The Eye of the Beholder by Elizabeth Darcy

looked at me with eyes that were filled with pain, and then he turned to look at each of my sisters. After a moment, he began to speak, telling us the tale of his encounter with the beast who lived in a castle in the middle of the forest. Had it not been my father seated before me telling me the tale, I would not have believed it. It was simply too fantastical. However, my father had never been given to flights of fancy, and I knew what he said was true, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
    "A beast!" Thomasina shrieked. "He will come here and kill us all!"
    "No, I do not believe so," Papa said, patting her shoulder in an awkward gesture of comfort. "I believe he had no wish to be seen and only made his presence known to me because…" His voice trailed off, and I could see that he did not wish to continue.
    "Why, Papa?" I asked, gently. "Why did this beast menace you after feeding you and allowing you to stay in his castle?"
    "I could never have conjured such a horror, not even in my worst nightmares," Papa said, as if he had not heard my question. His eyes took on a far-away look. "How can this monster be? He walked and talked and stood like a man, but looked and moved and sounded like a beast. He must have been eight feet high as he stood over me, and I was certain he would kill me.
    "He had a wolf's body; a lion's head, with round, alert ears; and he was covered head to foot with a thick tawny coat. His paws were three times larger than any beast I have ever seen, and they ended in long, fearsome claws. His maw was full of sharp, pointed teeth. And those eyes…"
    Rowena whimpered and Papa seemed to recollect himself, looking at her with a stricken glance. I felt every bit as frightened as my sisters seemed to be, but I did my best to master it. There was more to this story, much more, and I knew that Papa did not wish to tell us.
    "Why did he threaten you, Papa?" I asked once again, my voice little more than a whisper.
    "I bought the satins for your sisters," he said, indicating the parcels I had brought into the cottage. "But the trader and his books had left days before I arrived. I could find nothing that would suit you. And then there it was, right before me, and I knew you would love it." His words puzzled me and I opened my mouth to question him further, but he reached into his cloak and drew out the largest, most beautiful crimson rose I had ever seen. He held it out to me and I took it from him with trembling fingers. The scent of the rose filled my senses and it was several moments before the import of his words became clear to me.
    "You took this from the beast's castle," I said.
    "He said he cherished nothing but the roses." Papa's voice broke and he buried his face in his hands.
    "Why did he release you?" I asked. I hated to make him speak. It was clear that it pained him, but I had to have the full story, had to understand what had happened to him.
    "He gave me a fortnight. I must leave here in ten days."
    Thomasina and Rowena knocked me aside as they rushed over and threw their arms around Papa, weeping and wailing that he could not go. I sat quietly, my mind in a whirl. My sisters did not know our father as I did; there was something he continued to conceal. I absently stroked the velvet petals of the rose as I thought, and as its perfume beguiled my senses, I knew what he had failed to say.
    "The beast did not say that you must return," I said, speaking loudly and clearly so that I would be heard over the great noise my sisters were making. The room suddenly fell silent, and all three of them turned simultaneously to look at me. "He gave you a choice. He said that I could return in your place."
    I knew immediately from the despairing look on my father's face that I was correct. Thomasina and Rowena exchanged glances, looked at Papa, and then looked at me. Comprehension dawned, and they both studied me with narrowed eyes and malevolent gazes.
    "What she says is true!" Thomasina exclaimed. Papa did not speak,