Beauty X Beast ~ Eight!

The ground shook beneath her feet, and Danielle yelped while instinctively bracing for impact—fully expecting to be crushed by the terrifying metal contraption. Instead, it abruptly halted only a few feet away, its looming form draping a dark shadow over her. A half-dozen glowing, crystalline structures in the shape of eyes fixated on her with menacing intensity, a cold blue light sweeping over Danielle as it thoroughly scanned her. 

Though her heart was still racing from the initial fright, Danielle slowly eased herself into a proper standing position. The terrible voice that echoed out from the amalgam's chest was mechanical and growling, devoid of any hint of warmth. 

“Why are you here? It is illegal to trespass, and I have every right to cut you down where you stand. Before I, the Beast Guardian of House LeKrout, make my decision on this matter, you will tell me how you opened the outer gate. It should have allowed itself to be destroyed before it would allow someone to pass!” 

The dissonant resonance faded as the creature went completely, unnaturally still, as if it had transformed into a statue with an eerie patience while waiting for her answer.

For several long seconds, Danielle could only take shallow breaths, trying to push through her fear of this terrible entity. Gathering her thoughts, she realized she had been presented with a puzzle, one she would need to solve quickly if she wanted to get out of this situation alive. “Oh, great metal guardian… beast? I am here to speak with Comte LeKrout. I was sent to ask for his aid-” 

“Yet another recruiter for the Witch Queen of Verdelune!” the Beast bellowed in frustration, stomping one of its feet hard enough to crater the ground nearly a yard out from the point of impact. “I tell you now, not one automaton shall join in the slaughter. Assessing… you’re an Enchantress?”

“I am!” Danielle felt a brief flicker of hope, only for it to be snuffed out as the terribly dangerous machine tensed. “But that doesn't have anything to do with why I'm here. You're right, I was sent as a recruiter, but all I want is a chance to make my case to the Comte.”

“Your kind manipulates beauty and emotion, and if I have my way, you will never see my master face-to-face.” There was a long, dangerous pause as the Beast’s crystalline eyes studied her. “Yet, I notice a discrepancy between who has been sent before, and… you.”

“Is it that I'm alone, half-starved, and reeking of hard travel?” Danielle quipped mirthlessly, only for her eyes to go wide as she realized the words that had just slipped from her lips.

“I see it now.” The Beast's eyes flashed. “Someone's trying to get you killed. No one with any knowledge of the Comte’s situation would send an Enchanter here. You are going to take your trouble away from our door before it follows you into the house. Take note, Enchantress. Your system enhancements are laid bare before my vision. You have no hope of enchanting me with your looks, and my lord’s history with Enchantresses guarantees I am immediately distrustful of you.”

Danielle opened her mouth to try and argue with the creature, but flinched away as it suddenly moved past her toward the opening in the wall.

Its voice boomed out, “There's more going on here than meets the eye. You will remain in the estate until I reset the defenses and adjust all protective measures. Do not attempt to leave until you are escorted out. Do not attempt to meet the Comte. Attempting either will end in your immediate demise, and we haven’t created a new mop in the last four years.”

“A mop…? Is that some kind of oblique threat? Wait, before you start tearing your landscape apart, the problem is the rose-” Danielle trailed off as the Beast whirled around and stared at her with its many sensors. “Um. Out there? There was a clockwork rose ticking out of sync with the wildflowers around it. I adjusted the metronome so it would match the others, and the wall opened up.”

Though she couldn't tell for certain due to its strange anatomy, it seemed like the massive machine relaxed slightly. “I see. That will narrow down my search. Follow Sneezy and Doc to your waiting room.”

The Beast started to move away, and Danielle took a step after him before realizing what she was doing. “Wait! Please, I have so many questions that I need to ask the Artificer. Can I beg an audience with him?” 

“No one sees the Artificer, and the Artificer grants no one an audience—least of all an Enchantress,” the machine practically spat as it turned toward her, jabbing an oversized finger aggressively toward the house. “You will go now or be classified as a threat.”

