Beauty and the Beast

"I cannot tell by what logic we call a toad, a bear, or an elephant ugly; they being created in those outward shapes and figures which best express the actions of their inward forms." - Sir Thomas Browne (1605 - 1682), Religio Medici (1642)

Charles Finn woke up happier and more refreshed than he could remember feeling in a long time. He stretched and yawned expansively, scratching himself as he did so. Then he froze, his eyes widening, as he noted the unfamiliar canopy above him.

For a moment he was assailed by the disorientation that always seizes you when you wake in a strange room. Then he remembered. He was in a mysterious castle after having been treated to one of the best nights of his life. He settled back into the cushions with what he was certain was a big smile plastered on his face.

He lay in the bed for several moments, idly collecting his thoughts. He couldn't stay here much as he might have wanted it. His family was waiting for him and who knew what that Shawn was doing while he was gone. He'd promised his darling Lizzy to the oafish man and the McTeague boy might have decided to take advantage of his newly won rights a little early.

He sagged, his good mood now destroyed. "Well, I'm not solvin' naught lying abed like a lazy mule," he sighed. He swung his feet out of bed. A bowl with clean water, a neatly folded towel and a shaving kit of bowl and razor were on the table beside his bed and he scrubbed his face diligently, lifting the blade to his sudsy face.

He glanced around the room when he was finished with his toilet and donned his clothes, freshly laundered and pressed. He wasn't the rightful owner yet he couldn't help but linger. This was the last he'd see of the sweet life and he wanted to record everything of this eerie experience to cherish in his memories. He walked towards the door and halted in puzzlement.

There was a large chest placed directly in front of the door. He couldn't recall seeing it before when he came in and surely he would have noticed it, placed squarely in the way where he would have tripped over it after entering the room. What was it doing here?

He lifted the lid and his eyes widened. Filled to the brim inside were jewels and jewelry of every color and description. They glittered before his dazzled eyes and he reached out to lift up one of the splendid ornaments. "I-Is this for me? Am I allowed to have it?" Once more, there was no answer and Mr. Finn warred between avarice and fear. If he should take these things without express permission, would he be brought down as a thief? He still hadn't seen anyone in the castle, not so much as a living soul, but that could change in a hurry if he tried to make off with so much booty.

Even though the smallest of these things would be enough to cancel out his debt to Sheila McTeague, he couldn't put himself at risk to someone invisible and in possession of so much magic. They were already in debt; no need to make things worse. Greed had already proved to be his undoing and he'd more than learned his lesson.

With a pang so strong it almost hurt physically, he gritted his teeth and closed the lid firmly, shutting away the sight of the goods inside. The chest immediately disappeared from sight and Mr. Finn stood there, his fists clenched, as he fought back disappointment and bitterness. "That were a vile thing to do. There was nae need for it," he snapped to the empty air. Without waiting for an answer he flung open the door and stomped from the room.

He wanted to get away from this place right now. The fog had lifted and the outside was bathed in glorious sunshine; there was nothing to impede his departure. Pausing before an open window, he looked out and he stared in wonder at the sight that greeted him.

The sun was beaming through this window so he had a clear view of the grounds. Underneath it stretched a garden of immense size and bewildering beauty. He'd never been one much for flowers but the blooms seemed to beckon and whisper for him to linger among their splendor.

He found his way outside and wandered through the garden. Only a few of the flowers were recognizable, most of them rather bizarre in their appearance. The lush odor from all of them was powerful, enough to make his head swim and he paused, shaking his head to clear it.

Rounding a corner, he sucked in a breath. Spread out before him in the arbor was a field of magnificent red roses. The scent from them was even more intoxicating than that of the other flowers. He'd never cared for roses above any other flower. But he knew how much Lizzy had come to love them and he remembered her wish. "Well, at least I can satisfy one member of me family," he muttered. He reached out a hand and plucked off the nearest blossom.

A violent roar ripped through the air and he was buffeted by a wind that rose out of nowhere. Charles Finn was flung to the ground and he yelped as the thorns from the rose bit into his fingers. He rolled over on to his back and looked up at a monstrous figure. At first he couldn't make out anything about it save a shadow as it blotted out the sun. Then it stepped to the side and his mouth went dry. He crouched on the ground, the forgotten red rose falling from his nerveless fingers.

The head was that of a huge boar, sunlight glinting off enormous tusks. It was of a midnight black color; it seemed to steal the sunlight around it and cast a blot on the beautiful day. The porcine muzzle wrinkled and lifted in a snarl as large reddish eyes glared at him. It stood upright on its hind legs, making it tower over the trembling merchant. Furry claws like those of a gigantic cat protruded from its sleeves. They flexed and unsheathed talons the size of large daggers. Bizarrely, the monster was clothed, a rich brocade doublet in burgundy snugly fitted around its massive form. A lean, tufted tail swept the ground from behind and underneath, lashing the ground in a threatening show of anger. A ruff collar-or was that its own fur?-completed the costume, bearing the animal's head up stiffly.

"How dare you?" the monster roared. The timbre was like nothing he'd ever heard, deeper than any human voice should be and with a rasp like fingers on slate. The tone was menacing in its inhuman tones, and the very ground seemed to shiver from it.

"Y-You speak?"

