You.
I pulled out my blue dress from the very back of my wardrobe, loathing the very sight of it as I laid it out on my bed as I changed out of my yellow dress, wishing I could linger inside the lush fabric for just a little longer.
I very rarely wore my blue dress since coming to the castle, and with each passing day, I avoid wearing it as much as possible. It reminds me too much of Molyneux and how unhappy I was there. Papa and the book lender were my only real friends; everyone else thought I was weird, different, and everything I enjoyed should be beaten out of me as I conformed to what a "proper woman" should be.
Gaston and his advances were getting worse by the day, and that wedding! The whole town was there, following Gaston like a puppy, convinced I would accept his proposal. No one spoke up and defended me or my rights as a woman. Wouldn't an impromptu wedding like that imply I was carrying his child and better to marry quickly before I shamed myself by showing? Or that I was so desperate to get into bed that I would drag him inside and take him as soon as the priest declared us husband and wife? No harm would ever fall onto Gaston's mighty reputation, but no doubt I, as his wife, would be painted as no better than the barroom whores.
Only at home or in a book was I truly happy in Molyneux, but here in the castle, everything I am is embraced and encouraged. The servants are my dear friends, and even those I am unfamiliar with are quick to show me respect and bend over backwards to offer their services. I am honored and proud to call them my friends and Lumière, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Babette, and Madame la Grande Bouche are like a second family. The castle is no longer dark and foreboding; I feel as comfortable and safe here as I do at home in Molyneux.
There is such freedom in the dresses I am given to wear, from the fancy to the modest and plain, and new dresses seem to appear like magic every week. They symbolize my new life, the freedom to be myself, and how my individuality should be embraced and not distorted to conform to another's ideals. There is no normality in a castle filled with enchanted objects and a beast with a man's soul. We are all judged on who we are as people, even if some can be hard to handle at times, such as the Beast, oh my Beast…
No longer the hateful and cruel animal I first saw, but a gentle soul stuck within a furry body. How my heart leaps whenever I see him, feel his paw, hear his voice, and when we say good night, I wish for the dawn to come quickly so I may see him again, and in my dreams, he is often there. Tonight was the most romantic night of my life; I don't want to leave him, I want to stay his side, and see where it will go, but I can't let Papa die.
I force the yellow dress off of me, letting go of the freedoms it symbolizes and reluctantly I don my blue dress once more, hopefully for the last time. I feel its shackles grab me tightly, wanting to drag me back into the mundane world of Molyneux, but I remain strong. This is the only dress I have that is suited for what I must do, and when its purpose is fulfilled, I shall burn it and end my old life so I may start anew.
