-Belle-

Belle had managed to make it to her rooms that night on her own, and immediately crawled into her bed without even bothering to change. When she woke in the morning, she was completely sore, both her feelings and her body. They must have danced longer than she had realized because she felt as though she had been trampled over by a horse.

"Good morning dear!" Said Polly as she came in, setting a tray down at the table across the room.

Belle crossed the room to get breakfast, but she was just tired enough and just distracted enough by the previous night's events that she tripped gracelessly over a large solid object and hit her head on something else while falling down.

Polly was over to help her up in a second. "Goodness! I should've thought to warn you earlier!"

Belle clutched her head in pain and then felt out wildly for the alien object in her room. She finally found it, "Is it a Chair?"

"Yes." Polly replied, "The staff received orders to bring it in early this morning. I had thought that you requested it."

Belle felt around it a little more and then sat down on it, a smile breaking across her face the second she did. It was the chair from the library. Her smile died a little when she began to wonder what the chair meant.

"Are you alright dear?" Polly asked urgently, moving her hand across Belle's forehead where she had just hit it.

"Yes, I think I am."

"Are you sure? You're going to have a huge knot on your head. I need to talk to the staff about moving the furniture in your room! They should be more careful than that!"

"No, don't worry about it. It wasn't their fault, I probably would've been more careful if I wasn't so distracted this morning."

"And what could possibly be making you so distracted?" Polly asked with a smile in her voice.

"Nothing." Belle said, but she felt the heat rise in her face.

"It doesn't seem like nothing dear, you're absolutely flushed, and I don't think it's just your head injury." Polly leaned over sitting next to Belle on the Lounge chair and she leaned over to whisper conspiratorially, "Does it have anything to do with why his majesty has taken over the furniture decorating in your room?"

"No" Belle said, and it was the truth. No matter how foolish she had acted last night, the fact of the matter was that he had pushed her away. Was the chair an apology? She heard the regret in his voice clear as day. His regret for kissing her. "I have no idea why this chair is now here, but I intend to figure it out."

Polly stood up suddenly, "Well you just make sure you get something to eat dear. I should go finish the rest of my morning routine."

Polly walked across the room but the stopped when she reached the door, "Oh, and in case you wanted to discuss furniture placement, I saw a certain someone in the garden on my way here."

Polly left, and Belle sat alone in the room for about 30 seconds before she quickly threw on one of her comfortable day dresses, grabbed a piece of toast from the table, and left.

The second she walked out into the garden she began to feel insecurities surround her head. Here she was walking around aimlessly looking for someone who had rejected her the night before. If he despised her because she would forever be just another woman who had went into the forest on a blood moon, then seeking him out now would probably just confirm his suspicions of her character.

She walked aimlessly in the garden her mind spiraling down, remembering the night before how desperate she must have seemed, and how even more desperate she must seem now, in the garden, seeking him out.

Her head finally gained control of her actions and she wheeled around to return back inside, but the second she did she heard her name right behind her. Close enough that she jumped, spooked by his sudden nearness.

-The Beast-

He had been enjoying a perfectly nice breakfast outside staring into the dark shadows of the forest trying to think of anything but her. It didn't help that as soon as his mind was finally free of her, she suddenly appeared out of the corner of his eye.

He waited for her to call out, but he realized that she didn't even know he was there. He smirked, so much for "I would hear you coming." As she came closer and he saw the troubled look on her face he frowned and that frown deepened as she came up on him and he saw a large bruise forming on her forehead.

He stood swiftly and in that moment she turned on her heel back towards the castle, but it was too late.

"Belle." He called out when he was nearly upon her and she jumped, wheeling her around, her hand clutching her heart.

"Ohmysweetgoodness you scared me to death!"

"What? You didn't hear me coming?" He asked innocently and her face transformed from fear to righteous indignation.

"I was distracted that didn't count."

"I wonder what could possibly distract someone enough that they could ignore a beast creeping up on them." He wondered aloud. She didn't respond right away and he could see her deciding what to say to him.

"I was focused on where I was walking. You never know when someone is going to completely rearrange the furniture in your room, causing you to trip up."

"So what you're saying is that your weakness is furniture?" He laughed causing her righteous indignation to increase.

