by A. Anders
No longer hungry, Belle pushed her plate aside. Getting up, she crossed to the food and dishes sprawled across the floor. Some of the plates were broken but not all.
First, she collected the unbroken plates and then she gathered the shards. Stacking each, she decided to deal with the unbroken dishes first. There had to be a kitchen close by.
Collecting the dishes in her arms, she went in search of the kitchen. Finding a door that led to the server’s pantry, she followed the hallway towards a lit room with a partially open door. There was a noise coming from within. It sounded like there was someone inside.
Belle’s heart beat excitedly. Perhaps she wasn’t alone with the Beast after all. Perhaps there was someone else there she could talk to. Perhaps there was someone with whom she could become friends.
“Hello?” Belle said approaching the door.
When she didn’t hear a reply, she looked within. A cold chill ripped through her. The room was haunted. Dishes flew through the air from one side of the room to the other. In the sink were bubbles. Half of the dishes seemed to go there first before going to an enchanted cloth that wiped it and then sent it on its way.
This had to be some sort of evil magic, Belle decided. She had to get out of there.
Forgetting why she had come, she released her arms. Immediately remembering, she waited for the crash as the dishes hit the ground. It didn’t come. Instead, one by one they floated away.
Belle stumbled backward in horror. She had to get away before the evil magic grabbed her. The hallways were dark but in the distance, she saw a light. She ran towards it finding another hallway. Running into that one, she followed the path of lit candles until she poured out into what looked like a library.
Belle slowed to a stop amazed by what she saw. She had never seen so many books in her life. There were ten books in the church library in her village. She had read each of those books 10 times. Belle couldn’t read all the books in this library if she had a lifetime. She hadn’t imagined that there were so many books in the entire world.
Belle began to calm and look around. She ran to a shelf and retrieved one. The title was in another language but she could read the author’s name. The book was by Aristotle.
She quickly pulled out another book and then another. Rapidly her arms filled with books. Excitedly reaching for another but unable to let go of the ones she had, she stretched her fingertips. The book she was reaching for seemed to move to her instead. Belle screamed.
The book left the shelf and floated in front of her. If that was all that happened, Belle might have been able to deal with that. But a second book followed. Quickly after that was a third and then a fourth. Soon the entire shelf of books was floating around the room surrounding her.
Terrified, Belle let go of the books in her arms. They joined the swirling mass in front of her.
Belle’s heart thundered in fear. A wave of heat washed over her and a painful lump developed in her throat. She had to get out of there. She had to get out of the castle. Her father was right. The castle was haunted. Who knew what would happen next? Who knew what the ghosts would do to her?
This time as Belle ran through the halls, the candles didn’t ignite. Belle was stumbling through the darkness. Eventually finding herself back in the entrance hall, she was glad to see a little light through the windows. The windows were twenty-feet tall and through them poured the light of the glowing moon – or was it the sun.
Belle didn’t know where the light came from, she was just grateful that it was there. Running towards the front door, the massive drapes covering the tall windows, closed. Belle was sure that the ghosts were trying to stop her from getting out. Belle wouldn’t be deterred.
Remembering where the door was, Belle continued to run through the darkness. Reaching the wall, she felt what had to be a painting. Moving to her left instead, she felt wood and then a lock. Shifting her attention to that, she unlocked it. She hadn’t expected it to be so easy but she was grateful that it was.
Pulling open the door, the frigid air hit Belle. It was so cold that her skin prickled and hurt. Knowing that she wouldn’t last in such temperatures for long, Belle looked back around the room. She needed something to wrap around her. The only things she found were the twenty-foot tall drapes.
Sprinting to the closest one, she grabbed hold of it and pulled. The cloth didn’t release itself at first but when Belle lowered her full weight on it, something above snapped free. The cloth came tumbling down towards her.
Buried under the thick, gold satin, Belle fought her way out and stretched the drape out behind her. Quickly gathering it and wrapping it around her shoulders, she again headed towards the door and out into the darkness.
Descending the stairs Belle followed the long road towards the gate. Her shoes didn’t have much traction on the snow but she moved her legs as quickly as she could. Not thinking about anything but how she would get out, she was halfway to the gate when from behind her she heard a chilling roar.
Belle looked back knowing what it was. There was only one lit window in the castle and in it stood the Beast. Belle didn’t stop moving and as she did, she watched the Beast catapult himself out of the third-story window onto the earth below.
The Beast was after her now. She had to get away. Digging deeper, she picked up her pace. The Beast was closing the gap quickly. Belle looked up as she approached the gate. She was going to make it. If she could open it, she was going to get out.
