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The Prince squinted his eyes and cocked his head, trying to comprehend the meaning of this riddle.
“Oh, he’ll become the beast! He will!”
“No doubt! He’ll never change his wicked ways!”
The sisters were again clapping and jumping in vindictive delight. Their laughter seemed to feed upon itself. The more they laughed, the louder it became, and the more insane the sisters seemed to be. Circe had to take them in hand once again.
“Sisters, stop! He has to know the terms of the curse or it will not be binding.”
The sisters’ laughter ceased at once, and they became unnervingly quiet, twitching with discomfort.
“Mustn’t ruin his punishment!”
“No, mustn’t do that!”
Circe, hearing her sisters’ chatter again, gave them a reproachful look, silencing them immediately.
“Thank you, Sisters. Now, Prince, do you understand the terms of the curse?” The Prince could only look at the women in wonder and horror.
“He’s struck dumb, little sister!” cackled Lucinda.
“Shhh,” reminded Ruby as Circe continued.
“Do you understand the terms?” she asked him again.
“That I’m supposed to turn into some sort of beast if I do not change my ways?” the Prince said, trying to repress a smile.
Circe nodded.
Now it was time for the Prince to laugh. “Poppycock! What sort of trickery is this? I’m to believe you’ve cursed me? Am I supposed to become so frightened that I fool myself into making something dreadful happen? I won’t fall for it, ladies! If indeed you can be called ladies, royal blood or not!”
Circe’s face hardened. The Prince had never seen her like this—so angry, so stern and cold.
“Your castle and its grounds shall also be cursed, then, and everyone within will be forced to share your burden. Nothing but horrors will surround you, from when you look into a mirror to when you sit in your beloved rose garden.”
Lucinda added, “And soon those horrors will be your only scenery.”
“Yes, I see you stuck cowering withindoors.”
“Yes, fearful of leaving your own bedchamber!”
“Yes, yes! Too frightened to show your ugly face to the world outside your castle walls!”
“I see your servants seething with hate, watching your every move from distant shadows, sneaking up on you in the night, just looking at the creature you’ve become.”
“And I see you,” Lucinda said, “wondering if they’ll kill you to free themselves from the curse!”
“Enough! That is but one path he may take! There is one last thing he needs before we go.” Circe looked to Ruby.
“The mirror, please, Ruby.”
Lucinda’s face contorted even more freakishly than imaginable. “Circe, no! Not the mirror.”
“It’s our mirror!”
“Not yours to give away!”
“No, no, no!”
