Hello! I have returned! I did have an old story under this account but I have removed it and have decided to revamp my original project. I am older now and feel that my writing skills have improved. To be honest it's a slow start but I wanted Olivia to have a back story before we got into the original Beauty and the Beast story. So if you can hang in there I promise it will be worth it! I imagine this story as Beauty and the Beast meets Once upon a time meets Outlander? If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please let me know! My inbox is always open. Reviews are welcome. Also rated M for cursing and violence. I do not own Beauty and the Beast, thanks!

Chapter I

Do you remember that feeling when you were little of being thrown up in the air knowing someone would be there to catch you? The pure innocence of trust, knowing that person could never do you any harm. Your heart beating like a hummingbird's, feeling as if it were to explode at any moment just from the thrill of weightlessness. Your lungs choking on laughter as you try to catch your breath before you get tossed up again. I get those feelings sometimes, only a small glimpse of moments like those, then I wake up.

*Alarm buzzing*

"Hey, shh you're alright." I felt a hand go to my forehead as I quickly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, my mind was lagging but when I came to, I saw Sophie sitting on my bed. "You must've been having a bad dream again; I could hear your teeth grinding all the way from the hallway." She let out a small chuckle. I slowly sat up and brushed my hand through my hair. "Yeah, they've been getting so intense lately. They always seem so real…" I said as I stared out my bedroom window Sophie stood up "Well, wake up! It looks so beautiful outside we should get out of the house while he's gone" I gave her a look of disapproval then smiled "Oh but there is so much to explore right here!" I said sarcastically as I raised my arms to show off my bookcase like a magician's assistant shows off the magical box minutes from sawing her in half. "Oh, come on Liv, we never go out anymore! All you do is stay home and read" Sophie said as she collapsed back onto my bed. "I know, and that's the way I like it" I said with a teasing grin. "Besides you know what happens when we go out" I looked down to my lap.

10 years prior

"Can we go get ice cream pleaseeeee" Sophie said to her mother. Caroline laughed "Now hold on, let Olivia pick what she wants" She turned to 8 year old Olivia, and she was beaming. Olivia had just won an award for best science fair presentation. Her and her foster father worked so hard getting it to work. It was called "Potato Power!" you take two metals and insert them into the potato causing the salt in the potato to release ions allowing them to travel through the wires, connecting the two metals producing electricity. Olivia was so proud of her and her foster father she couldn't wait to tell him she won 1st place when they got home. Olivia turned to her foster mother, Caroline. "I think ice cream sounds great!" with a glowing smile. "Alright to the car we go!" Caroline said as she grabbed both of their hands and jogged out to the parking lot. Both girls let go of her hands as they sprinted to the car. Caroline laughed "Be careful girls! There is still ice on the ground though the snow has melted" They both slowed down and laughed as they reached the car.

Once everyone was settled in and on the road, Caroline started flipping through radio stations trying to find one for all of them to enjoy. "Ah, here we are" She stopped once she heard 'God Only Knows by The Beach Boys' Caroline started singing along "God only knows what I'd be without you. If you should ever leave me though life would still go on, believe me…" Caroline could hear the girls giggling in the backseat, she continued "The world could show nothin to me, so what good would living do me?..." As the giggling continued, she looked up in her rearview mirror. "God only know what I'd be without…." In just a few seconds Caroline lost control of the wheel, the car skidding on a sheet of ice. She tried to redirect the wheel, but it was no use. As the car was sliding on the ice another car got out of the way just in time, the girls were screaming in the backseat. Unfortunately for Caroline she wasn't so lucky, the car smacked into a tree with a loud crash then silence.

Olivia woke up to sirens in the distance, everything around her seemed like it was moving in slow motion. She heard a woman yelling to her in the distance. She looked down at her hands they were covered in blood, past her hands she looked to her lap where she found broken glass everywhere. Her ears were starting to focus on her surroundings as reality was setting in. Sprinting, the woman approached the wreckage. "Oh God," she said looking her over "You're alright, it's alright. I'm going to get you out" Olivia stayed silent and numb, she heard crying and screaming. As she was being pulled out of the car she looked to her right, it was Sophie. "Mom!" "Mommy! Wake up!" "Please!" "MOM!" Olivia was in the arms of the kind stranger, as the woman was carrying her to safety, she looked to the driver seat. It was Caroline, forehead pressed to the steering wheel; not moving. She looked back to the woman as she set her down "It's alright" She wiped a tear from Olivia's cheek she was unaware she was even crying. The woman tried to go back to the car, but a fireman stopped her, the woman was taken by a police officer to his patrol car for questioning; she gave Olivia a side look then followed the officer. Olivia watched as the fireman struggled getting Sophie from the vehicle, she was kicking and screaming. As the fireman was walking over to Olivia, Sophie still wiggling in the man's arms she continued screaming for her mother. "Mom!" "Please help her!" "She's not moving" "Please!" "Mommy"

