The next morning The Beast left Rose’s breakfast by her bedroom door, waking her with a gentle knock and leaving before she could come out to speak to him. Half amused and half frustrated, she ate her egg, dressed in her prettiest gown, and went to find him in the garden.
She found The Beast feeding chickens at the back of the house, where there was a modest coop surrounded by a low fence. Standing across the small enclosure from him, she scraped one foot in the dirt nervously and cleared her throat. The Beast looked round and saw her. His posture immediately became stiffer.
“Rose. Can I help you?”
“I’ve had my time to think and I’d like to talk to you.”
“I see. Well I could join you for dinner if that is acceptable to you.”
“If that is what you wish then I can wait… err… I could help you feed the chickens in the meantime?”
“No, it’s all right. I’m sure you have a lot to do. I will be at your disposal after dinner.”
He seemed to be avoiding looking directly at her, and after their terse exchange, he returned his attention entirely to the task of scattering seed for the hens to peck at. “Well, goodbye then,” said Rose, a little more loudly than necessary. “I shall look forward to dinner.” With nothing better to do, she returned to the library to find something to read.
Predictably, dinner was torment. After an unending stretch of clattering cutlery, avoided looks and polite requests to pass the salt, they found themselves sitting opposite one another wondering where to begin. It was The Beast who spoke first: “You have more questions. Ask and I shall answer, as truthfully as I am able.”
A fleeting look of dissatisfaction crossed Rose’s face, but whatever the cause, she quickly composed herself. “I suppose I would like to know about what happened after you were cursed,” she said. “How did you come to be living here alone and intimidating wandering a merchant into sending you their daughter to court?”
“Well, the morning after… it all happened, I locked myself in my room. After a few hours my steward came to my door and I instructed him to let everyone go with a generous severance. I signed a few documents that he pushed under the door, and eventually the house was empty. Then I began to learn the life you see me living now. Over the years there have been a few girls that have lived here, for one reason or another. The first came when she and her father needed shelter for the night, much as your father did. The girl who cursed me had told me that true love’s kiss was the key to its undoing, so I thought… I offered him gold in exchange for him leaving her with me, and he accepted.
“I offer no excuse, but those girls came to be important to me. Their company was the only human contact I had. I was still selfish, stealing a year from their young lives to stave off my loneliness and feed my hope of redemption. Mostly they would just avoid me except for at dinner, but one of them, Agnes, became my friend. She was the first to draw out from me the story I have now told to you. Once she knew the truth she left.
“I thought I would never see her again, but a few months later she came back and told me she had set up a kind of safe haven for women who have run away from violent men. She told me that I could never buy redemption, but if I was sorry at all I should fund her project. She has to work in secret, you see, so she cannot rely on public patronage. I can’t access my bank accounts anymore, so I’ve been slowly giving away the house’s ornaments and fittings to her. I’m glad to be able to do something to atone for my past, even if it’s copper towards a debt of gold.
“The fact is that Agnes has been a better friend to me than I deserve, and over the years she has tried to show me how wrong it is to do what I did to her and to you. I would like to think she would have succeeded on her own eventually, but Rose, you showed me more quickly just by being who you are. My last mistake was thinking that I could keep you with me for the rest of the year, but… well, we know how that ended up.”
The Beast gave a forlorn shrug. “Is there anything else you’d like to know?” he asked.
“When you were talking to Agnes, you said that you didn’t feel any romantic attraction to me,” recalled Rose, “That wasn’t true, was it?”
The Beast looked uncomfortable. “Do I really have to talk about that?”
“I would like it if you did.”
The Beast met her deep, guileless eyes with his frightful stare. “Rose, do you know why I requested to be sent your father’s eldest daughter?”
“Because you were looking for a suitable match. A true lady.”
“That’s almost right, but it doesn’t get to the core of the matter. Rose, when I had the shape of a man I preyed on young girls. I wanted to move on from that, to be better. I thought that by courting your elder sister I could break myself of my more… damaging predilections.
