A/N: This chapter was written by me, SamoaPheonix9 and Wrestlemaniac829.

Morning shined along the castle, already Frederick was up-and-about greeting the dawn of a new day. With Gutknecht at the lead, Frederick had since been exploring the castle for quite some time. There was so much more of the castle for Frederick to see and yet so little time to do so. For what it was worth, it just intrigued the young man more and more.

"I've only been here a few days, yet I still haven't seen all of the castle yet," Frederick replied.

"This castle is very big, sir," Gutknecht said. "I'm surprised that you haven't gotten lost yet."

"Me too," Frederick agreed, with a chuckle.

Just then, it was at this point when they walked past two large doors that were just under two flights of the stairs, of which led up into his and Maria's hallways. Frederick had briefly seen the doors during his time at the castle, but not long enough to take the time to notice until this very day. Now that he had, Frederick was curious.

"Gutknecht, what's in there?"

Gutknecht turned around to face the doors Frederick had pointed at. He was more than happy to explain.

"Oh, that would be the ballroom. Would you like to take a look inside?"

"Yes, please."

"I thought you might," Gutknecht spoke with a smile.

Gutknecht reached out and opened the doors, as they entered, a sense of amazement swept over Frederick as he finally got to see the ballroom. The room itself was painted entirely out of gold, with a hint of beige and brown marble along the floor. As he turned to the ceilings, he notices how it was painted with clouds and cherubs. Hanging downward from the ceiling was a gigantic golden chandelier with dozens of unlit candles sticking out of it. Frederick had never seen a ballroom quite like this before.

"This room is ama-"

Suddenly, Frederick paused in mid-sentence when he noticed another figure standing in the midst of the room. It was Maria herself, except she was neither wearing her purple cloak nor her small green dress. Instead, she now appeared to be wearing a light blue dress shirt with long sleeves complete with a long dark blue skirt.

"Maria?"

Upon hearing her name, Maria turned around to see both Frederick and Gutknecht standing by the doorway.

"Oh," She spoke, surprisingly. "Hello Frederick, Gutknecht."

"My, you look… Um… Nice," Frederick replied, nervously. "Is that a new dress?"

Maria looked down at her dress, before her turning her gaze back to Frederick.

"Oh this? Why… Yes… It is. How do I look?"

"You… Look… Nice," Frederick answered with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thank you," Maria said smiling.

"I think I'll leave you to alone," Gutknecht spoke with a chuckle. "Shout if you need me."

It was not long before Gutknecht left the room, closing the massive doors behind. Pretty soon, Frederick and Maria were left alone and for a moment an awkward silence filled the room. This occurs for a moment or two, until Frederick broke the silence clearing his throat and approached Maria.

"You have a very nice ballroom," Frederick said. "I'd love to see people dancing in here, if it were possible."

"Frederick," Maria said, nervously. "I would like to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Well, I AM going to have a ball in here… Tomorrow night, actually. And, I was wondering… If… If you could be my chaperon?"

"I'd be happy to," Frederick replied with a smile. "You've been so kind to me, I just can't say no."

Maria gasped and suddenly everything that she was told proved right, Miss Doe was absolutely right all along.

"Oh, thank you," Maria said with a smile.

Unbeknownst to either of them, if either had actually noticed at all, Gutknecht, who had one door cracked just slightly open, had kept a close watch on their progress. And judging by their initial reaction to the offer, everything was going just fine. Gutknecht smiled feeling proud for both of them, but at the most he was very proud of Maria and how she had matured after all these years.

"That's my girl," He quietly spoke, before closing the door.

As the hour of night drew near, Maria went to bed full of anticipation. For the first time in her life, she did not think about the rose and neither did she think of that dreadful curse. For once, she could settle down to seep. Her last coherent image of the day was one of Frederick's smiling face. She smiled back as she drifted off into her dreams.

In this one particular dream, Maria was dancing in the ballroom with Frederick hand-in-hand. He was garbed in a blue coat lined with gold, over a crisp white shirt, and black leggings, an ensemble that suited his coloring to perfection. When their eyes made contact, he smiled at her, and she smiled shyly back. She felt light as a feather and free when he held her in his arms, more lighter than she could remember feeling in... Forever. She turned her gaze downwards, shocked to see that her own arms were no longer covered in hair, but graceful and pale, ending in delicate hands instead of clawed paws. As a matter of fact, she was human all over. For some reason, this did not strike her sleeping brain as odd. For she was dressed in a wonderful ball gown, she could feel her hair pied high on her head.

Soon Maria turned her gaze around the room, the ballroom full of people, all of them dressed in their finest. It was just as Maria remembered: People dancing, talking, and laughing, the ballroom so full of life again. Nearby, her parents also danced, smiling at each other in a way that only married couples can when they're safely in each others' arms.

