Fear. That’s what gripped my very heart when I saw him. I clutched my heart and stared dumbfounded at the horrifying sight that lay in front of me. My companions, The Man and the Queen, yes the Majesty herself, didn’t seem to take notice. Or if they did, they didn’t seem to understand the amount of danger we had just stepped into.
The Beast laid in front of me, roaring loudly with creaks and groans. The noise he made rumbled shaking his enormous body, but not aware of me and my party. As I was taking in the monstrosity, I had stopped to gape up at him. The Queen noticed my absence and looked back. She seemed to see my fear, and walked back to me.
The Queen was a majestic creature. Easily, the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen. She had a smile that would make your heart full and a tender touch as soft as a butterfly’s landing. I had vowed to do everything in my power to keep her safe. The Man had suggested we take this journey to a Valley where I have never been in all my years of life. Noticing this Beast in front of me, I could imagine why I’d never had the pleasure.
She looked at me and kindly asked, “Matthew? Do you not want to come in with us? Are you scared?”
I tore my eyes away from the Beast and looked at her gentle eyes. How in the heavens could I tell Her Majesty that I was too big of a coward to embark in this fool’s errand? I didn’t even understand why we had to go past the Beast in the first place, we could easily retreat the way we came. Before I had a chance to express my thoughts or how I was feeling about our so-called quest, The Man cut in.
Oh, The Man... such an ignorant fool. I didn't know much about him, such as where his birth land was, or even if he was of noble descent. He seems very fond of the Queen herself, always flaunting himself about her as if he was a deranged monkey. For all I know, he could be. When The King had departed from my homeland, that's when this jester appeared. The only kind word I can think to say about him was that he helped dry Her Majesty's tears when The King never returned.
“He’ll be fine. What are you worried about?” He tapped his foot impatiently, as if wanting to be slain and we were slowing him up.
I wanted to shout, Then go and be eaten already! But I didn’t, because there was a Lady present.
She turned to him and said, “Well maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all. I would hate to force him to do anything.”
The Man scoffed, “I was his age when I first came here, and I loved it!”
The Queen didn’t seem to take regard to his comment but instead turned to me. “Matthew, you don’t have to come. You can sit here with me.”
I smiled, how I wanted to hug her! She gave me an honorable route out of the quest, and best of all, she wouldn’t be in danger if she stayed here with me! I was about to say, yes! Stay with me where it’s safe! when The Man sighed, “No no… I’ll stay with Matt. You have been wanting to go.”
She smiled graciously at him, “You sure?” Wait… she wanted to go? I felt ashamed. I looked down at my shoes, too disgraced to look at her. How dare I take an oath to protect her and yet sit here willingly with him while she faced certain death. No, I would not allow it. I would go with her.
“No!” I said, with a little more force than I was expecting. They both looked at me and I nodded confidently. The Man let out a weird hunting call, it sounded like a “whoop” and did a fist up motion. I do not know what this signifies. Just another way to show off his foolish customs, I'm sure. Her Majesty however took my hand and with excitement said, “The adventure awaits!”
We made our way to a tunnel that was located under the Beast, leading us to his lair. I noted that besides the rumbling coming from the Beast, he seemed to be otherwise sleeping or merely bored. In any case, he didn’t seem to be moving much. I tried to move as quietly as possible, as not to disturb him or let him know where we were. However if he did notice us, he didn’t pay any mind. The closer we got to the tunnel, the more shrilled screams I heard and the less I liked the idea of The Queen going in there. But if she were to go, I would be right beside her.
I realized as we made it to the entrance of the tunnel that we were not the only explorers there that day. It seemed as if hundreds of peasants had come to try fate. Perhaps this Beast had a silent call to its prey. The very thought disturbed me. We shuffled along with the common folk into the tunnel and into a small, dreary room that was lined with strange looking boats.
These were not the boats I remember seeing in books. No, these were different. Over the excitement rumble of the crowd, I could hear the screaming sharper now and the terrible, shambling, grumbles of the Monster. However I could no longer see him, which didn’t make me feel like we were any safer. I only hoped that he was still sleeping or set on paying us little heed.
