CH. 63 - A Tale's End

Back in the dark forest, the Beast continues to drag the Traveler, who has given up on yelling or struggling. He comes to an old soldier outpost that he has turned into his home. He lets go of her ankle and points to the home. The Traveler nods and goes inside, where he lights the fireplace.

She sits on the ground as he hands her bandages from the table and points at her knee again. She understands and begins to patch up her slight wound. He sits across from her, licking his wounds on his arm as she finishes wrapping her knee. She stares at him for a moment before speaking.

“Despite all your wounds, you don’t seem to be in a lot of pain.” She says. He stops and looks at her for a moment before looking back at his wounds.

“They hurt a little, but it’s not so bad.” he says casually. She is shocked for a moment then gets angry at the speaking beast.

“If you can speak, then why didn’t you just say 'Follow me' instead of dragging me the whole way?!” she shouts at the Beast, who closes his eyes at her shouting. 

“I thought you wouldn’t listen since most people run away from me.” he explains. The Traveler huffs and sits back down.

“You are the beast of the dark forest, so it makes sense.” She says. He laughs a little to himself.

“Yeah, that’s what they call me even though I was once the people’s prince.” He says softly. The Traveler is surprised and stares at him, stunned for a moment.

“You’re… the missing prince?..” She asks. He nods before continuing to lick his wounds. The Traveler stares at him for a moment before sighing. “Here, let me help you.” She says, offering her hand. He accepts as she begins to bandage up his wounds as well. After a moment of silence, the Traveler speaks again. “What have you been doing out here all these years? And why do you look like a monster?” She asks blatantly.

“No sense of subtlety, I see.” He sweats a bit before sighing. “I used to come to the farthest villages often, offering help and support, because those were the places that were most neglected in the kingdom.” He explains as the Traveler watches with curious eyes. “I tried helping everyone I could until one day a witch came into the village and planned on cursing my entire family name. I made a deal with her, offering that I never return to the royal family if it meant I could take the curse upon myself. That seemed to win her over, so she turned me into a beast that everyone is afraid of.” He says with a somber tone. The Traveler looks saddened.

“That’s terrible. Especially to do that to probably the most gracious member of the royal family.” She says. The Beast shrugs.

“I don’t blame her. Many people despise the royal family because we hold all the power and are part of the reason so many people starve and die of sickness. I was trying to change all that until this happened. Now I wander the woods looking for a far off dream.” He says with a sigh. The Traveler pauses as the Beast stares ahead. 

“What dream?” She asks.

“A mystical flower with boundless magic.” He says back.

“The Wishing Rose.” The Traveler whispers as she finishes wrapping his wounds. He looks at her, surprised she knows what he’s talking about. Then his look changes to disappointment.

“Yeah, but it isn’t real… I’ve been all throughout this forest for years and couldn’t find anything.” He says. The Traveler quickly speaks up.

“That’s not true! I had the map to find it before it was taken by some bandits.” She says. The Beast looks shocked and pauses for a moment before speaking.

“I guess we better get it back. We cannot let those bad guys get all that power.” He says with a smirk. The Traveler nods with a smile as well. 

“I know exactly where they should be going.”

Back with the Bandits, they continue to walk through the forest until they eventually push their way through some bushes only to find an old watchtower. They look down at the map and compare the image on the map to the tower in front of them, and they see the resemblance. 

“It must’ve been hidden by magic if no one has found it so far.” Bandit Suga says.

They smirk as they head towards the tower but stop when they see a soldier leaning against the wall of the tower. Her armor is gilded but also worn down and battle damaged, as if she had fought in many wars prior to this moment, still holding a mighty spear in her arms.

The Bandits laugh a bit before heading to the entrance of the tower. Before they can get inside, the soldier’s spear falls over, blocking their entrance. They are startled a bit but look at the solder who is still lifelessly sitting against the wall. The Bandits shrug it off and try to move the spear out of the way, but it doesn’t move.

They push the spear harder, but it won’t budge. That’s when the spear swings back and throws them away from the tower. They quickly get up and see the Soldier’s eyes glow as she slowly stands up, causing the snow and dirt to fall off of her armor. The Bandits freak out a bit as the Soldier, Lucy, speaks.

“I am the guardian of the Wishing Rose. I protect the Rose from evil forces and those who wish to use it with evil intent.”

“Well, aren’t you just delightful?” Bandit Haru says angrily before pulling out his gun and shooting at the Soldier. The bullets bounce off the armor as the Soldier swings her spear at them, smashing into the ground.

As the Soldier defends the Rose, gunshots and crashing sounds are heard throughout the forest. The Beast runs through the woods on all fours with the Traveler on his back. 

