MagiStream

Maybe o3o *shoves Connor out of sight*

I'm trying to make this a mixture of the Disney telling of Beauty and the Beast and the traditional Beauty and the Beast, with a twist of war put into it

Who's this Connor person? A Gaston-like character?

*hugs Beast* That's awful. And entirely human

Ch. 4


“So… where are you getting all this food from?” Rosa looked at the stocked kitchen curiously, the cupboards filled with as much food as any other non-cursed house might.

“There are few people that know of the curse- but one of them is willing to go to market for me to get food if I give him a bit extra for the trouble. Unfortunately the servants can’t eat, so I’m usually alone for my meals.” He paused while he cut vegetables at the counter, glancing at her uneasily for a moment. “That is- if you’re okay with joining me.”

“Of course I am.” Rosa rolled her eyes. “I said I was.”

He seemed satisfied with the answer and continued his slicing until he was done, setting the sliced vegetables in a pot of water already on a log oven with an old ham bone inside the pot. “I have learned a few recipes of my own since this happened- I never cooked before all this, so my first few attempts were… terrible, really.” He chuckled.

“I can only imagine.” Rosa laughed in amusement. “I’m pretty good at cooking myself, but not the best by any means. I’m much better at baking.”

The Beast paused and looked at her in interest. “Baking as in… cake?”

“Of course cakes. I can make cookies as well.” She chuckled at his sudden interest. “If you can get the ingredients I’d be willing to make some for you.”

His ears perked and his tail wagging behind him, Rosa barely able to resist giggling at the sight.
“I have not had cake in years! If you could that would be wonderful.” He said happily, turning back to his work with a smile.

Rosa watched him thoughtfully as he mixed a bowl of flour and milk, adding a few other ingredients until he dropped blobs of it with a spoon into the boiling water.

“So what are you making?” She asked, having not seen that technique before.

“My favorite, dumpling soup. Have you never had it before?” He asked as he dropped the rest of the batter into the pot before putting a lid on it to simmer.

“No, I don’t think I have.” She said, sniffing the contents and humming with delight. “Certainly smells good.”

He grinned and nodded, leaning back against the counter as he waited for the soup to boil down. “It is good- took me quite a while to get the recipe right from the chef. I kept making mistakes and he would break his chalk when he got angry at me.” He laughed. He glanced over to the pot after a minute, but then looked back to her. “So, Rosa. Where do you come from?”

Rosa flushed at the question, realizing she hadn’t told him. “I come from Korlanda, a short distance away from here. It’s mostly a non-magic city, though they do allow sorcerers there occasionally.”

“I definitely haven’t been to Korlanda, even though I live so close.” He nodded, knowing how much they disliked sorcerers. “Honestly I’ve kept to myself just because I’m so close. If they knew a sorcerer lived so near to their city I doubt they’d be very tolerant of it.”

Rosa nodded sadly. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I’ve heard of sorcerer cities with the same policy. Do you know why sorcerers and non-magic users hate each other so much?”

“I have a history book back in my study you can read- it explains it pretty well. About 40 years ago there was a huge fight between two cities for resources- but the cities happened to be mostly non-magic.” He held up one hand for example. “And the other mostly magic users.” He held up his other hand. “The resource they needed was very limited- I think it was either the forest between them for wood, or the land around them for farms to grow food. I forget the details of it. Either way, they called on more of their factions to help them. The sorcerers called on more magic users to aid their cause, and the non-magic users built more machines and called for more engineers to come help them. Then one day a huge fire happened.” He frowned. “No one knows if either the sorcerers started it, or the engineers. Either way, it burned down both of the cities and the forest between them. It was a terrible fire- and many people died. Both factions blamed the other, and since then they’ve been hostile.”

“You mean… they don’t even know if the other people did it, yet they blame them for it and hate them because of it?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” He nodded. “Sounds a bit ridiculous when you think of it like that, I know. You have to remember that many of the people in those cities were brothers, sisters, mothers, cousins to those who lived. I’ll bet someone in your family died in that fire a long time ago.”

Rosa thought for a minute and nodded. “My father mentioned his mother dying in the fire- so it would be my grandmother.”

“Hell’s Bells, no wonder he hates sorcerers.” The Beast wrinkled his nose in surprise. “I don’t blame him. Poor man.”

Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully, looking up to him. “So… what about you? Where do you come from? There must be more to you than what you are now. I don’t even know your real name.”

The Beast looked uneasy, his ears flipping back against his head as he glanced away. “I’m… not used to people calling me by my real name when they see me now.” He explained. “Sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

“Well, then what is it?” She said, knocking him on the arm teasingly. “I don’t like calling you ‘Beast’. It seems too degrading.”

He looked at her in surprise and glanced away shyly. “Richard. My name’s Richard Philarn.”

“Richard, huh?” Rosa smiled. “See, that’s much better. Now I can call you Richard- or maybe Ricky.” She grinned.

He winced and looked down at her uneasily. “Um… just Richard, please.”

Rosa couldn’t help but laugh and nodded. “Don’t worry, I won’t call you Ricky. Is the soup done?” She asked, looking at the steaming pot.

Richard’s ears perked up in alarm and he turned toward the pot, lifting the lid and glancing at her thoughtfully before looking back at the contents. He had obviously forgotten about the food during their conversation. “It’s ready- yes.”

He walked over to a cupboard beside the stove, taking out two bowls and ladling in some of the soup. He made sure to grab a few dumplings and set them on top of the vegetables, handing her one of the bowls.
“Careful, it’s hot.” He said, looking over to the small table in the corner and let out a low sound of discontent that there was only enough room for one. “Follow me- and careful not to spill.” He said, walking toward an open doorway at the other side of the room that led to a dining room.

Rosa walked into the other room, looking at the table and smiling that it was large enough to seat up to six people. She was glad it wasn’t too ornate or huge- she would feel awkward sitting at one end of a very long table. Richard took a seat and Rosa sat beside him, trying not to notice his surprised look. The chair creaked from his immense weight as he sat down on it, taking a large serving spoon in his hand and looking down at the food.

“Alright- dig in.” He said, smiling to her before taking the spoon and grabbing one of the dumplings, tipping his head up and dropping it into his long snout. Rosa watched the action with interest, suddenly realizing the differences he had had to make in his everyday life. He didn’t have the normal lips to sip soup with, so he couldn’t obviously use a regular spoon or eat in a regular way. She ate her own soup in silence, not noticing the uneasy look he gave her as he continued eating, self-conscious of his awkward actions beside her.

Instead of sipping the rest of his soup he picked it up and poured it into his snout, able to eat a little less… loudly. Rosa noticed the lack of noise and looked over to see him drinking the soup, smiling and lifting her bowl to follow suit. He smiled gratefully as they continued to eat together, finishing the meal.


“That was very good, thank you.” Rosa washed the bowls, after Richard explained to her that the last time he had washed a bowl he had scratched it so badly he had broken it. Usually he left the servants to do it, which he felt terrible about. It was easy enough for her to do it instead.

“No problem- I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Richard smiled, his tail wagging slightly behind him. “Were you going to continue work on the clock after the meal?”

“Probably, yes.” Rosa nodded. “I have a lot of work to do on it- it’s pretty old and run down, but I think I can get it like new again.”

Richard shifted from paw to paw on the ground, an act she noticed he did whenever he was uneasy. “Do you think I could watch?”

“Of course.” She chuckled . “I don’t mind at all.”

Richard nodded, obviously happy that she would let him watch again. “I think the process is fascinating- perhaps if you show me I can help a bit?”

“I don’t see why not.” Rosa smiled. “What I’m doing right now isn’t too complex- you can help me match gears.” She thought for a second and smiled. “But only on one condition.”

She watched as Richard’s ears flipped back uneasily, his face turning wary. “Okay, what?”

“You have to show me how you do your magic. I really want to know.” She said, biting her lip anxiously that he wouldn’t agree.

“Sure, I can do that.” He smiled, and nodded.

Rosa tried not to let out a small noise of excitement- she had always wondered how magic was done, and now she could finally find out! It was taboo to even mention it back in the city, but oh she was always so curious… “Alright- then let’s go.” She said, standing from her chair and grabbing his hand, tugging him up as well.

Richard laughed at her eagerness as she pulled him from the room back toward the clock to finish her work so she could see how he did his sorcery.

Instead of sipping the rest of his soup he picked it up and poured it into his snout, able to eat a little less… loudly.
It's like the scene form Beauty and the Beat when they're eating porridge(or whatever it was). Looks good, and a bit history, whee.

