Wow. It's been almost four months since the last chapter. I'm so sorry about that! Isn't it weird how much busier life becomes during the summer? At any rate, chapter 4 is now here, and I hope you enjoy it! I'm afraid it doesn't really move things forward; it was rather difficult to write after taking such a long break, and the chapter ended up taking the form of an extended conversation between Belle and Francoise.
I should just stop explaining and start thanking those of you who reviewed the previous chapter: E.L. Tak, Dominique the Author, and Delia Anole. Reviews mean a lot, so thank you all very much for taking the time to leave one for me!
Chapter 4:
"You must not behave so rudely to the master."
"How have I been rude?" Belle asked, staring through the gates of the courtyard into the dark forest beyond. Her voice remained completely steady, with almost no trace of emotion. As she spoke, the chill winter wind began to blow fiercely, and she pulled her woolen cloak tighter about her slight frame.
Francoise took several steps forward so that she stood beside the frail prisoner. "You never speak to him," Francoise replied. "Not once during the past two weeks have you two had a proper conversation."
"I have nothing to say, nor does he."
"He would, if you encouraged him."
"He's a beast, not a village boy," Belle harshly replied, her voice cracking with sudden emotion. "And I can't bear to be near him. He's horrible and monstrous and terrifying."
Although she frowned in disapproval, Francoise said nothing to contradict these bitter words.
Whimpering, Belle laid her head against the bars of the gates, ignoring the burn of the freezing metal upon her skin. "It's Sunday, isn't it?" she murmured. "I should be in church with my family. I miss the bells and the singing. Not the preaching. Sermons are dreadfully boring. But I'd sit through fifty sermons if it meant I could go home and get away from the Beast."
"You can't go home or leave the master," Francoise flatly told the girl. "You will remain here forever."
"I hate the master," Belle muttered. She stood in unmoving silence for a few seconds, then suddenly raised her head. "I hear bells."
"Indeed," Francoise remarked.
"Where is the sound coming from?"
"The local church."
"May I go?"
"Go where?"
"To church. May I attend the local church?"
"You'll have to ask the master."
Belle groaned inwardly. That was impossible. She could never ask the Beast for anything, especially not permission to leave the castle. For several seconds, she simply stared at her boots and the surrounding snow. At last, she raised her eyes and timidly asked, "Who attends the church?"
"The master's vassals. They live in the forest."
"Vassals?" Belle incredulously squeaked. "The Beast has vassals?" Whirling around, she peered intently at the sinister shape of the castle, as if it would respond to her query.
"Of course. Who but a lord would occupy such a castle?" Francoise's tone suggested complete disgust with the girl's thick skull.
"Who would allow a beast to be a lord?" Belle retorted. "I certainly wouldn't tolerate it, and I can't imagine anyone else who would. Why do the people here serve the Beast?"
"Well, to be precise, the people who dwell in this forest are the master's former vassals. They no longer serve him."
The usually reticent Francoise was being surprisingly informative, so Belle eagerly asked, "Why?"
"They believe him to be dead."
Shocked, Belle simply stared at Francoise for several seconds. "Why do they believe that?" she finally asked. The bells of the forest church had stopped clanging, but she failed to notice. Engrossed in the old woman's words, she had almost entirely forgotten the bells, though they had previously been so tantalizing.
"The master and I led them to believe it," Francoise calmly replied.
"Did you fake his death?"
"In a way. The master ceased communicating with his vassals, and I informed them that he had left to lead a battalion of the king's troops in the Holy Crusade. Two years later, I spread the story that he had been killed in battle. That occurred three years ago." Noticing that Belle was beginning to shiver, she added, "Perhaps we should go indoors."
"No, please finish your story," Belle urged her. "I'm warm enough. I have this thick cloak."
"The story is finished," Francoise replied with a slight shrug. "The people of the forest believe their lord is dead. It doesn't make a great difference to them, of course. They've simply continued in their daily habits."
Belle pondered the servant's words for a few moments, then asked, "Do you ever see them?"
"Of course. I have to go to the market to purchase food and other supplies."
"Don't they wonder why you still live in the castle?"
"I've told them I can't bear to leave, having dwelt here for nearly fifty years."
"You've worked for the Beast for fifty years?" Belle gasped. She was utterly appalled.
Francoise snorted in derision. "The master is not nearly fifty years old," she said. "I worked for his father before him."
This statement shocked Belle more than any other. She could only gape in confusion as she processed Francoise's words, her large brown eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea that had just been presented to her.
The old servant was still surveying the girl with a mocking smile. "You can't imagine the master having a father?"
"I can't imagine the master having a birth," Belle replied. "I know I'm very simple to say such a thing, but you must admit that it is very difficult to think of the Beast as having had parents or a childhood! Did his father look just like him?"
"The master's current appearance is nothing like his father's."
"Did his father have horns, like he does?"
"No."
"Then what kind of beast was his father?"
"He wasn't a beast."
Belle paused in surprise. "The Beast's father…was not a beast?"
"Precisely."
"Are you playing with words?" Knowing Francoise's peculiar sense of humor, Belle was rather suspicious.
"I am not."
"Was the Beast's father a normal animal?"
"You could say so."
"You're not making sense," Belle huffed. "What kind of animal was he?"
"A human being, if you must know."
"That's impossible."
"It's very possible."
"Then…was the Beast's mother some kind of animal?" Belle could not conceal her revulsion at the thought.
At these words, mirth spilled onto Francoise's withered face. "No," she said, chuckling. "She was also a human."
"That's impossible!" Belle nearly shouted.
"Why do you say so?"
"I say so because it is not possible for two human beings to produce a monster. Such things do not happen. I'm not so simple that I don't understand that. Please stop toying with me. I'm not an idiot."
"Perhaps not an idiot," Francoise replied. "But I swear I am not toying with you. If you really want to understand these things, why don't you go ask the master himself? I'm sure he'll satisfy your curiosity if you ask him about his lineage."
"Now you are toying with me. I can't go to the Beast," Belle whimpered, turning her head to gaze out into the forest once again. After a minute's silence, she sighed heavily. "I wish the bells would ring again. And I still want to go to church."
"Present your request to the master."
"I hate the master."
"You're a foolish girl."
So that's that! Short chapter, very little forward momentum, but it helped me get back into the swing of things, and I hope to have a more satisfying chapter up very soon. Please leave a review with your feedback!