"Why the rose?"
Belle looked up from the book she was reading to look at the Beast.
"I'm sorry, this novel is just fascinating, could you repeat what you said."
The Beast smirked, his eyes though reflecting amusement, not annoyance.
"Ivanhoe must be a good book then." said the Beast
"Yes, it is," said Belle.
The Beast repeated his question. Belle's eyes widened and she looked away, staring out further in the garden where the rose bushes were. The Beast silently cursed himself for bringing up that question.
Bring up the reason why she's here like it's no big deal that I forced her father to bring her here, thought the Beast depressingly.
It had been months since Belle's father had been a guest for the Beast. The Beast was used to such lost travelers and he knew that the enchantress sent people who were lost for him to "learn a lesson". He certainly learned how to be a host without anyone seeing him. If it were not for Belle's father trying to pluck a rose from the gardens, the Beast would have never punished him.
And then I wouldn't have met her, thought the Beast.
Belle sighed and turned back to look at the Beast.
"I am sure you remember what I have told you about my family," said Belle.
The Beast nodded. Sometimes, a few sentences here and there would come for out of Belle's mouth during their conversations. The Beast never prompted her to talk about her family as it would often cause Belle to frown sadly and then excuse herself. Yet from what the Beast knew, her mother had died at a young age and Belle missed her a lot. Belle's father, though he did almost steal a rose, did love and care for Belle and her sisters. Even when they became peasants overnight, he did all he could to find money, food, and shelter for his family.
Her sisters sounded like what he was. Vain, conceited, and concerned with only riches. He wondered if the Enchantress did transformations on women too. Just so Belle and her father did not have to personally deal with their horribleness ever again.
"The reason my father ended up at your…," began Belle.
She looked around the extensive gardens and up at the ancient, but still impressive chateau before speaking again.
"House." she finally said.
The Beast nodded, noting that she did not call it a prison.
"He got news of some trading ships that were originally lost in the storm that made us so poor in a few days. Some of them survived. They were just waiting for supplies in St. Kitts in the Caribbean. We were so excited and hopeful. We did not have to worry about money anymore."
At this moment the wind picked up, causing the Beast's fur to be violently swaying around his face. He shivered as the wind moved past some of his fur and onto his skin.
"Oh no! I lost my place!" said Belle.
The Beast smiled as Belle frantically flipped through the book, trying to find where she left off. She did not care for her hair that had small strands that had fallen out of her bun or that her dress had blown around her legs. She was more concerned about her book. It made the Beast feel some sort of affection towards her. Something that he started realizing a few days ago.
Belle was able to find her page and then looked at the Beast.
"Now, where were we?" she asked.
Her eyes were very pretty. A brown color that reminded him of when he was human and ate chocolate that had just been melted. Not too light and not too dark.
"Um…," said the Beast, "Something, about…er…a ship?"
"Oh! Oui! Before he left, my sisters had requests from him when he went to the port. Marjorie wanted new dresses in the style of the latest fashion trends. All Sophie could talk about was bonnets and makeup, especially since she ran out of rouge before we moved." said Belle.
"What did you ask for?" asked the Beast.
"Nothing," said Belle.
The Beast lifted his eyebrows. How could she want nothing, when she needed so much? He knew that she loved the library because she had not been able to buy a new book in months and now, she had thousands of books at her disposal. The dresses she brought with her were once the height of fashion, only to have been damaged by wear and tear.
When she first came, she was so hungry. Belle once let it slip that she would often go hungry so her sisters could eat. That made the Beast so furious that he threw his soup bowl at the wall. He apologized to Belle for frightening her and promised to be better at not losing his temper. That's when he also realized he had a growing concern for this young woman who despite being the youngest in her family, did so much for her sisters who would not even dare to lift a finger.
Belle chuckled.
"I know. It surprised Papa too. He asked me if there was anything he could get me. It took a few moments. I thought about asking for books, but I was still unsure if the ships that came in would bring him enough money for that. We did not know what exports the ships brought in.
But then I remembered when my mother was alive how Papa would always bring her home flowers. She especially liked roses."
The Beast felt his heart stop for a second.
His mother also liked roses.
He felt his stomach twist and felt a little queasy, but he tried to focus on what Belle was saying next.
"So, I asked him for one rose. A single rose. I remember how affected he was by that, he almost cried. After saying farewell to all of us, he got on his horse and went to the port. Then you know the rest of the story." said Belle.
The Beast nodded in agreement. Belle shut her book, keeping an index finger between two pages as a bookmark and stood up facing the garden where they could see the rose bushes.
"I guess it was silly of me to ask Papa for roses since they normally do not grow this time of year. I guess that's why Papa decided to take one of these beautiful ones here."
The Beast then felt a pool of guilt settle deep in his stomach. Belle, someone so knowledgeable and yet so innocent asked for a simple rose. A reminder of her mother that she lost so young. And knowing Belle's thoughtfulness, a rose was something simple so that no matter what her father could get it.
He felt the guilt causing pain in his heart. If he had known Belle's father's side, he would have done something different. But he did not know. But the Beast tried to think of something to respond to Belle.
"It's Maman's!" he eventually cried.
Unfortunately, when the Beast got too emotional, his words were replaced with animal sounds. This time it was a cry similar to a puppy getting hurt and was suffering. Belle turned around quickly and went to the Beast. She set a hand on his arm as she looked at him. He could see that her eyes were watering.
I did that. I did that to her, the Beast thought, My decision to separate her from her family has hurt her.
"I'm sorry," said the Beast, "It was my mother's"
Belle looked puzzled and titled her head to the side. The Beast knew that she did that when trying to process something new. Her eyes then lit up once she put the pieces together
"The roses were your mother's," she said.
Belle sat down slowly where she previously sat, taking her hand off his arm. The Beast thought for a moment about holding her hand before completely banishing the thought.
"Oui." was all he said.
Belle who was still looking at him, grabbed his hand and said, "Could you tell me more about her? Why did she like roses?"
She was not going away to seclude herself. She was staying there. With Him. It meant a lot to the Beast because Belle was someone he had come to trust deeply in just a few short months.
"Well, she would have liked you." said the Beast.
And that's when their friendship became stronger and the Beast fell more in love with the girl called Beauty.