Episode Two: A Good Monster, Recap
1. Maxea, Daivad’s Great Wolf, was assigned to guard Clarix, Belle’s monster, in the forest. Hungry, Clarix hunted out a rodent and tried to share half of it with Maxea.
2. In Daivad’s house, Belle used magic to take Daivad with her into her own memories to tell the story of how she grew up, and how she came to serve Richard, the Crown Prince. Toward the end of her story, her magic began to fail her as the memories of the destruction of her home, the imprisonment of her mother, and her own imprisonment as Richard’s “bride” became too painful.
3. Daivad told Ben and Tobei the story that Belle had told him while they watched her bathing Clarix in a stream below them. Daivad decided he would have Belle present her story to the camp, and they could decide together if they wanted to help her or not. Then, they realized suddenly that Belle had disappeared into the forest.
4. Knowing where Belle was headed, Daivad hurried into the forest on Maxea to cut Belle off before she could find a certain part of the forest that Daivad doesn’t share with anyone. He stopped her right before she found it and insisted she come back to camp.
5. Jac was taking a nap in the clearing after her very long night, and Ben tried to wake her up to move her to a bed, out of the sun. But he was too embarrassed to wake her, so instead he used nature magic to grow a small tree to shade her.
6. On their trip back to camp, Daivad told Belle that he would let her present her story to the camp, and they could make the decision whether or not they would help her.
7. Jac woke from her nap surprised to find this new tree over her, and after playing hard-to-get with Tobei, she insisted on talking to Belle alone. Belle filled her in on what Daivad had told her.
8. Thinking that Jac might be hungover, Ben had prepared a special meal to help her feel better, but was unhappy to see that Tobei was already there flirting with Jac when he arrived.
9. Lenna was still recovering from the technique that Belle had used that morning to sever her magic to one of her legs, and she was furious about it. At lunchtime, she saw Belle and Daivad together and fake-apologized to Belle and tried to give Belle a tainted sandwich.
10. Not trusting Lenna’s sandwich, Daivad went into the kitchen to get food for both him and Belle, and while there the camp chef, Doll, told Daivad very bluntly that the camp members were suspicious of Belle and Jac, and especially suspicious of the fact that he was allowing Clarix to stay close to camp.
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11. After lunch, Belle was left at the camp baths, and she was guarded by a woman named Odelia. There weren’t sufficient hair treatments for Belle’s very big, curly hair, so Belle decided to search out Tobei to see if he had some she could use.
12. Tobei was on the way to groom his Great Wolf, Kunin, when Belle found him. They went to the stream to groom Kunin, treat Belle’s hair, and talk. By the time she left Tobei, Belle felt very cared for and reassured.
13. Belle wandered around camp exploring and getting to know some of the camp members. Finally, near nightfall, she found herself near the hanging gardens and finally decided to confront her emotions, which she had been putting off. She let herself face and feel her feelings, and afterwards felt much better.
14. Daivad was keeping an eye on Belle when she asked if she could go check on Clarix and help her relearn how to hunt in the wild. Daivad insisted on being the one to guard her during this.
15. The next day, Tobei has planned an entire party on the forest floor instead of just the usual camp meeting that night. He just needed Lenna’s approval on the new guard schedule, but Lenna hates Tobei. After some arguing, Lenna got an idea and signed off on the schedule.
16. Belle woke up emotionally drained after her very intense day, and went to find Jac, her Sunshine, to help her recharge. Jac was in the training grounds, and once Belle was feeling better, she got interested in the training session that Daivad was leading and interfered. Daivad said if she could last sixty-seconds in the ring with him, she could join the training session. And she did.
17. Watching Tobei’s party come together, Lenna had gotten an idea, and she went out to Clarix’s den to leave one of her hexbags.
18. Daivad had somehow not noticed Tobei’s party coming together until it was too late, so he caved and allowed the party to happen, even though it was dangerous to have it on the forest floor so close to nightfall. He waited in the branches above the party, not wanting to take part, and Belle joined him. They talked for a bit before Belle finally went to brave the party.
19. Incredibly anxious to be in front of so many people telling such a painful story, Belle was awkward at first, but found her flow and told her story. Then, Lenna interrupted, intentionally triggering Belle with mention of Richard. Tensions rose, and seemingly out of nowhere, Clarix came rushing into the middle of the party in a panic. The people were terrified of Clarix, and Belle had lost her magic again so she couldn’t calm Clarix down. Lenna drove her sword into Clarix’s neck under the guise of protecting the camp, and killed her.
Belle was heartbroken, and pleaded with Daivad to understand that Lenna had manipulated Clarix. But Daivad reminded Belle that he told her if Clarix came into camp, she would be killed. Enraged, Belle cursed Lenna, promised Daivad she would never speak his name again, and began to bury Clarix.
20. Daivad watched, conflicted and frustrated by his own behavior, as Belle and Jac buried Clarix and gave her a gravestone that read Clarix — a good monster
21. After Belle and Jac left, Daivad was still exasperated with himself and spent hours singlehandedly cleaning up the wrecked party, wanting to erase everything that had happened and hoping he would be able to forget it all. But, when Daivad finally collapses into his bed, the episode ends with a specter of Belle saying:
“Think again, asshole.”