[Beauty and the Beast] Rose Castle

Early the next morning, I was woken up by a knock on the door.Opening the door with deep sleepiness, she saw Ophelia standing in front of the door.

She was wearing a dark purple cloak, with a slim riding outfit inside, and her hair was coiled high on top of her head.Seeing me open the door, she smiled and said, "I'm here to say goodbye to you, Rosa."

Last night, I was pestered by Lambert to play the game of throwing the ball. I fell asleep very late, and my mind was a little dull. It took me a while to react: "Leave now?"

"I just ran away, and if I don't go back, my brothers will be very worried." She thought for a while, then took off a golden lion badge from the skirt and handed it to me, "This is the badge of the Lancaster family. You In the future, when you come to the capital, as long as you show this, you will be able to go unimpeded. I have very little power, so I can only give you this."

This badge is heavy, and just holding it in your hand, you can tell that the gold content is not low. The lion is even more lifelike, with distinct beards and hair.This thing is not only valuable, but also has the symbolic meaning of the family. I quickly stuffed it back into her hand: "I am already very happy that you can treat me as a friend... This is too expensive, I can't take it. Besides, I don't want it." I will definitely go to the capital."

A deep but cold voice sounded: "Take it. One day you will go to the capital."

Hearing this voice, Ophelia froze for a moment.I turned my head, it was Lambert.He has returned to his normal appearance, his height, head, neck, hands and feet have all changed back to human size. He is leaning against the wall with folded arms and looking at us with a high nose bridge sandwiched between gold chain glasses and a dark coat.

Ophelia bowed her head and saluted: "Your Highness." I heard her voice hoarse and harsh, "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

"No need." Lambert glanced at her, stretched out a hand and raised it slightly, "I don't blame you. It's human nature to be afraid of unknown things."

Because of Lambert's appearance, Ophelia became extremely silent.The girl must be regretting and blaming herself again.To make her feel easier, I took the golden lion badge, put my arm around her shoulders, and walked her out of the castle.Standing in front of the gate of the castle, Lambert raised his jaw slightly and looked at us coldly.Lightning strikes from time to time, breaking through the thick black mist.His tall and slender figure is like a sculpture, strong and cold.

Walking out of the range of the rose field, the temperature suddenly rose a lot, the sun became bright and warm, the breeze sent the fragrance of flowers, and the green grass swayed.A four-horse carriage was parked in front, and the driver was dozing off with his head down.Ophelia coughed lightly, and he woke up immediately, knelt down and saluted, "Miss."

"I'm really leaving, Rosa." Ophelia put on her hood and smiled back at me, "I said I wish you happiness yesterday, but I was actually a little reluctant, after all, I have loved him for more than ten years. But, wish It is true that you are safe." She hugged me, "Goodbye, I will wait for your good news in the capital."

"Goodbye, Ophelia." Although I only got along with her for a day and a night, her noble and generous demeanor left a deep impression on me.Because my father and I moved from other places, I had almost no close friends since I was a child.She should be my first good friend.

Watching her board the carriage, lift the curtains and wave to me.The eye sockets are a little hot, it turns out that parting is so melancholy.I don't know if there will be a chance to meet again in the future... The gap in identity between me and her is probably gone.I lowered my head, sniffed, wiped the corners of my eyes, and walked towards the gate of the castle.

I don't know if it's my illusion, but I always feel that someone is spying on me secretly.Standing still, looking around for a moment, the feeling of being peeped disappeared again.But as soon as you walk forward, the feeling of being peeped will appear again.

who is it?

Ulysses... or someone else?

I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and continued walking while glancing around from the corner of my eye.Finally, a pair of black boots were found in the bushes on the right.The size is not big, and it looks like a woman's foot.

Why is she peeking at me there?

As if sensing my gaze, the black boots turned and left.I hesitated for a second, and still chased after it. Anyway, this place is not far from the castle. If the situation is not right, just run back.But as if by magic, even though those black boots were not far away from me, I couldn't catch up to her no matter what.A few minutes later, she ran into the rose field and disappeared without a trace.

Tens of thousands of acres of rose fields are a sea of ​​crimson, stretching as far as the eye can see. Remembering that the roses here have the effect of confusing the mind, I dare not go in and plan to return the same way, but find that the way I came from has been submerged by the roses in full bloom.

what happened?

