Categories > TV > Beauty and the Beast > A New Bond
Doris headed home feeling hopeful. Elena had walked into her new apartment and immediately fallen in love with it. She said it gave her a feeling of familiarity, of belonging. She hadn't felt that way as far back as she could remember. Doris hoped this was an omen of better things happening for her client and friend. As she drove, she recalled the first time they met,
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Elena had submitted a short story to a well known magazine, which published it. Prior to that, her stories had been in other venues, or periodicals that weren't so popular or had only a small circulation. Doris's employer in the publishing house had shown it to her, and she'd read it. Then she read it again. They were both sufficiently impressed and she was assigned to search out the author. When she found her in a very cheap apartment in Kingston, she felt pity for the young woman.
It wasn't long, however, before her pity turned to admiration. Elena was a very reserved, but confident and intelligent person, who seemed to have been through some very hard times. And there was a mystery about her. They talked all afternoon, then went out to dinner. It was after dinner, as they were heading to Doris's car, when the mystery deepened.
As they neared the vehicle, a male voice was heard in the darkness. "Hold it right there."
They stopped and were quickly surrounded by five young men. "Well, well. What do we have here?" said the same voice. "Two women alone, and unprotected. Now that's not good, especially around here. It isn't safe. You need us to escort you out of this area."
"That's not necessary," Doris said. "We're very near my car and have no need for your 'protection'."
"Oh, but I insist. Of course, we'll want something in return. I mean, this is how we earn our living."
Doris heard a sound like a low rumble. She realized it was coming from Elena. She turned to look at her, but couldn't see her too well in the darkness. Yet she sensed that the other woman wasn't frightened, but tensing to . . . what?
"Earn your living?" Elena said sarcastically. "By trying to intimidate women? Well, I don't intimidate easily. And I'm not vulnerable at all. In fact, I'm much more dangerous than you realize. I suggest that if you don't want to get yourselves hurt, you should leave right now, all of you."
There was silence for a few seconds, then all the men started to laugh. "Come on, girl, show us what you got. Maybe we can party together afterwards. How does that sound?" The man reached for Elena's arm, then jumped back as she growled at him. "Whatcha wanna make a noise like that for? We're just havin' a little fun with you. Don't you want to have some fun?"
"Your kind of fun isn't mine. Now get out of here and leave us alone! Otherwise I won't answer for the consequences."
The men laughed again, and one of them grabbed Elena from behind and another grabbed Doris. What happened next was a blur in Doris's mind. There was a roar, like that of a lion, and she heard slashing sounds, then cries of pain. The man who had hold of her suddenly let go, with a howl. A car entered the parking lot, and its headlights shined in their direction for a brief time. She saw the men running off, limping, their clothes ripped in places. She looked over at Elena, and saw that her face seemed to have changed, to have taken on a leonine aspect.
Then the lights disappeared as the car turned into a parking spot. "Miss Kingston?" she said tentatively.
The tension faded. Elena turned to her, once again the young woman she'd met. "Are you all right?" Doris nodded. Elena sighed and said, "I suppose I have some explaining to do. And I'll understand if you decide you don't want to represent me afterwards. Let's go back to my motel room."
There, Elena had explained about her past, or as much of it as she could remember. She'd been found wandering in the middle of nowhere, about sixty miles outside of Kingston when she was about sixteen, totally nude and unable to talk. She'd been taken to the hospital and examined. There were no drugs in her system, but some unexplainable anomalies in her blood. She was malnourished, but showed no signs of physical abuse.
When she finally started talking six months later, she told the authorities she had no memory of her life prior to being found, or even what her name was. Since then she'd had only brief flashes, more like still pictures. All she knew is that, under certain circumstances, she became almost bestial, and couldn't stop herself. In school, no one tried to bully her more than once, and after the first month, no one went near her.
She was placed in an orphanage, then in foster care. But she never seemed to fit and, when she turned eighteen, she went out on her own. She moved to a cheap apartment, and found part time work. She'd been living in the apartment ever since. She found she liked to write stories, and had submitted several, some of which had been accepted.
She had taken the name Elena, because it felt right, and Kingston, because that's where she'd been living ever since she was found. The courts had allowed her to have that name legally until - if ever - she was able to remember her real name. But that had not yet happened.
Doris found herself warming to this conflicted woman. She offered her friendship, a contract to write more stories, possibly even novels. Elena had, after hesitating for several minutes, accepted gratefully. But when Doris suggested she move to New York City, she blanched and shook her head.
