It was a sad story, and a story in which I found myself confused. Part of me wanted to believe that she deserved it, that she had ignored her responsibilities and become this thing from her own doing. But the other part of me wanted nothing more to than to hold her, to tell her that no one should have to sacrifice so much. In the end, though, I remained still a sad smile on my face as she ended her tale with the remark of the nearing anniversary. My smile grew wider as I tried to bite down on it and hold back the excitement from my sudden idea.
"Well we must celebrate it!" I exclaimed, startling her as I shifted onto my knees to face her. "Tis no good moping about on such a day," her head tilted to the side as if to see my face better before giving a small chuckle and a shake of her head.
"You are quite odd…but, I find I enjoy it," she admitted causing an embarrassed blush to creep across my cheeks as I stepped from the chair to begin cleaning up the last of my books for the evening.
At first I thought she was simply agreeing with my idea just to say yes, but the next morning the castle was alight with life. Brooms swept down old halls, dusters swatted at cobwebs in the corners, Lumier drifted down the corridors lighting each and every candle he could find. The wardrobe in my room was rushing between Beast and me in preparation of our outfits for the evening. All of the commotion admittedly made me nervous and wonder if this really was a bad choice. The worst of it all, was that I couldn't find the Beast in all of this mess, as if she too was too uneasy to escape her quarters.
But the inhabitants of the castle wouldn't allow us to brood and ignore the event. I suppose I could see why considering this had been the first time in years that they'd had something big to get ready for. In an odd way I almost felt like I was getting married, especially as I found myself quarantined to my room after supper, forced to reread one of the few books in my shelf as the wardrobe tried to explain how tomorrow's events were going to go. Admittedly I didn't listen, nor did I read, all that I thought of was seeing Beast again, dressed up and elegant as a Queen should be.
When the next morning finally rolled around I found myself ushered from my bed, stripped, and dunked into a bath. My skin was scrubbed raw and I swear half of my hair was combed out of my scalp. But I was clean, could even smell the scented bath water on my slightly rosy skin. A robe was tossed around my shoulders as I was seated in front of my mirror, the wardrobe ushering a coat hanger to my side as it curiously carried a pair of scissors in its…stubs. Then again, after the weeks I'd spent here, it wasn't particularly odd to see.
Weeks. The realization was astonishing to me. To think that I would even survive for this long astounded me and yet here I was, my shoulder completely healed as I was prepared for a two-person ball. And despite the nervousness in my belly it had begun to be mixed with excitement.
My hair was trimmed, combed, curled, and carefully set into a low ponytail by a silk yellow ribbon. Next was my makeup, something I normally chose to avoid, but the wardrobe had insisted as it dabbed and smeared and patted coats of things onto my face until my eyes seemed twice their size and my cheeks gave a gentle and rosy glow.
My dress was last; the massive collection of yellow fabric dropped over my head as I stepped into a pair of white shoes and slid my hands into elbow-high, silk, and yellow glows. Carefully I pulled my ponytail over my shoulder before turning to look at myself in the mirror. As gasp fell from my lips and I felt my eyes well up at the sight. My father had always told me I looked like my mother and I had seen the every so often picture in out home, but now, I could see what he meant. It was as if she was standing right across from me, smiling proudly at her little girl.
I bit at my quivering lip, looking down as a necklace of diamonds was draped around my neck, giving the perfect and final touch to the image. Turning to the wardrobe I smiled, thanking her as I hiked up the skirt, making my way towards the door to find Cogsworth and Lumier waiting patiently for me. They gasp and cooed over my appearance but in the end there was only one person whose opinion I really cared about.
And In a matter of minutes I would get it as I appeared at the top of the staircase on my side of the castle, looking down at Beast impatiently waiting at the bottom. Cogsworth cleared his throat to catch her attention and I couldn't help but blush just from simple nervousness. "You're Majesty," Lumier announced, hopping up onto the banister as he bowed and gestured to me, "we present your guest for the evening. Belle."