“Are you the daughter of the thief?” a low gravelly voice said.  I turned quickly and was startled by the huge black shape standing in the doorway to a room that I did not notice before.  

“My father is not a thief.” I watched the shape warily. 

“Then why did he try to take one of my roses?” 

“First of all, I don’t think he realized who or what his host was.  Secondly, I had asked him for a rose as a present from his travels and he forgot.  When he saw your roses, it jogged his memory.  Most people would not miss one rose if it was taken.  Lastly, demanding a human captive for the price of a rose is not something that normally happens.” 

“That doesn’t change what he did.” The voice paused.  “I had been extremely hospitable by allowing him to eat my dinner, sleep in my chair, and use my feed to take care of his horse. He should’ve asked for a rose and I would have given it to him.”

“Asked for it? How could he when you did not show him that another being was here? He already felt strange calling out his thanks when it seemed like no one was here. You seem to be asking too much for an average person.” I felt the control of my temper slipping.  

“Average people would be polite enough to ask for things.  I mean he never asked for any of the food or amenities I allowed him to have.  The rose was the last straw.”

“Well maybe if you would have made your presence known then neither of us would be in this mess.”  

“You think I want to be this way! Most people run in fear as soon as they see my face.  They don’t understand what I am and think that I’m a monster. Once I had power and good looks. Now both of those things have been taken from me.”

“Well, obviously you did something to be in this state.  You have no one to blame but yourself!” As soon as those words were out of my mouth, I realized that I may have just taken things too far. 

The figure stiffened.  “You know nothing about me.”

“You’re right!  However, I don’t have to know you to realize that you are extremely entitled.”

The figure took a step closer to me “I am not entitled and I did not deserve this fate.”

“So you say.  You apparently have no human decency and that’s why you were turned into a beast.”  I wished I would stop talking. 

“Is that what you think?” 

“I have no clue who you are, but I do know that you can’t be a good person if you decide that taking me as a captive is the best punishment for my father when his only crime was stealing a rose.” 

“I could have killed him, you know! Maybe I should have done that instead of bringing you here! Take her to the dungeon!”

Suddenly I was being carried by my arms and taken away. “Wait a minute, we weren’t done talking!" I tried to break free of whatever was holding me but there was nothing there.  No physical beings or machinery held me, but I could feel a hard grip around my arms.  So much for keeping my composure.