Beauty

And the

NotSoBeastly Beast

Tygati

Chapter 1

It was a dark and stormy night. That's just how
these things worked. You couldn't go traipsing
about mysterious castle courtyards and
knocking on ancient worn doors in the middle of
a sunny day. It just wouldn't have been right.

Therefore, it was a dark, moonless night, the
skies were pouring down rain, and a hint of
thunder off in the distance suggested that life
was about to get even worse.

Herb was thrilled.

Perhaps a normal man under normal
circumstances would have had a different
opinion about the current state of affairs. Herb,
however, was not a normal man; not precisely a
man at all, if one wanted to be technical. His
particular circumstances were such that Herb
was, at the moment, about seven and a half feet
tall and furry. Very furry.

Herb, you see, was a Beast. Not just any garden
variety beast mind you, but an honest-to-
goodness Enchanted Beast with all that such a
thing entailed. Mostly. There

were a few key

points missing, which would be the reason that
this particular beast was out and about in the
middle of the night getting soaked to his skin,
fur and all.

The weather, though, was a good omen to his
mind. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get lucky this
time. It was always

supposed to be dark and

dreary when Events occurred, therefore...

Drawing himself up to his full height and
endeavoring to look as impressive as possible,
Herb reached out and knocked three times upon
the heavy oak door.

Someone was knocking on his door.

Beldon sighed softly and closed the book he'd
been reading, after carefully marking his place
with a large red velvet bookmark. The clock

above the mantle read 4:15 or thereabouts, but it
hadn't worked for at least three years, give or
take, and he was fairly certain that the large
grandfather clock in the foyer had chimed one
not long ago.

Either way one looked at it, it was really a most
peculiar time of night to receive visitors.

With a slight frown, Beldon placed his book on
the side table and reluctantly arose from his nice
cushy chair by his nice warm fire and went to go
see who would be calling on him at-- he glanced
at the grandfather clock as he passed--one-
seventeen in the morning.

The Great Hall was almost painfully opulent,
legacy of greedy old rich men with less taste
than money and less brains than both. Still, it
was suitably impressive when the occasion arose
that required such, so he left it alone. The air
here was cooler than in the sitting room, though
not at all drafty.

That little problem had been

taken care of when Beldon first arrived.

A light touch upon the handle was all that was
needed for the great outer doors to swing
silently open, leaving Beldon to face... a
monster.

Easily seven and a half feet tall and built like a
brick wall, the creature towered over him. It had
all the usual features, lion's mane, boar's tusks,
claws, tail... all quite intimidating under the
proper circumstances. Beldon, however, was not
the least bit impressed. Primarily because the
thing was soaking wet and peering short-
sightedly at him over delicate, half-moon
spectacles.

"Yes?" he inquired calmly.

"Oh, um, pardon me ma'am," the Beast said
nervously, fidgeting with his lapels, "I realize the
hour is late but you see I was rather wondering
if you would mind having a Beast terrorize your
castle? You see, I really need a castle to lord over
because of this spell that's been put on me and
for some reason one wasn't provided to me

when the spell was cast and... um..."

If it was possible for a giant, hulking monster to
look contrite, the Beast managed it. "Well,
you're also the only one who hasn't fainted just
at the sight of me..." he mumbled sheepishly.

The patter of rain was the only sound between
them for a long moment as Beldon let an
eyebrow drift upward at the rather unusual
request, then he shrugged fluidly and stepped
out of the way, allowing the Beast into his castle.
The doors closed themselves once the Beast was
clear, leaving the two of them staring at one
another in the middle of the Great Hall.

"You can have the North Wing," Beldon told the
Beast offhandedly. "That's the usual area a Beast
makes his lair in, if I remember right. Just hold
still a moment, because you are

not tracking

water all over my rugs."

A soft word and a slight gesture was all that was
needed to dry out the bedraggled Beast, though
being dry didn't really do much to improve upon

his appearance. He still managed to look
incredibly pathetic for a creature that normally
inspired terror in even the bravest of men.

This, Beldon decided, was going to prove rather
interesting.

Herb was the happiest he'd been for... well... as
long as he could remember. He had the run of
the castle, provided he didn't damage anything
and bathed regularly, and the incredibly
annoying itch of the spell had finally settled
down now that he was located inside a castle.
Granted, it wasn't actually his castle, he was just
borrowing it, but for the purposes of the spell it
worked.

There were plenty of things to look at; the
Enchantress seemed to be a collector of unusual
objects, and every time he turned around there
were new rooms to be explored. It had been
rather confusing at first, having everything
change itself randomly when least expected, but
he'd soon discovered that all he had to do was

decide he wanted to return to his suite and he'd
find himself there in short order.

Even more impressive was the library, a wide
open room with bookcases that rose several
floors up and was dotted with the most
comfortable chairs he'd ever had the pleasure of
parking his posterior on. The only restriction the
Enchantress had placed on him was the
ultimatum not to damage any of her precious
books

Or Else.

Herb had absolutely no desire to find out what
that

Or Else might be. He might have been

granted technical lordship over the castle, but
they both knew exactly who was in charge.

It wasn't Herb.

Still, she surprised him rather soundly one
morning four days after his initial arrival when
he'd heard the dull thud of someone knocking
on the castle doors and gone bounding down to
investigate. His role as a Beast, of course, meant
that he was supposed to immediately terrify

anyone foolish enough to venture too near his
castle. To that end, he positioned himself just
right, tucked his glasses safely into a pocket of
his jacket, flung open the heavy oaken doors and
roared "WHAT?!" at the top of his lungs.

The scrawny beanpole of a man standing on the
step stared at him with wide eyes for a long
moment (during which Herb did his best
impression of enraged panting and glowered
rather convincingly if he said so himself) then
turned on his heel and ran flat out for the
village. Herb fell backwards onto the floor,
howling with laughter.

So thrilled was he by his first successful act as
Lord of the Castle that he didn't hear the
Enchantress approach until she was nearly upon
him. When he did finally notice her, or more
appropriately the peculiar expression she wore,
he sat up quickly and looked at his feet.

"Err.. I'm sorry..." Herb mumbled to the purple
and gold blurs that he was fairly certain were the

Enchantress's slippers, "Was that someone you
wanted to see? I was just... I'm supposed to..."

That was when she surprised him entirely. By
laughing. Rich, hearty laughter that was entirely
unbefitting of a lady, yet seemed to fit her just
fine. When at last her mirth subsided, she
looked at him with her golden eyes twinkling.

"Well," she said with a secretive smile, "I can see
that having you around may prove more useful
than I thought."

That said, the lady turned around and
disappeared into the East Hall.

Herb blinked.

Beldon managed to hold out for nine whole days
before it finally got to him. It wasn't the Beast's
fault, not really. How could he know better, after
all? Still, there was a finite limit to Beldon's
patience and his houseguest had passed that
about twelve "M'lady's" ago.

Sometimes he wondered if he might not be
better off just walking around naked.

They were in the Dining Hall eating breakfast
when he finally snapped. Beldon had merely
asked the Beast to pass along the cream and the
creature decided to

walk it to him, grinning like

a vapid hyena, and say, "Here you are, M'lady."

Thunder cracked outside as the Enchanter's
temper let itself be known. He rose to his full
height (still falling woefully short of the Beast's)
and glared up at his furry guest.

"Oh for the love of little carnivorous daisies!" he
growled. "Are you really that dense? Don't
answer that. Just.. just... Arrgh."

A flick of Beldon's finger sent the Beast's
spectacles from the pocket they'd been riding in
to the creature's face. He grabbed one of the
monster's ears and pulled the Beast's head down
so that they were more or less face to face and
managed from between clenched teeth, "I. am.
not. a. lady. Not a lady or a ma'am or a bloody
shrieking

girl! My name is Beldon and I am an

Enchanter. Not an Enchantress, Enchanter.

Male. Call me Lady one more time and I'll

prove

it to you."

The Beast's mud brown eyes blinked at him for
several heartbeats, then his face scrunched up in
utter confusion. "But..." he said plaintively, "The
villagers said..."

Beldon released his hold on the Beast's ear and
sat back down in his chair, glowering. "I know
what they call me. I've been trying for years to
correct them, but they all seem to have a mass
hearing affliction. No matter how many times I
tell them my name is Beldon, they still call me
'Enchantress Belle.'" He sighed.

"Now, would you mind passing me the brown
sugar?"

To say Herb was startled would have been like
calling the Great Giant of Thornklops 'larger
than average.' In his experience, men didn't
come in the 'beautiful' variety. That was a word
reserved exclusively for girls, or so he'd thought.
Beldon, it seemed, was a law unto himself.

The Enchantre-

Enchanter's hair was long,

straight, and dark. Green, Herb thought, though
the lighting in the castle wasn't the best. He
knew several court ladies who would have
happily killed for hair like that, and Beldon
hardly seemed to be aware of it. Nor did the
problem end there. No, the la-

man had high,

fine cheekbones, perfect, fair skin, and eyes that
couldn't seem to decide if they wanted to be gold
or blue. Either way was just as bad.

And it certainly didn't help matters that the
ornate enchanter's robes he always wore
completely masked his figure. Though, given the
elegant hands Herb had seen when Beldon was
casting spells, he didn't really think even form-
fitting clothing would help matters much.

"So, um..." Herb asked hesitantly, retaking his
seat with the greatest of care, "Would that be
why you live way out here in.. um..."

"In practically the middle of nowhere?" Beldon
finished wryly, "Yes."

The Enchanter took a bite of his porridge and
ate it slowly, some of the tension draining out of
him in the process. He studied the bowl for a
moment, prodding halfheartedly at a
strawberry, then looked back up at Herb.

"I've done my time in the great cities, magician
to kings and all that. I even had an invitation for
a position in the High King's court. But..." The
Enchanter frowned, stabbing frustratedly at his
toast. "There are only so many times one can
take being hit on before it starts to become
really annoying. So I took myself out to the edge
of civilization, removed an evil tyrant from
power, and claimed his castle for my purposes.
Now all I have to put up with is the occasional
villager seeking this or that charm from the so-
accommodating "Enchantress Belle" and even
that has died off rather nicely now that you've
snapped at a few of them."

Herb blinked, which was something he seemed
to find himself doing a lot in the Enchanter's
presence. In his eighteen years of life, he'd never

met anyone quite like Beldon. He didn't think
there

was anyone quite like Beldon.

"But... don't you get lonely?" Herb asked, his
ears drooping to match his mood. Having been
raised in a castle with a full court, he really
couldn't imagine anyone willingly choosing to
cut themselves off from people.

"Not really," Beldon replied with a slight shrug.
"I've gotten used to it. I have my books and
enough magic mirrors that I can keep up with
the majority of current events. I can do without
the rest of society."

Privately Herb was of the opinion that nobody
could live alone forever, but he kept that thought
to himself out of pure self-preservation. Still,
one thought did occur to him.

"Err, but if you disliked the villagers coming up
to ask you for things, why didn't you ever just
tell them to go away?" Herb asked curiously,
and was rather startled when a faint blush
spread across the Enchanter's cheeks.

"Yes, well, that wouldn't... I mean... Enchanters
are supposed to work on the side of Good, after
all. I could hardly turn them away once they'd
asked..." Beldon murmured into his orange
juice, refusing to meet Herb's eyes.

Herb stared at him for a long moment before he
found himself laughing, even as the other part of
his mind was shrieking in terror that laughing at
Beldon was a very good way to get turned into
something even worse than what he was now.
He just couldn't help it. For all that Beldon tried
so hard to be cold and intimidating, apparently
he had a good side buried underneath all of that
frost.

Beldon was glaring at him when Herb finally got
his laughter under control, and that little part of
his brain with the survival instinct informed him
that he'd better apologize.

"Sorry," Herb said, unable to quite keep the
smile off his muzzle, "But I guess I'm glad I
could help you in some way, since you sure don't

seem to need help for anything else."

The Enchanter actually looked surprised, then
thoughtful. He cleared away what was left of
breakfast with a wave of his hand and stood.
"Well, fair is fair, I suppose," he said, gesturing
for Herb to follow him, "So why don't we see
what we can do about that curse of yours,
hmm?"

Beldon led the Beast into the sitting room,
murmuring a few words to reinforce the
furniture before sitting down. While he had to
admit that the Beast was as careful as was
possible for a seven-plus-foot monster, he was
also remarkably...

clumsy. Therefore,

precautions were in order.

"Sit," Beldon ordered, curling up in his own
favorite red velvet chair. "Tell me how you came
to be placed under the curse of the Beast."

