Amiga ISO Collection/AmigaDemoCD2.iso/ASCII/TEXTE/SEX/ADULTSHARE/B/BEAUTY.TXT

Text File | 1991-07-17 | 50.6 KB | 855 lines

                   Beauty and the Beast


    Once upon a time, there lived a merchant with three lovely
daughters.  The loveliest of the these was named Beauty--for obvious
reasons.  She was raven-haired, with emerald green eyes and a
perfect figure.  She was also as sweet-natured as she was lovely,
which was a contrast from her two sisters--Incontinentia and Pathos--
who were somewhat selfish and tended to complain about many things.
Because of her gentle nature and generosity, Beauty was her father's
favorite, and her sisters were often jealous of her and plotted against
her in petty matters.
    Beauty's father took quite a lot of business trips, leaving the
three girls alone for several days at a stretch.  Her two sisters often
used this opportunity to call in their boyfriends for an orgy, but
Beauty never participated in the licentious activities, since she had
decided to wait until she was truly in love before making love with a
man.  On the other hand, Beauty never betrayed them to her father,
and she often watched longingly through a crack in the door as her
sisters coupled wildly with the brawny village lads.
    One day, just after the the tired-but-happy young men had left
to go home and sleep it off, Beauty's father returned, looking pale
and shaken.  Beauty rushed out to meet him.  "Father!  What's wrong?
Why do you look so frightened?" she asked as she held the horse's
reins for him to dismount.
    "Oh, Beauty, something terrifying happened on my way home
from the neighboring kingdom!" he moaned, looking utterly miserable.
There was a beautiful white rose in his hand, she noticed, but he
seemed to have forgotten he was holding it.  "My dear child, we are
undone!" he continued.  "On my way home, I lost my way and came
upon a strange estate just before dark.  A storm was brewing so I
stabled my horse and entered, hoping to ask the lord of the manor
permission to stay the night.  I could find no one--not even a
servant--in that huge castle, but a freshly-cooked meal was laid out
on the table, still steaming hot."
    "How strange," Beauty mused as she helped her distraught
father into the house.  Her two sisters gathered around and also
listened as he continued his story.
    "I was very nervous, and suspected witchcraft or magic was
present within this castle, my dears, and I wanted desperately to
leave.  But outside the storm had broken with a fury, so I was
trapped.  Finally, I sat down and ate the meal, leaving a gold coin
and a note thanking the missing tenant for his hospitality.  I spent
the night in the smallest bedroom I could find, not wanting to impose
any further than necessary, and in the morning saddled my horse and
began to leave, once again leaving a coin and a note of thanks for
whomever might find it."
    "Well, Father, I can't see anything so terrifying about what you
have told us so far," Pathos remarked, rapidly becoming bored.
    "Ah, but the worst is yet to come, daughter," he remarked
gently but with an air of despair that made Beauty shiver.  "As I was
riding past the immaculately tended gardens of the estate, I spied a
rose bush with the most beautiful, perfectly-formed white roses I had
ever seen.  Knowing how much Beauty loves roses--and white ones in
particular--I dismounted and plucked the largest bud to bring home
to her."
    At this moment, Beauty's father finally remembered he was still
holding that rose--which was just beginning to open and which
magically showed no signs of withering from lack of water--and
handed it solemnly to Beauty, who blushed modestly as she took it.
Pathos and Incontinentia "Hmph"ed and scowled jealously at their
younger sister.  "So!  She gets a flower and we get nothing!" Pathos
complained.
    "My dears," the father explained tiredly, "I have brought both
of you many new dresses and jewels from my trading expedition.  How
can you begrudge your sister something as insignificant as a flower--
even a magical one such as this."
    "It has magic?" Incontinentia exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with
greed. "Can it bring wealth or do any special magic?" she asked
hopefully.
    "No, daughter, it only lives magically apart from its natural
source of water and life, until it is returned to the castle.  And that
brings me to the most horrible part of my experience.
    "The moment I plucked that bloom, a terrible roar issued forth
from behind a nearby hedge, sounding for the life of me like a lion in
great pain and anguish. The hedge parted, and a terrible-looking
creature charged towards me.  He was over six feet tall, had the body
of a man--although he was covered in tawny fur everywhere I could
see--but had a massive head with a lion's mane and eyes.  His hands
had sharp claws, as did his feet, and when he roared I could see his
fangs gleaming.
    "'Why have you done this to me?' he roared, and as I dropped
to my knees in terror, I was also amazed that he could speak as a
man might speak.  'You have plucked one of my dearest, most prized
creations!  Was the food and lodgings I offered you for the night not
enough, you ingrate?!'
    "'I am sorry, my lord!  I am grateful for your generosity of the
night before, and I've left you two gold coins in payment.  But I
didn't think that plucking a mere flower for my daughter could anger
you so.'
    "The creature moaned in sorrow as he looked at the torn stem
on his rose-bush, and as I watched him I sensed a connection
somehow between this creature and the flowers he tended so lovingly.
In fact, as I watched, he touched the wounded stalk with a clawed
fingertip and it instantly healed. Then he approached me and gently
touched the end of the stem I still held as I knelt there in shock. It
also magically sealed itself.
    "'This is only temporary, I am afraid,' he sighed as I stared in
awe.  'This flower will eventually die, and when it does, a part of me
will die with it.  The only way you can repay me for your
thoughtlessness is by sending me one of your daughters to keep me
company in my lonely castle. Only that gift of life and love can
replace this precious part of my existence, which will wilt and die
soon after it is returned by your daughter to my domain.'
    "I begged him to re-consider, and offered him my own life
instead.  He finally took pity on me and agreed that I could donate
my own life in place of one of yours. And so, dear daughters, that is
what I must do. The beast has given me two days to attend to my
affairs before returning to spend my remaining days in his enchanted
castle."
