Beauty in Autumn (Beauty #3)(4)

"Blindfolded?" I echo.

Leta nods. "You will be tempted to look at the wonders he will reveal to you. You will want to see the castle. You will want to see his face. You will want to see the true nature of the beast." She sets her cup down and folds her hands in her lap, her expression grave. "But you cannot. No matter what he asks of you, you must not look upon him."

I swallow hard. I feel a crashing sense of disappointment. Even after all this, I'll never get to look at his face? I won't get to see what he looks like? "How do I remove the curse?"

"After three nights, if you do not look upon him, the curse will be broken."

"It's that simple? Truly?"

Leta chuckles at my question. "Ah, my dear, sweet Willow. It is that simple, and that hard."





2





WILLOW


The days pass in a rush of activity. I help my parents around the farm, doing what I can before the harvest festival. I won't be here to help them....afterward. Either I will lift the curse like Leta said, or I will end up another disappeared girl, never to be heard from again.

I think about what Leta told me, over and over again. At night, when I'm supposed to be relaxing with a book or my knitting, I sew blindfolds. Not just any blindfold, but ones with extra layers of fabric, so I do not catch a glimpse of the beast. Blindfolds with extra ties so they do not slide off. Blindfolds fitted just for me. Blindfolds for daytime, and blindfolds comfortable enough to sleep in.

My parents don't notice. They're too busy mourning my imminent death. I try not to let their sorrow get to me. I want to tell them that I'm going to fix the curse but...what if I don't? So I say nothing. I hug them, and tell them how much I love them, and do what I can to make their lives comfortable before I leave.

At night, my dreams are empty...until the night before the harvest festival.

That night, I dream of the beast again.

I'm walking in the forest, just like in the last dream. The wind is brisk with a hint of a chill, and the leaves crunch under my feet. I still can't see anything. I'm blindfolded, just like Leta said I should be. But even though my vision's gone, I can still sense someone nearby. Someone...waiting.

"I know you're there," I say softly.

"Why are you here?" He calls out. "Why are you on my path? In my forest?"

"I'm here to marry you," I tell him. "Here to break the curse."

He laughs, and the sound is deep, husky, and almost inhuman. I hear footsteps as he approaches, and then a large body presses up against my back. A clawed hand curls around my neck. He doesn't tighten, just lets it linger there. "What do you want?"

"To break the curse." Why am I aroused by his menacing touch? Why is my skin prickling with awareness at his nearness? Why is my pulse racing because I can feel the warmth of his body against mine?

"Is that what you truly want?" Something brushes against my ear. Lips? "Or is it something more?"

And I gasp because he's right...I do want something more. Something more than just lifting the curse. Something more than just freeing him. I want...more of everything. I want his hand - claws and all - to do more than just caress my neck. I want more touches.

I want to know what his mouth would feel like against mine.

More than anything, I want to see his face.

I pull off my blindfold, desperate. I turn, because I want to see his face. But the world goes black around me and I still can't see him. I can't see anything.

"You lied," he whispers, fading away into the darkness. "You didn't want to free me after all."

I wake up in a cold sweat.



The gathering for the harvest festival feels like a waste of time. I dress in my nicest frock, plait my hair, pack my small bag, and hug my parents goodbye. At the edge of the forest, where the Harvest Stone awaits, the maypole has been set up with the ribbons in bright fall colors, as if this is something to celebrate. The other girls weep and cry as they take their places by the pole. I want to reassure them that they won't be picked, but I might be wrong.

Maybe I'm wrong about all of this. Maybe my dreams are just that - dreams.

But as I pick up my ribbon and take my place amongst the others, I see Leta watching in the distance. She wears a small smile on her face and nods at me. And I know in that moment I didn't imagine things. Round and round we go, walking around the pole as if in a dream. I watch as one by one, the other girls fall away until only a handful of us still hold on to our ribbons. I can see the looks of horror in the audience as they realize it will be decided soon.

Then we are down to three, and the end of my ribbon still remains tied to the pole.

Another ribbon falls away. Two.

The other girl looks at me, fright on her face. Her eyes are red and she stumbles as she continues to go around in the circle. I'm calm, though. So calm. I already know how this will turn out.

I look up to the top of the pole. As if in slow motion, her ribbon falls away from the top of the pole, leaving mine the only one still tied.

I'm the bride. I'm the sacrifice for this year's harvest festival.

Somewhere in the distance, I can hear my mother wailing. I can hear the unhappy murmur of the crowd. The minister of the kingdom comes forward to shake my hand. "You are doing a good thing this day," he tells me.