The Beast poked at several chairs before finally
settling himself uneasily upon a plush green
divan. He looked rather comical, all fur and

muscle upon the elegant seat, but he didn't
really seem to notice.

"Um, well," he said after he'd gotten as
comfortable as his awkward form would allow,
"It happened four years ago. We were all at
home, my brothers and me, me being the
youngest, when this wizard shows up in town
and starts harassing the people. All sorts of vile
stuff. So then father, that is, King Hughbert of
Irenia..." He looked up hopefully to see if Beldon
had heard of it and continued at the Enchanter's
nod.

"Father told us that one of us, us being the
princes that is, would have to go out and defeat
the wizard before something really bad
happened. Richard decided he wanted to take
the first shot, Richard being my oldest brother,
Herbert Edmund Richard Bastian the First, and
rode out to confront the fellow, getting himself
turned into a willow tree in the process."

"So then Edmund went, Herbert Edmund

Richard Bastian the Second, that is, and the evil
wizard turned poor Edmund into a girl! The last
time I saw him, he was still locked in his
room..." The Beast spared a moment of worry
for his second eldest brother, then took a deep
breath and continued his narrative.

"That only left me, Herbert Edmund Richard
Bastian the Third, to ride out and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Beldon interrupted, sitting up
slightly in his chair to regard the Beast in mild
bewilderment. "Your father named

all of you

Herbert Edmund Richard Bastian?"

The Beast blinked. "No, Richard is Herbert
Edmund Richard Bastian the First, Edmund is
Herbert Edmund Richard Bastian the Second,
and I'm-"

Beldon waved a hand at him in annoyance. "Yes,
yes, the Third. But it doesn't strike you at all
strange that aside from being First, Second, and
Third, you all have exactly the same name?"

Mud brown eyes gazed at him in puzzlement. "...

no?" he said at last. Beldon sighed.

"Never mind. Continue."

"Right. So, I went out to see the wizard and I
asked him as politely as I could if he would
please mind going somewhere else as the
villagers didn't particularly care for his wizardry.
I guess he took offense to that or something,
because the next thing I knew I was really big
and furry..." The Beast paused to look at one of
his paws, carefully extending and then retracting
his claws, before continuing.

"Anyway, the wizard told me that for my
rudeness I was cursed to remain a Beast and
lord over my enchanted castle until such time as
the curse was broken and I was restored to my
rightful shape. Except I guess something must
have gone wrong, because I didn't have an
enchanted castle. Father's castle is really more
of a fortress than a castle, and it's not
enchanted."

"So you went looking for an enchanted castle to

lord over," Beldon finished for him, fingertips
pressed together thoughtfully as he gazed at the
monster before him.

Herb nodded. "I'd just about given up when I
found your castle," he confessed. "I didn't realize
enchanted castles were so hard to come by."

"Most Enchanters and Enchantresses take their
magic with them when they leave, yes," Beldon
agreed.

"And that wizard guy was pretty adamant that
I'd never break the spell without one," Herb
continued, "So..." He grinned sheepishly. "Here
I am."

"Indeed," Beldon agreed quietly, "Here you are."
He regarded the Beast for a long moment, eyes
shifting from gold to blue and back again, before
sitting up and snapping his fingers. A massive,
leather-bound book appeared in the air, floating
obediently into his lap as the Enchanter lowered
his hand.

"What's that?" Herb asked curiously, partially

rising from his seat to get a better look.

"The Big Book of Enchanted Men," Beldon
replied absently, flipping through pages until
he'd found the section on Beasts. He was
vaguely aware of Herb crossing the room to look
over his shoulder as he narrowed his search
down to Beasts without castles, then to those
who had since found a castle, finally leaving him
with only two pages of entries.

"Hey, that's me!" Herb exclaimed excitedly,
pointing at a small picture on one of the pages.
"What's it say?"

Beldon read the short paragraph beside Herb's
picture, then read it again, his lips pursing in a
way that made it appear as though he'd just
eaten something very unpleasant. The
Enchanter looked over the page one more time
before snapping the book shut and banishing it
back to the library from whence it'd come.

Herb blinked. "What'd you do that for?" he
asked, bewilderment thick in his voice. "Did it

tell you how to break the curse?"

"No," Beldon replied, sitting up straight and
staring at the fireplace, "It didn't. Apparently
your wizard was a particularly bumbling one
and not only messed up your enchanted castle,
he messed up the spell itself. There

is no cure for

your curse."

Chapter 2

Playing Beast of the Castle wasn't nearly as
much fun when you knew it was permanent.
Beldon had retreated to his suite and not come
out for days, leaving Herb to go stir-crazy in the
meantime. He'd actually left the castle at one
point to go terrorize travellers in the nearby
Dark Forest, but even that lost its appeal rather
quickly.

Eventually he found himself back in Beldon's
parlor, curled up on the rug in front of the
fireplace. It seemed as good a place to mope as
any, and it smelled nice. It smelled a lot like
Beldon, actually, which only made sense as the
Enchanter tended to spend most of his time in
one of three rooms, the Sitting Room being his
favorite.

He was still there when Beldon finally put in an
appearance, waltzing through the doors with
three of the largest books Herb had ever seen

trailing along after him like overgrown floating
ducklings.

"I think I know

what spell that sorry excuse for a

wizard used," Beldon announced without any
preamble, "But I can't seem to figure out how he
managed to screw it up. Beast spells are not
particularly difficult compared to other
Enchanted Monster spells. You should

see the

preparation needed for the simplest Enchanted
Frog spell..."

Herb blinked. "Um, so..."

"So," Beldon continued, his robes swishing
around him as he stalked over to Herb, "I need
to be able to see him cast the spell."

Herb blinked. Again. "Err.. but..."

"But that occurred in the Past," Beldon mused,
apparently not hearing Herb at all, "And my
mirrors are tuned to watch the Present. The best
they can manage is about a month into the past,
and that's not even close to how far back we
have to go. Therefore..."

The Enchanter leaned down over Herb, hands
on his hips, a peculiar sort of smile on his lips.
"Therefore, we need a Magic Mirror of the Past."

For all that Beldon was rather small and Herb
was a seven-and-a-half-foot Beast, the
Enchanter still seemed to tower over him rather
impressively. Perhaps the man wouldn't be quite
so terrifying if Herb got up off the floor, but at
the moment none of his limbs would obey him.

"Ah. Okay, so... where do we find one of those?"
Herb squeaked.

Beldon straightened and turned away, gazing
with unfocused eyes at a spot on the far wall.
"The nearest one is in the hands of a Witch who
lives about five days west of here," he replied.
The Enchanter was silent a moment, then
glanced over his shoulder at Herb with that little
half-smile that never failed to unsettle him.

"Feel like going on a Quest?"

Being the youngest son of a king, Herb had quite
a bit of experience with Quests. Well, the

preparation thereof. So when Beldon appeared
on the stairway with only a small knapsack slung
over one shoulder, all Herb could think of to say
was: "Wow, you sure pack light..."

Beldon snorted inelegantly and joined him in
the Great Hall. For once the Enchanter wasn't
wearing his ornate robes, rather, he had chosen
to don what appeared to be rather fine riding
clothes done in shades of reddish-brown and
trimmed in gold. They fit him considerably
better than his robes as well, and if Herb
squinted a bit it wasn't quite so easy to mistake
him for a girl.

Herb himself was still wearing the only set of
clothing he owned, though Beldon's magic had
repaired the damage four years had done to it
and now it looked practically new.

"All right," Beldon announced as they exited the
castle, "Just one little..."

From a pocket Herb hadn't noticed before the
Enchanter pulled a small white card with gold

lettering. He held it up to the door and released
it, speaking a single sharp word as he did so. The
card rapidly expanded, still apparently attached
to the door, and now Herb could see that it had
become a large wooden sign.

The letters read: "Out Of Town"

"There," Beldon announced smugly. "That
should do us. Ready to go?"

Herb nodded.

The Enchanter led the way, back through the
courtyards and down the path Herb had used
over a month ago to bring him here. The Beast
followed without question at first, then frowned
in puzzlement once they passed through the
wide iron gates and found themselves on the dirt
road leading to the village.

"Aren't you going to ride?" Herb asked
curiously.

"Don't be ridiculous," Beldon snorted. "You'd
frighten the horses."

"Oh," Herb said quietly.

He remained silent all the way to the village,
which they skirted rather than terrify anyone
with the sight of Herb. It was the typical
reaction, and yet... he couldn't help but wonder.
Beldon hadn't even flinched upon first meeting
him, yet the two other Enchanters (and one
Enchantress) he'd encountered while travelling
had run him off on sight.

What made this Enchanter different from the
others? He wished he knew more about them,
but the only magician of any sort in his father's
court had been old, forgetful, and truth be told
not very good. Although he hadn't been
frightened by Herb's appearance... of course, his
eyesight was even worse than Herb's...

"You said it'd take five days to get to the witch's
house, right?" He asked Beldon.

"Approximately."

"That's walking?"

"Yes."

"Ah, well, I'm pretty fast, being a Beast and all,
so maybe if I carried you then-"

"I am

not being carried, by you or anyone else."

Herb was fairly certain the tone of his voice
could have frozen molten lava. He swallowed
and ran through the Gentleman's List of Ways
To Apologize.

"Umm..."

"Just walk," Beldon said with a sigh. "And listen.
If you're quiet, you can hear at least eight
different species of birdsong, and there are
several squirrels tailing us."

Herb blinked. "Oh."

"Yes, oh. And speaking of listening..." Beldon
frowned. "Your hearing should be sharper than
mine, and we're going to pass through bandit
country. Make yourself useful and play lookout."

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, and
perhaps convince his courage to quit hiding
behind his knees, Herb complied.

They met no bandits, and by the end of the trip
Herb had managed to identify fully half of the
creatures hiding along the road's edge as they
passed. Not too bad for a spoiled, citified prince,
Beldon had to admit.

It was late morning when the witch's cottage
came into view, situated in a glade not too far
from the edge of the Dark Forest. Beldon
identified at least forty varieties of toxic plantlife
between them and the door and the bulk of the
witch's garden was spread out behind the house.
A few bats peered sleepily at them from beneath
the eaves as they approached, five of the thirteen
spiders he could see paused in the spinning of
their webs to watch, and the mangy black cat
which had been napping on the front porch
jumped inside through an open window.

A moment later the door opened and the witch
emerged.

Like all her kind, she dressed in flowing black
which appeared to have been mended more than

once, a crooked hat perched atop her head with
yet another spider clinging for dear life to the
brim, and she carried the world's worst excuse
for a broom. She wasn't

particularly

unattractive, as witches went, lacking a hooked
nose and warts, and Beldon rather thought that
she might clean up rather nicely if someone
forcefully bathed her and attacked her hair with
some heavy-duty detanglement spells.

"Well, well, well..." the witch rasped, grinning at
them as though they were a particularly tasty
delicacy, "What do we have here? An overgrown
puppy and a pretty little..."

The witch trailed off and squinted, then came
down the steps to peer closely at Beldon. "Huh.
You're not a lady..." she said finally, surprised
enough to forget to use her witchy rasp.

Beldon arched one eyebrow. "No, I'm not. My
name is Beldon, and I am an Enchanter. My
companion and I have come to see if we could
make use of your Magic Mirror for an hour or

two," he explained, gesturing mildly at Herb.

"The high and mighty Enchanter needs to
borrow a lowly witch's mirror?" the witch
taunted, remembering to rasp properly this
time, and waggled a sharply-nailed finger in
front of Beldon's nose. "Stooping a little low,
aren't you? Consorting with evil witches... what
will the Sorcerer's Council think?"

Beldon scowled. "The entire council can go fuck
themselves for all I care. Not a decent magician
in the whole lot of them."

The witch blinked. So did Herb. Beldon wished
she hadn't brought up the council. He'd never
gotten along with them and the fact that a group
of complete

morons was responsible for all the

magical dictates in the world still chafed at him.
Still, he'd made his choices. The past was the
past.

It was Herb who broke the silence, looking
around rather wistfully at the deadly flowers
which comprised the witch's garden. "Isn't there

anybody else here? You must get awfully
lonely..."

Both the witch and Beldon turned to look at
Herb. The Enchanter wondered what it was with
the Beast and being lonely. One would think that
a prince with two brothers wouldn't have lacked
much for companionship.

"... I have Hocus and Pocus," the witch said
slowly, pointing at the two sleeping bats, "And
Abracadabra to keep me company."

Abracadabra turned out to be the black cat, who
came darting out of the house and jumped up
onto the witch's shoulder at the sound of its
name.

