Beauty and the Beast Read online

  John Pater “Paracelsus” (The Alchemist): He was an

  Chapter I “When That Hole-in-the-Ground is Home”

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  LOVE'S JOURNEY TO AWAKENING BEAUTY AND THE BEAST HAPPILY EVER AFTER

  By

  Laurel Cain Haws

  COPYRIGHT © 2008 BY KAREN L. HAWS

  ghts of reproduction in whole are hereby granted, Dut reservation or expectation of remuneration, to Moonlight Producer Ron Koslow.

  Cover design by Karen L. Haws

  Karen L. Haws dba Honey Tree Enterprises 1587 West Fork Road Murray, Ky. 42071 ttp://stores.lulu.com/honeytreeenterprises

  ISBN: 978-0-6152-1040-7 > story is based on the characters created by Koslow, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas in the late 1980s television series:

  Beauty and the Beast

  Table of Contents

  AUTHOR KAREN LAUREL CAIN HAWS BIOGRAPHY Born: June 25, 1956 >: Dr. Paul S. and Dr. Rolene B. “Bunny” Cain Birthplace: Pontiac, Michigan Married to: Dr. Gary Lewis Haws Marriage date: January 1, 1983 Widowed: November 13, 2002

  INTRODUCTION

  This story was born of grief, my inconsolable grief over the death of my extraordinary husband, Gary. My relationship with him closely parallels Catherine Chandler’s relationship with Vincent Wells, the “Beast.” I have never been able to properly grieve over my husband. I can’t face the pain it would cause, so I’ve kept it carefully locked away inside of me, and I am as yet unwilling to open that door, partly to protect my very empathic children. They love each other and me so much, and they have inherited strong empathic gifts, which happens to be one of the key elements in this amazing television series. The pain of my grief, if I allowed myself to experience it, would distract and distress them, so I’m keeping it locked up for now.

  At the time that the television series, Beauty and the Beast, was airing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was busy with two health food stores I owned in two cities for twenty years, while my husband was a professor at our local university. Because I was so busy, I only caught two episodes of the series, the pilot and the last episode of the first season.

  I never thought anything more about it until one of my sons brought home the first season of Beauty and the Beast on DVD in April of 2007. I was totally captivated by the story. I had been a widow for four-and-a-half years at that point, and the relationship that unfolded in the series was so close to my heart, because of my passionate love affair with my late husband, that I wanted to see the other two seasons.

  I went online to look for the other two seasons to purchase, and I ran across a description which stated bluntly that Catherine was killed during the second season. That stark news caused my buried grief over losing my husband to spill out over fictional characters. In spite of that I did buy the other two seasons. Then, I was in terror every time I watched a new episode, fearing that this was the one in which Catherine would die. When she finally was killed, early in the third season, not the second season as the review had stated, and Vincent was agonizing in grief over losing her, an emotion masterfully portrayed by Ron Perlman, I couldn’t bear it.

  Then, suddenly, I got up one morning with a joyous thought!

  I couldn’t bring my husband back, but I could surely save Catherine and restore her to Vincent! I managed to get my emotions under control again, and then I went to work. Early in July of 2007, I began studying the episodes, developing the main plot and subplots, and working with the timeline in order to weave together a new ending for this fairytale, and perhaps the beginning of a whole new series of stories about these beloved characters.

  Fairytales are never supposed to end with the heroine being killed and the hero suffering in agony over the loss of the love of his life! They are supposed to end with everyone getting married and living happily ever after. This series is, after all, a modern-day fairytale. It starts out, “Once Upon a Time in the City of New York.” If this book never sees the light of day, and I am the only one on the planet who knows that Catherine is not dead, and that everyone does eventually live happily ever after, I will be able to live with that and feel really good about it! In fact, since I no longer have Gary to shield me with my hypersensitive empathic radar, I have been an isolated recluse for the past three years. So, the thought that others might find this book appealing is actually a little frightening to me. It would be nice, though, if fans who love this television series and its characters could be comforted as well.

  Writers are wise to stick to what they know, and I know romance, because I basked in its warmth for the twenty years I was privileged to be rescued, adored, and pampered by my late husband. The lovely theme song for Beauty and the Beast. The First Time I Loved Forever, reminds me so much of my relationship with Gary. That melody haunted me until I finally had to buy the sheet music for myself, so I could play it on the piano. It has been a real comfort to me.

  The other aspect of Beauty and the Beast with which I am well acquainted is empathic connections between loved ones. I come from a family of empaths on both sides. I also have been blessed and sometimes cursed with the gift of empathy. Occasionally, the cacophony of feelings emanating from others would be so overwhelming I would end up like a rabbit in the headlights, almost paralyzed by anxiety. Then

  my dear husband would put one of his big warm hands on me, and all of the tension would drain out of my body, and I would stop shaking. I felt everything he felt, from the sublime to the terrifying, but his love for me always remained constant and ever growing. I can feel it still, even beyond the veil of death.

