Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a young prince lived in a magnificent castle.

When he was eighteen, he had fallen in love with the orphaned apprentice of the palace gardener, a pretty redheaded girl with eyes as silver as the stars.

They wed within three months of his coronation, beginning an unprecedented Golden Age throughout their realm. The new King and Queen planned to rule as his dear mother had, and hoped to start a family of their own someday.

Sadly, only a few short years later, during a journey back home from a diplomatic visit, the horses driving their carriage were spooked by a snake in the road, sending them off course and into the freezing river.

Both the King and the Queen contracted pneumonia; while his life was spared from the disease, he was forced to watch the woman he loved fade away... just as his mother had when he was only a boy of six years.

After the poor Queen's death, the King grew withdrawn, melancholy, and at worst-- unkind. It only grew worse as his advisor, Magda Rees-Jones, began to push him to remarry only a week after the Queen had passed. In his grief, he barely even noticed the woman taxing the village to arrange for extravagant balls for him to be introduced to daughters of nobility that vied for his attention.

During one of those balls, one winter's night, an old beggar woman intruded upon the occasion to seek shelter from the bitter storm, offering a single red rose in exchange to the King. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the King accused the old woman of stealing the flower from the late Queen's garden and turned her away.

But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.

When he dismissed her again, the old woman's outward ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.

The King tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that any love in his heart had died with his precious Queen.

As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle... and all who lived there.

As the days bled into years, the King and his servants were forgotten by the world, for the enchantress had erased all memory of them from the minds of the people they loved, and their only window to the outside world was a magic mirror.

But the rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his thirtieth year.

If he could learn to love another in the same way he had loved his Queen, and earned their love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for the rest of his life.

Five years passed.

His thirtieth birthday drew nearer, and he fell into despair and lost all hope.

For who could ever learn to love a beast?

Chapter Text

Lucy Alcott quietly closed the door to the clinic, softly humming a tune to herself as she made her way into the heart of Fairwater. Her hums were quickly drowned out by the sounds of the village's inhabitants greeting her and each other.

"Good morning, Lucy!" the baker greeted from the kitchen window of his shop.

"Morning, monsieur," Lucy greeted.

"Lucy! Lucy!" a small voice next to her exclaimed.

Lucy looked down at the source of the voice, a dark-skinned little girl around eleven years old. "Oh, good morning, Sadie."

"Guess what?" Sadie challenged excitedly. "It's my turn to do the shopping for the orphanage this week!"

"Really" the older girl asked. "Well, why don't I help you out? What do you need from the bakery?"

"Three loaves of bread," Sadie told her.

Lucy fished through her bag for money and helped the little girl count out enough coins for three loaves, as well as a sweet roll for a treat.

"Thank you, Lucy," Sadie said.

"De rien."

"So, where are you off to, Lucy?" the baker asked.

"The library," she answered, pulling a book out of her bag. "I just finished reading this book that the patients at the clinic seemed to love--"

"That's nice," he dismissed as he shouted to his wife.

Lucy only sighed as if to say "never mind" before waving goodbye to Sadie and continuing through town. To be fair, she figured that he wouldn't be interested in listening to her. The number of people who did were very few.

She continued on her way, trying to ignore the judgemental stares from two older women, not to mention the whispers that always seemed to follow her whenever she went out into town. Instead, she tried to focus on the same-old, humdrum bustle that she heard everyday.

Sometimes, listening to the ennui of Fairwater was a great distraction, but... it wasn't as helpful as she told herself it was.

Lucy entered the peace and serenity of the library, greeted by the librarian's grandson, Dean Bower, who was dusting the shelves from a ladder.

"Morning, Lucy," he greeted, climbing down the ladder. "H-- how's everyone at the clinic?"

"Morning, Dean," she told him before a teasing glint appeared in her green eyes, knowing very well whom he was really asking about. "Scarlett's fine."

"I-- I wasn't--" he stammered.

"It's okay," she said. "Scarlett asked about you when she heard I was coming here this morning to return the book."

"Finished already?" he asked, astonished.

"I would've finished faster, but I started reading it to a few of the patients at the clinic," Lucy said. "Something about reading to them just... it makes our small corner of the world feel big."

"My grandfather would love to hear that," Dean told her.

"Is he doing any better?" she asked.

"A little bit," he replied. "Thanks to Dr. Kamins, he should be back on his feet in a couple of days."

"Thank God," Lucy said.

She handed the book back to Dean, and he returned it to the shelves. She eyed the meager selection hopefully.

