I roared, throwing a small dinning chair across my room. What had come over me? What had made me decide that yes, having her stay at the castle would be a wise decision? It was something about what she had, about wondering why she was even here in the first place. My mind had jumped to the rose and its falling petals. Why was she here? Why now? Maybe it was being foolish but my gut feeling kept me from ignoring a curious idea. But it still made my fur crawl with the idea of a complete stranger waltzing around my home.

Even with her there I did not remove myself from my quarters. Still attempting to contemplate what should be done with her. But I continued to come up empty, the glowing rose staring me in the face. The witch spoke of the world seeing me for what I was…and thus I became this monster. Did that mean that I would return to my form permanently when I was seen as human? The thought was curious but interrupted by the knock on my door.

"What?" I snarled as the door slowly cracked open and my eyes fell upon Cogsworth as he nervously popped his head around. He'd been a curious man as a human but oddly loyal. It was almost sad that he had been forced into this curse with the amount of work he did for me.

"Y-Your Majesty, the young woman has been moved into her quarters," he stuttered, giving a small bow of his clock head. I turned towards the window, looking out into the grounds, fingers mindlessly scrapping at the back of my chair.

"Has she asked anything of me?" I question, glancing over my shoulder as Cogsworth looked up.

"She…she asked why you do not dress yourself," he remarked as I frowned, hand tightening on the piece of furniture. It was a foolish question, in my mind, considering how long I had been this way…but maybe there was truth to the matter. Though I could see that the man wasn't finished as he pulled in a shaky breath. "She also asked for your name," there was silence in the room as my frown deepened.

"And what did you tell her?"

"That we could not remember," he noted as I glanced towards the floor. Whether the furniture was telling the truth or not, I could never tell. But what was for certain was that the most that I knew of my name was that it began with the letter C. As for the rest of it, I simply couldn't remember.

"Very well…did she seem…comfortable?" The words were forced and uncomfortable as I winced. I never cared much towards guests that had not stayed in my own quarters. They weren't my concern if I did not have physical control over them. And yet this woman technically was my responsibility, even if she slept on the opposite side of my home.

"Yes, very comfortable. Though she seemed disappointed by the small collection of books in her room. We assured her the castle held many more and that-"

"She is not to explore the castle without my presence," I hissed, startling the small object. "Tell her that the books are enough and that I expect her for supper every evening at eight." The words tumbled out before I had much to time to think on them. But what could I do? It was simple habit to keep other people's grimy fingers off of my things. This woman…this Belle was no different.

"Yes…your Majesty," Cogsworth bowed before moving back out the door. I continued to stare at the crack in it, glancing back at the rose for a moment as one of the petals seemed to droop.

In a rush of fur I left my quarters and slid across the castle, curiosity driving me to her room as giggles filled the corridor. It was a curious sound, almost foreign, but in no way unwelcome as I sunk into the shadows. I heard the woman's voice rambling over something as I neared the door, my large ears picking out that she was in fact reading a story allowed. Every so often her voice would change for each characters and every so often the room would burst into a joyous laughter.

It was enchanting and I found myself unable to leave, wishing to hear more of the story from her lively lips. I had settled myself into the crack of the doorway, resting against the wall as I watched her read. She would glance up every so often to read a specific sentence, putting in as much emotion as possible as the room leaned in for more. Everything in the castle seemed to return to how it was, the room itself looked as elegant as it once had.

I gave a small smile, feeling my chest tighten at the excited teacup and enthusiastic ottoman bouncing around the room. To think…this was what I had taken from these people. The worst part was this had been the first time I'd noticed it. All the other years I had seen myself as the victim and yet here were all of these servers, the cook, the tailor, the families, forced to give up their lives because of me.

A shaky break and a gasp pulled from my lips caught the brunette's attention as she shifted her gaze towards me. We stared at each other in surprise, Belle being the first to break it with a gentle smile and a slight bow of her head. The room turned to me and my stomach turned as they too gave a surprised look at my appearance.

As if on cue, anger boiled in my belly and I growled, bounding down the corridor, only glancing back just to catch as Belle leaned out her bedroom door. But I continued on, only stopping once on my wing of the castle. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breathing was uneven, and the fur under my eyes was damp. I reached up, running a finger along the hair before blinking and shaking my head. It was foolish to have gone over there and the woman certainly would think worse of me now. I growled again, as if to return the anger and ignore the sadness…the realization. Ignoring it would always be easier, anyway.