Disclaimer: I own none of the Beauty and the Beast story-that is all Disney's!

Chapter 9 Shaken Foundation

Hugh had let me meander through his vast library, allowing myself to lovingly stroke the spines of the precious volumes, while he watched from his comfortable chair. I had made my way through As,Bs,Cs, picking up and glancing through the most interesting ones, and had just climbed the large ladder to find a shelf full of Ds, when the ladder moved. It started as a slight jolt and I clasped hard to the sides of the ladder to steady myself.

'Get down from there, Julie!' Hugh shouted as he bolted out of his chair in sheer terror.

I was about to take a step down when the jolt became a rumble, and the rumble became a full fledged earthquake, my hand slipped, and I was airborne among the chaotic movement. Before I felt what pain was surely to come, I felt instead strong, heavy arms around me. All the sudden the mansion stopped shaking and I was looking up at two ocean blue, very human eyes.

'You okay?' He breathed. Concern written plainly across face.

'Yes, thanks to you.' I smiled up at him. He seemed to then remember that I was still swallowed up in his arms and let me go awkwardly. He then took a deep sigh of relief and looked carefully around at the room.

'What happened? I didn't think we had earthquakes here!'

'Well, we do have them here' He began to pick up a thrown book, or a lamp out of place.

I waited until he was looking at me again before I began my questioning. I felt like there were a thousand questions on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed, took a deep breath and began with just one.

'Why?'

'The house is falling apart, Julles.' If I wasn't so curious, I would have smiled at the pet name, instead I tilted my head in listening curiosity and allowed him to continue.

'I guess I better finish that story I started, if any of this is to make sense-then again-I'm still not sure it will make sense anyway. If anyone will believe me though, I suppose it's going to be you.' He said that with a shy smile, that I tried to return with a reassuring one.

'I know last time I told you that I had this fleeting wish-a wish to be alone and away from all the people who were paid to be near me, instead of actually wanting to be near me. I didn't mean it seriously, or at least, I told myself that. One day, when I was about 14, I found this book.'

He walked over to a small circular table and carried over a large, brown book, wrinkled and smelling of age and something else I couldn't quite put a word to. On it's cover was a single gold rose.

'It's called The Mysteries of the Universe.' My eyebrows must have raised, because his next sentence had a chuckle added. 'Yes, what a name, and I rather thought it was pretentious too. However, I was a bored teenager who had read every magic and fantasy genre book known to man-or at least that could be procured by employees of my father. I started to read it, and instead of words lingering in my mind, they seemed to form a person as I read them. She was tall, dark, and gorgeous. She had a sort of glow about her that got stronger the longer the book was open. She told me that she had heard my wish and was here to grant it. This puzzled me, but I was too shocked to reply. She told me that since I desired to be alone, that is what I would have. No one would want to be with me and no one would actually see me. I suddenly found myself looking like this-' he pointed to himself. 'And surrounded by a dark foreboding mansion. My only access to the outside world are the windows that show me the cars going by, people who walk together, with no ability to reach out to them. Apparently the book was published in the 1850s, which is why the house and its contents are like they are. I don't understand why she moved me to the States, except that she told me that my father and those who knew me would basically forget I existed. If they found me, it could trigger memories and lead to insanity, so I suppose she was just making sure I was well hidden.

The whole thing is timed-I'm not at liberty to tell you how much time I have left, and I can't give you all the particulars of why it's timed, or how it's timed, or what would cause things to go back to normal. The Enchantress, or at least that's what the book calls her, has made it where I can't. She seemed to think she was some sort of Genie, granting me these past 10 years of blissful solitude (here he rolled his eyes), and giving me an exterior that no one would want to be with, thus preventing any interruptions to my blissful solitude. I don't know why she had to give me such a monstrous appearance, as it's not like anyone has ever seen past the filter to even see a house. Well, no one except you, of course.' His smile reached his eyes and he looked down at me in wonder, awe, and almost happiness. He stopped for a second, reaching for words but seeming to forget where he was going with the conversation.

'And the earthquake?'

He found the words he had been looking for. 'Oh yes, the earthquake! Like I said, the whole 'curse', 'wish', whatever you want to call it, is timed. After a year of living here, I decided to pick a rose from the outside to bring in. The house shook and part of the walls of the West Wing had obvious cracks in them. After that, from time to time, the house shakes on its own, and another part of the house will be left in shambles. Thankfully the house is incredibly large.' He shrugged at the last bit. I couldn't help but reach out a hand and place it on his arm as he said everything. He seemed so incredibly sad, as if resigned to eventually crumble into shambles himself. Perhaps that would be what would happen eventually, and it caused a lump to form in my throat.

'The rose I picked.' My eyes got wide in realization. 'That's why you were so angry! What did it do to the house?'

'Yeah, a rose picked seems to cause more damage to the house than what it does on it's own. But don't worry, Julles, it's not like you knew or anything. I'm kind of glad you did it-it cause you to come back, didn't it?'

I smiled in agreement and caught his own smiley stare. I could have sworn that for a moment, the fur was gone, the nose was shaped like a normal round and buttoned sort of thing. That the red fur on top was actually an auburn human mane, and his mouth looked no more fierce than mine. My eyes traveled back to his own eyes, where the image reverted back to the more intimidating thing I was used to and I started back suddenly.

'What's wrong?'

'N-nothing, just, I don't know. I guess I should be getting back.'

He sighed. 'I suppose so. It was nice to see you again. You are welcome anytime. I hope I didn't scare you off too much with my wild story.'

'Nothing wilder than what my eyes are seeing right this second.' I assured him, smiled, and walked away towards a less wild reality, though perhaps all the more dangerous.

Author's note: Soooooo another nod to Once Upon a Time (I do not own anything by them, in case a disclaimer is necessary). I just always loved that scene in the show, and it's my story, so I figured I could add it if I wanted to, lol.
As you can see, the window works as this beast's mirror to the outside world, and the Enchantress is a stupid, pretentious thing. I may or may not do more information on her-I haven't decided yet. This is a fairy tale, and while more on the modern side, I like that for fairy tales you don't have to explain yourself as much.
Let me know what you think! I would love a comment or two, even for some constructive criticism ;) .