"Have you got anything new?" she inquired, climbing up the ladder.

"Not since yesterday, I'm afraid," he sighed.

"That's alright," she said. "I could always reread an old favorite... like this one."

She picked one book from the second shelf and carried it under her arm as she climbed back down.

"Haven't you read this twice before?" Dean asked, a little amused.

"Like I said, it's an old favorite," she told him. "Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise--"

Before she could let herself go on a tangent about the story, Dean interrupted her.

"I have an idea-- you can take this book home and keep it," he suggested. "That way, you can read it whenever you want."

"But, Dean, I couldn't," Lucy argued.

"I insist," he said.

"But what would your grandfather say?" she asked.

"You're the only other bookworm in town besides the two of us," he said. "He'll be happy to know that a piece of his inventory is in good hands."

He held out the book to her. She considered his offer, eyeing the book longingly. Finally, she smiled.

"Thank you," she said, receiving the gift. "Thank you so much!"

She hugged Dean before exiting the library; as soon as she was out the door, her nose was firmly planted in the book as she glided through the crowded market. It had taken years of trial and error, but she had learned how to navigate the village without looking up from what she was reading.

Lucy sat down on the edge of the fountain in the village square. It was always her favorite place to read; the sound of the water rushing behind her always helped to drown out the crowds whenever they got too noisy for her liking, and helped her focus on the story.

And this was one of her favorites.

She spotted something through the corner of her eye and looked up from her book. She smiled when she saw that it was Ashleigh, one of the children that she had treated at the clinic some time ago.

"Hello, Ashleigh," she greeted.

"Hi, Lucy," Ashleigh said quietly.

Lucy waved for the girl to join her. "Come here... I got a story for you. It's one that you liked."

Ashleigh's shy demeanor vanished and she beamed, running to join Lucy. She sat next to her.

"And you're lucky," Lucy told her. "I was just getting to my favorite part--"

"Ashleigh!"

The two girls looked up to see Ashleigh's mother approaching them.

"You know you're not supposed to wander off!" she scolded, taking her daughter's hand and walking off with her.

Lucy couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh. She looked at the clock in the square and figured that she might as well start heading back to the clinic. She stood up and began walking the path back home, still reading her book.

"It's no lie that she's beautiful," someone that she passed said. "But she's just so... odd."

That was something that she heard all the time-- "odd."

Most of the time, Lucy was proud that she was odd-- at least in the eyes of the village of Fairwater. Her parents used to tell her that there was no shame in being different, and she believed that with all of her heart.

But it didn't mean that the whispers that followed her day after day didn't hurt at some point.

~oOoOo~

Raymond Lynskey, the so-called "hero" of Fairwater, crossed the village borders from the forest, carrying his rifle. With his dark hair, brown eyes, and admittedly spectacular physique, no one could deny that he was handsome.

Behind him, following dutifully was Gordon Weinger, almost weighed down to the ground, carrying a sack of the game they (and by "they," Ray) had killed that day.

"You didn't miss a shot back there, Ray," Gordon praised. "You've got to be the greatest hunter in the whole world!

Ray exhaled a breath on his rifle, despite the fact that it had stopped smoking a while ago. "I know."

"No beast alive stands a chance against you!" Gordon continued his ass-kissing. "And no girl, for that matter."

"It's true, Gordon," Ray said.

His eyes landed on an elegant figure in pink, her pretty face partially hidden by a book-- Lucy.

"And I've got my sights set on that one," he pointed towards her.

"The physician's charge?" Gordon inquired incredulously.

"She's my lucky future wife," Ray declared. "Lucy's the most beautiful girl in town. That makes her the best."

"But she's--" Gordon couldn't get his thought out before Ray interrupted him.

"And don't I deserve the best?

"Well, of course you do," Gordon conceded.

Ray began moving towards Lucy, but was blocked off by Shannon Chambers and two of her friends, Kathy and Nicolette, all three of whom had been pining for him for years now.

"Monsieur Raymond!" the girls called, squealing delightedly at the sight of him.

"Um... pardon me, ladies," he said, swerving around them and soon finding himself fighting his way through the crowded village to get to his prize.

~oOoOo~

As Lucy began to reach the clinic, she heard someone run in front of her. She looked up to see Raymond Lynskey standing in front of her, looking slightly out of breath but still maintaining his large ego. She tried to keep herself from sighing out loud and returned to read her book, hoping that she could just pretend that she didn't see him.

"Hello, Lucy," he greeted.

"Bonjour, Ray," she greeted back, still not even looking up from her book.