“Rose, you are everything that I have ever desired as a man and a monster, whichever I was at first, and whichever I am now. I look at you and even now I desire you. It is not only your beauty that draws me to you, although that alone is like clear water to a parched labourer. It is the generosity of your spirit; your intelligence, which you yourself underestimate even more than I did at first; and I am ashamed to say that it is your innocence, for there is still a part of me that would enjoy nothing more than to rob you of it.
“Rose, when I punished you, it was more than just anger. I enjoyed it. I love you, but I loved hurting you, do you understand? In that moment I wanted to rape you — not just to force the consummation of my love, but to feed a darker passion, to hurt you and to break you for my own pleasure.”
“I know,” said Rose. “I know, and I love you with a complementary ferocity.”
“You know? And yet you say you love me. You cannot know! You cannot even know what you are saying.”
Rose reached across the table and placed her tiny hand atop his vast one. “I felt you, that night. I felt you growing beneath me as I lay on your lap. It made me so happy to be punished by you. That night I put my hand in my cunny and fingered myself into paroxysms for the first time, thinking of you all the while. I swear to you that I know exactly what I am saying, and I tell you again, I love you.
“These feelings are not new-minted, but when you told me your history I needed time to understand my own reaction. Now that I’ve had that time, and this is what I have to say: if one of your victims were to come back here to take their vengeance upon you, I could not stand in their way. I would not have the right. I cannot absolve you of your shame any more than your donations to Agnes can, and what’s more I do not think you would want me to. But in the here and now it is fruitless to dwell on what cannot be changed, and there is nothing to be gained from denying our feelings.
“I came here on the understanding that you would be my suitor and, to be frank, in that role you are clearly in need of further practice. However, you have instead been to me a father and a teacher and a friend, and I have come to love you in each of those capacities, as your daughter, and your student and your confidante. Yet more and more I find that my love for you exceeds the bounds of those roles. I would, by choice, be your counterpart in every respect that you allow. If you have been my gaoler these past weeks, then it has been my pleasure to be your prisoner, and if in future it pleases you to act the rake, then I would be your whore. If you desire to be a master, then it would gladden my heart to be your slave, and if you wish to be a rapist, then I welcome it so long as I am your only victim. To hear that you hunger to use me ill, to violate me and leave me broken, is the happiest news that has ever fallen upon my ears.”
A look of tortured longing had spread across The Beasts face as Rose spoke. “And what if, in surrendering to my desires, I come to hurt you in a way that does not bring you happiness? What if the rape that you profess to desire proves, when it comes, to be worse than you can bear, but you have no way of stopping it because you have primed me to ignore your pleas for mercy? What if, in the throes of my passion, I damage you as I damaged so many in the past, in your image of yourself, in your very soul?”
“It is a risk I am willing to accept,” she said quickly.
“It is not one that I am,” he retorted, pulling his hand away from beneath hers. “Rose, were I to hurt you, truly hurt you, then it would break me. To have known a creature as perfect as you and caused her harm — that would be a torture greater than all my years alone with my shame. I cannot be what you want. The danger is too great.”
“What if…” she fiddled with a tress of her dark hair while she thought. “What if I had something that I could say that I would never usually say in a moment of distress? If I found your attentions disagreeable I could say something like ‘Goody Two Shoes’ and you’d know to stop.”
He pondered this. Several times he seemed to be about to reject her proposal, but then he smiled a small smile with his wide mouth. “That does have the distinct advantage that there is nothing in this world I can think of that is less arousing than Goody Two Shoes,” he said.
“Then you agree?” she squealed in triumph jumping up and moving around the table towards him.
“Against my better judgement, yes I— not so fast” Rose had jumped towards him to kiss him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Well, I get the impression that you appreciate my current appearance, yes?”
She bit her lip, smiling and looked guiltily to one side. “I do,” she said.