She turned back to Frederick, who was genuinely beaming at her. It was such in a way like when they first met as children, with none of the slight reservation that was always in his eyes when he looked at her now. It was a look that suited his face, as well as an adult as it had as a boy. In this brief period of time, Maria felt her heart beat rapidly in a way that she knew had nothing to do with the speed of the waltz. It was something so beautiful and lively, it was a dream Maria did not want to leave.

And then, the most magical moment of all had taken place. Frederick leaned in, as they executed a turn, close enough to whisper:

"You're beautiful, Maria."

"Thank you," She whispered back, trying not to blush. "You look very nice, too."

Frederick responded with a laugh, as they continued to dance on this most enchanted of evenings.

Suddenly, the ballroom doors blasted open, exploding off it's hinges with great ferocity. Maria and Frederick clung to one another, struggling to stay on their feet as a strong gust of wind rushed about them. Shrieks echoed all around the room, screams amplified from the other guests, and a moment after an eerie silence descended upon the whole room. For approaching through the collapsed door, in a swirl of smoke, there stood the Enchantress. She eyed the frightened Maria, pointing a finger towards her and uttering three simple words.

"You. The thief."

"Me?" Maria gasped in shock, releasing Frederick and stepping away involuntarily. "I'm no thief; I've stolen nothing."

"You have stolen a rose from my garden," The Enchantress accused. "See, there it is upon your hand."

Maria looks down, and indeed, there was a gorgeous red room clenched in her grasp, the very same rose that she had once picked from that mysterious grove deep within the woods. She dropped it to the floor, pricking her finger on one of the thorns as it left her hand. She stared down at her hand, though she could see the blood in her dream, she felt no pain, only shock and a blank kind of horror that sent a chill down her spine.

"For this infraction, you and all who live in this household shall be punished," The Enchantress continued. "You can be saved only if you find someone to love, and earn his love in return."

Soon she made a gesture with the wand she carried, with a flick of her wrist, the worst was soon to come. Maria could only watch in hopeless terror as her hands and arms grew hair all around and claws extend through her fingers. She screamed, but now it was an animal's roar. When she turned to her parents for protection, now they were nothing more but stone statues. She turned back to The Enchantress, but she didn't express any other emotion than the cold, uneasy stare down Maria. She soon backed away from the doorway, a wall of flames burst behind, as if the fiery depths of hell opened on a silent command. And walking through the wall, the flames blanketing all around her, The Enchantress vanished before her very eyes.

All around the room, screams again rose from all the guests. In their panic, they ran from the ballroom as fast as they could manage, colliding against each other and trampling over one another trying to get to the door. Soon, within a matter of seconds, there was no one left except for Maria, Frederick, and the statues of her parents from whence they stood. Maria turned to Frederick, her pleading eyes begging for his help.

"Frederick…" Maria gasped, stretching out her clawed paws to him.

But to Maria's horror, Frederick backed away. He held his hands out front, as if warning her not to come any closer. It was just as Maria had feared, as she saw the same horror in his eyes that had been there when he first beheld her as a Beast… A freak of nature.

"I'm sorry, Maria," He whispered. "But I can't love you, not like that. You're not human anymore… I'm sorry."

Frederick then turned and fled after the other retreating guests, Maria reaching out for him and tears falling down her face like tiny waterfalls crying out for Frederick. Desperate, she ran towards him as the world of her dream started to slowly fade away in a flurry of dust. She ran to Frederick as quick as she could, but she felt as if she wasn't getting anywhere as if something was pulling her back and preventing her from holding him in her clutches.

"Frederick, wait!" Maria shouted, chasing after him. "I'm still the same person inside! Please don't go! I need you! Frederick!"

But just like the world around her, Maria could only watch helplessly as Frederick slowly faded before he ended up just like everything else in her dream: A faded memory, slowly vanishing before her very eyes.

Maria violently stood up from her bed, gasping rapidly and trying to catch her breath. Her eyes burned red with unshed tears. She lurched out of the bed and ran onto her balcony, stifling her sobs as the wind carried her cries away from the castle… For no one else to hear except Maria.

As the cool night air brushed across her fur, helping to pull her mind slowly from the dream, her panic slowly subsided, and with it so were her tears. Doing so would allow her to think rationally again before the dream took it away.

In reality, though The Enchantress indeed cast that curse, it hadn't been anything as Maria had dreamt at all. For Maria was only a child at that time, she would meet The Enchantress upon her arrival in the midst of a private dinner with her parents, instead in front of hundreds of people. In that time, Frederick had not been there and thus had no idea about the curse. But within its essentials, the dream had shown her everything that frightened her the most: The fear of Frederick never coming to love her as a human just because she wasn't in shape.