She tried to take another step closer to the clinic, but he blocked her path.

"Excuse me," she said, impatience already tinting her tone before Ray snatched her book away. "Ray, could you please give me back my book?"

Either he didn't hear her or he chose not to listen, because he was already flipping through her book.

"How can you read this?" he asked in disbelief. "There's no pictures!"

"Well, the children that we treat at the clinic find that using their imagination can be very helpful," Lucy quipped in a way that made it sound like she was trying to say it under her breath, though she very much wanted Ray to hear it.

But he didn't seem very bothered by it, even as she ripped the book from his hand and clutched it to her chest. "Lucy, it's time you got your head out of these books and paid attention to more... important things."

Gordon Weinger came into her line of sight, startling her. She didn't even see him come up from behind her.

"Hint, hint," Gordon creepily nudged her arm with his elbow.

Lucy eyed Ray warily. "Like you?"

"Exactly!" Ray answered. "The whole town's talking about it! It's not right for a woman to read. Soon, she starts getting ideas and... thinking..."

Lucy sighed. "Raymond Lynskey, you are positively primeval."

But, of course, Ray didn't understand what her words really meant and said, "Thank you."

Before she could stop him, he wrapped an arm around her. She wanted to tell him to let go of her, but she knew that he probably wouldn't listen to her.

"What do you say we take a walk over to the tavern and... take a look at my trophies?" he suggested.

Lucy expertly moved out of his hold. "Maybe some other time..."

"Or I could join you tonight," Ray offered.

"Sorry, not tonight," she tried to turn down as politely as she could as she once again moved back towards the clinic.

"Busy?"

Lucy sighed again, letting her frustration fully show in this exhale. "Please, Ray! I have to get back to the clinic to help Dr. Kamins."

Gordon let out a hearty laugh that Ray was all to quick to join in. "That old quack! He needs all the help he can get!"

Even though she had heard similar things targeted at her guardian before, it never failed to make her heart clench up with anger. "Don't talk about him like that!"

Ray did a complete 180 and smacked Gordon in the gut. "Yeah, don't talk about him like that!"

"Dr. Kamins isn't a quack," Lucy told them. "He's a brilliant doctor, and he's saved the lives of everyone here in Fairwater at one point or another!"

She turned on her heels and walked away.

Gordon looked at Ray, who was staring at Lucy's lower body as she entered her home.

"So... moving on?" Gordon asked.

"No, Gordon," Ray said. "It's the ones who play hard to get that make the sweetest prey. That's what makes Lucy so appealing; she hasn't made a fool of herself just to gain my favor. What would you call that?"

"Dignity?"

"It's outrageously attractive, isn't it?"

~oOoOo~

Lucy entered the clinic, sighing in relief.

Next to the library, the clinic was always her refuge, and the only place where she truly felt she belonged. She had wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remembered, no matter what anyone thought.

And she had a great mentor.

Her parents were living in Paris when she was born; her father was a doctor and her mother was a schoolteacher. Her father had begun a practice with Dr. Kamins-- already a dear family friend-- only a few months before Lucy's birth.

After Lucy's parents died when she was only three, Dr. Kamins had brought her to the village where he had grown up and raised her as his own, alongside his two daughters, Laura and Maureen. Laura worked in the clinic alongside her father, foster sister, and Scarlett Winston, while Maureen was one of the village magistrates.

Scarlett was also a protegee of Dr. Kamins, but unlike Lucy, she preferred to stay working as a nurse. However, just like Lucy, she had become part of their little family ever since her first day of work.

At the moment, Dr. Kamins, Laura, and Scarlett were sorting through their medicine inventory.

"Ah, Lucy," Dr. Kamins grinned when he saw her. "You're back."

"Morning, Lucy," Scarlett greeted.

"The messenger was just here," Laura explained as Lucy walked over towards them.

"Could you please hand me the--" Dr. Kamins began to ask; before he could even name the exact medicine, Lucy had picked it up and held it out to him. "Thank you."

Lucy smiled as if to say "You're welcome" before looking him and Laura over.

It was only in the last five years that she had noticed something different in their demeanor.

Something sad.

But before she could make a decent analysis, Dr. Kamins asked, "Did you have a good time in town this morning?"

"I got a new book," Lucy said.

Scarlett blushed a little. "Did you...?"

"Yes, I did see Dean," Lucy answered with a knowing smirk. "And he asked about you.

Scarlett beamed. "He did?"

Lucy nodded. She returned to her work, staying silent for several seconds before she finally spoke up again.

