With Sabine happily settled in the stables, Leon went back inside to be met by Amelie and Raymond, at the top of the stairs, waiting for Sophie to come back as her chores had not been done.

'There you are, Sophie!' Raymond said, 'Did you have fun with Leon this morning?'

'I sure did, Papa!' Sophie said happily, as she jumped out of Leon's pocket and hopped towards her parents,

'He showed me his pretty horse, Sabine who really likes Phillippe and he likes her as well and we went out into the garden and he let me ride her! It was so much fun!'

'I'm glad, darling,' said Raymond, 'it's been awhile since you have ridden a horse and your current form doesn't allow you to do it, so it was very generous of Leon to let you ride his horse and I hoped that you thanked him.'

'I did, Papa,' said Sophie.

'I'm glad that you had fun but there are chores to be done and Leon needs some time with the mistress,' said Amelie, sounding annoyed.

'And I don't think that riding a horse as a paint bottle is a good idea as it is VERY dangerous because it's easy to fall off since you don't have arms and legs to hold on to reins!'

'I saw you from the balcony and you could have been smashed into little pieces and we would be unable to put you back together and I don't want that to happen!'

'But Mama, I didn't go on Sabine's back,' Sophie said, ' I rode in a travelling bag attached to her, so I was safe and she trotted very gently.

You never let me have any fun; you only want me to do chores!'

'She's right, Amelie, you've become too overprotective of her since she's been a paint bottle.

Let her be a little girl and have fun, she's not accident-prone like me, so you don't have to worry about her getting hurt and Leon will make sure that she's safe.' Raymond said.

'Oh, Raymond, don't make me the bad guy here,' said Amelie, 'You are always the one to go easy on her and let her do whatever she wants! I'm just being a good parent here and I know what's good for her and what isn't!'

'That's not what you said to her last night!' said Raymond, 'you practically told her lies about the…'

'Anyway,' said Leon, diverting the two from their argument, 'it was really no trouble at all.

Sophie really enjoyed it and I made sure that she was safe. I suggested that she should go in the travel bag so that she could have her ride and not worry about falling off, so you had nothing to worry about, Amelie.'

'Yes, Amelie, Leon is a very responsible young man, more so that Chip was when he took the mistress and Sophie out to play on the day that..' Raymond said.

'Raymond,' said Amelie, interrupting him, 'could you please take Sophie back to the studio so that she can do the chores she WAS supposed to do an hour ago?

Those paint bottles and brushes are horribly out of order again and I can't organise them by myself!'

'Aw, Mama, I don't want to do chores, I want to play with Leon!' Sophie whined.

'Don't whine at me, little lady,' said Amelie, 'Leon has already given you a ride on his horse and the mistress is looking for him, so he'll be busy with her.

I promise that he will play with you later, but you need to realise that you can't have all his attention.'

'That's not fair!' Sophie said.

'Come on Sophie, the sooner you get your chores done, the sooner you can play with Leon again,' said Raymond.

With that promise, Sophie eagerly followed her father back to the studio.

'Oh, and Sophie, don't rush it this time, do it properly!' Amelie called after her.

'Rose is looking for me?' said Leon, when both Raymond and Sophie were out of sight.

'Yes, she wants to show you something special, Leon,' said Amelie, smiling at him.

'I won't say what it is, as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I suggest that you go and look for her in the south wing.

But don't be going and getting yourself lost like Raymond did when we first arrived and Lumiere gave us a tour and he disappeared for five days!'

Leon laughed at hearing Raymond's mishap but something else was on his mind.

Ever since the pig-kissing incident, he had become wary of anyone who may offer him something that they would say was a nice surprise but could very well be something humiliating or unpleasant and he did not want have another lapse of judgment and be the victim of a cruel prank again.

But Rose, for her beastly appearance and personality, didn't sound like the sort that would play any tricks and he was curious about what she wanted to show him.

Not wanting to wait any longer, he left Amelie to go back to the studio and walked down the main foyer.

He saw the mop and bucket he had seen earlier, cleaning the muddy paw prints that Sultan and Lila had left, the mop scowling as he did it, which Leon smiled at, having heard his hissy fit about it, as he went into the south wing.

Leon didn't have to look very far for Rose, as she soon met him halfway down the hall, smiling at him and looking very excited about something.

He was both surprised at not seeing the familiar anger and bitterness etched on her face, which had looked like to be permanent, but the excitement and kind smile, as those warm, gentle blue eyes looked at him and what she was wearing.

Instead of her usual cape, shirt and trousers, she was dressed in a lovely light green dress, with long sleeves, a dark green bodice and skirt which split down the middle revealing a light green layer underneath it.

Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with a green ribbon and it looked like she had taken great lengths to look tidy and ladylike for him.

'You look great, I mean, tidy, Rose,' Leon said, 'is that a new dress?' to which she grinned sheepishly, knowing that the dress wasn't a new one.

If she had been human, she would have blushed but since Leon was complementing her in the nicest way possible, she smiled quite uneasily, inadvertently showing her huge fangs, but Leon didn't flinch.

'Thank you, Leon but it's an old one l found lying around and I decided to wear it since I wanted to look nice for you.

It's the only decent item of clothing that I have, well until Katrine finishes making some new clothes for me, but I'm glad you like it.

You look nice yourself, Leon, those clothes really suit you. I bet Katrine got them!' Rose said, which made Leon blush slightly.

'Thanks, I do feel a bit different in them since I usually don't wear short trousers or stockings but they are nice and something different.

Katrine very kindly got them for me otherwise if Madame Armoire had anything to do with it, I'll probably be wearing a hideous, pink frilly dress!' Leon said and they both laughed, although Rose's laugh came out as a low growl to her embarrassment.

'Sorry,' she said apologetically, 'Now, Leon, I want to show you something, something special that I hope that you will like, but I want it to be a surprise. Close your eyes.'

'Okay,' Leon said, sceptically then frowned slightly as he then said,

'Wait a minute; this isn't a trick, is it? I'll open my eyes and you'll play a joke on me do something unpleasant because this has happened to me before!'

He remembered Violette doing the same thing to him before she subjected him to that humiliating pig-kissing and he didn't want to go through THAT again with Rose, even if she wasn't the type to do that, but he wanted to be cautious, having learned from his mistake and poor judgment from that day.

'Oh, no, Leon, I would never do that, ever!' said Rose and she sounded so sincere that Leon didn't have any reason to doubt her, as she looked as excited as Sophie did when she saw Sabine for the first time, like she was a girl experiencing her first crush.

'Trust me, this isn't a joke. Now please close your eyes and let me lead you to your surprise.' Rose said, as Leon took a deep breath hoping that he wouldn't be regretting it later and closed his eyes, putting his hands into Rose's paws as she held them gently as not to accidently scratch and hurt him.

She felt tingly inside as his surprisingly soft and warm hands lay on her rough, hairy paws but he didn't ever shudder as he held them, like he trusted her.

'Follow me,' Rose said, getting more excited as she led Leon down the corridor, with the servants following behind, sharing the same excitement as Rose.

'Can I open my eyes now?' said Leon, as Rose kept leading him down, walking backwards and glancing over her shoulder so she could find the place.

'Not yet,' said Rose. As Leon couldn't see where they were going, it seemed that the corridor was never ending and that he would never get any closer to the surprise that Rose had planned for him.

He was starting to think that it was nothing more than a malicious prank as memories of the pig-kissing were starting to come back to him,

'Go on Leon, kiss me,' Violette said to him, 'but close your eyes as I reapply my lipstick. I want this to be a nice surprise,'

'Well, okay, Violette,' said Leon as he did so and puckered up his mouth in anticipation.

What he couldn't see was Violette not reapplying her lipstick but instead giggling as she whistled and did a very bad pig impersonation to get Cecile to come over.

Giving the pig a treat, the silly girl picked her up and held her close to Leon as he leaned over; ready to kiss what he thought was Violette.

'Oh, this is gonna be good!' Bridgette said, 'Leon is sooo going to be humiliated, as if Violette would let him kiss her!'

'Gather round, everyone, let the laugh fest begin as you now see Leon kiss a pig!' said Annette, barely able to contain her laughter as the villagers surrounded both Violette and Leon.

'Okay, Leon, you can open your eyes now,' said Violette, 'Come and get it, big boy!'

Pressing against her lips, Leon opened his eyes to a squeal as he realised that he was kissing Cecile instead of Violette, as she held the pig up to his face, with the whole village seeing it and laughing out loud at him, as Violette grinned triumphantly.

Leon couldn't believe that he had been so stupid to fall for that trick!

He should've known that silly, empty-headed bimbette had no intention to date him let alone kiss him, only doing it to humiliate him!

'Oh, man, Duplonk kissed a pig!' Henri said, as everyone continued laughed.

'What a fool, falling for that!' said Pierre, 'thinking that a Bimbette cousin would ACTUALLY let him kiss her!'

'For a smarty-pants, he sure is stupid!' sneered the fishmonger's son.

'I don't know who should be more embarrassed, Duplonk or the pig?' the baker said.