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Over the years their professional relationship developed into a close friendship. Her talent blossomed under the agent's deft handling and she expanded into novels not long after she signed the contract. She still wrote short stories while her first novel slowly was born (and occasionally after that), and she found that she wrote better when she went to the places she wanted to set her stories. When she finally had her first novel published, it was a resounding success. Her fan base, who devoured all her short stories, bought her book and recommended it to all their families and friends. Word of mouth seemed to be more effective than any other form of advertising. She made the mandatory book tours, with interviews and signings, and was amazed at the eclectic mix of people who read her tales.
Doris persuaded her friend to get a better apartment (but still couldn't get her to move to New York), and helped her pick out furniture and accessories for it. Together they decorated it, although Elena kept it sparse, saying that she'd be away researching locations for her stories, and didn't want to leave an apartment that invited burglars. Doris, who had wanted to accessorize more, reluctantly agreed that it was probably the thing to do.
As time went on, they grew so close that, when Doris fell in love and married, Elena was her maid-of-honor. The wedding was held on Long Island so, although Elena had to go through part of the city to get there, she was able to attend. But she went a week early, and stayed in a hotel, in order to get through the ordeal she believed she would face just being there for a short time.
When it turned out to be less traumatic than expected, she found herself doing more than she thought she could. Doris was pleased to find her friend writing more prolifically than before. And the tone of her stories had changed somewhat, at least temporarily. Plus she was more outgoing during the round of festivities preceding the wedding than either one of them expected her to be.
As the years passed, Doris found that Elena's fear of going to New York City never seemed to change, and she resigned herself to meeting her elsewhere. But one day, Elena began to talk about feeling a need to go there. She'd said that something was making her feel like she had to go, but she couldn't. The idea of being in that city was still too frightening. It was like being at a closed door, and knowing that opening it was going to cause pain and grief. However, over the ensuing year, she talked about the pull she felt more frequently. Then finally, she called Doris from California. She said she couldn't resist any longer and would Doris please find her an apartment to live in while she sorted her life out?
Doris was thrilled, but worried. She hoped that whatever happened would be good for her friend and help her conquer her demons. She knew that Elena had been in situations that forced her bestial side to emerge from time to time, but fortunately, no one had been seriously injured. She mentally crossed her fingers and set out to find a nice place in Manhattan for Elena. Two weeks later, standing in the apartment that had once belonged to a lawyer, she thought she'd found it. She hesitated, when told its history, but reasoned that Elena would be able to discourage the prowler, and took it.
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As Doris turned into her driveway and got out, she hoped she'd done the right thing. Elena's attitude made her optimistic, but she reminded herself that this woman was no ordinary person. Sighing, she went inside and was greeted by her husband and two children. Elena wasn't forgotten, but for a time, she was moved to the back of Doris's mind as she spent time with her family.
----------------------------------------
Elena had submitted a short story to a well known magazine, which published it. Prior to that, her stories had been in other venues, or periodicals that weren't so popular or had only a small circulation. Doris's employer in the publishing house had shown it to her, and she'd read it. Then she read it again. They were both sufficiently impressed and she was assigned to search out the author. When she found her in a very cheap apartment in Kingston, she felt pity for the young woman.
It wasn't long, however, before her pity turned to admiration. Elena was a very reserved, but confident and intelligent person, who seemed to have been through some very hard times. And there was a mystery about her. They talked all afternoon, then went out to dinner. It was after dinner, as they were heading to Doris's car, when the mystery deepened.
As they neared the vehicle, a male voice was heard in the darkness. "Hold it right there."
They stopped and were quickly surrounded by five young men. "Well, well. What do we have here?" said the same voice. "Two women alone, and unprotected. Now that's not good, especially around here. It isn't safe. You need us to escort you out of this area."
"That's not necessary," Doris said. "We're very near my car and have no need for your 'protection'."
"Oh, but I insist. Of course, we'll want something in return. I mean, this is how we earn our living."
Doris heard a sound like a low rumble. She realized it was coming from Elena. She turned to look at her, but couldn't see her too well in the darkness. Yet she sensed that the other woman wasn't frightened, but tensing to . . . what?
"Earn your living?" Elena said sarcastically. "By trying to intimidate women? Well, I don't intimidate easily. And I'm not vulnerable at all. In fact, I'm much more dangerous than you realize. I suggest that if you don't want to get yourselves hurt, you should leave right now, all of you."
There was silence for a few seconds, then all the men started to laugh. "Come on, girl, show us what you got. Maybe we can party together afterwards. How does that sound?" The man reached for Elena's arm, then jumped back as she growled at him. "Whatcha wanna make a noise like that for? We're just havin' a little fun with you. Don't you want to have some fun?"
"Your kind of fun isn't mine. Now get out of here and leave us alone! Otherwise I won't answer for the consequences."