  In the series, when Vincent suffered a mental breakdown brought on by the psychological cruelty of Paracelsus, which caused him to wage a raging battle against the Beast within him, a poetry quote became increasingly important to him. This important quote was taken from the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ poem entitled, And Death Shall Have No Dominion. It became even more significant when he finally found Catherine dying and thought that she was forever lost to him in this life. The quote, “Though lovers be lost, love shall not, and death shall have no dominion,” gave him great comfort during those heartbreaking times. I can tell you with great conviction, that these words are so very true of an eternal relationship. (If you would like a free copy of this complete poem for yourself, it can be found online at: www.famouspoetsandpoems.com / poets/dylan_thomas/poem s/11394)

  These experiences have contributed to the development of my story, and I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This type of relationship is not just for fictional characters. It can happen for anyone willing to put some effort into their relationship.

  For me, it is very real. It truly is possible to have Satan open the gates of hell and throw every conceivable catastrophe in your path, and come through it all still in love. The mortal part of our journey has ended. Our eternal journey has only just begun. I’m in love, and always will be.

  You really must watch the entire series before you read this book in order for it to make complete sense. The series is such a wonderful study in how to develop a lasting relationship. Its theme is “Don’t be selfish!” Don’t demand that your partner be responsible for your happiness. Do make every effort to make him or her happy even if you need to make sacrifices to do so. Don’t think of your partner as a project which needs constant improvement. I know I am not the only person out there who is sick to death of “one night stands” and “casual sex” being passed off as genuine love and satisfying passion. Those are very poor counterfeits for the real thing, an
d this poignant series portrays the real thing in such romantic majesty.

  I seriously doubt that the team that created Beauty and the Beast wanted it to end this way. From the blogs I’ve seen posted on the Internet, if interest in the series at the time it was airing had waned by the beginning of the third season, it is now taking on a life of its own as a new audience is discovering it, and the loyal fans from the original airing are demanding to have it. From another report I read, a very untimely strike by the Writer’s Guild also may have contributed to its premature demise. I’ve managed to bring Catherine back from the dead. Perhaps the series can be resurrected as well.

  I have written a short synopsis of each of the characters which I used in this story who are original characters from the series. New characters I have added are not included in these descriptions. This will be a review for those who have watched the television series in its entirety, but it will spoil the plots by giving information away for those who haven’t watched it, so please don’t read them until you have watched all three seasons. I have treated these wonderful characters very carefully. I can hear their voices in my head. They have been the friends and family of my imagination.

  This story begins where the television series ends—and it continues.

  This book is dedicated to my late husband:

  Dr. Gary L. Haws April 12, 1935-November 13, 2002 my “Vincent” who rescued me with great love in so many ways____

  I wish to also thank my son Paul A. Haws for taking time from his booming Haws Construction Company to find three perfect roses for me and then shooting the artistic photograph of them which appears on my back cover.

  I also must express appreciation to some of my children living nearby, Katherine Haws, Paul with his wife, Tiffany Haws, and David Haws, for taking time out of their busy schedules to be couriers for their reclusive mother, transporting my manuscript between myself and Dr. Anderson.

  Special thanks to:

  Dr. Thayle K. Anderson English Professor-Emeritus from Murray State University, Murray, Ky.

  Thank you for your kindness in taking the time to edit this book for me, for asking the thought provoking questions that helped me to write a better story, and for helping me to brush up on my writing skills. This book would be incomplete without your careful attention to the details of my story, your astute observations, and your marvelous suggestions that opened new doorways in my imagination.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS FROM THE T.V. SERIES

  These characters are listed in order of appearance or reference

  in this book:

  Vincent Wells (the Beast): Vincent was the central character in the television series. He was a very large and powerful man with feline facial features, gentle by nature, but capable of deadly force in the protection of those he loved. All that the people in his world knew about his origin was that he was found abandoned as a baby outside of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

  Diana Bennett: Diana came into Vincent’s life at the end of the television series in the third season. She was a special crimes investigator brought in to solve Catherine (Beauty) Chandler’s murder.

  Baby Jacob Wells: He was Vincent’s and Catherine’s child whom Diana helped Vincent to rescue from the clutches of the evil crime boss, Gabriel. Gabriel had stolen the baby from Catherine and had her murdered with morphine just after she gave birth to him.

  Catherine Chandler (Beauty): She was the love of Vincent’s life. Born into a wealthy family, she had lived a life of privileged luxury. After Vincent saved her life, her priorities changed dramatically. Vincent rescued her at the beginning of the first season, when her face was slashed, and her ribs were broken by assailants who dumped her in Central Park to die. After ten days in Vincent’s care, she returned to her world, underwent plastic surgery to repair the damage to her face, quit her job as a lawyer in her father’s law firm, dumped her fiance, and became an investigative lawyer for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City.

  Gabriel: He was the evil drug lord and organized crime boss who killed Catherine and stole Vincent’s baby after she gave birth to him.

