The beast within, the flight without

The vehicle pulled up to the palace gates, the earlier excitement of the outing completely gone. Caius helped me down, his touch polite but distant. He gave a curt nod to the guards before leading me to the grand entrance.

"Your Majesty," he said, bowing formally to Papa and Mama, who were waiting with concerned expressions. "Queen Isolde. I simply wished to ensure Princess Isla arrived home safely." His tone was carefully neutral, giving nothing away, yet I felt a fresh wave of shame wash over me.

Mama's brow furrowed. "Is everything alright, Prince Caius?"

"Perfectly well, Your Majesty," he replied, his smile tight. "However, Princess Isla seemed a little unwell. I thought it best that she rest." With another formal bow, he took his leave, not meeting my eyes. The sound of his departing chariot echoed the hollowness in my chest.

I managed a weak "Good evening" to Papa and Mama, my gaze fixed on the polished marble floor. I just wanted to disappear. "If you'll excuse me," I mumbled, and hurried towards my room, the weight of their unspoken questions pressing down on me.

I barely had time to close my door before it burst open. Papa and Mama stood there, their faces thunderous. I'd never seen Papa so angry. His usual kind eyes were blazing with disappointment. Mama's lips were a thin, hard line. Behind them stood the guard who had accompanied us, his face a mask of uncomfortable obedience.

"Isla!" Papa's voice boomed, making me flinch. "What in the name of the ancestors was that behavior?"

"Papa, I—" I started, my voice trembling.

"Silence!" Mama snapped, her voice sharp. "Stealing? Again? After all our efforts to smooth things over from the market! You have brought utter shame upon this family!"

"But Mama, I didn't—"

"Don't lie to us!" Papa roared, his face red with fury. He took a step closer, his shadow looming over me. "We welcomed Prince Caius into our home! This is how you repay us? By embarrassing yourself and our kingdom?" He slammed the door shut with a deafening bang, the sound echoing the finality of his words. "You are confined to your room, Isla. No one is to enter, and you are not to leave, for any reason. You will have time to think about the disgrace you have brought upon us!"

The click of the lock resonated deep within me. Tears welled in my eyes, hot and stinging. I sank onto my bed, the enormity of their anger crushing me. How could I explain what was happening when I didn't understand it myself? "What's wrong with me?" I whispered into the empty room, the question hanging in the air unanswered.

Then, a tremor started deep within my bones, a sickening vibration that felt utterly wrong. My hands, still wet with tears, began to twitch. A strange, thick saliva filled my mouth, a taste both metallic and animalistic. It dripped onto my wrists, and I watched, horrified, as my fingers elongated, stretching like something being pulled apart. The bones groaned and shifted beneath my skin.

My breath hitched in my throat. My nails, once neatly trimmed, thickened and darkened, sprouting into sharp, black claws that curled with a life of their own. A wave of nausea rolled through me, a primal revulsion at my own changing flesh.

My teeth began to grind together, an involuntary clenching. Then, a searing pain shot through my gums as they shifted and elongated, the familiar smoothness replaced by jagged edges, each tooth sharpening into a cruel, pointed weapon. It felt like something ancient and monstrous was tearing its way out of me.

A low growl rumbled in my chest, a sound that didn't belong to me, a guttural utterance that vibrated through my very core. Coarse, black hair erupted across my skin, prickling and spreading with terrifying speed. It matted my arms, thickened on my legs, a dark, bristly fur that felt alien and repulsive.

My spine arched violently, a searing agony that contorted my back into a hunched, unnatural curve. I felt my muscles bulge and twist, reshaping my slender form into something powerful and grotesque. My vision blurred, the familiar lines of my room warping and distorting as my skull seemed to shift.

A scream tore from my throat, a raw, animalistic shriek of pure terror and unbearable pain. It was the sound of my humanity being ripped away, piece by agonizing piece. "Papa! Mama! Please!" But the heavy door remained a solid barrier, the silence beyond it amplifying my utter isolation. No one heard my desperate cries, no one came to witness the diabolical transformation consuming me. In the suffocating darkness, I became something else, something monstrous, the princess I once was dissolving into a creature of nightmare. The change wasn't just physical; it was a chilling descent into something feral and unknown, a horrifying betrayal by my own body.

The agonizing transformation finally stopped. I lay on the floor, panting, my body a grotesque parody of its former self. Coarse black fur covered me from head to toe. My hands ended in sharp, curved claws. My teeth felt like daggers in my mouth. A whimper escaped my lips, a low, animalistic sound.

I tried to stand, my legs feeling strange and too long. I stumbled, my new weight unbalanced. Looking down at my hairy paws, I felt a wave of pure terror wash over me. This couldn't be real. This was a nightmare. But the sharp claws digging into the wooden floor felt horribly, undeniably real.

A low growl rumbled in my chest again, this time not from pain, but from something else, something primal and unfamiliar. It vibrated through my fur, a deep, resonant hum.

Then, I smelled it. A faint, metallic scent, coming from the heavy, locked door. Iron. The hinges. The brutal clang, which had been silent during my transformation, flickered in the back of my mind, a dull, insistent throb. And with it came a feeling, a pull. Not the frantic urge to steal, but something deeper, a resonant hum that seemed to call to this new, monstrous form.

The full moon, a silvery disc in the inky sky, cast its light through my window, painting the room in shades of grey and black. Its glow seemed to seep into my very being, igniting something within me. A powerful urge surged through me, an instinct I didn't understand but couldn't ignore. Run.

My claws scraped against the floor as I rose, my new limbs surprisingly strong. The metallic scent from the door grew stronger, the resonant hum within me intensifying. With a surge of desperate strength, fueled by panic and this strange new instinct, I lunged at the door.

The wood splintered and cracked under my claws. With another violent heave, the entire doorframe ripped away from the wall with a screech of tearing wood and metal. The heavy door crashed to the floor, revealing the silent, moonlit corridor beyond.

I stood there for a moment, panting, the scent of iron now sharp and clear. The resonant hum pulsed within me, a guiding beacon. And then, I ran.

My paws pounded softly on the carpeted floor of the palace corridors. Shadows stretched and danced around me in the moonlight filtering through the tall windows. Fear still gnawed at me, the terror of my transformation a fresh wound. But beneath it, a strange sense of liberation began to bubble. The tight confines of my room, the suffocating judgment of my parents, were gone. Now, there was only the silent palace and the pull of the iron scent.

I moved quickly, instinctively avoiding the areas where guards might be stationed. The familiar layout of the palace felt different, seen from this lower vantage point, my senses heightened. I could hear the faint rustling of fabric in the servants' quarters, the distant murmur of voices.

The scent of iron grew stronger as I neared the grand staircase leading to the gardens. The intricate iron railings seemed to hum with a faint energy. The resonant pull within me intensified.

Reaching the gardens, I burst out into the cool night air. The scent of flowers mingled with the metallic tang, a strange and unsettling combination. The moon bathed the manicured lawns and sculpted hedges in an ethereal glow.

I ran across the soft grass, my powerful new legs carrying me with surprising speed. The cool night air rushed through my fur, a stark contrast to the suffocating heat of my transformation.

Looking back at the silent, imposing silhouette of the palace, a wave of despair washed over me. Papa. Mama. What would they think? What would they do? But the primal urge to run, to escape the confines of my former life, was stronger than my fear and my guilt.

I kept running, deeper into the gardens, towards the shadowy trees at the edge of the palace grounds. The resonant hum within me seemed to guide my way, a strange and terrifying compass pointing towards an unknown destiny. The princess was gone. Now, only the beast remained, fleeing into the night.