'I feel sorry for the pig!' Beauden said, as chants of 'Swinekisser, Swinekisser' rang around the village and poor Leon, embarrassed beyond belief, was wishing that he could just crawl into a hole and stay there for a very, very long time…

'Leon,' Rose's voice echoed as he broke out of his reminiscing, 'we're nearly there, but keep your eyes closed,'

Rose was outside a wooden door with black metal decorated on it, which had a sign saying, Bibliothèque on it, fading with age, much like the signs on the other rooms.

She opened it, as it creaked from not being oiled over the years with one paw as she still held Leon's hands, gently leading him into the library, as it was very dark and she was careful not to let him bump into anything.

Leon had felt Rose bringing him into some sort of room, not that he could see where he was but she still told him to keep his eyes closed and to stay where he was as she looked around for the curtains to bring in the light.

As she walked in the darkness and thankful that she was able to see in the dark, fond memories came back to her.

She remembered being a happy little girl, sitting in the comfy red velvet sofas, curled up to her mother, holding Rebby, as she listened to her soft, sweet voice reading so lovingly to her,

'Mama, can you please read this to me?' Rose said, climbing up the ladder to find her favourite book, Belle holding on to her tight, so that she wouldn't fall off and hurt herself.

'But my sweet darling, we've read this eight times already! You practically know it off by heart!' Belle chuckled, as Rose pulled the lavender-coloured hardback book off the shelf, titled 'Raiponce'

'It's my favourite, Mama!' the little girl said chirpily, 'and Rebby likes it and wants to listen to it too! Please read it to me! Please?'

'Alright, darling, I'll read you Rapunzel again,' said Belle smiling, holding Rose as she climbed down the ladder and went over to the sofa and sat down.

Rose then curled up on her lap, tucking Rebby under her arm, as Belle held her little girl close and opened up the book and began reading,

'This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel and it starts with the sun..'

Rose shed a tear as she opened up the curtains, letting light into the dark, abandoned room for the first time in years, but this wasn't the time to be sad, she had done that already and this was a happy occasion- sharing her favourite place with Leon, hoping that he would love the library just as much as she did.

Peeking from outside, the servants had huge grins on their faces, eagerly anticipating Leon's reaction to the library and for some, fondly remembering the day that Adam had presented Belle with it, having the same excitement as Rose did, as he saw her face and the hours they had spent reading together in their own little world.

Leon was still standing in the middle of the library with his eyes closed and had no idea where he was or what Rose was doing, but he hoped that he could open his eyes and see the surprise whether it was good or bad.

'You can open your eyes, now, Leon!' Rose said, giggling and face beaming with girlish excitement, 'You will be pleasantly surprised! Go on, open them!'

Taking a deep breath, Leon slowly and carefully opened his eyes and found himself in what he correctly guessed was the library and he couldn't believe it! That this was the surprise that Rose had for him and that it wasn't a cruel trick after all!

It wasn't like the bookshop, which had been small and dusty but this was the most magnificent library he had ever seen, with a long, winding staircase, ladders for the shelves, huge, red velvet sofas and cushions to sit on the windowsills.

And there were..BOOKS! The whole room was covered in shelves and shelves of books, more than Leon had ever seen or read.

The bookshop would only have so many that Monsieur Livre could afford but here he could read about ten to twelve books and not even make a dent and he couldn't wait to read them.

He was like Aladdin when he discovered the Cave of Wonders but instead of dripping with gold and diamonds, he was surrounded by books and that was better than any treasure known to man.

He was so overwhelmed by this magical and wonderful place and how Rose had been so kind to show it to him that he felt like crying with joy.

'Rose,' he said breathlessly, 'This is..your library?'

'Yes it is,' she said, smiling, ' I was told that you like reading and that you taught yourself how to do it, so I thought it was the perfect surprise.

I want to give you something to make up for my behaviour and shabby treatment of you.'

'Oh, Rose, you didn't have to do this,' said Leon, touched by her generosity,

'I would just be happy with one or two books, that's all I need. You don't have to give me the whole library.'

'I wanted to, Leon,' said Rose, 'I want to share my favourite place with you. Do you like it?'

'I don't like it,' said Leon, which made Rose's face fall in disappointment.

He doesn't like it! she thought bitterly, I'm going to give Amelie a piece of my mind for suggesting this stupid idea…

'I LOVE IT!' Leon then said with the biggest smile on his face and Rose sighed in relief as her face lit up again,

'This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you so much, Rose,' he said, his eyes misty with happy tears.

'You're welcome, Leon, I'm glad you like it,' said Rose, those words coming easily to her.

The servants watched from the doorway, overjoyed that the library proved to be a successful gift yet again and they were feeling hopeful and excited, something that they hadn't felt for ten years.

