resort_link | 03 - Public / Video

[Linda's cheerful interest quickly turns to concern as the story progresses, and she frowns sadly] His own nephew...

[by the end, her expression is stricken. for a moment, she doesn't know what to say. finally, she manages:] That's...wow. What a story... [she wonders why Grainne said she liked it more when she was naive. after all, even if there's hope in death, it's not exactly a happy ending] That's so sad...

[shifting her focus to Grainne herself, though, she adds:] But I think you were wrong about storytelling. You're really good at it.

Is it though? [Grainne tilts her head, walking forward to sit down again.] She met her beloved again in death and was happy for the rest of time. They were free from hardships and from anyone who wished to keep them apart. Not every love story ends that way. Some never meet again, even in death.

[She shakes her head suddenly and smiles.]

I suppose I am not bad, but only after many years of practice. If you ever listened to the Bards at Newgrange when it was in its heyday, I am likely a poor storyteller compared. What is your Beauty and the Beast about? I take it there is a girl, and a beast of some sort.

Well, yeah, but...in most stories that's what happens after death, isn't it? And they didn't get to live together happily during their lives. [she rubs the engagement ring between the fingers of her uninjured left hand. the story made her think of Rusty--but she reminds herself that at least he's out there somewhere safe]

[she lets Grainne change the subject, though. after all, she did promise to tell her story, and she smiles at Grainne's opening guesses] That's a good start. I'm not a storyteller at all, and I don't know if I remember exactly, but... [she pauses, not quite sure how to start. she doesn't stand like Grainne did; she doesn't want to pretend to be a storyteller like the ones Grainne knows when she's never even seen one. instead, she straightens a little where she sits and decides to just dive in]

Like you said, there's a girl--a beautiful one, named Belle. She's quiet and loves books, but she dreams about having adventures away from the small village where she's grown up. Other people think she's weird, with ridiculous ideas. But her father, an inventor, always supports her--just like she supports him. For a while, Belle's only problem is a man named Gaston, who has decided he's going to make Belle his wife even though she keeps refusing him. But then her father tries to travel through the woods to a fair to show off an invention--and on the way, he gets chased off the path by ferocious wolves. His horse comes home to Belle alone.

[she pauses, wondering how Grainne will react to the opening and trying to remember more of the details of a movie she hasn't seen in quite a few years]

[Linda doesn't need to worry. From the moment she starts, Grainne sits listening, fascinated already.

A beautiful girl who dreamed of adventures... an obnoxious suitor... a father in trouble... it seems a little familiar to her, but of course all stories have elements of each other in them.

When she gets to the part where the horse returns home alone, Grainne gasps softly.]

Oh... poor Belle, she must have been devastated.

[Linda nods, relieved that Grainne is interested. she continues] But she got their horse to take her back to the spot where he lost her father. And she found out that he hadn't been killed--instead, he'd found a castle there when he was running from the wolves, and he'd hidden inside it. But it was owned by a terrible beast--a giant man, like a lion with fur over his body and a scraggly mane. So while the staff had helped her father find safety there, when the Beast had found him in his castle, he had locked him up.

Now that Belle knew where he was, she couldn't leave her father like that. So she did the only thing she could do--she offered to trade places with him. She would stay as the Beast's prisoner if he set her father free. Her father protested, but he couldn't change Belle's mind, and he was freed and sent away. He hurried home, hoping to find help in their village to come back and free his daughter.

Meanwhile, the Beast invited Belle to dinner, but she refused him. Angry, the Beast declared that she wouldn't get any food if she wouldn't eat with him. Luckily for Belle, the servants took pity on her and invited her to dinner anyway. Belle discovered that the servants in this castle were very strange--they were all household items, like a candlesticks, a clock, and a teapot with her teacup child. They came together to serve her an amazing feast and took her on a tour of the castle.

But Belle snuck away from the tour to explore the castle more on her own. And she went to the one place in the castle that was forbidden--the west wing. There, she found a room full of broken items and a shredded painting of a prince--as well as a rose in the middle of the room, glowing and floating in a glass case. Belle moved to touch it, but the Beast found her, snatched her hand away, and screamed at her to get out. Terrified, Belle ran not just from the west wing but from the entire castle. She ran out into the woods--and this time it's Belle who gets attacked by the wolves.

What a strange curse to lay on so many people... [Grainne knew what teapots are, and the kinds of things household items are in the modern eras, but that everyone had been transformed into living tools is somewhat unsettling.]

What happened to her? Did her father come and rescue her?

Edited 2015-05-31 14:44 (UTC)

Yeah, Belle didn't understand the curse at the time. But it didn't matter much when she was surrounded by wolves. [Linda finds that she's getting into the story now, encouraged by Grainne's interest, and she continues eagerly] You're right--her father did try to bring a rescue, but no one back in the village would believe his story about what had happened. They thought he was crazy. And so he tried to go after her alone, but he got lost in the woods on his way.

