Young Writers Society

So Belle didn't know the story either. That was fine. Bleffles could help him out, too.

"Yep. We're stuck in a fairytale. Some magical interdimensional force of some kind seems to want us to recreate the story of the Beauty and the Beast, and it starts with her, Gaston, proposing, and you, Belle, rejecting her. Good job! We're at a great start already.

Nice to meetcha, I'm Bleffles, or for the case of our current predicament, Lefou. Supporting comic relief, at your service. May I say, blue is your colour."

"My name isn't Gaston," Az corrected. She didn’t offer an alternative - she couldn't tell if it was better to be Azerena Glendos or Ruma Glider here. Her hand absentmindedly went down to her side, lingering over the hilt of one of her new knives. "And I don't care about the story - I need to get to the castle and find the monster. It's my duty. He may have a knight, but the knight is a knight in appearance alone - he is unprotected right now."


Nen slowly looked down at the candelabra and stared at, eyes growing increasingly wider when he realized that it was talking, moving and apparently had a face. The teapot seemed to have a mind of its own, too - it was snickering at the candelabra's predicament.

Aska screamed and buried himself further into Nen's arms, but all Nen could do now was stare - wasn’t Aska suddenly something that wasn't supposed to move? And hadn't the voice earlier has a suspiciously familiar accent?

He gently put the candelabra down on the desk again.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't realize you were a person. Did you...Did you get turned into a candelabra? My best friend got turned into a clock."

He gestured down at Aska, who was now reluctantly peeking over at the desk and the candelabra on it.


The trek to the castle was faster than it should have been - the horse just didn’t want to stay in one place for more than the briefest of moments. He suspected it was because of something involving Janos; the horse had been weirdly scared of him, and was definitely galloping faster than most because of its cargo.

But then they were at the castle, and he had a new hurdle to overcome.

"Okay," Levi said, watching his breath form in the area as he got off of the horse, "we need to get inside now. The front doors are our best bet, but we just have to hope there's no one near the entrance-"

Janos suddenly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to one of the towers. "We can enter through there." He pointed at the highest window. He wanted to argue that they could never climb up there, but Janos was already grabbing him by the waist. There was a burst of darkness from underneath them, and then they were suddenly walking through a window he had miraculously managed to open.

Janos stepped into the room in a dignified manner; Levi went tumbling in. When he hopped back up to his feet, he came to the horrible realization that there was fabric littering the floor in front of a wardrobe.

"Oh, s***," Levi said. "It's the wardrobe."

Janos turned and stared at him. "How is that a problem? All it can do is talk."

Levi shook his head. "The furniture can move, too."

Janos slowly turned to stare at the wardrobe. "And why did you fail to mention this earlier?"

"I thought you'd get the subtext," Levi whispered, eyes wide with terror and worry as he refused to look away from the piece of furniture who could be their death sentence.

Cornyx sidled to the edge of the table, looking down of the edge and debating how to get down. He couldn't exactly jump - if falling had managed to chip him, he didn't want to imagine what dropping a few feet onto a hard floor would look like.

He sighed. This was going to be a long wait.



Voices drifted down the hall and Auryon followed them to a door not far from the one she'd left. She pushed her way beneath the threshold to find herself looking up at a clock, a candelabra, and a snake-thing.

"Hey!" she said from below. "Hey, you, beasty man! Get back over there and open the f***in' door! You just closed it on us and ditched us! What the h*** man?"

The little bit of skin that could be seen on Nen's face paled, and he turned back to the source of the comment - it was part of the violin. Now he wasn't as terrified as before. He just felt guilty, especially when he was sure that he knew one of the people who must have undergone a similar transformation to Aska.

"I'll be right back," he hurriedly told the candelabra before darting out of the room (and narrowly avoiding stepping on the violin's bow). He rushed down the hallway with Aska in his arms, skidding a stop in front of the first room he had entered.

This time, he didn't peek into the room - he flung the door open.

"Kratzer?" he asked, turning his attention away from the violin and to the accordian. "Did you...Did you become an accordian?"