"Far better than you. You were talkative enough last night, questioning everything you saw and calling for my servants. This morning you rise from the bed I had prepared for you and you steal one of my dearest possessions without so much as a word of asking!"

Mr. Finn tried to stand only to have the tail knock him over and one foot pin him to the ground. He wheezed, "F-Forgive me, great lord."

"I am called the Beast not lord. That is how you will address me so do not think to sway me with flattery."

"B-Beast. Forgive me. But your servants n-never answered and you never showed yourself. And then you have so many flowers, I thought you wouldn't mis-I mean, mind the loss of a single one."

The creature's muzzle lifted on one side in a patent sneer. "Spoken like a true thief. I have little of true natural beauty available to me and therefore these blooms are my most cherished possessions. Yet you steal them and all this after I have shown you the utmost hospitality and generosity."

The muzzle lowered itself until the hairy face was almost on a level with his. "You have seen your last sunrise, thief. Say your prayers for you are going to die now."

"NO!" Mr. Finn babbled almost mindlessly, desperate to save his life. "Beast, if you kill me, you murder but a miserable fella with few earthly possessions to ease the burden of living. But me daughters will be left in poor straits, without a father to take care of them."

"Perhaps they would be better off without you. Indeed, you are but a poor provider for your family who rejects jewels and steals useless flowers," the Beast scoffed.

"I admit to me foolishness. I thought the jewels to be priceless treasures and the flowers silly things, easy to replace."

The animal snorted. "Typical human thinking. You prize shiny stones which you cannot eat and reject the beauties of nature as being worthless and never think that others might not see the world as you do."

"The rose was nae for me! I have no care for such things. It was for one of me daughters. She's a sweet child and she loves roses as much as ye do. Surely ye can understand that." Mr. Finn held his breath. Perhaps if the Beast saw his plucking of the rose as a sign of appreciation rather than an act of theft it might be more forgiving.

It cocked its head on one side. "You say you have daughters?"

The change in subject confused Mr. Finn. But he seized on the distraction. "Y-Yes! Helpless, frail females who are waiting for their father to return. They will lose their home and will be cast into poverty if I don't come back." This wasn't strictly true; Mrs. McTeague had said Shawn would marry his Elizabeth and care for her even if Mr. Finn didn't return and had more or less promised the rest of his family would be cared for along with her. But the Beast didn't need to know that.

He kept talking hurriedly. "They are good girls, decent girls, who don't deserve to suffer because their father made a careless mistake. Let me go, please, for their sakes if not me own."

The Beast removed his foot, allowing the ex-merchant to rise to his feet. "And what will you give me in exchange for your life? You said you are poverty-stricken; you have nothing to offer me. It seems a feeble bargain you make."

Mr. Finn took a deep breath. The creature wanted a bargain? Here he was on familiar ground. The first step to a successful transaction was to find out what the other wanted and see whether you had it to offer-and make them pay dearly for it. "What do you want?"

The snout lifted again, exposing the tiny front teeth. "You say you have daughters. Send one of them to me and your life is yours again."

He paled. "Nae, not one of me children. Anything but that. If you wish eternal service-"

"I have servants," the Beast replied, yawning.

He continued, grasping at straws. "Horses..."

"What horses? You have but one, an aging hunter belonging to your son."

Mr. Finn gaped at him. "H-How do you know about me son? I never mentioned him to you."

The Beast gave a grumbling cough; it took a moment for Mr. Finn to recognize it as a laugh. "I know much of the world outside my gates although I never travel in it. I have been watching you and your travails for some time-Mr. Finn."

The use of his name stunned the merchant. He had known the palace was possessed of magic and here was the final proof. His life and his children were known to this monster. Had he fallen into a snare, one that had been planned for him from the beginning? Perhaps that's what all this had been-the stables, the food, his bedding and lodging, the clothing, jewelry and finally the beautiful roses set out for an unwary hand. Perhaps it had all been nothing more than the elaborate baiting for a trap.

Mr. Finn fell at the monster's feet, groveling unashamedly. "If you know me life, then you know the misery that has beset me since me precious wife died. I have tried to do naught but the best for me family. But all me efforts have come to ruin and they're all of value that I possess in the world. Don' ask that I give up one of me children. I couldn' bear it."

"You have others," the Beast shrugged.

Mr. Finn sprang to his feet again, his fear of the Beast momentarily forgotten. "Ye have other roses, thousands of 'em, yet ye would take a child's life just because I plucked only one!"

The animal lunged, too swift for human sight, and pinned him to the ground, his front claws digging into Mr. Finn's chest. "Don't raise your voice to me, you wretched, worthless scrap of a man. Remember that I am lord and master of this palace and of these grounds. All that is here is mine and therefore to be disposed of as I see fit. These roses that you carelessly disdain are mine and not to be trifled with and if I think the smallest of them can be bought only with a human life, then that is what I chose to do."

The pointed tusks were brought to within inches of Mr. Finn's face and he flinched as the fetid odor of the Beast's breath wafted over him. "You will leave this place within the hour and return to your home. One of your daughters will be sent to me within the week. If the child is not on my grounds in that time, I will come hunting for you and kill you and your entire family."

It lifted its weight from his chest and Mr. Finn wheezed, trying to draw in his breath. The Beast stood above him once more and pointed in the direction of his stable. "You will find my horse standing in the stables. Take him and return to your home."