    "No!"  cried Pathos and Incontinentia in chorus.  "We will be
penniless!" Pathos continued.  "We'll lose everything if you go away
and forfeit your business.  It's Beauty's fault all of this happened in
the first place!  Make her go stay with the beast, instead of you!"
    "Yes!" Incontinentia chimed in. "It's her damn rose that's
brought this calamity on us all, so SHE should go!"
    "No, daughters!  How can you even think such a thing?"
Beauty's father gasped, as Beauty sat with silent tears rolling down
her cheeks.
    "Yes, Father," she said with quiet resignation.  "It IS my
responsibility to go and pay the price for this precious, magical rose.
I couldn't live, knowing that you were imprisoned for the rest of your
life for something you did for me.  I'll go."
    "No, Beauty!" her father groaned, thinking of the kind of life
she would lead in the hands of that creature.
    "Yes!" her sisters shouted, thinking that they would be doubly
blessed by losing Beauty and retaining their father's money-making
talents, all in one fell swoop.
                *    *    *    *

    Beauty's calm determination won the argument, and the next
morning, after a tearful farewell to her father (her sisters slept late),
she mounted her horse and set out in the direction of the enchanted
land of the beast. The magic rose led the way by leaning on its stalk,
pointing the way to the castle.  Late that afternoon, Beauty arrived,
and stared in wonder at the magnificent estate and formidable castle
of her new lord and master.  She looked down at the white rose, and
was saddened to see it wilting before her eyes, its magically-extended
life running out at last.
    "Welcome, Beauty," a deep, vibrant voice purred from the
darkening hedges, and Beauty looked to her left fearfully as a tall,
strangely regal creature stepped out of the gloom and approached
her.  Her horse shied away momentarily, but then settled down as the
creature crooned soft words to it and rubbed its nose with a
gentleness that belied his fierce countenance.  Then the beast reached
up and touched the dying rose, sending two or three withered petals
scattering upon Beauty's lap.  He sighed deeply and looked up into
Beauty's eyes, again with that surprising gentleness of expression.
    "I--I'm sorry your rose has died, my lord," Beauty stammered,
still afraid.  "I've come to repay you for its loss with my life."
    The beast smiled reassuringly and stroked the girl's hand for a
moment. "So I see, Beauty.  I had expected your father to return, but
I'm more than happy to see you, instead.  And I promise you I'll
never harm you, my dear."  Beauty heaved a sigh of relief, and then
found the creature helping her down from her horse, which was quite
placid and content in the beast's presence now.  For that matter,
Beauty felt herself rapidly becoming at ease in his presence, as well.
    "How do you wish me to address you, my lord?" she asked
shyly as they led the horse to the stables.
    "You may call me Sir Beast, or, if you wish, just Beast," he
replied as he unsaddled the horse and shooed it off into a well-
supplied stall.
    "Well, I suppose I could call you Sir Beast, my lord," Beauty
murmured.  "But don't you have a real name?"
    "I used to, before the evil magician turned me into a beast.
When I was a man, my name was Var.  You may call me that, if you
wish."
    "Var....  Wasn't there a prince of that name in the neighboring
kingdom?  I had heard he disappeared mysteriously quite a few years
ago, when I was still a young child," Beauty said as they walked to
the castle together.
    "I am he," the beast replied sadly.  "I was enchanted by an evil
magician in my father's court who wanted control of our kingdom, and
now I must stay in this form and in this enchanted place for the rest
of my life.  If I ever leave its borders, I will die."
    "Oh, how terrible!" Beauty cried. "Is there no way to break that
spell?  I seem to remember something about a kiss breaking most
spells."
    "Well, I doubt that's true," Var replied with a smile.  "Besides,
who's going to kiss me the way I look now?  I might as well be a
frog!"
    "Oh, I don't know about that," Beauty smiled, lifting a hand to
stroke his furry cheek.  "You don't look so bad to me, especially now
that I know who you really are.  And if a kiss might break the spell,
I think it's certainly worth a try.  Don't you?"  As she said this,
Beauty turned to face the creature and felt an unexpected thrill of
excitement when his strong arms encircled her waist.  Smiling
tenderly, Var lowered his face closer to Beauty's and closed his eyes
as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him gently on the lips.
    As Beauty's lips met Var's, she was surprised at how human
they felt under the soft, tawny fur.  She felt his arms tighten around
her as he returned the kiss, rapidly drawing them both into a
whirlpool of shared passion.  That simple kiss, begun as a gesture of
compassion, was now sending waves of arousal coursing through both
of them, and Beauty gasped in awe as she felt the Beast's hardening
shaft pressing against her through his tight breeches, straining to be
released.  She thought of the young village lads she had spied on
through her sisters' doors, and nearly laughed at the realization of
how poorly-endowed they were compared to this magnificent man-
beast.
    When they finally pulled apart, Beauty remembered the supposed
goal of that kiss, and looked anxiously to see if the enchanted prince
had changed back to his proper form.  But he still looked just as he
had before she kissed him--with the exception of a wonderfully joyful
gleam in his eyes that had been absent before.
    "I guess it didn't work, did it?" he asked, stroking her cheek
with one furry hand as his other arm remained around her waist.
    "No, I'm afraid not," she sighed. "But it was nice, anyway. You
know, you don't seem like a beast at all when we're kissing."
    "Then perhaps we should do that more often, so your stay here
will be more pleasant to you." he grinned mischievously down at
Beauty.
