The master didn't sleep well. After being yelled at by Tikki for scaring the poor girl, and having Plagg point at him and laugh for the remainder of the evening—despite his claims he hadn't licked her on purpose—he curled up in bed and stared at the ceiling for hours until dawn's fingers crept through the window and splashed pink light into his room.
Usually he would be out of bed early for a morning walk through the grounds before heading to the dining room for breakfast. But today he didn't move from under his duvet until nearly noon, when Sass came in to sit on his stomach.
"You're not ssssstill moping, are you?" he asked, bouncing across his chest to poke his face.
"Go away, Sass," the master mumbled, pushing the valet away. "This is all Plagg's fault."
"My fault?"
The master lifted his head just enough to see Plagg had joined Sass in his room then pressed his face back into his pillow. "If you hadn't kidnapped that poor girl in the first place, none of this would have happened."
"Not my fault you decided to lick her," Plagg replied. "Even if you were going in for a kiss, that was a bit too forward."
"Sssstrange hearing romanccce adviccce from you," Sass quipped.
The master frowned at them. "I told you yesterday, I didn't mean to lick her. I...can't control it sometimes…" As if to prove his point, his tongue flicked out again involuntarily.
"You'll get ussssed to it," Sass remarked. "I did, eventually…"
"It was pretty funny though," Plagg said with a snigger. "Oh, hey, sugar-cube."
The master looked up again to see Tikki glowering at Plagg.
"Don't call me that," she said. "Is the master not up yet?"
"No," the master snapped. "I'm not. Could you three leave please?"
"Oh, master." Tikki flew closer to his head and patted his nose. "I know last night was, well, a disaster. But you can't give up so quickly! Go and talk to her." She smiled, eyes twinkling. "She's been through a lot: lost her family, her friends, her home, all in a day. Some reassurance from you would do her a world of good, I'm sure."
The master sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea, Tikki," he said. "I'm the last person she'll want to talk to. Especially after everything that happened yesterday."
"If you're talking about the lick…"
He groaned, covering his face with his hands. He could feel a hot blush rising beneath his scales. "Can we please forget that. I'm talking about everything else. Her losing her family, her friends, her home. She'll only blame me for that—and she'll be right. I should give her space."
"I think a word of reassurance would be good right now," Tikki pressed. "Just...just to let her know you're not a monster or a beast, and that you're not going to hurt her. I tried to persuade her last night but I think she's still a little spooked…"
Tikki was right, as usual. He sighed and sat up a little straighter. He flexed his fingers, watching the tiny scales ripple like chainmail. "I still don't think she'll want to talk to me."
"She doesn't need to talk, just listen," Tikki said.
"You should at leassst try," Sass continued.
"Just don't lick her this time," added Plagg unhelpfully.
The master moaned again but nonetheless he stood up, stretched, and grabbed his cloak. He pulled it around his shoulders and arranged the fabric to cover as much of his arms and torso as he could. It was never enough, however, and there was nothing he could do about his face.
He stepped out of his room into a wide corridor which immediately burst into light as the torches and chandeliers ignited themselves. However, he quickly realised he had no idea which room the girl had been put up in and had to wait for Tikki to emerge and lead the way. Plagg and Sass followed—no doubt to laugh at him under the guise of emotional support.
The girl—he realised Plagg hadn't told him her name yet—was in a room the next floor down. One of the nicest rooms in the castle, he noted. Good—she deserved whatever luxuries they could offer after her ordeal. Outside the door he hesitated.
What exactly was he meant to say? What was there to say? He looked quickly at the servants, who were hovering a few feet away to afford him some semblance of privacy. The master sighed and shut his eyes. He had never thought himself good with words, but he often found the right ones came to him whenever he needed them.
Tap tap tap
"Tikki, is that you?"
The master sent a desperate look over his shoulder, but the three servants only responded with encouraging grins. "I'm afraid not," he replied. "It's me, uh...the…the beast. Can I come in, mademoiselle?"
"Marinette," Tikki hissed.
"Marinette," he added.
A brief pause, then he felt a shift in energy.
"No," the girl snapped. "Go away."
Just as he expected. "Alright," he said. "I'll go. I just want you to know that...I don't want you to be afraid. No one in this castle will harm you, and everything you want will be given. You only need to ask—me, or one of my servants."
"What about my freedom?" she snarled.
The master's shoulders deflated. "That's the only thing we can't give. I'm sorry."
"Then go away."
"As you wish." He turned to leave, but before he went he added, "And I'm sorry about last night. I hope I didn't scare you too much."
No reply. The master walked away, and the three servants quickly joined him.
"Master, maybe-"
"No, Tikki," he interrupted, shaking his head. "She doesn't want to listen to me. And that's alright—I'm not surprised. I can't force her to hear me out."
"I'm sure she'll come around eventually," Tikki reassured.
"I hope," the master agreed. "In the meantime, attend to her. Make her as comfortable as possible. She is to be treated as the lady of the house. And…" He hesitated, staring at his scaly hands. "Invite her to dinner again."
"Yes, master." Tikki bowed and disappeared.
"Is he gone?" Marinette asked when Tikki appeared in her room.
"Yes, he's gone."