Reaching the wrought iron, Belle pulled on it and it swung open. Taking a moment to close it back, Belle continued her run into the forest. The glow from the moon didn’t offer much light. She could see where she was going but barely. She kept running, though, and eventually she felt lost amongst the trees.
It was as Belle heard a growl that she eventually slowed down. The noise didn’t sound like it was coming from the Beast. It was higher pitched and smaller.
What was that noise? She thought.
When she figured it out, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Wolves, she thought spinning around in terror.
Quickly there was a second growl and then a third. There was a whole pack of them. They were surrounding her and slowly they were revealing themselves from behind the trees.
Belle’s heavy breaths echoed in her ears. She could barely suck in enough air. In that moment she thought of Trudeau. This had to have been what it was like for him. Belle was about to die in the same way that her first love had. She wasn’t ready to give up, though. So when the first wolf lunged at her, she closed her eyes and swung her fist at it.
As she swung, the wolf yelped. Had she hit it? Belle wondered. She hadn’t. Then what had happened?
Belle opened her eyes and got her answer. Before her was the Beast. It had one of its paw-like hands around the wolf’s throat. The animal below the Beast struggled snapping at the Beast wildly.
Soon the entire pack of wolves turned its attention away from Belle focusing instead on the Beast. One by one they launched themselves at him. Swiping them off as they attacked, the Beast bellowed as the first one sunk its teeth into him. Letting go the wolf underneath him, the Beast turned his attention to survival.
Getting the attacking wolf to let go, the Beast swung his claw at another. The pack was relentless. The Beast fell onto his knees and then onto his ass as he fought them off.
With all the strength he had, the Beast fought until the very end. Although he had succeeded almost entirely, there was still one wolf that wouldn’t be deterred. Bloody and beaten, the Beast did everything he could to fight it off. It was clear to Belle that he would lose.
Belle watched moved. The Beast had protected her. If he hadn’t chased her, she would already be dead. Instead, he was the one about to die.
Suddenly, Belle decided that she couldn’t let that happen. Looking around, Belle scoured the dark ground for something she could wield. Under a tree, she found it, a fallen branch.
Scrambling towards it, she picked it up and c
harged the attacking wolf. It didn’t see Belle coming. Belle struck the thick branch across the wolf’s head catching it by surprise.
That didn’t stop the wolf, though. When the wolf rolled off of the Beast, Belle went after it continuing her attack. Already hurt by the Beast’s claw, the wolf had no defense. Belle was ready to pummel the animal to death. She didn’t have to. In a brief respite where the wolf was able to gather its bearing, it fought its way to its feet and whimpered off. Belle chased it for only a few feet and then let it go.
Running back to her fallen protector she kneeled down beside him. “Beast, are you all right?”
The Beast opened its softened eyes and looked at Belle sardonically. “No,” he said as if hers were the stupidest question the world.
“You’re right. You were just attacked by wolves protecting me. Of course you’re not all right. I’m sorry.”
The Beast’s eyes rolled as if he couldn’t believe her need to state the obvious. The look would’ve made Belle laugh any other time. She restrained herself, though. This was serious. The Beast was bleeding profusely. If she didn’t do something fast, he would die on the ground in front of her.
“Go,” the Beast said preparing to die.
“No. You need help.”
“There is nothing a little girl like you can do. Don’t you see that you’re free? Go back to your father and your village.”
Belle thought about her father. The Beast was right. She could return to him. She then thought about her village. What would she be returning to?
Quickly, Belle decided that none of that mattered. She couldn’t leave the Beast there to die. He had saved her and it was now only right that she save him.
“I am going to help you,” Belle declared.
“No, let me die.”
“No, I won’t. And what’s more, you are going to help me save you.”
“I won’t,” the Beast protested.
“You will,” Belle said sternly staring the Beast in the eyes.
Knowing that Belle wasn’t giving him a choice, the Beast sighed. “Very well.”
Scanning the ground around her, Belle got an idea. She had discarded the curtain a little ways back. She ran over and got it. Stretching it out beside the Beast, she went to the far side of the hulking creature and knelt down to push.
“Roll over with me, Beast,” she said.
With that, the Beast did his best to roll. With Belle’s help, he landed face up on the long drape. She was going to use it like a sled. Next gathering the loose end in her hands, she twisted the cloth, rested it on her shoulder and pulled. The Beast had to weigh over 200 pounds. He wasn’t budging.
Belle wouldn’t give up. With all of her might, she leaned against the Beast’s weight fighting to get it to move. It wouldn’t.
Still Belle wouldn’t give up, though. And as she strained and fought tirelessly to get the drape to slide even an inch, a strange thing happened. There seemed to be a crack in the endlessly clouded night and the Beast jutted forward.
