Beauty X Beast ~ Seven!

Danielle stood alone at the edge of town, her mind flooded with confusion and determination. To her great surprise, she was to find her way to the Artificer’s estate on her own. “They gave me a pack of food, clothes that aren't my own, and a map. Why? Why would they send me out on my own, knowing I might simply make a run for it?”

Taking the first step was the hardest, as the soldier’s pack they had given her felt immense and threw her balance off. For just a moment, she hesitated, wondering if she really wanted to go through with this. Still, with each step, she found that her fear was a little further behind her, and she was moving faster and steadier. After a few minutes, having put more distance between herself and the edge of Frontière, she found the familiar sights and sounds fading, replaced by the muted sounds of nature. 

Soon, she had reached the edge of the cleared land around the town. The gravel road ahead was no longer as well-maintained, turning into a simple dirt path as it was swallowed by the shadows of the forest. The density of the trees turned the bright morning into something dark and sinister, and her heart began to pound in her chest at the thought of going off into the unknown. She had lived here, in this town, as long as she could remember, and never before had the means to actually set out on her own. 

Chancing a glance over her shoulder, Danielle was surprised to see dozens of people watching her from afar. Their crossed arms, disdainful expressions, and heads shaking in silent judgment struck her like a blow. The obvious, collective doubt in her ability to stay strong stung… but also filled her with determination not to hesitate any further. Refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear, she pressed forward and vanished behind the trees. 

Taking her first breaths of the cool air, heavy with the smell of earth and leaves, Danielle steeled herself and marched along the trail. “So that's it, isn't it? I'm going alone, unescorted, because he knows I won't run—he's hoping that I won't have the guts to see this through. He thinks I'm just a scared little girl, and I’m going to go crawling back begging for mercy and stop ‘wasting his time’.”

Pulling out her map, she unfolded the parchment a vicious *snap*, taking a minute to look over the detailed route that had been highlighted for her. “What, do they think it's so difficult to walk down a road? Ridiculous.”

She set off on the path, jogging lightly to gain some distance early on. Every step felt like an act of defiance, and it felt fantastic. As the minutes ticked by, closing in on half an hour, Danielle waited for her breathing to grow ragged or a stitch to appear in her side, but found barely felt a hint of fatigue. Focusing on that oddity gave her some much-needed mental space, and eventually she realized she had her system-granted skills to thank for her endurance. 

“My muscles are coordinated and moving efficiently.” The words came out naturally along with each exhale, almost turning them into a song as she rushed along the road. “Unless I actively choose to go against the system's enhancement, I seem to naturally pick out the least arduous pathway. Huh… this is an unexpected benefit. Maybe I've-”

She bit her tongue, welcoming the pain rather than admitting anything positive about the class and skills that had gotten her into this situation in the first place. As she settled into a rhythm, her speed slowly began to increase, and the miles melted away.

As the sun reached its zenith, the heat and humidity began to become oppressive. With the sun high in the sky, the shadows around her were darker, and the sounds of the wilderness were constant and far too close. The sound of rushing water reached her ears, and she slowed to a walk as a sudden, creeping realization of her own vulnerability hit her hard.

Only then did she realize exactly how terribly thirsty she was, and her stomach wambled in protest at her mounting hunger. She continued speaking aloud, as if the words alone could ward off both animals and loneliness. “Okay, some water, some food… maybe a nap.”

Walking down to the water's edge, she filled the empty water skins she’d been given, only now realizing all of them were empty—sparking both a flare of anger and a touch of concern over the rest of her supplies. Grumbling about the attempted sabotage, she drank her fill and pulled out some of her food, carefully inspecting it to ensure it hadn't been tampered with. Surprisingly, it was all edible and well wrapped… what little of it there was. 

Taking only a few bites, she settled down in the hollow of a tree next to the riverbank, curling up in it and falling into a deep slumber almost immediately.

*Yowwrr!*

The sound of a wild cat screaming into the night caused Danielle to wake with a jolt. She blinked several times—fearing she’d gone blind—before realizing that she must have slept through the remainder of the day. Taking a deep breath, she looked around for any source of light, but found only a sliver of moon rising above the river. “There might be no one around for miles… I'm not sure how to feel about that.”

Never before had she been alone, at least not without actively seeking it out. People had always wanted her around, going so far as to follow her around town and speak at her while she was running errands. Even when she had returned home, her father had always been in his workshop, tinkering with whatever project he’d decided to work on that day. Allowing herself to be lost in her thoughts gave Danielle the respite she needed to get her racing heartbeat under control, and she breathed in deeply, letting out a slow breath and trying to expel all of her fear at the same time.

A sense of calm enveloped her, and she snuggled back into the tree trunk. Moments later, her fear spiked once more as a furry limb brushed against her. Barely allowing herself to breathe, she slowly reached out a hand and found that an animal was standing next to her. Ever so gently, she ran the tips of her fingers along its coat. “Easy there… nice, um, animal. Oh… you’re definitely a bear.”