"But there's no one to

talk to," Herb protested

unhappily, his furry ears flat against his head. "I
mean, your garden is lovely and I'm sure your
pets are very nice but it looks like you've been
out here for a very long time and... and...

I'd be

terribly lonely out here all by myself..."

The witch eyed Herb for a long moment before

looking back to Beldon. She pointed at the
Beast. "Is he for real?" she asked.

Beldon smiled slightly. "Insofar as I have been
able to determine."

"Beldon," Herb asked, looking more pitiful than
Beldon had ever seen him before, "Can't we help
her somehow?"

Beldon glanced at the witch who was watching
them both rather closely. While he initially
would have been inclined to laugh off Herb's
observation, the intensity of her gaze made him
reconsider.

"What did you have in mind?" the Enchanter
asked slowly.

The Beast scrunched up his nose as he thought.
On anyone else the expression would have
looked rather alarming. On Herb, he simply
looked distressed.

"Well..." he said finally, "Couldn't you make a
magic spell that could find somebody else who's
lonely and wouldn't mind living in the middle of

the Dark Forest with a witch...?"

Once again, Beldon found himself having to re-
evaluate his opinion of the enchanted prince. He
wouldn't have thought of something like that on
his own, and yet it was a perfectly simple
solution to the problem. Granted, most people
wouldn't know such a thing was even possible,
but in Herb's case that seemed to work more for
him than against.

"It's High Level Magic," Beldon said slowly,
looking from Herb to the witch and back, "But I
don't see why not... if, of course, the lady
agrees..."

The 'lady' looked rather stunned and took
several moments to compose herself. "Well I...
that is... would you?"

Something in the rather wistful way she asked
struck an echoing chord deep inside the
Enchanter. He swallowed and bowed slightly,
ruthlessly squashing the feeling. "I think it
would be a fair trade, if M'lady would allow us

the use of her mirror..."

For the first time since they'd arrived, the witch
smiled. "All it does is gather dust anyway. It'll
probably be thrilled to be used."

Herb's smile was almost blinding, and not just
because of the sheer amount of sharp white
teeth he showed. Beldon shook his head slightly,
hiding a smile of his own, and made the
necessary preparations to cast the spell. It only
took a few minutes; not very impressive for High
Magic, some would say, but few knew just how
many tiny details had to go into a spell of this
nature.

For Beldon, such a thing was as close as he ever
got to 'fun.'

"Alright, done," he announced when he finished
and was rewarded by the witch shooing them
both inside.

"C'mon, might as well have some tea while we're
waiting and you're fighting with that old thing.
Incredibly lazy, that. Takes forever to warm up

even on a good day."

The inside of the house was considerably larger
than the outside would have led them to suspect,
and Beldon could feel magic at work. Rather
efficient magic, actually, and he said as much,
earning a blush from the witch.

"Ah, well, what's the point in doing if you're not
going to do it right?" she muttered, but they
could both tell she was pleased.

While the witch "Call me Hilda, boys" started
the water for tea, Beldon and Herb hiked up the
stairs to the attic where the Magic Mirror was
stored. They had a bit of trouble at the top when
Herb's shoulders wouldn't quite fit through the
doorway but fortunately the house managed to
accommodate him before Beldon even had time
to begin a spell.

Like the rest of Witch Hilda's house, the attic
proved to be considerably larger than
anticipated. Herb nearly got a finger bitten off
by a bespelled gargoyle before Beldon

remembered to tell him not to touch anything.

Eventually he located the Magic Mirror, shoved
up against a wall and half covered by the
grimiest cloth the Enchanter had seen in his life.
He stared at it for a long moment, trying to work
up the courage to actually touch the thing and
wondering if Hilda would be offended if he cast
a Cleaning spell on her attic.

"What's wrong?" Herb asked, peering over the
top of Beldon's head at the cloth-and-ick-
covered mirror. "Is that the mirror?"

Before Beldon had a chance to reply, Herb
reached out and pulled the cloth off, tossing it
off to the side so he could get a better look at the
mirror itself. It was nearly three feet tall and
framed in one of those hideously gilded
monstrosities that never failed to make him
want to throttle whoever made it. Also, it didn't
appear that the cloth had done any good as the
mirror was just as filthy, its glass rather clouded
and apparently home to more than a few dead

bugs.

"That's it..." Beldon muttered beneath his
breath, then pointed imperiously at the sorry
excuse for a magical artifact. "Alakazam."

Like magic, which it was, all of the dirt and who
knows what else melted off the mirror and
gathered in a pile on the floor. The frame
remained horrid, but at least he could see
himself (and Herb, still peering over his head) in
the glass.

"Neat." Herb said.

"Hmmmrrrmmblepph?" The Mirror mumbled.

"Good Morning," Beldon said calmly, crossing
his arms over his chest and endeavoring to look
Important. "Do I have to word all my requests in
rhyme, or are you one of the sensible mirrors?"

"Mmmrrgleplitz?" The Mirror asked, its surface
slowly beginning to swirl in a hypnotic silvery
pattern.

Beldon sighed. "Right. Let me know when you

finish waking up."

Herb blinked and looked at Beldon. "Is that
normal?" he asked.

The Enchanter shrugged. "If they haven't been
used in a while, if they're particularly old or not
so well-made..."

"Oh," Herb said, blinking again and peering
more closely at the swirling surface of the
mirror. "That's kinda neat."

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of
Beldon's mouth. He'd never

admit it, of course,

but the Beast's rather naiive outlook on life was
rather cute.

The silver swirls gradually managed to form into
the semblance of a face, which yawned widely
before addressing them.

"Hmm... Must say, you're a sight prettier than
my last Mistress..."

Beldon twitched.

"He's a boy," Herb offered helpfully.

The face in the mirror blinked. "Are you sure?" it
asked.

Herb looked at Beldon. "Um, pretty sure..."

Beldon felt his hands clench tightly as he
attempted to rein in his temper. It wouldn't
exactly be politic to destroy Hilda's mirror in a
fit of pique, no matter how disrespectful the
thing was.

"If you two are

quite finished," he ground out,

"There is a task I need you to complete, Mirror."

The silver face grinned and reformed into a
hand making the thumbs-up gesture. "Ready
when you are, Mistress," it replied impudently.

Beldon took a deep breath. Released it. Took
another. Released that one, slowly. "Four years
ago, give or take, in the kingdom of Irenia, a
spell was cast on this man to change him into a
Beast," he explained, keeping his voice as flat as
he could manage. "I need to see that spell being
cast."

The grin reformed and the silver face batted its

eyes at Beldon. "Say please," it instructed.

"Please," Herb interrupted quickly before all hell
broke loose.

"Aw, I wanted him to say it..." the mirror
mumbled even as it faded into an overhead view
of a town square.

There were two people present in the image, a
wizard who looked as though he'd been kicked
in the face by an angry mule more than once and
the most unremarkable teenage boy Beldon had
ever seen. The wizard made a gesture and spoke
a series of words, causing the boy to wince
briefly before transforming into the Beast that
now stood beside him.

The scene faded out on a close-up of the newly-
transformed Beast, then the mirror's face
reappeared. "Well?" it asked, "That good enough
for you?"

The Enchanter was silent, frowning at the
mirror.

"Beldon?" Herb asked hesitantly, trying to twist

himself into a position where he could see the
Enchanter's face without knocking anything
over. "What's wrong?"

Whatever Beldon might have said was lost as a
rather loud crash echoed up from downstairs.
Both of them jumped, then Herb dashed down
the stairs with the Enchanter right on his heels.
They burst into the main room, the source of the
crash immediately identifying itself as a broken
vase, but it failed to hold either of their attention
for more than a moment.

Witch Hilda was pinned against the front wall
by a man only a few inches shorter than the
Beast and appeared to be attempting to suck his
tonsils out. Neither of them noticed Beldon and
Herb's arrival in the slightest, and really, he
couldn't blame them.

Beldon could feel his face getting hot even as
Herb turned away to intently study a tapestry on
the wall. Some distant part of his brain that was
was still functional pointed out that at least the

spell had worked, even if Mr. Tall, Dark, and
Burly wasn't exactly Beldon's cup of tea. Still,
the fellow was

huge, ogre blood perhaps, and if

he was proportionate all over...

Well.

Hilda and her beau finally noticed them before
Beldon could manage to humiliate himself any
further and released their liplock, though the
distance between them remained so slight that
they seemed poised to resume it at any moment.

"Oh, hello boys," Hilda managed, slightly
breathless. "Did you find what you were looking
for?"

Beldon wished his fair skin wasn't quite so given
to blushing at a moment's notice. "Err, more or
less..." he managed. "I, ah, see the spell
worked..."

"That it did," Hilda said, leering at the giant of a
man holding her. "This is Grun. He tended the
grounds at the Witching Academy when I was
there. I had no idea he was in the area..."

Grabbing Herb's sleeve, Beldon inched toward

the door. "Glad to hear everything worked out
okay. Why don't we skip tea, and we'll be on our
way, and you two can... um... catch up..."

Hilda didn't get more than a muffled "B' bye"
out before she and Grun resumed their 'catching
up.' Beldon managed a strangled "Thanks"
before dragging Herb out the door.

"Is it safe to look now?" Herb asked, his eyes
shut tight.

"I think so," Beldon breathed, willing the blood
to leave his cheeks. "I didn't know witches were
so... randy."

"I don't think anyone knew that..." Herb
mumbled, leading the way out of Witch Hilda's
garden and back toward the trade road. "But at
least she looks happier..."

"Yes," Beldon agreed. "Considerably."

They walked in silence for several minutes,
Beldon convinced that the image of Hilda and
her... Grun... was forever burned into his
eyelids, before Herb spoke up again.

"So... what did you find out from the mirror?" he
asked cautiously.

Beldon's steps slowed, though he didn't stop,
and he frowned over what he'd seen. "Quite a
bit, and nothing at all," he replied at last. "The
spell was correct. There is no reason for it to
have warped in the manner it has."

Herb's confusion and disappointment were
almost tangible as the Beast drooped, kicking
halfheartedly at a stone in the road. "I guess that
means I'm stuck like this, then."

"I didn't say that," Beldon scowled. "It's just
going to take me longer to figure it out."

Herb glanced briefly at the Enchanter, but didn't
reply. He seemed to be losing hope in the
prospect of ever finding a cure and Beldon didn't
really blame him. Nothing quite seemed to be
going right for the young prince, from the
getting cursed in the first place to the complete
mess that the curse in question had turned into.
It was frustrating for both of them. Herb

because he was stuck as a Beast, and Beldon
because he was rather used to getting his way
when it came to magical spells and it was vexing
to be running into so much difficulty.

So absorbed was he by the puzzle presented to
him that Beldon was quite unaware of the
troupe of bandits which surrounded them until
being snapped harshly out of his thoughts by the
burning pain of an arrow lodging itself in his
arm. He bit off a pained cry before he'd done
more than half voice it, looking up to gague the
situation and getting a face full of rather soft
brown fur for his troubles. Herb?

A low rumble built up in the fur beneath his
cheek, then abruptly Beldon was left alone as
Herb released him and tore into the underbrush
like a possessed thing. He could hear shouts and
pained cries inbetween the breaking of
branches, then all went silent.

Beldon picked himself up off the ground and
looked around, more surprised than he let

himself admit when Herb reappeared between
two trees, blood on his claws and thunder in his
eyes, dragging two petrified bandits behind him.
"Herb...?" he called out gingerly and watched as
all the anger abruptly bled out of the Beast.

"Are you okay?" Herb asked mournfully, looking
at the blood soaking through Beldon's sleeve.
"You told me to listen and I wasn't paying
attention and this is all my fault and I'm

sorry..."

Once again, Herb managed to prove that even
seven-and-a-half-foot monsters could look
incredibly pathetic when provided with the
proper stimulus.

"

They're sorry too, aren't you?" Herb continued,

forcing his two misbegotten thieves prostrate at
Beldon's feet. They were undoubtedly very sorry,
as one managed to babble nothing but terrifed
gibberish and the other repeated an impressive
variety of prayers to more deities than Beldon
was even certain existed.

Beldon didn't fight the bemused smile that made

its way onto his face, shaking his head slightly at
the sight. "I'm fine," he reassured the Beast.
"Just let me cast a healing spell and we can be
on our way again.

"Promise?" Herb asked plaintively.

The Enchanter smiled. "Promise."

Chapter 3

Beldon was perplexed. There was a spell on
Herb which had transformed him into an
Enchanted Beast. The spell was wrong, however
the Magic Mirror had showed the wizard casting
the spell correctly. Therefore, something other
than general incompetence had caused the spell
to skew. Something about Herb?