    Beauty blushed slightly, but then graced the beast with a
charming smile.  "I think I'd like that, Var."  Then she paused,
thinking, for a moment.  "You don't suppose it might take...uh, more
than just a kiss to reverse the magic spell, do you?" she asked, both
fearfully and hopefully.
    Var chuckled and embraced Beauty, caressing her lovingly with
both hands.  "I doubt it would change a thing, dear.  But it would
certainly be a pleasant way to pass the time, wouldn't it?"
    "Yes, but I've always told myself that I should wait until I'm
truly in love with a man before I do that with him," she sighed,
looking confused and uncertain as to what she really wanted.
    "Then I shall have to make certain you fall in love with me,
won't I, Beauty?" the beast murmured huskily, gently kissing her ear,
her forehead, and finally her lips again. "I shall make that my life's
endeavor from this moment on, my darling.  And only when you have
fallen thoroughly in love with me will I take you to my bed."
    They melted once more into a lingering kiss, then ambled up to
the castle arm-in-arm as the sun set in a blaze of orange and purple.
Beauty found herself in the midst of a splendor she'd only dreamed of
living in before, and gazed with amazement at the fine tapestries,
golden ornaments, and immaculate, well-tended furnishings of the
Beast's home.  He explained to her that everything was kept tidy
magically, and that there were no servants living there--only himself.
And now Beauty.
                *    *    *    *

    The days and nights passed slowly and blissfully for Beauty
and her gallant beast, and Beauty gradually found herself wanting
more each time Var kissed her.  And each night, as she lay alone in
her bed, she yearned to have him next to her, to feel the warmth of
his body against and within hers. She would often drift into fantasies
about him before sleep overtook her, and would ache with desire until
her hand sneaked downward to her loins to relieve the frustrated
throbbing.  That helped, but it was no substitute for what she really
wanted: her gentle, loving, and well-endowed beast.
    The magic of the castle was quite intriguing to Beauty, and she
found it helping her dress, undress, and even bathe--as if invisible
hands were surrounding her and assisting her.  Sometimes it seemed
like a warm wind attending her, but other times she could feel the
warm pressure of invisible hands and would look around quickly to
try to find them.  She never saw them, but Beauty quickly became
accustomed to their presence in her life.  And one night, she
discovered the invisible, magic hands helping her in another way.
    As she dreamed, half-asleep, about her handsome beast, and
spread her legs with aching desire, she felt a hand caressing her leg.
Slowly, the hand moved upward--invisible as always--until it reached
her loins. Moaning with need, Beauty drew her legs further apart and
closed her eyes.  Her pelvis rocked slowly up and down against the
massaging fingers, and her breathing grew ragged as she felt an
invisible tongue joining the hand in this exquisite torment.
    With inexorable patience, the invisible hand and tongue brought
her to a level of ecstatic arousal she hadn't thought possible.  Finally,
arching her hips against the hand, she gasped loudly and clenched
the sheets as her loins pulsed in orgasm.  On the climax went, for
second after long second, until Beauty collapsed, exhausted and
satisfied, back against the sheets.  She quickly fell asleep, wondering
whether her beast was also ministered unto by those magical hands;
and as she slept she dreamed that she provided the hands and mouth
as Var moaned in ecstasy on his bed beneath her.
    The next morning at breakfast, Beauty and Var sat in warm
contentment and stared at each other with barely masked desire over
their food.  "Beauty," Var began hesitantly.  "Have you fallen in love
with me yet?"
    "I...I'm not sure yet, Var," she said in confusion.  "The feelings
I have are so new to me, that I'm not quite sure how to sort them
out.  I feel quite drawn to you, and I enjoy being in your company;
but whether that is love or not, I can't say yet. I'm sorry, dear
beast."
    The beast smiled and took her hand gently in his.  "I
understand, Beauty.  Love is something that doesn't happen
overnight...and it's more than just a feeling.  It's also a commitment
that can't be made lightly.  Take your time, my darling.  I've waited
this long, so I know I can wait a little longer."
    Then they forgot breakfast and melted into a languorous kiss--
and as the beast's hands crept over Beauty's breasts and down
toward her loins, they felt like the invisible hands of the night before
to her.  Could it have  been his hands, she wondered as she pressed
herself closer to his muscular body and felt his shaft hardening
against her.  Perhaps it would happen again tonight, just as it had
last night, she hoped as they reluctantly released each other and
returned to their breakfast.
    That night, Beauty kissed her beast long and hard before
retiring, and when they finally parted in the hallway outside her
bedroom, they were both panting with desire.  She quickly stripped
her clothes off and jumped into bed naked, spreading her legs in
invitation under the covers and begging her dream-beast to come
quickly to her.
    Within a few minutes, Beauty's eyes were drooping sleepily
down, and as she felt the warm hands creep up her thighs she let
sleep take over.  It was then, in her dreaming state, that her beast
came to her visibly.  The night before, she had stayed awake during
the erotic treat, but now, in her dreams, Var was hovering over her,
caressing her breasts as his smiling mouth slowly lowered itself to her
loins.  She moaned as the tongue gently probed and flicked across
her most sensitive, secret places, and when it homed in on her
clitoris, she arched her pelvis against it, already near her climax.
    "Not yet, my Beauty," Var's voice whispered in her sleeping
mind as the tongue eased back slightly.  Beauty chuckled softly,
reveling in the thought that this delicious torment might go on for an
interminably long while.  She gasped, though, as she felt his finger
entering her untried vagina, probing just deeply enough to tease the
delicate barrier stretched partly across the opening.  His finger then
eased just beyond the membrane without tearing it, and pressed
gently up against her pubic bone while Beauty marveled at the
strangely pleasant feeling that unusual stimulation produced.
