Cathy And The Beast

My eyes flutter open, one after the other, and they are immediately assaulted by the light coming from burning lamps in all corners of the room. Just then, I realize that I am on a very big square bed in a strange dark room so I jerk myself upward, dazed and confused. I look down at my naked body with apprehension. Fear over what might have happened to get me here grips me instantly so I pull the white bed sheet around myself.The room I am in is reminiscent of royal Victorian rooms in both size and aesthetic. It is large and its walls are designed like the set of a movie in which classical music plays constantly in the background. Directly in front of me is a painting of a large dining hall with food spread over the table but no human elements. To my left, there’s a shelf made of glass and wood that’s been painted a shade of brown so dark, it’s almost black. On top of that shelf is a strange variety of empty flower vases arranged in an equidistant manner from one another, and inside

I watch all three servants cautiously before I step off the bed. Even when my feet touch the floor, I still pause for several seconds before making any effort to move forward. None of the servants ask me to hurry but they also do not rush me. They just stare at me in silence as if to say I can take as long as I want because they know I have no choice but to still follow them wherever they are taking me.“Why can’t I just go to this feast as I am?” I ask.All three servants examine the makeshift attire I fabricated out of the bedsheet and I feel them judging me with their eyes. “This will not do for Master Alden,” Herb says.“Okay,” I say with a sigh as I finally begin to walk towards the door. So, this is my life now. Just a few hours ago I was safe in my own home. I was the one who called all the shots. I chose my clothes, chose my food and could go wherever I wanted. Now, I’m in the home of some monster called Alden and have only the extent of freedom available to a prisoner. Outsi

I drop my cutlery for a moment so that I can look directly at him when I speak my mind. His eyes are the lightest orange I have seen them be so far. It is as though a layer of glass or coating of clear acrylic has been put over them to make them appear more welcoming and more hopeful. “I did not come to you. I was hiking up the mountain and you tricked me with a cat. I came to a clearing and when I saw you, I lost consciousness.”The right corner of his lips tilts up slightly in a partial smile. “That clearing is my door. You knocked.”“If I knocked then I should be allowed to leave without hassle, should I not?” I ask. With the way the corner of his lips rises a little higher, I see that he is truly amused by what I just said. Clearly, my words are getting to him and I must be making an impression. That thought makes me a little happy.“You are my prisoner,” he says finally. “I will tell you when I want you to leave.”I don’t respond to that. Perhaps because of the manner in which he

“Come over here and sit,” he says. I cannot say that his voice does not do something to me still.I clear my throat. “I would rather stand here, thank you very much,” I say.“I will not speak to you from across the room, Cathy,” he says.Maybe it is because he says my name which is in itself a rare feat or the unusually milder tone with which his words come out of his mouth but I immediately lift my head and look in his direction properly. There is something about him today that is not as menacing as the monster who threw me in the dungeon violently. He is like the one I met in the dining hall before I asked him about Celia. He seems a little more relaxed and less prone to anger. Still, it was the same him who switched up on me suddenly and did all that he did; rescind on his promise to give me my freedom and threw me in a prison from the dark ages, so, I know to tread carefully around him. I walk slowly towards the seat on the opposite side of his desk with my eyes darting across the

Although I now have an answer as to why exactly he is keeping me here; he has chosen me as some kind of mate, I am grossly unsatisfied with the situation. The manner in which he makes it clear that it is beyond my control makes me uncomfortable. I want to be able to make my own choices. I want to stay only because I want to. And knowing that that will be impossible on Alden’s terms means that there is only one thing I have to do. I have to find a way to escape this place. I don’t bother myself with undressing or sitting anywhere. Not when a million and one thoughts about how to break out of this prison rush through my mind. Most of the scenarios I come up with are scenes from horror and thriller movies flashing through my mind in quick succession. This does not surprise me much as I have never been in a situation like this where I had to plot my own escape from prison. Besides, they don’t exactly teach ‘How to Break Out of Prison 101’ where I went to college.Usually, in moments like