Did that person lure me here on purpose?Want me to get lost in this field of flowers?

My heart suddenly became cold.I told myself to be calm, to calm down, to think carefully about the way I came, but my nasal cavity was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and my mind became dizzy, unable to think rationally at all.Gradually, I lost control of my legs and started walking aimlessly in this flower field.All of a sudden, all the rose petals fell and swirled, forming a violent hurricane and hitting me.Cold sweat ran down my spine, and I couldn't even turn around and run away.The moment I was hit by the hurricane, I seemed to be out of my body, drifting to an unknown distance.

In front of you is a strange and prosperous city, with an elegant and magnificent church standing in the center. The black cross on the top of the tower points directly to the clouds, and the sacred and solemn music of the organ resounds through the sky.On the square in front of the church, tens of thousands of people folded their hands and closed their eyes, as if they were praying for something.

I walked through them and into the interior of the church.Colorful mythological murals are painted on the dome, and thousands of golden sound pipes stand in the front. The musicians are dressed in white robes and look solemn.A pair of gorgeously dressed men and women stood below. The man wore a crown on his head, and the woman lovingly held a baby, looking longingly at the purple-robed bishop on the stage.

The purple-robed bishop held a scepter in one hand and a crystal ball in the other. He was meditating with his eyes closed, muttering words.After a long time, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the baby in the woman's arms:

"God blessed him,

He will have extraordinary wisdom, noble character,

The people live long because of him,

The country prospered because of him.

He will be the supreme king of the northern kingdom..."

The king breathed a sigh of relief, and the woman also showed a gratified smile, holding the baby's little hand and shaking it twice.At this moment, the purple-robed bishop suddenly trembled violently, his pupils turned scarlet, and his lips opened and closed uncontrollably:

"He shall be cursed by his kin, with evil magic,

The beast is awakened,

The devil lived in his body.

He shall have the cunning of the serpent, the cruelty of the lion,

by madness, rage, greed, envy,

Drowning sane reason. "

As the last word fell, everyone present couldn't keep their tongues open, and they were so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths from ear to ear.After a while, the king asked heavily, "You mean, this child will become a heinous sinner?"

Bishop Zipao put down his scepter and crystal ball, wiped the sweat from his forehead, shook his head and said, "He will become the greatest king in the Northern Kingdom."

"The second half of the prophecy means..."

Bishop Zipao sighed, "I'm not sure what that means either. But I think, as long as he has little kinship and keeps a rational and clear mind at all times, he should be able to avoid the situation in the prophecy."

After speaking, he turned and left.The king put his arms around the woman's shoulders and comforted her softly.The woman looked at the baby, then at the king's face, covered her face, and sobbed softly.

The king's appearance is seventy percent similar to Lambert's, and the woman's eyes and lips are exactly the same as Lambert's... Are they Lambert's parents?Why did I see his parents?

As soon as this idea flashed through my mind, the surrounding scene suddenly changed: the church collapsed, and the magnificent palace was pulled up from the spot.What I saw should be Lambert's past.Sure enough, on the endless colonnade, Lambert was standing next to me when he was a child.At this time, he was only about seven or eight years old, but his demeanor and behavior were extremely mature.He was wearing a knee-length dark overcoat, with a tall and straight figure, looking indifferently at the lawn in the distance.

I followed his line of sight and saw a group of children about his age rolling and playing on the lawn.He looked at it for a while, wiped his nose with the knuckles of his index finger, wondering what he was thinking.At this time, an old man in a white robe came over, bowed and saluted, "Your Highness."

Lambert came back to his senses, raised one hand slightly: "Teacher, you don't need to salute."

"What is your highness thinking?"

Lambert took out two gloves, put them on meticulously, and replied calmly: "The queen asked me to learn to restrain my instincts, I was just practicing."

"How did the practice work?"

"Instinct is nothing more than that."

The old man said with a smile: "Even at this age, I dare not despise instinct. If Your Highness really thinks that instinct is easy to restrain, he is a born king."