"Y-your horse?" Mr. Finn gasped as he stood up.

"The horse you rode here would not be able to find its way back here. Besides, I doubt Mrs. McTeague would be so obliging as to let you have the benefit of her largesse twice." The Beast's upper lip wrinkled as Mr. Finn cringed at the sound of that hated name. It bent over and picked up the fallen rose. "Don't forget this. Elizabeth will want it after everything you've been through."

Mr. Finn grasped the bloom without thinking, the thorns once more jabbing into his fingers. He stood there unmoving as the Beast dropped to all fours and swiftly loped out of his sight.

There was indeed a horse waiting for him in front of the stables, a magnificent black stallion stamping its feet and blowing through its nostrils as if impatient to be gone. The proud equine turned its head and eyed him, a gleaming, saucy look in its dark eyes as if it didn't think much of the man standing before him. His horse and the carriage that had brought him were nowhere to be seen and he wondered what the Beast had done with them.

Mr. Finn raised himself nervously on to the creature's back and then held on in sheer terror as the animal tossed its head and leaped into action. What followed was the most harrowing trip of his life as trees, bushes, ground and sky whirred past him, his surroundings shredding into a blur as the animal seemed to sprout invisible wings and fly through the air. Indeed, Mr. Finn never heard the thudding of hooves or even saw his own shadow on the ground. He could only cling for dear life as the surging horseflesh under him carried him without any direction of his own away from the castle.

__________

Elizabeth looked out over the grounds as she anxiously watched the road. It had been days since their father had left and Shawn had been pressing himself on her almost daily since then. Riley, Cordelia and Darla had been around for the most part although she was almost as irked by their attentions as by that redheaded buffoon. But Cordelia's nasty tongue had a way of cowing him that was even more effective than Riley's unspoken threats of physical violence.

Still, Shawn hadn't asked her to marry him as she'd once thought he might and that was a bit odd. Instead he had this smug air about him as if he knew something she didn't and it bothered her no end. He acted like the cat that had swallowed the canary and she was tempted to ask him just what was on his tiny mind. But she had the sick feeling she didn't want to know the answer.

Today he had been thankfully absent, no doubt carousing through the village with his drinking buddies, and she was grateful for the respite. But she was also anxious for her father to return. Surely it couldn't take as long as this for him to settle his business in Galway? What could be keeping him?

She turned from the road with a sigh. Watching wasn't going to bring their father back any more quickly and there were chores to be done. There were always chores to be done. Elizabeth trod towards the house. The roof was leaking again. Riley had it more or less under control but he needed somebody to hand him the peat moss needed to thatch the underside of the roof before he could lay the slate.

There was a sudden sound in the stables as she passed and she halted as she heard Cullen's piercing neigh. She'd never heard that sound from him before, a combination of panic and anger as something disturbed the animal. "Cullen? What is it?" She raised her voice even as she ran towards the closed doors. "Riley! Something's spooking Cullen!" She didn't know if he heard her as she drew the latch and swung open the gates. She peered into the darkness inside, squinting to allow her eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

A tired voice called breathlessly out to her. "Who's there? Who is that?"

She started. "No, you answer me. What are you doing in our stable?" The voice came again and her eyes widened. "Father? I-is that you?"

"Lizzy? Is that you, gel? Am I home then? Thank heaven. Get in here and help me off this infernal monster!" It was indeed her father and Elizabeth rushed forward as she saw him half climb, half fall off the back of a huge, black horse she'd never seen before in one of the adjacent stalls.

Cullen snorted and shifted about uneasily in his stall as the other horse swung his head. He didn't like the new intruder who for his part seemed rather disdainful of the roan stallion sharing his space. Elizabeth noted this without thinking as she grabbed her father around his neck. "Oh, father," she breathed. "I'm so glad you're back! I was so worried! The days passed and there was no word." She lifted her head and peered into her father's face when he didn't reply to her feverish words.

The man bent his head to her, a sadness and terror that hadn't been there when he left stamped on to his careworn face. "Lizzy, my darling. My beautiful gel. Oh, ye wouldn't believe the troubles I've had." He hugged her hard, groaning in distress.

"Father? What is it? Tell me; you're scaring me." He didn't speak only hugged her tighter and leaned on her heavily.

Lizzy swayed under his weight, far too much for her small frame. Riley came to the stable door, drawn by her earlier cry and stared at the sight of his little sister striving to keep his father upright. "Lizzy? Da? Is that you? What's wrong?"

The old man turned his head towards his only son. Then, without another word, he swayed and fell to the floor. "Father? Oh god! Riley, help me!" As her brother heaved his father up in his arms, Elizabeth peered into the unconscious man's ashen face. "Riley, what's wrong with him?"

"Naught, Lizzy. I think he's just fainted." He glanced curiously at the black beast snorting in the nearby stall but decided the mystery of its sudden appearance could wait. It was probably best answered by the man in his arms, anyway. "Get to the house and prepare his bed. A little warmth and soup would probably be the best thing for him."

His voice was calm and steady and Elizabeth nodded uncertainly before moving away from them both. She ran towards the house, crying out for her other sisters, as her brother brought up the rear behind her.