The Enchanter glanced at his traveling
companion thoughtfully. Herb, aka Herbert
Edmund Richard Bastian the Third. His two
elder brothers being H.E.R.B. the First and
Second, respectively. That in itself was cause to
raise a few eyebrows, though apparently Herb
himself was oblivious to the idiosyncrasy. He
appeared to be particularly sensitive to
loneliness, despite the fact that being a prince
should have provided him with more social
contact than any sane man would be
comfortable with.

And then there was the brief glimpse of Herb's
actual shape that the mirror had shown, though
Beldon had primarily been concentrating on the
wizard at the time. It was disconcerting for the
Enchanter to realize that he could recall almost
nothing about Herb's appearance, aside from
the fact that he'd been human and rather
ordinary. Normally Beldon could recall the
smallest details after only a single glance. This
incongruity was... odd.

"Enough of this," Beldon proclaimed aloud,
causing Herb to jump and very nearly fall flat on
his face trying to regain his balance. "We're not
going to get anywhere out here," Beldon
continued. "We're going to Irenia."

Herb blinked. "... okay?"

Beldon shrugged his knapsack off his shoulder
and rummaged through it as Herb continued to
walk on obliviously. In short order he found
what he was looking for, replaced his knapsack,
and waited calmly for the Beast to realize he'd

stopped.

"But Irenia's far away... it took me months and
months to get here, though I guess I was
stopping at every castle I saw so maybe it's not
quite so far as that but still, it's going to take a
long time and..." Herb stopped, blinked, and
turned around. "Beldon? What'd you stop for?"

With a faint smile, Beldon closed the distance
between them. "I'm an Enchanter, Herb. We
don't normally walk anywhere unless there's no
other alternative."

Herb remained quite obviously confused, his
head tilted to the side, face scrunched up in
thought. It really was rather cute, in a lost-
puppy-dog sort of way. Beldon shook his head
with a smile.

"Here, put these on."

He held out a pair of what appeared to be doll
sized hiking boots, which Herb took doubtfully.

"Umm, Beldon, these aren't- YIPE!"

Herb leapt backwards as the shoes abruptly
started expanding, tripping over his own feet
and crashing into the underbrush alongside the
road. A rather spectacular struggle ensued as the
great Beast managed to get himself entangled in
the now full-size boot laces and panicked trying
to escape.

It wasn't at all easy, but Beldon managed to keep
from snickering.

"Herb, sit. Hold still."

With more patience than he was normally given
to display, Beldon disentangled Herb from the
boots and got him back on his feet. The Beast
kept shooting looks at his former assailants,
quite certain they were going to resume their
attack at any moment. For their part the boots
sat quietly on the road, unaware of their
fearsome battle prowess.

"Now then," Beldon said, a lingering smile on
his face, "Put those on, carefully, and don't take
any steps. Those are Seven League Boots." At

Herb's confused look, Beldon explained. "Each
step you take in them transports you seven
leagues. They're fast, but not overly efficient as
we'll have to stop and reorient ourselves every
few steps."

Herb slowly donned the boots, still looking as
though he was just

certain they were going to

bite him at any moment. A thought occurred to
him as he was lacing the last boot and he
blinked at Beldon. "But... how are you going
to..."

Beldon grimaced, then sighed quietly. "... you're
going to have to carry me."

"Okay," Herb said, wise enough not to make any
sort of comment that might get him turned into
a Beast-skin-rug. Beldon stood in front of him
awkwardly, not entirely certain what to do with
his arms or how he should stand at all.
Fortunately the problem was rendered moot
when Herb calmly swept the Enchanter up and
settled him in the crook of one furry arm. "Now

what?"

Determined not to show any startlement at
having been scooped up in such an abrupt
manner, Beldon made a show out of gesturing to
trigger his map spell. It sprang up around them,
a translucent overlay through which the actual
landscape could still be seen. The dividing lines
between kingdoms shimmered faintly and cities
were marked with miniature clusters of houses.
One in particular glowed a gentle peach color,
and that was the one to which Beldon pointed.

"Okay, that's the capitol of Irenia. Take two
steps in that direction," he instructed.

Herb complied, taking the requisite two steps
and stopping. Beldon reoriented his map and
pointed again, and in this manner they found
themselves on the outskirts of a decent-sized
city. A few travelers glanced curiously at them,
then continued on their way. Apparently an
Enchanter and Beast appearing out of nowhere
was nothing to be concerned about.

"Hey, we're here!" Herb exclaimed cheerfully.

"Down. Put me down. Now," Beldon ordered.
He was obeyed post-haste.

The boots went back into Beldon's knapsack,
doll-sized once more, and the two of them set off
toward the castle in the center of town. The
further into town they went, the less people
seemed to notice them, until finally they were
ignored completely. It was eerie.

"Hey! Richard!" Herb exclaimed suddenly,
breaking Beldon's train of thought and dashing
off into the middle of a large town square. He
stopped in front of the sorriest excuse for a
willow tree the Enchanter had ever seen and
waved Beldon over with barely-restrained
energy.

"Beldon! Look, this is my oldest brother
Richard. Guess nobody's figured out how to
break his spell yet."

Beldon approached the tree in a far more sedate
manner, studying it for a moment before

snorting in derision. "Amateurs," he muttered
beneath his breath, then spoke a sharp word.
Leaves rained down all around them before
fading away in little drifts of brown sparkles,
leaving behind a man who was

almost big

enough and ugly enough to be related to Grun
the half-ogre.

"Wow," Herb said, wide-eyed.

"Fair Maiden!" Richard proclaimed, grabbing
Beldon's hands and pulling them up against his
chest. "How can I ever repay you for breaking
that terrible curse?"

"For starters," Beldon replied icily, "You could
unhand me."

"Um, Richard..." Herb offered tentatively.

"But Maiden! Fate dictates that I take for my
bride the one who was brave enough to free me
from my torturous prison!" Richard continued,
oblivious to the hulking monster that was Herb.
"One so beautiful and virtuous as you must be
destined to wed such a noble and virile prince as

myself!"

"Richard..." Herb whimpered.

"If you do not remove your hands from my
person

this instant," Beldon hissed, "I am going

to permanently remove your so-called virility
from your body."

Richard blinked. Herb blanched. Beldon
reminded himself that it was terribly impolite to
kill your companion's brother, no matter how
much you wanted to.

"Um," Richard said.

Herb very carefully interposed himself between
his brother and the fuming Enchanter.
"Richard," he said again, "This is Beldon. He's
an Enchanter. He's here to help us."

"Oh, hi Herb," Richard said absently, then
blinked. "He?"

Beldon fumed. Herb grinned nervously. "Er, yes.
He. Um... we should probably go see Father
now... check in and all that... Heh..."

Richard continued staring at Beldon until Herb
physically picked him up and set him back down
facing the castle, then kept trying to look over
his shoulder as the Beast prodded him into
moving forward. Beldon remained where he was
for a moment, reining in his temper, then
followed behind them, a litany of

I will not kill

Herb's brother repeating in his head.

Fortunately the trip to the castle was mercifully
short and the guards let them inside after the
most cursory of inspections. Something about
that encounter bothered Beldon, though he was
still furious enough at Prince Richard that he
couldn't quite manage to concentrate on exactly
what it was. Still, he filed the thought away
under

Things to Think About Later and returned

his attention to his surroundings just in time to
be presented to the king.

Beldon wondered if it would be impolite to ask
the man to put a bag over his head. Whereas
Richard had merely been particularly
unattractive, King Hughbert was, in a word,

butt-ugly. He was almost making Beldon
nauseous just by the sight of him.

"Richard!" King Hughbert exclaimed, leveraging
his bulk out of his throne and clomping across
the floor to roughly embrace his eldest son. "We
thought we'd lost you, son! What happened?"

"It was terrible, father!" Richard exclaimed,
putting a hand to his head to further express his
trauma. "I couldn't move, couldn't speak...
trapped in that horrible prison of wood until this
beautiful lady rescued me!"

The 'beautiful lady' in question glared daggers at
both men and was kept from doing serious
damage only because Herb physically restrained
him.

"My name," Beldon growled chillingly, "Is
Beldon the Enchanter. I am here on your
youngest son's behalf and looking into the curse
that has been laid upon him."

"Hmm? Oh, Herb," King Hughbert said airily.
"Was wondering where you'd got to. Don't

suppose you'd mind looking in on your brother
Edmund, hmm? Terribly distraught, he's
been..." The King's smile brightened and his
eyes refocused as he looked from Beldon to
Richard. "Wonderful! Just wonderful, Richard.
Of course you'll want a grand wedding, nothing
less for my son and his beautiful rescuer-"

If Hughbert had anything more to add it was
lost in the sharp CRACK! of lightning as twin
bolts of electricity streaked down from the
ceiling to narrowly miss King Hughbert and his
eldest son. Smaller arcs of lightning crackled
around Beldon's hands, their light casting eerie
shadows upon the Enchanter's face.

"I'm sorry to cut short this little family reunion,
but Herb and I will be retiring to his rooms for
the rest of the evening to work on that curse. Do
not come anywhere near me or you will not live
to regret it," Beldon snapped, grabbing Herb's
sleeve and stalking off toward the nearest exit.

Behind them, stunned silence reigned.

They made it the majority of the distance to
Herb's room, Herb leading once they'd cleared
the throne room, before the Beast managed to
work up the courage speak to the still-furious
Enchanter.

"They're not so bad once you get to know them,"
he offered meekly. "And Edmund's actually
pretty nice when he feels like it..."

The door to Herb's room flew open of its own
accord and slammed shut once they were
through. Beldon took several deep breaths,
willing himself to calm before something
exploded. Or worse. Finally he rounded on
Herb, blue eyes flashing darkly. He opened his
mouth to say something, snapped it shut,
rubbed roughly at his eyes, then let out a slow
breath and glared at the Beast.

"I have never,

never, met anyone as incredibly,

amazingly,

phenomenally stupid as those two,"

he seethed. "If they weren't your family I'd...
I'd..."

"M'sorry..." Herb mumbled softly, the very
picture of Abject Misery.

Beldon took another deep breath, then sighed
quietly. He was here to help Herb, not incinerate
his relations. No matter how much they might
deserve it.

"It's... all right..." he said at last, dropping into a
nearby chair and rubbing at his temples. "I've
lived alone in my castle for so long I'd forgotten
about... that."

Herb remained silent for a long moment, then
looked up sadly. "It sounds funny, but it's not
really, is it? You can't go anywhere without
being mistaken for something you're not..." He
looked forlornly at his paws. "No wonder you
decided to live all alone."

The Enchanter's lingering anger evaporated
beneath the sheer misery in that soft voice. He
hadn't meant to cause Herb pain, however
indirectly. There was just something inherently
wrong about inflicting suffering upon someone

who cared so much for others.

A faint, pained smile made its way onto Beldon's
face as he rose from his chair and crossed the
floor to lay a gentle hand upon the Beast's arm.
"It's okay, really. Just frustrating to be
constantly judged on how I look rather than who
I am." He smiled wryly. "I'm sure you can
empathize."

Herb's muzzle shifted into a faint, wistful smile
as he looked from Beldon to himself. "Yeah, I
guess I can."

Beldon smiled again, this time closer to a true
smile. "Well then, what do you say I do
something about that spell, hmm?"

"Okay," Herb blinked, "But I didn't think we'd
discovered anything new... we kind of got
distracted after you freed Richard."

Although Beldon scowled at the mention of the
eldest prince, he refused to allow himself to get
distracted. There was something he needed to
remember, something that he hadn't been able

to focus on properly before.

"Yes and no..." he said slowly, frowning as he
walked back and forth across Herb's room.
"Herb... does your family always... mm... ignore
you?"

Herb tilted his big furry head to one side. "Pretty
much. I'm the youngest son. I'm not real
important."

"Mmm..." Beldon mused, idly playing with his
hair as he thought. "And the townsfolk? They
didn't seem particularly concerned to have a
giant hulking Beast in their midst..."

"Yeah, well, they know me," Herb demurred.
"People in other towns didn't know about the
curse, you know."

"What about when you were human?" Beldon
pressed. "Did they pay much attention to you
then?"

Slowly, Herb shook his head. "Not really. I'm
kind of forgettable."

Beldon frowned. "I'm beginning to see that. I
wonder..."

Without warning, the Enchanter suddenly
stepped up close to Herb and placed both hands
on the Beast's chest. Herb held very still, to the
point of holding his breath, wondering what
Beldon was up to and trying not to panic. The
Enchanter Looked at him rather intently, his
eyes shining a soft gold, then he blinked.

