BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Chapter 17

The Wards are Released

   Justin groaned and rolled over. He tried to sit up and ignore the wave of dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him. He felt like he'd been stepped on by an elephant.

   "Oh come now, young man! It wasn't as bad as all that," said a deep voice behind and a little to one side of him.

   Justin whirled and then wished he hadn't. He fought off a wave of nausea.

   A muscular blond man, with strong, classical features stood there. He had green eyes and nice white teeth. He wore loafers, leather pants, and a white tee shirt that form fitted to his huge biceps nicely. Everything he wore was white.

   "What are you talking about?" Justin asked grumpily, "Who are you?"

   "Being stepped on by elephants....really! You young men are so given over to exaggeration!" The man gave a laugh that was as rich and deep as chocolate.

   "How did you know what I was thinking? Who are you anyway?"

   The man chose to overlook the first question. "I'm what you'd call...I guess you'd call me a kind of Guardi...no...even that's too complicated...Guard...Gord...yes that will do...Why don't you just call me Gordie?" Gordie reached down to help him up.

   Justin hated to do it but he still felt like he'd taken 10 rides on the Tilt o'Whirl all in a row. So he reached up and let Gordie pull him up.

   Gordie's hard was large and strong and he pulled Justin against him, Justin's back against his wide front. It could have meant more but somehow, Justin knew it didn't. He gave a deep sigh of contentment. He felt...exactly the opposite of how he'd felt with Ethan, all 2 weeks of it. Then he'd felt frightened, hateful, angry and alone all the time. But here within Gordie's embrace, he felt loved, protected and safe. He could almost feel happy. Almost.

   "Just relax," Gordie whispered into his ear, "Your equilibrium will return to normal in due time. Until then, you are safe with me."

   "I know," Justin said, and instinctively he knew it to be true, "Where am I? How long was I out?"

   "Only for a few minutes. And you are where you have been for many months now. You are at the back the mansion you were sharing with Brian. Although you may not recognize it now that the spell is broken."

   Justin shook the rest of the cobwebs out and looked around, really looked around. He gasped.

   He was seemingly in a completely different place. And yet...there were similarities as well.

   Behind him (them) was indeed a large mansion but it was a different mansion than before. It was still larger than life but it was a normal, cheerful mansion with a lot of bright, cheery looking wood, white and red brick and otherwise modern looking; Justin figured Tudor style. The black stone and gothic scariness and gargoyles were gone. Although cheerier, the house had a forlorn air to it, as if it had not been lived in for many years.

   They were at the back of the house in a kind of large patio that was surrounded by the house on three sides of them but the back of the yard was open and visible as the unkempt grounds seemed to stretch on forever. The patio was paved with large, white flagstones. Weeds were plentiful in the cracks. The statues were gone. The flowerbeds and plants and all the gardens were gone. It was just the wide open space of the three sided court.

   Filling the patio space and surrounding them on all sides were hundreds maybe thousands of balls of light, yellow and friendly, each one the size of a golf ball. They pulsed and twinkled like stars. They drifted and rose and fell and bounced off each other but none of them really made it out of the yard.

   "The spell! It was broken!? But I don't understand! If it was broken, why did....oh God! Why did Brian die!? He exploded and was destroyed! And...and...how do you know about it anyway!?"

   "I know about it...because I'm the one who placed it there," Gordie said.

   "YOU!! YOU'RE the Guardian Fairy Brian told me about?" Justin asked in astonishment.

   Gordie nodded modestly. "Yes. And Brian didn't die. His cursed self did. The Beast....the part of him that he let consume him for so long...the Medusa curse...that's what blew up. As for the explosion...well every spell breaks differently for every person. Brian is so dominant...so over the top, so headstrong...I'm surprised that's all that happened. I told him that his outside would match his inside. Since he's no longer ugly anywhere, the Beastly body was destroyed. And due to that over the top personality..." Gordie shrugged, "Well, you saw what happened."

   "But then...where is he? I - I have to find him!" Justin strained against Gordie's hold and Gordie released him instantly. However, dizziness overcame him and he nearly fell again within a few steps. Gordie caught him easily and stood him upright.

   "Easy! Easy! All in good time! All in good time! You will recover soon. In the meantime, I'll show you something wonderful. Do you see those lights?"

   "Of course. What are they?"