"Do.. do any of you think I'm... odd?" she asked them.

"You? Odd?" Dr. Kamins asked incredulously. "Where would get an idea like that?"

"You're no odder than the rest of us," Laura said.

"People talk," Lucy mumbled.

"They talk about me, too," Dr. Kamins pointed out. "But it doesn't change the fact that I work as hard as I can to help them."

"Dr. Kamins, I've tried my best to try to accept that I'm not like them, but... I just don't think I fit in here," Lucy said, looking between him and the two other girls. "Besides you and Dean... there's really no one I can talk to."

"What about that Raymond Lynskey?" Scarlett suggested. "I've never talked to him, but I've seen him--"

"Not him," Lucy snapped. "He may be handsome, but he's rude and conceited and-- he's just not for me..."

She sighed, standing up and going to sit down in the chair in the corner. Dr. Kamins followed her, taking her hand into his own.

"Lucy... I admit that Fairwater can be small," he conceded. "Small-minded, even. But small can also mean safe."

She looked up at him, giving him a look that this line of argument didn't do much for her, so Dr. Kamins changed his approach.

"Even during my time in Paris, I knew two people who were so different, so daring, so ahead of their time that everyone else mocked them," he told her. "Until the day that everyone else came to imitate them."

Lucy offered him a small smile, knowing that he was talking about her parents. Having only been three when they died, she barely had any memories of them and relied on stories from Dr. Kamins. But those stories were very rare.

"Just tell me one more thing about them," she requested.

Dr. Kamins looked to Laura and Scarlett as if to try to ask them to change the subject for him. But when he looked back at Lucy's hopefulness, he relented.

"Your parents were... fearless," he searched for the right word to describe them. "Fearless."

There was a knock at the door. Dr. Kamins was the first to answer it, seeing the messenger who had delivered the medicine supply earlier.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot to give you this," the messenger said, handing him an envelope. "If I had seen how urgent it was..."

"Don't worry," Dr. Kamins assured him.

He shook hands with the messenger and closed the door, opening the envelope and reading the letter. His eyes narrowed with worry, alerting the girls.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"It's Josette Dagory," Dr. Kamins said. "She's taken ill again. I have to get there immediately."

"But, Papa, they live in the next two villages over," Laura said.

"Yes, which means there's no time to waste," he said.

~oOoOo~

It had only taken half an hour for Dr. Kamins to pack for his long trip and hitch up the horse, Rustler. The three girls were gathered outside to say goodbye to him

"Give Maureen a kiss from me," Dr. Kamins asked Laura as he hugged her goodbye from where he sat atop the horse.

"I will," Laura said.

"On my way home, I'll stop at the market and bring each of you a gift," he told them. "What would you like?"

"New paint and brushes," Scarlett requested.

"A new ledger to help keep track of the patients," Laura suggested.

Lucy, however, stayed silent.

"What about you, Lucy?" he asked her.

She looked up. "Just a rose."

He smiled. "You ask for that every time.

"And every time, you bring it," she smiled back at him.

"Then I shall bring you another," he told her. "You have my word."

He urged the horse, riding off and waving goodbye to his daughters-- one by blood and two by bond. The three girls held onto each other with worry and watched until he had ridden out of sight.

"Be safe..." Lucy whispered.

Chapter Text

Dr. Kamins had successfully made it to Josette Dagory's village. She was thankfully doing better when he had left, and if all went well, she would be right as rain in a week or so.

He looked around the woods as he rode through them. He had made the past day and a half of his trip home without any bad weather, but lightening flashing in the sky signaled that the streak would be over.

"The woods are lovely, aren't they, Rustler?" the doctor said to his horse. "I only wished I recognized them. Maybe we missed a turn...?"

Before he could finish his sentence, the lightening struck a withered, old tree, splitting it in half, spooking Rustler. One half of the tree fell into the road, revealing a hidden path.

"Hmm... let's go this way," Dr. Kamins decided. "One path closes, another one opens."

Rustler hesitated, whinnying nervously.

"Come on, Rustler," Dr. Kamins tried to coax him. "It's only a shortcut."

They left the blocked road behind and headed down the path. Dr. Kamins looked down to see a light blanket of snow covering the ground. Rustler snorted and refused to move any further.

"It's alright, boy," Dr. Kamins assured him. "It's only a bit of snow... in September..."

They moved further down the path, almost as if they had entered another world-- and a very familiar one at that. The doctor couldn't place how he knew this path-- but if he found it familiar, it had to lead to home... right?

