Author´s note
So much for writing Christmas Specials….Damn it. Well I have been quiet busy. Family and a lot of food and stuff. :"D Soooo, so exhausting :"D
I will make it up to you! I promise!
Thanks to the reviewers and your loyalty in general! Love you guys! Really do! I appreciate that you take your time to read my story 3
Now: The chapter: Some action is going to take place ;) More action than before for sure! And you will meet some characters that appeared at the beginning and in the Christmas Special
Disclaimer: I don´t own Hetalia and the characters nor do I own Disney´s Beauty and the Beast!
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Kapitel 9: The silver lining in the darkness of the night
Green eyes blinked open and slowly adjusted to the darkness in the room. Liz sat up with a quiet groan and rubbed her eyes. Snoring came from a point to her right and she looked over. Monica, the cursed closet, was sleeping soundly and the human had to laugh quietly at the sounds. "And here I thought it would be dream." she murmured quietly as she moved her feet to the cold floor.
After looking at her feet pensively for a few seconds she turned to the candle on the bedside cabinet and lightened it. Monica murmured something in protest and immediately Liz held her breath. She did not need any questions right now which would come if Monica awakened.
She then noticed that her clothes weren´t there and she narrowed her eyes on the pile of clothes on the chair next to her bed. Although, she had yet to unfold the clothes she knew that she wouldn´t like them. As far as she could tell they were rather girly and impractical. She slowly took the clothes and laid them on her lap before taking the upper cloth and held it up. She mustered it disdainfully.
It was a light brown underdress with a blood red ribbon on the front and frills lining the edges. It had long sleeves which were skinny looking. She laid it down on the bed before turning to the next part. It was then that she really wanted to kill someone.
A full-length fawn coloured dress. The upper part consisted of a corsage which would be bound at the front and the lower part was a skirt consisting of several layers. At the back was again a big ribbon and all in all it was too girly for the otherwise tomboyish girl. However, it seemed that she did not have another choice. She would not go wandering around the castle in her nightgown. Certainly not.
She eased herself out of the gown, trying not to be too loud. First, she put the underdress on, the soft texture caressing her skin and she sighed as she looked down. Then she took the full-length dress and put it on. She bound the corsage and was satisfied to see that it at least fitted her perfectly. She put on the slippers and took the candle into her hand. As she passed the closet quietly she held the candle sideways so that she would not risk waking Monica up.
With a small cough she opened the door and peeked into the dark corridor that lay behind it. After making sure that nobody was around, she slipped out of her room, closing the door silently behind her. Carefully she made her way down the corridor; the way she had made the day before. Whenever she heard a noise, she pressed herself against the wall and held her breath. At one point she even had extinguished the candle and had to walk in the darkness of the corridor.
With one hand touching the wall, she soon found herself at the stair case that would lead her to the entrance hall of the castle. She looked at the creepy looking hallway behind her before descending the stairs. She shortly glanced at the gate that promised her freedom and a return to her family.
However, she promised, although not really voluntarily, to stay at the castle. She would never break a promise. Her pride forbade it. Instead she turned towards the hallway that would lead her to the north wing of the castle. Damn that monster! If she had to stay there, she could at least make herself familiar with this god forsaken place.
Without really thinking about the consequences she entered the north wing and found herself at a long stair case. Only then did she feel slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it hadn´t been the greatest idea. She hesitantly stepped back and turned back towards the hallway. She had made a few steps before something stopped her. She could not exactly say what but deep inside her something told her to turn around climb the staircase.
It was as if a voice called out to her. Ordering her to do it. In a trance like state she made her way up the stairs and then went down the corridor to her left. She opened the door to a room and ignoring the chaos that reigned in it, made her way over to a flower encased in glass. Petals covered the table beneath it and she touched the glass gently with both hands. Slowly she raised the glass, her eyes fixed on the flower and it´s magical glow.
Suddenly, and before she knew what happened, claws had roughly crapped her shoulder. One of them yanked the glass from her eyes as she was pushed backwards violently. With a yelp she landed on the ground. Her eyes, wide with shock and fear, locked with the red glowing ones of her prison guard. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME HERE!"
"I-I….I….don´t know….what happened!" the girl stammered fearfully as the beast towered over her, hot breath ghosting over her face and she flinched back when a growl escaped the beast. "I DON`T CARE! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! LEAVE THIS PART OF THE CASTLE RIGHT NOW!" Gilbert snarled furiously and raised his claws as if he was about to hit her.
"YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU MONSTER?! I WILL LEAVE RIGHT NOW! FUCK YOU!" Elizabeta yelled as she stood up, tears threatening to leave her eyes. She pushed hard against the beast to get to the door but it did not even budge. "OH NO! YOU WON`T!" the beast shouted and grabbed her wrist roughly, earning a pained cry.
"DAMN YOU! LET ME GO! YOU….YOU….YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!" she slapped him hard with her free hand at this and the beast, not being used to be hit, let her go out of shock. She saw her chance and ran out of the room, down the hall and the stairs. She ignored the concerned shouts coming from a confused looking clock and tea pot as she harshly pulled the gate in the entrance hall open.
She sobbed desperately as she stumbled on the bridge and landed on the ground. Quickly she scrambled to her feet and dashed towards the iron gate that would be the last obstacle to get her freedom back. Liz was relieved to see that it wasn´t locked and so she opened it before disappearing into the forest.
"MASTER GILBERT!" Yao screamed as he entered the room and was satisfied to see that Gilbert flinched at that. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Yao shouted angrily as he neared the beast which looked guiltier by the second. "N-Nothing! SHE WAS AT FAULT! SHE SHOULDN`T HAVE COME HERE!" Gilbert yelled now as he got frustrated. He did not know what to think. He hadn´t wanted to scream at Eli….the human but she did not follow his rules.
"Master! You probably overreacted as far as I can see. You need to apologize. No! You first have to get her back! It is night and she left the castle! You know as well as I do who is out there at that time! They won´t show her any mercy!" Yao explained still rather agitated by his masters´ antics.
"That Dummkopf! [1] She did wirklich [2] leave?!" Gilbert exclaimed unbelievingly and stared at the tea pot with widened eyes. Yao surely wasn´t serious about this. On the other hand Yao was probably one of the most serious servants in the castle. "Yes Master. She did leave and you should follow her immediately. Otherwise, you will be too late." with those words Yao watched as his master hurry out of the room.
"Yao? What happened?" Arthur asked as he, Alfred, Francis and Matthew entered the room. "I washed his head. He will apologize. Hopefully." Yao explained and looked at the others meaningfully. "Yao, we should probably prepare something for when they return, oui?" the feather duster, Matthew, quietly said with a hesitant look. "You are right Mathieu." Francis smiled at the feather duster which turned red at the attention of his lover.
"Well, what are we waiting for? The hero can´t do it all by himself!" Alfred exclaimed cheerfully which earned him an annoyed look from Arthur who rolled his eyes at Alfreds´ antics. However, soon they had the whole castle on their feet and it was the first time in the last years that so many servants could be seen.
Not far from the castle, in the snow covered forest, Liz had reached a clearing and she let herself fall her knees tiredly. She coughed harshly and took in ragged breaths. It took a few minutes to compose herself and she looked at her quivering hands that were grasping on to her skirt. She sat there for almost five minutes when she noticed that she neither had a cloak nor a weapon with her.
Cursing, she slowly came to her feet. With a small cough she made a step forward but was stopped when she heard a twig snap somewhere behind her. She span around and stumbled slightly as she saw a wolf at the border of the clearing. Another came out of the brake and she slowly backed away until her back met a tree.
Startled she turned her head around and as her eyes fell onto a twig she got an idea. She broke it off desperately as she could hear the animals approach. As soon as it was in her hands she span around again and held the twig before her, pointing it at the dangerous animals. Glowing green eyes seemed to bore into her soul and she felt her arms shake.
"GET AWAY!" she yelled at them and waved the twig around which made the animals back away slightly. However, the wolf, which was closest to her, suddenly jumped at her and she barely was able to deflect the long teeth with the twig. Saliva fell onto her face as the wolf buried its´ teeth into the wood and broke the twig. As it opened it´s mouth, showing off its´ long fangs, Liz protected her face with her arms.
She screamed as the fangs were buried into her arm. She could feel the warmth of her blood as it ran down her arm and soaked the sleeves of the dress. She struggled against the wolf, trying to get rid of the fangs that seemed to go deeper every second. She was certain that her arm would be ripped off any second now and was startled as suddenly the fangs left her arm and the wolf was harshly pulled away.
