Hey guys! I guess by now you've guessed that I'm continuing, hehe! Anyways,
on with the story!
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Duo gathered a thin cloak around himself, watching crystalline breath pour out of his mouth. It was freezing cold inside the forest, and though he should have taken more care of his health because of that fact, it only made him worry more about his dear Uncle and less about himself. Philippe moved on nervously, often glancing over his shoulder, then at last came to a stop in front of a huge pair of iron-wrought gates. Duo couldn't imagine what on Earth would compel anyone to lock everyone out of their home with such an ominous entrance, but realised that somewhere inside must be where his Uncle was.
He slid off of Philippe's back and pushed open the gate, glancing nervously around for guards of any sort. When none came, he slid inside and pulled the horse in with him. On the way over they'd heard what sounded suspiciously like wolf cries, and he wasn't about to take any chances by leaving his horse alone outside the courtyard walls. After firmly shutting the gates again, he tied Philippe's reigns to an old protrusion in the brickwork of the wall. Duo suspected that it had once been a holder for torches, but it had been unused for many years.
The boy nervously turned his gaze to the tall castle looming ahead, and feverishly hoped that the horse had taken him to the right place. Pulling the cloak even further around him, only his face and long lock of hair were visible as he pushed open the door and glanced around. His footsteps echoed around him, and he could have sworn he heard voices off in the distance. In any normal case, he would have cried out a friendly hello to arouse the owner of the castle, but for some reason felt like that would be a bad idea. Instead, he slunk towards the voices he heard, glancing around for some kind of candle to light up the dank hallways.
"...surely he would twist our heads off if we even suggested it! You know the master's temper!"
"But we can't just leave the poor man there! He's done no harm."
"He should have listened to me, not you. He must have a poor sense of honour, to just go walking into any house or castle he wants! Disgraceful!"
"You don't mean that. I mean honestly, he just needed a warm fire and a cup of tea..." The conversation trailed off, and Duo opened another door to try and find the owners of the voices. He found himself standing in a tall, winding stairwell, and recalled the soaring tower he'd seen from the outside. Immediately he thought of the high towers in storybooks, where beautiful princesses were always held captive. Maybe this tower was where his Uncle was being kept! He shuddered at the thought, but sprinted up the steps quickly. He passed by a niche in the wall with a candleholder, and curiously, a clock, but didn't stop to take the candle for light. Duo simply had to find his Uncle right then, and didn't have time to wonder who would put a clock in staircase up to a tower.
When he got to the top, a fearful noise escaped him. "Uncle!" He cried, rushing to the bars of the cell where his last living relative sat, hacking and wheezing. "Uncle!" He repeated, sticking his arms through and grabbing hold of the old man's hand. His Uncle looked up fearfully, but then double- took.
"Duo? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to rescue you! I'll get you out... I'll find the key, and we can go home, and..."
"No, no, you don't understand! You must leave right away!" Duo frowned, glancing around the room for a key of any sort.
"Don't be silly, Uncle. We've got to get you out of here!" He glanced back at the elderly fellow, and noticed a look of terror crossing his pale face. Duo was about to ask what was wrong when a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully threw him against the wall. He lay slumped there for a moment before staggering to his feet, leaning on the cold clammy tower wall for support. The master of the castle eyed the young stranger; particularly the long brown braid that fell from within the cloak, and the wide, shimmering eyes that watched him with growing apprehension.
'A girl...' He thought, many other thoughts suddenly rushing to the surface of his mind, bringing back memories he hadn't wanted to recall and sprouting hopes that he thought would never see the light of day. The hopes that maybe he actually had a chance, a chance to be free of this disgusting, ugly, unnatural form. His ears folded back and he lurked in the shadows a bit, rising up onto his hind legs, hoping vehemently to be mistaken for the man he should have been. A deep growl began to broil from within the depths of his massive chest, and before the 'girl' could talk, the master of the castle spoke.
"What are you doing here? You're trespassing." The deep voice was laced with threat, but to the keen ear of Duo Maxwell it sounded slightly monotonous, and perhaps even a bit sad or guilty. The thought of the lean, muscular person lurking in the shadows being the owner of emotions was suddenly banished from his mind at the next sentence that echoed through the soggy prison. "You have no right to be here. Get in there with the old fool and maybe I won't kill you. You shall both be my prisoners, like it or not." Duo was about to protest, when his Uncle cried out instead.