The men laughed again, and one of them grabbed Elena from behind and another grabbed Doris. What happened next was a blur in Doris's mind. There was a roar, like that of a lion, and she heard slashing sounds, then cries of pain. The man who had hold of her suddenly let go, with a howl. A car entered the parking lot, and its headlights shined in their direction for a brief time. She saw the men running off, limping, their clothes ripped in places. She looked over at Elena, and saw that her face seemed to have changed, to have taken on a leonine aspect.
Then the lights disappeared as the car turned into a parking spot. "Miss Kingston?" she said tentatively.
The tension faded. Elena turned to her, once again the young woman she'd met. "Are you all right?" Doris nodded. Elena sighed and said, "I suppose I have some explaining to do. And I'll understand if you decide you don't want to represent me afterwards. Let's go back to my motel room."
There, Elena had explained about her past, or as much of it as she could remember. She'd been found wandering in the middle of nowhere, about sixty miles outside of Kingston when she was about sixteen, totally nude and unable to talk. She'd been taken to the hospital and examined. There were no drugs in her system, but some unexplainable anomalies in her blood. She was malnourished, but showed no signs of physical abuse.
When she finally started talking six months later, she told the authorities she had no memory of her life prior to being found, or even what her name was. Since then she'd had only brief flashes, more like still pictures. All she knew is that, under certain circumstances, she became almost bestial, and couldn't stop herself. In school, no one tried to bully her more than once, and after the first month, no one went near her.
She was placed in an orphanage, then in foster care. But she never seemed to fit and, when she turned eighteen, she went out on her own. She moved to a cheap apartment, and found part time work. She'd been living in the apartment ever since. She found she liked to write stories, and had submitted several, some of which had been accepted.
She had taken the name Elena, because it felt right, and Kingston, because that's where she'd been living ever since she was found. The courts had allowed her to have that name legally until - if ever - she was able to remember her real name. But that had not yet happened.
Doris found herself warming to this conflicted woman. She offered her friendship, a contract to write more stories, possibly even novels. Elena had, after hesitating for several minutes, accepted gratefully. But when Doris suggested she move to New York City, she blanched and shook her head.
--------------------------------------
Over the years their professional relationship developed into a close friendship. Her talent blossomed under the agent's deft handling and she expanded into novels not long after she signed the contract. She still wrote short stories while her first novel slowly was born (and occasionally after that), and she found that she wrote better when she went to the places she wanted to set her stories. When she finally had her first novel published, it was a resounding success. Her fan base, who devoured all her short stories, bought her book and recommended it to all their families and friends. Word of mouth seemed to be more effective than any other form of advertising. She made the mandatory book tours, with interviews and signings, and was amazed at the eclectic mix of people who read her tales.
Doris persuaded her friend to get a better apartment (but still couldn't get her to move to New York), and helped her pick out furniture and accessories for it. Together they decorated it, although Elena kept it sparse, saying that she'd be away researching locations for her stories, and didn't want to leave an apartment that invited burglars. Doris, who had wanted to accessorize more, reluctantly agreed that it was probably the thing to do.
As time went on, they grew so close that, when Doris fell in love and married, Elena was her maid-of-honor. The wedding was held on Long Island so, although Elena had to go through part of the city to get there, she was able to attend. But she went a week early, and stayed in a hotel, in order to get through the ordeal she believed she would face just being there for a short time.
When it turned out to be less traumatic than expected, she found herself doing more than she thought she could. Doris was pleased to find her friend writing more prolifically than before. And the tone of her stories had changed somewhat, at least temporarily. Plus she was more outgoing during the round of festivities preceding the wedding than either one of them expected her to be.
As the years passed, Doris found that Elena's fear of going to New York City never seemed to change, and she resigned herself to meeting her elsewhere. But one day, Elena began to talk about feeling a need to go there. She'd said that something was making her feel like she had to go, but she couldn't. The idea of being in that city was still too frightening. It was like being at a closed door, and knowing that opening it was going to cause pain and grief. However, over the ensuing year, she talked about the pull she felt more frequently. Then finally, she called Doris from California. She said she couldn't resist any longer and would Doris please find her an apartment to live in while she sorted her life out?
Doris was thrilled, but worried. She hoped that whatever happened would be good for her friend and help her conquer her demons. She knew that Elena had been in situations that forced her bestial side to emerge from time to time, but fortunately, no one had been seriously injured. She mentally crossed her fingers and set out to find a nice place in Manhattan for Elena. Two weeks later, standing in the apartment that had once belonged to a lawyer, she thought she'd found it. She hesitated, when told its history, but reasoned that Elena would be able to discourage the prowler, and took it.
-----------------------------------------------------
As Doris turned into her driveway and got out, she hoped she'd done the right thing. Elena's attitude made her optimistic, but she reminded herself that this woman was no ordinary person. Sighing, she went inside and was greeted by her husband and two children. Elena wasn't forgotten, but for a time, she was moved to the back of Doris's mind as she spent time with her family.
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