   Each one is the soul that was trapped and transformed within the stare of the Medusa for the sake of trying to break the curse. While they cannot be returned to the life that they knew, each soul can be returned to their birth time and enter in a new life, a new birth, a new reincarnation for a second chance."

   "Wait! What about the ones in the meadow!? The ones that tried to hurt me and Brian?"

   "No! They were transformed intentionally to pay for their evil. They will never be found and never be free of the curse."

   Justin breathed a sigh of relief and returned his gaze to the lights around him. "But there are so many..." Justin whispered as he looked around at the seemingly endless quantity of soul lights.

   "True. And each one will need a guardian to watch over him for that new life. But it is too much for one fairy spirit to do. And I have my own charges. I cannot do this thing." Here he gave Justin an exaggerated wink. "Oh my! If only there were some others to help me!" he continued in an projected voice, "Maybe...maybe some newly liberated spirits with pure hearts and who are fearless in the face of hard work!"

   There was a whooshing of wind and then another and another...and then one more. And with each breath of wind a streak of light zoomed past and around and down and then landed in front of them. And Justin was face to face with the Wards in their true forms for the first time.

   They were huge, as buff as any bouncer and twice as tall. They were in the form of men, much the way they had been in the meadow standing before Brian. But instead of inky black, they were now men made out of the purest, most wonderful, white light. It was different than the light that had consumed Brian. Where that light had been cold and cruel and made of consuming evil, this light was glowing and warm and filled with a righteous holiness.

   "Master! I and my brothers do not fear work!" intoned the one on the very left. He along with the others stood very straight and to attention. He bowed and then as if he couldn't stand it any longer, he gave Justin a quick wave. "Hi Sweetie!" he enthused, in a deep, majestic voice.

   The one next to him gave a quick slap on his arm and the Ward straightened up and got back into line.

   Justin's eyes widened. "Emmett!??" he asked incredulously.

   Gordie nodded assent and all the Wards relaxed visibly. Emmet swished over with the speed of thought and Justin was caught up and enfolded in the bright hug of pure energy. Emmett blasted into the air like a rocket and Justin was taken of a wonderful ride up and around the estate, engulfed in light and love.

   "Yup! It`s me!" the strongman of light enthused again in his deep voice "Of course, I don't really have a name. This is what I really look like. When we served you, our light was gone and we were black as pitch. However, now that the spell is broken, our light can finally burn bright! Wheeeeeeee!!! I just knew you'd do it! I just knew it!"

   "Yes, but if I broke the spell, then WHERE'S BRIAN!??" Justin had to yell over the repeated WHHHHEEEEEE's!!!...that Emmett was making as they swooshed crazily around.

   "Oh, I dunno honey! Don't worry, I'm sure he's around some - ooops, I'm getting word from the Boss. We gotta go back now!" There was a final rush and the world blurred even more than it was and then the ride was over and they were back on the ruined patio area.

   Gordie took possession of him once again, enfolding him into his safe, strong arms.

   "Brothers," Gordie said, "You do not have to do this thing. You have been set free. Neither I, nor any man is your master any longer and you may help me with this thing or go wherever you wish. But it is my supreme hope that you will."

   "I am the one who cleaned and carried. I am no stranger to hard work," said the one who had been Emmett, "But I cannot take them all. I will take one fourth of them and care for them in a way that will make the Power proud."

   "Thank you. So be it," said Gordie.

   "Farewell, little ma - farewell Justin," Emmett said as he rushed forward and hugged him. Justin revelled in it. He was so warm. "We shall not meet again, so I leave you a gift. I give you the gift of beauty. True beauty you already have but now...now you shall be radiant. Anyone who looks upon you shall feel joy and have 1 hour of the best luck they have ever known in their lives. As you grow older, you shall age like a fine wine and never wrinkle. And you and a person of your choice, shall share in this gift and shall have double lifespan. And now unto forever, whenever anyone thinks on you they will remember you most as you are now, young and beautiful. Farewell!"

   "Good-bye, Emmett! Thank you so much! I'll miss you!" Justin choked.

   Emmett rose into the air, swooshed once around the court and then disappeared taking one fourth of the lights with him.

   The next Ward stepped forward and said: "I am the one who fetched and took away. I am the one you knew as Ted. Before my punishment, I was adrift, aimless and without a charge of my own. I should very much like to help you. I will take one fourth of the souls and raise them well."

   "So be it. Thank you, Ted," Gordie said.