A light, whirling snow descended on Dr. Kamins, dusting his coat. The clippity-clop of hooves echoed in the stillness.

Suddenly, a white wolf roared out of the bushes, barely missing them. Gaze darting, Dr. Kamins noticed the entire pack running on an icy ledge above him. The wolves kept pace, massing to overrun him.

"Go, Rustler!" he urged the horse on. "Hurry!"

Rustler galloped on, but the rickety cart harnessed to him started to come loose. The wolves leapt in front of the cart, tipping over on its side. The inventory of various medical supplies smashed open on the ground. Dr. Kamins was launched up onto a ridge... and found himself face-to-face with the snarling and scarred alpha wolf.

Terrified, he turned and began sliding down the snowy ridge... toward a trio of wolves waiting below.

"RUSTLER!" he called.

As he dropped from the ridge, Rustler appeared beneath him and he landed on the horse's back.

"Good boy," Dr. Kamins praised as the horse rode on. "Good boy."

Ahead of them was a set of gates beginning to slowly open. Rustler took the opportunity to speed through them while the wolves skidded to a stop, their yelps turning to fearful yelps and whimpers as they turned away.

"Oh, you saved my life, Rustler," Dr. Kamins said. "They'll have to get their dinner somewhere else."

He looked up before him to see a large, ornate castle; a grey edifice seemingly growing out of stone and reaching to troubled skies. There was an air about it that felt like it was hiding its face from the world.

Something about it attempted to stir up a memory, but he was unsure why he would have come here before.

The doctor's eyes fell on a garden, full of every flower he could name and some he had never seen in his life. But what caught his eye were the numerous bushes of red roses.

"Well, I can't go home empty-handed," he said aloud. "I promised Lucy a rose."

He climbed down from Rustler's back, walking over to the nearest rose bush. Doing his best to avoid the thorns, he plucked a flower from it's place and put it inside his jacket for safekeeping. He saw that, despite the seemingly deserted look, the stables were open and a lamp had been lit inside. He led Rustler towards the stables, inspecting it.

"Water, fresh hay," he observed. "Looks like you're set, old friend. Rest here while I pay my respects to our unwitting host... whoever that may be."

The doctor looked up at the castle again as he walked up the steps; he couldn't have been here before. Fairwater, as far as he knew, wasn't part of any kingdom. And yet... a flash of a memory hit him.

A woman around his age, her arm locked with his, as they walked up the steps together...

He was pulled out of the memory when he realized that he had reached the heavy double doors. Carefully, he knocked on it. Suddenly, it opened...

"Oh, thank you--" he began to say.

But when he looked behind the door, there was no one behind it. He closed the door behind him as he tentatively walked in, taking in his surroundings.

It was dark... but grand. What seemed like miles ahead of him was a three-dimensional staircase. Golden columns decorated with harshly sculpted gargoyles. For all it's grandness, it was hollow.

Lifeless.

Maybe empty.

"Hello?" Dr. Kamins called out, hearing his voice echo in the vastness.

No answer.

"Hello?!" he tried again, his voice a bit strained as he tried to raise it for someone-- anyone to hear.

For a brief moment, he thought that he could hear voices in the corner, whispering harshly. It almost sounded like it was coming from the table, where a mantle clock and a golden candelabra where displayed.

"I told you not to open the gate!" a male voice hissed.

"What was I supposed to do? Let him freeze to death?" another male voice, deeper but surprisingly debonair, argued back.

"Well, maybe if we keep quiet, he'll go away!"

Dr. Kamins turned around to look at the table.

Nothing there, it seemed. No one there, at least.

He turned back around to call out again. "Is someone there?"

With the intruder's attention directed away from them, the mantle clock opened his eyes, giving a warning glare towards the candelabra.

"Not a word, Cyrus-- not one word."

"I'm sorry to intrude," Dr. Kamins apologized as he ventured further inside, absentmindedly hanging his soaked jacket on a coat rack. "I was returning from a patient's home when I lost my way in the woods, and I need a place to stay for the night."

"Stuart, I'm disappointed in you-- this man's a doctor, have a heart," Cyrus scolded; Stuart could barely shush him before he out, "Of course, doctor! You are welcome here!"

Dr. Kamins turned back around, his heart skipping a few beats at the sudden response. "Who said that?"

He returned to the table and picked up the candelabra; despite his original intention to try to find his mysterious, suddenly-voiced host, he spared a glance towards the mantle clock.

"Beautiful," he mumbled to himself as he looked at the timepiece.