For the second time that day, Mr. Finn opened his eyes to find himself in a bedroom. Recognizing the plain beams above his head instead of a vaulted ceiling, he closed his eyes in relief. "Praise be. It was naught but a fearful dream."

"Father? What was a dream?" He turned his head to see Darla standing near his bed.

"Dar? I'm so glad to see ye, me gel. I had the most awful nightmare..." He stopped as there was a knock on the door and the next moment Cordelia cautiously poked her head through.

"Is he awake?" She smiled at her father. "Oh, you are. Good, because this soup wasn't getting any warmer." She set the tray down on the bedside table and handed him the bowl, carefully wrapped in a towel to spare his fingers. "Do you mind telling us where you've been and what that great galumphing animal is doing in our stable?"

His mouth went dry. "W-What animal?"

"That great beast! My god, I've never seen anything that size, ever!"

"A-A Beast?" Oh no. Had the creature arrived already? But it had given him a week. Yet he was sure that had all been a dream. But then what was Cordelia talking about?

Lizzy stepped from behind her taller sister. "She's talking about that huge black horse. Did you fall from him earlier? Is that why you fainted?" She perched herself on the bed, staring at him with worry apparent in eyes gone gray.

Darla was more interested in the mystery of the unknown animal in the stable. "Where did you get it, Father? Riley says it's the most magnificent piece of horseflesh he's ever seen and that saddle looks like it's fine leather, tooled in gold and covered in jewels! Did you buy it with the goods from the ship?"

"The ship," he whispered. Because of his encounter with the terrible Beast, he'd forgotten the bad news from Galway. Now he had that burden to lay at his children's feet as well. Closing his eyes, he beckoned them all nearer. "There's summat I have to tell you all."

"Then we should wait until Riley gets here. He said he was going through that horse's saddlebag and see if he could get a clue as to where you'd been, seeing as you were dead to the world. How did that happen, by the way?" Cordelia sat on a chair and crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow as she waited for an answer. Mr. Finn knew that look. It was an expression he'd come to be acquainted with as the one she wore when she was worried but trying to feign indifference.

"Get Riley here then. This concerns him too, I'm afraid."

The entire family was collected and Mr. Finn paused as he ran his eye over each of them. It was almost as if he were seeing them all for the first time and he marveled at the changes he'd never noticed in his children. Cordelia and Darla were both elegant beauties even if they weren't in the fine clothes of their Galway years. Cordelia held herself with the proud carriage of a woman who would always see herself as too good for her surroundings, long brunette hair cascading over her shoulders and over her ample breasts.

Darla's green eyes sparkled in her womanly face, only slightly the thinner for their impoverished diet. Smaller than Cordy, she was yet possessed of a well-rounded figure, trim and dainty, with the serenity of a Madonna on her face. She was dressed in a dark blue linen dress. It had been one of her "plain" dresses from the manor that she'd altered into homespun country wear. She cared for it as well as she could. However, the wear and tear of country living had faded it to a drab tint closer to gray than its original blue. Yet she wore it with a queenly pride still.

There was his Lizzy, grown into the very image of her mother. Tiny, she would always look something of a child compared to other women. But he knew the lion's heart that beat in that small frame and how she would bear the worst of their troubles without flinching or complaint.

And Riley, tall, strong and powerful. There was a sureness about his movements that Charles Finn hadn't noticed before. When had his boy shed his nervous, angry ways? Sure, he was a boy no longer but a man and Charles Finn was all at once certain his boy would take care of the family even if he could not.

So he started at the beginning, leaving out nothing. He told them of the terrible deal he'd made with the McTeague woman. There was no point in hiding that; once the news of his return got out, she was bound to come sniffing at their door. They'd all know the awful truth then so he might as well have it in the open.

When the uproar of outrage died down from that news, he launched into his travails in Galway, the bad news from his solicitor, the odd, fog-filled ride and the stay in the peculiar castle.

"Invisible servants? Strange food? A chest of jewels? Father, forgive me for saying so. But are you sure you didn't just fall off the horse and bump your head?" Cordelia asked, tapping her head for emphasis.

"How do you explain that horse in our stable? He's there and eating hay just like any other horse. He seems solid enough," Riley pointed out. "And there's this as well." He held up the saddlebag, the diamonds, rubies and sapphires on it glittering in the light from the window. Cordelia's eyes lit up too as if catching fire from their shiny glow.

"Aye. Open it. There's summat I placed in it before getting on that cursed animal." Charles Finn fumbled with the catch and then got it open. Reaching inside, he brought out the rose. Amazingly it was undamaged from being cooped up in the dark recesses of the bag and the aroma from it immediately filled the room, causing all the women in it to sniff and sigh in delight.

"Oh, da. Is that for me?" Elizabeth reached out and grasped the stem between thumb and forefinger, running the tip of one finger on her other hand over the silky petals. The thing appeared as fresh as if newly plucked, dew still clinging to the dark green leaves.

"It is, Lizzy, and it will cost yer father dear." Drawing a breath, he told them in a toneless voice about the Beast and the bargain the monster had offered to save his life.

"No! Father, you can't go back!" Darla cried.

"He certainly is not! That, that, Beast can go hang itself," Cordelia declared.

"I must. It knows me, who I am, who ye all are, where we live. I-It sounded as if it's been watching us-for a very long time," their father added.