    Then his tongue went back to work on her clitoris, swirling and
flicking determinedly against the swelling bud of tissue.  Beauty again
gasped and arched her pelvis against the tongue, and this time the
finger within her slit also returned the pressure upward even as the
tongue bore down on her clitoris.  The combination was unbelievable,
and she cried out hoarsely and ground her hips even harder against
Var's mouth, shuddering with the approaching climax.  This time he let
her come, and Beauty clenched his shaggy head with her hands and
her thighs as her loins throbbed with spasm after spasm of orgasm
against his finger within her.
    Finally, it was over.  Beauty lay on her back, too exhausted and
satisfied to move, while her Beast gently kissed her all over her
sweat-moistened body.  Then he gently turned her over onto her
stomach, and Beauty smiled as she felt him spread her legs wide.  She
hiked her rear slightly into the air as she felt Var's hand reach
under her, cupping her pelvis warmly as he began to massage it.  The
warm sensation spread outward from her loins as her still-sensitized
clitoris responded to the firm, indirect pressure.
    Beauty slowly pumped her loins against the hand, while Var's
mouth and other hand remained busy, kissing and stroking her back
and neck.  The lazy pleasure grew for a long time within Beauty's
loins as she rutted against the beast's hand, and she found herself
wishing for his shaft to fill her up and consume her.  But that was
not to be; a commitment had to be made first, before she could be
truly possessed by her wonderful beast.  And the time was not yet
ripe, she knew.  After a few more minutes of erotic torment, Beauty
came again, moaning into the pillow as she ground against the warm,
unrelenting hand.  Then she slept dreamlessly until morning.
    That day, Var seemed almost frantically aroused whenever he
was in Beauty's presence, and she felt guilty for not having also
satisfied him the night before in her dreams.  She vowed silently to
rectify the situation that night, by going to his chambers herself, not
just in a dream.  She still wasn't certain if she loved the beast or
not, but she was determined to give him the same exquisite pleasure
he had given her the night before.  She realized that if things got
out of control, her hands and mouth would not be enough and she
would lose her virginity; but now that seemed a small price to pay,
for the chance of watching her magnificent beast moaning and
pumping in orgasm.
    The night seemed never to arrive.  Beauty and Var stared
across the supper table, barely touching their food, until at last the
tormented beast pleaded a headache and asked if he might retire
early.
    "Of course, my poor dear," Beauty murmured, rubbing his
temples as she kissed him goodnight.  "And perhaps you'll have a
very pleasant dream to take your mind off of your discomfort," she
said, smiling slyly.
    His eyes widened slightly.  "One can always hope," he grinned
as he turned and left the dining chamber.
    "One can, indeed," Beauty chuckled to herself after he was
gone.  She quickly went to her own bedroom, bathed, dressed in a
lacy, almost scandalous, nightgown, and waited until she thought Var
might be asleep.
    At last, Beauty could wait no longer.  As quietly as she could,
she slipped from her room, tiptoed down the carpeted hallway to
Var's door, and slowly turned the doorknob--praying all the while
that the door wouldn't squeak.  But the magic of the castle was on
her side, of course, and the door opened in perfect silence as Beauty
crept into the beast's chamber.  She had never been in there before,
and she nearly gasped at the size and splendor of it.  It was even
grander, more regal than her own room--which she had thought was
absolutely fit for  a queen.  Well here, obviously, was a room fit for
the greatest of kings.
    Var was indeed asleep, but his sleep was troubled and he tossed
and moaned softly as Beauty silently approached.  He turned over
onto his back, kicking the covers mostly off while Beauty watched,
and her eyes widened in awed appreciation as she looked at his nude
body.  He was magnificent.  He was also already aroused, she noted,
as she crept onto the bed and knelt between his spread legs.  His
shaft rose in acceptable proportion to the kingly chamber in which he
slept, and Beauty shivered a moment with delight and fear at the
thought of something of that girth trying to fit within her narrow
loins.
    Then she set to work on him.  Lowering her head and sweeping
her hair back out of the way, Beauty first tickled the swollen head of
the cock with her tongue.  Var moaned loudly in his sleep, and
instantly thrust his pelvis up, searchingly, as his legs spread even
wider.  Beauty grinned and enveloped the knob in her mouth, swirling
her tongue slowly around and around.  Her hands then encircled the
shaft, one above the other, and began pumping while her mouth
plunged down, taking as much as she could without choking.  Again
her beast groaned, clenched the sheets, and began pumping
rhythmically within her hands and mouth.
    The rhythm now set, Beauty and the beast plunged up and
down against each other, both with their eyes closed.  Within a very
few minutes, Var's thrusting became frantic, and he shuddered and
gave a strangled roar that sounded as much like a lion as a man.
Semen shot from his shaft as Beauty raised her head to watch.  Her
hands still pumped as he continued to ejaculate, and she grinned as
she concentrated on milking every last drop, every last shudder out
of her beast.
    When she was sure he was done, Beauty gently massaged the
large, firm testicles hanging between his legs as she watched his
shaft slowly droop until it lay wetly on top of her hand.  Again she
found herself wishing that wild, frantic plunging of his could have
been within her loins instead of her hands.  But there was no rush,
really, she decided as she gently released his genitals and eased off
the bed while listening to his gentle snores.  Someday they would.
Someday.  She covered him up, tiptoed back to her room and slept
soundly, dreamlessly, the rest of the night.
    The next day Var looked wonderfully refreshed, and gave
Beauty quite a few quizzical glances, as if trying to decide if she'd
had anything to do with that wonderful dream of his.  He also stayed
very close beside her all day, and she revelled in his caresses and
gentle words.  As the day wore on, Beauty felt her heart and her
mouth coming closer and closer to saying those words and making that
commitment that would place her permanently in his arms and in his
bed.  She began to realize that she really did love this enchanted
beast.  But could it work?  Could they really live this way, with him
the way he was?  She just didn't know; and that tiny hesitation was
all that kept her from saying those three magic words that day.