As he said those words, the strange spiky objects on the wall turned to look at her, the flowers in the area moved unnaturally against the wind, and the blades of grass on the lawn shifted until they were all bristled up like the hair of a scared cat. Danielle finally started to understand exactly how dangerous of a situation she was in, so she gently lifted her hands in the air and backed away. 

She turned away to follow the Beast's instructions as the landscaping around her calmed down, but her jaw dropped as she saw what would be escorting her.

“Hello. Am Sn-three-zy.” The automaton was a child-sized machine with arms and legs nearly twice as long as Danielle felt was necessary. Its torso was rounded and oddly shaped, connected to its face with tubes snaking up on either side to its long nose, the ends of which clearly were nozzles. Danielle stepped closer, more intrigued than frightened when she realized that its body was only mostly an outline of a body, designed to hold a large canister she had originally seen as its chest and stomach.

“Hello, Sneezy.” Danielle sank down into a crouched position, staring at the elongated face of the diminutive humanoid. “Can you tell me why you’re designed the way you are? It's… fascinating!”

“Sn-three-zy is a guard patrol automaton designed to eliminate problems,” the nasally voice of the creature explained, just before turning its head on a swivel like an owl looking behind itself. There was a sharp *hiss, as though a water skin was being squeezed, then a click*… followed by a twenty-foot burst of flame erupting from Sneezy’s face. A moment later, the flame turned into a coil of acrid black smoke and flowed up into the air. 

The designed creature turned back to look at her, its forced, rictus grin suddenly more threatening than it had been moments before. After the head clicked back into place, it stated, “Sn-three-zy also destroys hornet nests and prepares a creme brulee to die for.”

Danielle got up, not certain exactly when she’d fallen onto her butt. She tried to put a smile on her face, only for it to feel completely unconvincing. “Well. It's very nice to meet you, Sneezy. Where is Doc—wahh!”

Another automaton caught her attention just then, and Danielle realized why she had missed it earlier. The machine was literally razor thin, and when looked at from the side, it blended near-seamlessly into the surroundings. When it turned to face her directly, her eyes traced over its form, which resembled nothing more than a metal cut-out of a person. The machine stepped toward her, its edges glinting dangerously in the morning light.

“D-zero-C has been here the whole time.” Its voice was tinny and disjointed, each word coming out as a clinking of metal on metal, like notes played on a kalimba. “Proceed to the guard room. Please.”

Danielle hesitated for a heartbeat at the reminder that she was an intruder in this domain. The cold gaze of the machine sharpened, but luckily, Sneezy began to lead the way, and the Enchantress followed him along the winding path across the lawn without thinking. The seemingly erratic choice of route only began to make sense after she noticed a pattern: they always changed directions just before they stepped onto natural grass. 

“Sneezy, I hadn’t given his words much thought before now—too terrified—but the Beast was truly angry that I’d stepped on grass?”

“It has been a long-term directive. Comte desires restoration of exterior of estate to pristine condition,” Sneezy’s nasally, stunted words replied after a moment of silence. “Do not step on Comte’s grass.”

Danielle glanced behind herself at Doc, just in time to see the creature bending an angle impossible for a human to replicate. The machine practically folded in half then swung an arm out, shearing through a blade of grass that had grown higher than those around it. 

Despite her initial introduction to the guards, as well as clearly being unwelcome here, somehow, she found herself relaxing in their presence. As shown by Doc’s actions, despite their initially terrifying appearance, the machines were clearly created to serve very niche and specific purposes. Having grown up around a tinkerer, not to mention studying engineering and toy making herself, Danielle realized that these creatures had been built with specific functions in mind. 

They would execute their roles without deviation or question, even if she didn't yet fully understand what that purpose was. In other words, they wouldn’t do anything to so much as annoy her if they weren’t designed for it.

“Just don't give them any reason to see me as a threat, and I'll get through this just fine,” she reassured herself under her breath. 

After one last curve around a patch of browning grass, they arrived at the front doors of the manor, which swung open silently, without any visible assistance. Danielle stopped, scanning the hinges, frame, and every surface of the door to try to find where an apparatus must have been installed, for no reason other than opening and closing the door. Still, even as her trained eyes darted around to take in the details, she couldn't make out anything out of the ordinary. 

