Rose Red Under the Veil

The beast swore each day and each night that the castle was the safest place for the beauty to reside.

But the castle frightened the beauty, for she had been locked away before.

She begged and pleaded, "Leave your curse behind, start over with me. I love you the way you are, please, let's find a different way to break the curse. You don't have to be bound by the rose, it can only kill you if you are here."

But of course, the castle was home to the beast, and he felt beholden to the others to break their curse too.

So she stayed, uneasy, trying to appease the castle inhabitants. Cleaning, playing, bowing, whatever it took.

She became worried, as more petals fell.

Only three remained.

She began searching the books in the library her lover had given her, sending out crows begging for assistance, anything she could do to save the one she loved so much.

She learned of a land, very far away, that had a witch capable of breaking his spell.

Hesitantly, she reached out to the witch.

She was more than prepared to trade her life for his, for the beast was truly the prince, always meant to lead his people to happiness.

The witch agreed, but with one catch. "Should your beast come north with you, his spell shall break and he will return to lead the others out of ruin. But, be wary. Should the beast decide to stay within the castle and you should flee, he will be cursed forever to his form, and you shall never see him again."

Ecstatic to learn there was hope for her love, she unthinkingly agreed on the spot, not realizing the spell was cast the moment she did. She had faith in her beast, and truly believed the curse would break.

Happily, she gathered her notes and hurried to his side, telling him the story with great big smiles and sweeping hand gestures. Pausing, she waited for his response.

With a frown, the beast tried to tell her he knew of the witch, and did not trust her. They began to argue, loudly enough to be overheard. That was all it took.

His bewitched kin swept into the room, scattering her notes and pulling her from him.

Confused, she cried out, "Why?"

With a sad smile, the beast told her:

"The curse was already broken. You fell in love with me. I was never meant to change back into a human. This was my punishment."

She shook her head and tried to follow him, but his kin blocked her way.

The beast continued, "You silly girl. If only you had waited. Trusted me. We only had one petal left. If it had fallen, the others would have changed back, and we would have been wed. Now.. Nothing shall ever change. You've doomed us all."

Struggling, she cried out: "But you would have been human, and free! Wasn't that what you wanted all along?"

The beast turned and began to watch the sun set from beyond their bedroom window.

"No, my love. We were always meant to stay here to help the others. And if you flee north, we will be trapped in these forms forever." With that, he waved his hand at his enchanted kin to escort her out.

She begged, "Wait, please, we can fix this! Please, please, let me stay, make this right."

The leader of the enchanted kin scowled at her savagely. "You stupid girl, don't you understand? You failed the rose's test. Now, you cannot stay within the castle. You have to leave."

Weeping, the beauty went and collected her things. Before she left, she wrote the beast a letter telling him how much she loved him. As the castle doors shut behind her, the witch appeared before her, ethereal and kind.

"Are you ready to leave?"

With great reluctance, the beauty shook her head. "No, for if I go, I curse him forever."

The witch looked surprised, then as a light came on behind her eyes she smiled.

"Where will you go? And will you truly give up your future, to give him a chance at his that he will likely squander?"

The beauty began to walk forward, not waiting for the witch to follow. "I don't know. Somewhere close by. I want to be close in case he should ever need me."

The witch called out, "He will never love you again. He has been forbidden to."

Over her shoulder, the beauty called out:
"It doesn't matter, for I shall always love him. I will not condemn him to a fate worse than death in order to flee. Even if it means being alone for the rest of my life."

With that, the beauty flipped the hood of her cloak up over her head and disappeared into the forest, beneath the ever watchful eye of her former beloved.

Tall tales and rumors began to circulate after this, of a new witch in the area, healing children and taking on quests to save the villagers. When the curious came to see for themselves, they would always come to a path bordered by white roses, well-kept and easy to follow. She did not want anyone to become lost on her account.

The ones who sought her always, eventually, came around to asking her two questions:

The first, "Can you help us?"
And the second, "What is your name?"

She never turned down a soul in need, but refused to reveal her true name. Such things could give someone power over you, if such a person knew what they were doing.

"You may call me Lilith. Any name that came before, any person I once was, I do not answer to anymore. Now, what is it you need?"

Fairy tale endings don't always work the way we thought they might. People die, secrets are formed, and lovers are wrenched apart. 

But, don't be sad. 

For in the loss of the union of the Beauty and the Beast, the creation of another story was born:

The kindly witch in the woods, clad all in shades of red and black. The last bastion of hope, before you reach the end of the path and encounter the beanstalk and the one guarding it.

You might know a version of this tale. I bet you can guess the guardian, too.