I don't own BatB, its Disney's…since I'm following Disney's version here ...I know there's a lot of them out there, and I'm sorry if this isn't up to standards...but it popped into my head since I've been reading fanfics and watching the movie repeatedly and I had to write it. I am no grammar queen..so forgive me but I did reread it and tried my best to fix up spelling and such …so if you catch anything let me know please . I also tried to keep them in character, I hope that worked again let me know if I'm too bold..

I don't know if ill continue, it's just a random scene I wanted to write. I would love to write in my own style

A big thank you goes to TrudiRose for her editing, you can find her here http/ /289469/

Review if you read please.

Secrets and Hope

How many days had she been here now, in this castle? How many times had she woken in the middle of the night, feeling cold and alone...missing her father's voice, and the contraptions he would eagerly show her, saying they were going to change their lives.

She realized then that yes, his invention had changed their lives, and now they were torn apart from one another forever because of it. Turning to her side, she glanced out the window at the snow as it fell. So calm, yet so unforgiving, whipping around in the wind and then fluttering ever so softly onto the windows glass. It reminded her of this situation: she was the snowflakes, and the Beast was the wind.

Surprisingly, she wasn't angered by this thought just now. Returning to her back, she stared at the ceiling and wondered how lonely he must be in this castle. Of course he had his servants, they too in odd shape and in unloving but yet familiar forms…yet he was still alone. Had he always been like this? Sitting up slowly, she edged her way to the end of the large, four-poster bed and let her bare feet touch the cold stone floor.

A noise halted her steps and she glanced up. The wardrobe had emitted a rather loud snore but proceeded to mutter a moment before falling silent. Belle stood and walked towards the door, slipping on a pair of slippers as she did so, and then carefully retrieving a housecoat from the coat rack, which she also presumed to be sleeping as she carefully wrapped it around her, ensuring no winter chill would creep up on her in her venturing.

How could one tell what was inanimate or not in this enchanted place? Everything seemed to move...why, it was surprising these very walls did not speak and betray the secrets of its inhabitants. No, she wouldn't dare to ask anyway. She felt it wasn't her place to ask such questions...and whenever she was about to, they all seemed to become mute suddenly, or change the subject…then again, what would it matter? Who would she tell and what would they think of her then after saying that a candle holder had told her that they were enchanted and a curse was upon them all, or whatever the case might be. She tried not to smile at the humor in that thought as she opened her door and entered the hall.

For a moment she halted in the midst of the long hallway, faintly lit by candlelight, wondering what she was doing. It was only last week that she had been yelled at, and then tried to flee this place, going to where she knew her feet were headed...but she couldn't help it…But then, the Beast that ruled this castle and its inhabitants had saved her…ah yes, thoughts of him flooded back to her mind as she continued on her way, now down a long flight of stone steps towards the West Wing.

Why had he saved her anyway? It was most likely because she was his prisoner, a pawn to be traded for her father's life…or maybe... She paused once more, this time in both her steps and her thoughts. What was she thinking? He was a...well, a Beast! She remembered how his towering and monstrous wolf-life form had frightened her the first time they met in the tower, how the anger in his voice had made her feel almost faint, and how the cruelty in his actions, of denying her the simple satisfaction of a final farewell to her beloved father, had made her weep for days.

But then he had saved her…and as she mended his wounds, they had shared a small moment of understanding, that she was grateful and that he was welcoming of that fact. It was not a boast; he did not belittle her or punish her for running away. No, he simply shut himself deeper into his castle and watched her as she tended to her horse and roamed the grounds freely.

He also seemed so secretive during tonight's dinner. She recalled him being almost nervous and hesitant, and wondering what he was up to. When she had asked Lumiere and Mrs.Potts, they all seemed to have no idea what she was referring too, yet displayed the same emotions themselves. Secrets. Yes, this place was full of them, and one was growing around her, within these stone walls.

She stopped once more when she realized she had reached her destination, staring at the golden lion's head, jaws wide and eyes narrowed staring down at her as it adorned and protected the wooden doors.

