So I was in my university library all ready to do some work, but then I found I'd forgotten all my notes. Darn it! Seeing as it took me so long to find a computer that was free, I thought I'd stay here and instead post up my latest chapter, even though it's not quite finished. But its finished now, don't worry its not going to stop abruptly! The song below is from the Cannon version of Beauty and the Beast starring Rebecca De Mornay and John Savage from 1987. I watched it the other day and thought it fitted quite well, plus it's quite a sweet little song so I thought I'd share it with you.
Disclaimer:- Basic plot-belongs to Disney. The song-belongs to whoever wrote it! And generic words and waffle belong to me. Et voila!
If you see with your heart
Close your eyes, look inside, then you'll know.
Every secret inside
Will shine through just for you, it will show.
The sun is glowing in the cloud.
A face is smiling in the lonely cloud.
If you see with your heart
Every dream waiting to come true.
Will be free once its found by you.
If you see with your heart
Look within, wish and then you will see
What is hiding inside
Maybe shy, give it time to be free.
The butterfly is trapped inside
Once it is free, it has no need to hide.
If you see with your heart
Every dream waiting to come true
Will be free once its found by you
If you see with your heart
Close your eyes and then you will see
What is hiding inside of me.
(© Warner Brothers, 1987.)
Bella shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, and wished she'd thought to bring a coat out with her. Then it occurred to her that she didn't have a coat. She didn't have anything at the house except the clothes she had been wearing for the past few days. A wave of weary disgust swept over her, but it vanished as quickly as it came when she saw Bastian. He was sat on the bench she had seen from the window with his head bowed and his hands covering his face.
Her forward most foot touched gravel and he jumped as if someone had shot him. He removed his hands shakily from his face but kept his eyes down as if he dare not look at her. He spoke to the ground at his feet, his voice cracking slightly.
"I thought you had gone"
Bella said nothing, but walked to the bench and sat beside him. The cold stone beneath her made her shudder, but she ignored it and turned to Bastian. His face was deathly pale making his injuries all the more prominent. He looked awful, and he still did not look at her. Bella found herself wanting to condemn his rudeness but stopped. She would have to learn to be patient.
"I…er…never thanked you."
"For what?" was his immediate response.
"For saving my life…before…in the…er…forest."
She gestured behind her vaguely as she said this, and when she turned back, he had lifted his head, distracted from his fascination with the floor by a statement he found surprising. She was thanking him? Thanking him! After what he'd done. If he hadn't scared her half to death with his temper in the attic, she wouldn't have run into trouble in the first place. He had gone after her because he had to; what he had done was the only thing he could do. She owed him nothing, but he had manners drummed into him as a child.
"You're welcome."
There was silence for a moment. An icy breeze swept past them, lifting leaves dancing into the air. Bastian found his voice again.
"Thank you for…er…not leaving me in the forest. You didn't have to, you know."
"I know."
Silence.
"I didn't do a very good job of patching you up."
"Huh?"
She pointed to the heavy reddish-brown line on his forehead.
"Oh…I…er… did that myself. Walked into a door."
He had said it so deadpan that a spasm of giggles rose inexplicably from Bella's diaphragm and erupted through her mouth. Her eyes widened in half-horror half-laughter as she tired in vain to cover the unflattering noises coming from her throat. To her immense relief, he was grinning too, and it was a genuine grin-she could see it in his eyes.
"I…I…I'm sorry" gasped Bella in between chuckles.
"It's okay. I'm ridiculously clumsy. You should laugh."
"I guess I have a juvenile sense of humour" she smiled, and he noticed how her eyes smiled too. He wanted to continue hearing her laughter; it was like music to his ears. He remembered a joke from his childhood.
"What goes 'ooooooo oooooooo'?"
Bella's eyebrows raised, but she realised what he was doing.
"I don't know."
"A cow with no lips."
Bella slowed the sweet sensation of laughter to overwhelm her, without restriction this time. He joined in and soon they were laughing in harmony, revelling in the sounds of each others happiness.
But the laughter subsided all too quickly. It reduced to splutters and spurts and then it was gone, leaving Bella and Bastian once again to deal with awkwardness. He, unsure of what to do, resorted back to staring at his feet. She asked him a few inane questions, the first things that came to her head, but any confidence he had gained had already been lost, and she was rewarded to monosyllabic words.
"This is a nice garden."
"…"
"Do you take care of it?"
"Sometimes."
"That rose bush is beautiful."
"Yeah."
"I hope the sun comes out soon."
He nodded.
Bella sighed and rolled her eyes in despair. This was going to be hard work. Once again, she found herself questioning what on earth she was doing here, when she could be at home. She would be alone most of the time, but then at least she would not have to attempt to make painful conversation. She shivered.
"Are you cold?" he asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"A bit. It's okay."
