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Zero has been sitting on his favorite seat by the window , enjoying the occasional patter of raindrops on glass as he read a certain book , when he heard a familiar sound ringing loudly in the background of the hailing storm .
Was that Philippe , their horse ?
Fearing the worst and overwhelmed by a nagging whisper at the back of his mind , beauty rushed his way out of the house and buried his feet in the snow , eyes widening as they landed on the said belgian draft horse , alone , without his father .
Thinking that maybe it was a few minutes delay on his father's part , zero held the horse by the reigns and pulled it closer , away from his view , so he could make out the outline of objects through the raging storm .
Much to his terror , seconds dragged minutes without him catching any glimpse of his father approaching . As if on cue , Philippe cried out at him , drawing his attention , as if it had wanted to convey a message since the very moment it had reached him .
" Philippe ! Where's papa ?! " Starting to panic , beauty reached forward , holding the squirming horse' face in his delicate grip , expressive violet eyes observing every in the animal made in response .
Still hostage to what could only be fear , the horse flailed about , seemingly wanting to lead him somewhere .
Gulping at the implication , the silver haired beauty inhaled deeply before rushing back inside to get himself a coat . It wouldn't be good if he ended up freezing to death halfway .
In a haste of footsteps , he made his way to the extension he'd built himself , to give his ever dissatisfied sisters his own room . Originally , they got the bigger room because it made sense for them , as two , to do so . But afterwards and eventually , they started whining about how small theirs actually was . which gave Beauty the idea of giving up on his and letting them join the vacant space to their room .
It took a lot of time and effort for him to build that small extension and even then , it could not survive the harsh winter , forcing him to sleep on a couch in the actual house .
Shaking those thoughts away , knowing exactly what his brain was trying to do and failing ( distracting him ) , zero snapped out of his daze once his eyes caught sight of the white coat his father had once bought for him . It was quite expensive , he still believed so.
That day , he'd actually felt guilty to have made his father spend so much on him , even if he never asked for it . he treasured it nonetheless . It was a precious gift , after all , one given to him by the one person he cherished the most , the one person who has never failed to go great lengths , just to make him and his sisters happy .
On the verge of sobbing , beauty snatched the coat away despite not meaning to , and hurriedly went out again , wasting no time to ride Philippe and let him lead the way . At least , that's how he imagined it would happen . he was not prepared for the two concerned voices that belonged to his sisters , to echo about the place as he made to leave .
" Zero ?! What's going on ? Where's father ? " Gertrude exclaimed in fright , much to beauty's surprise . he'd never seen her that shaken up before .
Before he could answer , Ursula spoke up in a manner no less anxious than the elder
" Where are you going ? "
Sighing and not knowing where to start or what to say , zero swiftly got off the horse and tiredly made his way to them , all the while contemplating his words . He knew , however , they had enough brains to tell something was wrong and that their father might be in some serious trouble .
" I'm not going to sit still and watch as the storm unfolds . Do you understand ? "
Ursula could only stare at him blankly . the more rational part in her brain screamed 'yes'. But the other part could not comprehend the fact her father had gone missing in such terrible weather , that her one and only brother wanted to follow after and might never come back either . she may have been rude and extremely bossy around him , yes .. But waking up to such catastrophic circumstances was bound to snap her out of it , making her realize she actually cared about him .
" Look , sisters . you have never really liked me and I may be younger but the fact remains I'm the brother here . it's my responsibility to look after you , all of you , including papa ."
Not really understanding why they appeared to be concerned about him , zero tried reminding them of how their relationship worked , tried convincing them to let him go .
However , his words proved to be counterproductive .
Ursula shook her head and yelled " ! "
she tugged at his sleeves , growing anxious and terrified with each passing second . something in the way she looked at him made zero suspect she didn't just want him close for her own safety . But he knew he shouldn't get his hopes up . they were probably all confused and scared by the unexpected twist of events , or else they'd never think twice about him leaving . Came a voice from the dark , telling him they could never care that much after all .. could they though ? Another voice , hopeful , fragile and tender , buzzed in his head , only to have the first one argue further . he was definitely imagining it . You see what your eyes want to see . He'd lost count of the times he wished , deep inside , they would treat him better , to the point he may have gotten too desperate , latching on the tiniest display of affection that could come his way .
Still , he couldn't find it in him to get mad or even slightly depressed about the whole thing . It didn't matter whatever he felt . Only one thing clawed at his mind with unbearable intensity , his father's whereabouts and well-being . the longer he stayed there , babying his sisters , the bigger of a chance he might not be able to find his father . The thought of it alone sent unpleasant shivers running down his spine , terrified him beyond belief .
Fueled with newfound determination that overshadowed all else , he gently pushed his sisters back , past the front door and deeper into the house as he urged them to obey him
" Stay inside , get warm and never allow anyone inside unless you know for sure that it's either me or dad , if he happens to make it here before I do . "
He was not going to hide how truly worried he had felt at the thought of what might happen to his sisters when he leaves . Two girls alone in such weather literally spelled temptation -should any murderer , thief or molester find out -. If he had a choice , zero would definitely not leave them but he hadn't .