"No! Duo has nothing to do with this! It's my fault, keep me here if you must, but don't-"he coughed, doubling over and wheezing, and then continued with less gusto, "don't harm Duo." The cruel owner of the property stepped into the light to snarl at his captive, and a gasp escaped the violet-eyed adventurer. Not the man he'd expected, but a strange, horrid creature stood there, basking coldly in the moonlight that leaked through a hole in the tower roof. The Beast turned at the noise, and the gazes of the two locked. Duo nearly gasped again, but found himself unable to. Behind that ugly mass of fangs and fur was a pair of the most stunning Prussian blue eyes he'd ever encountered.
"What are you looking at?" The monster snarled, mistaking Duo's gape for the stare of aversion and loathing that he knew all humans in their right minds would display towards his disgraceful face. The boy snapped out of his trance and pulled back into the shadows, finding himself truly afraid for the first time in his life. The Beast curled back his lip, but couldn't ignore the fact that his first thought had been, 'What pretty eyes she has.' Duo's uncle took a deep breath to yell at the monster again, but found his captor had whirled around and wrenched open the cell door before he could say anything. "Get out." The thing spat, grabbing the old man by the arm and wrenching him from the prison. "I don't need you here anymore."
"But I-!" The creature whirled on him, his steely gaze and bared fangs presenting a case that was difficult to argue.
"I gave you your freedom, didn't I?" He snapped, giving him a solid push in the direction of the stairs. The fiend then turned to the 'girl' and rose to his full height once more, presenting a fearsome image. "You will stay. Forever. If you refuse, I will kill the old man. Swear that you will never leave." Duo shuddered, but it wasn't because of the chill in the room. His host stood almost a foot from him, long shaggy fur rumpled in front of his eyes casting a shadow over those stunning irises and darkening his frightful features. "Swear to me that you will never leave." He repeated, trying desperately to ensure that he at least got a chance at freedom from the body he was trapped inside. Duo glanced once at his dear old uncle, and then with a single tear finding it's way down his cheek, made his choice.
"I swear." He choked out, sending one last, distressed glance at the only person that had ever loved him for who he was, then buried his head in his arms, making a meagre attempt to quell the fit of sobbing that forced its way up his throat. The creature, satisfied for the moment that things were going his way, removed himself from the tower to drag the man he assumed was the girl's father down to the horse that was tied up at the gate. With a wrench, the beast tore the leather reigns in half and plopped the man down on top of the horse. He opened the gate wide and gave the poor horse a slap on the rear, which sent it flying down the pathway and out into the forest.
Duo cried for five full minutes, unable to stop himself from giving in to the misery of the entire situation. All his dreams of adventure had been squashed in front of his eyes, and on top of that, he would never see his Uncle again. Trapped in a castle with a cruel beast, held there by a promise that he wasn't allowed to break because of his own stupid morals. Duo was still weeping softly when he heard a soft clumping of wood on stone, followed by a metallic 'chink chink chink' that made him wonder if a piece of silverware or something had fallen down a flight of steps. He felt a light tugging on his sleeve, and looked up. There was nobody there.
"Pardon me... mademoiselle... we shall show you to your room." Duo looked around, now with an angry expression fixed on his red, tearstained face. He didn't know who the hell was talking to him, but they had some nerve calling him a girl. However, when he finally made eye contact with the person that had addressed him, all thoughts of being annoyed left him for sheer shock. He was looking into the 'face' of a candlestick with a pair of eyes, a noise, a mouth, and a strange lump of wax that could be nothing but a very long set of bangs. Behind the curious talking candlestick was a small clock; quite possibly the one he'd seen earlier on his way up the stairway. It must have been wound a bit too tightly, for the expression it bore was one of self-importance and intolerance.
"Well, come on!" The clock declared, tugging insistently on Duo's cloak. The boy just lay there, flabbergasted, and at last managed to gasp:
"What the hell??" The candlestick frowned at the voice he heard, having expected something a bit lighter and more... feminine. When the girl stood up and the cloak fell to the floor, revealing not a girl's figure but that of a young man, both of the castle servants gulped. They shot glances at each other, and the timepiece muttered something along the lines of "he's not going to like this..." before stepping forward a bit.
