You can say that again,” Jay said as she let herself be pulled through the window. “I was turned into a monster, my servants and guard are all invisible, and I keep itching!” She probably should have changed, she realized a bit belatedly.
“Well dressed like that, it’s no wonder,” the woman said. “My name’s Bertha, and my rude son is Alex. John should be getting home from the fields soon. Why don’t we get you cleaned up?”
“Don’t let her in, Ma, she’ll bring her fleas with her!” Alex protested.
“Fleas?” Bertha asked. “That’s terrible! Alex, go up to the pet store and get some of that special medicine, would you? The money’s in my purse.”
“What?” Alex demanded. “She’s a werewolf! We don’t--”
“Alex Matthew Flowers, don’t you dare talk back to me! I thought I raised you better than to treat a lady like this!” Bertha said, glowering up at her much taller son with her hands on her ample hips. “Now go get the girl some flea medicine and clothes! And don’t you go talking back to me about this!”
Alex stared at her for a moment before looking at Jay with a scowl. “Fine. But we’re not keeping her,” he said coldly before turning and storming away. Jay growled, startled at how much more impressive it sounded in this form.
“There, there dear, he’s all talk,” Bertha said, patting her on the head. “Now let’s get you in the bath. That will help with the itching problem.”
“Yeah, I guess I could use a bath,” Jay admitted reluctantly as Bertha led her to the bathroom. She only glanced over her shoulder at the food on the ground once.
***
“Stupid mutt…” Alex said irritably as he made his way through the pet store, stopping at the counter and looking blankly at the various dog flea medicines. “How the heck am I supposed to know how much she weighs?” he asked, feeling his headache growing larger. After a moment he just grabbed the largest weight limit available and cursed as he realized he had forgotten to get his mother’s money.
A hand reached out, dropping a golden plastic card on the counter. Alex groaned as he looked up at Winstead. “Thanks,” he muttered reluctantly.
“It’s the least I can do,” Winstead said. “So she’s at your place now? Because?”
“The rose.”
“Ahhh, yes, I figured that might happen,” he said as he took his card back from the dreamy eyed girl at the counter. “But I’m sure you’ll get rid of her soon enough. At least I hope so?”
“You’re up to something,” Alex accused him even as he took the bag from the girl, not even glancing at the telephone number written on the receipt. For a long time he had thought that happened with everyone’s receipts, and then he had gotten a guy salesclerk.
“I am positively up to nothing. We need to get her back to the castle so her prince can come and save her,” Winstead said. “Although I am having a difficult time finding princes that haven’t met her before.”
Alex snorted. “So you are involved with this curse!” he said as they headed for the door of the pet store. “I knew it!”
“Yes, I am, but you were never supposed to be,” Winstead said, shaking his head slightly. “Princess Jaylee is, obviously, supposed to wind up with a prince, or barring that, a young man with a good heart and natural leadership ability. Not to mention good sports abilities.”
“I don’t think I like what you’re trying to say there,” Alex said coldly as he headed down the street. “I should have gotten her a bag of dog food while I was at it…”
“What I’m trying to say?” Winstead asked innocently.
“I’m perfectly fine at sports,” Alex told him. “In fact I was on Varsity.”
“Yeah, but that’s nothing compared to what she’s used to. She had the royal guard playing professional style football just a few weeks ago. She’s the quarterback.”
“Touch football, right?”
“Full contact.”
“She’s a man!”
“No, she needs a man. It’s annoying, but necessary. She is a princess after all.” Winstead shook his head, waving it off with a graceful hand movement. “It’s in all of the rulebooks. The princess must be married at either sixteen or eighteen. She’s sixteen now, and turning seventeen in a month.”
“Why would anyone want to get married that young?” Alex demanded. “She’s just a kid!”
“True,” Winstead said as they reached the flower shop. “Unfortunately, that’s what tradition dictates. And because she was so stubborn, we had to go a bit farther than usual. Your interference is causing us a lot of trouble, you realize.”
“You think I want her in my house?” Alex asked, not admitting that he was more bothered by the age thing than he liked to be. “I’ll send her home tonight,” he added as he headed through the door of the shop and to the stairs. He glanced over his shoulder when Winstead didn’t respond, not too surprised to see that the fairy godfather was gone once again. He probably didn’t want Jaylee to see him, Alex thought in disgust. But he didn’t blame the guy.
He took the stairs two at a time, wondering what had happened while he had been gone. Hopefully the beastly princess had decided that it wasn’t worth sticking around for, and had left. For some reason he doubted it, though.
“Jaylee…?” he heard his mother say, a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Jaylee Andronia Rose Opal Jamison,” he heard the beast’s deep voice rumble off. “But everyone either calls me Jay or Princess. It took me a year just to remember all of it myself.”
