Young Writers Society

"No, I don't know who you are," Aegeas said, glaring at Janos. "And I'm not a big fan of strategists either."

Meanwhile, Kendrik was staring up at Nen. "Cursed?" he said. "Really? Dunno what it's like where'ver yer from, but ya look amazin'. People 'r' always 'fraid of dragons, but I think they're pretty normal. Just old."

Janos studied Aegeas for a moment, then shrugged. "It was not a position I chose for myself. I just was the one who understood the threat the best, save for a select group of others in a similar position. Unfortunately, they were occupied with other tasks, so I was the one who led that section of the war."

He turned when he saw Levi watching out of the corner of his eye. The boy was staring at him with wide, confused eyes. He looked almost afraid, but Janos couldn't figure out why. "Are you a demon?" Levi suddenly blurted.

He shook his head. "I fought alongside them, but I am not."

"But you said you were fighting a war against angels," Levi protested. "Wouldn't that make you a demon?"

Janos shook his head. "It was a war waged by humans and demons against the angels. I was neither, but I had a...personal conflict against them."

Levi stared.

Letting out a sigh, Janos removed his jacket and shirt. Now that the upper half of his body was unclothed, he turned his back to Levi. Levi would have been looking at the two vertical slits; the scars were still young and relatively fresh. It had been such a short time since then. Sometimes he could still feel them there, but it was little more than a phantom of what had once been.

"You're a fallen angel?" Levi asked, his voice much quieter than before.

"Yes," Janos confirmed. "I am."

He put his shirt and jacket back on, readjusting the glasses he had been wearing for the sole purpose of the costume. His vision was excellent - it always had been.

"Those scars are where my wings were," he said. "When you become a fallen angel, they rip your wings out. They give a little bit of comfort by healing some of the area around the wound, but the scars remain as a reminder."

Levi continued to stare at him. "But why would they make you a fallen angel? What did you do?"

"I was born," Janos replied, giving another small shrug before turning back to the group on the bed.


Nen gave him a smile. It revealed all of his sharp teeth, but Kendrik wouldn't be afraid as other people might have been; he didn't seem to share the same fears a normal person would have.

"Thanks," he said. "I'm actually not that old - I'm only in my twenties." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the last time he was in a situation like this. Bo and Kratzer had both been insistent on the fact that was far too young, thanks to them both being older than they should have been.

James nodded to Bleffles as they departed. "Be careful," was his simple warning before they left.

As they journeyed, James held on, but it seemed he'd underestimated just how impractical dressed were.

Though the discomfort was bearable, it was notable - and he found himself wondering how the main character Belle managed to ride her horse towards the castle in the first place, in the original story. Surely she must've changed her clothes or something.

He was relieved when he saw the castle coming closer - it wouldn't be long before they arrived. The path had shifted from the warm meadows and spring trees, and the land was starting to take on a sickly shape - as if winter found its home solely around the castle.

He was starting to see how the castle was cursed.

With the castle so near in sight, he hopped on the horse without warning. "We should be there soon," he commented absently.

She fingered her daggers.

"This isn't right," she had said. She had expected that the castle would stand out among the scenery - just like her own - but hadn't expected it to look so dark. The landscape had been cursed with an eternal winter, contrasting the spring flora and fauna they had seen on their way there.

She joined James in abruptly dismounting from the horse, eager for an excuse to get rid of it. Part of her hoped that it would run away the moment she left it, but it stubbornly remained in place.

She sent it a glare, then hurried on to the castle with James in tow. She could see it clearly now - an immense, enormous structure that stood out against the snow. She knew that Nen had to be the Beast, but there was no telling what else could be lurking within it.

She came to a stop when they finally reached the front doors, trying to ignore her growing fear as they walked past more and more grotesque and frightening decorations. Even the patch of roses had looked terrifying.

She raised a hand to knock on the great doors-

-but stopped as something caused a burst of air to slam into her and James. She staggered and struggled to remain standing, turning around to see a blur of red and gold come crashing down into the snowy ground behind them.

Prince Nendros Exel Xenon hopped back up to his feet, shaking off the snow that was now clinging to his wings. Snow still remained in his hair and strange, unfamiliar clothes, but he didn't seem to care.