"Let me um... introduce myself." The candlestick coughed. "Oh, and him, too." Said candlestick rolled its eyes and waited for the clock to continue. "I am Chang Wufei. You may call me Wufei- nothing else. You most certainly may not address me by my first name, or by any stupid nickname you may happen to create. That would be most dishonourable. And that waxy dolt is Trowa." The object named Trowa bowed ever so slightly, but couldn't stop himself from sending a suspicious glance at Duo. He wondered why on Earth anyone would try to make themselves look like a girl.
"This way." The candlestick muttered, hopping along on the stone floors. Duo suddenly understood the sounds he'd heard earlier, although that was where his comprehension of the past few events completely ended. He followed the pair of them down the staircase, noticing how surprisingly fast they moved despite their odd methods of doing so. While they were walking, Duo suddenly thought about where he was being taken and voiced the question that popped into his head.
"I'm... I'm getting my own room?" He looked back over his shoulder, thankfully bidding the dark prison cell goodbye. "You're not... locking me up?" The timepiece laughed once, coldly, and replied without even turning around.
"Do you take us for fools? You'd die up there after a good while. Besides," he remarked, unable to resist the temptation, "you will be staying here quite a long time." The candlestick shot him a glare for being so cruel, even if it turned out the girl that had everyone's hopes up turned out to be a boy with long hair. Nobody deserved that kind of treatment. Indeed, Duo seemed to sag a little, his braid drooping behind him like the whiskers of a depressed cat.
"I guess..." he muttered after a while, if only to say something to fill the empty space that loomed in between talking. At last they came to a stop outside a door, and Duo wondered just how big the castle must be. He stood there for a moment before realising neither Trowa nor Wufei were tall enough to reach the doorknob, then sheepishly reached out and pried it open, stepping inside. His jaw fell slack as he looked around, and almost forgot for a fraction of a second how miserable he was. He'd stepped into a large bedroom with a tall four-poster bed boasting lavish red drapes, a chest sitting at the foot of the giant mattress ornately decorated in fancy copper edging. The tall, stately windows in the wall opposite the door looked out on the backyard and an old disused fountain, giving him a glorious view. Although the furniture in the room was all covered in a thin layer of dust, his old bunk in the corner of the kitchen was incomparable to the beautiful chamber they'd chosen for him.
Of course, that got him thinking about home again, and his heart sank right back to rest somewhere between his kneecaps and his toes. During his awe- filled staring and his painful recollection of home, the clock and the candlestick silently made their way out of the room and eased the door shut. Duo looked out the window and saw the moon up in the sky, suddenly realising just how late it was and how exhausted he'd become. He wandered over to the cabinet and reached out for the handle to see if there were any clothes in there that he could sleep in, but leapt back about a foot when the doors flew open of their own will and a motherly sort of voice filled the room.
"Don't worry dear; I'll close my eyes when you change." Duo reached a shuddering hand out to take the plain white nightshirt and matching pants that the wardrobe seemed to be offering him, snatching them and jumping back as though the doors would slam shut on his hands and bite him. It was going to be a long night.
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"You're sure?" The beast demanded for the third time, pacing back and forth in the dining room, making the poor candlestick a bit dizzy.
"Yes, master. That was no girl. I'm very sure of it." Trowa insisted, wishing he hadn't been the one that had to break the news to their temperamental master. The beast snarled in frustration, rubbing his temple with a heavy, clawed hand.
"Damn! Now what?" He swore, his erratic pacing starting to make Trowa queasy.
"Heero..." The beast turned on the tiny candlestick quickly, baring his teeth.
"Don't! Ever! Call! Me! That!" He yelled, self-hatred apparent in his eyes, betraying his violent front. "I'm a monster. I don't deserve a name. Just a Beast. Nothing more." Trowa bit his lip, wanting very much to yell at him for constantly putting himself down, but found himself unable to do so because of the servant-master relationship.
