My Latest Writing Adventure

I just wanted to share this little story that I wrote this last week. A friend and coworker of mine had the idea that as a going away present for one of our student teachers, we should write her a story. I thought that sounded like a crazy idea because we only had three days in which to do it but later that day as I was sitting at recess the ideas started churning. In the little snippets of time that I could catch this is the story that came about with a very good editing job. It's nothing spectacular, just a little bit of fun. It was mimicking a group of books that we three had all been reading together so yes it is meant to be read sarcastically or at least with a sense of humor. Enjoy!

Hiding Cecily 

(A Reverse Beauty and the Beast Tale) 

Cecily is a kind and sweet girl but was fiercely beaten with the proberbial “ugly stick”. Reginald is a man who makes all the girls swoon but seeks for more than just a pretty face, yet not only is he a pretty face but also the kindest man around. In every sense the gentleman that leads to more than he bargained for as he searches for his one true love. After saving Cecily from a life-threatening accident, she disappears and he is left to wonder who she is. Reginald is the first person to ever show Cecily such kindness and this realization quickly makes her fall for the man she has admired since her childhood. He finally finds her in her hiding place in his own house! Can they overcome the bumps on her nose and other obstacles that will inevitably follow a marriage of such“an unlikely match”?  

CHAPTER 1: A Chance Encounter

One day while returning from a lunch meeting with his solicitor, Reginald hears the rumble of a carriage. Turning back to see what could be happening he noticed a woman starting into the street completely unaware of the danger speeding towards her. Unable to just sit and witness the disaster he saw coming he attempts to prevent it by hastily running towards the woman and snatching her away just in time.  

Expecting a bit of gratitude for this act of saving the woman’s life he was greatly taken aback by the harsh words thrown at him. Upon seeing him staring at her face she snapped, “why do you not paint a portrait of my face? It will certainly last longer”.

You see, Reginald had never laid eyes on a woman so ugly that he could not even discern her age, unknown to him; she was the daughter of his longtime housekeeper, who had kept her daughter hidden out of guilt that she had turned out looking so much like her father. 

Even though the biting words and disfigured face threatened to send a chill through him it was a look in her eye that caught his attention. This look was not of hatred or fear, but of hidden pain and rejection. Before he was able to get a word out, she was gone and he stood there, left alone with that look playing over in his mind. He wished he could find the cause and make it better… but she was gone. 

As Cecily ran from the man she could feel a heaviness settle in her chest. What had she just done! She had seen the master years ago when they were children but had been secretly hidden away by her mother. Her mother had feared people hurting her dear daughter so much that instead of giving her a chance kept her away from others in the kitchen pantry.  

Cecily had imagined seeing him again after all these years and each time could only imagine the look of horror she would see in his eyes, a look all to familiar to her. What took her most by surprise by their chance encounter was that despite her wretched face and unkind words she had said that look she was waiting to see from him never came, instead she saw a look she had only ever seen from her father and mother, a look of compassion and kindness. That’s what was so unsettling. What could a man possibly been thinking with a look like that on his face? 

As Reginald slowly continued on his way he couldn’t help but wonder who that woman had been and what troubles she had seen. True, she was no beauty and had a sharp tongue but then again, the beautiful women he was used to keeping company were boring and predictable, nothing but their beauty to write home about. The mystery woman’s words had stung like the crack of a whip but there was something about her lack of timidity in his presence that was refreshing and made him want to know more about her. 

Days went by and still Reginald and Cecily thought about that run in. Why had something so small and insignificant occupied so many or their thoughts? 

Cecily’s jobs in the pantry had started to pile up until her mother started to worry. Her usual pleasant and focused daughter had become tense and distracted. Many times in the week she had wandered into the pantry only to find Cecily halfway through her polishing staring off in to space, her face twisted in thought. 

“What’s the matter pet?” 

“Nothing Mother. Never is anything ever wrong with dear old Cecily. Always the same, never changing.” 

You see Cecily had the advantage over Reginald. She knew who he was and where to find him, but knew she could never do anything about it. Locked away alone in this dungeon, a hideous beast unable to have that which her heart truly desired. How could anyone ever learn to love someone so ugly? 

CHAPTER 2: A Discussion with his best friend, Ralph, who acts like a womanizing pimp in order to hide his identity as an international spy.

Reginald sat next to the fire lost in thought. He had been asking around town about the strange woman but no one seemed to know anything. Even calling upon his solicitor to search around had seemed more promising but had led to nothing. How could someone like that just disappear into thin air? 

“Mate you’ve been lost in this trance for days, you’ve got to snap out of it. The Knighton twins have called twice and you have turned them away and nobody turns the Knighton twins away!” 

“I’m tired of the charade Ralph. What’s the point? If I ever marry…” he stopped when he saw the glare on Ralph’s face and started over, “When I marry, it has to be to someone that’s got more than just a pretty face, someone with depth and more to offer than good genes. I want someone with sass.” 

“Sounds like crazy talk to me!” Ralph replied. 