I don’t like this place nor the feeling I get here, I wanted to tell Her Majesty but before I could, I noticed the commoners in front of us taking turns to get into these strange boats. Each boat sat four persons it appeared. Two in front and two in the back. The only safety about it was a metal bar that came down over the seats and rested just above the passengers' laps. Then as soon as the four riders were secured in place, the boat disappeared up a metal hill that let out of the dungeon like room. How curious, I thought staring at the contraptions. This must be the way out.
GRRR… CREAAkk…. HisssSSS….. I jumped at the sound and looked around, much more alert. The Man looked like a crazy jester, all happy and frankly, weird. The Queen herself looked either nervous or full of anticipation… I couldn’t quite tell. But maybe it wasn’t too late to turn back. I looked behind us and my heart filled with dread, the tunnel was all backed up with peasants, pushing and shoving one another to try their luck at death's lair. There was no way we could go out the way we had come. Which meant all we could do was go forward and hope for the best.
By the time we reached the boats, I was full of bent up anxiety. I couldn’t hear the Beast very close anymore. This was our time to escape! This was our chance to ride our boat to freedom!! I grabbed the Queen’s hand and pulled her towards the nearest one.
“Hold up there, bud,” a servant called from behind me. Oh great, the help. “You get to ride in a special seat bud.” Stop calling me that, I wanted to snap at her. But that is a bad reflection of character to yell at the help. Instead I nodded lazily. She would not get a rise out of me; not while I was so close to freedom with Her Majesty.
The servant quickly put a little chair into the bigger one. The curses of having a small frame, I grumbled. I immediately gestured for the Queen to sit by me, I was not going to be very happy if she were to sit in the back alone. Nor if The Man sat by me. He smelled of peanuts usually; I detested peanuts. Maybe the Beast will be attracted to the smell though, in the unfortunate case we encounter him. Then The Man could be useful for once and be eaten in place of us. By the softer rumblings, I hoped it meant we would escape, free of meeting the Beast personally.
The servant helped us pull the bar in front of us, The Man bounced up and down. What a child, I rolled my eyes and looked at concern at the Queen. She seemed to be content at the moment, so I tried to relax and put myself at ease. The boat started forward, creaking and rattling as it made its way over the hill and out of the tunnel.
Once out of the dimness, I realized how high the hill actually was. I could smell the air, cleaner than down on the ground. I could feel the wind on my face, colder than it was down there. I could see the entire Valley from my perch, with the different Metal Monsters and human contraptions all scattered around the fairgrounds. Such a beautiful view! I stole a look at Her Majesty; she caught me doing so and smiled.
At the very top, I had fully relaxed and embraced the fact that the Beast had left us alone. “Here it comes!!” was the last thing I heard The Man scream before we were eaten.
At least, I am pretty sure we were eaten. I closed my eyes as soon we dropped down in our little boat. The wind started ringing in my ears as we gained momentum down the creature’s throat. It had somehow snuck up and was positioned in front of us! I shook my head madly, eyes still shut tightly, at the thought of my lack of detection. If we lived through this, I will not be tricked again!
I was suddenly aware that The Man behind us was screaming… like a lady no less! But that wasn’t what concerned me. The Queen herself was screaming as we lurched through the body of the Beast, flowing and being eaten alive. Oh no! I screamed in my head, I have to save her! I must do what I can to save her! I mustered all my courage and started fighting back. I was hitting and spatting, kicking at every turn in hopes that the stomach of the Beast would be irritated.
Sweat beaded on my brow, but there is no rest for heroes. Especially not on their final stands. I continued to fight and it seemed as if the battle lasted for hours. I didn’t open my eyes until her gentle voice spoke. “Matthew, it’s over.”
My eyes snapped opened in disbelief. We somehow made it back to the tunnel with the crowds and boats. How? I wondered. Faintly I made out more creaking and screaming, but it wasn’t Her screaming so I paid no mind.
In fact, she was standing above me, helping me out of my chair. “Who’s my big boy?” she cooed as she lifted me up and hugged me. I hugged her tightly back and smiled widely. I defeated the Beast. I had won.
The Man was waiting for us at the exit and smiled at me, “I knew this little guy could handle that monster” he said. Hmm he was right that I handled it, maybe he wasn't that dense after all, I considered. However all I said was, “Again!” because I, Matthew Loir, knew I could take on whatever else this Valley had to offer, especially if I was doing it to defend my Queen. Even if I had to do it beside the Peanut Smelling Man. I can’t believe he screamed like a lady… haha.