"As you wish..." he muttered, then quickly changed the subject. "Since he's promised to stay here anyways, you might as well get to know him. I mean, who knows? You might even become friends." The Beast snarled something along the lines of 'yeah right' and then stormed off to brood, per usual. He had actually slept well last night, which was a rare thing in itself, somehow thinking he could convince a girl to fall in love with a great ugly brute like himself, and lift the spell that damned enchantress had put on the castle. But now he didn't even have those dreams; the girl he'd hoped to charm had become a guy, and his hopes of ever being free of that ghastly form were shattered. The morning had come and awoken him from his dreams, and with it the bad news about his 'girl' had also come, waking him from another hope that turned out only to be a frail, breakable dream. His ears perked as he heard something he hadn't in quite a while- the footsteps of a normal human being.
Duo wandered tentatively down the grand staircase and into the dining room, wondering if he could find some sort of breakfast. He was dressed in a charcoal grey tunic that had no sleeves, and a pair of black, faded trousers. The boy had been relieved of his old green tunic and worn brown pants by a teapot that had come around earlier to collect his laundry, and found himself uncomfortable in unfamiliar clothes. He noticed the Beast right away but pointedly ignored him; the Beast himself didn't really blame him for that. He had, after all, separated him from a loved one and doomed him to a life without girls or guns. At least, the Beast supposed that was what the other boy would long for while trapped inside the castle. The two of them had completely convinced themselves that the other did not exist until a small teacup hopped along the table to the Beast and nudged his heavy paw.
"Not now, Quatre." The brute hissed, still moping about the fact that his hope had been completely ruined. The little teacup, however, was persistent.
"Be nice to him," he whispered, glancing in Duo's direction, "he needs a friend just as much as you do. Ask him his name." Before the Beast could ask him what he meant from that comment about him needing a friend, the piece of chinaware called Quatre hopped on a cart moving of its own free will and disappeared into the kitchen to tell all the dishes and the cook that two sets of breakfast were needed. After he left, an awkward silence settled over the dining room, and the beast coughed.
"Tell me your name." He demanded at length, unable to communicate without using force or anger to hide his feelings. Duo looked up, a bit surprised, and mumbled something. Even to the keen ears of a beast, it was indiscernible. "Speak clearly." The beast snarled, looking down the long table at the boy who had deceived him. He'd wondered more than once if it was some kind of cruel joke, tricking him into thinking that he was a girl, but didn't want to think about that in case it started to get to him.
"I said," Duo declared, his voice echoing a bit around the large room, "my name is Duo." There was a pause, and the beast repeated the name, trying to store it in his memory. The awkward silence fell over them again, and Duo cleared his throat nervously. "And uh... what's yours?" He shrunk back at the fearsome, icy glare that the monster turned on him, realising too late that he'd hit a sensitive nerve.
"That's none of your business! I am a Beast, so as far as you're concerned, that's my name." Duo nodded, wishing he'd never come down for breakfast. Just when he started racking his brain from something to strike up another sort of half-conversation with, he was saved the trouble by the cart that rolled in full of food, the dishes springing to life and delivering themselves to the right place. Duo watered at the mouth ever so slightly as hot, buttery croissants and warm porridge spiced up with just the right combination of sugar and cinnamon danced their way over to his spot. Soon after it followed a glass of apple juice and a small tub of jam, should he want it.
The Beast glanced up and watched Duo as he ate, then glanced back down at his spread. It was exactly the same as what his guest had been served, but he wasn't entirely sure about it. It had been many years since he'd sat at a table to take a meal, or buttered a piece of bread, or used a glass to drink. He stared at it a moment, then grabbed the pastry in his mouth and got up out of his chair, falling to all fours and slinking off to eat somewhere in privacy, away from that... that Duo.
The boy had glanced up when his host decided to leave, but soon ignored it and dug into his meal. He didn't really care what the wicked creature had gone off to do; he was simply an evil being who took joy in ripping people's hearts in half and Duo didn't feel the need to give a damn about what he did around the castle. He finished up his breakfast and decided to explore a little, feeling better now that he had a full stomach. The longhaired boy figured that if he had to stay in the castle forever, he might as well find out what there was to do around the place.
