Chris Shino: don't worry, it's not that bad until I can't understand what you're trying to say! ^^ as for your prediction, I guess this is more like... a third option? hope you like it, though...

ScipioPB: well, this time I'm trying to reason out why the rose is being put inside a glass case. So things might be different :P

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice. She took a step back and that was when the Beast saw the uncovered rose.

"Idiot!" He rushed to snatch the glass case from her hand and placed it around the rose again.

Neil then glanced at the young huntress, studying her features up close. He was close enough for Reine to see a pair of deep violet eyes—the colour of rich red wine, but once she saw it, her vision was blurred as her head became lighter.

"Wha… what's happening?"

"By Goddess' grace!" he scowled as he grabbed Reine by her hand and dragged her out from the room.

Reine's thought was filled with the image of the strangely glowing rose, and Vivi's voice of 'adventure on the West Wing' and a pair of violet eyes. Those three memories jumbled up together, creating a mess in her head.

She registered a thudding sound. Then she saw a glass of water in front of her.

"Drink up." A voice said.

Reine glanced up and she saw Neil was sitting across her; the first time of being in this position with him since they usually took their meals separately.

"…why?" her voice came out soft, softer than she thought it was.

"You were almost…" he paused for a moment, "that rose shouldn't be seen directly."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure you've heard about the curse in this castle, right?" he asked. "That rose is the core of the curse. It's… enchanted."

"It glows…" Reine murmured.

Neil sighed in exasperation. If he had come in a little later, who knew what might happen to the young huntress? Before the rose was encased in the glass, it drained the energy of everyone who stared at it, causing it to glow brighter and brighter which caused the person unable to break the eye contact until he lost consciousness.

Now he was watching as the young huntress slumped against the table, completely ignoring the glass of water he had given her earlier. He let out another sigh, "What should I do…?"

Reine woke up with a jump when she heard the knocking on the door. She turned to the nightstand, but Rod was gone. She quickly turned to other side, finally finding the candelabra on its way to open the door. Her breakfast tray came in, but Reine was in no mood to eat. She could vaguely remember the rose, a pair of violet eyes, and the mention of something like a 'curse', but everything else was a blur.

"What happened last night?" she asked Rod.

"Huh? Nothing happened, mademoiselle." Rod replied, "You just slept so deeply I couldn't bring to wake you up."

Reine turned to the mirror. "Vivi?" she tried calling. "Vivi?!"

"Who's Vivi?" Rod asked. "Are you all right, mademoiselle?"

"It's the mirror!" Reine replied defensively.

Rod didn't seem to be convinced by her words and Reine turned towards the now silent mirror again. Reine then noticed her hair was still up in a high ponytail, albeit messy.

Something definitely happened. She said, but what?

She remembered the violet eyes, but whose?

"Who has violet eyes in this castle?" she blurted out.

"Why?" Rod asked, "Only Master does."

Reine jumped out from her bed and dashed out, "Where is he now?!" she asked.

"Er… I'm not sure, mademoiselle."

"I'll go to the West Wing!"

Upon the mention of the West Wing, Rod was immediately alerted. He had purposely left the part about West Wing out when telling her about this castle during the tour since West Wing was the Prince's private wing, and the Prince didn't like to have strangers in his private wing.

Rod immediately gave pursuit, hopping desperately on the floor, but Reine had the trained agility and speed of a huntress—chasing her wasn't an easy feat even for humans, much less a candelabra.

Before long, Reine managed to reach the West Wing, much to Rod's horror who was still trying to prevent Reine from meeting the Prince. It was all in vain, however, when they bumped into the Prince who was walking together with Gill.

"Neil!" she called out.

"So rude." Gill snorted, but it fell ignored by Reine who was too focused on Neil that she didn't even see him there.

"M… Master… I tried…"

Neil didn't seem to be bothered however. "What's your business?" he asked coolly.

"What happened last night?"

All eyes immediately shifted to Neil upon Reine's frank question. Gill watched while holding his breath, fearing for the worst of the Prince having a late night liaison with a peasant girl, a very unrefined one, in his standards.

"Master…" Gill murmured, unsure whether he should cross the boundaries.

Neil, however, remained calm. He looked at the two servants, "Leave us." He commanded coldly.

Gill, an obedient butler as ever, promptly obeyed the instruction despite having a gazillion of questions and fear of what might have happened the last night. Rod was unsure to leave Reine, afraid lest the Prince might be outraged at her for having run into the West Wing, but the butler dragged him along, leaving him with no choice but to obey.