    Just after supper, as Beauty's mind was once more filled with
thoughts of Var, the words were again on the tip of her tongue.  But
before she could speak, a raven flew through the darkened, open
window of the dining hall and landed on the beast's shoulder.  There
was a message in its beak, and Var quickly took it and read it while
Beauty stared with curiosity at the strange sight.  Var's furry brows
knit in concern as he read the message, and he looked up at Beauty
anxiously.
    "What is it, Var?" she asked.
    "Beauty, I left this raven with your father in case he needed to
get in touch with me about anything.  Now, it seems he is ill and
needs you to attend him for a few days."
    Beauty gasped in alarm, wondering if her father was in danger
of dying.  "Oh, Var, what can I do?  Will you let me go to him?  Is
he..." her words were choked by the tears in her throat, and Var
came over beside her and held her against his warm chest.
    "Don't be afraid, my love," he murmured to her.  "Of course I'll
let you go to him.  And no, he says he isn't all that sick, really.  It's
just that your two sisters are apparently not very good at being
nurses."
    At this, Beauty couldn't help but chuckle through her tears.
"That sounds like my sisters, all right.  May I go in the morning,
Var?"
    "Yes, Beauty.  Your father says he should only need you for a
few days, so will you promise me to be back here within five days?
I'll miss you terribly, you know."
    Beauty hugged the beast even tighter at that reminder of her
feelings toward him.  "Oh, Var!  I'll miss you too.  As much as I'll
enjoy being with my family again, I'll enjoy returning to you even
more.  Will you be alright here?"
    Var nodded solemnly.  "For five days, yes.  But I'll be giving
you another magic rose to lead you there and back, and if you and
the rose don't return after five days, I'll die."
    "Die?!" she gasped, staring up at him in panic.  "But...but, then
how can I dare leave you at all, Var?  I can't risk losing you!"
    "You won't lose me, Beauty," he said firmly.  "I'll be just fine.
Go and tend to your father, but remember to return by the evening
of the fifth day."
    "Oh, Var.  I'll miss you so," she sobbed, melting in his arms
again.  She felt herself being picked up and carried.  Then, she was
curled in his lap on the large couch by the fire.  Crying gently as
her mind jumped back and forth between worry for her father and
worry for Var, Beauty gradually fell asleep in his arms.  They both
slept there, curled up together by the fire--which magically sustained
itself through the night to keep them warm.
    At the first light of dawn, Var gently woke Beauty by kissing
her and stroking her breast for the briefest of moments.  She opened
her eyes, at first disconcerted about where she was, but then
remembered and smiled at her beast.  "Good morning, Var," she
whispered, reaching up to return the kiss.
    "Good morning, darling," he smiled, and gave her breast one
more playful squeeze.  It was a liberty he rarely took, for fear that
his passions would leap out of his control.  Waiting was so very, very
difficult, and if it hadn't been for those wonderful dreams he'd been
having lately, he was sure he'd have gone crazy with frustration.
"Grab some breakfast quickly, Beauty.  Your horse will be saddled in
a few minutes," he said as he helped her to her feet and tried to
ignore the throbbing bulge in his pants.
    "I wish you could go with me, dear beast," Beauty sighed as
she took a handful of muffins from the table on her way out the door
beside Var.
    "You know that's impossible, Beauty.  But if you wear this ring
of mine you'll be able to feel my presence and know that I'm well
while you're gone.  That should be some consolation to you."  The
beast took a ring from his smallest finger and slipped it onto her ring
finger.  It was much too big, but within seconds it magically adjusted
itself to a perfect fit.  The blood-red stone glowed slightly, and when
Var kissed Beauty again, the stone fairly dazzled her with its sudden
intensity.
    Beauty again hugged him just before mounting her horse, and
choked back the tears.  "I'll miss you so, Var.  And when I get back
in five days, there's something I want to tell you," she said suddenly,
impulsively.  Again the ring exploded with light as Var's face broke
into a smile.
    Then I'll be waiting by the front gate for your return in five
days, Beauty.  And here is your magical rose to lead you back to me,"
he said, handing her a flawless, white rose he had just plucked from
a nearby rosebush outside the stables.  Silently, she took the rose
and held it solemnly as Var walked beside her horse toward the front
gate.  At the gate, however, he stopped--and it was all Beauty could
do to force herself to ride away from him.
    "I'll be back, Var," she shouted through the tears as her horse
began galloping excitedly down the path toward its old home.
                *    *    *    *

    "Look!  There's Beauty," Pathos called to her sister as she
looked through the kitchen window and saw the horse bolting out of
the dark woods.
    "Well, it's about time we got some help around here,"
Incontinentia grumbled as she came downstairs from their father's
room.  "I've done all the nursemaiding I'm going to do!"  She flopped
down on the couch and didn't bother getting up to greet Beauty as
she rushed through the door.
    "Is Father all right?" Beauty gasped as she rushed toward the
stairs, then stopped to greet her sisters more properly.  "How have
you both been?" she added quickly.
    "Worked half to death, thanks to you," Pathos snapped from the
kitchen, not bothering to come into the parlor to greet Beauty.
    "The old coot ACTS a lot sicker than he is," Incontinentia said,
as she looked with jealousy at the obviously expensive riding cloak
Beauty had just tossed over a chair.  "Well, it looks like you've found
quite a sugar-daddy out there in the woods, judging by the looks of
your clothes, little sister.  So tell me, does he howl at the moon, or
only at you?" she snickered.
