Shadow's revenge : A Monarch's Hunt

— Agatha, go fetch Matthew and hide in your room.

Belle sighs. The alarm runes that she etched onto the domain's wall just woke her from a peaceful sleep. In her sleeping gown, she activates her mirror, targeting the transgressed rune. As the reflection changes to show the location, she frowns. Nothing but the usual scenery appears, even with her rune still ringing in her head meaning that people are actually passing through the place.

Never before had she received an intruder that her mirror was unable to show. With haste, she changes herself into comfortable clothes then grabs her grimoire. Since her first day here, as long as she wasn't tormenting her former harassers, she diligently learnt and transcribed spells in it.

— Beast. Find and kill them. All but one.

A sinister smile appears on her face. Even when she is in her room and Beast in the dungeon, as long as an order is said he will hear it. Such is the power of the curse that she overwrote. After giving this order, she sits on her bed and changes the mirror settings. Now, it should show what Beast sees.

Silent as the feline that he became so many years ago, Beast strides out of his cell then runs in the park. Belle's order is unusually lacking in details but, as her intent was transmitted in it, he knows where to go to begin his hunt. His conscious mind, locked in this powerful body, only prays for a quick release, for his hunt to fail with his death.

As he progresses, his nose finds a stranger's smell. Multiple strangers' smells. He directly changes his course to follow it. Luckily for him, Belle didn't forbid him to make noise, so he roars long before finding his prey. They should know his presence, for if they don't he will be unable to fail.

From the mirror, Belle changes once again the point of view, all the shaking from the running eyes nearly made her puke. Since she saw the new direction, she can target the place more likely to be breached. Her smiles turn even more sadistic as she hears the threatening roar outside. Beast is good, very good at inducing terror, she should maybe reward him a little.

Three figures freeze after hearing the monstrous noise. It seems that the rogue wizard unleashed her beast against them. From what the villagers told them when asking for the "witch's head", the invaders know that it is a force of nature, having mowed through a crowd alone without taking any injuries. Keeping their calm they nod to one another before separating. Two continue to progress while the last stay here, puts her hands on the ground and smirks.

— Come here, little kitty. Aunty will take good care of you.

As she talks, the perfectly trimmed grass begins to grow wildly in front of her.

*I'm not a kitty ! I'm human !*

As his body runs, his consciousness freezes a little. The sensitive ears of the beast did let him hear what the woman said. Angered and driven by the beastly instincts, he decides that he would kill, at least this one. When he arrives in front of her, then, and sees the unnaturally moving grass, his mind is already fully synchronized with his body to follow Belle's order.

*A witch !*

He roars once again, driven by bloodlust this time. All of this began because of a witch. One bastard who cursed him because he listened to his parents and refused to open the door to strangers. After that, this bitch Belle took advantage of his desperation to bind him to her. He loathes witches. All witches should die.

His body obeys his mind, way better now than ever. Using his powerful legs, he jumped on the right of the wild patch, before closing on to the witch in another. Her eyes, until now full of confidence, showed nothing but panic.

— Die ! You witch !

Her last moments are drowned by one thought. One only thought that leaves her unable to react.

*It can talk ?*

Belle sees, in the mirror, a window breaking without any visible interference. It really seems like those intruders are able to shield themselves from prying eyes. It is of no matter, however, since she possesses the perfect weapon. Still, if she wants to keep working and learning in peace, she'll have to improve her defensive measures. Her train of thoughts is thrown off as another roar resounds.

Still determined to die in the fight against the intruders, Beast runs toward the scent trail. In seconds, he sees the mansion's wall and roars again. After this warning, he slows down a little. How could those intruders kill him if he doesn't give them enough preparation time after all.

The two intruders stop at this sound. It's even nearer than the one before, and they look at each other with unease.

— She… This quickly ?

A gulp later, both separate from each other and unsheathe their sword, each blade blessed by a white witch. One on each side of the window, with three meters between them, they are ready. One of them has to sacrifice himself, distracting the monster long enough for the other to end it. Afterwards, the survivor will leave and warn other hunters that this domain is worse than they expected.

Beast runs through the already broken window then stops, his instincts in disarray by the separation of smells, unable to choose one over the other. His consciousness doesn't help, happily letting his body stay still until one of the two hunters slashes at his leg. Blood flows, as the blade tears through its flesh. Immediately, he feels his body moving to kill the pesky little thing that dared to harm it.

Belle frowns, when she sees her pet's leg open up and blood flow from it. One single move later, she sees a corpse appear under Beast's paw. A smirk appears on her face, quickly cut by the painful roar that she hears, at the exact same time that another red geyser appears on the mirror, at Beast's neck.

Beast's consciousness jubilate, as he feels the blood leaving his body at an absurd pace, before his instincts turn and, in a nearly unconcerned move, swat the last intruder against a wall. After this, knowing that he followed Belle's order temper his good mood. He feels his body grab the survivor before going to the dungeon. As seconds, then minutes pass, he finally understands that, no, he won't die from this. His injuries are already pretty much healed.

*Lumière, Cogsworth, Missus Potts, I'm sorry, I can't join you for now.*