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There you go, guys. I feel a bit sad because I only got one review for the first chapter (an all-time low for me) but I really like writing this story, so I don't care what you think! Or more... what you don't think. Whatever. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it, if you have a question, or if you think that Duo makes an incredible Belle. XD
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Duo gathered a thin cloak around himself, watching crystalline breath pour out of his mouth. It was freezing cold inside the forest, and though he should have taken more care of his health because of that fact, it only made him worry more about his dear Uncle and less about himself. Philippe moved on nervously, often glancing over his shoulder, then at last came to a stop in front of a huge pair of iron-wrought gates. Duo couldn't imagine what on Earth would compel anyone to lock everyone out of their home with such an ominous entrance, but realised that somewhere inside must be where his Uncle was.
He slid off of Philippe's back and pushed open the gate, glancing nervously around for guards of any sort. When none came, he slid inside and pulled the horse in with him. On the way over they'd heard what sounded suspiciously like wolf cries, and he wasn't about to take any chances by leaving his horse alone outside the courtyard walls. After firmly shutting the gates again, he tied Philippe's reigns to an old protrusion in the brickwork of the wall. Duo suspected that it had once been a holder for torches, but it had been unused for many years.
The boy nervously turned his gaze to the tall castle looming ahead, and feverishly hoped that the horse had taken him to the right place. Pulling the cloak even further around him, only his face and long lock of hair were visible as he pushed open the door and glanced around. His footsteps echoed around him, and he could have sworn he heard voices off in the distance. In any normal case, he would have cried out a friendly hello to arouse the owner of the castle, but for some reason felt like that would be a bad idea. Instead, he slunk towards the voices he heard, glancing around for some kind of candle to light up the dank hallways.
"...surely he would twist our heads off if we even suggested it! You know the master's temper!"
"But we can't just leave the poor man there! He's done no harm."
"He should have listened to me, not you. He must have a poor sense of honour, to just go walking into any house or castle he wants! Disgraceful!"
"You don't mean that. I mean honestly, he just needed a warm fire and a cup of tea..." The conversation trailed off, and Duo opened another door to try and find the owners of the voices. He found himself standing in a tall, winding stairwell, and recalled the soaring tower he'd seen from the outside. Immediately he thought of the high towers in storybooks, where beautiful princesses were always held captive. Maybe this tower was where his Uncle was being kept! He shuddered at the thought, but sprinted up the steps quickly. He passed by a niche in the wall with a candleholder, and curiously, a clock, but didn't stop to take the candle for light. Duo simply had to find his Uncle right then, and didn't have time to wonder who would put a clock in staircase up to a tower.
When he got to the top, a fearful noise escaped him. "Uncle!" He cried, rushing to the bars of the cell where his last living relative sat, hacking and wheezing. "Uncle!" He repeated, sticking his arms through and grabbing hold of the old man's hand. His Uncle looked up fearfully, but then double- took.
"Duo? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to rescue you! I'll get you out... I'll find the key, and we can go home, and..."
"No, no, you don't understand! You must leave right away!" Duo frowned, glancing around the room for a key of any sort.
"Don't be silly, Uncle. We've got to get you out of here!" He glanced back at the elderly fellow, and noticed a look of terror crossing his pale face. Duo was about to ask what was wrong when a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully threw him against the wall. He lay slumped there for a moment before staggering to his feet, leaning on the cold clammy tower wall for support. The master of the castle eyed the young stranger; particularly the long brown braid that fell from within the cloak, and the wide, shimmering eyes that watched him with growing apprehension.
'A girl...' He thought, many other thoughts suddenly rushing to the surface of his mind, bringing back memories he hadn't wanted to recall and sprouting hopes that he thought would never see the light of day. The hopes that maybe he actually had a chance, a chance to be free of this disgusting, ugly, unnatural form. His ears folded back and he lurked in the shadows a bit, rising up onto his hind legs, hoping vehemently to be mistaken for the man he should have been. A deep growl began to broil from within the depths of his massive chest, and before the 'girl' could talk, the master of the castle spoke.
"What are you doing here? You're trespassing." The deep voice was laced with threat, but to the keen ear of Duo Maxwell it sounded slightly monotonous, and perhaps even a bit sad or guilty. The thought of the lean, muscular person lurking in the shadows being the owner of emotions was suddenly banished from his mind at the next sentence that echoed through the soggy prison. "You have no right to be here. Get in there with the old fool and maybe I won't kill you. You shall both be my prisoners, like it or not." Duo was about to protest, when his Uncle cried out instead.
