Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Plot, characters, etc… of Beauty and the Beast are the property of Disney. Pas moi.

The Beast was completely taken aback by the girl's agreement to be held at the oshiro in her father's stead. She had already surprised him greatly with her complete lack of decorum in addressing him. Even her father had spoken far more politely than this bold young woman. No one had ever dared speak to him in such a manner, for even before the curse he had always been the future Shogun and the master of all he saw. Ordinarily such disrespect as the girl had shown would have sent him into a fit of spiteful rage, but he was now experiencing nearly the opposite reaction: her audacity almost made him feel…intrigued. Where had she learned such strength of mind?

She was very pretty, beautiful, even, in a way that seemed exotic to him from what he could see of her in the lamp's dim light. She was taller than the average Nipponese woman, though obviously still much shorter than he. Her skin was clear and pale, without a blemish, her teeth even and white, and her nose short and straight. Her eyes and hair were both shades he had never before encountered: brown hair with a few shifting highlights like well-finished dark wood furniture, and large eyes that were a startling leaf-green. He knew that gold hair and blue eyes were revered as lucky among his own raven-haired, dark-eyed people, but never had he imagined that hair and eye colors such as this girl's could combine to produce such a radiant effect.

He had detected her intrusion almost the moment she had entered the front gate, of course, having been somewhat on edge since her father's abrupt appearance two evenings before. The onii servants thought they were being clever again, allowing her to slip in without seeing them and then leading her to the dungeon area with a dim lamp. The Beast had followed her from his usual place among the ceiling beams, moving more silently than he had ever done before. The only tense moment had come when one of the sliding paper walls had begun to close itself directly behind her and he had been forced to move quickly if he wanted to continue to tail her. Fortunately the discovery of the panel's movement had frightened her enough that she noticed little else for some minutes, or she might have detected him. It was comforting to know that something frightened her, for though she had been horrified by his appearance in the light of the dungeon's single lamp she had still boldly agreed to remain, thus sparing her father's life and sacrificing her own freedom.

Keep your mind in the moment! he scolded himself mentally, using the words of his old fencing sensei when he'd let his attention wander too long. "Very well then. We have a bargain indeed. See that you remember it," he said to the girl, and proceeded past her to unlock her father's prison door with a claw. She moved uneasily out of range of his jaws.

The man rushed to seize his daughter in a fierce embrace, and spoke a few rapid sentences to her in the strange language that the Beast could not understand. Before she could reply, the Beast thrust his toothy muzzle between them and growled threateningly. The man staggered away, nearly knocking over the wooden ladder that led to the rest of the oshiro. Though he was careful never to touch the old man, with snarls and jaw-snaps the Beast rapidly prodded him to climb the ladder. In this manner he quick-marched his former prisoner to the main doors of the oshiro keep.

"There is the way out of my domain, gaijin," the Beast growled as the man staggered out into the moonlight. "Your daughter has bargained for your freedom, and thus I release you. But see that you never return here, or your own life as well as hers will be forfeit."

Despite his injuries, the old man moved away surprisingly rapidly. The onii gatekeeper raised the portcullis gate, and within moments the squat figure of the girl's father had vanished into the dark forest outside the oshiro's walls. The Beast watched him go with a satisfied snort. Then his stomach clenched. What was he supposed to do with his lovely prisoner now?

In the dungeon, Belle did not allow her tears to fall until she could hear no more of the Beast's claws on the stone floor above her. To be parted from her father forever was a terrible concept that she was only just beginning to absorb, but at the moment what seemed especially cruel to her was that they had not even been allowed farewells. All Maurice had had time to say, rapidly and in French, was, "Belle, please. Listen to me. You don't have to do this. You're young, you have so much more ahead of you than I. Ma petite, I can't bear to think—" before they had been separated by the Beast. Belle couldn't bear to think at the moment, either, but even the chance to say so to her father had been denied her. So as silence filled the dungeon again Belle sat on the dusty floor, lowered her head, and wept in despair.

It occurred to her before too long that the Beast had not locked her in one of the cells. But what that might mean she could not possibly begin to fathom. Perhaps he -- it --was only waiting to do so until her father was out of the picture. So Belle remained there on the floor, defeated and too frightened to move, knees hugged tight to her chest, tears making tracks down her cheeks.

So absorbed in her own misery was she that she did not notice at first when the Beast himself returned. How long he'd sat there with his front paws on the topmost rung of the ladder, watching her sob quietly, she had no idea. She simply looked up, and there was that triangular scarlet face with its golden crest, observing her out of fire-colored eyes. Immediately she stood, hiding clenched fists in her blue skirt, and waited for him to say something. Or do something. But he'd seemed lost in his own thoughts.

At last, feeling she had to break the silence somehow, Belle said softly, voice wobbling, "You didn't even let us say goodbye."

The Beast blinked at her, as if the thought had never occurred to him. "My apologies," he said, but it sounded like an automatic response and not at all as if he were truly sorry.

This only fueled Belle's temper. "It was the least you could have done." Immediately, she regretted speaking so rashly as he bared his front teeth in a soundless snarl.

"And I could just have easily gone back on our bargain, onna no gaijin, and ordered the execution of you both," he snapped. "Be grateful I have not done so, and take care how you address me. But for now, follow me. I will take you to your room."

"My room?" Belle almost choked on her surprise at this statement. First he was threatening her, and suddenly, in the same breath, trying to be…gracious? "But—" She glanced at the still-open door of her father's cell.

"Or you may stay here in my dungeon. If you wish." To her surprise, Belle detected a hint of sarcasm in his growling voice. She must have looked taken aback, for he clacked his teeth and said, "I thought so. Come with me."

Belle gulped, and started towards the ladder.

The Beast led her on a seemingly random route through the halls and corridors of the oshiro. Despite her wanderings earlier, Belle recognized very few of the rooms they passed. In the dim light of the lamp the Beast had bidden her to bring up from the dungeons with her, Belle could see vague, threatening shapes that she could not quite make out carved and painted onto many surfaces, both wood and paper. At last, the Beast halted outside a Western-style wooden door, the first she had seen in the castle, and said gruffly, "Here is your room. You are free to go anywhere you wish in my oshiro and its gardens, except for one place. If ever you encounter a floor that sings like a nightingale as you set foot on it, know that you are not permitted to cross it."

"What—" Belle began to ask.

"You are never to go there!" he growled, and her lantern flared with the sparks that dripped from his mouth. Belle jumped back and nearly fell against the door. "That's better," the Beast said approvingly when she had recovered somewhat. "A bit of healthy respect in my presence will do you no harm. Now, if there is anything you require, you have but to ask my servants. They will be along to attend you shortly. You are to join me for dinner in half an hour."

"But I don't—"

"That is not a request!" A few sparks appeared at the corners of his mouth again.

Belle was not so easily intimidated a second time. Eyes burning to match his, chin thrust out dangerously, Belle opened the door to her room and walked deliberately inside. It was all she could do not to slam the door in her captor's face, but she restrained herself with all her might. She even managed to keep her expression fairly neutral until the door had shut completely and she was all alone. Then she flung herself on the first cushioned surface she saw, buried her face deep within it, and screamed until she had no energy left except to release her pent-up sobs. Eventually, and for the second time in two days, she cried herself to sleep with tears of despair and loneliness.

Author's note: Whew! Just writing all the complex reactions in this chapter is exhausting. Not much for me to say, except that sensei means teacher, and onna no gaijin simply means "woman foreigner". I don't know any good insults in Japanese, regrettably.