Olivia was still standing there, tears falling from her face. Sophie was placed next to Olivia "Stay here" The fireman said sternly but kind. A police officer walked over to them, she was talking to the girls, but Olivia was just watching the scene unfold in front of her, everything was still in slow motion. With the officer still mumbling in the background and Sophie sobbing next to her she watched her foster mother being wheeled into an ambulance a sheet covering her body. She looked down to her feet, tears were now rolling down her cheeks heavily. With her head still tilted down Olivia grabbed Sophie's hand and squeezed it tight. Sophie turned to Olivia and dove into her arms; they both were sobbing.

Olivia heard a man yelling at a police officer in the distance "…Let me through those are my kids!" The officer replied, "Sir please" Henry pushed through the man and went straight to the girls, he bent down and they both jumped into his arms. "Shh, it'll be alright. You're safe. Shhh" He held them for a couple of minutes then a police officer took him away leaving them with the female officer once again. Olivia was still in shock, her body shaking; not sure if the cold or her nerves were the culprit. She turned to watch the officer talking to Henry, the officer put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "No… no." Henry said as he backed away from the officer. "No…I need to see her" He was starting to get angry "Let me see her!" Olivia shrunk from the yelling "Sir Please… She's gone… I.. I am so sorry" The officer said trying to put his hand on his shoulder once more, but Henry just walked away anger was filling him. Henry went to the crashed car weeping, he started kicking the car then bent down to pick up broken shrapnel and throwing them as he was yelling. "No.. NO.. I told her not go out.. I told her…" He continued yelling, throwing whatever objects he could find "I told her to come straight home…. the damn ice.… God Damnit" He was sobbing, finally the officer came up to him and forced him to stop, Henry complied and just sank to the ground sobbing with his hands in his face. Olivia just closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh her warm breath producing smoke out of thin air. That was the night that everything had changed.

Present Day

"I just don't see how you even like those books, it makes my stomach turn thinking of all the unrealistic romance." I chuckled as we drove downtown to the local bookstore 'Bailey's Books.' Though Sophie did like to read like me, she was always reading some mushy romance book. Awkward girl falls for popular boy. Terminally ill girl falls for boy, they fall in love, one of them dies. Good girl falls for the bad boy next door. She even told me about this book; girl falls in love with a vampire, horrible. "Well, I think they're romantic" Sophie said with a sigh. "Whatever you say, Princess" I chuckled as I teased her.

We pulled in to the 'Bailey's Books' parking lot behind the building, I shut off the car. I turned to Sophie, her blonde hair shinning in the sun her olive skin glowing against her sunflower dress. As she checked her make up in the passenger side mirror my mind started to wonder. I always envied Sophie, she was popular at school, had tons of friends, her boyfriend Ethan, I mean she was a cheerleader for god's sake she seemed to have it all. As for me I have dark brown hair, pale skin, I hardly ever wear any makeup, I just find myself roaming the halls with book in hand trying to get through the school day, escaping to the school's library any chance I get.

Most the time I think to myself would Sophie even be my friend if I wasn't adopted into her family when I was born? Probably not, but we have grown close. Especially after Caroline's death, after she passed Henry's anger just kept growing. The anger eventually got targeted to me, blaming me for her death, "you begged her take you and Sophie out after you won that fucking science fair" as he would say. Sophie has told me time after time that it wasn't my fault, but I don't think I can ever let that go. As the years went by Henry's drinking became significantly worse, drinking before work, staying out late after work and come home wasted. Whether he was intoxicated or not the hatred for me was obvious, but when he was wasted it was way worse and he would get violent.

Caroline always said they were told they couldn't have children, so they adopted me. Then less than a year later Caroline was pregnant with Sophie. Fast forward to now, my eighteenth birthday is in two days, and he will most likely kick me out of the house. Sophie's boyfriend Ethan is trying to do everything he can to get her out, as for me I have no idea what will happen when that time comes. Some battles you must fight yourself and see your own way through.