"No! Duo has nothing to do with this! It's my fault, keep me here if you must, but don't-"he coughed, doubling over and wheezing, and then continued with less gusto, "don't harm Duo." The cruel owner of the property stepped into the light to snarl at his captive, and a gasp escaped the violet-eyed adventurer. Not the man he'd expected, but a strange, horrid creature stood there, basking coldly in the moonlight that leaked through a hole in the tower roof. The Beast turned at the noise, and the gazes of the two locked. Duo nearly gasped again, but found himself unable to. Behind that ugly mass of fangs and fur was a pair of the most stunning Prussian blue eyes he'd ever encountered.
"What are you looking at?" The monster snarled, mistaking Duo's gape for the stare of aversion and loathing that he knew all humans in their right minds would display towards his disgraceful face. The boy snapped out of his trance and pulled back into the shadows, finding himself truly afraid for the first time in his life. The Beast curled back his lip, but couldn't ignore the fact that his first thought had been, 'What pretty eyes she has.' Duo's uncle took a deep breath to yell at the monster again, but found his captor had whirled around and wrenched open the cell door before he could say anything. "Get out." The thing spat, grabbing the old man by the arm and wrenching him from the prison. "I don't need you here anymore."
"But I-!" The creature whirled on him, his steely gaze and bared fangs presenting a case that was difficult to argue.
"I gave you your freedom, didn't I?" He snapped, giving him a solid push in the direction of the stairs. The fiend then turned to the 'girl' and rose to his full height once more, presenting a fearsome image. "You will stay. Forever. If you refuse, I will kill the old man. Swear that you will never leave." Duo shuddered, but it wasn't because of the chill in the room. His host stood almost a foot from him, long shaggy fur rumpled in front of his eyes casting a shadow over those stunning irises and darkening his frightful features. "Swear to me that you will never leave." He repeated, trying desperately to ensure that he at least got a chance at freedom from the body he was trapped inside. Duo glanced once at his dear old uncle, and then with a single tear finding it's way down his cheek, made his choice.
"I swear." He choked out, sending one last, distressed glance at the only person that had ever loved him for who he was, then buried his head in his arms, making a meagre attempt to quell the fit of sobbing that forced its way up his throat. The creature, satisfied for the moment that things were going his way, removed himself from the tower to drag the man he assumed was the girl's father down to the horse that was tied up at the gate. With a wrench, the beast tore the leather reigns in half and plopped the man down on top of the horse. He opened the gate wide and gave the poor horse a slap on the rear, which sent it flying down the pathway and out into the forest.
Duo cried for five full minutes, unable to stop himself from giving in to the misery of the entire situation. All his dreams of adventure had been squashed in front of his eyes, and on top of that, he would never see his Uncle again. Trapped in a castle with a cruel beast, held there by a promise that he wasn't allowed to break because of his own stupid morals. Duo was still weeping softly when he heard a soft clumping of wood on stone, followed by a metallic 'chink chink chink' that made him wonder if a piece of silverware or something had fallen down a flight of steps. He felt a light tugging on his sleeve, and looked up. There was nobody there.
"Pardon me... mademoiselle... we shall show you to your room." Duo looked around, now with an angry expression fixed on his red, tearstained face. He didn't know who the hell was talking to him, but they had some nerve calling him a girl. However, when he finally made eye contact with the person that had addressed him, all thoughts of being annoyed left him for sheer shock. He was looking into the 'face' of a candlestick with a pair of eyes, a noise, a mouth, and a strange lump of wax that could be nothing but a very long set of bangs. Behind the curious talking candlestick was a small clock; quite possibly the one he'd seen earlier on his way up the stairway. It must have been wound a bit too tightly, for the expression it bore was one of self-importance and intolerance.
"Well, come on!" The clock declared, tugging insistently on Duo's cloak. The boy just lay there, flabbergasted, and at last managed to gasp:
"What the hell??" The candlestick frowned at the voice he heard, having expected something a bit lighter and more... feminine. When the girl stood up and the cloak fell to the floor, revealing not a girl's figure but that of a young man, both of the castle servants gulped. They shot glances at each other, and the timepiece muttered something along the lines of "he's not going to like this..." before stepping forward a bit.