  Father: Dr. Jacob Wells was a research physician for the Chittenden Institute when he lived above, doing research for the Atomic Energy Commission’s nuclear fallout studies. He

  told them that his findings were being misrepresented and was subsequently blacklisted during the government’s Un-American Activities Committee’s witch hunt for “Communists.” This was because he warned the military that they were poisoning their own troops with radiation from nuclear testing, which the Committee didn’t want to hear. The explanation of how he ended up founding the world below is found in the episode “Song of Orpheus.” Below, he was the community’s medical physician. He adopted Vincent as his own son when Anna Pater, Paracelsus’wife, died. (See the descriptions for these characters below.)

  Helpers: These were people from the world above in New York City who were friends and supporters of Father’s world below. Father’s community even had an annual holiday, unique to their world alone, called Winter Fest, which was held partly in honor of the Helpers from above who helped bring light symbolically to the world below. This holiday involved sending special handmade candles to the Helpers and then leading them with their candles down below to the Great Hall, a massive cavern hung with beautiful tapestries. They would begin the celebration in darkness which was how the tunnels were before they created their community in them. Father would take his lit candle, light someone else’s, and then they would each light the candle of whoever was beside them, symbolizing the lighting up of the tunnels. They then celebrated with a feast, dancing, and games.

  John Pater “Paracelsus” (The Alchemist): He was an

  unstable and ultimately evil co-founder of the world below, at one time a friend of Father’s. He had a wife, Anna, who was childless. Anna then conceived and lost her baby at the end of her first trimester. Vincent was then brought to Anna as a baby when he was found abandoned in an alley behind St. Vincent’s Hospital. Paracelsus became obsessed with Vincent, convinced he was his son. It was then that Father took over Vincent’s care after Anna brought him to Father, because she was fearful of Paracelsus’ unnatural attachment to him. Paracelsus was so angry with both Father and Anna that he put poison into a glass of wine and killed his wife. Father’s community had no choice but to exile Paracelsus.

  Paracelsus attempted every device to turn Vincent evil after that. In the episode, “The Alchemist,” Paracelsus developed and marketed a very toxic hallucinogen, which ended up killing fifty of New York’s population and turning a larger number of his consumers insane. He made a vicious attack on Vincent with this chemical when Vincent tried to stop him from going above with it, which caused Vincent to become a danger to himself and to others from its effect. Catherine was able to pull Vincent back to sanity, and he recovered.

  Paracelsus finally kidnapped and then impersonated Father with a vinyl face mask and his skill at voice impressions, told Vincent cruel lies about his origin, and provoked Vincent into killing him. As Paracelsus was dying, he revealed himself to Vincent. He told Vincent that it was all right; killing him in the guise of Father truly made Vincent his own son. Afterwards, Vincent suffered a mental breakdown, and he fled to the lower chambers. A few members of the community followed him, in order to keep track of where he was, while Father sent for Catherine. Catherine finally managed to pull him back from the brink of madness as he battled the demon within himself, caused by Paracelsus’ cruelty, for the second time. However, Vincent’s empathic connection to Catherine was severed this time, and many of his precious memories were lost.

  Cullen: This man, featured in the episode “Fever,” was a very talented carver, sculptor, and wood-worker, and enjoyed creating artistic gifts for members of the community below.

  He came below after his wife died of a catastrophic illness which left him bankrupt. When eighteenth century gold antiquities were found in a buried ship in one of the lower passageway
s, Cullen succumbed to “gold fever” and ended up stabbing another community member with one of his carving tools. Father performed surgery and the community member was saved. Meanwhile, Cullen’s dreams of wealth turned into a nightmare when Vincent’s warning that attempting to sell rare items above would draw notice from evil elements was realized. Cullen redeemed himself and was forgiven by everyone when he risked his life to save the community from an armed murderous smuggler who forced Cullen to take him

  below for more treasure.

  Pascal: He was in charge of the pipe communication system in the world below which involved tapping on the pipes in a unique code. That knowledge was passed down to him by his father, and he was continually improving upon it and coming up with new ways to streamline and abbreviate it in order to send messages more quickly.

  Zach: He was a preteen boy, who was a leader among the children, and was being trained on the pipes by Pascal.

  Mouse: He was an homespun engineer, inventor, and metal worker, with poor language skills, whom Vincent managed to capture as a child when he was stealing food from the community. At the time Vincent caught him, Mouse had not learned to speak, only pilfer. Vincent taught him, but Mouse never quite grasped proper English, the concept of time, or the difference between stealing and salvaging. He was, however, brilliant at making things work. He was the one Cullen stabbed in the episode “Fever.” Being a very generous soul, Mouse was happy to forgive him when Cullen finally came to his senses. He had a pet raccoon named Arthur.

  Elliott Burch: He was a wealthy architect who was in love with Catherine, but was rejected by her because of the people he did business with, who were unsavory and used strong-arm tactics to further his interests. He evolved into a more complex character as he struggled to overcome his weaknesses and be a better person, largely due to Catherine’s influence. After Catherine’s death, he tried to help Vincent find Catherine’s child. He was later killed by Gabriel, the man responsible for Catherine’s death and for the kidnap of her newborn son of Vincent’s. Elliott was killed and Vincent was wounded when Gabriel blew up the boat, the Compass Rose, where Elliott and Vincent had been meeting to discuss how to find Vincent’s son.