From part 4
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As they had talked, he was more and more convinced that he had fallen for her. It was bittersweet talking with her, but he would not trade it for anything. His life might be hundreds of times harder now, knowing what he was missing, but for today he was happy. He would let himself dream until tomorrow, then he would let reality come crashing back in.
When Lois said she needed to go, he had taken her to the stables on a whim. He had wanted to give her something in return for just talking to him like he was a human again. When he saw the way her eyes lit up when she saw the horses, Clark knew he had made the right decision. After a little persuasion, he had managed to get her to accept his gift.
Then the most amazing thing had happened. He had not thought anything could be better than what had already occurred, but she had actually asked if she could visit him again. It was all Clark could do to keep his composure and not break out in tears. He had never imagined she would want to see him again. He agreed, and wondered when she would return. He hoped it would not be too long.
And now part 5
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Sam was very worried about his daughter. It had not been too unusual when she was gone before he woke up. Lois was a very independent spirit, and he knew better than to try and control her. When she had not returned for lunch, he was a little worried, but while it was not common for her to not come home for lunch, it was not unheard of for her to stay out. By the time darkness started to fall, he was really worried though. What if something had happened to her? Unable to do anything with night encroaching, he went to bed and a restless night.
In the morning things were just worse. Lois was still missing, and he was convinced something had happened to her. He was going to go into town and organize a search party. Could, God forbid, Lex be behind this somehow? No, no he would not do anything like this. Besides, he would not get away with it. She was probably just lost in the woods somewhere. She must have taken the wrong path and gotten turned around. She would be just fine. She had to be.
First, he started searching the house for clues as to where she might have gone. He came across the flower, could she have... no, it was impossible. Besides she would never find the castle and that monster. When he was all ready to head to town and find help, Lois walked in the door.
"Where have you been?" he demanded, upset. "I've been so worried."
"I'm sorry, daddy," Lois said. "I got lost in the forest and I couldn't find my way back in the dark. I came back as soon as I could."
Sam immediately felt guilty for being gruff. "It's okay, princess," he said softly, hugging her tightly. "You're back home and safe now. That's all that matters."
He quickly forgot his worries and was just glad to have his daughter back safe and sound.
******
Lois was relieved when her father had not asked her for details about what had happened. She knew he would be upset if she told him the whole truth. As much as she loved her dad, she knew he would never approve of her befriending the Beast. Somehow, she felt drawn to him despite his appearance, and she knew that he had no one else. He needed her, of that she was certain.
Lois was not sure when she would be able to visit him again, but she would be sure to do it as soon as she could. Maybe tomorrow she would be able to go back. She was restless, but felt she had to stay home to allay her father's worries. Somehow she would just have to keep herself occupied at home.
She did go out a few times to tend to her new horse, hidden just out of sight of the cabin in the forest. She was really touched by the gift, though she did not really understand it. How lonely the Beast must have been to have given such a gift to the first person who talked to him without being afraid of his appearance? She felt so sorry for him, he must be so lost and alone.
Eventually, the day came to an end. She curled up in bed wondering about her new friend, how he handled being an outcast. Well, no more, she decided. Whatever happened, she would be his friend. Sometime later, she fell asleep.
******
By the time dawn rolled around, Clark had almost convinced himself that yesterday had been just a dream. There was no way Lois had actually showed up at his castle. Better yet she had even wanted to be his friend. It was impossible. He would never see her again.
Even when he heard hoof beats approaching the castle, he dared not get his hopes up. Surely it was not her, just some traveler passing by. It could not be her. Not until someone was entering the gates did Clark finally allow himself to think it might be Lois.
As he watched her approach, Clark smiled broadly. Just seeing her made him feel lightheaded. In fact, he realized with a start he was beginning to float. Quickly reasserting control, he hoped Lois had not noticed anything out of the ordinary. Chastising himself, Clark strode out to greet her.
"Lois," Clark said, beaming. "I hadn't expected to see you again so soon."
"You didn't think I'd just take your horse and ride out of your life forever did you?" Lois teased.
Clark laughed, nervously. In a way that had been exactly what he had thought. Again he chided himself for his pessimism. Lois was continually surprising him.
They talked for hours about many different subjects. Sharing some of their likes and dislikes, just getting to know each other. All too soon it was time for Lois to head home. Their parting was bittersweet as Lois promised to return within the next few days. Clark watched her ride off, astounded by this wonderful woman who had entered into his life and gave him a sliver of hope again.
******
The last few weeks had been some of the happiest in Lois' life. She had never really had any friends. The only people she was close to where her father and Perry, who was very like a second father to her. She had never been close to the other girls her age because their interests did not coincide. While she loved reading and wanted adventure, they had all been interested in dolls and then later boys. It had not helped that as she had grown so did her beauty. The other girls had often been jealous and excluded her even more as they grew.
As for boys, while she had more in common with them, they rarely were interested in friendship. At least that was in the beginning, before she had caught Lex's eye. After that, none of the boys would do more than glance at her before quickly turning and heading away. She knew he had probably threatened them. It had led to her having an isolated life.
She had always had her books, and later her writing to keep her company. As much as she loved that though, she now realized something had been missing. The Beast had become her only true friend, and today she was going to share her secret with him.
She had recently learned that he shared her interest in books and wanted to show him her latest writings. After all, much of it had been inspired by him. She hoped he would like it. She grabbed her latest copy and headed for her horse.
Lois was nervous when she approached the castle. She was a little apprehensive about how the Beast would react to learn about her writing and how she got her work published. Part of her was afraid he would look down on her and tell her women were not supposed to do these types of things. Screwing her courage to the sticking place. Lois entered the castle ground.