Maria was practically from that recurring dream, it had always troubled her to return to sleep after that. Even on this very evening, Maria would always be wide awake in terror whenever the dream hovered nearby, as if waiting to pounce where she was most vulnerable. So Maria would do what she always did after that dream: She'd leave for a short walk in the gardens, for it had always soothed her in this time of stress. Quietly, so as not to wake any of the servants, she padded softly down the steps and made her way towards the front door.

As she crossed the grand entrance hall, a spark of light just happened to catch her eye. Maria turns toward it, discovering that though the doors to the parlor were closed shut, a reddish glow spilt from under the crack between the doors and floor. Curiosity getting the best of her, she stepped forth, slowing pushing the door as quietly as she could, and peered into the room.

To Maria's surprise, Frederick sat on one of the couches by a dying fire. He was dressed in his night attire, his head buried in his hands as if overcoming some dreadful thought. The creaking of the door caused him to look up, startled by the disturbance. He turns to the door to see Maria, who let out a gasp when he spotted her.

"Oh, Maria, it's you," He said. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," She answered quickly, backing away. "I'll leave if I'm bothering you."

"No, that's all right," Frederick replied. "I just didn't think anyone else was awake. You're welcome to stay if you want to."

Maria obliged, slowly making her way into the room and sat down next to him. For a moment, they said nothing as silence filled the room once more. But then, Frederick did choose to add something:

"I hope I didn't wake you up."

"No, I was…" Maria winced slightly as images from the dream assailed her again. "... Already awake."

Frederick could tell that something was bothering her, studying her face ever so carefully. He didn't have to be a teacher to know when someone was in trouble, so naturally he did his best to understand.

"Bad dream?"

"Yes."

"Me too."

For a few seconds more, they were silent and didn't know what else to say. Before long, Frederick continued the conversation though he was almost hesitant to ask.

"Would it help to… To talk about it?"

The very thought of it made Maria wince, he knew the answer without Maria having to say anything. Still, she answered anyway,

"No, I don't think so."

The truth was: Maria did not wish to share the dream, considering the nightmare itself was all about Frederick. She feared that if she turned to look at him, Frederick would keep thinking about it. And right now, all Maria wanted to do was to forget. To her relief, Frederick did not push the subject any further.

"Good," Frederick said with a small smile, as Maria looked up to him seemingly startled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Why?" She asked, puzzled.

"Because then I would have felt bad, since I really don't to tell you mine, either. I only asked because I was taught it was polite."

"Oh."

"My mother was always big on getting me to tell her about my dreams," He admitted. "I never wanted to rehash the bad ones; it didn't seem to help me the way she said it would."

"My father was like that," Maria remembered. "My mother was more understanding. She would just hold me until I was ready to go back to bed."

For a long time after that, neither Frederick or Maria said another word. And yet, just knowing the other was nearby, felt more comforting than they've felt in the past few hours. For Maria could feel this pleasant warmth of the room, so warm that it made her feel drowsy. Even after what had happened earlier, the fear of her dream faded to a dim memory. She closed her eyes to savor the sudden feeling of peace and tranquility. A moment after, she felt a nudge against her shoulder, a gentle nudge, followed by a familiar voice.

"Maria."

"What?" Maria asked, sitting straight and turned to see Frederick.

"We should probably be getting back to bed," He suggested, followed by a yawn. "We've been here almost two hours."

"Two hours?"

As Frederick stood up, Maria looked around the room utterly confused. She had noticed that the fire had almost completely died, for only a faint orange glow from the ashes indicated that there would be something for the servants to stoke up in the morning. Without a flame, the whole room was dim and thus making it hard to make out even the chairs at the far end of the room. Maria's brain felt so sluggish, as she tried to wake up from the dark comfort of a moment before.

"Yes, two hours," Frederick informed, stretching his hand out to help her up. "I fell asleep too. But we really should be getting to bed, it will be more comfortable."

Maria took his hand without thinking, allowing Frederick to pull her up. Slowly, he walked side-by-side with her up to where the stairs divided and it was then they parted ways to go back to their own rooms. But then, something stopped the two briefly and before either of them knew it, they had simultaneously turned around to look at each other.

"Well, good night," Frederick said at last. "I hope your dreams are much more pleasant this time."

"Thank you," She answered. "I hope yours are too."

Frederick smiled as he slowly vanished into the darkness. Maria stood looking after him for a few moments; satisfied, she then turned and returned to the comforts of her own room. It was only as she was pulling the covers up that a memory flowed back to her mind: She was downstairs in that room, she had fallen asleep with her head along Frederick's shoulder. And yet, he hadn't seemed to object at all. All at once, a warm feeling filled her inside, right down to the very tips of her toes. A smile formed on her a face, a pleasurable smile, and immediately Maria fell into a dreamless sleep. Possibly the best sleep she had ever had in such a long time.