Belle didn’t know what had changed but she didn’t think much about it. All she knew was that she was doing it. Through force of will, she was pulling the Beast forward. If she had given it a second thought she might have realized that there was no way that she could be pulling the Beast alone. She didn’t, though. And with all of her energy focused on dragging the Beast to safety, she began the long trek back towards the gates and then towards the Beast’s castle prison.
For Belle, it could have taken the entire days as easily as an hour. She didn’t allow herself to think about it. She didn’t think about how she was able to drag the Beast up the snow-covered stairs once she got there. She didn’t think about how she was able to drag the heavy Beast across the stone floor of the castle. All she thought about was getting the Beast back to his bedroom. Once she was there, she helped the Beast onto his feet and into bed.
Retrieving water and shredding some clothes into rags, Belle cleaned the Beast off and patched him up. The wolves had done terrible things to him but now that he was in the warmth under her watchful eye, she figured that he would survive.
Standing next to the bed, Belle looked down at the creature. As unusual as he was, he wasn’t that hideous. There was something noble about him that Belle couldn’t put her finger on. There was also a gentleness to him that was now very clear.
After doing everything she could for him all day, Belle found a chair and reclined. She didn’t plan to fall asleep. She only wanted to shut her eyes for a moment. It turned out that a moment was all she got.
Chapter 8
“Hello?” A voice said to her as she lay with her eyes closed.
Belle opened her eyes not sure where she was. Staring at the man standing in front of her, she no longer cared. She recognized him although she’d only seen him briefly. It was the breathtakingly handsome man who had sat at the far end of the banquet table.
“May I ask what you’re doing here?” The man asked in a soothing voice.
Belle thought for a moment trying to figure out what he was talking about. Where was she? Looking around, she remembered. She was in the Beast’s bedroom. She was there because something had happened to the Beast. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what, but she did remember that it was significant.
“I’m here because I am taking care of a friend,” she said thinking it sounded right.
“A friend?” The good looking man asked.
Belle heard the words spoken back to her and there was something about it that didn’t seem right. It gnawed at her a little but in the end, Belle ignored the gnawing. “Yes.”
The man looked at her amused. “Well, you certainly have interesting choices for friends.”
Belle wasn’t sure if she liked the good looking man’s attitude. He was seeming a little judgmental.
“And who are you?” Belle asked.
“I’m sorry, I am Prince Renaud. You happen to be staying in my castle.”
Belle, surprised, popped to her feet. “Prince?”
The Prince smiled. “That is what they call me.”
“Your Highness,” Belle said bowing to him.
“Oh, come on. There is no need for that. We are alone. You can save all that for my father.”
“The King is here?” Belle asked nervously.
The Prince paused suddenly realizing that he was unsure of the answer. “No, I don’t think he is.” The Prince paused again confused. “Why isn’t he here?” He asked himself. “Well, I’m sure he’s off somewhere.
“Enough about him, though,” the Prince continued. “Tell me about you. How did you come to be taking care of… your friend?”
Belle searched her mind. “I can’t really say.”
The Prince smiled. “Are you really going to make me order you to tell me?”
Belle looked at the good looking man embarrassed. “No, I would tell you if I knew. I honestly can’t remember.”
“I’m kidding. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“That’s just it. I want to. I just can’t.”
“Well, whenever I forget something I just reassure myself that if it was important, I’ll remember it. You should try that.”
“I will, Prince Renaud.”
“Please, just call me Renaud.”
Belle felt her body tingle with the Prince’s suggestion. She blushed. “Very well, Renaud.”
As she did, she looked into Renaud’s eyes. They seemed to sparkle. His lips, his cheekbones, his strong chin, he had to be the best-looking man Belle had ever seen. How was it that he was also so nice?
“Now that we have that whole name thing taken care of, how would you like a tour of my castle?”
“I would like that very much,” she admitted.
“We might have to be a little careful, though.”
Belle paused. “Are there more monsters?”
The Prince smiled. “You can say that. There are certain members of my staff who don’t believe that I should b
e getting to know you.”
“I think I met one of them.” Belle thought for a moment. “I think his name was Mr. Kandel.”
“You are very much right. Mr. Kandel is a good man. He simply has no idea how a young prince should be spending his time and with whom,” he said with a smile.
The Prince’s smile made Belle feel warm in an area where she had only felt warmth twice before. She couldn’t remember when. When she tired, what came to mind instead were wolves. Why would she think of that? She wondered.
“Follow me,” the Prince said before leading Belle out.
As Belle entered the hallway, it didn’t resemble the one she had entered while helping her friend. It was brightly lit by a series of candles. Descending the nearby stairs, she thought about how welcoming everything seemed. She could hear people scurrying around on the main floor. And when she got there, she saw a myriad of people busying themselves with their daily tasks.