"Let me um... introduce myself." The candlestick coughed. "Oh, and him, too." Said candlestick rolled its eyes and waited for the clock to continue. "I am Chang Wufei. You may call me Wufei- nothing else. You most certainly may not address me by my first name, or by any stupid nickname you may happen to create. That would be most dishonourable. And that waxy dolt is Trowa." The object named Trowa bowed ever so slightly, but couldn't stop himself from sending a suspicious glance at Duo. He wondered why on Earth anyone would try to make themselves look like a girl.
"This way." The candlestick muttered, hopping along on the stone floors. Duo suddenly understood the sounds he'd heard earlier, although that was where his comprehension of the past few events completely ended. He followed the pair of them down the staircase, noticing how surprisingly fast they moved despite their odd methods of doing so. While they were walking, Duo suddenly thought about where he was being taken and voiced the question that popped into his head.
"I'm... I'm getting my own room?" He looked back over his shoulder, thankfully bidding the dark prison cell goodbye. "You're not... locking me up?" The timepiece laughed once, coldly, and replied without even turning around.
"Do you take us for fools? You'd die up there after a good while. Besides," he remarked, unable to resist the temptation, "you will be staying here quite a long time." The candlestick shot him a glare for being so cruel, even if it turned out the girl that had everyone's hopes up turned out to be a boy with long hair. Nobody deserved that kind of treatment. Indeed, Duo seemed to sag a little, his braid drooping behind him like the whiskers of a depressed cat.
"I guess..." he muttered after a while, if only to say something to fill the empty space that loomed in between talking. At last they came to a stop outside a door, and Duo wondered just how big the castle must be. He stood there for a moment before realising neither Trowa nor Wufei were tall enough to reach the doorknob, then sheepishly reached out and pried it open, stepping inside. His jaw fell slack as he looked around, and almost forgot for a fraction of a second how miserable he was. He'd stepped into a large bedroom with a tall four-poster bed boasting lavish red drapes, a chest sitting at the foot of the giant mattress ornately decorated in fancy copper edging. The tall, stately windows in the wall opposite the door looked out on the backyard and an old disused fountain, giving him a glorious view. Although the furniture in the room was all covered in a thin layer of dust, his old bunk in the corner of the kitchen was incomparable to the beautiful chamber they'd chosen for him.
Of course, that got him thinking about home again, and his heart sank right back to rest somewhere between his kneecaps and his toes. During his awe- filled staring and his painful recollection of home, the clock and the candlestick silently made their way out of the room and eased the door shut. Duo looked out the window and saw the moon up in the sky, suddenly realising just how late it was and how exhausted he'd become. He wandered over to the cabinet and reached out for the handle to see if there were any clothes in there that he could sleep in, but leapt back about a foot when the doors flew open of their own will and a motherly sort of voice filled the room.
"Don't worry dear; I'll close my eyes when you change." Duo reached a shuddering hand out to take the plain white nightshirt and matching pants that the wardrobe seemed to be offering him, snatching them and jumping back as though the doors would slam shut on his hands and bite him. It was going to be a long night.
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"You're sure?" The beast demanded for the third time, pacing back and forth in the dining room, making the poor candlestick a bit dizzy.
"Yes, master. That was no girl. I'm very sure of it." Trowa insisted, wishing he hadn't been the one that had to break the news to their temperamental master. The beast snarled in frustration, rubbing his temple with a heavy, clawed hand.
"Damn! Now what?" He swore, his erratic pacing starting to make Trowa queasy.
"Heero..." The beast turned on the tiny candlestick quickly, baring his teeth.
"Don't! Ever! Call! Me! That!" He yelled, self-hatred apparent in his eyes, betraying his violent front. "I'm a monster. I don't deserve a name. Just a Beast. Nothing more." Trowa bit his lip, wanting very much to yell at him for constantly putting himself down, but found himself unable to do so because of the servant-master relationship.