Aska perked up. "Kra-Kratzer?" he repeated, looking between Nen and the accordian. "I-I thought I knew your voice..."

"Aska got turned into a clock," Nen said, as if that wasn't obvious.

"Ja, I can see zat," Kratzer replied. "It's good to see you again, Nen, Aska. I do vish it vere under different circumstances, however. Has anyvone figured out vhat's going on here?"

"Well, apparently we aren't all furniture, but there's a candelabra and a clock and...oh my god. It's Beauty and the Beast," Auryon suddenly realized. "Nen must be the Beast! That's why he's not furniture like the rest of us!"

"What is this 'Beauty and the Beast'?" the violin inquired.

"Vell, if Nen's a snake, zen...I hope zis isn't ze Russian version," Kratzer said, ignoring Apophis entirely. "I don't suppose you could get zat off ze vall? None of us like her but I'm afraid her presence is probably a necessary evil."

"Hey, get back here!" Aegeas shouted as the dragon man set him down and ran off. He was a little relieved to not be in any danger of being crushed, but a little less relieved to be stuck with Kendrik.

Crossing his arms, the candelabra scowled, wax dripping onto the table. "The nerve," he grumbled.

Nen somehow managed to get the violin - whoever she was - off of the wall while still holding Aska firmly in his arm. It didn't matter that the other occupants of castle seemed to be in the same predicament as him; he wasn't leaving Aska unguarded when he was stuck as a clock of all things. He had to protect his best friend.

"I'm not a snake," he clarified, gently placing the violin down on the ground. "I'm a dragon - and what's Beauty and the Beast? I've never heard of it before."

Aska poked his head - or, rather, the face of the clock - up over Nen's arm, peering down at the others. "Is it a story?" he quietly asked, little metal hands holding on tightly to his arm.

Just as Nen was about to add on another question, he remembered his promise to be right back. He eyed the group assembled for a brief moment, then promptly scooped them all up. Kratzer and the bow were in his arms, while he wrapped his tail around the violin.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I promised the candelabra and the teapot that I'd be right back. Besides, it's probably a good idea to stick together, right? Then you won't have to explain what's going on to more people."

Nen slipped out of the room with the assortment of people-turned-inanimate-objects, hurrying down the hallway and sliding into the bedroom he had just left.

"Hi," he said, waving the tail that was holding the violin. "I just had to go help out the others."

He scanned the room for a good place to put everyone down, eventually settling for the enormous bed. He plopped the four he had picked up already down - Aska included - then grabbed the teapot and candelabra and brought them over as well.

Now that the group of transformed people were gathered, Nen kneed next to the bed so his face was at the same level as most of the group. Aska immediately scooted over to the edge, his movements wobbly as he struggled to adjust to his strange new body.

"So," Nen said, "the bow says that this is 'Beauty and the Beast', whatever that is. Have you heard of that before?"

"Ja," Kratzer said, nodding as much as an accordion could. "It's a very common fairy tale. Originally French, I believe. Guessing from your appearance, it's probably ze Russian version.

"Once upon a time, zere v-"

"Cut the prose and cut to the chase, Kratzer," Auryon interrupted, and he sighed, but obeyed.

"Basically, zere vas zis merchant. He had three daughters, and vone day before he vent to town he decided to get something for each of zem. Vone vanted a dress, another pearls, but ze youngest, Beauty, asked only for a rose picked especially for her by her faser.

"He vent to town and he got ze items, and on his vay back, zere vas a storm. He sought shelter and found a mansion. He vent inside and, though he searched, could find no one - yet ze table vas filled vis food. He ate and ate, and vhen he'd finished his meal, he found chambers zat had been set up for him. He slept vell and vhen he vas leaving ze following morn, he found a rose bush, next to vhere he tied his horse. He remembered his promise to Beauty and plucked one for her. Zen, before he could leave, a beast came out of ze castle. It vas a vinged snake vis three heads. It was furious; it'd given him hospitality and, in return, he'd stolen vone of its favorite flowers! He begged for mercy and told ze monster of his daughter, and ze serpent told him zat if Beauty came to live vis him, he vould let ze merchant go.