For a few long moments, she felt as though she were locked in a stalemate with the creature, but then a wash of hot air flowed over her as the animal settled down next to her and let out a sigh of contentment. Danielle closed her eyes and focused on breathing, doing her best to keep her Unified Radiance skill guiding her hand as she continued to pet the creature next to her. She wasn't certain why it hadn't chomped into her, but Danielle was going to thank it the only way she could—by making sure it was a stunningly beautiful creature when it left.

The night passed far too slowly, as whenever she stopped massaging the bear, a low snarl would fill the air. By the time false dawn was starting to arrive, her hands were cramped, and Danielle was absolutely exhausted from the strain of staying in one spot and focusing on the animal next to her. Before enough light had filtered through the trees for her to see exactly what the bear beside her looked like, the creature finally had enough. It stood with a low grumble and padded away without another sound, leaving the human to her own devices.

Carefully, dizzy with relief, Danielle got to her feet and started moving, determined to get as far away from the river as possible. “I'm not going to make a mistake like that a second time.” 

The forest was still alive with the sounds of nocturnal animals, though the rustling of leaves and the calls of distant creatures were becoming less frequent as false dawn turned to true sunrise. The sound of birds slowly began to fill the air as she traveled along the river, analyzing her surroundings and attempting to match up what she was seeing with where her map said she should be. “There was supposed to be a bridge somewhere around here… where’s the road? I barely left it last night to get some water. It can't be that far away, can it?”

After nearly half an hour of searching, she finally retraced her steps to the edge of the road and slung her pack off her shoulders. “Never in my life have I been so happy to see packed dirt. Wonderful! From here, I just need to travel along the road for… let's see, judging by how far I got yesterday… it'll only take me another two weeks. Lovely.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out a bit of food to break her fast, only then noticing how chaotically packed the bag actually was. “Oh, for the system’s sake, did they just dump a bunch of stuff into here?”

“Keep the water skins, the food… pretty sure we don't need these two bricks. What is this thing? A caltrop? No wonder this was digging into my back so much yesterday. Oh, there is a blanket in here. An~nd it's wrapped around rocks. I'm going to go so much farther today than I did yesterday. If I ever find who did this, I'm going to make them eat this garbage.” Danielle dumped everything on the ground and began reorganizing it under the guidance of her Alluring Assemblage skill, finding some small comfort in the order she had created. 

Thinking of her skills reminded her that she’d earned something in her negotiation with Gasteel the previous day, so she ran her finger along her left arm and looked at the change the system presented her with.

Skill increase! Unified Radiance [Level 3 (Rudimentary) → Level 4 (Basic)]!

Requirement to advance to level 5: successfully make a sale to someone who has no need of what is being sold OR enhance an item enough that it sells for 180% of its standard price.

“I… can't imagine I successfully mediated a dispute without offering solutions yesterday. That means… just by going into that hole-in-the-wall tavern, I enhanced it enough to be worth fifty percent more than its original sale price? You know what? I'm not even going to be annoyed. At this point, I'll take every advantage I can get to finish this distasteful task as soon as possible—even skill increases.” 

Once more hefting the noticeably lighter burden of her bag, she was pleased to find that it no longer dug into her, nor was it anywhere near as uncomfortable to carry. Buoyed by this small victory, she set off down the road with a spring in her step. The farther she walked, the more her Graceful Movement skill kicked in, making the otherwise tedious march feel like a dance, as though she were gliding across the surface of the world. 

After an hour of effortlessly striding along, Danielle couldn't keep the smile off her face. “I've never even considered that my skills would be useful for travel. Hopefully, once I rescue Father, he’ll get some benefit from them as well. I wonder where we will eventually end up? Verdelune isn’t an option, not anymore, but if they are going to be invading the neighboring kingdoms, we're going to have to travel for years, potentially.”

That night was far easier than the previous had been, as she climbed a tree and wrapped herself in the thin blanket she’d been provided. Even without tying herself to the branch, she had no fear of falling: Danielle hadn't fallen off something since she’d achieved her second level in Graceful Movement. Even asleep, she was certain she'd be perfectly balanced.

The days passed quickly, and soon a week and a half had elapsed in this way. 

As the sun rose each morning, Danielle's confidence grew further. She’d become used to the long days of travel, hard but nutritious food, and careful management of her resources. More than that, she felt more free than she had in a long time, having been given no time limit for her success. 

Sure, she’d had to scrounge for anything edible along the route, but the time had been peaceful. It had been nearly half a month where she hadn’t needed to fend off the ham-fisted attempts of a local lad pawing at her or turn down insincere proposals. Never once did she need to tell someone off, nor wear a veil just so she could slink around without being treated somewhere between a criminal and a temptress.

