CHAPTER SIX

IF I CAN'T HAVE HIM, NO ONE CAN

"Who did you say gave you these papers again?" Aunt Silvia asked as I sleepily made a pot of coffee one morning.

I tiredly answered, "This old lady, Emile. She doesn't speak much English so I've helped her out when she comes into the library sometimes."

"Mighty nice of you dear. This must be her way of saying thank you," Aunt Silvia commented.

"Why?" I asked curiously, "What is it?"

She shook her head as she looked it over, "I haven't been able to finish it but so far, it's a rather nice fairytale. It's about a man cursed to be a beast for eternity and his quest to break his curse."

"And how does he do that?" I asked quietly, trying to hide my eagerness for the answer.

"I don't know... Haven't gotten to the ending yet, dearie."

"I wonder what it would be like to be human again."

Surprised and startled, I looked over at Gaspard from my seat on the couch. "Where did that come from?"

He shrugged, "It's just that for the first time in years I've been thinking about a way to break this curse. I want to find a way now. I really do."

"Gaspard," I started softly, "Just because you look a little different and live forever, doesn't mean you aren't human."

He chuckled bitterly, "I think we might have to get your eyes checked."

I stood up, put my book down and went to grab Gaspard's talon, "Come on."

I dragged him behind the manor. I don't think he had been there since he bought the house. But there was a large oak tree back there. It reminded me of the oak tree that my dreams sometimes took place under. The grass was overgrown, almost to my knees and we had to tread a little bit.

"Why did you take me out here, Belle?" Gaspard asked, looking around wildly like he expected a mob of people to come out and call him a monster. I realized that this must be the first time since the 50s that he went outside without his robe – or outside at all.

"Take off your shoes."

He gave me a look like 'I'm so not'. I gave him a look back and put my hands on my hips like an impatient mother. He rolled his eyes, slipping off his shoes. I kicked off my sandals and said, "Wiggle your toes in the dirt."

I lightly hummed a random song to myself as I did so and made sure he did. "And why are we doing this?"

"Can you feel the dirt? See the tree and grass? Feel the wind?"

"Yes..." Gaspard answered suspiciously.

"And do you care about Emile?" And me? I peered up at him.

"I care about you both," He answered with confusion in his accent.

"So if you can feel all that, how can you be anything other than human?" I asked, knowing I made a point.

Realization dawned on his face, "You have a point, Belle, but I can't be a fully functioning human being looking the way I do. I could never go out, be with people."

"I'm sure Emile and I aren't the only people who wouldn't care what you look like," I told him.

"But you are of a rare breed," Gaspard said solemnly.

I stepped closer to him, "That doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," Gaspard told me.

I wiggled my toes into the dirt a little more and commented, "Do you wonder what you'll do if you become... you, again?"

"I don't know... I never did anything but farm work in France before I was cursed."

"I think you'll be fine," I pondered, "You just have to …. have faith. As lame as that sounds."

He chuckled softly. I took his hands in mine and tugged on them, "Let's dance."

"What?" He asked aghast.

"Dance," I giggled, "I've seen it in cheesy chick flicks all the time. Dancing to no music."

"I don't dance," Gaspard protested.

"You're French, of course you do," I stuck my tongue out at him. I began slowly swinging our hands side to side.

Gaspard rolled his eyes, "If we're going to dance, we'll dance the way I used to back home." Without explaining, he tugged me towards him. He placed my left arm on his shoulder and placed his right arm around my waist. He took my other hand in his and began counting under his breath, "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3..."

He stepped forward, I stepped back. He stepped to the side and I followed. Soon we were dancing in a little circle in the overgrown grass beneath the large oak tree of my dreams. I smiled softly, "Told you, you were human."

"Miss Belle..." The little boy murmured through his tear stained face, holding out his hand to me.

He quickly morphed into a handsome young man. "My Belle..."

"LITTLE WITCH!" Vibrant green eyes.

I jolted awake with a small scream. Suddenly my door opened and I saw Hannah-and-Cathy barge into my room, "What's wrong?"

I wiped my forehead and shook my head, "Just a nightmare."

"About what?" Hannah-and-Cathy one asked.

I narrowed my eyes at them, remembering the other day, "Why do you care?"

They looked shocked that I snapped at them like that but I didn't care. They have just stood by or even participated in the mockery and I had enough.

Hannah-and-Cathy two sighed, "We're sorry about... Brody. I broke up with him."

I pushed my blankets off of me and headed for my bathroom, "Good."

I changed quickly and my sisters were still in my room when I came out, "Still here I see."

"Why are you being like this? We said we were sorry," Hannah-and-Cathy one said.

"That dick talked about mom and you stood by and let him. It doesn't matter if you dumped him or not. You didn't do anything at first. And it's not just the other day. It's every single day before that!"

"Belle..."

I put my hand up, "No! You've stood by and even took part in the constant teasing and mocking and you think you have any right to come in here and expect everything to be okay. It's too late. I can not wait until I am finally out of this house and away from you. The only time I can escape is the – library." I almost said Gaspard's manor. But I couldn't give him away. They would let me live it down until I told them everything. And they wouldn't believe me.

"We're sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough!" I stormed out of my room, not stopping to greet Aunt Silvia or get breakfast and I barged out of the house, loudly.

I was checking books out tediously. I was bored out of my mind. Myrtle came over to the desk, "Why don't you just go off where you always go off to? You don't look cheerful."

"I've never been cheerful, Myrtle. And I'm over there way too much," I replied.

"Please admit there's a fella, Belle. I've never seen you as happy as when I know you're going over there."