"Ze merchant vent back and, heartbroken, told Beauty of his promise to ze serpent. Beauty took this in good spirit and vent to live vis ze serpent. It vas...a turbulent relationship, to say ze least, and every night ze serpent moved its bed closer to hers, until vone day, it slept in her bed." He paused somewhat awkwardly, then continued. "So, anyvays, she had zis dream zat her faser vas very sick, and ze serpent told her zat she could go see him - if she came back by nightfall. If she didn't, it'd kill itself.

"So, she left, and she lost track of time. Vhen she got back she found ze beast dying and, in anguish she kissed vone of its head and it turned into a handsome prince and they lived happily ever after.

"I don't know vhy she didn't just say 'good riddance' but zere you have it," the accordion shrugged.

Leo jumped and turned as best he could at the arrival of two men who had seemingly climbed through the window. His legs clunked loudly on the floor as he situated himself. The men were whispering, and from what he could tell, it was about him.

"No, no, you're mistaken-" he choked out. "I'm not a wardrobe! I mean- I am, now, but- I'm not sure how I got here or why- why I'm like this." He choked a little at the end of his rant in his effort to get his words out.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he squinted at the newcomers, or more specifically, their costumes. Then he looked back around the room, incredulous.

"Hold on... is this- the set of Beauty and the Beast?"

"And I'm the beast?" Nen questioned. He felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought - that character was nothing like him. He would haven't gotten mad at someone if they had taken a rose from the Castle of Blood; it was just a flower. And why would he ask for the daughter to come live with him-

Then the ending of the story registered.

Now he paled, realizing just how similar that part was. He hadn’t been turned back, but he was a prince turned into a monster. And hadn't Az, to some extent, played the part of Beauty? She hadn’t wanted to come, but that royal wizard had magically dropped her into the castle, and Tieth didn't let her leave.

When he looked over at his best friend, Aska was staring at him.

He must have noticed the similarities, too.

"Then I have to find Beauty," Nen said. "If I'm the prince who was turned into a monster, then Beauty would have to be my girlfriend, and the person who turned me into a monster would have to be Tieth."

"...But why would Tieth turn you back?" Aska quietly interjected.

Nen faltered. "I don't know," he admitted, "but she never gave a good reason for making me like this in the first place."


Levi immediately relaxed when he heard the wardrobe speak. Janos still looked incredibly tense, but it was with an almost terrifying sort of wariness to his eyes - like he was going to lash out at any moment if given a reason to.

...He didn't like Janos all that much, if he was being honest.

"I think it's the actual Beauty and the Beast," he said. "Not just the set."

He pointed at the window they had just come through. "We just came from the town - they were singing about Belle. I think we got turned into the characters, somehow. I'm just an extra, but I'm pretty sure Janos is supposed to be Belle's dad."

"You never addressed who this Belle is," Janos said. His gaze lingered on the wardrobe, but softened when he apparently seemed to notice that Levi no longer saw the wardrobe - who must have been a boy in his teens prior to this - as a threat.

"She's the love interest of the Beast," he replied. "It's a romance."

Janos frowned. "I see."

"You don't like romances, I'm guessing?"

Janos nodded. "I can never understand the appeal."

"So, wait, this is actual Beauty in the Beast?" Leo repeated, lighting up a little bit. "And- I'm not sure if you've had time to, but how many others don't belong here?"

He went on, clinking around in a little circle, and didn't wait for his question to be answered.

"Man, this is the best place I've accidentally woken up in! Julie will freak, and Kit will- well, she'll probably laugh."

In the middle of his commentary, one of his drawers popped open and launched another spool of fabric. He looked down, slightly sheepish, and looked back up at the men again.

"Not sure how to control that- maybe it will come in handy eventually. Oh, and," he took a breath, attempting to reign in his words once more. "My name is Leo. Hi."