"Oh."

Herb bit his lip. "Oh?" he echoed. "What's Oh?"

Still rather close for comfort, Beldon looked up
at the Beast and smiled faintly. "I'm an idiot. No
wonder the curse got so messed up. There are
two spells on you, Herb."

Herb blinked. Then blinked again for good
measure. "... two?"

"Yes," Beldon continued, sounding rather
satisfied with himself. "They both appear to be
intended to alter your appearance and thus they
clashed rather spectacularly when the second

one was cast. I don't know why I didn't notice
sooner."

"Oh," Herb said again. "Err... can it be fixed...?"

"Now that I know

why it's so screwy, yes,"

Beldon replied. "Hold still."

The intricacies involved in extracting one spell
from the other required a considerable measure
of concentration as Beldon murmured quiet
words beneath his breath and drew complex
symbols both in the air and on Herb himself. He
checked and then double-checked his work, then
nodded slightly to himself.

"That should just about do it," Beldon said with
a nod, then smiled ruefully. "And, ah, sorry
about this..."

It was only meant to be a quick peck, the
requisite kiss to break the Enchanted Creature
spell, but as fur gave way to skin and those lips
softened into something quite warm and pliant
it became rather difficult to remember the
original reason for kissing the Beast. Herb's

arms had gone around him at some point and
Beldon felt like he was drowning, only he wasn't,
but Herb was warm and soft and tasted
wonderful and he really couldn't for the life of
him remember much beyond that.

When at last they separated, slowly and with no
small measure of reluctance, it took several long
moments for Beldon's dazed mind to catch up
with the rest of him. Coming back to reality was
like awakening from a particularly potent
dream, except that he was fairly certain he was
awake.

"Umm," Herb said slowly, trying very hard not
to fidget, "Please don't zap me with lightning..."

Beldon blinked at him, actually

looked at him

for the first time, then flushed a brilliant scarlet.
He pulled away from the former Beast and clung
to a chair to get his bearings and keep his
balance at the same time.

"Ah, no... no lightning..." he managed finally
after several false starts, looking back up at Herb

and feeling his face heat all over again. "I think
you're safe."

Herb grinned lopsidedly, untidy strands of
mousy brown hair falling into his eyes as he
gazed down at the Enchanter. He was barely of
average height now, though still taller than
Beldon (who wasn't?) and was quite simply the
most

ordinary man Beldon had ever seen.

Average height, brownish hair of unremarkable
length, average build, boring eyes... really,
entirely forgettable. The only thing at all of note
about him was his smile, and even that was
primarily because of the contrast between how it
looked on a man from how it had looked on the
Beast.

"So, um, if you're not going to zap me or
incinerate me or anything," Herb said impishly,
"Does that mean I can kiss you again?"

Beldon cursed his so-fair skin as he felt himself
blushing

again and tried to regain at least a little

of his dignity. "I'm not a girl," he muttered, not

quite able to meet Herb's eyes.

"I know." Herb said cheerfully. "Can I?"

Beldon studied his feet intently, his mind
whirling, unable to stay focused on any one
thing longer than a moment. He drew in a
slightly ragged breath. "If you want to..." he
mumbled softly.

This time he was slightly better prepared for the
feel of Herb's arms going around him, drawing
him close and holding him there. He could feel
every breath the prince took, the heat of his
body, his very

heartbeat so incredibly close.

Then Herb gently tipped his head up and he was
suddenly drowning, no, flying. He couldn't
decide. Couldn't think. All of his being was
caught up in warm lips that nibbled at his,
teasing, then a faint caress that he willingly
opened up to before his mouth was suddenly
devoured.

All the magic in the world couldn't compare to
this.

When Herb released him this time, Beldon
managed to catch his breath and smile ruefully
up at the prince. "If you don't quit distracting
me, I'm never going to be able to break that
second spell..."

Herb grinned unrepentantly, though he did
clasp his hands behind his back to keep himself
out of trouble. The Enchanter had to take
several deep breaths to steady himself and even
so he was rather painfully aware of Herb's
proximity as he forced his attention back to
magic.

"This..." he said slowly, curiously, "This spell has
been on you a long time... since you were a small
child, at least..."

Once more Beldon placed his hands on Herb's
chest, trying very hard to ignore the warm
heartbeat beneath his palms. He could sense the
spell now, and marveled anew at the sheer
complexity of it. Only a Master Magician could
have cast such a spell, he knew, and he said as

much to Herb.

"Does that mean you can't get it off?" Herb
asked, his voice losing some of its perpetual
sunshine as worry began to seep in.

Beldon waved off the concern. "Hardly. There
isn't a spell that's been cast that I can't break,"
he stated derisively. "I'm just studying it for a
minute. I'd like to know who would cast this sort
of spell on you and, more importantly,

why."

"I dunno," Herb replied doubtfully. "I'm nobody
special."

Beldon paused in his inspection to look up at
Herb, one eyebrow arched. "I beg to differ."

Herb blushed.

Point proven, Beldon restored his attention to
the matter at hand, making unintelligible noises
and poking at Herb for several minutes before
he abruptly straightened and fished a small
object from his knapsack.

"Hold this," he instructed, handing Herb a

smooth white pebble and backing up far enough
to fling his arms out and make a swift gesture.
Colored sparks appeared at his fingertips as he
waved them around, voice falling into an even
cadence.

"Benatir Cararkau Dedos Etinarmi," Beldon
stated imperiously before suddenly pointing at
Herb.

"Shazam!"

The former Beast's entire body shimmered with
a faint blueish light reminiscent of a hazy
morning sky before melting away like paints all
run together, gathering into a single focal point
in the stone he held in his hands. When the
transformation was complete, the stone had
changed from white to blueish-grey.

Beldon stared.

Herb blinked, noting that given the angle from
which he was looking at Beldon, he must have
gotten taller again. That was nice. Taller was far
more useful for getting things up high. Were

there any other changes?

"Beldon?" Herb asked, starting to get concerned
with the way the Enchanter was staring at him
without saying anything. Before his legs could
do something embarrassing like give out, Beldon
sat down abruptly on the floor. "Beldon!" Herb
squeaked, kneeling next to the Enchanter and
grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Beldon? Beldon! Beldon what's

wrong?"

Getting no response, Herb swiftly stood and
looked around frantically for a mirror. There
was a large one in the bathing room and Herb
sagged in relief to see that he was still human.
His frame had filled out, putting muscle in the
right places, his features had gotten a little
sharper, more chiseled, his eyes had gone from
muddy brown to a rather vibrant green, and his
hair was now a rich red-auburn just starting to
curl at the ends.

All in all, he thought he looked pretty handsome.
But then what had caused Beldon to react like

that?

Returning to the main room, Herb managed to
get Beldon off the floor and into a chair as the
Enchanter began talking to himself. "That
explains the spell," Beldon murmured slowly
with a slight shake of his head, "And the
strength of it. Hiding in plain sight... no wonder
no one ever noticed him... No magical signature
on the spell, obviously... a Court Magician
wouldn't want anyone to be able to trace it..."

"Beldon," Herb tried again, kneeling in front of
the Enchanter's chair, "

What explains it?"

Beldon blinked twice and waved a hand at the
air, conjuring up the slightly-translucent image
of a man who looked eerily similar to Herb. A
little taller, a little older, and sporting a tidy
goatee, he could have been Herb's brother.

"Who's that?" he asked curiously.

"That," Beldon replied slowly, "Is the High
King."

Herb felt like he'd just been kicked by a horse.

"What?"

Chapter 4

The mid-morning sun shining through his
bedroom windows was beginning to get
annoying, but Herb really didn't want to get up
yet. He was warm, happy, and perfectly content
for the first time in, well, as long as he could
remember. Being not quite awake yet he wasn't
entirely certain

why there was a person sleeping

in his arms, but he did know that it felt
completely

right.

A faint waft of honeysuckle and cinnamon
tickled his nose as the man in his arms made a
muffled sound of protest and attempted to hide
from the encroaching sunlight. Herb gave in to
the urge to grin like an idiot, carefully moving
wayward strands of dark green hair out of
Beldon's face.

He remembered, faintly, trying to reassure the
Enchanter that, High King look-alike or
whatever, there really wasn't anything to get so

worked up about. Somewhere along the way
reassuring Beldon had turned into kissing
Beldon which had then led to... Herb blushed.

Now as long as the Enchanter didn't attempt to
fry him to a crisp when he woke up, Herb was
pretty certain he could call that the best night of
his life. Which would then make this the best
morning, provided of course that nothing too
terrible happened before lunchtime.

"Mmmph. Somebody tell the sun to go away,"
Beldon mumbled, his face hidden between a
pillow and Herb's chest. "S'too bright."

Herb laughed. "Well, now I know why your
castle is so dark..."

With another muffled sound of protest, Beldon
turned over to glare blearily up at Herb. "I
happen to like sleeping in."

Herb grinned. "You certainly stay up late
enough to warrant it."

"And whose fault is that?" Beldon inquired
dryly, reaching up to drag Herb down for a slow,

sweet kiss.

Looked like he got to keep his life after all. That
was nice. Kisses were also nice. But only with
Beldon. Kissing other people would just be
weird. Other people weren't Beldon.

"Good morning," Herb whispered softly against
Beldon's lips when they parted.

"Morning, yes. Good... meh. That is not a word
that should ever be applied to mornings,"
Beldon muttered.

"No?" Herb inquired archly.

Beldon eyed him, a hint of a bemused smile
tugging at his lips. "Hmmm... are you going to
attempt convince me otherwise?"

Herb's emerald eyes glittered with mischief.
"Oh, I'll do more than just attempt," he
promised, tracing a thumb lightly along Beldon's
cheekbones and around the curve of his ear
before leaning close to steal another kiss.

Abruptly the door opened with a bang to admit a

dark-haired young woman dressed in the simple
linens of a palace servant. She shoved the door
closed again almost before she was completely
through, sagging against it once it was shut.

A string of rather creative curses erupted from
Beldon's lips as he grabbed the small blue
pebble from the floor and shoved it roughly
against Herb's chest. "Shazam," the Enchanter
growled, and Herb was suddenly back in the
shape he'd grown up in.

"What? Who?

Edmund?" Herb asked, sitting up

quickly and exchanging a startled stare with the
woman.

"Huh? Herb?!" Edmund exclaimed in disbelief,
a scowl quickly settling over her face, "When did
you get back?"

"Yesterday," Herb replied, starting to crawl out
of bed before he realized that he wasn't wearing
anything underneath the sheets. "What are you
doing in my room?"

Edmund shrugged. "Nobody ever comes in here.

It's a good place to hide."

"And why," Beldon interrupted dryly, "Would
you be needing to hide, Prince Edmund?"

Edmund's comely features scrunched up in an
expression of wary confusion. "Who are you?"
she asked.

Beldon rose from the bed, magic cloaking him in
a shimmering flow of golden brown magecloth
as he stood, managing to somehow look both
Impressive and slightly Dangerous despite his
sleep-tangled hair. "The Enchanter Beldon," he
replied coolly.

With widened eyes, Edmund took a step
backwards away from Beldon and only
succeeded in running into the door.
"Enchanter?" she repeated. "You're the one who
broke the spell on Richard, aren't you?"

Beldon twitched at the sound of the eldest
prince's name, then blinked at the gentle touch
of a hand on his arm. He took a deep breath,
resisted the urge to lean back into that touch,

and replied evenly, "Unfortunately. I should
have left him a tree."

A wry smile turned up the corners of Edmund's
lips. "Yes, well, I'm sure father's much happier
now that his precious Richard can do more than
stand around and be decorative." He snorted.
"Not that he was ever particularly worth looking
at in the first place..."

"What about you?" Herb asked, peering over
Beldon's shoulder. "Beldon can break your spell
too..."

"No!" Edmund exclaimed, his arms coming up
as though to ward off any magic the Enchanter
might cast. "That is... I mean..." She grimaced
and sat down on the floor in a huff. "Oh
botheration."

Herb blinked curiously at his next-eldest sibling,
puzzlement writ in every muscle of his body.
"No? What's wrong, Edmund?" he asked, not
getting an answer.

A soft chuckle broke the silence, Beldon crossing

his arms in amusement as he watched the
prince-turned-princess. "I think I understand,"
he drolled.

Edmund scowled up at Beldon, the very picture
of Indignant Princess. "How would you know?"
she asked.

Beldon smirked. Edmund scowled more. Herb
blinked at both of them.

"Umm... so Edmund doesn't want you to turn
him back into a boy?" he asked finally with the
air of someone who was used to being confused
and in need of confirmation. "How come?"

