A\N: Yet another revised chapter. Enjoy.
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A lot of people have asked if this story is a Fan Fiction of the Disney Movie, or a retelling of the original.
This is my own version of the original Beauty and the Beast. It has nothing to do with the Disney movie.
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Chapter II
Beauty stared at the rain falling outside the carriage she was sharing with her two sisters. They were on their way to the country home. Beauty had not been there since her mother had taken her when she was four, and she was now fifteen.
She sighed as she watched the rain fall onto the road. It had been ten years, ten long years since Lady Rose had been killed. Assassins had attacked their home in the palace; Lady Rose had bravely fought to protect her children. Merry, the youngest, had been just born, Beauty had been five, almost six and Purity had been eight. Four of the assassins had been killed and Lady Rose had disappeared, her body had never been found. The pain of losing her had torn Lord Rose to bits, although he tried to hide it, Beauty knew her father too well. The only reason he had stayed in the city for the last eleven years was because of his duties to the king. Beauty suspected that he was only too happy to be leaving.
"Why are you staring out the window Beauty?" Merry asked groaning "It's too cold! Close the curtains will you?"
Beauty let the red velvet curtain fall back over the window and slumped back against the seat. "The sky is crying." She said gloomily.
Her sisters could have been twins. Both had long blond hair and bright brown eyes, small faces and both were rather short. Though they looked alike, they had completely different personalities; Merry was a happy and loud child. She complained about everything and loved pretty things.
Arête was quiet and firm; she always had a hint of a smile on her face and was usually the one to get Merry or Beauty out of trouble. She loved pretty things as well but wore mostly plain velvet.
Beauty on the other had could have been adopted for all she knew. With dark brown hair and eyes, tall and a little bit gangly, she looked nothing like her sisters, though everyone admitted that Beauty had a special air about her that had still made her one of the most sought after girls in town, next to her sisters of course.
She was the youngest child though, Merry usually acted like she was the youngest. Beauty was quiet when she wanted to be but rather temperamental the rest of the time.
A bump in the road woke Beauty out of her reverie. She pulled aside the curtain again ignoring Merry's scowl and peered out the window. Thorough the light sprinkle of rain, she spotted a large lake, the rain causing the usually still water to rush about like little fairies dancing upon the surface. Behind the water ballet was a large building, the Rose Castle.
The castle was not as fancy as the palace in the capital; it was a large building but simple and elegant, though it was well known for its large red rose garden, built at the center of a large maze.
The Carriage pulled to a stop just outside the large front doors, under a grand stone archway. The three girls stepped out onto the wet stone stairs, into the waiting castle. Inside, they were greeted by a large ballroom, and the entire household lined up in front of an indoor water fountain. Two large staircases fell from the second floor around the fountain, like large stone arms. On the far right of the room was a small door, and another one was on the opposite side of the room both were a few feet away from the stairs.
A tall man stepped forward, white hair curled in ringlets around his head and pulled back into a pony tail. "Ladies, It has been quite some time since I have had the pleasure of meeting you, my name is Sir Reggie, I am the head of the household here." He gave a small bow and gestured toward two girls who immediately stepped forward and gave small curtsies.
"Lady Merry and Lady Arête, these will be your maids, Mary and Lady." He told them politely
The two maids were twins, with black hair, green eyes and small facial features they were hard to tell apart.
The girl with the larger eyes stepped foreword, "My name is Mary and I am to assist you Lady Merry."
As Merry was led away the second maid stepped foreword and motioned to Arête. "Lady Arête, my name is Lady, if you would follow me to your rooms."
"Lady Beauty, I understand you have brought your own maid from the palace." He motioned to Brega who strode foreword and curtsied.
Sir Reggie nodded. "If you would follow me to your rooms, I would be delighted to assist you."
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Beauty entered a large room, a four poster bed sat in the middle which fit in nicely with the drawers and wardrobe placed against the walls of the room. The theme was a very light pink, almost white, and dark maroon. The quilt on the bed was maroon as well as the curtains over the windows leading out to a balcony. Light pink drapes decorated the four small pillars on the bed.