“Then perhaps a kiss is something that can wait. You will recall what I told you about being redeemed by true love’s kiss? I am astonished to say it, but that seems like it may be a real danger now. So if you wish me to… enjoy you in this form then kissing is something that will have to wait.”
Rose pouted, but then nodded. “I see your point.”
“We still have a lot to talk through this evening,” said The Beast. He patted his knee. “Come sit on my lap and we’ll make a start.”
Her smile restored, Rose climbed onto The Beast’s lap facing forwards and he engulfed her waist with his arms. A long time ago, she remembered her father had bought a book filled with engravings of birds and they had looked through it together like this. The Beast’s sheer size made it possible to recreate that childhood memory of safety and love. She shuffled her bottom to get comfortable and she felt The Beast’s cock begin to swell in a series of heartbeat twitches.
By unspoken agreement, they left his arousal unremarked. The Beast bent his head down and briefly nuzzled into her hair with his short muzzle, and then he said, “It is all very well for you to say that you would have me do as I will to you, but part of what I wish is to understand you in better detail. Tell me your fantasies and your fears. Tell me what you like. Leave nothing out.”
Rose breathed in deeply, luxuriating in his animal scent and the heat coming from his body. “It changes, I think,” She said. “I like this that you’re doing right now: no-one has ever been so careful to listen to me as you. Most of the time I like the feeling that you’re in charge of me. I suppose it was growing up as a prince that accustomed you to commanding rather than asking. Part of me thinks that I should object, but in fact it is agreeable to me. When you tell me what to do, it is always from a desire for me to serve my own best interests, and I have come to trust your judgement in such matters.
“I suppose that is what I mean when I say you are a father to me. But because I desire to please you as well as to be pleased, it is my wish that you also command me in your own interest and take what you need from me. I wish to be yours to use as you see fit. Because I have found in my heart that I want to be used. The explanation I have given so far is true, but it dances around another truth: sometimes I am afraid of you and I like it. I like the idea that my fears may prove well founded.
“Just now I told you I was happy to feel your… desire when you spanked me.” She crooked her neck backwards to look up at him with a wicked smirk. “As I am happy to feel it now. However, I think I should have been clearer that I also liked the spanking for its own sake.” Her voice became soft. “I liked it very much.”
“And what of shame, humiliation?” asked The Beast. “In the past my sadism was not confined to physical punishment. I delighted in torture of the spirit.”
Rose felt an odd lightness in her chest as her heart quickened. “I think that I would like to try it.” She said, “Although I appreciate the caution you display by raising the question. I can imagine that Miss Two Shoes’ protection might end up serving me well in that direction of exploration. And I wouldn’t want to lose everything else I have with you, so… only sometimes, if you would be so kind.”
“I will bear all that in mind and proceed with circumspection,” The Beast told her, “And you can rest assured that I too place great value on our interactions as they have occurred so far. Is there anything else? We will have more conversations like this one, but I still feel it would be good for us to understand as much as possible before going forward.”
“There is one thing,” she said. “I would like to have something to call you. I know it’s not a practical concern, but it feels terribly strange to be without a name or title to address you by. I understand now why ‘sir’ is not to your liking, but I think my preference would be some term of respect if that is agreeable to you.”
“Will ‘my lord’ meet your needs in this regard?” asked The Beast.
“Yes my lord, I think it suits you well.”
“Very well little Rose, then that is how you shall address me from this point forward. You need not say it every time you speak to me, but when I give you a command you must use it when you tell me that you will be obedient, and if you wish to make a request, you must use it to show the proper humility in doing so. Do you understand?”
“Yes my lord”
“Excellent. We will retain the rules I have already set: lessons are at two, dinner is at seven and your bedtime is at ten. You will observe this schedule diligently. Your reading skills are clearly more than adequate now, so lessons in future will consist in a discussion of material that you will study in your own time. I will set you texts tomorrow. In addition, I find I have grown accustomed to living in a clean house. You will continue to clean for me and at the beginning of each week you will propose to me a schedule of work so that I may ensure your time is well-employed. I will occasionally check the standards of your work and if I find it lacking there will be consequences. Indeed, if you break any of these rules in spirit or in letter I shall punish you with ruthless severity. Is that all understood?