"You were almost enchanted by the rose." Neil said after the two of them were out from earshot. "Do not remove the glass casing from the rose anymore."

"Why? What's the deal with that rose, anyway?!"

Neil sighed, "Are you stupid or what?" he asked, annoyed, "Haven't you figured out that this castle is a cursed castle, together with the forest surrounding it?"

"Yeah, I know that much!"

"The rose is the centre of all the curse!" Neil growled.

"Then, if that's really the case, just destroy the damn rose!"

"I can't!"

"Why?!"

"If anyone do that, the curse will never be broken!"

Reine crossed her arms, getting increasingly sceptical. "Then, how do you break this… so-called curse?"

Upon her question, he shuffled uneasily on his feet. "Haven't you ever heard about that before? You're a girl, right?"

Reine raised an eyebrow, "What do you… oh!"

Neil averted his eyes from the girl, grumbling incoherently.

"Do you really believe that?" she asked bluntly, "An act of true love whatever?"

Reine began to see the connection between the seemingly sprawled dots. "And so you were thinking that I am the girl who will grant you with that act of true love whatever bullshit?"

Neil shrugged. However, he didn't expect her next sentence—or maybe he should have, if he had known her any better.

"I don't buy that bullshit."

That was his saturation point. "You don't understand a shit, woman!" he roared, leaving behind a chilling echo. "That! That bullshit was the only thing that keeps every single one in this castle hopeful!"

"But I know love doesn't conquer anything!" Reine screamed back, equally fierce, and the echoes of her 'anything' went together with Neil earlier 'hopeful', creating an ironic, melancholic chorus of their stories. "Love creates more problem than it can solve!"

Reine ran away before Neil could say anything. She dashed pass the grand stairs to the East Wing, then to her bedroom. Inside, Rod was already waiting anxiously for her, and when he saw her already on the brink of tears, he feared for the worst.

"Mademoiselle! Mademoiselle!"

Reine threw herself to the bed, finally sobbing. "How… how could you believe that?" she groaned.

"Mademoiselle…" Rod called carefully as he moved to her side.

"If love does save people… Papa would've still…"

Reine glanced aside, finally noticing Rod. She sighed heavily as she sat up and wiped the tears away. Without any word, she rose and picked up her bow and arrow and left the room again.

This time, she walked to the garden, trying to find a suitable tree for her target. Finally, she decided on a broken stump just a few metres away from the West Wing.

Reine took the first arrow and loaded the bow as she narrowed down her focus to her target. One reason why she had loved archery, besides its practicality, was that it allowed her—for a brief moment—to forget everything else in the world but her target. She relished in that brief moment, although when she string snapped as the arrow sped to the target, she had to snap back to the reality as well.

This was the art that her father had taught her, among many other things. But the greatest—yet the worst—thing that he had given her was the ability to read—and with that, opening a brand new world through written words. However, that was also the worst, since that ability to read also sealed his doom.

Monsieur Rousseau, ten years prior to this, took on a voyage that never meant to see a dry land again.

Reine recalled her foolish wish—going to an academy to study more; a wish she made together with Gwen. Although her mother never said anything, Reine had overheard their conversation ten years ago, the night before that doomed journey.

"I'll try to find a job there, so we can send them to a decent academy."

That was what her father had told her mother.

Reine shot another arrow, but it missed the stump.

She knew her father had loved her and her sister dearly, but that love sent him to his death. And if love did save people, why couldn't her love save her father from such a fate? Was it not enough?

That was why she had decided to take up the bow that her father had left behind and to throw away the murderous dream she had had to go for an academy. She had never told Gwen about the conversation, though, since she had decided that there was no need for two people taking up a penance.

As if sensing her sadness, the bow broke in two when she tried to load it—the cloth she used to reattach them a few days ago came loose. It fell to the ground with a heavily light sound.

Reine could only watch helplessly at the now separated pieces of what was left of her father while from the window of the West Wing, the forlorn Beast was watching her intently, not with anger, but more with a kind of puzzlement that he himself couldn't decipher.

Is she really the one to break the curse when she doesn't believe in it?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading!

Please rate and review! ^^

A/N: Remember Reine's outburst when Zack broke the bow in Chapter 2? This is another reason why she was so mad when he did that. ^^"