All righty then! Didiane sees her mother's library! This chapter is actually rather short. I don't think I meant for it to be so short, but when I got to the line that ultimately ends it, it just seemed somehow appropriate to end the chapter on that note. It's...a line from the movie, and I think one that may elicit a chuckle from some folks. Since the general tone is a little on the somber side, I figured hey, that humorous note might be a good place to end the chapter, thus, the chapter is a pretty quick read.
Early the next morning, Beast went back to the library, retrieved the portal book, and took it back to the West Wing, where he put it in the bottom drawer of his nightstand. He was going to show Didiane the library her mother had so loved, but he knew her discovering the portal would probably not be a good thing. Especially when her mother still drew breath. She might try to go to her, as he had, but might not take the necessary care to keep her distance. It was all he could do last night to keep from running and cradling his Belle in his arms. But he knew even without that issue, Didiane was too young to go off on her own. Perhaps in a few years he would show her the book and how to use it, so she could have some freedom from this lonely castle. But for now, it was best to keep it well hidden.
Beast next took up the mirror and asked to see Belle. As painful as the reality of her impending death was, and as much as his heart shattered knowing he could not change her fate, he found himself hoping to find she'd passed during the night. He hated himself for hoping that, but he did want her suffering to stop. She was still alive though. Still struggling against the ravages of plague. At least she did not mumble her fears about Didiane. It gave him a small measure of solace that he had been able to relieve that anxiety, if he could do nothing else for her.
"I'm right here Belle," he whispered, wishing she could hear him. "I'm with you...to the extent possible."
It was definitely a heartbreaking thing to watch.
After breakfast, Beast and Didiane were exiting the dining room when Beast spoke.
"Didiane, there's something I'd like to show you. Something your mother loved very much."
"All right," Didiane said. As they walked, a question came to mind. "Have you looked in on her in the mirror lately?"
"I have."
"How is she? Has...she passed on yet?"
"Not yet."
"I feel awful for saying this," Didiane said, "or even thinking it, but I found myself this morning sort of hoping she had passed."
Beast stopped walking, placed a paw on her shoulder, turned her to face him, and knelt down to be closer to her level. He sighed.
"I had sort of hoped that too," he confessed. "And I felt awful thinking it myself. But we only think it because we love her and don't want her to suffer."
"I really just want her better," Didiane said, with the voice of one close to tears. "But it seems like a hopeless wish."
"I want that too," Beast said. He sighed. "But you are right I'm afraid. That's why we find ourselves hoping to discover she's passed. The only realistic hope we have to cling to is that her suffering ends sooner rather than later."
They hugged for a moment, and Didiane allowed a few tears to slip out. Then they continued their journey until they came to a large set of doors.
"You're mother's favorite room," Beast said softly, then pushed open the doors.
They stepped inside. Beast watched as Didiane had pretty much the same reaction her mother had twelve years prior. The reaction that had Beast questioning if she was all right. It was like deja vu, for here Didiane stood, with eyes and hair so like that of her mother, just gaping at all the books.
"Your mother looked just like this," Beast said. "I asked if she was all right, because I wasn't expecting to see her just dumbfounded. All she could say in response was that it was wonderful."
"It...is," Didiane said. "I never knew so many books ever existed in one place."
"I told her if she liked it so much it was hers," Beast said softly, fondly, sadly. He let a few silent seconds pass between them. "It's yours now."
"Thank you," Didiane said. "But I fear I haven't much use for such a grand library. Maman taught me to read...as much as she could. But with Papa being the way he was...well she couldn't teach me as much as either of us would have liked."
"Would you like to learn?" Beast asked. "I'd be happy to teach you and bring your reading skills up to what they could be."
"Would you?"
"Yes. And here you need not fear being punished for or hindered in your learning. Nor will you be ridiculed."
Didiane threw herself into Beast's arms in appreciation. After pulling out of the embrace, she had a question.
"Have you read all of these books, Beast?"
Beast smiled at yet another way this child seemed so like Belle.
"Your mother wanted to know that too."
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her I hadn't read all of them."
"How about now?" Didiane asked. "Have you read all of them in the past twelve years?"
"Well, no," Beast said. "One problem still remains. The problem that was the reason I hadn't read them all when your mother asked."
"Oh?" Didiane replied. "What's that?"
"Some of them are in Greek."