"H-He has? Even when we've been bathing? That's disgusting," Cordelia said, her mouth twisting in distaste.

Elizabeth was the only one not to speak. She had moved to the window after her father finished his tale of the Beast, staring out into the yard. "Don't you have anything to say?" Cordelia said tartly. "After all, this is all your fault."

"Cordelia! That's not true!" Riley thundered.

"It is too! She could have asked for jewelry and furs like the rest of us. But, oh no, that idiot has to get it into her head to ask for a rose, of all things, like a flower is something we could sell for good money, and now look what's happened!" Cordelia stood and began pacing back and forth, running her ragged nails through her hair.

"Cordelia's right," Elizabeth stated. She'd turned from the window and stared at them all with an eerie calm, the forgotten rose dangling from her fingers. "If the Beast is willing to take a substitute for Father, then it's clear I have to be the one to go."

"Nae, Lizzy. That's not true." Riley crossed over to her, staring into her down turned face. Lizzy's eyes were curiously blank as if she weren't seeing them at all.

"It is. This is my fault. So it's up to me to save my father."

"Nae, Lizzy. Ye can't go." Riley gripped her by the shoulders and tilted his hand under her chin. There was an odd defiance in her eyes, stronger than when she'd threaten to marry Shawn McTeague.

"Riley, you can't stop me. This Beast is going to come here and take one of us or Father. You can't kill it."

"The hell I can't. Am I a hunter or not?"

"Ye can't take this creature, Riley," Mr. Finn said. "It's massive and it has magic on its side."

"And the last time you went up against a boar, it felled you and you nearly died," Cordelia added.

Riley glared at her and she stared back, cool and unrepentant. "That was years ago. I've brought down animals bigger than that since then."

"But not boar," Elizabeth stated. "Cordelia's right; this animal is too much for you, Riley Finn. I'm going and that's that."

"Nae, lass. It will take me and it's nae matter if I go. I'm old and life hasn' held much joy for me since yer mother passed. Let me go," Charles Finn sighed.

Elizabeth glared at her father and Riley. "Of all the stubborn..." Then she thought a moment. "Wait. Why doesn't Riley take a bunch of the villagers and hunt this creature?"

"You think they'd risk their lives for us?" Cordelia asked.

"They might for all the jewels you say the Beast has stashed away," Darla stated.

"No! Those things are rightfully ours!" Cordelia protested.

Elizabeth didn't see how that followed. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, he wants one of us in trade for a rose. I'm thinking we're worth far more than that," she said defiantly.

Riley left the room while all of them were bickering. There was only one solution to this and he knew exactly what it was.

__________

Riley gathered as much of his things as he could manage. The bows and arrows were tucked carefully into a pouch. He had to move swiftly; soon the others would notice his absence and then there would be hell to pay.

"You're leaving us again, aren't you?"

He started and turned to see Elizabeth standing in the door. "When have I ever left you, lass? Haven't I stayed with you just as I promised all those years ago?"

"No!" She shook her head fiercely. "I remember back in the day when mother was still alive. You were always arguing with father about the life he wanted you to have and then running out to hunt with those friends of yours! You always wanted to leave us; I knew it even if you never said so out loud."

She turned from him, her voice wobbling on the verge of tears. "Then we went to Galway and you hated it there. You'd get sad and silent all the time when we weren't together. I'd catch you staring out the window in that blind, awful way of yours as if you weren't seeing anything at all. You were wanting to leave us even then, weren't you, and now you've got the perfect excuse."

"Lizzy." Her back stiffened at the nickname and he amended his words. "Elizabeth, I stayed because I was needed."

"Not out of love." The words were spat out with something almost akin to hatred.

"Yes, out of love. If I didn't love you, Dar, Cordy and da, do you think anything could have made me stay?" Her back was still turned to him and he knew without seeing that she was fighting back tears. The years had matured Elizabeth a great deal; she was a woman now and fully grown and mature enough to consider sacrificing herself for the good of her family. But the possible loss of her brother was still enough to reduce her to childish grief. "Lizzy, you're willing to make a sacrifice to help the family. Maybe it's about time I did the same."

She turned to look at him, her eyes pleading with him to reconsider. "You don't need to do this. The Beast has said he'll take one of us. Let it be me, Riley."

"You think I'll sit idly by and let that happen? Let a monster kill and eat me favorite sister? I'm going to kill this thing and rob its castle. If it was as rich as da says, then I'll come back with enough to buy off those damned McTeagues, see if I don't." When her expression remained unbending, he sighed and clasped her hand. She tried to pull away from him but he squeezed harder and wouldn't let her go.

"Lizzy, you told me earlier that it hurts da to look at you. But that's because you remind him so much of ma. You're his favorite among us and I'm not ashamed to admit it. What do you think it'll do to him if you're the one taken? It'll destroy him."

She was wavering; he could see that and he pressed his advantage. "Lizzy, I only wish you for your understanding and blessing. And I-I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me someday."

Elizabeth gazed up at her older brother. Riley was pleading with her but he also had a grim look of determination about him. She was astonished to see him so severe; the happy-go-lucky boy of her youth seemed gone forever. When had he gotten so-resolute and unbending? He was almost like what she remembered her father to be and she realized that somehow she and Riley had truly grown apart.