Heeee

MORE NOW
NOW
This is one of the only stories in the Tea House I actually really liked reading! I think I remember watching the cartoon, and wasn't the Beast kind of snappy/rude? I love how this one is all, I don't know, cute and fun. Ok that sounded weird, but I really do love this. You said you were doing sort of a mix of Disney and the original, that's cool.

wheeee here it is!

More? Please?

Really wish you'd post more...

Ch. 5


Rosa sat next to the clock, using a small wrench to connect two gears together. Richard sat against the wall nearby, his animal-like legs stretched out in front of him. She tried not to look at them too often, but it was interesting to see the mixture of animal and human.

“So- how are you fixing it? Do you mind explaining?” Richard asked, watching her with curious yellow eyes.

“Sure.” Rosa smiled, holding up the gears in her hand. “These two gears connect a larger one and a smaller. They turn on a spoke at the same speed, regulating the mechanisms. This one-“ She pointed to the gear with broader teeth. “Is connected to the larger one.” She looked around on the ground for a moment before picking up a big gear and connecting them so that the teeth matched. “Each gear is specifically made to fit to another. The hard part is figuring out which goes with which.”

“Interesting. So this is kind of like figuring out a complicated spell. There are certain runes to use, but the order you say and write them determines what the outcome is.”

“Exactly.” Rosa said, looking at him thoughtfully. “You know… that’s interesting that the spells need parts like that. I always thought you just memorized something and once you said it, ‘poof’, it happened.”

Richard laughed in amusement and shook his head. “I wish it were as easy as ‘poof’. Each spell a sorcerer learns takes quite a bit of research. Usually a sorcerer doesn’t memorize spells, either. It’s too easy to make a mistake- and who knows what would happen if you replace even one rune. Instead they usually carry books with their spells written in them.”

“So a spell like…” She motioned to his appearance. “Is pretty complicated, right?”

“Very. It could take years, perhaps decades to research and perfect a spell like this. Reversing it with another spell would be just as difficult.”

“But you’re trying, right?” Rosa frowned that someone so advanced in magic would use such a spell on another sorcerer.

“Every day I research to reverse it, but…” His ears flipped back uneasily. “Some reversal spells I have made could be the cure to this, but they have the potential to be very dangerous. They involve a rune that is very unstable and amazingly powerful- which is always a bad combination.”

Rosa nodded, seeing his dilemma. Risk going back to normal, or shifting him further or… worse? “Is there anyone that can help your research?”

“I’m not particularly popular among sorcerers. It’s what got me in this trouble in the first place, remember?”
“Right.” Risa flushed that she had actually forgotten.

“Besides, I can’t leave the castle like this. I terrify most people, and horses won’t even come near me now.” He looked down at the ground sadly.

“You don’t scare me.” Rosa shrugged. “You’re still a guy underneath that fur, you’re just very… fuzzy.”
Richard couldn’t help but laugh, a happy sound that made Rosa smile.

“I will admit I am rather shaggy.” He said, running a clawed hand through the mane of fur that fell around his shoulders. “But it is good to know someone who won’t scream at the sight of me.”

“Scaredy cats. You’re just a big puppy. I doubt you could scare me if you tried.” She teased before returning back to her gears.

Richard grinned wickedly, revealing long fangs. “is that a challenge?”

Rosa looked up at him, her eyes glinting with interest. “Perhaps it is. I’ll bet I can scare you easier than you can scare me.”

“Terms of the bet?” Richard’s smile widened.

“No help from the servents- no technology or magic. The one who scares the other the most wins- and it will continue until one of us forfeits.”

“Agreed.” Richard nodded, hesitating a moment before holding out a hand for her to shake and seal the deal.
Rosa looked at the pads on his hands curiously before shaking his hand firmly, feeling a mixture of rubber-like pads and fur.

“What should the prize be for the winner?” Rosa released his hand casually, continuing her work of connecting gears.

“I’m not sure. We can determine that when the time comes.” Richard shrugged.

She nodded in agreement, setting another pair of gears onto the ground. This part of repairing wasn’t very complex, so her mind wandered to how her father was doing. Had he made it to the fort with the invention? Had he been attacked again?

“Are you sure the spell you gave my father worked?” Rosa asked softly, trying not to look as worried as she felt.

