A/N: I'm not sure how to start this one, I'll just try to wing it and see what comes out. Maybe we'll hear from Jason this chapter, that'd be nice, wouldn't it? Thanks much to my regulars, Chibi Hime, Chien, possibly a new friend Lady Sorrow, you guys ROCK. We're gonna be getting a closer look at Belle in this one, I really shouldn't say any more than that. Okay, here we go.

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This was not good at all. Sleep, eat, work, eat, work, eat, work, sleep had become my day. I wasn't sure how long I could keep this up. My thoughts had become simple and short, Keep cleaning, keep eating, keep breathing, Belle's calling. For some reason, I'd been labeled as Belle's personal handmaiden. I would have been upset, if I'd had any emotion left. She gave so many orders; I went to sleep more tired than the day before (A/N: I actually wanted to start w/ that line, but I couldn't remember it until now **grins sheepishly**.).

She never said my name, I doubted she knew any of our names, "Servant, my wardrobe! 'Tis dusty! Wipe it, I shall want to view my visage in it within the hour!" Approximate time of order: 10:55 pm. That was a fun day. And yes, she DID talk like that ALL THE TIME.

"Servant, I'm ever so hungry, fetch me something to eat!" Ugh, it just goes on like this, I don't think I need to elaborate any more.

Suffice it to say, I'd never felt emptier or more miserable in my life. There were no words to describe my fear of the future, of what I was slowly becoming. If past events had taken me off that road I'd strode unfailingly after my mother's death, Belle had thrown me a hundred miles farther down it.



I was remaking her bed, in bedroom 45, if you can believe it, when Her Evilness burst through the door, looking furious. I'd never seen her this way. Her usually pool-like eyes flashing, her brow creased, stomping on the floor as she walked like she was trying desperately to break right through it. So shocked to see her like this, I didn't realize that she was marching straight at me, poison daggers shooting from her eyes. When I did I shrunk back against the wall, fearing for my own life. I hadn't done that, well, not in the same spirit, since that night in the village.

"YOU!" she shouted, "Servant! You are RUINING my plans!" She came right up in my trembling face a finger stabbing a little too close for comfort at my neck.

"W-w-what, my lady?" I stuttered. It was the first alteration in my speech patterns in a week.

"Like you don't know! BAH! I can see it in your," she struggled for a suitable adjective, "Worthless," she settled on, "face!" She jerked away from me, pacing like a furious tigress. I tried to creep away from the wall, my muscles tired from their adrenaline-pumped state, but she was there again, pointy finger nearly going straight up my nose.

"M-my lady," I half-whispered, "I surely have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, SERVANT!" Was that the best insult she could come up with? I guess it was where she came from, "YOU are ALL he can TALK about!" Huh? Is she talking about what I think she's talking about? My heart fluttered slightly. Still, best to play dumb with enraged nobles. I wasn't sure whether she had the power to can me, but I wasn't in the mood to try.

"I really, honestly don't kno-"

"No matter WHAT I do, how much of MY time I spend with him," it seemed her carefully cultured language had gone out the window, "it's always, 'Oh, me and SAASHAA read that book!' or 'I wonder what SAASHAA would think of this.' You are RUINING EVERYTHING!" She actually came after me. That's the funny part. I nearly burst out laughing when she went for my throat with her pointy little fingers. I quickly grabbed her wrists, holding her at a suitable distance.

"LET GO OF ME!" she screeched. Another rule with enraged nobles: make sure you know how to defend yourself, just in case. Work in the garden had toned my arm muscles to definition, if not perfection. This sweet little girl wasn't going anywhere. I was angry now, and tired of her shit. It was the best feeling in the world, as I felt the shell crack, then shatter, and find the goo inside wasn't quite as runny as I'd thought. Now, to get some answers outta the little bitch.

"I will let you go," I said acidly, "You will sit in this chair," I walked her into a small chair near the window, "and not get up until you tell me every goddamn thing about your little plan."

