Week 14 Story: Zed and the Monster

Zed and the Monster

The castle was lonely, empty of even the bravest of dormice, and Zed wondered when the Beast had last had any sort of guests.  Well, besides his father - whose desire to comply with the young boy's simple request had spurred this whole locked-in-a-castle mess.  It wasn't an ugly castle, not be any stretch of his imagination, but it severely lacked the beauty of a crowded home.

Image from DeviantArt

Image from Wanted In Rome

To escape the haunting emptiness of the castle and its brooding beast, who had taken very little time to get to know Zed what so ever, he would wander the gardens.  It was when he was sitting among the luxurious roses that he ever felt comfortable.  Honestly, as patient as he was, Zed was a little annoyed that the woman hadn't made any attempt to even frighten him.  She was supposed to be a dark gruesome monster - not a quiet hiding mouse!

It was on one of his morning walks, however, that he first caught a glimpse of the rather shy creature.  She was pruning - a monster, gardening! - a rose bush when Zed stumbled upon her.  She did not see him at first, not until the young boy popped to her side.

"You've missed a spot." He grinned.  He knew that he shouldn't be so pleased, not when coming face-to-face with someone who could surely rip him to shreds, but that soft smile of hers was slowly winning him over.

Her skin was covered with scales and horns curled out from her forehead.  Two overarching wings were held tightly against her back and Zed could swear he saw a tale swinging gently beneath her heavy skirts.  Truly, as his father claimed, she was half-dragon and half-woman.  Though, despite his father's cries, she was not the horrible disfigured thing Zed had been expecting.  There was a softness to her expression that he grew to care deeply for in the coming evening.

Art from Blog

Author's Note: This story is based on the Italian tale of Zelinda and the Monster.  In my version, Zed is Zelinda, whose father angers the beast of a castle by stealing a rose.  It is like the Beauty and the Beast that we all know from Disney's adaptation.  The Beast is not a prince but a princess who crossed the wrong witch.  Instead of the wolfish look that the Beast is usually modeled after, my beastly princess looks more like a dragon.  This story is mainly Zed's thoughts and feelings as he gets acquainted with his new home, the castle.

Story source: Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885).

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 30, 2018 at 8:26 AM

    Lauren, I really enjoyed your retelling of this story. It is a great idea to change up the genders of the two main characters, it adds a whole new dynamic to the story that was super interesting. For someone who has not read the original, it might be a good idea to add a little more background on how Zed got there and what his father had to do with it. The writing was great, awesome story!

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  2. UnknownApril 30, 2018 at 9:03 AM

    Hi, Lauren!

    This is a cool story; I love the reimagining of the Beast as a female, and a more dragon-like creature at that! However, it was somewhat difficult for me to ready the beauty character rewritten as a male, probably because I am so used to imagining the feminine Belle in that role. Regardless, I would love to hear more of Beauty and the Beast reinterpreted in this way!

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  3. UnknownApril 30, 2018 at 9:21 AM

    Hey Lauren!
    This is a great story. I love that you included several pictures to accompany it. I usually get lazy and only stick in one that has to do with the main character. The pictures really add to the feel of it. Also, your writing is amazing. I think I'm going to go back and read more of your stories, because this was seriously good!

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