The Enchanter smirked pointedly at Edmund.
"You get to explain this one," he said
mercilessly.

"Herb," Edmund said carefully, obviously
having had to explain things to her younger
brother before, "Think about it. What does
Richard look like? What does

Father look like?

You've got the best genes out of all of us, and
even that's not saying much." She sighed,

getting back onto her feet. "But as long as I'm
under this spell, I'm actually

pretty. People

smile at me and give me things, and there's this
rather handsome baker-"

She stopped abruptly, coloring and looking
away. Beldon laughed, though Herb was still
puzzling through what she'd said. When he
finally had it figured out he drooped, looking at
his brother-turned-sister with pitiful brown
eyes.

"I didn't know you were so unhappy, Edmund...
I'm sorry..."

Edmund waved off his concern. "Forget it. I'm
happy now, so don't worry about me. Just let me
use your room as a hiding spot until I get
everything sorted out with Landon, okay? Then
I'll be out of this stupid city for good."

"You're sure you're happy?" Herb asked
doubtfully.

"Quite sure," Edmund replied. "And if you ever
wander through Skanli, look for 'Edwina' and I'll

prove it to you."

Looking decidedly more cheerful, Edmund
waved at them and pulled the door open again,
peering briefly into the hallway before tossing
them a quick wink and running off. Herb stared
at the door for several moments before a slight
gesture from Beldon closed it.

"Well, that proves it," Beldon stated dryly as he
retrieved his clothing from where it had gotten
strewn across the floor, "Your entire family is
insane."

Herb smiled slightly and disentangled himself
from the sheet he'd donned for decency's sake.
"Told you Edmund was nicer than Richard."

"Hmm," Beldon replied noncommittally.
"Herb..."

"What?" Herb asked, fishing clean clothing out
of his wardrobe.

"I was thinking... the only place we're going to
find any answers about that spell on you is
Throne City," Beldon said slowly as he banished

the magical clothing he'd constructed and
redressed in something real. "We don't have to,
but..."

Herb was quiet a moment as he slipped on shirt
and trousers, then looked up determinedly at
Beldon. "But we're not going to find out
anything here, and I'd kinda like to know why
my life is so... weird."

Beldon nodded and stood, once more clad in his
Enchanter's robes. "Pack light," he instructed,
"And put that stone in your pocket. It's much
easier to transfer the spell back and forth than to
keep breaking and recasting it."

As Herb went to pack, Beldon drew a small jar of
carved jade from his knapsack. Removing the
lid, he dipped one finger inside, a thick silvery
liquid clinging to it when he drew it out again.
Murmuring softly beneath his breath the
Enchanter painted the door jam with the
shimmering stuff, finishing just as Herb
announced he was all packed.

"Hey, cool, what's that?" Herb asked, resisting
the impulse to poke at the goo.

"Dragon's blood," Beldon replied absently,
wiping his finger off and replacing the lid on the
jar.

Herb stared. "Dragon's blood? But... wouldn't
that hurt the dragon...?" he asked.

Beldon smiled wryly and put the jar away. "Yes,
although this particular dragon's blood was
payment from the dragon in question for a
rather complicated spell."

"Oh," Herb said, once more staring at the
glistening stuff outlining his bedroom door. "So,
um, what's it for?"

"A transport spell," Beldon replied, making
certain all of his things were tucked away in the
knapsack where they belonged. "It will take us
directly to Throne City."

Herb was suitably impressed. "Wow," he
breathed, then blinked. "Er, so, how come you
didn't do that to come here?"

"Because I'd never been to Irenia before, of
course," Beldon replied matter-of-factly. "It
doesn't work if I don't know where I'm going."

"Oh," Herb said again, somewhat sheepishly.

Beldon smiled and shook his head, stepping
close to Herb and reaching up to tie something
around the prince's neck.

"What's-" Herb started to ask.

"Don't take that off," Beldon instructed. "It will
let me find you in case we get separated at the
capitol, amongst other things."

"Not even for baths?" Herb asked.

"Not even for baths," Beldon confirmed. "Now
then, one moment..."

The Enchanter held up a hand and crooked one
finger. "Ism-El-Azam," he intoned calmly. From
all around the doorway silver flowed inward,
meeting in the middle and swirling around in a
chaotic manner. It made Herb's stomach a bit
queasy to look at it for too long.

"In you go," Beldon said cheerfully, giving Herb
a shove that sent him tumbling into the silver
door. A moment later, Beldon followed.

They emerged, Beldon with considerably more
grace than Herb, in a curved room with green
and black marbled floors. There were only a
handful of people present, all of whom were
dressed similarly to Beldon in flowing,
embroidered robes, and none of which paid any
attention at all to the new arrivals.

Without giving Herb much time at all to gawk,
Beldon dragged him over to a man dressed in
dark red standing next to an ornate podium. The
man glanced at them briefly before summarily
dismissing them to write on a small tablet.

Beldon was not dissuaded. "Enchanter Beldon,
here to see the ArchMage," he stated calmly.

The man in red smirked as he looked them over
again. "Sure you wouldn't rather stay here and
spend some time with me instead?" he leered.

Beldon twitched and drew in a slow breath,

letting it out even more slowly. "I need to speak
with the ArchMage. It is a matter of some
urgency."

"Do you have an appointment?" the man in red
inquired snidely.

Herb silently took a step back, then made it two
just for safety's sake.

"ArchMage. Now," Beldon said flatly.

The man in red sniffed. "The ArchMage isn't
available except by appointment."

Beldon smiled darkly, his eyes gleaming golden.
"Oh really?" he inquired, raising one hand into
the air. "

Zim Salabim!"

People jumped as multiple cracks of lighting
struck, their noise almost deafening, seeming to
touch ground just outside of the room they were
in. Most looked around, wide-eyed, while a few
found solid pieces of furniture to hide behind.
Beldon just smirked and counted aloud.

"Three, two, one..."

An elderly man dressed in gold-trimmed white
suddenly appeared in the middle of the room
and looked around rapidly, alighting on Beldon
and hurrying over. The people around made
little signs of respect as he passed but the old
man didn't pay them any mind.

"Beldon! Was the lightning

really necessary?" he

asked, sounding mostly resigned though there
was an undercurrent of nervousness in his voice.

"Your trained monkey here needs to be
retrained," Beldon replied calmly, pointing
casually at the man he'd been arguing with. "I
figured if he was going to be difficult then I'd
have to get your attention some other way."

The ArchMage, for that is exactly who the old
man was, shot a look at the man in red. "We'll
talk later," he muttered, ushering Beldon, with
Herb following along in bewilderment, across
the room and through a set of golden doors.

"Up," the ArchMage said to the air, precipitating
a slight tingling sensation before the room faded

out only to be replaced by a different one
entirely.

"Really now, Beldon," the ArchMage continued
as he led them to a set of chairs, "You don't

have

to terrify everyone to get what you want..."

Beldon only raised a single eyebrow and made a
point of pulling teacups out of the air for himself
and Herb.

The ArchMage sighed and acquired a teacup of
his own. "Very well, then... so what brings you to
the capitol? I thought you'd sworn never to set
foot in the Tower of Magic again."

"I had," Beldon replied nonchalantly, taking a
sip of his tea before smiling in a manner that
Herb was quickly coming to realize was a good
sign that he should be finding a good place to
hide.

"I found something."

Beldon flicked a finger toward Herb, murmuring
a soft word under his breath as he once again
deactivated the spell. No sooner was Herb back

in his true body than the ArchMage jumped.

"Prince Adrian!" he exclaimed, teacup falling
from his nerveless fingers.

"Oh good," Beldon said calmly, "You know who
he is. That will make this so much easier."

"Adrian?" Herb pouted, "But I liked being
Herb..."

Beldon smiled. "You can still be Herb. Now
then, ArchMage... do tell me what's going on."

Slowly, still staring wide-eyed at Herb, the
ArchMage settled back into his chair. He
fidgeted nervously with his hands for a moment
before speaking with an uncertainty that was not
at all befitting of the highest magical authority
in the land.

"I don't really know all the details," the
ArchMage said, "I don't think anyone does
really, though High King Aiden probably knows
more than most... All I really know is that Crown
Prince Adrian vanished one night when he was
barely three years old and no one really seemed

particularly concerned about it." He frowned,
looking at his hands. "Magic was suspected, of
course, but nothing was ever proved. The
magicians who asked to be allowed to inspect
the nursery were turned away, King Aiden
telling them there was no point in it."

Beldon frowned thoughtfully, his teacup floating
in the air as he threaded his fingers together.
"Magic..." he mused, glancing over at Herb who
was looking mournfully at his empty teacup as
though he could convince it to refill by sheer
force of desire. With a soft smile, he filled the
cup.

"There is magic at work, I'm certain of that,"
Beldon said finally, "But as you said, one would
have to be at the palace itself to figure out
exactly what. I think... yes. Herb."

Herb blinked over the rim of his teacup.
"Mmph?"

"Finish your tea. We're going to go visit the High
King."

Chapter 5

With the Tower of Magic being fairly close by,
the trip to the palace was thankfully short. Herb
was back in disguise and thus mostly forgotten,
but Beldon had gotten hit on four times by the
time they finally made it inside. He did his best
to curb his temper before something exploded,
but the look that the Majordomo was giving him
wasn't helping matters at

all.

"May I

help you?" the man inquired archly of

Beldon, completely dismissing Herb as
unimportant.

It's impolite to kill the help. It's impolite to kill
the help. It's impolite to kill the help.

"Please inform the High King that the Enchanter
Beldon and..." Beldon paused and smiled wryly,
"Adrian... would like a word with him."

The majordomo appeared entirely unimpressed,
peering loftily over his spectacles at the petite

Enchanter. "I will inform his Majesty, but I
would not get your hopes up," the man stated
arrogantly as he left to relay the message.

Beldon simply stood and crossed his arms,
waiting impatiently for the majordomo to return
and wondering who in their right mind hired
these idiots. Herb on the other hand was
gawking like a country boy, unable to keep his
gaze on any one thing for longer than a few
moments. Beldon managed to hide a smile with
some effort.

Sooner than expected, though not soon enough
for Beldon, the majordomo returned. He
appeared rather surprised as he gestured them
to precede him. "King Aiden will see you now,"
he announced, his expression saying quite
clearly that he had no idea why the king would
have granted this audience.

"Come on, Herb," Beldon said, dragging the
enchanted prince away from an ornate fountain.

They passed through a long hallway cordoned

off by heavy drapes before being shown to a set
of carved doors. A soldier stood to either side
and the one on the right opened the door as they
approached. The majordomo preceded them in,
bowing deeply to the figure sitting on the golden
throne at the far end, then straightening and
announcing, "Sire, your... guests."

The High King waved the majordomo away,
then summarily dismissed his servants. In
moments the three of them were left alone.

Beldon approached the throne, having to stop
halfway and retrieve Herb who had tripped over
the carpet while trying to stare at the painted
ceiling. Once they were within a comfortable
speaking distance the Enchanter bowed,
somewhat stiffly from lack of practice, and
elbowed Herb to do the same once it was
apparent that the prince's attention had once
again wandered.

Although he was trying not to show it, the High
King practically radiated tension.

"Majesty," Beldon said with a slight smile, "I am
the Enchanter Beldon." He paused, looking
thoughtful, then spoke a few soft words and
waved his hand around his head in a slow circle.
The High King frowned.

"What did you just do?" he questioned.

Beldon shrugged. "Better to be safe, considering
the circumstances. I just negated all possible
prying eyes and ears," he explained, then
gestured briefly at Herb.

"Shazam."

As Herb's spell melted away, leaving him tall
and auburn-haired once more, the King tensed
again. He gazed at Herb for a long moment, eyes
betraying little, then let out a slow breath.

"How can I be certain that this is not all an
elaborate trick?" he asked cautiously.

Beldon snorted. "With all due respect, your
Majesty, we didn't come here to convince you of
anything. We'd simply like to know what the hell
is going on so Herb can make some sense out of

the mess that passes for his life. It's certainly not
our fault that your entire bloody kingdom
appears to be completely insane."

Silence reigned supreme.

It was Herb who broke the stand-off at last,
scratching thoughtfully at his head. "Huh... He's
older than in the picture you showed me,
Beldon."

"I'm not surprised," Beldon replied with a shrug.
"Until today, I hadn't seen the High King for
decades."

Herb blinked. "Decades?" he repeated. "Er, how
old

are you?"

Beldon shrugged. "Master Magicians can extend
their life indefinitely from the moment they
achieve that rank," he explained. "Essentially,
however old you are when you master your
magic is how old you remain until your magic is
no longer strong enough to support you."