Levi helpfully gathered up the fabric. Janos, on the other hand, stood off to the side and gazed out of the now closed tower window. Now that he had picked up the fabric that Leo had accidentally shot out, he returned to Leo's side and carefully placed the fabric in the open door.

He didn't bother to close it. That would be...weird, even for someone who was used to people being strange, random objects. He had done enough of that to understand that the most obscure fiddling could create the most uncomfortable feeling, one that refused to go away even after returning to a normal, human form.

He shuddered.

He really didn't like thinking back to some of those things he had been in the past, back during his months of practicing.

"I'm Levi," he introduced himself, giving Leo a smile.

"Janos," came the introduction from the man over by the window. He honestly shouldn't have been surprised, seeing how much Janos liked to cut to the point.

"We thought we were the only ones here," he admitted. As he spoke, he absentmindedly fixed his sleeves. He hadn't bother to check, but he was sure they would be there even when he was miraculously alive again. Even Zero had a glitch or two around the wrists, no matter how hard he worked on that form. "But if you're here, too, then I'm guessing other people must be stuck as the characters-"

"We should find the library," Janos suddenly interrupted. Levi crossed his arms at the interruption, but Janos was already walking towards the door. "I doubt that the books there will explain what is going on, but we may encounter others like us."

"I don't know if that last part's a good idea," Levi argued. "If we run into the Beast-"

"The Beast is likely in the same predicament as us," Janos replied. "It could be beneficial."

"Or he could go all Shrek at us and get mad for us being in his swamp," Levi shot back, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. Why couldn't Janos see how bad this idea was?

The last comment miraculously made Janos pause. He turned around as he opened the door, staring at Levi with a blank expression on his face.

"We are in a castle," he slowly said. "Not a swamp."

Now it was Levi doing the staring.

Janos let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I fail to understand your metaphors," he said.

James looked down at his dress one more time at Bleffles’ comment and sighed. Okay. So he was Belle. Godsdamnit.

“So if we’ve been inserted into a story, what do I have to do next?” he asked begrudgingly. He didn’t want to ascribe to the rules of whatever this bizarre game was, but after enough times of being ripped out of his reality, he was weary of fighting, and figured going along with it was probably their best bet for getting out of it. “And... well, what’s this Belle supposed to be like? Apart from-“ his gaze flicked to the crowds as the song came to an end. “-different. Whatever that means.”

"Thanks." Leo attempted to smile at Levi before he remembered that he probably didn't have a face. He sighed a little and shut his drawers, inching himself closer to the door and making a racket as he did so.

"I forget- does there happen to be stairs between here and the library? Because if so..." he let out a nervous chuckle to punctuate his point. "but yeah, it's a good idea, and since this seems to be the newest Disney remake, the Beast should be less cartoonishly ferocious. Y'know, if he isn't in the same position as we are."

As "Bell" - or whatever his name truly was - asked Bleffles for clarification, Az took the opportunity to slip off. She needed to find a way to the castle. Nen was undoubtedly the monster of this tale, and she had to make sure that the hero didn't harm him. She had no idea who said protagonist could be, but she had read enough old stories to know the format.

Although it was odd - why would a story about a hero slaying a monster start with a proposal? She frowned. If they were singing about Bell in the town, didn't it mean that she was important to the plot-

Az immediately turned around and hurried back the fountain.

"I'm not letting you go to the castle," she informed the man, giving Bleffles the briefest of looks. "You're staying here in this town."

She turned to Bleffles. "You're not leaving this town, either." Bleffles was just comedy relief, apparently, but she couldn’t risk it when she knew so little of how the story played out.


"Good point," Levi reluctantly admitted, joining the two by the door. He didn't want to admit that Janos had made a sound argument earlier, but he had less of a problem acknowledging how much sense Leo's comment made.

"If stairs do appear in our path," Janos announced, opening the door, "I will help you get down them using my magic."

On that note, Janos stepped out in the hallway. Levi glanced over at Leo before hurrying out into the hallway after Janos, still worried about what would happen if they ran into anyone else.