“Well it is a bit of a mouthful.” Alex groaned as he heard his father’s voice. There was a hint of fondness in it already that said he obviously approved of the furry brat. That wasn’t how the story was supposed to go, darn it! The father was the one that was supposed to hate the beast the most!
Then again, that was for the female beauty in the original story. Alex wasn’t the beauty, nor was it his father that was supposed to get involved. They were ruining the curse, after all.
“Alex? Is that you, dear? Come into the kitchen!” his mother called. “Dinner’s ready!”
“Yeah, coming,” Alex called back as he dug the box out of the plastic bag, looking at it for a long moment before rolling his eyes and walking in. “I got the flea medicine,” he said, glancing over at the werewolf girl. His eyes narrowed as he realized she was wearing his old high school jersey and a pair of his knit shorts.
“You forgot the clothing, didn’t you? Well I figured that would happen,” his mother said. “So we borrowed some of your old things. They fit rather well, surprisingly enough.”
“Actually the shirt’s a bit tight through the shoulders,” Jay commented innocently. “You’re kinda scrawny, aren’t you?”
His eyes narrowed and he fought the urge to yell at her. Cheeky little brat. But he said nothing, merely opened the box and pulled out one of the flea packs, walking over to her. “Lean forward. This is supposed to go on the back of the neck.”
“Wha--” She stopped as he pushed her head down, practically jumping as the cold liquid hit her skin.
“There you go. You can leave now.”
“Alex,” John said, looking at his son with a hint of warning. John was still in pretty good shape for being almost fifty. He had a bit of a spare tire around his waist and a receding hairline, but his shoulders were still broad and his face square and defined. He was a big man. For the life of him, Alex couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t built like the man.
“I talked to Winstead,” Alex said, rather than argue outright. “We’re interfering in her curse. She should be waiting for her prince to show up at the castle right now, not hanging out here.”
“One meal won’t hurt,” Bertha said firmly as she put the meal down on the table.
“Winstead said that?” his father asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Jay, are you looking for a prince?”
“No thanks,” Jay said. She had no idea who Winstead was, but he was probably right. She just didn’t care. “I’ve met all of the princes in the surrounding kingdoms. They’re annoying.” She smiled as Bertha started filling her plate.
“Well if it’s a beast curse, shouldn’t a good looking man be the answer to the problem?” Bertha asked.
“Good looking men give me hives,” Jay said cheerfully. “All those experiences with princes, after all. No, I think I’ll have to come up with another way to break the curse. Maybe Bizby can come up with something.”
“Bizby?” John asked.
“He’s my dragon,” she said before digging into her food almost messily. She still hadn’t gotten used to the claws, or the muzzle. A slight flush crossed her cheeks as she realized they were watching her. “Sorry,” she said as she gulped loudly. “I’m still not used to this form.”
“It’s ah, fine, dear,” Bertha said. “But you have a dragon?”
“He’s just a baby,” Jay admitted. “I got him through the adopt-a-dragon foundation, but really, he’s not an orphan at all, he just wanted a playmate in the area. His mother was worried that he would never get a princess complex if he didn’t get one at an early age.”
“A princess complex?” Alex asked, looking shocked.
“Every male dragon should have one,” Jay said as she finished off her food and tried to drink out of a glass. Her eyes crossed as she realized that her tongue didn’t work the right way any longer.
“Why should every male dragon have a princess complex?” Alex demanded. “It makes no sense. They aren’t even the same species!”
“It’s part of their job,” Jay said. “Male dragons kidnap princesses and keep them in towers, so the knights have to fight to save them. I wouldn’t have minded that, so much, but everyone already knows I’ve got a dragon of my own. And I wouldn’t want him killed.”
“That makes perfect sense to me,” John said firmly.
“Thank you,” Jay said. “I should get going though, since the last thing I want is for the town to see me.”
“Alex will escort you,” Bertha said.
“But Ma, she’s a--”
“A teenage girl should not go through the woods alone at this time of night!” Bertha said firmly.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Alex asked. “She’s a werewolf! She’ll be--”
“Alex, do what your mother tells you,” John said. Alex’s eyes narrowed, but he grunted, getting to his feet.
“Fine. Let’s get going,” he muttered, picking up his plate and cup and taking them to the sink before he grabbed his coat. He didn’t even glance over as Jay said her farewells to his parents, irritated by the fact that they got along so well. Just who did she think she was? She had nearly given his mother a heart attack earlier, and here they were forcing him to walk her home, like she was a normal girl!
“I’ll take those, dear,” Bertha said before Jay could grab her dirty dishes.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Jay said. “It’s a wonder such nice people could have a son like Alex,” she added with a dark look at Alex.
“Usually he’s not this bad,” John said, shaking his head. “But he hasn’t had many good experiences with princesses.”
“Heh. Well thanks, anyway,” she said before heading for the fire exit window, much to Alex’s surprise. “Are you coming?” she asked him.