The design and craftsmanship were impeccable—with only one aspect she would consider to be a major flaw: no matter where she looked, Danielle saw absolutely no embellishments or adornments of any kind.

No attempt had been made at blending the machines into artistry or disguising them as something they were not. Everything was extremely orderly and decidedly functional. The walls were perfectly smooth; the mechanisms perfectly camouflaged and hidden away from prying eyes.

“Even the grass was maintained at a uniform height,” Danielle mused softly, her disgruntlement getting the better of her as she searched for anything designed just to be pleasing to the eye. “Nothing? No artistry at all? What a shame. Sneezy, what opened the door? I'd love to be able to study more of the design-”

“Stop that.” Doc’s voice cracked with a sharp, tinny edge, cutting her off before she could finish her thought. “You are not a guest of the house. You are an intruder being held for questioning and will be removed from the premises as soon as the defenses are reset.”

The cold finality to the words hit the Enchantress like a hammer, but there was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and nod placidly, as if she wasn’t already making contingency plans. Stepping inside, she found that the inside of the house was as plain as the exterior, though it seemed extra spacious and bright, thanks to the white walls, large windows, and open design of the grand hall the door had opened into. 

Danielle was led to a room directly off the entryway, which turned out to be a well-appointed guest room with a comfortable bed, large wardrobe, and even a small bathing room complete with indoor plumbing. The last was of great interest to Danielle, as she and her father had created a much more basic version of the same.

“Not even here ten minutes since entering the walls, and I already have two new designs to put in place wherever we end up living,” Danielle cheerfully muttered to herself, turning around and freezing as she realized the small automaton guards were in the room with her.

“Are you finished inspecting the toilet?” Sneezy inquired with full sincerity. “If so, I have been instructed to ask you some questions.”

Danielle flushed slightly, turning away from the toilet and saying the first words that popped into her mind. “Sorry! I was… wait… when were you told to-?” 

Without giving her an answer, the walking flamethrower began running her through a gamut of basic questions. “What is your name? Your class? Your purpose for intruding? Are you currently comfortable? Do you have somewhere to go back to? Is there any chance you would like to donate one of your organs for research purposes?”

Danielle answered most of the questions easily, somewhat uneasy by the unwavering focus given to her every word. Still, the final question made her pause and carefully consider how she worded her answer. “I do not want to lose any of my organs, or give them up, for any reason.”

“That is good. You need your organs.” Sneezy bobbed his head as gears spun loudly in its chassis. “Please do not be concerned by this line of questioning. You will not be harmed. We are establishing a baseline for your reactions. Do not fail to follow instructions. Is there anything you need? At this moment?”

“I’m…” Only at that moment did Danielle remember she’d been living off trail rations for nearly two weeks and hadn't had a substantial meal since the night of her birthday. “I'm pretty hungry? Do you have anything I could eat?”

Both automatons fell still and silent, failing to respond to Danielle's follow-up questions as they processed her request. Without warning, Doc spun in place as a flash of silver, then walked out of the room, each footfall sounding like a tiny bell as its razor-sharp feet *clinked* against the stone floors. 

“Wait! Can I please speak to the Artificer?” Danielle instinctively reached for the guard, only for Sneezy to move to block her outstretched hand.

“The master is not to be disturbed,” Sneezy intoned as the tip of its nose *clicked* several times, sending sparks into the air in an act that seemed more habit than threat. “A highly recommended tip: do not attempt to grab D-zero-C. Without proper protective equipment, you will suffer immediate lacerations.” 

“I don't… I just don't know what I can say to convince you. It's incredibly important that I speak to him. My father's life is on the line. Mine, too, but… in a different way.”

“Your urgency is understandable. It is not possible to disobey our master's orders.” Sneezy’s internals whirred as it evaluated her plea, but its response was just as unyielding as previously. “If you wish to make an appeal, speak to BST model three, ‘Beast’ as you’ve been calling him. He is your only point of contact with the Comte. Please await further instructions. Do not attempt to force a meeting. It will only end badly. For you. Alert! We have received approval to escort you to the dining area. Please follow.”