Still, there had been a few near-misses. Several times, she had avoided creatures in the forest, and twice she’d heard people's voices and made sure to go out of her way to avoid whoever had made the forest their home. They almost certainly wouldn't be well-intentioned people; only bandits and outlaws lived so far away from civilization by choice.

A full three days ahead of schedule, the estate came into view. From a distance, she could see the manor towering above a huge wall which encircled the entire estate, a wall made of a near-blindingly white stone intensely reflecting the midday sun. 

She marched along the road, absolutely brimming with confidence, now that she had nearly arrived at her destination. Only as the road came to an end, and there was no entrance to be found, did her beaming smile falter slightly. “Why did the road end if there's no gate here? Hello? Is there anyone over there who can hear me, maybe direct me to the entrance?”

Not surprisingly, no one deigned to answer her, if she was heard in the first place. Still, while she waited for a moment, she took a closer look at the barrier between herself and the person she needed to convince. Her keen eyes trailed along the wall, taking in every detail, especially the odd, spiky objects atop the wall that seemed to follow her as she moved. Danielle stepped close and lifted a hand to touch the stone, but for some reason, she felt a cold chill along her spine. 

Looking up, she found the spiky objects pointing at her and had a disturbing feeling that, when she was watching them, they were watching her. “So… not sure what those do, but they're definitely dangerous. There goes climbing over the wall as a viable option.” 

Carefully withdrawing her hand, she stepped away from the wall and observed as the spikes shifted into a less ominous position. “No touching, got it. But look at the craftsmanship… the intricate designs! They're practically begging someone to touch them, maybe to paint some embellishments or designs on them. This entire wall is literally a blank slate, an artist's dream!”

She began walking around the wall, searching for an entrance to the estate. After nearly two hours, she found herself back at her original position, somewhat frustrated at her lack of ingress, yet excited by the possibility that there must be more to this area than met the eye. “If there's no obvious entrance, there must be a non-obvious one. If I were an Artificer, how would I stop people from getting where I didn't want them to be?”

Taking note of everything she saw, Danielle explored the area around where the road ended and the wall began. There were no seams in the stone to indicate a gate being hidden, but even she knew how easy it was to disguise those, thanks to her father creating coverings for the toys he made. Soon enough, she began to find unnatural objects in the otherwise untouched landscape.

Trees with leaves made of metal grew alongside perfectly normal versions, only her trained eye allowing her to pick out the minute differences. Patches of wildflowers had small gears and cogs in them, their petals *ticking* as they moved in a circular dance, as though a pocket watch was determining their position. Even the grass in some areas was a shade or two too green, and a careful swipe with a cloth revealed they were coated in some sort of oil, which was flowing out and into other small machines. 

“This is incredible.” She breathed the words as she crouched to examine a patch of flowers at an intersection of three false trees and a trickle of bright green fluid. “They look exactly like actual flowers, and if they weren't moving, I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Why would someone go to so much effort to create a false landscape—especially outside of their home?”

As her gaze moved from flower to flower, she found herself smiling, already picturing how she would bring this design back to her father to turn into a toy. “If we play our cards right, not only will we have a market for the beauty of the creations, but we can make them have a useful function as well. Perhaps they could act as a timepiece someone keeps inside their home? I'm sure that would lower the barrier to entry for those who didn't care about the look of things as much as making practical purchases.” 

*Tick, tick, tick-*

Even while feeling a deep connection to the natural and mechanical landscape, Danielle noticed something odd. One of the flowers in this patch was a clockwork rose, and something about it was setting her on edge. Scooting over to it, she tried to determine what the issue was. 

*Tick-*

*-Tock.*

*Tick-*

*-Tock.*

*Tick-*

*-Tock.*

After a few moments, she realized it was ticking to a different metronome than the others around it, the *tock a discordant sound amidst everything else ticking* along. 

Reaching out, Danielle gently gripped the metal rosebud, holding it in place for a breath, then releasing it. Exactly as she’d hoped, the momentary pause had allowed it to sync up with the others around it, and once more, there was a harmonious *ticking* noise. 

That wasn't the only sound to reach her ears. Moments after she aligned the flowers, there was a soft grinding of stone drawing her attention back to the wall. To her delight, a section had shifted to the side and opened a path to the manor. 

Danielle hopped to her feet and rushed over, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity. “Oh, thank you! Was this a test, a trial to see if I would be allowed in? What an interesting way to keep out those who aren't worthy of meeting you! Riddles! Ha! Or, wait, was-”

A screeching of metal caused Danielle to clap her hands over her ears, and her eyes went wide as she saw the most bizarre sight she’d ever witnessed in her life.

Thundering across the manicured lawn was a massive amalgamation of metal and tubes, a humanoid mechanical monstrosity standing nearly nine feet tall and half that in width. It trumpeted at her, the deep, mechanical sounds barely recognizable as speech.

“Get off the Comte’s grass!”