    "Neither!" Beauty snapped as she turned her back on her
sisters and raced up the stairs to her Father's room.
    "Father," Beauty called gently as she entered, afraid he might
be asleep.  But his eyes snapped open as she approached the bed,
and Beauty flung herself into her father's arms as they both wept for
joy.
    "Oh, Beauty!  I've missed you so..." he whispered hoarsely.  "I
didn't know if the raven would really take the message or not.  But
this beast is truly a good beast, because he's sent you back to me, at
least for a while."
    "Yes, he's a good beast, Father.  I've been so happy there,
even though I've missed you too," Beauty smiled as she fluffed a
pillow for her father and made him lay back on it.
    "How have you been, child?  Has Sir Beast treated you well?" he
asked, as a minor coughing spell, brought on by the excitement,
subsided.
    Beauty smiled with the remembrance and looked down at the
ring as it glowed warmly.  "Oh yes, Father.  He IS good to me.  He's
the most wonderful person on the face of this Earth...except maybe for
you," she teased.  "And did you know that he's really Prince Var,
from the neighboring kingdom?  He was enchanted by an evil magician
to keep him from inheriting his kingdom.  Under all that fur, he's
just as human as you and I are."
    Her father smiled with sudden insight and took Beauty's hand in
his.  The ring continued its warm, pulsing glow, and it looked almost
like a beating heart. "You love him.  Don't you, Beauty?"
    Beauty's eyes glowed, reflecting the light from the ring. She
nodded, smiling sheepishly.  How had she managed to keep that
knowledge secret from herself so long, when her father had known
instantly?  "I DO love him, Father.  And he loves me.  But I just
don't know how it can work out..." she sighed, wondering what their
children might look like, if they could even have any."
    Her father squeezed her hand.  "Don't be afraid to grab love
when you've found it, dear," he chuckled understandingly.  "It WILL
work out.  Don't you know by now that love works miracles?  Trust
it.  Trust him."
    Beauty felt the warmth of the ring on her hand again, and
looked down at it.  "Love works miracles..." she whispered.  "Could it
reverse a spell?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.
    "Yes, I'm sure of it," her father said, placing his hand on the
ring, sharing the warmth with her.  He also felt something else in the
magic of the ring as he touched it:  he felt his lungs clearing with
every breath he took...the pneumonia fleeing in the face of the potent
magic and love within the ring.  The energy, which had left him a few
days ago when the fevers began, returned with every beat of the
ring's heart and his.
    Beauty, looking over at her father, noticed the change in him.
The color had returned to his face, his breathing was no longer
labored and wheezing, and his eyes suddenly twinkled with the old
mischief she was accustomed to seeing in them.  "Father...you look
worlds better all of a sudden!  How..." she looked down at the ring,
as he removed his hand from over it.  It was dimmer, and it pulsed
faster than before, but even as she watched the glow gradually
brightened again and returned to its steady beat.
    "The ring did it," she said in awe.
    "Actually, I think Var did it, Beauty," her father said as he sat
up, practically well already.  "Let's go down and surprise your
sisters."
                *    *    *    *

    The next few days fairly flew by as Beauty and her family made
up for lost time.  Even Beauty's sisters seemed glad to have her
home, so she could do most of the cooking.  They hadn't taken into
account the fact that she'd done most of the chores around the house
before they jealously urged her to go off and live with the beast.  In
her absence, more household duties fell to them, so they were relieved
to have her back, even if only temporarily.
    Beauty was happy visiting home again, but her mind kept
drifting back to Var, and she looked at the pulsing, blood-red ring
often and longingly.  "I'll be home soon, my love," she whispered to
the ring, hoping Var could hear her.  Every time she said it, it seemed
as if the ring pulsed brighter for a moment, but she couldn't be sure.
    Beauty had been surprised to find a treasure trove of jewels
and coins stuffed into her saddle bags the day she arrived, and her
sisters immediately began fighting over the glittering gems.  "Do you
think he has any more?" Pathos asked Beauty, her eyes glinting with
avarice.
    "I really don't know," Beauty sighed.  "We live in a fine castle,
but I have no idea much money and jewels there might be there.  It's
just not important.  Can't you see that?" she asked.
    No," Pathos and Incontinentia said in unison. They went off to a
far corner of the house and conferred secretly for some time, while
Beauty and her father sat by the fire and talked.  The magic rose sat
on the mantle, and Beauty glanced at it almost as often as the ring.
She felt relieved to see it still looking fresh and beautiful.  Without
it, she might never find the enchanted castle when it came time to
return.
    When the evening of the fourth day finally arrived, Beauty
could barely eat supper for excitement.  Her father was sad at her
imminent departure at dawn, but he smiled with understanding at her
anticipation and impatience to be off;  he had been in love once, a
long time ago.  Beauty's sisters, however, were acting very
suspiciously that night.  They seemed surprisingly reluctant for her
to leave, and kept trying to convince her to stay just a couple of
days longer.
    "I can't stay any longer," Beauty repeated for the third time.
"I have to get back tomorrow morning."
    "Well, I don't see why another couple of days would matter so
much," Pathos snapped, thinking of all the cooking and sweeping
she'd have to resume doing in Beauty's absence.
    "Because Var will die if I don't return, that's why," Beauty
finally admitted.  "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed early.  I've
got a long ride ahead of me tomorrow."
    "Oh, okay.  Good night spoiled princess," her sister sneered.
Then, after Beauty was upstairs and out of hearing, she and
Incontinentia began whispering earnestly, occasionally glancing up at
the rose as they did.