Wondering a moment, she reached out, but hesitated. No, she would not intrude as she had before, if they, and by they she meant the candleholder and the clock, had mentioned the first time she had snuck here that this was his bedroom, she would not have been so inclined to visit it, but the mystery of it all intrigued her and well...what was done was done.

A noise from inside the room made her hold her breath. She listened a moment , wondering what exactly she had heard, and pressed herself to the door slightly in an attempt to hear once more.

Mutterings, a bit of shuffling and the sound of dragging furniture. Was he rearranging his room at this hour? Strange, she thought. Mind you, she had seen much stranger things in the past few weeks.

Glancing around, she noticed the strange ornaments and decorative dragons - or were they gargoyles? - that lined the short but wide hall, and the cracked mirror just across from her made her shudder. She didn't need to guess why it was broken, but now as she heard steps coming towards the door she sought refuge behind one of the statues, clinging to its base and wing and peering through the space between its horns to watch as the door opened and the Beast stepped out.

She watched his form exit the darkened chamber through the cracked mirror and saw the distorted reflection through the many pieces. His heavy steps and the faint ticking of his claws as they touched the floor could be heard and she felt herself slinking back slightly, turning her gaze from the mirror and peered over the folded wings of the statue towards him. Glancing around, he missed her gaze, and she couldn't help but feel in the slightest way disappointed. Mind you that was a silly thing to be, seeing as she was hiding behind a statue, and was not exactly wishing to lock gazes with the one whom she was hiding from.

Her heart raced in her chest, and she now noticed she was holding her breath. She was afraid of being caught, not knowing if he would become angry with her again. Also, she was afraid of being asked once more what exactly she was doing here, because she had no answer, not even to herself.

Her brown eyes then caught notice of something he held in his paws, and she watched as he glanced over it before letting out a small mutter. It looked as though it had been glowing faintly, though it could have been just a reflection from a torch in his room.

She quickly slipped deeper behind the statue, her form slinking away into the shadows as his glance turned almost instantly in her direction. Did he know? No, he mustn't, for she heard his door close moments later and for a second she did not know what to do except continue sitting there.

Gaining some courage, she slowly stood, quickly glanced back at the closed door, and was relieved that he was gone. She remembered the rose and how he had protected it so, how it had illuminated the room in its radiance but sadly, how it had looked as though it was beginning to wilt. That must have been why she had come here: it had entranced her and drawn her in once more. This place was like a rose bush, filled with marvelous buds that captured one's attention...though at the moment, she saw it as being stuck within the thorns beneath the beautiful flowers, afraid to move in case one might be pricked repeatedly in the attempt.

Maybe that rose was like her in some way, she thought as she headed back to her room quickly and silently. She did not think of herself as her name implied, beautiful, but it was different like her, and it did stand out in this dark, cold place…she thought of that rose as a prisoner like herself, but how wrong she was.

As she slipped back into her room and as she hid under her covers she forgot about her worries of the Beast being so alone, and of the secrets that resided within this place. Though if she had thought a little harder and took a moment to reflect, she may have realized that she was also harboring a secret within herself, one she did not even realize herself, hidden away deep inside of her heart. Her dreams were filled with roses that night, of being captive with them and then being freed with them, but that rose was less like her then she wished.

And while she lay sleeping the Beast glanced into his mirror, having watched her retreat back to her room, and then sadly glanced towards the rose on the nightstand. This beautiful human girl was his prisoner and he and all within this castle was the prisoner of that very rose and its curse, but Belle was different, for she was the one who had the key that could set them all, including herself, free.

He felt no closer to his own freedom with this thought. This woman was stubborn and intrusive...yet she was independent, strong and beautiful. She did not seem to fear him as the others, but he knew that like everyone else, she would never be able to see past this ghastly and hideous form he inhabited. In a sense he now felt trapped; hope was a very cruel mistress, for it made one see a light when all there was was darkness. Glancing once more at the rose, he sighed and shook his head, now he had two captors…one of his body, his people and his world…the other of his heart.

Hopefully tomorrow she would see that she meant something to him, more than a prisoner. He rested his head down and closed his eyes, trying to force sleep to come, and smiling as only a Beast could. She had come to this wing once more for a reason he did not know, and he dreamed of what that might have been.