"Thank goodness," she breathed, collapsing on the bed. "I thought he'd never leave…"
Tikki busied herself tidying the already immaculate room. "You really ought to give the master a chance. He's very nice once you get to know him."
"Are you kidding? This is the creature that had me taken away from my family and friends, my home, everything I know." She glowered and punched a pillow. "And he won't tell me why."
"You haven't really given him the chance to explain anything," Tikki pointed out. "Go to dinner with him tonight. You might find you like him."
"I don't want to like him. I don't want anything to do with him. I don't care if he threatens to lock me in a dungeon and let me starve."
"He wouldn't do that," said Tikki gently. "We've been instructed to keep you as comfortable as possible."
Marinette sat up and stared at her. The beast wanted her to be comfortable? She wasn't sure why she was surprised—she'd been treated to a life of luxury since she'd arrived. "He told you that?"
Tikki nodded.
"That doesn't change anything. I'm still not going to dinner."
Tikki sighed. "I had a feeling you'd say that."
The rest of the day dragged by slowly. Despite Tikki's offers to bring her books, paint, thread, paper, or anything else she might want, Marinette remained sitting resolutely at her desk, staring out the window and plotting ways to escape.
When at last the hour approached for dinner, Marinette was tempted to go just to interrogate her captor. They had mentioned her only chance to get home resided in a meeting with the master. But when Tikki arrived and pulled a forest green gown out of the wardrobe, an awful dread writhed in Marinette's stomach.
"No, I can't," she said. "I can't eat with him. Not after what he did. What he's done to me."
"But it was Plagg, not the master, who brought you here. Plagg was meant to bring someone who needed saving. You can't really blame the master for this."
"Oh, I blame him. He shouldn't have okayed the kidnapping of random women in the first place."
But Tikki only sighed then left the room, leaving the gown sprawled across the bed. She returned half an hour later to wordlessly deliver a steaming plate of fish, potatoes and vegetables before disappearing.
Meanwhile, at an empty dining table, the master stared at his barely-touched food, trying to swallow the disappointment rising in his throat.
"This is hopeless," he muttered, as Sass and another servant, a floating green turtle, cleared the table. "Of course I shouldn't have expected her to… not after what happened. She won't even look at me, let alone…"
"Give it time," said the turtle, Wayzz. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually."
"She'd better come around," Sass said. "Or elssse we're done for—and ssso is she."
The master leant back and let his head loll onto his shoulder. "I wouldn't mind if it was just me, but-" he looked at Sass and Wayzz, vision growing misty. "I don't want you to-…because of my mistake…"
"Oh, massster…" Sass sighed. "You didn't make a missstake. Thisss isn't your fault."
"It was our decision to stay," Wayzz added.
"Maybe I should've said yes to that fairy, then-"
"No you shouldn't have," Sass said. "Fairies are crafty creatures—she wouldn't have made our lives easy even if you had married her."
"And the pursuit of true love is a noble cause," said Wayzz. "You deserve the chance to be happy."
The master attempted a smile but he knew his servants saw straight through it. "I think that ship has sailed," he said. "I've lost the chance. She...she's the only girl now that could break the curse and she hates me. I don't think she'll ever come to like me, let alone love."
Wayzz settled on the table in front of him, his face stretched into a knowing smile. "It only takes a thunderclap to fall in love. A coup de foudre needs only the right conditions."
"Getting them in the sssame room without her running away would be a good ssstart," sniggered Sass.
"I'm sure once you have a real conversation with her, it'll feel far easier," Wayzz added. "She'll realise you're not a monster, and you might find out more about her that'll help to, well…"
"Woo her," Sass finished.
"I'd be lucky to share one sentence with her," the master muttered, sighing. If he could just find a way to talk to her without her running away or shutting him out. If he could hide his hideousness somehow...but it was too late now. She'd seen him, she'd felt his claws...she wasn't just scared of him; she was disgusted by him. There was no way she'd ever talk to him now.
He stood up so abruptly that he nearly knocked over his chair. Then, without another word he swept out of the dining hall.
Marinette went to bed early that evening. Tikki helped her change into her nightdress—she wasn't sure why because she was perfectly capable of doing it herself—then left. The only source of light was the candle left burning on her desk. Marinette stared at the flickering flame, darkness pulsating around it, and decided tomorrow to ask Tikki for some paper. She would write letters to her parents, her friends, Adrien. Even if she couldn't send them, she might feel less lonely.
The candle cast faint orange light through the room, gleaming on the simple chandelier and throwing shadows up the walls. Marinette shuffled over to the desk and grabbed the candle then took it back to bed with her. The flame wobbled as she walked, and a drop of wax dribbled down the brass holder. She used her free hand to shut her bed curtains, and blew out the candle. Immediately the room turned black, but when she breathed in there was now a pleasant scent of wax and smoke. She carefully placed the still-warm candle on the little table by her bed, next to her tinderbox, and pulled the blankets around her body.
Marinette shut her eyes, pressing her head into the pillow, and waited for sleep to claim her.
But it didn't. Instead there was a sound like a door creaking, or perhaps a floorboard? She frowned; it was probably just the wooden bed frame. Even still, her heart picked up in her chest, her breathing grew shallow, and the skin on the back of her neck prickled.
"Hello," said a voice.
Marinette choked on her own scream.
Ho snap.