Sweet revelations

Author's Note: I love Beauty and the Beast, i also love different re-tellings of the tale, or other related fairytales which talk about the Prince coming to her in his true form in her dreams.

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He was watching her again, like he always did; slow, measured with a kind of unpeaceable hunger as if she had something he desperately wanted. She shivered catching her breath as her warm golden eyes met his captivating blue ones.

"Beast…?" she whispered uncertainly, her hand fumbling for the staircase railing.

He pierced her with an aching stare that left her feeling naked and vulnerable, her chest constricting underneath her wine-red velvet corset.

Why does he have to look at me like that?

With a sigh he turned away, his claws clipping the wooden floor. Trembling, she turned, lifting her skirt a little so as not to trip over the lace hem and as quickly as modesty allowed she slipped into her room and shut the door, her breathing echoing loudly in her ears. It wasn't so much the look and the unspoken questions that bothered her; it was the unbidden desire that coursed through her body, frightening her far beyond reason. She quickly slipped out of her gown, sighing in relief as her ribcage was released from its restraining corsage. She smoothed the covers over, climbing into bed, her caramel-coloured hair cascading down her shoulders. She imagined Beast touching her hair, his warm breath in her ear and she drifted into dreams, her hands gliding over her skin, imagining his eyes on her, his warm mouth, his gentle touches igniting a fire inside her she could not quench.

Drifting… drifting into stillness.

Waking with a jolt, she felt sunlight on her face and the softness of grass. She was in that meadow again… the one of her dreams…

She sighed, breathing in the beauty of the place, the fragrance of cherry blossoms dripping pink and white with fragrance. Rising carefully to her feet, she moved almost giddily through the trees, brushing each smooth trunk with her palms, revelling in her private dream world. She came to the end of the cherry tree grove and beside a clear, crystal brook with wild roses growing in white abundance. Usually, by now she would have seen the young man that frequented the place, and it concerned her that he had not appeared. What if something had happened to him…?

Coming around a bend in the river, she gasped seeing his unmistakable figure with hair that shone like copper and bronze in the sunlight. She didn't even know his name, but his appearance always caused a strange fluttering in her stomach. He had come to her before in this strange twilight world, sometimes holding her hand, sometimes walking with her, never speaking…

But something pressed on her conscience… something seemed wrong.

He was kneeling by the river, hands scratched and bleeding and the ends of his white embroidered sleeves torn as if he had been wrestling through the rose bushes. Her heart almost constricted in her chest as she saw tears fall from his face into the water, creating small ripples in the iridescent blue. He turned suddenly as if sensing her presence, his beautiful blue eyes anguished. Belle saw that he tried to speak but no sound would come out, he opened his mouth and tried again as if was desperately trying to tell her something. He bit his lip in frustration and Belle's heart ached for him.

She reached out for him as she had often done before, kneeling down and gathering his head against her chest. And then something happened which she did not expect. He raised a trembling hand to touch her face and kissed her lightly, once on her cheek than her lips. She didn't know whether it was her suppressed desire for Beast or something else, but when he tentatively touched his lips to hers she couldn't let him go. She clung onto him, her hair trapped between them as she hungrily kissed him back. He responded with a desperation that melted her inside as she tasted the tears on his face.

"My love," she whispered, her hands stroking his beautiful hair. "What troubles you so?"

He only shook his head and captured her mouth again, his hands tracing tantalising trails across her bare skin. In the back of her mind, Beauty felt a shiver of guilt as she thought of what Beast would think when he saw her in this impassioned embrace with a man who was almost a stranger. But after all, this was her dream, not his. He was speaking softly to her now, whispered words like the rustling of leaves and the cool morning air, words she couldn't hear, but the implied whispered words only heightened her desire. His mouth moved over her collarbone, and brushed the top of her breasts. She moaned cradling his head in her arms.

"Beloved…" she gasped. He raised his eyes, now burning with bright fire, only the faintest trace of sadness visible and she was all of a sudden struck with the uncanny resemblance of the beautiful man's eyes to her own dear Beast's eyes. The shock jolted her to the core and the man with the auburn hair paused, a look of bewilderment on his face.

She untangled herself from his arms. She heard his silent sigh as she let him go and she turned to look at him again, raising a tentative hand to his face, tracing the strong jaw, the chiselled cheekbones, the nose, the eyes. It couldn't be, could it?

He closed his eyes to her feather-light caress. It was as if she was seeking to memorise his face, take down each little minute detail. She touched his lips and he kissed every finger. He leaned in to kiss her mouth and she responded, gently stroking the hair back from his face.

"You are him, aren't you?"

He pulled back, uncertain.

She leant forward, carefully framing the words she almost dreaded to hear.

"You're Beast, aren't you…?"

He continued to look at her with his penetrating blue eyes, willing her to guess, willing her to understand.

She gasped, amazing clarity flowing into her mind.

"And all this time I thought…" She laughed almost giddily. "I've been falling in love with the same person all along… and it's always been you…"

She eagerly sought out his arms, and was rewarded with his kisses, a bright passion that glowed like the sunlight. She could feel the hope that shone within him, humming like light from the inside out. Each touch was bliss and each sweet breath he drew a new revelation. She didn't know why but tears were streaming down her face, coursing, flowing, release…

She awoke, the light of the morning streaming in her window and was surprised to find the tears on her cheeks, her body thrumming with a strange new energy, tingling with warmth. She had dreamt it surely, dreamt that the beautiful young man in her dreams and the beast were the same person…?

Then why did she feel so sad, so hopeful and so full of desire at the same time…?

If it was true, then he needed to be freed… he had to be let out of his body… and she knew now above all else that she was the only one to do it.