But he was her brother still, it seemed, for he stood and looked at her, a plea in his hazel eyes. It was like he was waiting for her permission.

She bit her lip and nodded silently then threw her arms around him. Riley embraced his sister and for a moment they were motionless, wrapped in each other's arms. To Riley it felt almost like a farewell and he pushed away the chill of the notion. He wasn't leaving his family forever; he honestly meant to return. Dreams of abandoning them had been pushed aside long ago; it was time to become a man and set aside childish things.

He set about his room, packing everything he thought he'd need for his journey. Elizabeth had agreed to stay outside out of deference to his privacy. Riley thought she simply couldn't bear to see him packing to leave but he didn't challenge her wish.

He had no clear idea of how long he would be gone or what weapons would best suit the purpose. His father's account of the monster had been wild and fanciful and he was going to face up to that thing with almost no foreknowledge of its abilities. Yet he couldn't help but admit the notion of pitting himself once more against a powerful animal brought an excitement he hadn't felt for a very long time.

Of a sudden, Riley thought of Gavrin and the offer the slight, dark-eyed man had made him so very long ago. For the first few months in the manorial house his father had bought them with his newfound wealth, he'd been troubled by dreams of his abandoned friend. The man's voice, the smoky brown of his eyes, his fleeting touch and the woodsy scent of his body had flowed through his nighttime slumbers with a passionate intensity that seemed more real than anything they'd shared in the daylight. The dreams were strange and disturbing, yet Riley could never remember their content when he awoke-only how they'd made him feel. As time went by the dreams grew less frequent and finally ceased altogether. The young Finn hadn't been sure whether he was glad or sorry for it.

Riley had wished many a time that he could send his old friend and comrade a small note, just to let him know how things had changed for him since he'd been away. The mail was slow to arrive in Galway from out-of-the-way places like their old homestead and Gavrin hadn't known how to read letters at any route.

Their present home hadn't been anywhere near the old one. Da had been too proud to go back to the old village where everyone, especially the O'Connells, would know his shame and defeat. So they'd moved as far from the old place as they could. The consequence was they knew no one and no one knew them and Riley was as much in the dark as ever as to what had befallen his former hunting partner.

He opened a drawer and drew out his secret possession. Holding up his prize, he ran his fingers over the pendant dangling from the leather thong and thought about how he'd received it.

After he'd recovered somewhat and seen his mother's grave, Gavrin had come to see him. He'd always kept away before, knowing without asking that Riley's father would have resented his presence. But now the air of gravity that hung about the Finn house made him believe that Mr. Charles Finn might be too distracted to notice another guest among the many who flowed in and out of the house to pay their respects.

"Riley."

"Gavrin. It's good to see ye." Riley wanted to throw his arms around the man who'd saved his life. But Gavrin's natural reserve and his own nervousness since their last meeting restrained him.

Another man might have made some comment about Riley's living quarters. But Gavrin got straight to the point. "I hear yer goin' to be leavin' us soon."

"Aye." Riley found his eyes avoiding Gavrin. He didn't know why but the unease he'd noted once before was coupled with a kind of guilt. It was stupid; he'd made Gavrin no promises and yet he felt as if his imminent departure held a kind of betrayal.

To his surprise, he saw Gavrin shifting his feet a little. The man appeared hesitant, almost afraid, and his eyes darted around Riley's bedroom as if unused to being inside a proper house. Belatedly Riley remembered his manners. "Would ye like to sit down?"

"Aye. Then again, nae. I'll not be stayin' long. I-I've got summat for ye. Summat for the journey to the big city." He dug inside his shirt and brought out a small pouch. Opening it up carefully, he drew out the contents and held it up for Riley to see.

The thong was simple enough, made of a thin but strong braided leather in three colors. But the thing hanging from the end of it looked peculiar and Riley held out his hand and grasped it. He brought it up for a closer look and studied it carefully.

The ornament appeared to be carved of bone, animal bone, simply worked but with enough detail for him to understand what it was meant to be. The pendant was that of a charging boar, a few nicks representing the bristles, and the legs and tusks clearly marked. The artist had captured perfectly the impression of the animal's size, strength and ferocity in only a few simple lines.

Riley wrapped his fingers around it and looked up to catch Gavrin gazing at him with a neutral expression. The man made no sign but it was clear the reception of the gift meant a great deal to him. "Gavrin, it's a wonder. I've never seen carving like this. Did you make this?"

"Aye. It's naught, really, no high work of art. But I thought it might be, I mean, I thought it might be summat special, summat that would remind you of our last meeting when yer hanging out with all the fine folk of Galway."

Riley closed his hand over the gift, feeling the blunt edges of the tusk nestling into the skin of his palm. "Ye've been holding out on me again, Gavrin. Yer an artist as well as a cook. Yer a man of depth, ye are. What else ye've got to offer, I wonder? Makes me almost sorry to be going away." He caught himself and flushed, looking down at the floor.

Gavrin said nothing this time, casting his eyes around Riley's room as if the Spartan furnishings were of deep interest to him.

It occurred to Riley that he'd never seen Gavrin nervous or ill at ease with anyone else. True, the forest would be his true element always and Gavrin would never be close friends with a lot of people. But he had always held himself among other men with a kind of stalwart pride and quiet confidence that never wavered. Unlike his own father, Gavrin would never be ashamed of who he was or unsure of the place he held in the world.