"Here."
He stood up and unbuttoned his jacket. Bella raised her hand in protest.
" Oh no. I'm fine, really. You don't have to…"
"Yes I do."
He took it off, revealing he was wearing another faded polo shirt underneath, and held it out to her. Begrudgingly, but secretly glad, Bella accepted the jacket with thanks and put it on. The inside was lined with fleece and instantly warmed Bella's heart. It was far too big for her, of course, but yet it filled her with a strange sense of security. She was surprised to find it smelt of roses.
Bastian felt the chill of the air start to play upon his skin but he chose not to let it affect him. The coat had been his fathers and he used to wear it when he went on his many mysterious excursions in the wintertime. The coat was one of many of his parents possessions that he had kept as a means of feeling closer to them, but was also one of the few he actually used; the rest being scattered around the house unmoved for over ten years. Now, watching the colour slowly return to Bella's cheeks, he felt a small sense of inner peace for the first time in so long.
Bella noticed him staring, obviously lost in thought, which was part of the reason why her cheeks had become red. His faraway gaze seemed to extend beyond her body wrapped in the coat and through into another time and place. Even when his eyes lacked proper focus, they were dangerously beautiful. She now knew she wanted to stay. She sensed something in him; a life, a passion that had lain dormant for years, and was now almost on the verge of breaking free. He was enigmatic, mysterious, confusing and utterly compelling all at the same time. She wanted to help him and understand him. He was certainly more interesting than most of the people she knew back home…but the question was, did he want to be understood? Bella knew her indecision about staying would be resolved in his answer to her next question.
"Bastian…?"she started, suddenly aware that this was the first time she had called him by name.
He broke free of his distraction.
"Yes, Bella?"
"Do you want me to stay…here…with you?"
Bastian didn't answer for a moment. He simply stared straight into her eyes, which made her forget her attempts to appear composed and dignified, and she started to waffle.
"Because…I…want to…if you want me to that is…if you don't mind…I mean I don't have to…I can leave…its up to you, I mean, your house and everything…"
She was now wishing more than anything for a hole to open up in the ground and swallow her up, but he spared her further discomfort.
"Yes. I would like that." He said, hardly batting an eyelid.
Now that's how I should have done it, thought Bella.
And woohoo! There ya go! I am trying my bestest not to go into cheesy kind of stuff, as much as I would dearly love to, so warn me if it starts to get a bit like that. I'm saving that all for later mwa ha ha ha ha ha! Cos the ridiculously hopeless romantic in me wants them to grab a white stallion from somewhere and gallop off into the sunset right now, but alas, that cannot be. Love is not so straight-forward, they should take their time a bit and maybe do a bit of suffering along the way. Right now, FYI, I'm thinking he like 'totally digs her' and everything already cos its not as if he has girls falling at his feet, but at the same time he doesn't really know what love is, and she's gonna be a bit more cautious cos she's a sensible girl, is our Bella. (Yeah right, I hear you cry, she's in a spooky house in the woods with some weirdo, that's sensible. And to you I say…so?) Sorry I'm in a strange mood clearly as I am talking complete and utter cow excretion. And there goes my façade of being this ultra-intelligent and cool person lol. Oh well!
LumBabsFan- Thank you so much. You say such kind things. And yes, I am kind of winging it, I have a very rough plan, but top be honest I'm not entirely sure how this will all pan out, and I'm aware at the moment theres a lot of talk and not much action, but I'm not ready for action yet! Lol! And the Lumiere thing? If the spirit moves me, he shall make an appearance especially for you, but I can't just have random servants popping up out of the blue. He might have another guise…we shall see.
Bellamegs- lol I'm glad I made you laugh. I do tend to say the most random things sometimes and I worry how people will react. I'd just like to point out that I was not crying at Leonardo's death, in Titanic heck no! The thing that got me going was the bit right at the end where she dies and meets everyone back on the boat. I was bawling like a baby! But in my defence I was 12 and had probably had too much sugar or something. And yeah the Renfest in Canada was odd. One of the stallholders had on a waistcoat and trousers ( sorry, pants) and that would have been fine except his Calvin Klein's were also on display. Hmmm….not very medieval, methinks.
Thanks for the indepth review lol I'm glad you think its perfect, that is such a huge compliment :)
TrudiRose- Well if youre willing to suspend your disbelief for now, I'm willing to suspend my devotion to realism just a little bit. You know its now going to really bug me and I'll end up fixing it anyway eventually, but for now its staying as it is! I really hope you like this chapter too
Rosakara- The work is kept us as promised. Thanks for always reviewing
hIgHoNsUgAr!- Really? You don't say! The randomness of your review was spectacular lol, and funny you should mention Rose Daughter cos I've ordered it and am patiently waiting for it to arrive.