Lambert smiled lightly, and changed the subject: "Teacher, tell me about today's class." After finishing speaking, I saw him glance at the children playing on the lawn again, and then, as if nothing had happened, he looked away and continued talking to the old man .

It turns out...his rationality was not inherently so, but was gradually molded into a rational person, a rational emperor by the prophecies of the archbishop, the teachings of the queen, and the constant reminders and monitoring of those around him.

Ophelia was imprisoned by the rigid dogma, and he was in a high position and attracted the attention of all people, so it was not a kind of imprisonment.

I wanted to follow their footsteps and see what he was learning, but the surrounding scene changed again: the sky was full of yellow sand, under the gray-black city wall, the enemy's soldiers and horses were dense black ants, and a witch in a black cloak Standing in front of the formation, his lips moved slightly, chanting ancient and strange spells.As the volume of her incantation increased, the enemy's horses' eyes shone with terrifying red light, and they raised their heads and neighed for a long time. The muscles of the soldiers also swelled exaggeratedly, and there were inexhaustible arrows in the arrow baskets. branch.

At this time, a voice shouted in horror: "Oh no...the queen is also in their hands!"

"What should we do? Originally, we still had some chances of winning, but now we are definitely going to lose!"

"I don't know what decision His Highness will make..."

"Trust Your Highness!"

At the same time, the witch's voice sounded like a ghost: "Your Highness, if you want to save the queen, it's very simple, just agree to our two requests. As long as you do it, we will send the queen back immediately."

It was only then that I saw Lambert, standing on the tower of the city wall, wearing a sharp white military uniform, the floor-length cloak was blown and fluttered by the strong wind, and the golden wheat tassels on the epaulets on both sides trembled with the wind.He looked at the witch indifferently, and slightly opened his lips: "Say."

"One, give up the sixteen border towns, and all of them belong to the territory of our country." The witch said, "Second, blood sacrifice three thousand ordinary soldiers. Three thousand lowly lives are exchanged for the queen's noble life. This is a very cost-effective deal. .”

These two conditions are not without viciousness. As long as Lambert nods, he will lose the prestige in the army and the trust of the people, but if he does not nod, he will lose the mother who gave birth to him.

I wanted to walk to his side, but I could only look at his back from afar.But even from a distance, his pain and struggle can be felt.He closed his eyes, with bulging veins on his forehead, his hands clenched into fists, and humanity and reason were fighting in his mind.After dozens of seconds passed, the witch urged: "Your Highness, time waits for no one, make a decision quickly!"

I saw him pick up a crossbow, with light blue magic power lingering on it, aiming at the witch in front of the enemy army.The witch sneered, "I didn't expect His Highness to play such a child's trick. Your magic crossbow can only be used once. If you kill me, our general will make your queen mother's life worse than death!"

After the words fell, Lambert shifted his hand steadily and aimed at the queen in front of the formation.

On the queen's noble and beautiful face, there was no resentment or fear, only a faint smile of awe-inspiring death.

"Whoosh-"

Crossbow launch.

Hit it with one hit.

The audience was silent, only the neighing of war horses and the sound of yellow sand were left on the battlefield.

Lambert threw the crossbow aside, put on white gloves, and hurried down the tower, commanding in a cold voice, "Bring the witch's head to me."

The queen's blood dispelled the worries of the soldiers, and also inspired their bloodliness buried deep in their bones.

In an instant, the situation on the battlefield changed from a certain defeat to a certain victory.

……

Until the picture of the battlefield disappeared, the scenery of the rose field reappeared, and the nostrils were filled with the fragrance of flowers again, I still did not recover.Neither Ulysses, nor Ophelia, nor I... have ever really known Lambert.

He is not a rational to cold-blooded person.At least, the person Ulysses said would rather sacrifice his mother than retreat was not him.

All this, was that woman in black boots deliberately showing me?Or, the magic of this rose field itself?

If the former, why did she show me these things?

Some headaches.I turned my head and looked behind me, and the roses that had blocked my way were gone.Go back and ask Lambert who that strange woman is.If it's an enemy, it's not good.

After walking for a while, when he was about to return to the castle, his wrist was suddenly firmly clasped by a hot hand.I turned around in astonishment, it was Lambert.His breathing was heavy, and his voice was gloomy and hoarse: "Do you want to escape?"