CHAPTER 3: The Greek Myth Cecily’s late father used to tell her to try to explain why she was born with such an ugly face. He told her this to raise her spirits, and died praying she would never discover that he made it up.

Cecily didn’t know many people. While her father was alive things had been better, things had been happier. She never felt ugly when she was with her father. She imagined that she was young again and sitting on her father’s knee. He would tell her the story of his favorite Greek myth while rubbing oils in her hair to keep it from pre-maturely falling out. This was the story as she remembered it:

Cecily was a beautiful Goddess, the most beautiful in all of Olympus. She was kind and looked after all of the great and majestic animals on earth. Zeus had heard of her striking beauty and sought her out, intending to make her his wife. He finally found her on a nimbus cloud; she was singing a sweet and comforting tune to a young eagle that had lost its way in the sky. He was amazed by her beauty and begged her to marry him, for he could not live without her. She was conflicted, for whenever she thought about finding love, she always pictured herself with a man who could see past her beauty and love her for herself. Cecily knew immediately that Zeus was no such man. Upon refusing him, he became angry, so much so that he reached his mighty hand to the earth and formed a club from the mangled branch of a rotting tree. With this tool he beat the beauty off her face, leaving her deformed and ugly.

The animals would no longer seek comfort in Cecily, for her new face would scare them away. So instead, as Aphrodite was the runner up in the Miss Olympus pageant, she took Cecily’s place. The once beautiful Goddess then looked after the horny toads and three-legged animals in the world. They were very grateful for her care and loved her always. The bitterness she felt eventually melted from her heart and she was contented to look after the poor creatures that most needed compassion. She became grateful herself, for now she knew that when she found her true love, he would love her for her great personality and sweet spirit. Years passed, and she never became disheartened. She met a young God who was visiting from ancient Chinese mythology, he fell in love with her kind heart and they were forever happy.

Her own pain was lightened by the knowledge that one day she would meet her one true love she would become beautiful again. Not physically transformed but seen for her true self through the eyes of the one who truly loves her.  

Cecily had longed for that day and dreamt of meeting that one person other than her beloved father that could not only see her as beautiful but also make her truly believe that she was beautiful. She knew it was a dream unlikely to come true but that hope still lingered that what her father had said was true. Being rescued by Reginald that day had only made that hope burn brighter. He was the man that Cecily had dreamt of seeing her for her true self for as long as she could remember. There had never been any other to take his place but she knew even now that whatever hope she may have would be crushed by the cruel reality that she was born unlovable. 

CHAPTER 4: Back to Reginald, a mistake in his tea leads to discovery! Can it be? Oh yes, it’s she! Will he flee when he doth see? No, not he!

It was so unlike Cook to make a mistake but there was definitely something wrong with this tea. Not one to shy away from fixing his own problems, Reginald did not ringthe bell for Mr. Catesby, the butler, and instead went directly down to the kitchen to sort out the problem. Upon arriving he found it to be oddly quiet. Where had Cook gone? Where were the kitchen maids? Turning on his heel to investigate elsewhere he heard a clanging coming from inside the pantry. He opened the door; sure he would find Cook in there when instead he saw a woman polishing some silver in the darkness.

“Excuse me,” he started, “I was looking for Cook, would you be able to…” but stopped cold when the woman swung around in surprise, she had not been expecting company. There she was, the woman he had so desperately been trying to find and here she was of all places in his pantry cleaning his silver. 

“It’s you!” 

Cecily couldn’t get the words out to respond. What could she possibly say? 

“I’ve been thinking of nothing else since that day with the carriage. I’ve been looking all over town trying to find you and here you are of all places. What are you doing in here?” 

“My mother is Mrs. Landon, your housekeeper. She keeps me in here doing the odd jobs. She doesn’t like anyone to know I’m here.” She answered, her eyes downcast in shame.

“But, I don’t understand. How long has she kept you in here? How is it I have never known about you?” He asked.

She explained, “We met once as children but I have been locked away and hidden here since my father died when I was eight. I don’t mind really, I like having responsibilities, even a small insignificant one like this. I don’t like seeing many people.” 

“That seems so cruel. I won’t stand for such things to be going on in my own house. If you choose to stay we can give you a proper job.” 

“Oh please don’t. It’s better for someone like me to be here out of the way, out of sight” 

“Someone like you? I don’t understand” He said as he reached for her hand.

“Please sir, don’t mock me. Clearly you can see as well as anyone how painfully ugly I am.” She said as she pulled her hand away.

“I mean no harm, I assure you that looks I do not see this ugliness you keep referring to. You intrigue me, and I can see that you are kind- hearted and have an inner beauty.” He reached for her hand again and this time she let him hold it for a few moments. The following silence was broken when he asked, “Would you mind if I pulled up a chair and helped you with that silver?” Her eyes grew large and she started to object when he said, “Before you protest and say it wouldn’t be proper, allow me to remind you of who the master of this house is and gives the orders.” Reginald said with a twinkle in his eye as he grabbed a nearby chair. 

Cecily didn’t protest, she could barely even speak as she felt that hope within her start to swell. Maybe she would learn for herself the truth of father’s tales.