"You better watch your steps the next few days Adam because I'm going to get you back!" She said and a chill went down his back. Every time she called him Adam when he was in his beastly state he wanted to whisk her up and take her away.

She didn't know the effect she had on him standing there staring up at him with her hands clenched into fists. She looked like she was ready to take him on all by herself and he'd seen enough to know that her bravery wasn't an act.

She was standing too close. She was too close when she was in the castle safely tucked away in her room. He realized that's why he had stayed outside, because his walls became paper thin when she was around.

"So you're saying that I caused that nasty bruise on your head just because I moved a bit of furniture around?" He asked and his hand went up to touch her bright red forehead that was already turning a dark shade of purple. His massive paw compared to her skin made him fall back a step.

He wouldn't touch her again, not as the beast at least. He promised to himself. She might not be able to see him, although he figured if she could, she'd be running out screaming, but she didn't need any reminder of exactly how monsterous he was. 'She deserves better' he reminded himself.

"Yes, which is precisely why I came here to get an apology." She stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's terrible, because I gave you that chair as half an apology." An apology that had backfired on him, he wasn't even surprised. Most things seemed to backfire on him.

"An apology for what?" She asked, leaning towards him, closing some of the distance that he had created between the two of them.

"It was an apology for last night. I just wanted to say-"

"forget it. You don't even have to apologize. It's in the past." Belle said, interrupting him.

"No." The Beast said, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his head, trying to do anything with his hands to distract himself from his desire to reach out to her. "I need to apologize. I don't want you to think-" He stopped, pausing for the right word.

He didn't want her to think he was a monster but it was too late for that. He remembered back how his every move was selfish. Ever since he kidnapped her he'd been consumed with desire and last night he'd acted like a beast, taking liberties he had no right to take and behaving wild and inappropriatly. He didn't have the courage to say any of that out loud he realized, but he didn't have to. There was a blood curdling scream that came from the direction of the forest.

He jumped, every muscle ready for action and Belle flinched toward him, putting a hand on his shoulder that was covered in a thick matt of fur.

"What was that?" She asked in a soft whisper.

"It sounded like a war cry."

"A war cry? It was the wolfmen wasn't it?"

"Yes, the blood moon makes them more powerful. Powerful enough to think that they can take over ruling the forest. They're probably just looking for another fight," he said warily stepping away from her, creating another boundary of space between them.

"Are you going out there?"

"Yes." He said, stretching out his wings ready to take flight until her hand was on his arm and he was overcome by the sensation that only Belle could give him.

"You're going to go out there with no notion of what you're facing? You don't know how many there are. You don't even know for sure what it is."

The Beast smiled when he saw what looked like concern in her face. "The way I see it, you win either way. I'll either die a painful death, thus setting you free from your captor, or I'll kill them and you'll never have to worry about the werewolves again."

"It's a lose either way. If you live, you'll come back all cocky and self sure and rub it in my face, and if you die-" She cut off and the Beast couldn't stop from laughing.

"You can't think of one bad thing that would come from my untimely demise? Way to make a me feel special!"

Another war cry came up from the forest and their was something odd in the tone. Something hungry. "Belle, I really do need to go." He said, unable to remove her hand from his arm without doing something that would only cause him to have to apologize more.

She let go slowly and the beast let out a ragged breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You better come back." Was all she said and he didn't bother replying before setting off for the skies.

-Belle-

if you die I lose my best friend.

That's what she was going to say. It would kill her because she'd never be able to hear his laugh, or the panic in his voice whenever she did something that caught him off guard. She'd lose the only person who ever treated her like someone who had any worth.

He was gone now, she could still hear the beat of his wings, carried to her by the wind and she couldn't help but remember his apology.

He didn't want her to think what? That his intentions were sincere? That maybe he felt the same way she did everytime they touched? She could still feel his mouth on hers when she closed her eyes and she was overwhelmed with conflicting feelings.

She longed for the comfort of her own bed. She wanted to see her father again, despite his hand in abandoning her. She missed her own special hill behind her house where she could hear nothing but the wind. She missed all the good things from the village, but the thought of leaving made her feel sick. What would she do without her Beast?

She ran those words in her mind again and again returning inside, the whole castle seemed darker knowing that he was gone.