Sophie turned to me pulling me out of my thoughts "You ready?" she said smiling. "Yeah, let's go" I grabbed my bag and locked the car then we made our way to the book shop. It was 68 degrees out and sunny, it really was a beautiful day. "I'm glad you got me out of bed this morning" I said to Sophie and smiled. She turned to me "of course, just because he's a drunk asshole doesn't mean I have to be one too. Plus I actually like spending time with you." She chuckled, we walked in silence for a minute, I got the feeling she was trying to gather her thoughts. She spoke, her voice was coated with empathy "I just…. I feel so helpless when he's like that with you.. I was there too. He never blames me for it, it makes me angry that he treats you that way for something you had no control over." I turned my head from her to the ground as we kept walking, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and said "I.. I think he doesn't blame you because you still have a part of her in you. You look like her so much, I can see the sorrow in his eyes when he looks at you." I turned back to her as we continued to walk "You're all he has left from her" Sophie turned her head from me to the ground, thinking. "People handle grief very differently; I think he just doesn't know how to handle it, so he downs a bottle and lashes out at me because I'm not his blood." I spoke.

We continued to walk in silence as we made our way into the bookstore. As we entered, I was greeted with the smell of incense and old books, it was so inviting. The store itself was quite dark and small, but it was filled with books from the floor to the ceiling, I also cannot forget the store cat, Harold. We separated; Sophie made her way to the romance section of course. As for me I wasn't sure what I was looking for, I had just finished a collective of Sylvia Plath poems. I have always been drawn to poetry, I believe it to be a glimpse into the soul, so raw. I ended up finding "The Princess Saves Herself In This One" by Amanda Lovelace, should be a good read. As we thanked the cashier and left, I turned to Sophie "What did you end up getting?" looking to the book in her hand. "The Notebook" she said, I then granted her with a look of disgust. "Why?" I said as I laughed. She returned the laugh with a light slap to my arm. "What. I've seen the movie now I want to read the book, is that so bad?" She chuckled. "No, no. Just don't come to my room crying because someone dies at the end, or they can't be together for lord knows what reason." She gave me a death stare, I just laughed. We walked in silence again just enjoying the beautiful day.

Sophie stopped to sit on a bench and patted the seat next to her. As I sat Sophie turned her body towards me, "Can I ask you something?" I nodded my head. "Earlier when you mentioned we don't share the same blood." I dropped my face to my lap feeling guilty, I didn't mean to upset her. She continued "Do you ever wonder who or where your real parents are? You never want to talk about it and avoid the subject anytime I try to bring it up. Don't you ever think about them?" My throat tightened; my fists clenched. She was right I never talk about it, because well, what is there to talk about? I lifted my head up and looked to her "No." I said coldly. "But what if they're looking for you? What if they've been trying to…" I cut her off "What? If they've been trying to find me?" I let out an angry chuckle "Then they would've found me by now, Sophie it's been almost 18 years they should've found me by now." I stood up and Sophie followed "All I'm saying is why not try, when you turn 18 in a couple days you know he's going to kick you out. What if you find them and they take you in?" I was getting angry, she didn't understand. "Then what? We live happily ever after? God Sophie this isn't like one of your fairy tale books. They left me at a fire station with nothing, they obviously did not want me. Why should I go out and find them when they clearly made their choice 18 years ago." Sophie looked down to the ground, it looked like her eyes were starting to tear up.

Guilt was making its way from my face, through my veins, then to my heart. I let out a sigh. "Sophie, I'm sorry I didn't mean to get so angry." She was crying heavily now, I went to her and put my hands on her shoulders. "Sophie please don't cry it's fine, I'm better off without them, It's okay…" She lifted her head up and stared at me, cheeks pink and tears falling down her cheek. "I know… but.. I'm worried about what's going to happen to you after you leave." Her voice cracked "What if I never see you again?" I hugged her; she had a point I have no idea what I will do after I leave. We got back in the car; Sophie had stopped crying. We sat there for a while; I finally spoke. "You know I'll figure something out, right? I'll be okay." Sophie looked to her lap and nodded. "However I am worried about you after I leave." She turned her face to me. "I won't be there to protect you if he ever comes at you, I won't be there to take the blow and I worry that he will take it out on you when I am gone. I want you out of there before I leave" Sophie just stared at me thinking, then looked down to her lap. "Can you pack a bag tonight?" I asked, she nodded. "Tell Ethan to have his car down the street at midnight tomorrow, Henry should be knocked out by then." Sophie looked towards me tears in her eyes again "But what about you?" She asked and I smiled at her, "After I make sure you're safe I'll find somewhere to go, I have that job at the coffee shop I'll manage." I finished with a smile and took her hand and squeezed. I started the car and we headed home.