“Yes my lord, thank you. Your rules are most generous.”
“They are, although that is not for you to judge. Lastly, from this day forward we will be removing the gowns from your wardrobe. If you don’t have enough dresses we will see about getting you more, but it is important that you no longer seek to dress above your station. You will also never again mar your face with any form of paint or rouge. I have no interest in gilding lilies, let alone roses. Oh, and speaking of which, don’t wear your rose dress next week.”
“You dislike my rose dress, lord?”
“On the contrary, it is my favourite by some margin. You wore it during the first dinner I had with you, and although I fear I was terribly rude that evening, I nonetheless remember it with some fondness, because I couldn’t help noticing that with that dress and your porcelain face you looked like a perfect little dolly. I wish it to be kept out of harm’s way next week because it’s likely I will soon subject you to a brutal rape, and I do not wish to damage it in the process.”
Rose closed her eyes and smiled, taking another moment to enjoy the feeling of him surrounding her. “I am glad that you like it,” she said. “It’s my favourite too.” She reached back and put her hand against his cock. “I think I would like my rape to be my first time,” she said, “But perhaps we could indulge in some preliminary activities.”
The Beast firmly removed her hand. “Behave yourself Rose,” he warned. “Do not touch me so again without asking permission.”
“My lord, if it pleases you I would be grateful to touch your cock,” she said at once.
“Not today,” he said. “But if this conversation has left you with needs, I’m sure we can find a way to attend to them. Get off my lap and remove your clothing.”
“Yes, my lord,” she said, sliding forwards over his knees so that her feet dropped down lightly onto the floor. She walked a little way away and reached behind her back to fiddle with the laces of her gown. After a couple of moments, The Beast exhaled in exaggerated frustration. “Gods above,” he said. “Do you really put those things on yourself every day? I never cease to be impressed by your talents. Come here.”
Rose obeyed, and when she was close he pointedly held up his index finger in front of her face and extruded a short, white claw from its tip. “Turn around.” He told her. Complying without complaint, she felt his claw run gently up her back, severing the laces of her gown. “You may proceed,” he said. “Don’t stray too far.”
He watched as she removed her gown and petticoats and let them fall to the floor. Eventually she stood before him in just her shift. “Continue,” he said. “You have agreed to have me deflower you by force. There is little use in trying to preserve your modesty now.”
Trembling a little, perhaps from cold, she slowly pulled her shift up over her head and dropped it on the pile with the rest of her clothing. Standing before him naked, she looked at him with trepidation. Without clothing, she appeared even slighter. The curve of her hips was so subtle they were barely wider than her waist, while her small nipples stood out almost as far from her breasts as her breasts did from the rest of her body. A triangle of fine dark hair above her tiny cunny did nothing to conceal its glistening lips, with the result that her mouth, nipples and sex appeared as a matched set, delicate pink against her pale skin. The Beast’s face was unreadable. He stood and walked around her, surveying his new property. As he circled, looking her up and down, he drew gradually closer. As he passed behind her for the second time he came within arms’ reach and dragged his fingertips slowly and gently over her buttocks.
Coming back around in front of her, he stooped to look at her face closely. “My lord,” she said quietly, with a note of shaken confidence. “I hope my appearance is acceptable to you.” The Beast placed a finger on her lips and, as slowly as ice melts, he licked the side of her face from her jaw to her eye with his thick, pointed tongue.