"Az!" he exclaimed, lips parting to reveal a very sharp smile. A second later, she was being pulled into a hug by her boyfriend. She eagerly returned it, glad to see that he was safe. It wasn't easy, but she stood on the tips of her toes and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said. "I was worried that someone would hurt you."

"I'm alright," he reassured her. He lifted her up ever so slightly and returned her kiss with a brief one of the lips. "I was worried about you, too. Do you know what's going on?"

"Something about a story," Az said, "but I don't really care."

James jumped and spun around as the gust of wind hit, but froze when he saw the dragon-like man before him. A rush of adrenaline was already coursing through his veins, and he forced himself to steady his heart and his breathing as he saw Az and the man embrace.

He was the beast. Her friend that she'd been talking about. He supposed "love interest" in the story, even though it seemed Az and the dragon man were a couple.

As his heart rate began to slow, he straightened up, ignoring the chills of the harsh winter cold. Whoever had cast him as Belle had chosen poorly. It would've made more sense for him to be cast as the antagonist and for Az to be Belle. They were clearly already in love.

He waited stiffly by the door for a second or two before he realized he didn't have to brave the cold air if he didn't want to. He turned to the large double doors and pushed one open.

The sudden departure was just the distraction he had been waiting for. Eyeing the other people-turned-inanimate-objects to see if they were paying attention to him - and deciding that they weren't - the clock slipped off of the bed with a quiet thud. The impact hurt a little more than expected, but he ignored the pain.

He quietly made his way over to the door trying - and failing - to walk regularly in a body never meant to function like a person.

Still, he miraculously managed to make it to the door without being stopped.

He slipped out into the hallway.

Leo finally stumbled into the room. He had gotten stuck somewhere near the doorway- the frame was a lot harder for him to manage than the others- but he had finally squeezed his way through. With a few clunky steps, he made it over to the bed with the objects, standing again next to Levi and Janos.

"Sorry about that." He murmured softly, a bit embarrassed about how much he might have missed. "Um. I'm Leo." He gave the objects a little wave with a drawer.

With that said, he turned to Levi. "Where did Nendros go?"

Before Kendrik could clarify that he didn't think Nen was old - Nen could just live a long time - the dragon had already swooped out of a window. Awesome, but the dude needed to learn to stay in one place.

So did some other people, apparently; Aegeas hopped his way off the bed and fell onto the floor. "What are ya doin'," Kendrik said.

Aegeas pulled himself up, dripping wax onto the floor, and hobbled off. "I think Nen's little clock friend ran off," he said, "So I better check on him before he gets himself hurt."

"Ya just don't wanna admit yer wrong about Janos," Kendrik called, but Aegeas had already slipped under the door and vanished from sight.

Ugh. Kendrik was still a little too frightened about being a teapot to leave the room - Aegeas had to come back eventually anyways. Right?

Yep. Maurice was already gone. That should have been a completely uneventful two-minute investigation, but apparently Bleffles' current role was capable of influencing physics itself.

Despite not being notably clumsy, she had fallen into several more mud puddles, bumped or been knocked into any protruding bits of architecture with an almost magnetic force, and collided with various domestic animals of increasing size in increasingly convoluted ways.

And after all that, Bleffles could not find a horse.
There was Gaston's horse, which had been taken by Gaston and James, and there was Belle's horse, which was still at the castle with Maurice.
But Lefou was not important enough of a character to have a horse. He wasn't even supposed to be going to the castle for two more acts. Good heckin' gracious, where was she going to get a horse?

_____

Bleffles dismounted, and walked the horse up near James by the heavy castle doors.

"I brought another coat in the saddlebag, if you're cold." she said.

"I don't really know," Levi admitted. He raised a hand and pointed at the now open window, trying to ignore how cold the air coming in was. Could he die of hypothermia if he was technically already dead? "He said he'd be right back, and that he needed to go see someone. Maybe Belle arrived?"

He hesitantly got to his feet and made his way over to the window, peering down at the entrance. "Definitely Belle-" he started to confirm, but then blinked and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, is he making out with Gaston?"