"Oh," Herb said, though it was clear that he was
still trying to puzzle through all of the

ramifications of that.

"I remember you now," the High King said
slowly. "The child prodigy... Master Sabin's
protege."

Herb blinked again. "Child prodigy?"

An amused smile curved the corners of the High
King's lips. "Indeed. He caused quite a stir at the
time. Master Enchanter at age... seventeen, I
believe. Between his age and his... penchant for
trouble, I believe the entire Sorcerer's Council
breathed a collective sigh of relief when he chose
to isolate himself."

Beldon scowled. Herb laughed. "I'm not
surprised," he said cheerfully.

"I could always turn you back into a Beast
again," Beldon threatened sulkily.

The High King blinked. "Beast?" he asked.

Beldon and Herb exchanged a look, then Herb
smiled sheepishly. "Er, yes. Um, you see, it
started at home. Or, um, Irenia anyway," he

explained, confusing himself in the process.
Beldon smiled and shook his head, gently
prodding Herb to continue his narration.

"You see this wizard came and was causing
trouble, so fath.. um... King Hughbert sent the
three of us princes out to stop him. He turned
Richard into a tree, Edmund into a girl, and me
into a Beast," Herb continued, oblivious to the
way the King tensed at the word

wizard. "Then I

went looking for an enchanted castle because I
needed one or the spell wouldn't break and
that's when I found Beldon."

At this point, Beldon took up the tale. "I
discovered that the Enchanted Beast spell had
gotten warped and eventually deduced that the
cause was two conflicting spells. When I
removed both it became quite evident that there
was more going on than either of us knew and
we came here in search of answers."

He finished and looked pointedly at the High
King, who nodded slowly and rubbed at his

goatee.

"As you may have deduced, there are traitors in
the city," he stated quietly. "I haven't identified
them all yet but I have a few guesses, including,"
King Aiden looked pointedly at Beldon, "A few
on the Sorcerer's Council."

Beldon snorted. "Most likely more than just a
few," he grumbled.

Herb suppressed a laugh. "You really don't get
along with them very well, do you?" he asked.

"Most of the Council is

still afraid of him," the

High King said helpfully, hiding a smile of his
own.

"Good," Beldon stated icily. Herb grinned and
reached out to ruffle the Enchanter's hair,
earning himself a sideways look for his trouble.

"Okay, so we told you our story," Herb pointed
out, "So now will you explain the parts we don't
know yet? Or maybe those parts too, because I
still don't get it."

The High King smiled faintly and shook his head
in bemusement, then slowly, very slowly, rose
from his throne. "Fair enough," he said, his
voice no longer certain, his eyes pained, his
hands trembling. Herb darted over to help,
managing miraculously to get there without
tripping over anything, and the King leaned
heavily on him.

Beldon frowned. "Majesty..."

"Just feeling my age at last," King Aiden said,
carefully straightening and descending the steps
of the dais.

"Somehow I doubt that," Beldon murmured,
coming up to walk at Aiden's free side and
reaching out to gently touch the High King's
arm. A few soft words escaped his lips, then the
Enchanter stiffened. "This is not age, Majesty.
This is magic," he hissed, anger coloring his
words. "Someone has been stealing your power."

Both Herb and the High King started in
surprise. Beldon looked up at King Aiden. "This

is no recent thing, but a slow drain. Why hasn't
the ArchMage noticed?" he demanded.

Aiden shook his head slowly. "I don't know..."

"Can you fix him?" Herb asked worriedly,
looking from Beldon to the King and back again.

Beldon was silent a moment, then shook his
head slowly. "I... I don't know. The Royal Family
is... different."

"Huh?" Herb asked eloquently.

"Walk with me," King Aiden instructed, "And I
will explain."

They passed through a small doorway at the rear
of the throne room, emerging in a long corridor.
Although not as extreme as the entry hall or
throne room, it was still quite opulent and the
King allowed Herb some time to gawk before
speaking.

"There has been a certain sort of power that has
run in our bloodline for more generations than
anyone can remember," he explained. "No one

really remembers why, but where it came from
is not as important as what it does. The old
power grants us a longer lifespan than normal as
well as giving us some immunity to magic."

Herb blinked. "But I had

two spells cast on me."

King Aiden smiled. "I suspect that the second
would not have been able to be cast if not for the
first, and it took a very special magician and a
highly complicated spell to cast that one."

Beldon stopped, an odd expression on his face
as he looked at the High King.

"... Your Majesty," he said slowly, "Master Sabin
cast that spell, didn't he?"

Aiden nodded. "Yes, he did."

Beldon remained silent for the rest of the trip,
lost in thought, while Herb and the King chatted
about all that they'd missed in each other's lives
over the last fifteen years.

They stopped in front of a plain wooden door
with no ornamentation, unlike the rest of the

palace. It was old, very old, although still in
remarkably good condition. Neither it nor the
hallway they were in, it seemed, got much use.

King Aiden laid a hand on the door, looking at it
silently for a long moment before turning to
address his companions. "This is... part of the
royal treasury. There is a very old and powerful
spell on this room which requires one of my
bloodline to open the door," he explained,
looking sadly at Herb. "That is half of the reason
that I had to send you away."

Curious, Beldon reached out to the door, not
quite touching it. His eyes acquired a far-off look
as he silently studied it, then with a slight nod
he stepped back. "Hmm, not bad," he
commented, "Though I could probably
circumvent it if I had to."

"It's a good thing you're on our side, then," King
Aiden said, nonplussed.

Herb laughed and hugged the Enchanter.
"Beldon can do anything," he stated proudly.

Beldon blushed.

Aiden laughed. "I'm beginning to get that
impression as well," he admitted. "It really is a
pity you turned down my offer all those years
ago. The kingdom would benefit greatly having
you for a Royal Enchanter."

"I don't like people," Beldon muttered, his voice
lacking any real heat. After all, it was terribly
hard to get upset at things when a certain
enchanted prince was still glomped onto you.

"So, um, what's in that room that's so special?"
Herb inquired, peering at the ominous door
from over Beldon's head.

The High King stiffened, his face losing all traces
of humor. "Something very dangerous," he said
softly. "Many years ago I aided Master Sabin in
sealing away a very powerful Dark Enchanter.
His prison lies within that room."

Beldon stiffened as well, despite Herb's
proximity. "Morgemeil..." he breathed quietly.

King Aiden nodded. "Apparently Morgemeil had

a son, who showed up fifteen years ago swearing
revenge upon me for my role in the matter. He
threatened to destroy my son if I did not set his
father free." He rubbed at his face wearily,
looking very old, and very tired. "Obviously, that
was not an option. So I sent Adrian away in
disguise and Master Sabin cast a spell to make
everyone forget that he'd ever existed. Only in
that manner could I be certain he'd be safe."

Silence stretched between them for a long
moment, then Herb asked curiously, "If this
Master Sabin guy could do all that, then how
come he didn't just make the bad wizard go
away?"

It was Beldon who answered him. "Sabin was
old. Very old. Even the most powerful magician
cannot live forever."

"The spell to hide you away was the last spell he
ever cast," Aiden added quietly.

Again there was a long moment of silence, none
of the three of them really looking at anything,

then Herb's stomach abruptly decided it needed
food and rumbled loudly.

Beldon smiled wryly. "Apparently it is supper
time," he announced.

Aiden chuckled softly and led the way.

For nearly the entire journey Beldon eyed Herb
thoughtfully, earning himself a quizzical look in
return as they entered the dining hall.

"Herb," Beldon asked suddenly, "How do you
feel about being bait?"

Herb blinked. "Bait?" he repeated.

The Enchanter smiled in that unsettling manner
of his that usually meant people should start
ducking. "This upstart magician wants to free
his daddy from the treasure room. You and the
High King are theoretically the only people who
can do that. He's obviously had years to work on
King Aiden here and still doesn't have what he
wants. Therefore..." Beldon's eyes glittered, "If
the Crown Prince was suddenly seen waltzing
around, I'm willing to bet he'll make a move."

"Most likely," Aiden agreed, "But how do you
plan on keeping Adrian safe?"

Beldon laced his fingers together, eyes
narrowed, a positively evil expression on his
face. Both Herb and the King blanched.

"Never mind," Aiden said quickly, "I don't want
to know."

Talk then turned to more trivial matters and
Beldon dismissed his privacy spell so that the
servants could enter with the food. He said little
throughout the course of the meal, letting father
and son bond while his attention was focused on
less lighthearted matters. Both Herb and his
father had faith in him and he wasn't about to
let them down due to poor preparation. By the
time dessert had been consumed, everything
was ready. The initial spells had been cast, the
secondary spells selected and readied, and the
plan finalized.

Now all he needed was for the idiot to just show
up.

"I've had the servants prepare a room for you,"
King Aiden said once he finally managed to get
Beldon's attention. "And Adrian's room has been
aired out and readied for him as well. They can
show you to them now, if you'd like."

Beldon shrugged indifferently. "There is little
more that can be done tonight," he said.
"Perhaps it is best to retire for the evening, as
tomorrow we will see about catching ourselves a
traitor."

The three of them said their goodnights before
allowing the servants to whisk them off to their
respective suites. Beldon wandered around his,
looking at everything without any real curiosity,
though the bathing room sparked a little bit of
interest.

It didn't take very long to come to a decision.

Casting a quick

you can't see me spell, he

slipped out of his room and followed the bright
trail of magic that wound through the palace
hallways and eventually ended at a set of

horribly ornate painted doors. Beldon cancelled
the spell before knocking, taking a step back
when the door was opened from within.

With a shy smile, Herb let him in, closing the
door behind them.

Chapter 6

Herb awoke slowly, feeling deliciously relaxed
and incredibly comfortable. There was definitely
something to be said for royal beds, though the
fact that this particular royal bed had a nude
Enchanter in it made it particularly enticing. At
present said Enchanter was still asleep and
draped half over Herb, his hair spread out over
both of them like threads of dark silk.

Maybe they could put off ferreting out the evil
wizard for a day or so. Staying in bed all
morning sounded like a lovely idea, though he
doubted Beldon would consent to it. Maybe with
a little convincing...

Impishly, Herb ran his hands beneath all that
dark hair, along the curve of the Enchanter's
back and cupping Beldon's behind. He got a
sleepy murmur from the man, but not much
else, and so began to gently massage from
buttocks back up to Beldon's neck.

"Mmmm..." Beldon murmured, "Don't stop
doing that or I'll turn you into a guinea pig..."

Herb laughed and kissed the top of that dark
head. "You sure?" he asked, sliding one hand
between their bodies. "I could do something else
instead..."

The Enchanter gasped softly and arched back,
blinking several times to clear the fog of sleep
from his mind, his eyes eventually managing to
refocus. Personally Herb thought watching
Beldon try to wake up in the morning was the
best entertainment ever, though he'd never say
as much out loud. He did value his life, after all.

"Herb..." Beldon breathed, his voice catching
momentarily before shifting into a low moan.
"Mmm..."

"Are you awake?" Herb asked innocently, letting
out a soft meep as he abruptly found himself
straddled by the now quite-awake Enchanter
who glared down at him from beneath the fall of
dark hair.

"You... are incorrigible," Beldon told him flatly,
before leaning down to steal a long, slow kiss.

He loved the taste of Beldon's mouth, loved the
feel of the slender body beneath his hands, the
wave of dizziness that threatened to carry him
away and left him completely light-headed every
time the man kissed him. He'd managed to work
his hands back down to cup the perfect curve of
Beldon's ass again when someone knocked on
his bedroom door.

Beldon broke off the kiss and scowled fiercely.
"

Now what?" he demanded of no one in

particular.

The door opened and a young woman entered,
radiating worry. "Prince Adrian," she said,
looking slowly from her trembling hands to
Herb's bed, "The King would like me to tell you
that the Enchanter seems to have gone missin-
EEP!"

All at once the girl's face flushed crimson and
she stepped backwards rapidly. "I.. oh! Sorry!"

she managed to gasp out before turning and
fleeing from the room.

Both Herb and Beldon regarded the door for
several moments before Herb began laughing
quietly. Beldon sighed, sitting up and pushing
his hair back out of his face. "Well, I suppose we
should get dressed before the entire palace
comes to investigate," he muttered in
annoyance.

Herb was still snickering as the Enchanter
fetched a fresh set of clothing from his
knapsack, though he did take a slight breather to
enjoy the view as Beldon got dressed. The tables
turned once Beldon was fully clothed, however,
as every time he attempted to dress himself
Beldon

touched him.