                *    *    *    *

    It was barely dawn when Beauty dashed down the steps and out
the front door to the stable.  Her father was already saddling her
horse, and he choked back the lump in his throat as they talked
about old times and future times and when she might get to return
again.  When the gray sky was just turning rosy, they tied the horse
to the post by the door and went inside to get Beauty some breakfast
to take with her.  Not surprisingly, her sisters had not come
downstairs and started breakfast, so Beauty and her father had to
settle for milk, cheese, and last night's bread.
    "Oh, I almost forgot," Beauty said in between large swallows of
milk.  "I've got to get the rose."  She went over to the mantle,
reached up, and gasped in horror.  The rose was gone.
    "Father, have you put the rose somewhere else?" she asked, as
she shakily sat the glass of milk down.
    "No, dear.  Isn't it on the mantle?  It was last night."  He
brought a flint over and lit the lamp by the fireplace so they could
see better.  "Maybe it just fell off onto the floor, Beauty."  They
began looking around the fireplace, under chairs, and on the hearth.
Then Beauty glanced into the cold ashes of the fireplace and saw a
charred stem.  Reaching in with trembling hands, she pulled out what
she knew to be the remains of her magical rose.
    "No-" she whispered, and her father rushed over to her and
stared in shock at the blackened stem.  "How am I going to find him
now?" she asked in a small voice as the tears dimmed her view.  On
the stairwell she heard a snicker.
    "Now you have to stay here, miss fancy pants," Pathos and
Incontinentia taunted.  "And when he's dead, we'll all go and live in
that fancy castle and find the rest of his treasure."
    "And how do you think you're going to find the castle without
the rose?" Beauty screamed, all control gone.  She rushed from the
room, still holding the charred stem, and bolted through the front
door to where her horse was tied.  Her father was right behind her,
and glared wrathfully at her sisters as he passed them.  They looked
at each other anxiously, wondering if the rose really was the only way
to find the castle.  They had assumed it would be easy enough to find
in any circumstances, but perhaps they shouldn't have burned the
rose after all....
    "Beauty, don't worry," her father said as he helped her untie
the horse.  She was trembling too much to accomplish even that simple
task.  "You'll find him without the rose, child.  You're love will find
him.  Trust it," he whispered intently in her ear as he hugged her
one final time.
    "Are you sure, Father?" she choked through the tears as she
mounted the horse.  She glanced down at the ring and gasped.  It
was much dimmer, and the pulse was rapid, erratic.  She wheeled the
horse around in panic and galloped towards the woods.
    "Remember love!" she heard her father shout in the distance as
she plunged into the undergrowth.
    Beauty rode all day, until her horse was ready to drop.  At
sunset, she stopped in a clearing and stared around at the woods
surrounding her, looking in vain for the path she knew had to be
there.  All day she had looked at the ring as she rode.  It was even
fainter now, and the pulse was slowing.  "Var, help me find you," she
moaned in despair.  Even the tears had stopped flowing.
    Remember love.  Those were the last words she heard her father
say as she galloped off in panic that morning.  What did he mean?
She sat on a rock while her panting horse rested, and stared at the
dying ring.  "I love you, Var.  Whether as beast or man, I love you!
Don't die, please.  I'll find you somehow."  She lowered her head and
tried to think.  She knew she couldn't keep riding in circles on an
exhausted horse.  Without the rose...
    She sat up suddenly and felt in her skirt pocket.  She'd
absently stuffed the charred stem in her pocket as she rode away
from her house, and hadn't thought of it again.  Now she took it out
and looked at it.  The bud had been burned completely off of it, and
the once-flexible stem was now dried and hardened from the fire.  But
as she held it up, she saw it bend ever so slightly to the left.
    "My God..." she breathed, then jumped up as if the stone had
just turned hot.  Jumping onto the horse, she urged him out of the
clearing in the direction the stem had pointed.  Fortunately, the
direction it pointed to was due west, so she kept the horse aimed at
the orange glow of the already-set sun until it faded.  She stopped
and again held up the stiff, black stem.  She could barely see it in
the dusk, but it bent forward and ever-so-slightly to the right this
time.  She eased the horse slowly through the dark undergrowth,
hoping it wouldn't step in a rabbit hole in the dark.
    Another few minutes of walking, and Beauty couldn't see a
thing.  She dismounted and led the horse in a straight line, glancing
down at the ring occasionally.  Even in the pitch dark, she could
barely see it glowing and throbbing.  Then she felt gravel under her
feet.  Pulling the horse through the last of the undergrowth, she
emerged on a smooth, level path.  This was it!
    "I'm coming, Var!" she shouted as she remounted and galloped
dangerously fast down the broad path, which had appeared as if out
of nowhere.  She could barely see the light strip of the path ahead of
her in the starlight, but the horse seemed to know the way now, for
it streaked fearlessly through the dark.
    Abruptly, they were at the gates, and Beauty would have
continued riding frantically up to the darkened castle, but the horse
stopped just inside the gate.  Confused, Beauty gave it it's head, and
it trotted toward a tree next to the gate, stopped again, and neighed.
There was a dark shape on the ground under the tree, and Beauty
jumped off the horse and ran over to him--for she knew it was Var.
    "Var, I'm here," she cried, throwing herself onto his body,
weeping frantically.  "I love you, my beast!  Oh, I love you!  Wake
up!"  His body was still warm, and his heart was still beating weakly,
but he seemed too deeply asleep to hear her.  She kissed him as she
lay on top of him, and still he slept, so very near death.  She
thought for a moment, and finally realized the only way she could get
through to him in this stupor.  If she couldn't tell him she loved him,
she'd have to show him.
    Quickly, she reached down and unfastened his breeches, and
was pleasantly surprised to see that his shaft was partially hardened
even now.  She brought her mouth down and began to work on the
sleepy organ, bringing it to full attention.  At last she could feel the
throbbing of blood within it as it stiffened and grew.  The beast
moaned slightly, moving his head a little and mumbling incoherently.