"DAMN IT! LEAVE! ALLISTOR! DYLAN! PATRICK! LEAVE NOW!" Gilbert screamed as he stood protectively in front of the human. Green eyes locked with his and it seemed to make the wolves even angrier. The one that Gilbert had thrown away climbed to its´ feet and jumped at the beast. "I SAID LEAVE!" Gilbert yelled as he deflected the attack, earning himself a wound on his arm. Just as he had thrown the wolf aside the other two attacked. One of them managed to slice Gilbert´s shoulder as the other buried its´ claws into the beast´s other arm.
Gilbert roared furiously and grabbed the wolf that was at his shoulder by it´s neck and threw it against a tree where it fell to the ground motionlessly. Then he grabbed the other wolf and threw it onto the ground. He locked eyes with the one that first attacked him and it seemed to glare at him. "Leave!" he snarled at it and the wolf growled but left the clearing, knowing that he wouldn´t stand a chance against it´s former master.
After it had left and seeing that the other two were out for the count, Gilbert turned around and knelt down. A pair of green eyes, filled with fear and pain, locked with his and his face softened slightly. "Are you alright?" he asked as he noticed the blood that was staining the snow covered ground. A small nod was what he got as an answer.
"Dummkopf! Come on! Steh auf [3]!" Gilbert said as he held out his paw for Liz to grab on. Hesitantly she took the fury paw and let herself be pulled to her wobbly feet. She would have fallen if it hadn´t been for the beast that supported her. "Ja, ja. [4] Fine my ass." Gilbert growled lowly and took her up into his arms.
"Wha….What are you doing? Let me go! I can walk on my own!" Liz exclaimed slightly embarrassed and struggled weakly against the arms that were holding her. Inwardly she admitted to herself that those arms were more gentle and oh so warm that she couldn´t bring herself to put more effort into her struggles.
"Ruhig jetzt! [5] You proved me wrong only seconds prior!" Gilbert snarled as he stood up and made his way towards the castle, blood dripping onto the snow.
They almost reached the bridge to the castle when Gilber stumbled, weakened by the loss of blood. Liz yelped in surprise as they fell to the ground. "Are you alright?!" she cried out as she scrambled to Gilbert´s side. Yes, he had scared her, treated her wrongly and had taken her family and freedom from her but without him she would be dead right now. He could have just let her be killed.
"Mir geht´s gut. [6] Just tired." Gilber grunted as he tried to sit up without any success. "I am sorry!" Liz murmured quietly and buried her face into the blood red cloak that Gilbert wore. She felt herself shaking harshly as the wind picked up. She looked up and saw the bridge and the castle at the end of it. The green eyed girl scrubbed her eyes roughly and stood up determinedly.
She was still wobbly on her feet and feeling dizzy by the blood loss. However, Gilbert had saved her and she owed him for this. She held onto the balustrade of the bridge and stumbled her way over to the castle. As she reached the gate of the castle she hammered against it with all her strength, hoping that someone was awake and heard it.
She sank to her knees and waited for the door to open. And for sure, only seconds later the gate creaked open and an armor stepped out. It noticed the girl to its´ feet and hurriedly knelt down. "Missie! You are back! Are you alright?! Where is Master Gilbert?! Oh my god, is that blood?!" the armor chattered, panicked when it saw the blood.
"He…he is over there! I am sorry!" Liz apologized, not sure whether for not being able to carry her saviour to the castle or for getting him hurt in the first place. "Shhh, Missie! It is arlgiht! Glad to see that you are both alive." Alfred shushed her gently as he turned towards the castle and yelled for Berwald and Matthias.
"Alfie. What´s up man?" Matthias said as he came out of the castle with Berwald in tow. Yet they did not need an answer anymore when they saw the human at the stairs. "Master Gilbert is across the bridge. Bring him into the castle. I will take her to Yao." Alfred ordered seriously and helped Lizzy to her feet. She clang tightly to him as the world slightly tilted to one side.
"Understood!" Matthias saluted and then made his way noisily down the stairs and over the bridge. Berwald only grumbled as he followed the other. They reached their fallen master and heaved him up between them. Alfred casted them one look before making his way into the castle, supporting Elizabeta all the while.
