bride and beast: chap 1

[lil ole me]

Standard disclaimer...

Chapter 1
1954

The ?Dragon? prowled through the dark corridors of the crumbling Sanq Castle. The moon hung eerily bright outside as if taunting him for his cowardice of the light. He growled in his displeasure for only at night could he cast away the chains that bound him forever in this dark misery of a citadel.

The darkness was his kingdom and he its ruler, the silence?his companion.

There was a large aperture in one of the castle walls, created by the shock of a cannonball. He gazed out at the vast churning of the ocean and did not even shiver at the icy winds that blew hard on his form. The castle, as well as the village, stood as proof to the horrors that occurred here so many years ago. A time when he was innocent.

They had made him what he was today. He smirked at the image his mind had created of those cowards trembling in their beds at the mere thought of his wrath. They deserved it, for the pain and despair they had caused him. He would finally have his revenge.
Oh yes, tonight the Dragon would hunt.


Relena Dorlian simply refused to believe in anything as ludicrous as the existence of dragons. They were simply fictional beasts that existed in books to capture a princess and then be defeated by those knights in shining armor. So of course she dismissed those wild stories about the ?Dragon? and his rampage on their small and insignificant village. She had just gone to bed, after a long and grueling day, and was so close to falling into a dreamless sleep when hysterical shouts and bangs were heard outside.

She was ready to kill someone.
?The Dragon is upon us again, he?s going to burn us in our beds?
?Not again?, she wearily sighed.
?Relena, Relena!? one of the villagers called out. ?Quick you must come and read his letter to us!?

Relena was a girl of learning and science, her mother taught her to read and write at a young age and so she was the only one, besides the Reverend Quatra Winner, who could read. Quatra would always bring her books after his many trips abroad. ?Really people, could a dragon write letters and sneak into the village unnoticed?, she did not laugh at the people?s ignorance?merely pitied them for their lack of knowledge.
She finally dragged herself out of bed, not surprised at the lack of her two older sisters from their beds ?wonder which lucky lads had the pleasure of their company this evening?? she thought absentmindedly ?but where on earth is Hilde, that girl is going to wind up like Dorothy or Sylvia?. Relena had thought herself to be plain even ugly; years of her sister?s snide remarks had forever buried those thoughts in her mind. She hid from mirrors and did not care about her looks, but strove to achieve the best education she could. She had not seen her own reflection in nearly 9 years. She was skinny, this she knew, she had a beautiful figure but it was hidden by the shapeless and drag woolen dress she wore. Her silky blond locks were always held in a tight bun, no one had ever seen her with her hair bellowing around her from the wind.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she quickly threw on her woolen robe and headed out the door. On her way she passed her slumbering father who had dozed of in front of the fireplace, their maid Sally sat besides him. Relena made her way quietly to her father and gently laid his blanket over his fragile body. Her father had suffered immensely in the past, the death of her mother, and the horrid beating from the Kushrenada soldiers 8 years ago had permanently rendered him invalid, both of body and mind.

At the village commonplace she quickly spotted her sisters, each in the arms of a young boy, and felt the anxious gazes of her neighbors. They were all huddled together whispering fearfully.

?It?s the curse, surely it is it.?
?Aye yes, the blood shed is about to begin.?
?I felt his breath upon my neck, it smelled like brimstone, and when I woke?everything had been scorched.
?He can disguise as a human, but no human form could hide those bloodlust eyes, and sharp fangs.

?There are no such things as curses, and no such things as dragons.? Relena yelled out in frustration, ?can?t you see, you?re all being fooled and deceived by a charlatan who?s getting all he can out of you. We?ve never even seen him?

?Oh high and mighty Relena is making fun of us. You think you?re better than us just cause you can read and write? sneered David.
"We all know that the dragon is none other than Old Yuy, come to haunt us til we die" an elderly woman cried.

Relena sighed in defeat.

?Well, my dear, what does he want this time?? Relena looked up to see the frightened face of the village leader Albert, as he held out a piece of parchment to her.

She broke the red wax seal and gazed upon the elegant yet arrogant and masculine penmanship of the ?Dragon?.
?It would appear that M?lord Dragon is hungry. And if it wouldn?t be too troublesome, he would like to have a haunch of venison, a large jug of whiskey? the men nodded at the simple request, ?and?? Relena?s voice became strangled and the others had to strain to here, ?one thousand pounds.?

Some one began to recite the curse that was placed upon them 8 years ago.

May the dragon?s wings spell your doom
And his fiery seal your tomb
May vengeance be upon your heads
Till innocent blood be shed.

A/N dun dun dun...don't u just luv cliffhangers, know its short but i hope to make chapter 2 pretty long.
thanks
lol...Elyn i luv a good romance too...the book was great. But it's hard to configure the fic to the book, hopefully i won't have to change too much from the book cause it's so sweet.

[Nikouru]

Wow... what a sudden twist in the story! Great Job! Post the next chapter soon! I can't wait to see what happens!

[AngelOfDeath]

Glorious! More so soon. Happy happy.



This is not where I expected it to go, but exciting nevertheless!

[RDP]

Aie! What happened to Heero to make him want to kill everyone? Why was Relena's father beaten? So many questions...can only be answered by another chapter!

[zipdos]

Wohoooo!!! What was that!!! It's really neet and I want more!!!

[lilac310]

Interesting!!!...Don't stop writing, ok?..I'm really hooked!

[Fatimai1]

Sounds interesting.