Brega looked around her in wonder. "These are just as beautiful as the palace rooms."
Beauty smiled and laughed. "It's not as decorated, but it is very beautiful."
Brega strode foreword and opened the cherry wood wardrobe. "Plenty of space here." She said as she stared to pull Beauty's dresses out of her cases and hung them in the wide wardrobe.
Beauty lay down on the maroon blanketed bed and stared at the canopy ahead.
"So, we are finally here." She whispered to herself.
"Yes, miss. We are here." Brega replied smiling. "What should I do with, you know what."
Beauty sat up and walked over to where Brega stood holding a long white, dress. White pearls edged the seams around the front and neckline.
Beauty looked at the dress, and sighed, it had been her mothers. Beauty had snuck it out of the large pile of Lady Rose's thing her father had thrown together in grief and burned. The dress was the only item that she knew survived. Beauty took the treasure from Brega and carefully placed it in the wardrobe behind all the other dresses, hidden in the very back.
She sighed once again and changed, with Brega's help, out of her traveling clothes, into something more comfortable to explore the long forgotten corridors of the Rose Castle.
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Beauty wandered the halls of the small castle; tapestries lined the walls, protecting the castle from cold drafts. The sun shone through the windows lighting up the stones with its warmth.
She vaguely remembered the layout of the castle; and that she had found a hidden room behind one of the tapestries, with her mother. Beauty walked down a long hall, at the end was the large red tapestry. As a child, she had sat on the floor, in front of the tapestry and gazed into the scene displayed in red and gold. All she could remember of it was that every time she had looked at it, she had found something new.
Beauty looked at it now gazing into its fiery depths.
It was a large battle scene of two dragons fighting one another in the air, an enchantress stood on a large cliff, her golden robes whipped around her by the wind of the dragon's wings; she stood facing the dragons; her face hidden by her long brown curly hair. By her feet was a large shaggy being, about the size of a man, fallen and bleeding, a soft hazy glow surrounding it. Below the dragons and the cliff was a golden meadow, inside a blazing red forest. Creatures hid within its shadows, a rearing centaur and a frightened faun were two of Beauty's favorites.
Beauty stepped up to the tapestry and pulled aside the heavy cloth to reveal a shadowed wooden door. Placing her hand on the right side of the wall next to the door, she tapped the gray stone, and the door opened with a click. Pushing open the door, she stepped into the dark room. Lighting a small candle sitting on a table by the entrance, a warm glow filled the small room. The carpet on the floor was a dark maroon, lightened by the layers of dust from over the years. A small desk sat at the back of the room as well as a small bookshelf, filled with a few books here and there, a cushioned wooden chair sat by the bookshelf, it looked worn and loved.
Beauty's hand went to her head as a wave of darkness swept over her, recalling forgotten memories.
"Mother, tell me a story?" a small curly haired girl asked the woman in whose lap she sat in. The woman was of average height with curly blond hair and clear green eyes. The woman pulled a blanket up onto the little girl's lap and tucked the edges around her, one corner slipping and draping over the wooden chair they sat in.
"What would you like to hear, my little Beauty?" The woman replied in soft tones.
"Tell me the story about the enchantress who lived in this castle, the one on the tapestry in front of this room." The young Beauty said, her eyes glowing in anticipation.
The woman in the chair laughed, her voice filling the little room in which they sat.
"Again?" she asked smiling "I just told this to you yesterday and the day before that!"
"But I like it!" The girl replied pouting "I want to hear it again!"
"Alright," The woman sighed smiling, "Once upon a time, there lived and enchantress, her name was Beaute…."
Light spotted Beauty's vision as the memory faded, though she could still hear her mother's voice echoing in her head.
Quickly she blew the candle out and left the room, tears threatening to appear.
The tapestry fell back over the door, rustling slightly as it settled into place.
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