He then looked at the ornate candelabra, admiring the craftsmanship.

"Extraordinary."

He then began to continue on, before he heard that same voice remark, "A man of taste."

"Who said that?" Dr. Kamins demanded, turning around. "I know there's someone there, and I'll thank you to show yourself!"

"Um, over here."

Dr. Kamins turned around again. "Where?"

He felt a tap on his head and looked up-- at eye-level with the candelabra.

"Hello."

With a gasp, a startled Dr. Kamins dropped Cyrus to the floor, jumping back and extinguishing the flames. For a moment, he thought that the cold had been causing him to see things, only to him to see the decoration item re-light itself as it groaned.

"In... incredible..." he breathed out, not so much shocked anymore as he was in awe.

Stuart jumped down from the table. "Well, now you've done it, Cyrus--!"

He was barely beginning to scold Cyrus when the doctor picked him out of curiosity, examining him.

"How is this accomplished?" Dr. Kamins wandered aloud, poking and prodding at the clock as it squirmed in his grasp.

"Really, sir, if you'd just-- put me down at once-- Ow! Stop that!" Stuart scolded, but was interrupted by his own laughter when the human found his ticklish spot; but he was finished laughing when his door was opened to reveal the pendulum. "Sir, do you mind?"

At Stuart's request, Dr. Kamins closed the clock's door. "Maybe it's some kind of newfangled gadget."

"I, sir, am not a gadget!" Stuart was rather offended.

"Oh, I don't mean to be rude," Dr. Kamins tried to apologize. "It's-- it's just that I've never seen a--"

He was cut off by his own harsh sneeze that he tried to suppress, but was unsuccessful.

"Bless you," Stuart said.

He may have been slowly losing his humanity bit by bit for five years, but he still had his manners and he would use them... even towards an unwanted house guest.

"Oh, you're soaked to the bone, monsieur," Cyrus said sympathetically. "Come... warm yourself by the fire..."

Cyrus began to lead the poor doctor towards one of the parlors, where a warm fire was already going.

"Oh, thank you..." was all Dr. Kamins could say.

He was so exhausted and cold, he couldn't find it in himself to politely decline the offer. He followed Cyrus in the parlor, with Stuart continuing his protests behind them. All three of them were unaware of the blue eyes-- grown cold and harsh, but cloudy-- watching them from the next floor.

"No, no, no! I forbid it!" Stuart protested. "You know what the Master will do if he finds him here! Cyrus, as the head of this household, I demand that you stop--"

Cyrus let Dr. Kamins settle into a comfortable-looking chair tufted with light blue velvet that contrasted against the dark woodwork. Stuart looked on in shock.

"Oh, no, no... Not the Master's chair..." he lamented before turning around. "I'm not seeing this! I'm not! I have plausible deniability!"

As Cyrus added more kindling to the fire, a feather duster floated into the room.

"Oh, Cyrus, do my eyes deceive me, or do we have a visitor?" the feather duster asked in a warm, feminine voice. "It's been so long since we've had visitors."

Unsure of what else to say, Dr. Kamins could only greet her with a surprised, "Hello."

"Care for a blanket?" the feather duster asked as the coat rack that Dr. Kamins had seen earlier draped a warm blanket over him.

"Oh, what service!" Dr. Kamins exclaimed with a small smile. "Thank you, um..."

"Enid," the feather duster introduced herself.

"Alright!" Stuart suddenly reminded everyone that he was still present in the room. "This has gone far enough! I'm in charge here and--"

He was cut off as a tea cart sped right past him, stopping at the chair. On the cart was a pretty, white teapot painted with floral patterns, and two teacups to match.

"How would you like a nice cup of tea, sir?" the teapot suggested, already beginning to pour from her spout in the teacup painted with pink flowers. "It'll warm you up in no time."

"No!" Stuart again tried to protest. "No tea! No tea! He'll be here all night!"

But Dr. Kamins already accepted the teapot's offer, taking a sip. He set the cup back down on the saucer, his eyes widening when he saw that, it too, had a face.

"I think I scared him, Grandma," the teacup remarked in a little girl's voice.

"Hi, sweetheart," Dr. Kamins said. "What's your name?"

"Brianna," she answered, then indicated the teacup with blue flowers. "And that's my brother, Eric."

"Hello, young man," Dr. Kamins greeted before he found himself locking eyes with the teapot. "And you are..."

"Hazel, sir," the teapot-- Hazel-- answered, her voice sounding a bit tighter than before.