'What did I tell you?' said Lumiere, 'The library has worked yet again, like I thought it would! It seems that it was only yesterday that we were seeing the mistress's parents in there, enjoying their books.'

'Well, I DID come up with the idea, Lumiere,' said Amelie, 'and you can thank me for that!'

'Yeah, great plan, Ami!' said Remy, 'He looked like a kid in a sweet shop seeing all those books! At this rate, it won't be long before we're human again!'

'Woah, slow down, Remy, let's not get ahead of ourselves!' said George, 'But as much as I hate to admit it, you're right, this does look promising.'

'Isn't this exciting?' said Babette as the others nodded.

'Come on, let's give these two lovebirds some privacy, shall we?' said Mrs Potts, 'After all, there are chores to be done and we can't be neglecting our duties.'

'But Leon promised to play with me!' said Sophie, pouting, 'Why is he spending time with Rose?'

'Remember Sophie, Leon needs time with the mistress, you can't have all his attention. Let them have their privacy.' Amelie reminded her.

'Oh, okay,' Sophie said, as she hopped away, along with the others, as they went to do their chores, excited about the blossoming friendship of Rose and Leon and dreaming of the day that it would turn into romance and the spell would be broken and that they would become human again.

'So, which book do you want to read, Rose?' Leon said, climbing on the ladder as he scanned the shelves expertly, like he did back in the bookshop.

The shelves were out of order, but it would probably take forever to organise due to the huge size.

But that was something that could be done at a later date, he just wanted to look at the books and start reading them.

'Any book really, it's your choice and there's so many to choose from!' Rose said, amused at how easily Leon was able to find his way through the many shelves.

'Why don't we start with something easy like fairy tales and then we can move on to Shakespeare and King Arthur if you like,' she suggested.

'Great minds think alike, that's what I wanted to do. Good suggestion, Rose,' Leon said,

'I just have to find the right one, that's all, if you have it,'

He was amazed that she somehow was able to read his mind, as he found the fairy tales, running his fingers along the spines of the books until he found a lavender-coloured one…

'There it is, Rapunzel!' he said, triumphantly, as he pulled it out of the shelf, 'It's my favourite fairy tale of all time!'

'Mine too,' said Rose, getting teary-eyed at seeing the book she had begged her mother to read many times, one that she knew off by heart, that was special to her and thought would never read again.

'Well, why don't we read it together?' said Leon, as he jumped off the ladder and walked over to the sofa,

'That is, if you feel comfortable about reading.'

'Um, well, I'd like to hear you read first if you don't mind,' said Rose, uncertainly.

It wasn't that she couldn't read, far from it, but she would feel foolish and silly if she was to read it in in her growly tone and it was a special book to her but she wanted Leon to enjoy it.

'Alright, then, if you wish, but it would be nice if you would read to me at some stage,' said Leon, going to sit down, but he didn't see that..

'Oh, Leon, be careful where you sit!' Rose cried out, for there was a very familiar cushion snoozing on the sofa, having snuck into the library unnoticed and Leon didn't see it until..

'MRROOOWWW!' came the terrible screech of Lila as Leon was about to sit on her and he jumped in alarm as she hissed and waved her tassels at him like she was going to scratch him.

Panting heavily, Leon put his hand on his chest, having been given the fright of his life, as the cushion leapt off the sofa and crawled away, giving a disgruntled meow, nearly having been sat on.

'That was Lila, my cat,' said Rose, 'she's very friendly and affectionate, as long as you don't sit on her.

Many servants have found that out the hard way since she does a very good cushion impression.'

'So I heard,' Leon said, 'and she scared the jeepers out of me with that screech. If I hadn't seen and heard her before I sat down, these silk trousers would have been scratched to pieces!'

Both Leon and Rose laughed at that, knowing that Lila didn't have any claws to scratch anyone, as they sat down on the sofa, Rose wincing at her claws possibly ruining the velvet, but it didn't matter.

She was about to hear Leon read her favourite story to her, hearing his gentle, soft voice, like Mama did for her and she was happy that the boy loved his new library, that they were sharing together.

Lila came back into the library, calm and purring happily as she jumped into Rose's lap and she stroked her, as the cushion purred and settled down to sleep.

'This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel and it starts with the sun..' Leon began to read.

Wow, thirty chapters already?

I thought that I'd include the pig-kissing incident in a flashback so you now know what happened to poor Leon on that day and why he is sceptical of surprises, but this time it turned out to be a wonderful one and it was pretty bold of Rose to open up and share her special place and read her favourite book, with him, which is the Tangled version.

Read and review!