I stood in front of her, making damn certain my body language said try to get up and I'll tear your precious little face off. She did try, silly little shit, and I soundly thrust my body into her. She may have been taller, but I was superior when it came to strength, big surprise. She dropped back into the chair soundly, crossing her arms and pouting toward the window. I didn't say anything, she knew she wasn't leaving, and I knew I could go without food much longer than her. She glared up at me, but I kept my face passive, a stonewall that would remain where it was until she told me what I wanted to hear.

"Fine!" she snapped at me, "You wanna know, I'll tell you! In fact, I'm actually shocked you don't already know, being that you and the master are SUCH GOOD FRIENDS and all." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Spit it out, precious," I growled angrily, "I've got things to do."

She huffed exasperatedly, "You know how to break the curse, the beast lord's curse, don't you?" I thought back on the folk songs and rumors. Had one of them mentioned a cure for the curse? Yeah, I think so, wasn't it- "You have to make him fall in love with you!" she cried, soundly derailing my train of thought. HIM fall in love with YOU? Wait, that doesn't sound right.

I opened my mouth to correct her, but she'd already started yakking again, "My father said I should come here and break the curse. It made sense to me: live in a castle, get famous as the-girl-who-broke-the-curse, and even get a rich AND hot husband outta the deal. There was no downside, until I actually GOT here, and saw what a dribbling sap he was for you. Plus, those creepy eyes of his," she paused, shaking off a memory, "I have to tip my hat to you," she continued, "Your WAY farther along than I'VE gotten. But I guess that makes sense, since you didn't have any competition or any-"

"What?!" Was she serious? Did she REALLY think I was after Jason's money? That I was after JASON, for that reason anyway? Ugh, the idea made my stomach churn. How could someone play on another's emotions like that? I felt like punching her beautiful face in, "I have NO sadistic PLAN to break his curse, and I'm disgusted, though not AT ALL shocked, that YOU do!" She sniffed, looking out the window again.

"Like it matters what YOU think, servant. A few more days and he'll be mine, whether he likes it or not. And there's little, short of killing me, which I wouldn't be AT ALL shocked if you did, servant, that you can do about it. Now, move aside, I've told you everything." I did as I was told, feeling wounded and small, "Oh, and, by the way," she turned slowly, an oily smile on her face, "Remake the bed, servant." She was giggling musically as she danced, as she always seemed to, out of the room.

That's when the tears made their daring escape. I collapsed on the tiny, couldn't seat a six year old comfortably chair and wept until my apron was soaked through.

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Like I couldn't see what was going on here. Please! Believe it or not, I'd been through THIS particular torment before. The first few years, as the rumors congealed in the population's mind, villagers from all over the realm sent their daughters to woo me into my true form. It made me sick, it really did. But one good roar or two sent every last one of them running for the hills. Their numbers had eventually trickled down to once or twice a year, thank God. But this one, she was persistent. It didn't matter that she had it wrong in the first place; it wasn't like anyone was going to correct her. For a while her little tricks were amusing. The thought that anyone could fall in love with such a shameless tramp was laughable.

I'd known what would happen as soon as the intruder had pawned his daughter off on me. But it still caught me off guard; it had been a while since one of them had worked up the balls to actually send their daughter off to a very-likely early grave. He was either desperately poor, or didn't care for his offspring as much as money and power. But still, I found myself in shock, and it showed. Everything had been going so well, I was happy, or really, REALLY close to it, and now this? What kind of sick joke was this?

Anyway, knowing what was happening, I couldn't face Sasha. I couldn't help but wonder what she'd think if she knew what I would do to this pretty little defenseless fairy-tale whore. Then, suddenly, I didn't have to worry about it because she wasn't there anymore. Her body was there, my racing heart and blurry mind, among other things, was damn sure of that, but that was it. It hurt so much to see her disappear into the darkness after lessons, alone, without anyone to guide her, protect her. But I said nothing, did nothing, and now I was reaping what I'd sown.