"You are so not helping," Herb whined after
having dropped his socks for the fourth time.

Beldon smirked. "You woke me up," he pointed
out.

Very carefully, Herb placed two chairs and a

table between himself and the Enchanter and
scrambled into his clothing faster than he'd ever
done before. Beldon was still smirking when he
finished, though there was an amused light in
his eyes.

"Your buttons are all one off," he pointed out.

Herb grinned. "Will you fix them for me?" he
asked innocently. Beldon raised an eyebrow, but
stepped around the blockade to assist. He'd
gotten two of the buttons undone when Herb
tipped his head up and kissed him soundly.

They hadn't moved from that spot when the
second knock of the morning came, though
Herb's buttons had managed to right themselves
at some point. The door cracked open, King
Aiden's voice audible outside.

"Adrian?" he called tentatively, "Are you... up?"

Beldon and Herb exchanged wry smiles before
separating and turning toward the door. "Yes,
Father," Herb replied cheerfully, "And clothed
too."

Cautiously the High King pushed the door
completely open, stepping into the room and
looking from his son to Beldon and back again.
"Ah," he said faintly, "That's good. The maids
were most concerned this morning when they
discovered that the Enchanter's bed had not
been slept in."

"Obviously it didn't take them

that long to find

me," Beldon pointed out sweetly, taking
merciless pleasure in the way the High King's
cheeks colored. Some things ran in the family, it
seemed.

King Aiden coughed and looked at a wall for a
few moments until the blush faded. "Right,
well... I thought you might want a quick
breakfast before we headed out..."

Taking pity on his father, Herb pulled Beldon
out of his suite and into the hallway. "Breakfast
would be great," he said cheerfully, then beamed
as he spotted a servant bearing a covered tray.
"Ooh, hello breakfast," he greeted, snatching the

lid off and peering at what lay beneath.

Beldon snickered, then blinked as he abruptly
found a small piece of fruit pressed to his lips.
Herb grinned, popping a second piece of fruit
into his mouth with his other hand. Undaunted,
Beldon accepted the morsel, taking great care to
lick Herb's fingers clean afterwards.

Both royals and two of the three waiting
servants flushed scarlet, the last one opting to
gape instead. Beldon smirked and licked his lips,
then carefully selected a strawberry to feed to a
red-faced Herb.

"Maybe breakfast wasn't such a good idea after
all..." King Aiden said faintly.

"Probably not," Beldon agreed, "But it does taste
nice. Shall we be going?"

The High King led the way, followed by the
servants, with Herb and Beldon following
behind and nibbling at their breakfast. The
servants departed upon reaching the foyer, the
High King continuing right out into the

courtyard where a number of retainers waited.
As they stepped outside, three saddled horses
were brought to meet them.

Herb and his Father both swung up onto their
mounts with ease, Herb displaying considerably
more grace in the saddle than he had while on
his own two feet. Beldon on the other hand eyed
his with an expression of distaste and pulled
himself onto it a touch awkwardly. He really
wasn't all that fond of horses. They were so...
stupid.

King Aiden led the way with Herb a half pace
behind him, a number of guards right on their
heels. Beldon waited until the rest of the
retainers began to ride out, placing himself in
their midst so as not to draw undue attention to
himself. Herb was the bait here, not him.

As they passed off the palace grounds and into
the city itself the Enchanter cast a small spell to
make certain the animal would behave under
any circumstances and set his mind free to

search for any traces of unusual magic. This
being the capitol city with the Tower of Magic
and the Sorcerer's Council both nearby there
was quite a bit of ambient magic everywhere. He
barely paid any attention at all to the tour of the
capitol or King Aiden's running commentary,
trying to sort out why things felt... off.

They'd turned the procession around and were
circling back toward the palace when it
happened. There was a sharp build-up of
magical energy, far too much for one person to
wield, then suddenly there were panicking
horses everywhere. Beldon silently thanked his
own foresight for remembering to bespell his
beast as it was the only one that didn't seem to
think the world was about to end.

All around him guards and retainers were slowly
toppling over onto the ground, caught in the
grip of a powerful sleeping spell. In moments,
only Beldon, Herb, and his father were still
awake, protected as they were by Beldon's
magic.

"What's going on?" Herb asked, barely
managing to stay astride his panicking horse.
"Beld-"

Abruptly a man appeared out of nowhere,
dressed in vivid purple wizard's robes that
glittered in the sunlight. He reached out to grab
hold of Herb's arm only to be zapped backwards
into a wall by a bolt of pure magical energy as
the protective necklace Beldon had placed on
the prince reacted to the possible threat.

Beldon stared. "Melanth?!" he exclaimed,
sliding down off his oblivious steed and walking
over to watch as the wizard slowly picked
himself up off the ground. "

You're the idiot

wizard causing all this trouble?"

The wizard, Melanth, stared back at him.
"Beldon?! You're supposed to be hiding out in
the middle of nowhere! The hell are you doing
here?"

"Cleaning up your messes, apparently," Beldon
retorted. "You're still a lousy excuse for a mage."

"Just because you and that crazy old man were
both insane doesn't make

me a bad mage!"

Melanth exclaimed, drawing himself up to his
full, and taller than Beldon, height. "I found
better teachers to learn from."

"Apparently not very good ones," Beldon
pointed out with a smirk, "Or I wouldn't have
been able to put you through a wall

again.

Obviously that's why you're trying to free your
daddy." He rolled his eyes. "If I was Morgemeil,
I so would have disowned you."

Melanth sneered. "At least I'm not a girlie-boy,"
he retorted smugly.

Beldon's fists clenched at his side, years of
childhood taunts ringing in his ears as his
temper flared. He focused his thoughts to cast a
spell- Only to watch as a fist connected with
Melanth's face, sending the wizard flying
backwards once again.

Herb glared down at the wizard, the angriest
expression Beldon had ever seen writ across his

normally gentle face. The Enchanter blinked.

"I suggest you rethink your words, wizard,"
Herb growled, eerily reminiscent of the voice
he'd possessed as a Beast.

The wizard struggled to his feet, again, and cast
an arm out imperiously... only to blink as
nothing happened. He stared for a moment,
then repeated the gesture. Still nothing. Beldon
smirked.

"That's impossible!" Melanth screeched, starting
to panic. "Even you couldn't stop me with the
full power of the council augmenting me!
There's no way!"

Beldon's smirk widened as he casually crossed
his arms across his chest. "You really should
have paid more attention to Master Sabin," he
pointed out, "Rather than constantly whining
about all the 'weird' and 'backwards' methods he
taught."

Melanth blinked. "What do you mean-" The rest
of the wizard's sentence died as his breath

caught in his throat and his eyes crossed. He
managed a strangled sound before he began
shrinking rapidly until a large slug was all that
remained where once a man had stood.

"Woah," Herb said, impressed.

"Um," King Aiden managed, blinking.

"Beldon! You

witch!" the slug shrieked in

Melanth's voice, "What did you do to me?!"

"I should think that would be obvious," Beldon
said, calmly withdrawing a small crystal salt
shaker from a pocket. "You're not the only one
who can cast transformation spells." He
crouched down next to the furious creature,
carefully sprinkling a few grains of salt onto it.

Predictably, it screamed. Beldon smirked.

"Now then," he said conversationally, "I want
the names of every single person working with
you and what their involvement has consisted
of. Can you do that for me, Melanth?"

"G-go to hell..." Melanth-the-slug retorted.

Beldon sighed. "Fine, be difficult," he said and
sprinkled a bit more salt on Melanth. When the
former wizard's screams died off this time, he
shakily listed a series of names. At each
successive conspirator, Beldon's smile grew.

"That's almost the entire Sorcerer's Council,"
King Aiden breathed. "Including the
ArchMage!"

"Yes, it is," Beldon agreed, looking positively
gleeful at the thought of finally being able to get
even after so many years of scorn and ridicule.
Herb and Aiden both blanched and took a step
back away from the Enchanter.

"I'm really,

really glad I'm not a sorcerer..." Herb

stated.

King Aiden could only nod his agreement.

Beldon regarded the slimy creature for a
moment, then cast another spell to turn Melanth
into a rather fluffy chinchilla. He reached down
and picked the furry thing up by the scruff of the
neck, depositing it in the arms of one of the

guardsmen who were slowly waking up as the
sleep spell wore off.

Orders were issued and the party broke up, the
guards taking the wizard-turned-rodent back to
the palace while Aiden, Herb, and Beldon went
to the Tower of Magic to deal with the rest of
Melanth's associates. They'd nearly made it to
the entry doors when several bolts of lighting
streaked down from the sky directly overhead.

The Enchanter snorted. "Like I wouldn't know
how to counter my own trademark spell," he
murmured, shaking his head. Aiden hid a smile.

"Beldon," Herb asked thoughtfully, "How come
you're so much stronger than the whole
Council?"

Beldon blinked, then snickered softly. "I'm not,
actually," he replied with a smile, "But I did cast
a spell earlier that the idiots up there obviously
haven't figured out yet."

"What spell?" Herb asked curiously.

"Something I created in my youth," Beldon

replied with a soft smile. "I was desperate to
gain an advantage over my teacher, so I found a
way to use his own power against him." He
laughed softly. "It took him a week to figure out
how to counter it and get his revenge."

Herb grinned. "Sounds like you and your
teacher had a lot of fun."

"Yeah," Beldon said with a smile, "We did."

"Including making every well and river in the
kingdom carry strawberry juice for a week,"
King Aiden inserted dryly.

Beldon flushed and looked at a wall. "That was
an accident..." he mumbled.

Herb and Aiden both laughed, breaking off
when sharpened stakes appeared in the sky
above them before glancing off harmlessly to the
side.

"Well," Aiden said nonplussed, "I believe it's
time to end this."

"Agreed," Beldon snorted, looking up at the top

of the tower. "Hello up there," he called,
magically augmenting his voice to carry. "You
can come down now, or we can do this the hard
way."

Silence stretched out, Beldon's foot keeping time
as it tapped softly against the cobblestones.
Finally the three exchanged glances and Herb
shrugged.

"Fine then," Beldon said, "The hard way it is."

He closed his eyes, lips and fingers moving in
silence, arms coming slowly up until he pointed
straight at the very top of the Tower of Magic.
His final words were breathed in a voice so soft
that they were only barely audible. "

Zim

Salabim..."

Everyone's hair stood on end momentarily
before the largest lightning bolt yet split the air,
enveloping the entire tower and lighting it up
from within like a giant lantern.

"Oooh," Herb breathed, "Pretty..."

Beldon smirked briefly at Herb before restoring

his attention to the tower. A few moments later
a handful of skittish-looking mages appeared,
then a few more, then finally the ArchMage
himself who attempted to hide behind one of the
others as soon as he was fully visible.

"Good boys," Beldon purred before turning to
Aiden. "Your Majesty, would you care to
pronounce sentence on these would-be
traitors?"

King Aiden eyed the frazzled magicians
thoughtfully, then smiled and looked at the
Enchanter. "Why do I have the feeling that
nothing I could do to these men could possibly
compare with what you have in mind?" he
asked.

"I have no idea," Beldon replied innocently, his
golden eyes gleaming, "Although..." He waved a
hand at the sorry-looking lot. "Hekas Este
Bebeloi."

Between one blink and another the entire group
vanished, to be replaced with a number of fuzzy

white bunnies. "There," Beldon said smugly,
"That should keep them out of everyone's hair
until they can be...

permanently dealt with."

Aiden stifled a chuckle while Herb went to go
play with the bunnies. Beldon watched for a few
moments before turning to the High King. "You
know..." he said thoughtfully as Herb spun
around in a circle and hugged two of the rabbits,
"Nothing I could possibly do to them would be
worse than what he's doing right now."

"You have a point," Aiden laughed.

In the end, Aiden had agreed that giving the
rabbits to Herb was very fitting punishment
indeed, although Herb was, of course, oblivious.
They began slowly rebuilding the Sorcerer's
Council, appointing Witch Hilda as first chair
much to her blushing delight.

Beldon was unwillingly named ArchMage,
protesting loudly until Herb turned puppy eyes
on him and kissed him until the Enchanter was
in no frame of mind to protest much of

anything.

"It's incredibly hilarious," King Aiden mused as
he watched Herb put the Enchanter in his lap
and pet him, "That I gave you a Royal Invitation
to come live in the palace

twice and you turned

me down, yet all Adrian has to do is give you
puppy eyes and you consent without another
word."

Beldon glared but was restrained by Herb before
he could strangle the High King, fuming silently
until Herb kissed him senseless.

And so Beauty tamed the savage Beast.

The End