Short Story Excerpt - Romance (SOTL) - Pt1

Overview: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/short-story-romance-sotl

For my creative writing class, I was required to write a romance. I hadn't started drafting School of the Legends yet, so this is what kicked it off. I decided to center it around my "Beauty and the Beast" characters, Beau and Ursula.

I now have School of the Legends written in third person, but this is written in first. I have changed a few things since.

Hope you enjoy!

I stepped out of the carriage, slinging my bags over my shoulder, and kicking the door shut with my foot, unable do anything else with my hands. The carriage rolled off, a shimmering light flashed, and it was gone. I turned around, gazing down the lawn toward the school. The grass on both sides of the pathway were freshly mowed, and the trees surrounding it were beginning to show the end of the summer. It seemed as if I were frozen in place as teenagers such as myself passed me, walking down the path to the palace.

My fingers clutched tight around my bag. I took a deep breath and began to follow the crowd. The castle in the distance shot out from behind the trees, casting a large shadow on the lawn. A large staircase led to the main entrance, and as I neared, I could make out the name of the school in English lettering: “Madame Goossens’ School for the Majicked, Gifted, and Cursed.” I’d studied up enough on the language to know what each word meant, and the last one sent a chill down my spine.

I stepped inside the castle, gasping at the beauty within, but also feeling a shiver of fear down my spine. There was a grand hall with white pillars and domes with golden trim, a blood-red carpet laid on the ground and up the sets of stairs that led to what I assumed to be even grander areas of the castle. But the halls were crowded, and I could feel my heart hammering against my chest.

I took a deep inhale, slowly beginning to walk forward when I tripped over something and went crashing to the ground, my bag cushioning my fall.

“Pardon,” a voice said. “I did not see you there.” The stranger knelt beside me, picking up my bag. He held out his hand to help me up, but I ignored it. Not out of rudeness, but because my heart hammered against my ribcage.

“É melhor prevenir do que remediar,” I muttered to myself as I stood. I reached out for my bag, but the boy shook his head.

“I’ll help you carry this up to your dormitory,” he said. “There’s a lot of stairs.”

“But do you not have your things?” I asked, saying my first words to him and gesturing to his backpack and wheeled suitcase.

He shrugged. “It is nothing compared to this thing,” he said. He propped his suitcase to an upright position so he could have a free hand. “I’m Beau.”

I stared at his hand, unsure on quite what to do. Beau closed his hand after a very long moment when I failed to reach out to clasp it. “Úrsula,” I eventually choked out.

Beau smiled, his clear blue eyes shining. “A pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Úrsula.” He picked up his suitcase. “What dorm are you located in?”

“Um,” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the gold-trimmed card that had been haphazardly folded to fit into my pocket. “East Wing, third floor, room…nineteen.”

“This way it is, then,” said Beau, pointing toward the staircase on the right. “It is my second year,” said Beau. “I assume it’s your first?” I nodded. “You don’t have to share, if you don’t wish to, but…what brings you here?”

I bit my lip, not answering.

“I am sorry,” I said after a few moments of awkward silence. “I…just am not used to…” I gestured vaguely to the crowded hallways.

“I understand,” said Beau. “There are a lot of people here who have been isolated because of their abilities. You are not alone here.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Well, this is it,” Beau said after several minutes of walking up flights of stairs and navigating vast corridors.

“Thank you for your help,” I said as he handed me back my bag.

“Any time, mademoiselle,” he said. He began to leave, then he turned back. “Úrsula, would you mind joining me for a walk in the gardens after classes tomorrow?” I stared at him, confused at the question. “Just to talk. Maybe get to know each other a little more.”

“I… Maybe,” I said. “I am just…not used to talking with other people.”

“Then maybe it is time you learned,” Beau said. “You can just use me to practice.”

***

“How was your first day of classes?” Beau asked.

“They were fine,” I answered.

The palace gardens were stunning. The sun was out, the sky was bright blue, going well with Beau’s eyes. The grass was neatly trimmed and such a bright green, I assumed it was probably kept by magic. Beau led me down a stone pathway surrounded on either side by little green hedges boarding little beds of flowers. I followed him toward the center of the garden, where a fountain rested. The bubbling water was soothing, and the clusters of pink roses surrounded the setting.

“It…it is so beautiful here,” I breathed.

“I know,” said Beau, kneeling by a flowerbed, stroking one of the flower’s petals gently. “Hm,” he muttered.

“What is it?” I asked.

“This one is a little sick.” I knelt beside Beau. Now I could see that there was a slight grayness toward this particular flower, the petals were smaller, and its stem was droopy. Beau closed his eyes, breathing gently, raising his hand off the rose. He spread out his palm, and the flower began to inch its way up to the height of its brethren, spreading its petals in a much more cheerful shade of pink.

“Beau, that…was amazing.” Beau smiled softly, blond hair brushing over his bright blue eyes as he looked down at the rose. “I…assume that’s your gift,” I said dumbly. “What an amazing gift to have. You’re healing and giving life. Can you only heal or grow existing flowers, or can you make your own?”

“Existing,” Beau answered, “but I can control all plants and make them grow to extremes.” He chuckled. “Years ago, I was in Ireland, visiting my cousin, Jack. My aunt yelled at him for trading their cow for beans he claimed to be magic and she threw them outside. I cheered Jack up by showing him my powers I recently discovered. But I still was not in control of it, so the beanstalk ended shooting up…all the way to the clouds.” He snickered. “The two of us tried to climb up, but we were five; we were not going to make it very far.”

I found myself chuckling. “You’re so lucky to have a gift.” Beau’s smile faded slightly, but only just. He went back to eyeing the flower, pretending nothing had occurred.

Like I said, a few things have changed, but when I do write the equivalent scene in SOTL Draft One, it will be very similar to this.

We will continue tomorrow!

Don't forget to like, comment, sign up, leave a rating, and join me on Spaces to never miss an update!