Dr. Kamins found himself beginning to be drawn back into another memory-- a golden-haired girl in the village, a wedding, children-- but once again, Stuart tried to take the opportunity to warn everyone.

"Cyrus, we've got to get him out of here!" Stuart exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what the Master will do if he finds out we let a stranger in?"

"He'll never have to know--" Cyrus began to say...

Before he was cut off by a loud roar that seemed to echo through the entire castle. Everyone froze in place, only to flinch when the doors to the parlor slammed open-- the strength of which caused the fireplace to extinguish itself.

In the darkness, Dr. Kamins could make out a large, horned figure covered in fur-- something like one of the wolves he had just encountered, or even a lion.

"There's a stranger here!" the figure said, his voice guttural and low.

Cyrus came forward. "Let me explain-- the poor man was lost in the woods, he was freezing, so I--"

The figured roared again, but it didn't deter Stuart from stepping forward next.

"M-- Master," he began, his voice trembling a bit, "I just want to let you know that I was against this from the start! I tried to stop them, but did they listen to me? No--!"

The figure ignored him, drawing closer towards the interloper. Dr. Kamins stood up from the chair, trying to back away from this creature.

"Who are you?" it asked him.

"D-- Dr. Henry Kamins of Fairwater," he answered, feeling as if his legs were about to give out from under him.

"What are you doing in my castle?" it demanded to know.

"I-- I lost my way in the woods--"

"You are not welcome here!"

"I-- I'm sorry," the doctor apologized quickly, moving backwards to try to escape this beast. "I-- I'll just be on my way--"

But, having not seen where he was going, he crashed into the coat rack, knocking it over... causing the red rose that he had picked to fall out of his coat's pocket.

He looked up at the figure, truly looking into its face for the first time; he gasped in horror at the gruesome sight, but it didn't seem to notice-- it's eyes focused on the rose. The creature reached out, grasping the flower with it's clawed hand.

"Where did you get this?" it asked.

It's voice was... it was still harsh, but it had softened. Almost... sorrowful.

"Where did you get it?!" the creature asked again, returning to it's forceful tone.

"The-- the garden," Dr. Kamins answered. "I swear, I meant no harm! I was only looking for a place to stay!"

"Oh, there's a place where thieves like you can stay!" the Beast shouted.

It grabbed Dr. Kamins by the arm, dragging him out of the parlor and letting the rose fall to the ground.

~oOoOo~

Lucy turned the page of her book and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. The last couple of days had gone by slowly, as she, Laura, and Scarlett waited for Dr. Kamins to come home. They were mostly afraid that Josette Dagory had been worse off than the letter had said, and he would have to remain at the Dagory home indefinitely.

But the three of them were managing well without him; they had handled the several patients that had come into the clinic as well as they would have if the doctor was there, with Lucy taking charge most of the time.

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Lucy looked up from her book. Laura and Scarlett were still cleaning up the exam room for the day, having offered to give Lucy a break. She marked her place in her book and looked out the peephole to see who it was.

She groaned when she saw that it was Ray.

Even if he hadn't pulled what he had a few days ago, he was the last person that she wanted to see.

Still, she plastered a fake smile on her face and opened the door for him.

"Ray, what a... pleasant surprise," she lied as he walked inside, despite her intention to keep him on the porch.

"Isn't it, though?" he asked with a self-satisfied smirk. "I'm just full of surprises."

Lucy turned her back, rearranging the books on the shelf for no particular reason other than to hide her expression from him. When she turned back around, he had picked up the flowers from the vase on the table.

"For you, mademoiselle," he offered.

"Oh, Ray..." she accepted the flowers, their stems dripping wet, continuing to wear the same fake smile. "You shouldn't have."

"Don't mention it."

Lucy began to cross back over to the table to put the flowers back in the vase, but Ray blocked her again.

"You know, Lucy, there's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes," he told her. "This is the day your dreams come true."

She tried suppress a scoff. "What could you possibly know about my dreams, Ray?"

"Plenty!" he insisted. "Here-- picture this."

His arm coiled around her waist like a snake, pulling her forward before she had a chance to pull away from him.

"A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire..." he began. "My little wife massaging my feet..."

Lucy cringed on the inside.

"While the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We'll have six or seven."

"Dogs?" Lucy asked, hoping that playing dumb would scare him away before remembering that this was Raymond Lynskey.

"No, Lucy," he laughed in that condescending way. "Strapping boys like me."

"Imagine that," she remarked as she finally freed herself from his grasp, even though her skin crawled at the thought of procreating with this man.

