Into the Woods
She stood stunned and Beast sulked off, slamming shut the door to the West Wing. After so many years Belle still referred to him as a beast, as she had learned some people never change.
Their marriage had been a happy one. After a year Belle had given birth to a beautiful baby girl whom they had named Muriel. It was the night of Muriel's 10th birthday that the marriage came crashing down around them.
"Father! Father!" Muriel cried from the corner, her head buried in her lap, the muffled cries lost in the clamor and shouting. Belle cringed as Beast lifted a chair and threw it into the wall, growling angrily.
"Please, please!" she whispered as the Beast advanced towards her, a fierce flame burning in his eyes.
"I will teach you to never have dinner cold when I come home!" the Beast roared and the walls seemed to shake. Belle continued to shake with fright. Beast grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward, and Belle could smell the alcohol on his breath, could feel the unsteadiness of his feet.
A bellow erupted from Beast and Muriel screamed as she watched her mother go flying against the wall.
Belle retreated to her room, years of curses, bruises and beatings weighing down upon her shoulders. At age 18 Muriel had left, unable to handle the growing divide between her parents. She married a baker, and had raised a set of twin girls, both who inherited Muriel's dark beauty.
After Muriel left Belle often questioned her reason for staying. Her life was a burning eternity of hell, yet when the Beast was gentle she forgot all about the bad times. Yet the bad times returned every time with out fail.
A faint whisper brushed against her cheek and she sighed before falling back onto her bed. It was the room she had stayed in so long ago, and was still haunted by the same comforting spirits. Voices echoed around her as she slipped into a kind of stupor, all hurt and pain forgotten.
"Poor child."
"Why does she stay?"
"He'll never change."
"She hopes she can change him."
"The poor child."
Around her thoughts and voices swirled and suddenly Belle awoke. She didn't need to stay. Her life was over. Muriel was grown. She had no reason to stay.
Determined Belle sat up. The voices were hushed and she began frantically packing her bags. Everything was thrown in and something glittered in the corner of her eye. Everything seemed to slow down and time seem suspended as Belle reached for the delicate red rose which sat in a vase in her window sill. All those years and the flower had not faded. Memories came flooding back.
The priest smiled down on them with the love and gentleness of a father, and looking carefully, a small rainbow tear was visible in the corner of his wrinkled eyes. In his hand he held a small perfect rosebud, shaped like a small perfect kiss. The red seemed to shimmer in the light and Belle gazed deep into Beast's eyes.
She saw herself reflected back, and a deep and eternal love and yearning, forever there and something never to be broken. They stood like this for a moment and the priest began to speak.
"In my hand I hold one small perfect rose. This rose shall come to represent everything this marriage and union shall be, perfectly beautiful." He paused and a beautiful, forever young woman stepped out of the crowd. Her golden hair cascaded down her back and her green eyes were alight with pride and respect.
Smiling gently she removed the rose from the priest's palm and held it out for all to see. "Upon this rose I once lay a curse, that until this beast could learn to love, this rose would remain a reminder. If her were to remained unloved by the time the last petal fell, he was condemned to live a life of loneliness and sentenced to eternity in the Fires. But now upon a more joyous occasion I shall lay a blessing upon this perfect rose. As long as this rose stays red, love shall blossom in this marriage. Troubled times will come yes, but forever love shall endure."
Belle found herself kneeling on the floor, the vase in pieces around her, and the rose still remained as perfect as it had years ago. A sob escaped Belle's tightly pursed lips as she raised a hand to smother the flower, smother the lies and pain and suffering she had endured, smother the life she had once held so dear. Her muscles contracted, ready to deliver a final blow and something stayed her hand.
Carefully she reached down and gently picked up the flower. Cradling the flower in her hand she reached for another vase, which she had stashed in the back of her closet.
Picking up her packed bags and gripping the vase with the rose placed delicately in it Belle swiftly exited the room. Down the hallways she flew, her heart in her throat, tears pushing at the corners of her eyes, begging to be let out. Stubbornly she refused and made her feet continue to move, despite their efforts to stop.
She at last came to the great hall, where the wooden doors stood menacingly, dark and gloomy. Gently Belle placed the rose down on the second step, in the center of the center stairwell, where the Beast was sure to find it.
Her bag of neatly packed clothes was dumped out, and methodically she removed each piece of clothing from her body till she was stark naked. Throwing open the doors she ran out into the cold night, through the moonlit gardens, past the brick wall and iron wrought gate, and lastly past the thick rose bushed which seemed to reach out at her, trying to prevent her exodus, ripping holes in her body. Still she ran out into the forest, the forest floor coated with a layer of glistening white snow. Still she ran, running for freedom and running for her love that could not be repaired.
-----------------------------------
Muriel was shocked when she learned of her mother's death. The fairy which sat across from her remained emotionless, her perfect face arranged in a bland expression.
"There is another thing you should know child." the fairy's voice was soft and gentle and though her face remained unchanged, there was a change in the sparking green eyes. They held compassion and an understanding never to be found in a mortal being.
"What?" Muriel asked bitterly, her voice hard with hatred for this fairy woman.
"Your father mourns. And so he shall for eternity. His neglect and anger at himself brought this about and so it was his and her fate. Every night he shall retreat out into the forest, deeper until he finds the place where Belle's blood stained the ground. His life of loneliness had been fulfilled, deep into the woods."