Without another word—as she didn’t want to say something which might make her lose this opportunity to explore the manor—Danielle fell into step behind her mechanical guard. As they walked along the enormous grand hall, which seemed to cross the entirety of the manor and had doorways connecting to dozens of different rooms, a strange sound reached her ears. 

It took her tired mind far too long to realize the background noise was the hum of machinery, a symphony of metal and motion unlike anything she’d heard before. “This sounds like the toys my father makes… but on a grander scale by far. A thousand times larger at least.”

“The Comte has worked hard. Over many years. Substituting all staff with replacements,” Sneezy stated with a hint of awe—which Danielle felt she may have been projecting onto the creation. 

She listened intently in hopes of finding some clue she could use to convince the Artificer to leave all this behind. The farther they went, the more Sneezy spoke, the more her chances seemed to slip away.

“The first change was made to the location most important to human functionality: the kitchen. Firstly, he combined the kitchen with the dining room to ensure the food was not served at an incorrect temperature. Many experiments have failed for that reason. My master was positive he could automate the process of creating a delicious meal, substituting ‘care’ and ‘making it with love’ with proper measurements and a standardized process.”

“How’d that turn out?” Danielle’s chuckle rebounded off the cold white walls of the hallway, echoing flatly back to her ears. Trying to get past her nerves, she quickly added on, “I’m certain you’re going to tell me how perfect the food is.”

“False. According to the master, each meal is rather bland. Yet, sufficient,” Sneezy explained in a careless, flat tone. “He's been searching for a solution to ‘freshness testing’, ‘flavor infusion’, and ‘mouth feel’, but has put the research on hiatus in favor of less complex subjects. Even so, each meal is perfectly created for the individual, covering all of their nutritional requirements without excess.”

As they finally arrived in the kitchen, Danielle's breath caught in her throat. The large space was dominated by a massive oak table, above which dozens of mechanical arms dangled like snakes ready to strike. Sneezy looked up at the heart of the tangle of machinery and called out, “One dinner for the Enchantress. Status: travel-weary, minor malnutrition.”

The air *hummed* as the complex array jolted into action. Danielle's eyes were glued to the mechanical ballet of automated arms reaching into crates, barrels, cupboards, pulling out and chopping vegetables and chilled meats and cheeses with lightning speed. Other arms stirred pots, adjusting the heat of the stovetop with exacting care, all as a conveyor belt transported prepared ingredients from one station to the next. 

A delightful smell soon filled the air, and guessing by the sizzling and spattering ending near-simultaneously, all the food items were perfectly timed and cooked to perfection.

From the center of the dangling mechanism, a device resembling a metal tree slowly descended to the table. Two of its ‘branches’ peeled off, unfolding to reveal a fork and knife that spun across the table and came to rest on either side of Danielle's placemat with excellent precision. Within moments of the silverware coming to a rest, her meal was completed. 

A mechanical arm delicately swooped the dish across the room from the stovetop, spatulas arranged the food on a plate, and finally, it was deposited before her on a golden charger.

Steam rose off the dish, and Danielle barely held herself back from diving into the feast—she had far too many questions about what she’d just seen to simply eat. “That was extraordinary! That was a display of skill taken to its logical extreme, beyond anything I've ever seen! How was this made? No, this is beyond what’s reasonable. What level of an Artificer is the Comte? Has he achieved a Breakthrough Skill, to be able to work such magic?”

“The master values precision and innovation and strives for Perfection in all things.” Sneezy responded after a slight pause, as if calculating the safest choice of words. “A word of caution. Further inquiries into the master's personal achievements may flag you as attempting espionage. Now, is everything here to your satisfaction?”

“It is, thank you.” Danielle was only slightly downcast from the chilly warning and resolved to be more circumspect with her questions in the future. Even in the small town she had grown up in, asking for the exact details, level, or number of someone else's skills was considered incredibly rude. Here, where she was already an unwelcome intruder, surrounded by machines who were utterly loyal? It was downright dangerous. 

“Sorry about that, I’m… not sure what got into me.” Unsure of the protocol in this strange environment, she half-heartedly gestured at the food, “Should I start eating, or…?”

“Please.” Sneezy waved at the plate in front of her. “Be our guest.”