Belle did get rescued, though. The Beast went after her himself, fending off the wolves even though they scratched and injured him in the process. He brought her safely back to his castle, and after that display, Belle started to feel like the Beast might not be as beastly as he'd first seemed. She took care of his wounds, and knowing her love for books, he promised her the castle library as a gift. Belle found that, for that moment at least, she didn't mind being the Beast's prisoner so much. The staff even set up a romantic dinner for them to share together, and after they ate dinner, they danced together. It was like the Beast was a gentleman rather than a monster.

But Belle missed her father. She desperately wanted to see him, so the Beast used a magic mirror to let her--and to her horror, she saw him lost in the woods, dying as he tried to find her again. Belle was desperate to save him, and the Beast let her go, giving her the mirror as a gift to remember him by.

Because what Belle didn't know was that the curse on the whole castle was because of the Beast himself. Once he'd been a prince, but he'd been selfish. An enchantress dressed as an old beggar had come to his castle looking for shelter with only a rose to offer him in return, and he'd sent her away. She'd transformed the whole castle, including the Beast, and he had only until his 21st birthday--10 years--to love someone and be loved in return, or he would be trapped as a Beast forever. And this very night was his last night to break the curse. If Belle left now, he'd never be human again. But he didn't say so, and he let her go. [she pauses, watching Grainne for her reaction]

Oh no! [Grainne sits up straighter, eyes growing slightly shiny. The Beast must have loved her, or at least cared for her more than his own well being... It strikes a very deep chord in what was left of Grainne's heart.] Oh, poor Beast... was she falling in love with him?

[she considers that] I think she was, but I don't know what she would have said if you'd asked her then. But believe it or not, everyone's problems were about to get even worse. After her father's wild declarations about the Beast's castle, Gaston decided there was a way to make Belle marry him. He paid off an official--if Belle refused him again, he would have her father committed to an asylum for the rest of his life.

So when Belle did rescue her father and return home with him, Gaston confronted her with his ultimatum. But Belle had other ideas. She used the magic mirror to show the Beast to the people of the village, proving that he was real. Only to Belle's shock, Gaston used the Beast's appearance to stir up a lynch mob. Now the villagers wanted to kill him--and Gaston locked Belle and her father in their basement so they couldn't help. Then he led the mob into the woods to go after the Beast.

[she pauses for breath, having been speaking quickly in her excitement as the events of the story picked up. she doesn't stop for long, though, too eager to share more with Grainne. she's enjoying this now, which is both surprising to her and thrilling, even as the story itself grows more serious]

The villagers made it easily to the Beast's castle, but the staff rallied to protect their home. They used their strange, cursed forms to their advantage and kept most of the mob busy with tricks. But Gaston managed to get past them and made his way to the Beast. And the Beast, thinking he had already lost the only person he had ever cared about, didn't fight back.

[she pauses again here, fully into the story and enjoying seeing Grainne's reactions to the suspense. after all, this is a story that she first heard--saw, really--when she was very young. it's exciting to see someone's reactions who is hearing it for the very first time]

No! [Thoroughly distressed, Grainne places her hands over her face.] Poor Beast... Poor Belle... being treated like property... all to suit someone's vanity!

[Linda falters at Grainne's words--and the emotions behind them. it's easy to get used to a children's story and no longer think about the meaning of it, but she knows that Grainne is absolutely right. not to mention the way the villagers quickly take Gaston's side is nothing short of sick to her, as well]

Yeah, they were being treated like that... But no matter how bad things are, there are always good people out there who will do their best to help. [her tone is firm; she truly believes that] In this case, Chip, the little teacup, had stowed away with Belle when she left the castle. And he was small enough to get out of their prison and smart enough to find a way to free them. So with Chip in tow, Belle and her father rushed back to the castle.

Meanwhile the Beast and Gaston were fighting on the roof. And at the sight of Belle coming to help him, the Beast got his resolve back and easily fended off Gaston. But the Beast had changed since he'd met Belle, and he wasn't a selfish man anymore. He spared Gaston's life, ordering him to leave, and went to meet Belle. Gaston, though, was too awful of a man to let that be the end of it. He came up behind the Beast, stabbing him--a move that cost Gaston his life. [her expression is dark] He slipped and fell from the castle to his death.

But the Beast's wound was bad, and he was dying in Belle's arms. By then, Belle knew exactly how much she loved him. She cried over him, telling him so--at the very last second before the curse became permanent. [Linda breaks out in a smile as she comes to the happy end of the story at last] And then it was broken, restoring the Beast's life and turning him back into a human prince. Overjoyed, Belle kissed him, and everyone and everything in the castle transformed, too, turning back into what--and who--they'd been originally. And from that day forward, Belle and the former Beast were able to live together happily ever after. And... [she pauses, smiling widely] That's the end.