But with Riley there was some of the shyness that he'd seen in women and Riley was at a loss how to deal with it. Should he hug the man or give him a hearty handshake? He settled for a one-arm hug, such as he might have given Michael and patted Gavrin awkwardly on the back. "Thanks for this, man. I'll keep it with me always."

Gavrin stood still in his embrace and then thin, wiry arms came up to grip Riley's back. There was a knock at the door and Riley sprang back, embarrassed beyond words. At the abrupt gesture, there was a flicker of emotion in Gavrin's dark eyes. Was it hurt or disappointment at the interrupted embrace? Riley wanted to say something but the knock was repeated.

"Riley, are ye in there?" Cordelia asked, her voice somewhat muffled by the door's oaken panels. "It's that Larkin woman. She's brought da one of her pot roasts and she's asking to see ye. Are ye clothed in there or should I come back?"

"I'm dre-I mean, I'll get ready in a moment, Cordy. Wait downstairs for me. I'll be there soon."

Gavrin cocked his head and Riley knew he was listening for his sister's departure. Riley cleared his throat before trying to speak again. "Gavrin, I can't tell you what this means to me. I'll treasure it and I'll think of ye whenever I wear it."

This time the emotion was clear. Gratitude and a rarely seen warmth flooded those fathomless eyes and Gavrin graced Riley with an uncommon smile. "That's all I ask, lad." He opened the door, stepped outside and was gone.

The memories ended and Riley slung the pendant around his neck. It nestled just above his heart and Riley tucked it under his collar. He'd never let anyone know or see this gift from his best friend, not even Lizzy, and that wouldn't change now. It held a secret and unspoken affection that was dear to his heart and he couldn't bring himself to speak of it even to his favorite sister. Riley gave it one lingering touch, cast one last glance around his home and bounded out the door.

Elizabeth followed Riley as he strode to the meager stable and saddle the black steed. Cullen neighed shrilly, protesting the favoring of this beast over himself. She patted Cullen sympathetically as the other beast pranced out smartly with her brother holding the reins. The roan stallion had been the only thing Riley couldn't bear to part with. Fortunately no one else in Galway wanted a rough-haired, ungenteel hunting horse so the creditors hadn't bothered to seize him and he'd fetched nothing at auction.

That had proved fortunate as Riley had taken up with his old pastime once they'd settled in their new home. Like his old friend Gavrin, they were now forced to rely on what Riley could fetch with his own two hands for meat. Their new landlady didn't often let them have a piece of the animals they tended for her for sustenance.

Riley paused at the height of the hill, looking down at his small home. No, it wasn't their home. It belonged to that wretched McTeague woman and would go to her equally benighted son at her death. But if he could slay the monster and steal his goods, then they'd be free of them and away from this place.

[Hold on, Lizzy. Yer a smart gel and ye've got the others to watch out for ye. I'll be back before ye know it.] Ignoring the inner doubts that rose to taunt him, he wheeled the black horse away and rode off to find and kill the mysterious Beast.

__________

Elizabeth's vision swam when Riley galloped away so she almost missed the black horse's abrupt disappearance. It seemed to gather itself and leap into the air. There was a flash of light and then it was gone and Riley with it.
Her father had told her of this but it was something else to see it in person. "God go with you, Ri. And come back or I'm going to hunt you down and kill you myself."

She trudged to the house and sat down in one of the chairs, staring blankly at the floor. She didn't realize someone was speaking to her until Cordelia poked her in the shoulder. She looked up blankly at her older sister. "What? Did you say something?"

"Yes, I did. I've been talking to you for some time now. Did you go deaf?" She frowned at her sister's wet face. "What? What is this? Riley didn't go off to do something stupid, did he?"

"What? What makes you think that?"

"You only ever cry like that over Riley. Even when mother passed, you didn't weep that way. What has he done now?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. Riley hadn't asked to keep his departure a secret but she was reluctant to speak of it nonetheless. "He says he's going off to kill the Beast." She threw up her hands when Cordelia opened her mouth. "Don't yell at me! It wasn't my idea!"

"How could he do this to us, now of all times? Do you know what that awful Shawn will do when he finds out father's come back empty-handed and Riley's gone? He'll be haunting this place day and night, pestering you and hounding father."

"I'll take care of Shawn, Cordy. I've learned something from watching you and Dar."

Cordelia folded her arms. "And if he presses you to marry him? What then?"

"I-I'll..." Elizabeth bit her lip while she thought. Then she brightened. "I'll tell him I can't get married without my father's consent. And father's still reeling from what happened to think about anything like that now. That will shut his mouth."

Cordelia nodded reluctantly. "It sounds like a good plan. But it's your consent he'll be wanting and what will you tell him? You can't use the excuse you're too young. That won't fool a baby and you know it."

Cordelia thought a moment, tapping her chin. Then a knowing smile curved her mouth. "Ooh, I know! If he insists on marrying, you can say you need to make your own wedding dress and trousseau. I doubt that fat cow of a mother has anything you could wear left over from her wedding and she'd be wanting to save that for her girls anyhow. Then you'd have to make your own things-"

Elizabeth caught fire from her sister's invention. "Since we can't afford to buy them."