“What’s the plan?” The Traveler asks.

“I’ll fend off the Bandits while you go and grab the Rose. We’ll worry about the map later.” The Beast says quickly. She nods with a determined look as they jump out of the woods to see the Soldier fighting the Bandits. They both are surprised. “Okay. New plan.” The Beast says as they take off towards the tower entrance, taking advantage of the chaos. One of the Bandits notices. 

“Hey, big dumb and ugly, there are others trying to get the Rose!” Bandit Haru shouts.

“They are pure of heart. They are of no concern.” The Soldier says back. The Bandits get angry as the shorter bandit turns and shoots the Beast in the back, causing him to collapse and the Traveler to stop in shock. He then quickly throws a bomb at the entrance and blows it up. The Beast and the Traveler are sent flying back as the smoke clears. They see that the entrance is now covered in rubble. 

“Find a way inside!” The Beast shouts. The Traveler nods again and runs back to the tower. She looks around for a moment before deciding to grab onto the wall and start climbing to an open part towards the top.

The Beast and the Soldier stand side by side against the two Bandits. The fight begins as the Bandits shoot and stab at the Beast and the Soldier. The Beast grabs the taller bandit and slams him into the ground while the short bandit runs around the Soldier and shoves his knife deep into her knee through the armor.

Her leg buckles as she falls to one knee. She looks up to see the short bandit grab her mighty spear and swing it around, slashing her head off, causing it to go flying through the air and falling into the snow. 

“So much for protecting the Rose.” Bandit Suga says before being slammed by the Beast and sent flying against a wall of the tower. The tall bandit then jumps on the Beast’s back and shoves his knife deep into the Beast’s shoulder. He yells in pain as he grabs the tall bandit and throws him down where he wrestles with the Bandit.

The shorter bandit shakes his head a bit from the hit and looks up at the tower to see the Traveler climbing up the wall. The Traveler finally gets to an opening in the tower wall and looks inside, hanging on the edge. She is in awe when she sees a crystal rose glowing and shining within a glass dome in the middle of the room. 

“I found it!” she shouts irrationally. The shorter bandit then points his gun at her, and the Traveler gets a look of fear, noticing this, but before he can shoot, the Beast grabs his hand and pushes the gun away. The Bandit then smirks.

“Got you.” Bandit Suga says menacingly. Suddenly, a bomb on his belt is ignited. The Beast gets a shocked look as the bomb goes off causing a large explosion that destroys the side of the tower. The tower begins to tumble over as the Rose goes flying towards the Traveler.

She grabs it in the air as she falls with the tower and holds it close to her body, closing her eyes tightly. The Beast stumbles over, injured from the explosion, and looks up to see her falling. He quickly jumps up and grabs her in his arms and holds her tightly.

“Brace yourself.” He says as they hit the ground and are buried by the rubble of the tower. The taller bandit watches with a horrified look.

“Honey, no…” he says, worn out and scared for his partner. After a moment, a large figure can be seen coming out of the smoke. The Beast, holding the Traveler in his arm and dragging another person behind him, comes out from the rubble and smoke. The taller bandit sees his husband unconscious behind the beast.

The Beast tosses Bandit Suga to the other bandit before he falls to his knees then onto his side, letting the Traveler go in the process. Bandit Haru rushes to his husband and begins checking on his injuries. The Traveler then wakes up and sees the Beast covered in injuries and hardly breathing. She quickly sets the Rose down and panics over the beast. 

“Oh no! What should I do? I’m sorry…”

She begins to cry over the beast when a gun clicking can be heard. She turns around to see the tall bandit holding his husband in his arms and pointing the gun at her with tears in his eyes. 

“Hand me the Rose now… or else.” He says with a shaky voice. The Traveler is shocked but then gets an emotionally determined look.

“No.” she says firmly. The Bandit gets a bit angrier, but before he can do anything else, a log is smashed onto his head. He then falls over completely knocked out. Behind him, the Woodsman drops the remaining bit of the log.

“Just in time.” He huffs. He crouches down next to the Traveler and the Beast as she looks back at the Beast with tears in her eyes. 

“He saved my life more than once even though he doesn’t know me or owe me anything, but now… I can’t save his…” She cries a bit as the Woodsman speaks.

“Maybe there is a way.” He looks at the Rose next to them. The Traveler is silent for a moment before reaching for the Rose. Suddenly, the Beast’s hand stops her. She looks at him surprised.

“I’m fine. I just… need a minute.” He laughs a bit before groaning in pain. “I.. I remember you. You and your wife. You were always so nice to me and to everyone you met.” he says, looking at the Woodsman. He then picks up the Rose and hands it to him. “You should be the one to have it.”