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Beauty found himself trembling in a blend of fright and nervousness . The merciless cold has penetrated the protective thick layers of his clothes and seeped inside , doing little to help him relax . he started feeling stiff with all of the conflicting sensations crashing all the way from his heart to his brain and then everywhere else. His thoughts ran wild , all over the place as he worried about his father a moment , and his sisters the other .
What if he couldn't find him ?
What if he himself ended up lost in that unforgivable fog and snowy weather ?
No.. No .. He couldn't let those depressive thoughts get the better of him . he couldn't ! Zero reminded himself as he ventured deeper , allowing Philippe 's instincts to guide them .
It didn't take long before his eyelids started feeling heavy , only one need registering in his brain at that moment , warmth and sleep .
the idea that his father might be facing the same crisis , possibly for a longer span of time , was enough to jolt him back into full awareness despite everything else .
Struggling to stay awake and wary of his surroundings , the silverette blinked a few times before releasing a loud sigh , as if cheering himself . His sisters depended on him . he couldn't betray their trust , couldn't break the promise . He would find his father and bring him back or die trying !
A few minutes barely passed by before depression claimed him a child of its own , again .
Where are you , papa ? Please be safe ..
Growing desperate the more he rode the horse and found no trace of any human being , zero nearly loosened his grip on Philippe , unconsciously giving up .. Maybe he was just going to die .. What a sad way to die though .. He couldn't help but pity himself .. All alone , frozen to death ..
No one would care , apart from papa .. If he's still alive .
Beauty couldn't believe what he'd just thought . How could he lose hope ? That was so unlike him . how could he even think of that .
It couldn't be ! Papa has to be okay ! Please .. Please .. Be okay .
God help me ..
Father would never leave us alone .. He out there , somewhere.. I just have to find him . I can't give in .. Can't allow anything to get to me .
I cannot die ! Not yet .
Too preoccupied encouraging himself , beauty stared ahead , into the distance , the pattern with which the horse moved slowly lulling him to sleep , once more .
Just then and before beauty could fall asleep , Philippe sped up towards something zero could not quite make out , could not comprehend .. Was that .. A castle ?
Befuddled , beauty felt his mouth go wide open as he took in the sight in front of him .
Was he perhaps hallucinating ? Something like " mirage "
He read about it before . That term referred to the delusions of a thirsty person in a desert , imagining water when it's not actually there .
In any case , say he was hallucinating .. What about Philippe ? He couldn't have led him that way for no reason .
" Is papa here , Philippe ?! " Inwardly praying for that to be the case , Zero spoke up to his animal companion , receiving nothing in response but a dash forward , and in less than a minute , he found himself sliding down , standing amidst a courtyard drenched with white .
The Snow had covered every inch , as far as the eyes can see .
If he wanted , Beauty could easily camouflage with the way he dressed up , along with his naturally pale skin tone and silver hair .
Having passed the hulking gates of the citadel , beauty kept a watchful gaze as he walked further .
" Hello ? " voice hesitant and soft , zero called , fully expecting his father to emerge anytime now .
When that didn't happen , he resumed walking , pulling Philippe close to him as he did so .
Quite frankly , he was torn between getting even more worried on one hand and staying positive on the other .
Beauty could only go deeper and deeper into the magical territory he still suspected to be a figment of his imagination . He had no other word for such mystery.
Zero could swear that castle wasn't there before , not even as a looming figure in the distance , and yet , It felt so real .
The way his boots got all buried in the snow , the sharp icy breeze capable of scratching his delicate skin , both were enough of a proof .
Disbelieving , he strode forward , never stopping until he was close enough to admire the architecture of the said castle , head moving upwards to take in every single detail .
After a moment or so , he sighed and willed himself to move inside , all the while having his gaze glued to the marvelous structure that seem to come straight out of a fairy tale .
Once he stood a few steps away from the front door , he called again , louder and clearer that time .
" Hello ! "
" Is anybody there ? " questions escaped his mouth like a waterfall , unstoppable and uncontrollable . And still no answer was given to him . not until much later , in the form of a rustle reverberating within the walls of the building .
Gasping , he turned around , cautious and startled .
What was that ?
It seemed that no one resided in there , at first .
What was the source of that sound then ? Zero had no idea .
What produced it ? Again , he had no idea .
Could it have to do with the baleful weather , swaying curtains , slamming doors ?
It almost felt like.. Beauty closed his eyes for a second , briefly trying to pinpoint the nature of that sound as it rang in his ears , once more , like a constant clatter of a spoon on glass , a symphony .
Like rattling chains ..
As if something inside of him knew where to look , he found himself moving forward , following the voice , as if it held answers to every single question plaguing his mind .
What he didn't expect , however , was that .
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A/N
I realized that this has to be changed into mini fics collection seeing as how beauty and the beast alone consumed three chapters and would still consume more . I just hope that the next update would be the last , concluding this segment . Hope you enjoy this ~
Updated 5:39 pm , 2 September , 2017
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