“Not another word,” he said in a voice Rose had to strain to hear. “You are perfect. You are beautiful and you are a very good girl. Now just be quiet and good for me a little longer and you will find that obedience is its own reward.” Dropping to one knee, he kissed each of her nipples in turn. His tongue snaked out again and began to lap at one of them, its thin tip twisting and coiling around it with prehensile dexterity. Rose, standing stock still, gave a small gasp. The Beast turned his attention to her other breast, and as he licked and teased at it a droplet of moisture slowly formed at the bottom of her cunny, glistening in the candlelight before falling to the carpet. Reaching down and pulling his middle finger through the lips of her sex, he inspected the slickness he had gathered, rubbing it with his thumb with the air of a connoisseur.
“Bring a chair to me and sit down on it with your legs apart.” He told her, and she quickly obeyed. “No, don’t sit right back — come forward to the edge.”
As Rose complied, The Beast dropped to all fours, a position that emphasised his animal qualities, making him something between a bear and a hunting dog. Prowling forward, he put his hands up on the chair on either side of her and hauled it towards himself, bringing Rose with it. The sudden acceleration threw her into the chair’s cushioned back, and she ended up falling into a slouch as, in the same motion, The Beast buried his muzzle in her sodden cunny.
Rose let out a moan as The Beast’s tongue glided through the folds of her sex, its tip exploring every gulley and crevice. It lingered against the sensitive nub that she had discovered with her fingers the night of her spanking, and then speared inside her. Her breathing became heavy as it moved back and forth within her. She gripped the sides of the chair tightly as he greedily feasted and a now-familiar heat began to spread through her. As it was reaching its peak, The Beast suddenly shifted his attention upwards, his tongue writhing over her nub. Losing herself in the moment, Rose shouted incoherently with ecstasy, wrapping her legs around his head and tipping the chair onto its back legs with the convulsions of her body. For a second it teetered on the verge of falling; then The Beast pulled it back down with a thud. Rose gave a little squeak of surprise and then sat there panting.
The Beast’s tongue re-entered her, but now its motion was as lazy as the morning’s first kiss. She stroked a hand down his short mane and sighed contentedly as tiny aftershocks of pleasure jumped and rebounded within her. He finally withdrew from her and stood up. The fur around his mouth was beaded with moisture. He wiped it away with his fingers and licked them clean. “Delectable,” he commented.
“My lord, if I may… how did you know about my… the bump above…”
“Your delightful little rose petal?” asked The Beast. “It’s called a clitoris. All girls have one.”
“Oh. I thought there might be something wrong with me.”
“They are astonishingly little understood for something that half the population has,” he told her. “Having gained some practical understanding of the subject during my human years, I’ve since looked into it from a theoretical standpoint. Some very clever men have written some astonishing nonsense about it. It’s enough to make one re-evaluate their work in other areas to be honest. Mostly, though, people just pretend they don’t exist.”
“Clitoris,” she pronounced, experimentally. Then she grinned. “If you’ll forgive the turn of phrase, it’s a bit of a mouthful.”
“Perhaps you could shorten it to ‘clitty’ or ‘clit’,” suggested The Beast.
“Clit sounds vulgar,” she said gathering her clothes from the floor. “I like it.”
The Beast looked at her seriously. “I took a great deal of pleasure in your company this evening,” He said, “But I am allowing myself to be swayed by you against my better judgement. Repeat for me the words that allow you to call this madness to a halt.”
“Goody Two Shoes,” said Rose, immediately.
“That is not how you are to respond to a direct command, Rose” he admonished her.
“I’m sorry my lord. The words are ‘Goody Two Shoes’, my lord”
“Excellent. If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not you should say them, do so immediately. I will test you again next morning, and from that point it is your responsibility to keep them committed to memory. That said, if you ever forget them, or even doubt for a second that you remember them correctly, tell me without delay.”
“Of course my lord. Thank you for the care you show me.”
“You are welcome Rose, although when one owns something precious and delicate, it is only natural that one endeavours to protect it from damage. I’m going to retire for this evening, but I look forward to my day with you tomorrow.”
“Good night, my lord.”
“Good night Rose.”
They went their separate ways for the evening, each of them carrying a warm ember of happiness set to kindle into flame.