“We do have a front door, you know.”
“I’m a werewolf, remember?”
“Oh, right.”
Chapter Three
“You can go now,” she said only a few moments later as they reached the outer edge of the town.
“I wish,” he said, still following her. “If I showed up back home this quickly my parents would kill me.” He shoved his hands a bit deeper into his pockets. “You didn’t rip a hole in my shorts for that tail of yours, did you?”
“No. Your mom cut it.”
Alex cursed. “Those were my favorite shorts!”
“Yeah, right,” she said. “Like you’d be seen in public wearing something as ratty as this.”
“You know, I really don’t like how you judge me without knowing me.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s the one going off on how all princesses are evil?” she demanded.
“How about the one saying ‘good looking guys give me hives’?” he asked right back. “You’re such a hypocrite. I bet you were just as pretty as a princess as the rest of those bimbos.”
“I was not!” she growled, turning to glower at him. Her eyes gleamed eerily in the dark forest, almost sending a twinge of fear down his spine, which he ruthlessly curbed. She was just a little brat in a big body. She wouldn’t know how to hurt a fly. “I was average looking at best.”
“So that’s why I’d never heard of you!” he said with an evil laugh. “Nobody pays attention to an average looking princess.”
“Shut up,” she said coldly.
“And they sure as heck don’t send guys like me after them,” he went on callously. “Even the fairy godparents know better than to send a really good looking guy like myself after a drab looking princess.”
“You really are a bastard, aren’t you?” she demanded angrily. “This is why I hate good looking guys.”
He fell silent, suddenly feeling guilty. He shouldn’t have said that, and he knew it, but she just got under his skin! “So what kind of guy are you looking for?” he asked reluctantly. The least he could do was scout someone out to give her a hand breaking the curse.
“What? Now you’re going to offer me pity?” she asked scathingly. “Thanks but no thanks.”
“Oh come on, already. You might as well break it as soon as possible! You can’t even go shopping in that form!”
“So? I’ll hunt.”
“Really.”
“Really! I can hunt! I’m not like your average princess, you know. I learned all sorts of things from my royal guard.”
“Yeah, I knew you were really a man!” he said derisively. “Don’t you have any feminine traits?”
“Feminine traits are overrated,” she said. “Like a princess is ever going to have to do her own sewing--unless she gets stuck with the dwarves for a curse, that is.”
“Yeah, yeah… okay, how about dancing? Can you dance?”
“Do you seriously think it matters when I’m in this form?”
“Good point.” He thought for a long moment. “Then what about breaking it for your servants and guards? They’re invisible or something right? I doubt they like that.”
Her shoulders slumped. “You’re right… This stupid curse isn’t fair! If it was just me that was affected I wouldn’t care! But the guards and the servants are my friends.” Jay fell silent for a long moment, trying to think of a way to break her curse. “Fine. I want a guy that can beat me at basketball.”
“In that form?” Alex asked. “That’s not possible! Make it a draw and I’ll see what I can do.”
“No, this is tradition,” she said.
“Not once in tradition has the beast made the beauty play basketball!” Alex said. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want to break the curse!”
“I do want to break the curse! But I’m not going to get stuck with someone that doesn’t like the same things I like!”
“Fine,” he said finally. “I’ll get the basketball team out here this weekend, alright? We’ll have a series of one on ones, and whoever wins--”
“I have to at least like the guy, too, you know.”
“You’re too picky!”
“And I don’t want him to be younger than I am!” she added as they reached the courtyard of the palace. There were vines growing up the walls of the palace already, sharp, prickly looking vines with large red rose blossoms at intervals. “Those weren’t there when I left.”
“It’s probably to set the mood,” Alex said. “Curses like this should always be overdone.”
Jay rolled her eyes and started for the gate, not surprised when it swung open in front of her.
“Hey,” Alex said, not really wanting to, but unable to help himself. “Is there anything that you really need? You know, stuff from the store that you can’t live without? I mean, I could probably bring it by sometime.”
“Um, well…” She flushed slightly beneath her fur. “There is something I’m going to need pretty soon… but you probably--”
“Just tell me already.”
“Kotex?”
“Ko—huh?”
“They’re um… well… maybe your mom should get them.”
“They’re—oh. Those.”
“Right. Those.” The silence that followed that was too awkward for either of them to want to break. “Thanks,” she said finally before running away.
All the way home Alex was fighting the urge to blush like an idiot.
***
“We’ve got a special visitor, boys!” the coach called to the lanky teens in the changing room. Most of them were either not dressed or half dressed, and all of them looked irritated at the sight of Alex following their coach into their room.
“No thanks, we don’t like guys,” one called from the back, earning laughter from the group.
“That’s not why he’s here,” the coach growled, irritated by the whole thing. The kid hadn’t even told him why he wanted in, just said that it was something important. He hoped it didn’t take away from their training time.