Richard glanced to her in concern, his smile fading to a more serious expression. “Yes- it would have repelled any wild beast that meant him harm in any way. The wolves would not have been able to attack him again.”

Rosa let out a sigh of relief, but wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answer for some reason. What if a person had attacked him and not an animal? What if the wagon had broken or the motor car had stalled? She had never been away from her father for very long, and they were close enough that she dreaded anything happening to him.

Richard watched her for a moment before letting out a long sigh and standing up, holding a hand down to her to help her up as well. “Come with me- I want to show you something.”

Rosa looked up at him curiously before taking his hand, letting out a small noise when he practically hoisted her to her feet by himself.

“Sorry- I forget my strength in this form sometimes.” Richard muttered before walking down the hall, waiting for her to follow.

She walked with him through the dusty halls and up a large staircase, turning into another hall. He stopped and hesitated for a moment, looking back at her uneasily before turning to a large door. “I’ve never brought a woman in here before.” He muttered before opening the door to reveal a large suite of rooms. The walls were decorated with trinkets and oddities and shelves lined with old dusty books. He walked over to a set of drawers across the room and opened it, bringing out a bundle of cloth and handing it to her.

She took it and looked at him in confusion before unwrapping the cloth to find a mirror. She turned it over in her hand for a moment before looking back to Richard for what it meant.

“Look into the mirror, and think of your father.” He encouraged.

She gave him a skeptical look before sighing and doing as he suggested. The mirror’s surface fogged and her reflection was lost in a mist that formed in the image. She gasped as it parted to reveal an image of her father speaking to a general of the army, within the sturdy walls of the fort. He had made it safely there! She let out a deep sigh of relief, able to relax for the first time in days.

Richard smiled at her relief and nodded. “You can keep that if you want. I can always enchant another if I need to.”

Rosa looked up from the mirror, her eyes widening. “Are you sure? This must have been hard to make!”

Richard shrugged casually “It makes you happy and I’m the reason you’re stuck here.”

She tisked in frustration. “No, the wolves are the reason I’m stuck. But…” She looked back down at the mirror then smiled warmly. “Thank you. It’s good to know I can check on my father. He’s the only family I really have.”

Richard nodded, looking away from her smile shyly. “You’re welcome.” He muttered.

Rosa looked back up at him, her smile turning amused by his shyness. “So Richard, you say you haven’t left the castle in a while?”

He shook his head, confused by the question. “Not in over a year.”

“Well that seems unhealthy. Are there any gardens in this place?”

Richard nodded, looking more confused. “They’re not well maintained though. The servants try to keep it trimmed, but in their forms they tend to fall behind.”

“Oh, I don’t mind that. How about I get you reacquainted with the sun while I’m here for the next few weeks? We don’t have to go into the forest since the wolves are there, but the grounds around the castle are probably safe enough.”

Richard fidgeted nervously and nodded. “That would be nice. Perhaps I can look for some herbs for spells.”

“That’s something I was wondering about- do you need things for ingredients for spells too?”

He nodded, seeming more comfortable with the subject. “Different spells sometimes need different ingredients- particularly illusion spells. I have a few in stock to use in an emergency, but it’s probably better if I have more.”

“Illusion spells?” Rosa tilted her head. “Like what?”

“Well…” Richard smiled softly. “I can illusion myself to look normal, though if anyone touched me I would still feel furry, and taller than the illusion.”

Rosa’s eyes widened in surprise. “interesting! So if you knew someone was coming, you could look normal?”

“If the visitors don’t yell through my castle in a panic so I have enough time, yes.” He smiled wryly, poking fun at their first meeting.

Rosa flushed with embarrassment that she had been so intruding. It had been necessary at the time, but it was rude.

“Don’t worry about it.” Richard waved his hand dismissively at her uneasy expression. “I’m just glad I could help.”

Rosa smiled and picked up one of the gears, handing it to him. “Here- find the match to that one- make sure the teeth meet securely.” She said, pointing to the other gears on the ground. “Once you find the right gear, you can say you’ve done engineering work.”

Richard chuckled in amusement and nodded, getting to work with a small glance toward Rosa, glad that someone was here with him.

GNRANAEGNPAEG{{MAEGMGA{WGNWGNPWGNP

I FREAKING LOVE YOU

Ok now to read the chapter.