"As you wish..." he muttered, then quickly changed the subject. "Since he's promised to stay here anyways, you might as well get to know him. I mean, who knows? You might even become friends." The Beast snarled something along the lines of 'yeah right' and then stormed off to brood, per usual. He had actually slept well last night, which was a rare thing in itself, somehow thinking he could convince a girl to fall in love with a great ugly brute like himself, and lift the spell that damned enchantress had put on the castle. But now he didn't even have those dreams; the girl he'd hoped to charm had become a guy, and his hopes of ever being free of that ghastly form were shattered. The morning had come and awoken him from his dreams, and with it the bad news about his 'girl' had also come, waking him from another hope that turned out only to be a frail, breakable dream. His ears perked as he heard something he hadn't in quite a while- the footsteps of a normal human being.
Duo wandered tentatively down the grand staircase and into the dining room, wondering if he could find some sort of breakfast. He was dressed in a charcoal grey tunic that had no sleeves, and a pair of black, faded trousers. The boy had been relieved of his old green tunic and worn brown pants by a teapot that had come around earlier to collect his laundry, and found himself uncomfortable in unfamiliar clothes. He noticed the Beast right away but pointedly ignored him; the Beast himself didn't really blame him for that. He had, after all, separated him from a loved one and doomed him to a life without girls or guns. At least, the Beast supposed that was what the other boy would long for while trapped inside the castle. The two of them had completely convinced themselves that the other did not exist until a small teacup hopped along the table to the Beast and nudged his heavy paw.
"Not now, Quatre." The brute hissed, still moping about the fact that his hope had been completely ruined. The little teacup, however, was persistent.
"Be nice to him," he whispered, glancing in Duo's direction, "he needs a friend just as much as you do. Ask him his name." Before the Beast could ask him what he meant from that comment about him needing a friend, the piece of chinaware called Quatre hopped on a cart moving of its own free will and disappeared into the kitchen to tell all the dishes and the cook that two sets of breakfast were needed. After he left, an awkward silence settled over the dining room, and the beast coughed.
"Tell me your name." He demanded at length, unable to communicate without using force or anger to hide his feelings. Duo looked up, a bit surprised, and mumbled something. Even to the keen ears of a beast, it was indiscernible. "Speak clearly." The beast snarled, looking down the long table at the boy who had deceived him. He'd wondered more than once if it was some kind of cruel joke, tricking him into thinking that he was a girl, but didn't want to think about that in case it started to get to him.
"I said," Duo declared, his voice echoing a bit around the large room, "my name is Duo." There was a pause, and the beast repeated the name, trying to store it in his memory. The awkward silence fell over them again, and Duo cleared his throat nervously. "And uh... what's yours?" He shrunk back at the fearsome, icy glare that the monster turned on him, realising too late that he'd hit a sensitive nerve.
"That's none of your business! I am a Beast, so as far as you're concerned, that's my name." Duo nodded, wishing he'd never come down for breakfast. Just when he started racking his brain from something to strike up another sort of half-conversation with, he was saved the trouble by the cart that rolled in full of food, the dishes springing to life and delivering themselves to the right place. Duo watered at the mouth ever so slightly as hot, buttery croissants and warm porridge spiced up with just the right combination of sugar and cinnamon danced their way over to his spot. Soon after it followed a glass of apple juice and a small tub of jam, should he want it.
The Beast glanced up and watched Duo as he ate, then glanced back down at his spread. It was exactly the same as what his guest had been served, but he wasn't entirely sure about it. It had been many years since he'd sat at a table to take a meal, or buttered a piece of bread, or used a glass to drink. He stared at it a moment, then grabbed the pastry in his mouth and got up out of his chair, falling to all fours and slinking off to eat somewhere in privacy, away from that... that Duo.
The boy had glanced up when his host decided to leave, but soon ignored it and dug into his meal. He didn't really care what the wicked creature had gone off to do; he was simply an evil being who took joy in ripping people's hearts in half and Duo didn't feel the need to give a damn about what he did around the castle. He finished up his breakfast and decided to explore a little, feeling better now that he had a full stomach. The longhaired boy figured that if he had to stay in the castle forever, he might as well find out what there was to do around the place.
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There you go, guys. I feel a bit sad because I only got one review for the first chapter (an all-time low for me) but I really like writing this story, so I don't care what you think! Or more... what you don't think. Whatever. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it, if you have a question, or if you think that Duo makes an incredible Belle. XD