The Beast greeted her warmly as he always did. Smiling sheepishly, Lois said,"There's something I want to tell you about."
"What is it, Lois?" the Beast asked.
"Well..." Lois said, unsure of how to broach the subject. "Remember how we talked about our love of reading books? Well I had decided I would like to write my own at some point, so I started writing stories. Then Perry, did I tell you about Perry, he's the owner of the town book store and well, we've always been close. I think he thinks of me like the daughter."
Lois just kept talking, barely pausing to take a breath. She kept plowing through, knowing if she stopped she would not be able to get it all out. "Anyway, one day I finally showed him one of my stories, I just wanted to see if it was any good. I mean my father told me it was the best story he ever read but of course *he's* biased and I couldn't trust his opinion."
She was full on babbling now and she just could not stop it. The words just kept pouring out of her mouth. She did not even dare look at the Beast, for fear of seeing his reaction. "Perry told me the story was really good, and I just couldn't believe it. I said something, I don't even really remember what anymore, about never being able to get it published because no one would take a young girls story and publish it. But Perry insisted he had a friend who would publish it, as long as we pretended a male had written it. So he made up the name Lewis Lane and got my first novel published."
"I've had a few others published since then. The proceeds are all donated to charities, the publisher thinks Lewis is a recluse who doesn't want any money, but really it's because my father is just a poor inventor and people would notice if we suddenly had more money and we don't want to bring any extra attention to ourselves." Lois glanced up at the Beast quickly and saw a look of horror on his face. She stopped suddenly and looked away. She knew it, he did not approve of a woman writing and lying to get published.
"That's entirely unfair," the Beast said, a hint of anger in his voice. "You should be getting the proceeds from your books. You shouldn't have to hide and give away all the money. That's unbelievably wrong."
It took a few moments for his words to penetrate. Suddenly she realized, the look of horror was not for what *she* had done, but the situation which prevented her from acknowledging her work and profiting from it. She felt her eyes tear up and tried, unsuccessfully, to prevent herself from crying.
"Oh Lois, I'm so sorry," the Beast said tenderly. He moved as if to hold her, but stopped suddenly. Sensing he was afraid to touch her, Lois closed the gap and lay her head upon his chest. He encircled her with his arms and just held her. She felt so safe and protected in his arms, and eventually she was able to get her emotions in check again. They separated, but remained closer together than before.
"It's not your fault," Lois said, when she felt steady enough to speak again. "No one has ever quite understood like you did. The money doesn't bother me though, really. I know it's going to help people. The really important thing is getting my work out there. Though, I would love for it to be under my own name."
"Thank you so much for understanding," she told the Beast. "I wanted to give you a chance to read this," she said, handing him her unpublished work. "It's going to be my next novel, and I would love to know what you think of it."
"I'm sure I'd love anything you wrote," the Beast replied, smiling.
Feeling emotionally drained, Lois bid the Beast farewell and headed home.
******
As Clark watched Lois leave, he again marveled at the wonderful woman she was. He could tell she had been nervous as soon as he saw her. Little had he expected what she had told him. It had been a wonder to watch her keep talking on, hardly pausing for breath. It had almost made him breathless, even though he could hold his breath a very, very long time.
He had been amazed to hear about her writing, and thankful that she had been able to get published. But his anger had reared its ugly head when she told him about not being able to get anything for it. When he told her his feelings, she had surprised him again by breaking down and crying. He had wanted nothing more than to hold her, but had not felt he had the right.
But then Lois did something completely unexpected again. She had come to *him* and he had held her tightly to his chest. It had just felt so right, holding her there. He comforted her, helping to sooth her. He had never wanted to let her go again.
Clark had almost told her his whole story then, but he was afraid. He just was unsure how to explain how he had been transformed into a monster. Besides, if he told her everything about the curse, she would probably freak out and never want to be near him again. After all, the thought that he might love her as a man loves a woman would repulse her. And she would never return his love, so there was no point. He would still remain a beast forever.
Of course, Clark did have another secret he could tell Lois. He could tell her that the mysterious being known as the Angel was him. But he was afraid of scaring her away. After all, she probably would not take well to the fact he was probably some abandoned fae child. Knowing he was being cowardly, Clark had held onto his secrets.
Then she had given him her latest story to read. After she left, he had sat down to read it and was floored. It was obvious she had used him for inspiration. The story told the tale of a kind, but very lonely man who was isolated by a hideous appearance. He was very moved to see her treatment of him, and it was one of the best stories he had ever read. Especially because she had shared with him. As had happened so often of late, his love for her continued to deepen.
******
Deciding that now was time to close the deal with Beauty, Lex had to come up with the perfect ring. She was getting on in years and it was time to stop this foolish independent streak she often exhibited. He would tame her. He knew just what would finally end her reluctance to his advances.
Many years ago, Lex had come upon several strange crystals, of varying sizes. They had resembled some sort of emerald, but appeared to be magical. The glow it gave off enchanted Lex. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He had collected as many as he could find and brought them home.
Lex quickly set about getting the rock cut into gems for his use. They turned out to be very delicate, and he went through three different jewelers before finding one that could cut it without destroying the entire rock. And those that had destroyed his precious rocks, well they would not have a chance to fail anyone again. He had been left with a precious few gems in the end.
He would have one of these gems set into a betrothal ring. Surely then Beauty would accept and become his wife. He was certain the lure of the gem would be more than enough to break through her reluctance. She would finally belong to him as it was meant to be.
Satisfied, Lex went to retrieve a gem from his hiding spot.
******
