Part 3: Their Story

Chapter 4

A detailed retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story

Hey, welcome to Beauty and the Beast: Their Story.
This is part three of my Beauty and the Beast trilogy. Please read His Story and Her Story to avoid confusion.
Enjoy, and comments (or constructive criticism ) are very welcome!

Belle

I returned to consciousness slowly. For the first few minutes I forgot where I was. At first I supposed that I was at home, I had slept in the stables again and rolled off the hay, that's why the surface against which I had snuggled up was so hard. Like a wall. Rock hard and...cold.
Just now I was strangely comfortable. I was leaning against the...whatever it was, half sitting up. I snuggled up closer but felt whatever-it-was try to disentangle itself from my grasp. I clutched it tighter, sleepily thinking, stupid rock, stay still.

I lifted my head up and let it lean against something that felt like a face chiselled from cold hard marble. Maybe it's a statue, I thought drowsily. I rubbed my cheek against the smooth stone. There was a curious odour to the soft feather-like tendrils that brushed my face; it reminded me of pine sap and autumn. Foresty. Strange smell for hair.
Hair?
Suddenly memory returned to me with a shock and I bolted upright.

I gasped half a shriek and pushed myself away violently. I jumped to my feet and Snakey stood up and came towards me hesitantly and if he had had feet I would've described it as stumbling.

This was the first time I had seen him clumsy and it unnerved me even further.
"You fainted," his voice was a rough whisper. "When I drank your blood, venom from my fangs must've been injected into you, although it's only lethal to me, you became paralysed and the blood loss caused you to faint."

I stared at him in horror but I did not recognize what I saw. He came closer but I screamed "Get away from me!" But still he wanted to explain. "I only wanted to lay you down somewhere until the venom worked off...But...You- you clung to me..." he pleaded.

Something inside of me snapped. I half-sprinted half-stumbled towards my room and realized how far he had carried me. From the courtyard to the lounge almost on the other side of the palace. This only spurred me on and I crashed into my room and flung myself onto the bed, crying.

Beast

I was a fool. I should've realized she didn't love me as soon as I saw her hesitate whether to give me her blood or not. This incident only proved that assumption.
"Idiot," I muttered, cursing my stupidity "Fool!" I striked out with my arm spinning the book that had rested on the side table to the floor. I clenched my fists, staring at the fallen book, breathing heavily.

I calmed down and bent to pick it up but suddenly I doubled over, my palms flat against the cool hardwood floors.
Silent sobs shook me but of course I couldn't cry, I wasn't human and not for the first time I wondered if Belle would've loved me if I was.

Belle

I slept badly that night and early morning when I woke up my chambermaids were whispering amongst themselves as I dressed.

"Look at that bed, I'm sure she hasn't slept at all."

"We should've been here to comfort her," chastened the second one.

The first one sighed and replied as she began fussing around my dress, "But we couldn't leave him, I haven't seen him in such a temper since that night. We had to stand by him, not that we help but we can talk sense into him if he decides to start smashing things."

They switched to talking about the state of my hair and I tuned out. He had been in a temper? I felt slightly guilty about that but my homesickness had come back with a vengeance last night and I desperately wanted to see Pa again.

I found him in the Lavender court and without asking I plopped down next to him on the bench and asked him outright: "Beast, I want to apologize for my...rudeness last night. I...I am terribly ashamed of myself. You were only trying to help."

Snakey lightly brought up his shoulders his head turned away.

Wow. He really is in a foul mood. I steeled myself to ask him what I had actually come here for.

"But I also want to ask you if I can go home, just for a few days?"

His face fell for an instant but he composed himself so quickly I thought it had never happened...

"If you go, I'm certain you will stay there and then..." his voice trailed off and he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"Please, only for a few days."

Snakey sighed and said, "I can refuse you nothing, just promise me you will come back before four days are up."

"I promise." He clicked his fingers and a pendant appeared clutched in his hand.

"Here," he held out the pendant and I took it, my hand brushing against his ice cold one. He didn't seem to notice the contact or either he didn't care. "Put it on before you go to sleep tonight and tomorrow you'll wake up in your father's house. Wear it again the night you should return."

As I put it on he got up.
"Beast," I said reaching out for his hand. But he was gone, the air empty where moments before he had stood.

"Snakey..." I whispered at the empty air. "I'm sorry."

A/N: Author smirks crazily and sharpens a blunt spoon...