I don't own Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you for the feedback, you all. This is chap 19. :)

I hope u like it.

And thank you guys for the reviews! They make my muse happy, so keep 'em coming so my muse stays inspired. :D

To Julia: Here is a bit... well a lot about the curse, my dear. :) Just as u asked... Hugs & kisses to ya! :)

REVIEW please?

The first thing that flashed through Vincent's mind when he woke up, was : where's Catherine? He sat up, gasping for air and looked startled around. Where was he? What happened? What the…?

He tried to remember how he ended up here, but his memory was failing him. While closing his eyes again, Vincent tried to get up. Leaning on a pillow, he observed the room. It looked very familiar, but he just couldn't seem to place it.

His head felt like it wanted to explode! So with all the energy he had, he brought his hands to his temples. Rubbing them with his fingers, made his head ache go away very slowly. Vincent was just about to stand on his feet, when he saw Galya walk in.

Galya! Yes, that's where he was. At Galya's… He very often used to come here with his grandma and his cousin, when he was younger.

"Aaah… Mr. Vincent, you are awake." She said and smiled at him.

Vincent did his best to answer her smile."Galya, where is miss Catherine? Is she okay? Can you show me where she is?" he said, while he gripped at the sheets.

Just the thought of not knowing where she was, made his stomach tie into knots.

The older woman smiled."She is in the garden, don't worry. I have treated her well, sir." She promised.

"Okay." He said and noticed that he didn't feel any pain in his knee.

"What? How? But…?" he asked and saw the older woman smile.

"I have made some homemade medicine from the roots of a plant from my garden. It doesn't work like painkillers, but it will make sure that your knee will heal completely in no time. I have given miss Catherine a bottle so you can use it, when your home. Apply it on your knee, while massaging the skin." She stated, while she placed a hand on his knee.

It was then, when Vincent realized that his pants were cut with a scissor up his leg to his knee.

"Yeah, I asked miss Catherine to cut it, cause it was in the way." She said.

Vincent was very thankful."Thank you, Galya. But what happened? I remember that we were in that cave and the rest is blank…" he said.

Galya took a seat in a chair."Well, luckily one of the mineworkers was walking on that side of the mountain and heard miss Catherine call for help. They immediately helped the both of you. You had fainted, so they wanted to bring you as soon as possible to a doctor. But the nearest doctor was too far away, so one of the men had a idea to bring you here to me. So here you are now…" she explained.

Vincent sighed."I really need to see her, Galya. Bring me to her, please?" he pleaded.

He wanted to be sure that Catherine was indeed okay. In that moment, Vincent realized that the Beauty in the garden, had completely stolen his heart…

Galya had a pair of crutches in her closet, so she gave them to him. While Vincent walked behind Galya, his heart rammed against his rib cage. Catherine. Sweet, beautiful Catherine. Why has life brought her to him? Was it on purpose or was it accidental?

They were about to walk out the door, when Galya turned around to say something to Vincent.

"Sir, I think it would be for the best if you told her everything about the curse." She said.

Vincent shook his head, while he held onto the older woman."No, Galya. She doesn't need to know it all, okay?" he replied.

The older woman grabbed his hand and led him to her couch."You have to tell her about what you can BECOME, sir. She has the right to know." She demanded.

"Galya… no! That is out of the question! She cares about me… for who I am. She doesn't need to know WHAT I can become, okay? And besides, I haven't turned since the last time I fought with Yorgos. And you do know that I can control it! No, I don't wanna scare her. And I am afraid that…" his voice failed him at the end, while he looked away.

Galya looked him straight in the eye." Sir, you don't have to be afraid. She is the one, I can feel and sense it. My whole being tells me that she will break the curse. But how will she be able to do that, if she doesn't know everything about it? Don't worry, sir. She really cares about you. Of course in the beginning she will be afraid, but I know she will accept that side of you too. If you don't let her, if you don't give it a try, you will always stay this way. Do you want to be part man and part Beast till the day you die?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper at the end.

Vincent looked at the older woman."I can't lose her now, Galya. I have fallen in love with her. I need her with me, like I need air to breathe. If she sees that part of me, she will surely run. I can't take that risk. My heart won't be able to survive without her; it will die, Galya!" He stated and got up from the couch, walking out the front door.

The older woman stared into the fireplace."But she has to fall in love with the man side of you AND the Beast side of you." Galya whispered, knowing that the two young people in her garden had a very bumpy road ahead of them…

()

As Vincent walked towards Catherine, he watched how she was enjoying the beautiful garden. The second she saw him, Catherine ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him. She brought her lips to his ear.

"God, Vincent! You scared the hell outta me! Don't you ever do that again, ok? My heart wont survive it." She said, her voice a mere whisper.

A delicious shiver went through his spine, knowing that she cared so much about him. Feeling that she probably felt as strongly for him as he did for her. Vincent closed his eyes, trying to convince himself that he was right. Catherine cared about him, for him. She didn't need to know the Beast side of him. It was unnecessary and that would be so cruel… no! She should be spared from that knowledge.

Of course he knew that you had to be honest in a relationship, but he wanted to spare her the fear. It was unnecessary to force one more fear into her life. Catherine had enough demons to deal with; he wasn't gonna add 1 more to the list…

After a few moments, she pulled away from their warm embrace to take a good look at him. She brought her hand to his cheek, where his scar was and began tracing it. Vincent felt his heartbeat kick up a notch, while a wonderful shiver went through his whole body.

She smiled and said."Wanna get out of here?"

He nodded, too overwhelmed by her loving look and the feel of her fingers on his cheek.

"Let's see where Galya is, shall we?" Cat said and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.

Catherine still hadn't forgotten how she reacted when Vincent grazed his thumb over her scar; she was still very afraid. But… her need to be close to him…to feel his warm skin on her fingertips was stronger than her fear. So even though she was still very afraid, she boldly held onto the strong, but gentle grip of his hand…

As they entered the small cottage, Vincent's phone rang. He picked it up.

"Hallo." he said.

Catherine was watching him and as he spoke to the person on the other line, she heard it in his voice that he was hearing a not so great news.

"Xylia! Xylia, please try to calm down. Everything will be okay. Just stay put, I will be at your place as soon as possible, alright?" he said, avoiding Catherine's gaze and letting go of her hand in the process.

At that moment, Catherine felt a sharp pain in her chest. She watched him and felt that her stomach was tied into knots. Xylia? Who is this Xylia person? And why did he let go of her hand, while he talked to the woman?

Catherine watched as Vincent nervously ran his hand through his dark hair. She observed him closely, while the wheels in Catherine's head was turning. She hated this look on his face. His face was expressionless, like he wasn't able to have any feelings. Why did a call from this Xylia person, cause him to act all emotionless? Was he hiding something from her? Was Vincent keeping secrets from her?

A/N: Oh oh! Who is this Xylia woman? Hmm, Cat sounds a bit jealous...

What do u think? Should Vince just tell Cat everything 'bout himself or... should he keep it to himself?

Review Please?

Ruby.

:)