    Keeping one hand on his shaft to hold it at attention, Beauty
pulled up her skirts, ripped off her undergarments, and straddled
Var.  She felt the head of his organ, still slippery and wet from her
mouth, pushing against the mouth of her vagina, and looked over at
Var's face.  A full moon had just cleared the top rampart of the
castle, and shone on his beautiful, leonine face.  Beauty felt her loins
throb with arousal in that moment, and plunged downward, impaling
herself on that regal staff.
    She gasped loudly with the sudden twinge of pain, but then
marvelled at the feel of his throbbing cock filling her loins.  Var
moaned again, and his eyes twitched under the closed lids as she
began moving up and down on his organ.  The small amount of blood
released by the tearing of her hymen added to the lubrication, and as
the slight residue of pain faded, Beauty began to enjoy the feel of his
thick cock moving within her.  And as she pumped up and down, she
watched his face.
    A few moments later, Var's eyes struggled open and his mouth
moved slightly.  "Beauty..." he whispered weakly, his pelvis beginning
to try feebly to thrust upward, aiding her efforts.
    Beauty's eyes widened in joy.  "Var!  Var, I love you!" she
cried, leaning down to kiss him.  He returned the kiss, and to her
great relief she felt his arms wrapping themselves around her body.
He was still weak, but his strength seemed to be returning with every
pump of her loins.  "I was afraid I'd lost you forever," she said,
shuddering slightly with growing arousal as her clitoris ground
against his pelvis.
    "But you DID find me," Var murmured, kissing her cheek, her
ear, her forehead, as his strength slowly grew.  "I knew you'd
return.  It was that belief that kept me alive after the rose was
destroyed."  Feeling his energy surge along with his growing arousal,
Var turned over with Beauty still impaled on his shaft, until she was
beneath him.  Then, spreading her legs wider with his own, he began
plunging earnestly within her.
    Within a few minutes, they were both moaning with impending
climax, and their lips met in an open-mouthed kiss at the moment of
orgasm, stifling each other's cries of passion.  Beauty shuddered with
ecstasy as she felt Var's  semen pulsing deep within her, and as she
clutched his head in her hands and drew his mouth onto hers again,
she thought there seemed to be less hair than she'd remembered him
having.  But that thought was quickly lost as she drifted toward
satisfied sleep, there in the field.
    "You've saved me, Beauty.  Your love has saved me," he
murmured in her ear as he wrapped his cape around them both and
rolled back over so she could lay on top of him for the night.
    "My father was right," Beauty whispered sleepily with closed
eyes as she snuggled close to Var.  "He said love could work
miracles."
    "Or break spells..." Var whispered, more to himself than to
Beauty, for she was already asleep.
                *    *    *    *

    Beauty awoke to feel the early morning sun warming her cheek.
Her other cheek was warmed by Var's chest, and she reveled in the
sound of his heart pounding so strongly under her ear.  Only
gradually did she realize that his chest and neck were no longer
covered with the thick fur he'd had before.  Looking up into his face,
she saw a handsome man, in his late twenties, with a neatly-trimmed
golden mustache and beard, and tawny-blond hair falling in short,
curly locks about his face.  He slept with a peaceful smile on his lips.
    "Var?" she whispered, shaken.  A small part of her was
suddenly afraid it wasn't him any longer--that he wouldn't know her
at all.  The eyes flickered open.  Beautiful green eyes, human eyes.
    "Ah, Beauty.  Good morning, love," he mumbled sleepily.  "How
do you like what your beast has changed into?"
    "Then it's really you, Var?" Beauty sighed in relief.  "I was
afraid you wouldn't remember me."  She felt him pull her face down to
his lips and he kissed her gently.
    "How could I ever forget your love, Beauty?" he said after the
kiss.  "Your love is what broke the spell and returned me to my
proper form.  I love you, Beauty.  Will you marry me?"
    Beauty nodded and kissed her beast-turned-prince joyfully.
Then her horse, grazing near them, nudged her playfully with its
nose until she and Var got up, laughing.  She turned to walk toward
the castle for breakfast--and saw that it was gone.  "Var!  What
happened to it?" she asked, suddenly a bit afraid again.
    "Well, I guess it dissolved along with the magical spell last
night.  But we're quite close to my kingdom, so we can ride there and
I can reclaim my position as heir to the throne.  I've missed my
parents so much...I can't wait to see them again.  And to introduce
them to my future wife."
    "But I'm not a princess or anything, Var.  Do you think they'll
accept me?" she asked as Var helped her up into the saddle in front
of him.
    "Of course, Beauty," he chuckled gently.  "You saved my life,
and what's more important, I love you.  That's all that will matter to
my parents, my darling.  And your family can come to live in our
kingdom in a fine house, so you can visit them often."
    With those reassurances, Prince Var rode back to his kingdom
with Beauty, where they were soon married.  Var had the evil
magician--who had risen to the post of Prime Minister in his absence-
-executed, and quickly helped his father restore order to the
kingdom.  Beauty's father and sisters were brought to Var,s kingdom
to life, and Var even arranged reasonably good marriages for the two
sisters.  Their father had finally managed to beat some of the
meanness out of them following their stunt with the rose, so by the
time they arrived in Var's kingdom, they were actually pretty docile
and agreeable.
    Beauty and Var lived happily ever after.  Of course, every once
in a while, Var would suddenly grow a little larger and furrier than
usual, and when he and Beauty made love during these times his
roars of ecstasy could be heard throughout the castle.  But Beauty
didn't mind at all.  She really loved that furry, horny beast just as
much as she loved the handsome prince.

                             The End.