Talia's voice traveled through the door, "Belle? Are you awake? May I come in?"
"Come on in, Talia," I said and sat up in bed.
"So, how was your evening?" she flopped down in the desk chair and stared at me intently.
"Pretty good. After you left, Mr. Cartwright showed me to dinner. During dinner, Marie and Louis kept flirting so I told them to stop. The Beast thanked me for that and told me what there is to do around here. Then, I went to bed and was woken up around midnight by someone sneaking in through my window. I went back to bed after he left and just woke up a few minutes ago. Why did you want to know?"
"Don't laugh"
"I won't."
"The Beast is my cousin. Who tried to sneak in your window?"
"Andy Something-or-other, he said that he works in the kennels."
"He would say that. He's always pulling stunts like that to get back inside the house."
"Like what?"
"Sneaking in because he left his key somewhere and can't find it."
"Oh, is it true that he cleans my room once a week?"
"Yeah. He cleans it of artwork and puts the artwork in h-Beast's gallery."
"Why does he put it in Beast's gallery?"
"Because it's the Beast's artwork of course!" Next, Talia helped me find clothes for the day ahead and explained to me that the Beast wouldn't be joining me for breakfast, but would be meeting me later at the dome.
"Talia, where's the dome?"
"Near here, I'll show you where if you like. Guess what? I hear that Andy likes to go swimming before breakfast. Do you wanna watch?"
I smiled mischievously, "I wouldn't miss it." I got dressed and followed her to the dome. The sheer size of it was awe inspiring. There was a swimming pool, a basketball court, a batting range, and loads of exercise equipment.
I spotted a lone figure in the pool and called out, "Hey! Andy, is that you?" I saw only his profile of a square jaw and crooked nose before he swam to the far side of the pool and started running towards the door leading outside.
"Come on, does he always do that?" I asked Talia, clearly annoyed.
"No, he's usually not so shy about girls."
"Why do you think he's acting like that?"
"I don't know. He probably thinks that you're cute and doesn't want you to see his ugly face."
"'Is he REALLY ugly?"
"It's a matter of opinion, really. He thinks he is. Fun guy to know though. He can make anyone laugh at any time."
"Do you like him?"
"Of course NOT!"
My stomach growled, "Talia, when did you say breakfast would be ready? I'm starving."
She led me back to the same dining hall as last night and I sat at one of two settings laid out, "Tal, didn't you say that the Beast wasn't coming to breakfast?"
"Yeah, I did. Maybe he changed his mind or something like that."
"I did change my mind. Good morning Tal. Good morning Belle. You two look rather sleepy this morning. Belle, Andy told me about the key, don't worry about it. I think he may have the hots for you."
I gaped, wide-eyed at the Beast. What would a beast know about love? "Um, Beast. Are you sure about that? He ran from me today."
"I may be a beast, but I know what I'm talking about. Don't question Beasty!"
"Beasty? Come on cos, I know you can do better than that!" said Talia in a questioning tone.
"No questions, Tal, remember?"
"Sorry," she said as she put up her hands in surrender.
Then I remembered the question in my head from last night. "Beast," he looked up, "where did you go last night after dinner?"
"I-uh went to get your bike and to put it in the garage."
"Really? We'll just see about that," I had been formulating a plan in my head to get to the garage before him and to see whether or not there was extra dirt on it. Breakfast finished quickly and both myself and the Beast leaped up simultaneously. No way! He couldn't be doing this! "Beast," I said in a sweet voice, "would you care to show me to the garage?"
"Of course Belle! I would be delighted to." He led me to a smaller building on the edge of the forest covering the grounds. Inside the doors lay a large assortment of expensive cars, motorcycles, and ATVs. In the corner sat two less-expensive motorcycles, including mine, which was polished and shiny, and a mud, leaf, and stick strewn one.
"Who's bike is that?" I asked, pointing at the latter.
"It's mine. I kind of tried to ride it last night, which is why it's all dirty."
"I don't believe you."
"It's true, I just have Talia clip my nails beforehand."
"Do you like having her as a cousin?"
"Sure. She makes up for the rest of my family disappearing into thin air."
"Disappearing?"
"Yeah, they were so frightened by my appearance that they fled all over the world. I guess that they thought I would eat them up. Talia was the only one who stayed behind."
"I'm so sorry, Beast."
"Don't worry about it. Come on, let's get your stuff and go." I unlocked the trunk and grabbed my duffel and the GPS accessories. I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked out into the green-dappled trees. The next moment, I was suddenly falling into bleak darkness.
