Twin Roses: A Beau Rivage Short Story Read Free Page B

own business, sniffing these flowers.”
    “That’s
not
what you were doing,” Ruby said.
    “Do you know how much these clothes cost?” the man continued.
    “Nothing? Because you stole them?” Pearl guessed.
    “One hundred dollars! Just for the pants! And this sweater is irreplaceable! They don’t make garments this fine anymore. And now they’re ruined. Ruined!”
    “Gosh,” Pearl said. “You’d think we hadn’t just rescued you.”
    “You sic your dog on me, then expect me to be
grateful
once you finally call it off? The audacity!” His face was turning red; he lunged forward and spat on Pearl’s shoe.
    “Hey! Watch it!” Ruby yelled. “You do that again and I’ll let this dog bite a hole in your ass.”
    “It’s fine,” Pearl said, wiping her shoe on the grass.
    The pit bull was lying down now, head resting on her paws, watching.
    “I’m going to leave,” the man announced. “If you harlots want to turn yourselves in to the police, it’s probably for the best. Make the streets a little safer.” He bent over, giving them a view of the dirty seat of his pants, and began gathering the stolen jewelry that had fallen out of the bag.
    The pit bull’s ears perked up.
    “What is it, girl?” Ruby whispered.
    “It’s obvious you robbed this house,” Pearl said. “You’re not leaving with that stuff.”
    “This is
my
house,” the man said. “I’m merely transferring my property to another location.”
    “Do you always climb out your window using sheets?” Ruby asked.
    “Why don’t you mind your own damn business?”
In a fit of pique, he grabbed a handful of jewelry and flung it at her. Then he went still.
    Ruby turned to see what had stopped him.
    A fully grown black bear—about two hundred pounds—had come around the side of the house and was lumbering toward them. The man scrambled backward, shouting,
    “This is a mistake! A mistake! I wasn’t the one who got you cursed, it was these girls! I’ve been tracking them downfor you—searching for years! You see? I’ve finally found them. Here—take your revenge! Eat them! They have plump, round limbs and I’m all skin and bones. This sweater makes me look fatter than I really am!”
    The man had retreated so that his back was against the front door. “I mean it!” he said as the bear came closer. “These wicked girls stole the fairy’s jewels! They blamed you for the theft! Not me! It’s not my fault you were cursed, it was theirs!”
    Ruby was running her hand down the dog’s back to keep calm.
    She wasn’t afraid. Not exactly.
    “Our prince,” Pearl whispered.
    Ruby knew how the curse was broken—but she still flinched when the bear struck the bearded man across the face and his body slumped onto the porch, the life knocked out of him with one blow.
    The bear prince’s voice was deeper now. “Pearl … Ruby. Don’t be scared. You know me. I won’t hurt you.”
    The bear pelt wilted around him. It split down the middle and he shook it off, then stumbled away from it, unused to walking on human legs. His skin was lighter than the bear’s fur had been, but still dark: a rich brown that was tinged gold from the clothes he wore. He was dressed in a royal court uniform of gold silk, embroidered with gold flourishes, so that he looked like a prince from a storybook.
    “Is it over?” the prince asked. “Is it really—”
    Ruby sat there gaping at him, her eyes filling with tears from pure amazement. Before she could answer, her sister ran to the prince and embraced him like a girl reuniting with her lost love.
    “It’s over,” Pearl said. “The curse is broken. The curse is broken.…”
    Their arms were wrapped around each other so tightly that Ruby felt a little confused watching them. They clung to each other as if this moment was the culmination of years of longing. Ruby wasn’t sure where that left her. She had worried and missed him just as much, but now she felt like an interloper, someone who could