AN: Hey, guys! I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to update. . Stuff happens, ya know? But anyways, here's the next chapter. I know that a lot of the stuff in this chapter is similar to the movie, some of it is even exact quotes. But although the text may be similar right now, I will be changing some of the plot elements later on. For now, just bear with me. XD Enjoy the next chapter of Beauty and the Beast!

Disclaimer: Blah Blah I own nothing Blah Blah.

Chapter 3

Elizabeta sighed contently, closing her eyes and breathing in the cool evening air around her as she sprawled out on the grass. She had spent all day planting new flower seeds and cleaning up the mess Gilbert had made in her mother's meadow. It had taken hours to clean up all of the uprooted flowers, and even longer to plant new flower seeds. Now, at last, she had finished, and she was free to finally relax. She opened her eyes and watched as the sun slowly sank behind the surrounding hills, smiling to herself as the crickets hiding in the grass nearby began to chirp. Everything around her radiated peace, harmony, and tranquility.

But that peace was suddenly shattered with the rapidly approaching sound of hooves, accompanied by the panicked neigh of a frightened horse. Instantly springing to her feet, Elizabeta watched as a speck in the distance grew closer to take the form of Dusty, her family's horse. His saddle was askew, his eyes were bright and wild, and his breathing came in labored rasps. It was clear he had been running for quite a while. However, that wasn't what worried Elizabeta the most. What she was most concerned about was the fact that Dusty had returned with one passenger too few.

"Papa? Dusty, where is Papa? Did something happen to him?" She asked fearfully. Taking the whinny from the horse as a yes, Elizabeta mounted Dusty swiftly and grabbed the reins. "You have to take me to him. I've got to find him!" She cried.

Rearing and galloping swiftly back the way he came, Dusty tore across the landscape at an astonishing speed, considering he had clearly been running for hours before finding Elizabeta. She took it as a sign that something serious had happened to her father, and dug her heels into his flank to keep him going strong.

After five hours of straight travel, Dusty whinnied and slowed to a walk, signaling to Elizabeta that they had almost reached their destination. The sky had long since grown dark, and a bright moon illuminated the path ahead of them in an eerie silver glow. Squinting to see ahead, Elizabeta gasped when her eyes detected the metal bars of a gate. Struggling to see past them, she felt her stomach drop to the ground as she found herself facing a colossal castle, complete with steep, pitched roofs and leering, wicked-looking gargoyles. She swallowed nervously as she dismounted from Dusty, but tried her best to maintain an air of confidence as she opened the gates and marched up to the castle doors. Lifting the enormous brass knocker, she let it drop and slam against the door. Impatience getting the best of her, Elizabeta opened the doors and entered the castle.

The entrance hall was enormous. It was decked in rich but faded tapestries that hung over marble banisters. The hall was dim, scarcely any light shone except for those of the occasional wall sconce. From what Elizabeta could see, the space appeared clean, but abandoned.

"Helloooo?" She called out. "Anyone home? I'm looking for my father." She ascended the first flight of stairs, travelling down a deserted hallway and ducking into the first stairway she came to. She climbed the steep spiraling staircase, failing to notice the two pairs of eyes watching her.

"Yao! Do you see what I see? It is a girl!" Francis whispered excitedly as they watched her disappear up the stairs.

"My word! So it is!" Yao exclaimed. The pair scrambled after the girl, careful to remain out of sight.

Elizabeta reached the top of the staircase to find a heavy wooden door before her. Shoving it open, she stumbled into a dank, dark dungeon. "Hello?" She called out.

"Lizzy?" Her father's voice, hoarse with dehydration and sickness, came from one of the cell doors. After a moment, his face appeared at the bars.

"Papa!" She exclaimed. She rushed over to the cell, grasped his hands and peered into his eyes. "What happened? Who did this to you?" She asked.

Arthur gave a wracking cough before he spoke. "Lizzy, listen to me. You have to get out of here!" He insisted.

"What? No! I can't leave you here!" She cried. "Look at you! You're sick, starved- Papa, who did this to you?"

Suddenly, a loud growl filled the chamber as Elizabeta's cloak was grabbed roughly from behind, and she was yanked up from her kneeling position on the floor. She was spun around and found a pair of enormous violet eyes glaring at her from the shadows.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The stranger in the shadows roared.

"I've come for my father. Please, let him go." Elizabeta begged. "He's sick and starving-he needs help!"

"He shouldn't have come here, then!" The stranger roared.

"Please," Elizabeta pleaded. "Please let him go."

"He is my prisoner. I will not let him go." The stranger growled determinedly.

"Oh, no! Please! There must be something I could do! I-" Elizabeta's voice caught in her throat as she realized what needed to be done. "I'll be your prisoner. I'll take his place." She offered.

"Bah!" The stranger scoffed before he paused to ponder her words. "You… would take his place?" He asked her, his voice softening slightly.

Elizabeta swallowed nervously before taking a determined step forward. "Yes, but only if you swear to let him go." She insisted.

"I will release him, provided that you swear to remain here… Forever." The stranger said.