   "Good bye Justin," said Ted. He moved forward and shook his hand in a more sedate way. "I too have a gift. I give you the gift of truth and justice. If anyone in your presence tells a lie, you will know who is telling it and what the truth is. And if anyone has done a wrong, and I mean a real wrong like a broken law or a terrible moral misdeed, they will confess the truth as you stand before them."

   "Thank you so much! That will be amazing!" Justin said.

   The Ward bowed and took off. Once round the court and he vanished taking one fourth of the lights with him.

   The third Ward said; I am the one who showed the way. I am the one you knew as Michael. My job was a light burden so I do not mind the thought of more responsibility. I will take one fourth. I will make you and the Power proud."

   "So be it. Thank you, Michael," said Gordie.

   "The Ward moved forward and shook Justin's hand "Good-bye Justin. My gift to you is prosperity. Whatever you choose to do, you will succeed. Whatever you touch financially will turn to gold...metaphorically speaking, of course. The seven years of bad luck you joked about with Brian will never happen and in fact will be forever reversed. Good luck and fortune shall be yours forever. Farewell!"

   "Thank you! That sounds wonderful. But where is..."

   But the Ward was already rising into the air. Whooshing once around the court, he and a fourth of the lights disappeared.

   The last Ward stood before them but he was silent for a minute.

   "Speak your mind," Gordie said, "I sense you are troubled."

   "Yes Sir," the Ward said in that deep voice that they shared, "The task you have challenged us with is indeed a noble one but..."

   "But what?"

   "Is it truly as you said?" the Ward questioned, "Am I truly free to decide on my own? Am I my own Master? Do I truly not have to do this thing?"

   "Everything you have said, is so," answered Gordie, "You are free."

   "I am the one who cooked and served up the food. My job was the hardest and most taxing and frequent. Three times a day, every day, sometimes more if they wanted snacks. I did my job, served my time and I did not complain. But now, what I most desire is rest, and the freedom to wander and travel and help those in need that I want to help. I do not want this task."

   "Very well. Go in peace. I will take on the remaining fourth."

   "Thank you Sir!" the gratefulness resonated through both of their souls. He rushed over and hugged Justin. "Even though, I most desire rest, it was a pleasure serving you, Justin. I have a gift for you too, if you will take it. I must touch you though."

   "What is it?" asked Justin a little apprehensively.

   "I will give you the gift of male pregnancy. It will not affect your masculinity. If you accept, you will conceive your first child within a year and give birth in due time. Although your first child.... will not be your last. Do you accept my gift?"

   "That sounds.... amazing! Incredible! My own child! Yes! Yes, I will accept!"

   The Ward's light glowed brighter for a moment and Justin could sense that he was smiling. "I must touch you now," he warned again, "This will just be for a moment." The Ward's glowing hand moved down and touched Justin on his crotch, just below his balls.

   Justin gasped. There was a flash of pure pleasure, like an intense, dry orgasm. And then it was done.

   "You now have an extra opening just under your male genitalia," said the Ward, "Those who would not understand would call you a hermaphrodite. But that is not the case. The hole is too small, too tight for penetration. Do not attempt sex there. But it does lead to a small chamber, a womb that will only expand when your child is inside and growing. The hole will then expand and expel the child when the time is right. Otherwise have sex as you normally would as a gay bottom and your prophesied child will come at the due time."

   "I understand. Thank you," said Justin.

   "Your welcome. Farewell." The Ward rose straight up and flew off in a streak of light.

   "Are you feeling better?" asked Gordie.

   "Yes, thank you," said Justin whose dizziness and sick feeling had faded considerably.

   Gordie released him. "Then I must be on my way. I have a lot of work to do now. But you can tell Brian, I'll be watching. I'll be watching you both now."

   "But where is he? Where's Brian!"

   The Guardian began to glow a dazzling white and he rose up into the air. The rest of the lights followed him, much as the children must have followed the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

   "I'll be watching...." he called.

   "Where is he!!? Where's..."

   "Farewell, Justin! Be happy in your new life!" He was so high he was a ball of light the size of the sun. The souls of men surrounded him like shining stars.

   "I will...But where's..."

   "Use your gifts wisely!" He was a star of light.

   I WILL!!! But WHERE'S BRIAN!!?"

   There was a blinding flash of white light. And then he was alone. The Guardian and the rest of the lights of the souls of men disappeared.

   He was alone.

TBC