I'd tried to rid myself of Belle, short of slicing her to ribbons, but she was always there. I'd climb to the highest, darkest balcony in the library, there she'd be, well maybe calling me from the bottom, "My loooooord!" I longed to be called Jason again, but that wasn't going to happen, and I never EVER wanted to hear it drop from Belle's lips. No, it would only sound right coming from one person's lips, and she wasn't here anymore. I'd still done nothing to fix this significant problem. My mind revolved around the issue, questions circling like vultures: what was I going to do? Was I too late? Have I lost her forever? Around and around. Simply apologizing didn't seem right, it didn't seem fitting or enough to fix the damage. Maybe getting rid of Belle, but that didn't seem possible, especially with her shouting in my ear like this-

That's when I noticed the slut, and I jerked in surprise, nearly falling off my perch atop the twelfth bookcase.

"- LISTENING to me?!" she had been shouting. She was hanging on the uppermost steps of the ladder, waving her arms in my face. How easy it would have been to tip her off that ladder. I glanced at the floor, wondering if a fall from this height would do the trick. Probably not, my mind mused, maybe if you threw her .

"Hel-LOO! I'm over here!"

"What do you want, Belle?" I spat out her name, "Can't you see I'm BUSY!" I roared the last bit at her, hoping to blow her off the ladder. No success, barely even a flinch. There will be other chances.

"You don't SEEM very busy, all you're doing is sitting on a bookcase." She folded her arms indignantly over her chest. I sighed tiredly, "Come with me," her voice became suddenly soft and seductive. Oh, for Christ's sake! "We'll walk in the courtyard together, all of those roses are ever so lovely!" She reclaimed her well-bred accent. Sure, I almost laughed, she was about as well bred as an alley cat. But she already had her arm through mine, and was carting me down the ladder.

I didn't want to walk in the courtyard together, it only reminded me how badly I'd screwed everything up. Being there with Belle seemed like a crime, a mistake. There was only one person I belonged there with, and she wasn't here. But I kept walking, allowing Belle to pull my weight away from the little peace I could still feel in the library, through the halls, and into the harsh sun in the courtyard.

I won't lie, the courtyard WAS beautiful. Flowers and small trees of all kinds had grown uncharacteristically quickly in soil I could have sworn was long dead. Their sweet scent drifted through the air like a dream, and their colors in the sun created multi-colored patches of reflected light on the marble statues. If it hadn't been for Belle, this place would've been as much of a haven as the library. It had just as much, if not more, of the feeling of a warm embrace, the same peace that lulled you into a euphoric trance. I was amazed at Ivan and Sasha's skill.

Belle had been right about one thing, the roses WERE "ever so lovely," as she put it. All different colors, from a gold-tinged peach, to a dark as night purple. And, naturally, the deepest red I'd ever seen in my life. They were perfect, illuminated with sunlight. Even with Belle, the magic of this place made me feel better than I had in weeks. I felt like Sasha was there with me again, on my arm, being warmed by the same sun. What was that she said?

"What, Sasha?" I said dreamily. Abruptly the arm was gone from mine, and I looked around in surprise. Every part of me sank at the sight of an infuriated Belle.

"I-AM-NOT-SASHA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, blasting away any sense of well being given to me from the garden. It instantly seemed darker outside.

"Oops." I said without emotion. She gave an indignant huff then flounced out of the courtyard. Finally, a moment of peace, maybe even, dare I say it, privacy. Although, that wasn't what I REALLY wanted, now, was it? I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to recapture the euphoric trance I'd briefly obtained. I was nearly back under its spell when I caught sight of Crawford. The look on his face destroyed my valiant efforts.

"Derrick," he said quietly, "There are some torch-wielding gentlemen to see you." Not a subtle guy, Crawford.

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A/N: Wow, now THAT'S what I call a cliffhanger. Let's see if I can wait more than 24 hours to finish this story.