She looked so … pleading. Like a little kid giving puppy eyes and fake tears for ice cream before dinner. I sighed, thinking of Gaspard. Was there a fella? Was he my fella? Did I want him to be?

Slowly, I nodded, "Alright. There's a fella."

Myrtle squealed like a school girl – at the age of seventy something. "Oh, dear, bless my soul. It's finally happened."

I rolled my eyes, "You win."

She squealed again, "Tell. Me. Everything."

I shook my head, "Not much to tell. Don't want to jinx it anyway."

She nodded fervently, "Of course. Zipped lips. Tell me when it gets good." With that she bustled off to busy herself elsewhere.

I shook my head at her antics and went back to work.

Maybe five minutes later, something slammed on the counter top. I whipped my head up to see a figure standing at the counter... in a robe.

I gasped out, "Gaspard?"

But when the figure lifted their hood I saw the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen; nose pointed and straight, hair like black silk, dark as pitch dark night, skin was milky and pail without a single blemish. Eyes that were a bright, vibrant green. I knew who she was. She was the woman from my nightmares. The woman who tried to seduce Gaspard.

The woman who cursed him.

"You!"

"Did you really think I was just going let you thwart my plans!" She hissed through her perfect teeth.

I leaned in and glared at her with as much hate as I could muster, "Take that curse off of him!"

She grinned at me with malice, not saying anything.

"Take the curse off! Just let him be and leave him alone! He never did anything wrong!" I demanded of her.

"This is a warning. Stop. If I can't have him, no one can." There was a hiss as dark green smoke erupted from the carpeted ground and swallowed her up. And in a flash, her and the smoke cleared away and disappeared.

I looked around, seeing that only a few people were in the library and none of them had noticed.

"Gaspard!" I called out as I walked into the manor, looking around.

"In the study!" I heard from up the stairs.

I quickly walked up the grand staircase and all the way down the hall. By the time I was at the study doorway I was panting, "I saw her. I – saw the fairy. The one who cursed you."

Gaspard abandoned his book and stood, quickly coming to my side. "Are you serious?"

I nodded, trying to catch my breath, "She came to me in the library."

Gaspard coughed roughly and suddenly. I looked at him, concerned, "Are you alright?" He shook his head dismissively, "I'm fine."

He grasped my arms lightly, "Are you alright?"

"Of course. She didn't touch me. I demanded for her to leave you alone, take the curse off you but she just said 'If I can't have him, no one can' and disappeared in green smoke."

Gaspard took his hands off of me and turned away, growing silent. He shoulder's were tense and hunched over and his face was twisted in deep thought. "Gaspard?"

"You should leave," He said coldly.

I gaped at his back, "What? What are you talking about?"

"Just go."

"No," I answered sternly, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Why would you want to be here? Why are you always here?" Gaspard asked with an angry edge to his voice as he whipped around to face me. "You've never had to be here and look at me. And now with fae here it's dangerous for you. You have an out now."

"And out?" I asked, astonished, "And out to what?"

"To a normal life. To leave. You don't have to stick around because you feel sorry for me!" Gaspard slightly raised his voice.

"Why would I leave my only friend? I don't feel sorry for you, I don't pity you. I'm here because I want to be."

"You're only friend?" Gaspard asked quietly.

I shrugged, not getting the big deal, "Yeah, not much a secret that I'm a loner."

"You're not a loner..."

I scoffed, "I only have one friend and he's like 250 years older than me. What else would you call a loner?"

Gaspard walked slowly towards me, "Just me?"

I shrugged again, "I guess there's Myrtle but our age difference is more obvious."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me?" Gaspard asked me slowly.

I thought about it. Why did I keep coming back? I knew why now, I liked him. As a friend. He was nice when you got to know him. But why did I keep coming back initially? He was nothing but a mean, robed figure that made no secret of how much he didn't want me there. I could lie and say I only came back for Emile but I knew the truth. I was drawn back by some... connection. Some connection that I felt with Gaspard, that I couldn't explain.

"We... connect."

Gaspard was close to me now, "We do."

I tucked my hair behind my ear, "You get how it feels to feel alone. Like I do."

"You're not alone now," Gaspard whispered.

I stuttered, "Are you going to kiss me?"

He didn't answer immediately – he thought about it first. Slowly he asked back, "Would you let me?"

Now it was my time to think. Maybe Myrtle was right. Maybe Gaspard was my fella. I had never felt more at home than here with him whether we were laughing or reading separately in comfortable silence. That had to mean something. "I just might..."

"Vraiment? (Really?)" Gaspard whispered with shock in his tone, "You would really kiss someone like me?"

"Well, you do have lips," I smirked, "and that's kind of what they're for."

He chuckled under his breath, "Tu ne cesses de me surprendre. (You never cease to amaze me.)"

"I still don't speak French," I pointed out.

He chuckled again, "I said, you never cease to amaze me."

I rolled my eyes, "Just kiss me already."

He half-smiled and slowly leaned in. I leaned up, closing my eyes.

But then something shattered loudly. I held back a yelp as Gaspard and I shot apart and whipped around to see that someone had broken the window. Wind whistled as it wound through the window and smashed into us on all sides. I shut my eyes and dug my face into Gaspard's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, shielding me somewhat.

Suddenly the wind stopped, abruptly. I looked up at Gaspard, "What the hell what that?"

"I have no idea," Gaspard said, looking out the window.

I followed his eyes and what I saw made me gasp. Fire decorated the brown lawn outside the study's window spelling out the words; HE IS MINE.

Uh oh! Trouble! And we know now that they like each other... but is it just a crush?

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