"And imagine who that lucky woman is?" Ray asked.

"Let me think," she muttered under her breath.

"You. So, Lucy... what'll it be?"

Lucy began to move towards the door, leaning her back against it. "Ray, I'm... I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say."

Ray moved closer. "Say you'll marry me."

As he began to lean in, presumably to try to kiss her, Lucy's hand found the doorknob.

"I'm sorry, Ray, but... I... I just don't deserve you."

"Well, who d--?"

Before Ray could finish what he was saying, Lucy had opened the door, causing him to stumble back onto the porch. She turned around and flashed him a smile.

"But thanks for asking," she said as she shut the door, locking it shut, and going into the exam room to join Laura and Scarlett.

Ray was visibly seething as he stomped down the porch, where Gordon, Shannon, Nicolette, and Kathy were waiting for him. The girls had been sobbing at the idea that their object of affection would be marrying, but Gordon was grinning stupidly as he walked closer to his friend.

"So, how'd it go?" Gordon asked cluelessly.

Ray swallowed his anger for a brief moment, trying to appear nonchalant. "You know Lucy... always playing hard to get."

The girls gasped.

"She turned you down?" Shannon asked in disbelief.

"Oh, for now," Ray shrugged, before he grabbed Gordon by the shoulder and darkly declared under his breath, "But I'll have Lucy for my wife. Make no mistake about that!"

He skulked off, with Gordon and the girls following behind him.

When Lucy had told them about what had just happened, Laura and Scarlett had gone to look out the window to see if Ray would try to come back inside to further persuade Lucy to marry him. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him walking away.

Lucy peeked out of the exam room. "Is he gone?"

Laura nodded. "He didn't try to--?"

"No," Lucy assured her.

Scarlett had been looking at the floor in shame after she had pried her eyes from the window, finally looking up at Lucy. "Sorry about what I said about giving him a chance yesterday."

"It's fine, Scarlett-- you didn't really know," Lucy said.

She turned her head to look out of the side window for a brief moment before turning back to her foster sisters.

"You both wouldn't mind if I... if I took a walk, would you?" she asked.

"Are you sure that you would be okay on your own?" Laura asked.

Lucy nodded. "I'm sure."

"Okay..." Laura answered, though she sounded unsure herself.

Lucy wasted no time to get out the door, leaning against it as she took in the fresh air. She began to walk down the steps of the porch, muttering to herself.

"Can you imagine? Me, the wife of that boorish, brainless...?"

Oh, the thought made her so angry that she couldn't finish her sentence. She could barely stand to be in his presence for two minutes, let alone the next fifty years of her life. And she knew what he wanted out of her-- a wife who would clean after him, slave away over a hot stove, and bear his children.

A woman who would mindlessly agree with him, no matter what.

He didn't even seem to think that she had a brain of her own-- all he saw was some pretty, simple village girl.

Whatever Raymond Lynskey wanted, it wasn't what she wanted.

Lucy's walk took her a mile or so outside of the village; she had walked this path a few times whenever she was upset, usually after hearing some unkind words about her in the village or losing a patient. It led to a magnificent hill that had a beautiful view overlooking the river and the woods that surrounded Fairwater. Though the trees were beginning to change now that it was close to the end of September, most of them were still fully green.

She smiled as she looked upon the familiar view and felt the gentle wind on her face, dandelion seeds flying up from the ground and past her; even if all that was below her was the village and the woods, she felt as if she were flying above the whole world.

If only she could feel like this all the time.

She wondered what it would be like to travel the world, see all of the place that had been portrayed or written about in her books.

And yes... she did want someone to share it with.

But unlike Ray Lynskey, they would truly understand her-- even in ways that Laura, Scarlett, and Dr. Kamins didn't.

Lucy forgot how long she was gone by the time she heard Laura and Scarlett calling for her. She looked up and saw her leading a panicked Rustler to her--

"Rustler?"

Lucy rushed over to Laura, trying to help them calm the horse. Rustler finally settled as Lucy carefully ran her fingers through his mane.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Rustler just ran back into the village, spooked," Laura explained. "Father wasn't with him-- I don't know what happened."

Dread pooled up in the pit of Lucy's stomach.

"After we go back home, I'll pack some things-- Rustler can take me to him," she declared.

"I'm coming with you--" Laura began to say.

"No-- Scarlett needs your help running the clinic," Lucy told her, then saying as Laura opened her mouth to protest, "Don't argue with me. And Maureen will need you, too. Besides, I can manage on my own."