“Okay, so everybody knows I have a Fairy Godfather, right?” Alex started out, not liking this job one bit. He had never gotten along with the basketball players. He could barely tolerate the football team.
“Didn’t you graduate already?” one of the kids asked.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter. I’ve got a problem, and she insists on it being someone that can beat her at basketball--”
“She?” another asked.
“The werewolf princess on the hill,” Alex said, earning a silent look of shock from each and every one of them.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Bobby asked from where he was sitting in the corner, wearing only his boxers. “You’re trying to set one of us up with a princess?”
“Yeah, why didn’t she just take one look at you and fall in love?” Mick, a shorter player asked from the other side of the room. “Hell, if you were wearing a skirt, I would--”
“Oh shut up already man, that’s sick!” the kid behind him said, slapping Mick upside the head.
“She says that good looking guys give her hives,” Alex said with a snort. “So one of you guys should be just fine.” At least five water bottles were thrown at him and he lifted his arms to block them. “She’s got a basketball court, I’m betting. So all you have to do is show up at the palace on the hill this weekend and challenge her to a one on one. She has to like you, too, so be on your best behavior and try not to cringe when she growls or something--”
“You’re serious?” Bobby asked. “She’s a werewolf?”
“It’s the beast curse. You know, where the prince gets stuck in the form of a monster and someone comes and saves him? Well it’s a bit… screwed up this time. So we’re looking for a guy. One that isn’t me, got it?”
“You ever see those old movies? The ones about the basketball playing werewolf?” Mick asked. “I always wanted to play him.”
“You’re too short. You won’t win.”
“Yeah, but I can try, dammit.”
“I’m going to try, too,” Bobby said, much to the others surprise. “This weekend, right?”
“Yeah,” Alex said, wondering why he wasn’t more ecstatic with having at least two of them volunteer. “Show up Saturday around one, alright?”
“Yeah.”
“But why aren’t you trying for her, Alex?” Mick asked. “You seem the type to get a princess.”
“I don’t like princesses. They give me hives,” Alex said dryly as he headed out the door.
***
It was hard to pass when your teammates were invisible. Jay sighed, scratching her neck as she gave up on team play. “Go sit this one out, guys. I can’t really play when I can’t see you. I keep worrying about slamming into you.”
“Yes princess,” she heard one say. She knew they didn’t worry about her slamming into them, but she did. She weighed more in this form, not to mention she had claws. She started to toss free-throws, wondering how Alex was doing getting challengers. Even if she was beat, could she love the guy that beat her? And what would she do if they were too scared of her face to play?
“I’m going to break this curse, guys,” she said as the ball swished through the hoop. “I swear.”
“Princess--”
“No, I’m serious. This curse really sucks. If I had known it was going to mess up everything for everyone, I would have taken the dwarves.” The brooding silence that this comment got bugged her, but she ignored it. “It won’t be too bad, you know? If I find a jock to marry, then he can play with us, right?”
“You’re supposed to become a princess,” Chak said. “That might mean no more sports.”
“What? No way, no how,” Jay said, actually missing the hoop because she was so shocked. “They can’t take my sports away! That’s just—that’s not fair!” She flushed as she heard them clearing their throats. “Oh, come on, there’s no rule that says a princess can’t toss a ball! You hear stories about them throwing balls all the time!”
“Balls are parties,” Chak said.
“Football parties,” Jay said firmly. “I’ll throw one every Sunday if you want! We’ll get out the big screen and some popcorn, and--” She dropped to the ballroom floor, burying her furry face in her hands. “I don’t want to become a princess that doesn’t play sports,” she whispered, almost jerking as she felt a hand pat her on the back. But that one small act of kindness was too much for her. She started to cry.
“Hey… um… Jaylee?” The shout came from the courtyard, but her hearing had improved. She jerked and wiped at her tears quickly, wishing that Alex had better timing. “I brought what you wanted!”
She got to her feet, shrugging her shoulders once before she headed out the door and to the courtyard. Alex stood there with a convenience store bag in his hand. He was staring up at the statue in the corner. For a long moment she just watched him, noticing how perfectly sculpted his face was, and how his golden hair caught the light just right, making him look like an angel come to earth. It was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. No normal peasant should be even better looking than the princes in the area… or princesses, for that matter. She cleared her throat loudly.
Alex turned to her, looking a bit flushed as he held out the bag. “Your stuff. And I talked to the basketball team. There should be at least two showing up on Saturday around one.”
“Oh… thanks.”
“You don’t sound too enthused,” he said. “You know what all I had to do to get that?”
“No, really, I’m happy. I mean--” She took a deep breath and reached for the bag. “Thanks. Really.”
“You do have a court, don’t you?” he asked. “Or maybe I should have snuck you into the gym--”
“No, I’ve got a court.”
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