Elizabeta mulled over her limited options for a minute before she realized that she had yet to see the face of her possible captor. "First… come into the light." She said. The stranger in the shadows hesitated for a moment before sliding carefully out into the light. Despite herself, Elizabeta couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her.

The creature before her could only be described as monstrous. He towered over her, standing at about seven feet tall. He was covered in thick, dark brown hair and had the claws of a wolf on his hands and feet. His face resembled that of a lion and a boar, with elongated fangs jutting evenly from his mouth. He had horns on either side of his head, and a bushy tail swishing about his ankles. His violet eyes shone brightly, searching her face and watching her reaction to his appearance.

Recoiling instinctively from the sight of the beast before her, Elizabeta hid her face in her hands until her father's hacking coughs reminded her of the situation they were in. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeta lowered her hands, balling them into determined fists at her sides as she stepped forward. "I give you my word… I will stay." She said. She tried to sound as confident as possible, but couldn't stop her voice from cracking with emotion at the end of her vow.

"It is done." The Beast growled, moving past her to unlock the cell. As he passed, Elizabeta sank to her knees in despair, realizing the severity of her choice.

As soon as his door was opened, Arthur rushed to his daughter's side and grasped her shoulders. "Lizzy, listen to me. I can get out of here on my own. I have my magic. You don't. Don't give yourself up for me. I-Agh!" He was cut off when the Beast grabbed him by his cloak and proceeded to drag him from the room.

"Papa! No! Wait, please!" Elizabeta begged, but before she could stand up, the tower door slammed shut, and her father was gone.

Feeling the tears begin to pool in her eyes, Elizabeta stood and made her way to her father's cell. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to the corner of the room and sat down, burying her face in her knees and opening the floodgates of her eyes.

"Please! Don't take my daughter!" The man begged as the Beast dragged him outside.

"She's no longer your concern!" The Beast roared. "Take him to the village!" He ordered as he threw the man unceremoniously into the enchanted carriage, which immediately rose and took off towards its commanded destination. Soon enough, the man's protests faded into the distance, and with a satisfied grunt, the Beast turned and went inside the castle.

He started back towards the tower, but found himself stopped by Francis.

"Umm… Master?" The candlestick began rather hesitantly.

"What?" The Beast snarled.

"Well, I was thinking… If the girl is going to be staying with us… Perhaps she may appreciate being relocated to a more, erm, suitable room?" Francis trailed off as his master's growl threatened to snuff out his flame permanently. "Or not." He sighed.

The Beast opened the door to the tower dungeon to see that the main room was empty. Fearing for a moment that the girl had fled in his absence, he turned to leave and find her, but stopped when he heard a small hiccup from one of the cells, accompanied by the sounds of the girl's soft crying. Moving towards the cell that had previously held the blonde man, the Beast looked inside to find the girl curled up in the corner, shaking from a combination of the chilled air and her sobbing.

A pang of empathy ran through him, and he decided to act upon Francis's advice. He pushed the cell door open, and was immediately greeted with a teared-stained glare from the young woman before him.

"You didn't let me say goodbye." She said accusingly. "You just took him away without letting me say goodbye. I'll never see him again, and I didn't get to say goodbye."

He tried to think of something to say that would offer her any solace at all, but the only thing he could think to say was "I'll show you to your room."

"Isn't this my room?" The girl asked incredulously.

"Do you want it to be?" He found himself snapping back.

"No." The girl replied.

"Then follow me." He said, and turned to lead her from the tower.

Elizabeta followed the Beast down the halls of the enormous castle. Despite the fact that the walls around her were literally the walls of her prison, she couldn't help but appreciate the amazing architecture of it all. "At least it's a nice prison." She mused humorlessly.

The Beast's voice interrupted her thoughts. "This is your home now. You may go anywhere within the castle grounds that you wish, except for the West Wing." He said.

"Why can't I go in the West Wi-"

"It's forbidden!" The Beast boomed, silencing her.

Elizabeta huffed and fixed a glare on the Beast, who had resumed leading her towards her bedroom. Eventually, they reached an ornately decorated set of double doors. Opening the doors, Elizabeta stepped inside, only to have the Beast's voice draw her attention back out.

"I-You-Uh. You… Will… Join me for dinner." He demanded roughly. "That's not a request!" And with that, he slammed her bedroom doors shut and was gone.

Elizabeta turned to find herself facing an enormous bed, which she eagerly ran to and flung herself upon. It was there, within the silken sheets, that for the second time that day she unleashed a tsunami of tears. It was there that she realized the gravity of her choice and the reality of her situation, and it was there that she allowed her walls to crumble.

AN: Sooooo... Yeah. There may've been a little OOCness with Lizzy there, what with the crying and all, but rest assured that she won't be like that the entire time. She's still gonna be the feisty lil' mama we all know and love ;) I'm hoping to have the next chapter written and updated by the end of this week. My New Year's Resolution will be to get a grip on all of my fanfics and be more adamant about updating them. And that means I need to be more adamant about sitting down and writing my stories. XD

Next Chapter Preview: Another character is, like, totally introduced! And how will Lizzy react when faced with the Beast's temper? R&R and stay tuned for the next chapter of Beauty and the Beast! :D Love you guys!