Tailor of Our Hearts: I have plans for Allen and Gwen although, yes, in this story their romance might not be explored very deeply. As for Reine being the preferred OC, that's because Reine happens to be my OC while Gwen is my friend's (who writes the Colours series from Gwen POV), so I am more comfortable in dealing with Reine-centric stories. As for why Gwen is the one being able to see HG, that would be covered soon although you can guess if you want to ^^ looking forward for your predictions! (hint: look at their personalities)
teamBLAZE: I'd say her instantenous mood of being able to figure out which name belongs to whom does play a part in how she acts around the Beast at that point of time. ^^
ScipioPB: Maybe... or maybe there's another twist? Check it out! ^^
After discovering the Beast's name, Reine felt an unexpected, overwhelming elation—so much that she had momentarily forgotten that she was, supposedly, the prisoner of the cursed castle.
However, there were many other factors that had allowed her to forget that fact. Firstly, the servants of the castles treated her very courteously—even the guards (turned into armours, which she found to be pretty cool) bowed to her when she walked pass and addressed her with respectfully as "my lady".
As for Rod the Candelabra, he had apparently designated himself as her personal attendant, so he had been following her around—or giving her directions when she was lost in certain hallways—as well as ensuring that all of her needs were being fulfilled. He also provided her with a friend to talk to—something that Reine was even more grateful for, especially considering his warm personality.
"Hey, this castle does have a dungeon, right?" she asked curiously as they walked pass through one of the many hallways in the castle.
"Yeah!" Rod replied, "Every castle surely does!"
"Then, why did you guys give me a room?"
Rod turned around, his expression puzzled, "Do you prefer sleeping in a dungeon instead of a room?"
"That's not what I meant!" Reine quickly replied, "I thought I was being held hostage here!"
Rod tilted his head slightly to the side, and the wax dropped to the floor and quickly formed a white layer over it. "Oh shit!" he quickly adjusted himself when he realized what he had done and tried to rectify the mistake. "In any case, mademoiselle—I believe that's the conclusion you've made up on your own?"
"Um… judging from the situation I don't think I was… wrong?" now Reine began to doubt herself.
"Master can be hard to read—even I can't understand what's going on in his mind, sometimes." Rod admitted, "but he's not the kind who likes to imprison people!"
Reine crossed her arms, "Then… why am I here?"
Just before Rod could answer the question, both of them noticed the wooden steps coming from the clock-butler, Gill. Both of them turned around with Rod bending his head slightly, and only briefly to avoid more wax spillage, and Reine casually said, "Bon jour."
Gill shot up a disapproving glare at Reine before he simply walked pass, and it took Reine quite a portion of her self-control not to lash out to the clock and smash it to the ground right there right then.
"Does he hate me or anything?! What did I do wrong?!" Reine hissed.
Rod scratched the back of his head carefully, "Um… maybe he… I don't know… Gill holds high respect for manners and etiquettes."
"Are you saying I don't have any manners?" Reine asked sharply.
"No! Nononono of course not!" the terrified candelabra replied quickly, "It's just… your temper is not exactly… how to put it…"
Reine chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, I know my own temper." She said, sparing him from the trouble. "I'm sure he'd prefer my sister, huh?"
Rod nodded gingerly before he peeked up, but there was no malice or even hurt in Reine's expression as if she had been expecting the reaction. Reine continued to walk, "I'm sorry for not feeling sorry about that."
Even after tossing and turning for the countless time, Reine couldn't fall asleep that night. Her instincts told her that there was something wrong in her room, but she couldn't really pinpoint what. On the other hand, it could be also because of her not being used to be sleeping in this room yet—this room was too big for one person, or at least that was what she felt after growing up in a small but cozy farmhouse.
Reine finally perked her body up and quickly tied her hair into a rather messy ponytail, and that was when she realized that in her current position, she was on the straight line with the mirror on the dressing table. Somehow, that night, something about her own reflection puzzled her that Reine couldn't take her eyes off the mirror.
"Hey…" a faint, unfamiliar voice greeted, which Reine sensed to be coming from the direction of the dressing table.
"Who is there?" Reine asked, feeling rather suspicious since she was sure she had identified all the cursed court members.
"Come here…" the voice said, "then I'll tell you my name."
Her sense as a huntress cautioned her, but curiosity won her over. Reine carefully stepped down from her bed, silently so that she wouldn't wake Rod—who was sleeping on her night stand while being her source of light—up in a jolt. Reine tiptoed to the direction of the dressing table. "I've never heard of you before."
"My name's Vivi." She said, and now Reine was sure that the voice came from inside of the mirror instead of the whole dressing table. "Can't sleep tonight?"
"Yeah…"
"Have you explored this castle?" Vivi asked in a friendly tone.
Reine nodded, for a moment unsure whether the mirror would be able to see it, but she soon got her answer when Vivi said, "Isn't it a grand castle?"
"Yeah…"
"Have you ever been to the West Wing, though?"
"West Wing?"
Reine knew that the room she was in now was located on the East Wing of the castle, and the huge library was located on the North Wing, together with the grand dining hall and the ballroom, but she had never heard of the West Wing. Thus, she shook her head.
"What say you of a midnight adventure to the West Wing?" Vivi suggested, "Don't take the noisy candelabra with you, though—you want to explore quietly in night! Instead, take another candle!"
"But I don't know the way!"
"Oh, it's easy! Just go to the west from the grand stairs!"
This time, Reine's curiosity had totally taken over her logic and cool head. Reine grabbed a single candle and started making her way to the West Wing, inwardly asking why Rod had never mentioned the area before despite after telling her basically the whole history of the building of this castle.
Reine quickly found her way to the West Wing, and much to her surprise, this wing was eerily emptier than its eastern counterparts. There weren't many amenities being placed around, and if there was, there would be some teeth or claw marks on it. The lighting was also much dimmer than the East Wing, since for three candles in the candelabra, only one would be lit. Reine carefully moved forward until she reached a dead end, where she found a large ornamented door. She pushed it slightly, and it moved soundlessly, revealing a faint glow that was enough to pique the huntress' interest.
Reine stepped into the room and she found a single table at the middle of it, with a strangely glowing rose encased in glass. Somehow, the rose was able to stay afloat and not touching the table, and Reine could see there were several petals lying down on the wooden surface below the rose, but those fallen petals didn't glow like the ones still attached to the rose.
Strangely, Reine felt an urge to touch the rose. It was as if there was a strange gravity that pulled the young maiden towards the peculiar object. Reine took the glass case away and reached out for the rose. Her fingers almost touched the flower if Reine didn't hear the low, growling sound. She turned around abruptly and found the Beast, this time on all four, glaring at her; his eyes sharp and unforgiving. He bared his fangs before her face, "What are you doing there?!"
Reine found the enchanted rose, and the Beast doesn't seem to be pleased about it!
How will she deal with this?
Stay tuned for the next update!
Thanks for reading!
Please rate and review! ^^