The beast had considered letting him go.

It would've probably been the better decision, anyway. This old man was certainly going to be of no threat to him. He'd let him go his own way, back to his home and loved ones, and the beast would return to living in isolation, remaining a beast forever when the last petal fell.

He'd never admit it, but part of the reason he imprisoned the old man was out of the faint, slight hope that he had a daughter or younger sister who would go looking for him, and she'd be the one to break the curse. The thought was laughable at best. Even if he did have a young female loved one, even if she did find the castle, there was no chance of him falling in love with the beast. He just wasn't lovable. He had known that ever since he was a young child.

After his sister was born, she had been the joy of his parents' life. They were completely entranced by her, spending every waking moment with her, as if nothing else mattered to them. As a young child, the beast didn't understand why. She was the reason his mother had fallen sick. She had barely managed to recover and continue with her pregnancy. Surely his parents wouldn't look at her with such love and tenderness after the sickness she caused her mother. Or at least, not more than they how they looked at him.

When the baby went missing one day, the beast had felt nothing but satisfaction. He thought that now, his parents would forget about her and spend more time with him. Instead, the opposite happened.

His parents were devastated. They could barely perform their royal duties anymore. They spent all their time in their chambers, grieving the loss of their daughter and hoping she'd return. They didn't think twice about their son, who they left for the servants to take care of in their grief.

As an adult, he'd easily dismiss such feelings as childish jealousy. He'd been a young child back then, and such feelings were common for petty children. But that wasn't all.

It was when his parents were away visiting other royals that the enchantress had come to the castle. His parents had returned tomorrow, and were horrified to see the effects of the curse, and even more horrified after their son had explained what had happened. Unable to deal with the shock and distress, they had abandoned the castle and their son, moving to a new one close by.

Ever since then, the beast had realised the enchantress was right. Even his own parents couldn't love him as a beast, so how could a stranger?

He didn't know why he kept the old man around. He told himself it was because if he let him leave, he'd tell everyone where he was from and send a mob after him. He knew the reason was flimsy at best, as the old man was no doubt too terrified of him to do anything but run away once given freedom, but it was what he told himself.

He had transferred the man to a nicer room, one of the nicest in the castle, firmly letting him know he could go anywhere except the West Wing. His servants had been pestering him ever since. He tried to ignore their tentatively phrased comments and suggestions. He didn't always succeed, though.

"He told me he has a daughter," he heard Mrs. Potts say. "The poor thing must be worried sick about him."

The beast froze. A daughter?

No. He had to let him go. He wasn't so cold and cruel to keep a father away from his child. What if she was a little girl, a child who needed her parents? It was improbable, considering how old the man was, but she might still need to be taken care of.

And to think he had been selfish enough to hope she might find him and break the curse.

He made his way to the old man—Maurice's—room, only to find it as empty as it was before, as all the other rooms in the castle were. He asked the wardrobe what had happened, though he really didn't need to. It was obvious he had jumped at the first opportunity to escape as soon as the beast wasn't looking, no doubt searching for his daughter.

Surely this was a good thing. The beast didn't even need to go to the trouble of telling him he was free. He ignored the wardrobe's stammered explanation and excuses about trying to stop him, making his way to the heavy front doors of the castle. They were open, letting cold winter air into the castle. Maurice must not have bothered to close it in his rush to escape.

The beast stood there for a moment, feeling the coldness chill his fur. He stepped closer to the door, feeling compelled to leave.

Maurice couldn't make it back home out there. There were wolves and snakes in the woods, vicious animals who would have no trouble ripping an old man to shreds.

Without pausing to think twice, the beast plundered outside, his clawed feet pounding against the snowy ground as he ran. It had been so long since he had stepped outside the castle, even just into the courtyard, that the woods seemed strange and unfamiliar to him.

He finally saw him in the distance, surrounded by a pack of wolves and large, broken pieces of wood that lay on the snow. They were approaching him, slowly becoming closer, as the man shivered and cowered in fright. With a roar, the beast threw himself at the animals, trying to summon all his beastly strength and anger. He tried to fight through the pain as the wolves' claws and teeth dug into his fur, fighting them off him with a roar.

Soon the adrenaline wore off, and he couldn't fight them off as they leapt onto him, sinking their sharp teeth and powerful claws into his fur. He went limp, slumping onto the snowy ground, the sharp, burning pain overwhelming the coldness of the snow.

Don't worry, Beast and Maurice won't fall in love. After all, Maurice is old enough to be his father...