-The Beast-

Vandy was on a quest for blood. Looking for his young master he started with his rooms and then to the gardens the two places that the beast ever seemed to be. When he wasn't at either of those places, Vandy had resorted to checking the entire castle, floor by floor and room by room, carefully avoiding Polly and her anger. She looked on the bring of strangling someone while she was in the dungeon.

When Vandy finally found the beast, he was in the west wing in his fathers library with papers strewn all over the room and books thrown all about. Vandy opened his mouth then closed it and repeated those steps three or four times before letting it all out.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" He asked finally.

"How is she?" he asked looking up from his reading with a tired face.

"How is she? How is she?" Vandy repeated almost hysterical. "You should know exactly how she's doing! You're the one who roughed her up then threw her in the dungeon."

Vandy took notice of the way the Beast's jaw locked up and they both eyed each other evenly.

"You need to let her go." Vandy said gently.

"No." The beast responded almost immediately surprising even himself. "She wanted to be here, don't forget that. Just because she regrets it now because I'm more of a monster than she could have ever imagined does not mean that she didn't sign up for this." His voice was cold and final and Vandy found himself open mouthed unable to argue any further.

The King was right of course, any woman out in the forest on a blood moon wants to be exactly where Belle found herself.

"Can I move her out of the dungeons at least?"

"No." The beast said turning his back to Vandy.

"She's injured. You might not have taken notice when you kidnapped her, but she needs to stay somewhere clean and preferably warm."

"She'll know enough castles in her life to know mine. She stays in the dungeon."

"You can't just- you're not-" Vandy started his sentence over again and again until he just turned out of the room leaving the beast alone again in his fathers study.

The beast went back to his fathers books looking for the paper he hadn't looked at in ages. It took him several hours of combing through every nook and cranny to find the familiar well worn off color paper, It was the safekeeper of his curse.

He read the comfortable words for the first time since they sealed his fate permanantly.

Monster from birth inherits a curse only to be broken through love. If the love leaves the monster succceeds and will exist forever more.

The words of the curse seemed burned in his skin and he saw the constant reminder daily of what he had lost. He forgot why he had searched up the curse why he had this intense need to read it's words again when they trapped him in a box.

He folded the paper along well worn creases and left his fathers study in ruin.

Polly had a lot to do. She had already sent off two maids and she was making an intensive list of all the things that needed done in a short period of time.

"What is happening in here?" The beast demanded as he walked into the main hall and Polly was standing and directing a few footman moving some of the furniture around.

"We're preparing the furniture for our new guest." Polly replied, not looking away from her work. She looked up and directed the footmen to put the flower vases into the storage room in the south wing.

So many things came to the Beast's mind at once that suddenly he found himself speechless.

"What guest?!" he managed to ask incredulously as others passed by the hall carrying a small coffee table.

"Belle."

"She won't be coming up from the dungeon." The beast said finally.

"I suppose you'll have to rename the north wing to "the dungeon" because that is where she will be staying the remainder of her stay."

"You are not the master of this castle!" The beast said. Polly was taking it too far.

Polly finally put down her papers and regarded the king evenly.

"You are not the master of this castle either. At least, I had hoped that my master would never entrap and injure a woman and throw her in the dungeon to rot." The beast opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by Polly, "if you will not listen to reason I will not listen to you and I will resign as housekeeper now and be on my way"

They stood in silent battle. Polly was serious, he knew it. She had been keeping him in line for almost his entire life and he had never seen her so riled up.

"She wanted to be here Polly."

"Did she tell you that?"

"She didn't need to. She was in the forest during the blood moon."

Polly shook her head, "People aren't what they seem. You of all people should know that. She is scared and she is getting out of that dungeon tonight."

All of his fight had left him and he stood unable to give permission and unable to say no.

"Move her to the east wing Polly. I will not see her." Polly nodded and spun around marching back to work. Being left alone suddenly, the beast had a nagging itch that became so severe he could not ignore it anymore.

The best walked through the grand doors and immediately took flight towards his forest looking for a fight to start.