"Is that bad?" Janos questioned from his spot by the bed.

"It's just, uh..." He faltered. "Gaston's supposed to be the antagonist."

"So then who is Belle?"

Levi turned back to the group, eager to get away from the window. "Not his girlfriend, apparently. They're too far away for me to see right now - I think I do see the dress and the long hair, but she's standing in the doorway near LeFou."

"Bless you," Janos replied.

He stared.

"...Was that someone's name?" Janos hesitantly asked.

"...Yes."

"Oh."


They finally pulled apart after a minute, though Nen stubbornly snuck his hand into hers. He could see his breath in the cold air as he looked over the other two newcomers. Both of them were like Az, dressed in clothes traditionally made for the opposite gender. He didn't have a problem with that, but he was starting to come to an unfortunate conclusion.

"Az?" he nervously asked. "Are you supposed to be Belle?"

Az shook her head as she led him to the door. "No," she answered. "That would be James. Bleffles is supposed to be someone named LeFou, and I'm supposed to Gaston."

"...Isn't Gaston the antagonist?"

Az nodded.

Nen frowned. "But I don't want to fight you."

Az gave him a strained smile and pulled him into the main hall. "We'll figure something out."


It was more than a little difficult navigating the hallway - seeing it from someone's arms was far different than seeing it from the floor. But he made due with the little knowledge he had, and somehow found the way to the library. He had been trying to enter it before stumbling on Nendros. That had involved a frustrating change of plans, as well as the pain that accompanied getting a book chucked at his face.

Now, however, he was alone.

He somehow managed to open the door with this stupid body, slipping through the crack and into the library. The next challenge quickly presented itself: getting to the shelves was going to be incredibly difficult. What he needed was a ladder, and he doubted this castle would have one. The shelves were just the right height for a man, but far from perfect for a clock.

"Come on," he hissed, growing all the more frustrated with his present situation. "Why do I always have to be too short? For once in my life, I'd like to reach the d*** shelves!"

Eugh. Aegeas kinda wished Nen had been there, both because he wouldn't have had to chase after Aska in the first place and because it'd mean the candelabra didn't have to hop across the floor as silently as he could.

Aegeas couldn't begin to imagine what Aska was doing. The clock should've been terrified of falling off the bed, much less wandering the halls of this castle alone. And the only reason Aegeas was being quiet in the first place was because it seemed like Aska wanted to be alone.

It was when Aegeas peeked into a doorway that he realized something else was wrong. Aska was angry. Not scared or shy, but angry. What could Aska possibly want with what appeared to be a library? Why wasn't Aska acting like himself?

How honest had Aska been?

He growled - a low, angry noise - at the shelves he would never be able to reach. Precious, valuable resources were lost to him, all because he was unlucky enough to get stuck as a stupid, stupid clock-

He went to give the nearest shelf a kick in his frustration, but became eerily still when he became aware that someone else had slipped into the library. He turned to see the unnamed candelabra behind him; it took all of his concentration not to utter a swear. He was so close, but now he would have to assume the mask of Nen's meek best friend.

It was a good thing that clocks didn't have all that expressive faces, or he was sure the glower he wanted to give would have given it all away.

"...H-Hi," he stammered - it was amazing how much a little bit of a stutter could help him get into character. He made himself look small. It should have been impossible for a clock to do, but he managed to pull it off. "I-Is something wr-wrong...? I-I just wanted to be helpful and m-maybe f-find a book that would help us get back to normal..."

Aegeas stepped into the library and crossed his candle arms. "Bulls***," he said, glaring at the clock. "You were yelling and swearing and growling. I thought you were human, but you don't sound like it. What are you, really? And does Nen know?"

His posture returned to normal - or, rather, as normal as it could be for a clock. There was no point in keeping up the charade. The candelabra had entered at the most frustrating of times. If he wasn't stuck like this, he might have figured out some way to turn this situation around. But he had the resources of a clock, and clocks - cursed or not - didn't have many resources.

"Why should I tell you?" he hissed, taking a step forward. "What Nendros does and doesn't know isn't your concern."

"Not if you could be a threat to him," Aegeas said, tilting his candle head. "But you're dodging the question."