"And, and, we have to sew them all ourselves. Then we can unravel the wedding dress, tablecloth, napkins, linen and other such stuff every night so that they'll never be finished-"

"Just like in that story about Ulysses!" Elizabeth finished triumphantly.

"Ha! See the powers of a superior education, Elizabeth? That stupid Shawn and his mother will never catch wise and we can hold them off indefinitely until Riley comes back."

"But that makes it sound as if he'll be gone a long while. It won't be so long as that, Cordy. Riley's going to come back soon with good news and everything will be better."

Cordelia was a realist and never shirked at facing up to bad news. That didn't mean she liked to dwell long on bad news or the past. Life had tossed them its share of woes and she just didn't see any point in glossing them over or not trying to deal with them when they came. With anybody else she would have snapped at them to get their heads down out of the clouds. But she couldn't bear to dampen the hopes in Elizabeth's eyes. And what was the alternative? Having their baby sister marry that McTeague oaf?

She shivered at the thought. [Not if I can help it.] "Don't fret yourself, Lizzy. Riley's a good man. He won't abandon us and that's a fact. I trust he'll be back home before you know it."

"Who'll be back home?" Darla stepped in to the kitchen.

"Riley's gone," Cordelia blurted out.

"He's what?!" Darla yelled.

Elizabeth hurried to reassure her. "Not that he's left us or anything. He's just gone to kill the Beast."

"That's crazy! Does father know anything about this daft, hair-brained plan?" Darla demanded.

"It's not daft," Elizabeth protested, her hazel eyes sparkling with rebellion. "Riley's decided to be the man of the house..."

"By leaving it?" Darla countered with a raised eyebrow.

"He's gone off to save us." Elizabeth noted her blonde sister's skeptical look. "He's not abandoning us, Dar. I swear it. Riley's a great hunter. If anyone can bring down this thing, he can."

"But father doesn't know he's gone, does he?" Darla asked. "And who's going to tell him?"

The three sisters looked at each other and Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let me do the dirty work. I'll go up to the old man and tell him the bad news."

She walked up the stairs, muttering as she went. "That's right; leave me to do everything." She eased open the door, trying to find a way to deliver the bad news gently. Cordelia opened the door and received yet another shock.

A massive chest stood in the middle of the floor. The lid was open and her father was digging into its contents, chuckling in glee like a little boy. Ruby brooches dangled from his fingers and a lengthy golden chain was looped around his neck. "Father? Wh-what is all this?"

He looked up, delight dancing in his brown eyes. "Cordelia! Call up the others! We're rich again, lass!"

Cordelia wasn't listening. She sank down beside him, lifting up a silver necklace with a gem-encrusted dove dangling from it. She looped it over her neck and ran to admire herself in the bowl of water by her father's bed. She cursed the loss of her mirrors; she could see herself only indifferently in the water but she looked very fine, if she did say so herself.

Charles Finn glanced up to see his third child thoroughly engrossed with her own reflection and opened his mouth to chide her. Then he shrugged. It wasn't as if he was setting a better example, draping himself with finery like any woman. He took off the necklace and set down the baubles and walked to his bedroom door. "Dar! Lizzy! Come up here at once! Ye'll never believe what's happened!"

The women came up, glancing fearfully at him and Cordelia as if expecting something dire to have happened. Then they too were caught up in the shock of so much largesse dumped like manna from the sky. The ex-merchant clapped his hands sharply when they began questioning him all at once. "It's the Beast; it has to be. When I was in his castle, this very same chest of jewels appeared. I thought it was a temptation for me to steal and I rejected it. This must be his reward."

"Or his payment in advance for selling your child," Cordelia said absently as she fingered a golden brooch. She missed the stricken looks of her two sisters. Charles Finn caught it and misinterpreted.

"Nae, Lizzy. Naught was said about selling you for jewelry. He wanted to punish me for stealing that rose not pay me." He wouldn't have his favorite daughter thinking her own father would willingly sell her to a monster simply to better himself. Hadn't he protested when Sheila McTeague had offered the same bargain?

"No, father. T-that's not it. That's not what's-" Darla stopped and looked at Elizabeth. The younger women looked guilty and terrified by turns and her father was surprised to see it.

"Lizzy? What is it, gel? Doesn't all this make ye happy? We're rich again and we can buy off those McTeagues. We'll be free of them at last." He brought up an emerald necklace, the stones reminding him of Mary's eyes when she was at her happiest and made to drape it around Lizzy's neck. Instead the girl shrank from it as if fearing he would strangle her with it.

She shook her head, her stricken gaze bent on her father's bewildered face. "Father, you don't understand. Riley has gone to kill the Beast and rob his castle."

Mr. Finn went pale, the joy of his newfound wealth vanishing in an instant. He sank on to the bed, the necklace dropping from his fingers. "Nae. That-he can't have. The monster is huge! It'll kill him!"

But his daughters' silence was proof enough of this latest blow. Cordelia was right; he had sold the life of one of his family to sate the Beast's appetite. And what would be the value of all these things if he lost one of his children?

"For the sake of a family an individual may be sacrificed." - Panchatantra (c. 5th cent.), 1, tr. Franklin Edgerton


TBC