The Beautiful Beasts
Surprise Guest at the Wedding Party
Prince Armand raised his crystal goblet for a toast. "Thank you everyone for coming to my wedding. This is the happiest day of my life, to be united forever to my best friend and dearest love, my sweet bookish Belle. I would like to thank my friends Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Pots, our Chef Henri, our seamstress Sophie, our chamber maid Babette, and the youngest member of our castle staff, Chip. I uh, had a great speech prepared, but my footstool ate the paper." The wedding guests and servants laughed.
"Ten years ago a fairy enchantress cast a spell upon me and my castle, I was turned into a hideous hairy beast and the staff in my castle into animated furniture. The spell could only be broken by true love. At first, I was in despair, my heart was broken, I hated myself, for I who had once been so handsome, had become a monster. I was lost in darkness. Then Belle came into my world and brought the light. She taught me that I was only a beast if I acted like one. She opened my heart and showed me the true meaning of beauty, that cannot be seen or heard or touched but only felt in the heart.
Thanks to her kindness and caring, I opened my heart and was not afraid to love again. I loved her so much I let her go, and she came back to me. Just when I thought all hope was lost, she said those three magical words, "I love you", and the spell was broken. Belle taught me to care for someone else more than I cared for myself, to put her needs over mine and think of her first.
I know she feels the same for me.
Our love is blessed by God, since we both put Him first above each other. The Lord save my soul and life and delivered me from being trapped in the form of a beast. I am eternally grateful to my savior and my dear sweet bride."
The guests cheered. Everyone swallowed some of the wine. Then the best men, there were two of them, Cogsworth and Lumierre, both gave toasts. Belle gave a toast, so did her father and Mrs. Pots. After that everyone settled down and began to eat the delicious feast prepared for them. Then it was time for the cutting of the cake. Armand and Belle cut the cake together, Belle's hand over Armand's larger one on the silver handle of the knife as they sliced the fancy marbled cake with whipped white butter cream frosting. They giggled and laughed as they fed each other cake, making a bit of a mess and wiping each other's mouths with large square ivory linen napkins. Then the newlyweds kissed, tasting the sweet cake and sugary creamy frosting on each other's lips.
The cake was served to the guests. Then it was time for the dancing. Since it was such a lovely spring day the bride and groom decided to dance in the garden and their guests followed them.
Belle and Armand took off in each other's arms, gracefully gliding and whirling around, lost in their love and the beauty around them as they looked into each other's eyes and thought how wonderful their future together would be.
Maurice was looking for a partner when he spotted a woman in the crowd who was not invited, yet very familiar. He gasped. "Could it be her? After all these years, could she have returned?"
The woman was petite, with a lovely peaches-and-cream complexion, her brown hair was in a bun hidden beneath a nice straw hat with yellow roses. Her large eyes were hazel, with long thick silky black eyelashes. She wore a tan satin dress with long sleeves trimmed in cream lace and yellow roses. She tried to remain inconspicuous, blending with the crowd of wedding guests.
Maurice followed her and when she turned around near a red rose bush she saw him and her eyes lit up with recognition, remembered affection from the past, guilt, and some shame and embarrassment.
"It is you! Roxanne, where have you been all these years? Why did you run away and leave me to raise our daughter by my self?"
Tears began to fill the woman's lovely large hazel eyes, so much like Belle's. "Maurice, I…..I don't know what to say,……I am so sorry….." Maurice came up to her and took her hand as if he wanted to dance.
"I've missed you so much Roxanne. Did you go to Paris and study ballet like you've always wanted?"
"Oui, Maurice. Have you not heard? My name now is Madame Roxanne Debonaire, I am called the Yellow Rose of Paris, a prima ballerina. I had much success dancing on the stage in Paris and in other great cities throughout Europe, but my heart aches for this little town where I grew up, and for you, and for our little girl. I regret now that I left you, but I fear I would have wasted away had I stayed in that little cottage having to deal with you always tinkering and pounding around with your inventions, and Belle crying when she was a baby, I stayed as long as I could stand it, till Belle was four, and then I knew I had to leave."
"If I'd of known how frustrated you were I could have done something to help…." Maurice mused. "You didn't have to leave us. We could have taken a vacation. I could have gotten one of your friends in the village to baby sit Belle while we took a romantic vacation in Paris…."
"Forget about it Maurice, it is in the past. It is my fault, I should not have married you knowing I would not make a good wife and mother. I was born to dance ballet, knowing that I should not have tried to fool myself into thinking I could be someone I'm not, I loved you so much I tried to change myself into the perfect housewife for you, but I could not keep pretending forever, I must dance, If I could I would have taught Belle to dance ballet but she seemed to have little interest in it. I hope you can forgive me for abandoning you and our daughter, and I hope Belle will forgive me too. I came to her wedding to be reconciled with my family. I have not been sleeping well lately, as I get older I realize the things that are really important, not riches or fame but love, your family and friends, your hope and faith in the next world. I wanted to have my family back and I need your forgiveness. If you do not forgive me I will understand, it will make me sad but I can only ask and not demand."
"You have hurt me a lot, Roxanne, but I forgave you years ago." Maurice said to his estranged wife. "The person you really need to apologize to is Belle. I am so proud of her. Her love and kindness brought out the man from the beast. Let me introduce you to her, and her new husband." He took Roxanne by the hand to take her to Belle and Armand.
"But Maurice, what if she hates me for abandoning her?" Roxanne was still nervous and frightened about meeting the daughter she left years ago to pursue her dreams of ballet stardom. She dreaded the final confrontation. How would Belle react to seeing the mother she considered dead?