Only 30 minutes later most of the servants, Liz and Gilbert were gathered in the living room with the fireplace heating and illuminating the room. "What were you thinking running around in the coldness clothed like this? I thought you were a little bit smarter than this Miss Elizabeta." Yao chided sourly as he prepared an ointment for her and Gilberts´ wounds.
"I am sorry…." She murmured as she let Arthur bandage her arm to stop the bleeding. "As you should be. You put yourself in great danger. God knows what could have happened if Master Gilbert hadn´t been there in time!" Yao let Alfred take the ointment to Gilbert who was sitting in a great armchair across the room. The cursed man looked pensively out of the window, avoiding eye contact with the others.
"It wouldn´t have happened if I had had a weapon with me!" Liz tried to defend herself but Yao only rolled his eyes. " Das ich nicht lache! [7] You are just a weak human!" Gilbert snarled at her which earned him glares from several servants in the room.
"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed angrily at them. "Ho….HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! IF YOU HADN`T SCARED ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!" Liz shouted furiously, her face turning bright red.
"I AM AT FAULT NOW FOR YOUR STUPIDITY?! UNGLAUBLICH! [8] IF YOU HADN`T GONE INTO THE NORTH WING I WOULDN`T HAVE SCARED YOU! SO IT IS YOUR FAULT!" Gilbert shouted back while standing up.
"AND YOU IMPRISONED ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Liz screamed and also stood up. They were now only millimetres away from each other, their eyes locking. "YOU! I CAN´T BELIEVE YOU! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Gilbert threw his arms into the air, earning a protest from Alfred who had been able to stop the bleeding only a moment prior.
"NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME! YOU ARE JUST TOO STUBBORN AND TOO STUPID TO CONTROL YOUR FUCKING TEMPER!" Liz yelled poking Gilbert´s chest harshly. The other occupants of the room were watching the exchange with interest. This situation was completely new as nobody had been brave enough to face the beast like that before.
"I….I! DU VERDAMMTE….[9]" Gilbert stammered as words failed him. He glared at the smaller person and huffed. "It would do you some good to learn to control your temper, stupid! However, Yao is right. If it hadn´t been for you, I would probably be dead. So thank you." the green eyed girl murmured with a small blush on her cheeks.
Gilberts´ eyes widened slightly and maybe he thought that she was indeed cute for a short moment. He was glad that she couldn´t see him blushing because of his fur. "Y…you are welcome. It was….partially my…my fault." Gilbert admitted quietly and looked to the side.
He glanced back and saw Elizabeta smile slightly. "I….I think we should go to bed!" Gilbert said hurriedly and sat down in his armchair. Lizzy chuckled slightly at this display and sat down as well.
After their wounds were taken care of, they went to their bedrooms. "You know, usually Gilbert would be furious if someone talked to him like that, mon cher." Francis explained casually as he escorted the human to her bedroom. "Is that so?" she answered tiredly as they reached her room.
"Indeed. However, you are special to him. Even if he won´t admit it, I can see it clearly." the candleholder explained as they entered the bedroom. The brunette glanced at him for a while, sighed and sat down on the bed. "Maybe he isn´t so bad…." she declared as she took the nightgown from the chair.
"MISS! Where have you been?!" a familiar voice exclaimed and a relieved looking closet came into the room. "Ah, Monica! Haven´t you heard?" Francis asked his sister with a smile on his lips. The closet looked at him quizzically. "What exactly? You know I can´t move into hall. The door is too narrow, brother." Monica pouted and looked over to the door.
"Come on then. Let´s move to the neighbouring room. Let Miss Elizabeta sleep." Francis explained and ushered his sister towards the big double door that was leading to another room. "Goodnight!" Liz called out and flopped back onto the bed as she was left alone in the room. She held up her arm and looked at the neatly done bandage around her arm as she thought about what happened in the forest and afterwards.
"Maybe he isn´t that bad." she whispered as her eyes closed slowly.
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Notes
Translations from German to English
[1] Dummkopf - fool
[2] wirklich - really
[3] Steh auf – Stand up
[4] ja, ja – Yes, yes
[5] Ruhig jetzt – Quiet now
[6] Mir geht´s gut – I´m fine
[7] Das ich nicht lache – …my arse/ass
[8] Unglaublich- Unbelievable
[9] Du verdammte – you damn
Soooooo what do you think? :D I hope you liked it and I hope you keep reading it :D
Recommend it to people you know if you like it and if not: recommend it to people that you don´t like ;)
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