The Traveler nods happily, relieved the Beast is okay, as the Woodsman begins to cry. He gently takes the Rose and wraps it in the map from the Bandits. He pulls it close to himself and whispers.

“I wish for my wife’s dream to come true.” He then lifts it up as it glows, the snow around him beginning to flurry.

In the village where the Traveler took refuge, the buildings begin to repair on their own as the Cook’s kitchen becomes bigger and higher quality. The two kids sitting in his dining hall watch as they glow a bit, getting cleaned up and losing their sickness. Everything becoming just a bit brighter.

The kids smile wide as they rush outside to see the Traveler, the Woodsman, and the Beast walking down the street pulling along the two Bandits, who are now tied up and defeated with sad looks on their faces. 

“You did it! You made us all better like you said!” The no longer sick girl says happily. Many other people come out with happy looks on their faces as they begin to cheer for the adventurers. After a moment, however, they stop when they see the royal family make their way down the street in their carriage.

The people look confused and concerned about the King’s arrival. They stop just before the group as the King steps out and looks upon the crowd before landing his eyes on the Traveler. The Beast hides his face under his cloak as the King announces.

“I caught wind that the lover bandits terrorizing our kingdom for so long have finally been caught. And I have come here personally to see to it that they make it to our deepest dungeons.” The King says. The Woodsman steps forward, holding the ropes binding the two and hands them to the Advisor, who ties them up to the back of the carriage. 

“Good riddance!” A woman, Alice, shouts from the crowd.

“Finally getting what they earned!” Another woman, Lucy in civilian attire, shouts too. The people shout with joyous tones at the Bandits before the King raises his hand, calling for silence. Everyone goes silent for a moment before he speaks.

“There is another matter at hand. In regard to the missing prince.” He says. The Lady looks at the King with a worried expression. “I have been given a vision. It showed me that the prince is right here in this very village as we speak. And for that, I have this brave traveler to thank.” He looks at the Traveler and gives a slight bow with his arm across his chest. The Traveler gets embarrassed.

“Please, you don’t have to do that, my king! I’m happy to help!” The Traveler says, embarrassed. The King stands up with a soft smile and turns to the Beast with the cloak over his face.

“Please, step forward, my son.” The King says. After a moment of hesitation, and everyone turning to look at the Beast, he does as he is asked and steps forward out of the crowd and towards the King, pulling off the hood of the cloak. Everyone gasps at the sight of the Beast and whispers among themselves. The Beast looks worried as the King stares at him.

“I am sorry for being gone so long and becoming a shame to the royal family.” The Beast-Prince says, bowing his head. Suddenly, the King hugs the Beast-Prince tightly. 

“It’s just good to know you’re okay.” He says with tears rolling down his face. The Beast gently hugs him back as the Lady smiles happily with tears coming out too.

“I'm so glad you’re alive!” The Lady shouts as the Knight gives him a thumbs up with a soft smile. The King steps back from hugging his son and smiles.

“All of this peace and prosperity is thanks to the actions of this brave traveler. She brought down the bandits, found the Wishing Rose and even returned my son. For that, I commend you, dear traveler, and from now on, make you an honorable royal.”

The King announces to the village. The Traveler gets a surprised look that turns to shock after a moment as the others all cheer. Everyone starts patting her on the back and congratulating her as the King leans closer to the Beast and whispers.

“A girl with such determination and adventurous spirit would make a great princess, no?” The Beast rolls his eyes as the King laughs. “In honor of the kingdom being whole again, a banquet will be called!”

The people cheer as they make their way to the large dining hall of the castle. The young kids and other people enjoy delicious food as the Cook from the inn cooks behind the line of food happily. The Handmaid stands next to the King as he eats as well. He looks at her for a moment before speaking.

“It is a happy day for the kingdom. Go enjoy yourself with the others. It is a day of celebration, not duty.” He says warmly.

She nervously accepts and makes her way to an open seat at the table. She sits down at the same time as the Woodsman, which accidentally knocks over an empty cup. They both offer to pick it up and touch each other's hands. They blush and pull away embarrassedly. The Traveler sits next to the Beast as they both enjoy the food as well. 

“So, does this make me a princess now?” The Traveler asks. The Beast pauses for a moment before awkwardly saying.

“I could make you one if you want.” He says. She blushes for a moment before slowly nodding.

“I think I would like that…”

The Beast blushes as well as they both lean in close, slowly, before kissing each other softly. The Lady gets angry as the Knight pats her on the back and the curtains close over the Traveler and the Beast kissing. And this kingdom lives happily ever after.

The End.