Beauty

For the queen’s part, sometimes the wild call of the water and the pull of her old solitary life tugged at her, but she hid that longing away with her magic because in the main she was happy and she loved her king so very, very much. The prince declared it was magic they could taste and shuddered slightly, afraid. As shafts of sunlight cut through the windows, Beauty ran from one shelf to another pointing out her favourite stories from childhood; princes who slayed dragons on the Far Mountain, pirate tales from the eastern seas and other tales of love, magic and adventure. Finally, they found the centre of the maze, a circular space with a waterfall and a stone bench decorated with woodland creatures, and Beauty pulled him towards her and kissed him again, and despite his inner torment he felt himself responding to her.