[Grainne gives Linda a slightly astonished look.]

That is the end? They lived together, happily? Everything was all right and they were for the rest of their days? It seems like a miracle they were not killed by Gaston...

[It's hard to wrap her head around. She knows love stories could end happily, at least on an intellectual level, but most of the ones she heard personally ended... well, realistically.]

They must have had a godling or very good luck watching over them. I know mine did not end that way at all. That is amazing, wonderful even. It gives hope...

[Linda frowns at Grainne's surprise] Yeah. I mean...it's a children's story. Don't you know other stories like that?

[she pauses, struggling for words. she's never thought about why this is a normal part of so many children's stories before, so it's not easy for her to come up with a way to describe that reason. after a moment, she says:] It is about hope. Hope is--important. I mean... [she makes a face, not quite sure how to say what she's thinking] What would we do if we stopped believing there was any way for things to turn out okay? We'd just...stop when things got hard. Wouldn't we?

[Grainne looks away for a moment, then down at her hands.]

No, not until I came here. Our stories tend to be based in real events, which do not always have a happy ending, or one that favors any particular person and very often speak of tragedy on all sides. They speak of hope, too. I would even dare to say Belle's story did not turn out a happy one for Gaston.

But then, those who persist in foolishness bring about their own ruin, too. Gaston may have been selfish, and barbaric in some ways, though he also must have been an important member of the community to rally and lead the others so, and feared for the safety of the village. Ignorance and fear are not permanent afflictions, except it was not his ignorance and fear that ended his life, but his lack of mercy.

I have always believed it is important for my children to be prepared for the harsh realities of life that they will face on their own. They would not always win just because they felt themselves just. It has always been my duty as a parent. That does not mean I did not teach them to hope or to stop believing in other people to do the right thing.

Oft, it is believing in others that brings out the best in them. Sometimes that is all that they need.

[She sighs, and drops her hands to grasp the seat on each side of her.]

I suppose when it comes down to it, I could not tell my children stories that were not true, not when their father's ended so badly.

[Linda stares at Grainne for a long moment. she hadn't expected that reaction--hadn't been thinking about this exercise in storytelling nearly so seriously. and she'd had no idea what Grainne might have come from before she came to Blackway, but just that short allusion to her life strikes a chord with Linda. finally she asks, quietly:] You're a mother?

A mother, a grandmother. Great-grandmother... my descendants number thousands. My surviving children founded a clan and spread across the world. Not a one claims me as their founding mother.

[she still doesn't understand how Grainne could be who and what she claims to be--so old and also dead but not. but there's one question that hits Linda before anything else] But...why wouldn't they?

As I said before, not all stories end happily.

[She sighs heavily, discontent.]

You can try to save someone, do something that you absolutely hate to succeed, and be hated by that someone for it.

[Linda moves closer to Grainne on the bench, putting her bandaged hand over one of Grainne's. her voice is quiet when she asks her next question] What happened?

[Grainne looks down, wondering. What did happen? Sometimes, thinking back to those times she wonders if her memory is still remembering things right. Or is she speaking about the more recent happenings? Her words could apply to so many things, she doesn't know how to answer Linda's question right away.]

What always happens when you betray someone, Linda. You can spend the rest of your life trying to make up for it, and still it will not be enough.

[Linda's voice gains strength as she probes further, determined not to let Grainne just sit here and talk ill of herself] But you said whatever you did, you did it to save them. Don't they realize that?

[She shakes her head, frowning a little.]

No. It was necessary to keep the reasons to myself, otherwise it would not work. They stayed true to their father.

That's so sad... [the response is a kneejerk reaction. after that, she's quiet for a moment, taking in what she's been told and struggling to make sense of it]

[when she speaks again, her words start out hesitant but gain strength as she goes] But...even if they'll never know, that doesn't change what you sacrificed for them. You saved them. Right?

I wonder. The path I set them on may have led to their death, but when I averted it, it only set them on another that definitely led them to it. It took a bit longer, but the end, still the same. They died and that time there was nothing I could do about it, because it was a matter of politics and several clans going to war.

[at Grainne's response, she's quick to add:] But intentions are important. We can't know what our actions will bring, not really. You did what you did to save them--no matter what happened after.

[but she frowns, not really sure what else to say without a better understanding of what happened to Grainne and her family] Could you...tell me about it? If it's not...you know, too much to talk about.

03 - Public / Video

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Do you want to finish this out? I think we're close.

yeah

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just gonna use this account

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