teamBLAZE: hahaha pray do explain what do you mean by 'imagine believe Spice'?

ToOH: HAHAHA that would be hilarious. Maybe Mme Rousseau would think Gwen is really dreaming :P

ScipioPB: you'll see what she did soon enough ^^

Reine put her hand above her father's, but a moment before she tightened her grip, she pulled her hand back abruptly and took a step back. "No, I can't."

Her father smiled, "Why?"

"I don't know." Reine admitted. "It just feels… wrong, if I go now."

"Maybe you're right." Her father agreed readily. "Just turn around and you'll find your way."

Reine turned around, but before she actually walked, she turned again to see her father. "Do you believe love conquers everything?"

"Oh, not everything. That's an exaggeration, I believe." Her father replied, "but it's totally worth the problems it brings along."

"How so?"

Her father smiled lovingly, "There is a certain comfort knowing that you are special to someone; that you have a place to call home because every time you go back there, there's someone waiting for you with open arms."

"Okay…"

"And you will learn, Reine, that even when people do leave… love never will. It stays—just like how my love stays with you."

Upon hearing her father's words, Reine felt certain warmth began to take root in her heart—like a warm blanket being put around her hardened heart. That warmth pulled the corner of her lips upwards, "I guess… I begin to understand what you're actually saying."

Armed with that new knowledge, Reine confidently turned and walked away from her father. Soon, she felt there was a force pulling her into the castle, like a magnet finding a piece of steel, and as she got closer and closer to the castle gate, the force was so strong that she shut her eyes. Another second, and all the air in her lungs was sucked out forcefully that she tried to take a deep breath.

She felt the air filling in her lungs, and it felt liberating. Next, she tried to sweep away the darkness by opening her eyes, and she saw Gwen's face staring down at her with eyes filled by tears.

"Oh, Goddess!" she threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly (the last time Reine remembered Gwen behaving like this was after she accidentally locked herself in an empty barn until she found her just before dinner). "Thank Goddess you're alive!"

"Welcome back, mademoiselle," Allen greeted with a much-relieved smile (although he wouldn't admit it).

"We have to tell Master!" and with that the candelabra dashed out from the room.

"Oh, yes," Gwen said, "the Beast helped us by getting the wolf blood for the potion."

"…Neil." Her voice was croaked and faint.

"Huh?"

"It's Neil…" Reine repeated slowly, "his name."

"You mean… the Beast?"

Reine, not having energy for another word, nodded. A moment later, the door was opened and something—or rather someone—was pushed inside rather forcefully. Everyone in the room turned their heads to find the Beast, and the candelabra behind him.

Neil looked around and his eyes soon locked on Reine. "H—hey." He greeted awkwardly, "Rod told me… it's not that—no, I mean…"

Reine narrowed her eyes, like a predator locking in on its prey. The moment she did that, Neil stopped speaking—was there something wrong? Was she angry at him?

"…You're hurt." She remarked factually.

Only then Neil looked at his body, his wounds were still unattended since he had refused to let anyone to tend to it, his mind had wandered to somewhere else. "Um… this…"

He saw her taking in a deep breath, and a moment later, she smiled at him. "I heard…" She said, "thanks."

"Uh…" he stuttered. "No problem."

Neil shuffled uneasily on his feet and Gwen—keen as ever—noticed that. She smiled knowingly and glanced at Reine, who didn't seem to notice it as well since she fell into a deep slumber obliviously.

Gwen rose and fixed the blanket over Reine's body. "Let her rest." She said, "I…"

"I believe you should stay here until Reine is fully recovered." Allen interjected gracefully, "You miss her, too, right?"

Gwen turned at the unexpected suggestion. She did want to stay longer, but she was unsure whether the Beast—Neil—was willing to extend that hospitality towards her, and she didn't dare to ask.

"Um…" she murmured hesitantly.

"…that's fine by me." Neil declared in a low voice, before making his exit.

Allen smiled triumphantly, "I will show you to your room."

Gwen twirled the ring around her finger nervously as she followed the coat hanger walking down the hallway. She had had an opportunity to look around, and she noticed that all the artworks displayed in the castle depicted devilish themes, accentuating the dark and gloomy feel to the castle. She began to wonder what kind of artists created these works and whether the family who owned this castle was indeed a fan of such lines of artworks.

"Oh, they didn't look like that before the curse, trust me." Allen assured her, as if reading her mind. "As emo as the Master could be, he wasn't a fan of devilish artworks."

Finally Allen stopped in front of a door and opened it for her, letting her to step in before he did. Gwen noticed that it was slightly smaller than the room Reine was in, but it still felt spacious for her.

"Anything you need, you can call me—or any other. We'll be happy to serve you, mademoiselle."

"Why you?" Gwen asked softly.

"I beg your pardon?"

Gwen turned around and finally raised her eyes to meet his. "You… you are not one of the servants here, right?"

Allen smiled calmly, "and how did you come into such conclusion?"

"The way you talked to Be—Neil." Gwen replied, "It is more like… he is your family. A younger one, even."

There was a brief period of silence before Allen finally laughed. "My, my, I can't believe you." He said, "One sentence, and such deduction!"

His comment made Gwen felt foolish for having assumed so much for such a brief interaction. Colour rose to her cheeks and she lowered her head again.

"Am I… wrong?"

"No." Allen replied, "Neil is my younger cousin from my mother's side."

"Then… why?" Gwen asked again, "Why did you act as if you're a servant?"

Allen chuckled; it appeared to him that Gwen hadn't guessed that far yet, so he was safe. "I will let that to your able imagination, mademoiselle." He replied teasingly.

Gwen took a deep breath and slowly took off the ring from her finger. "Then I believe… this ring is really yours?" she asked, "Are you the one… born of wreath of roses?"

"Yes." Allen replied, "I came from the Rosenkrantz house."

"Why gave this to me?"

"For safekeeping." He said. "This ring came from this castle. It has the scent of the curse—that's why you weren't attacked when you fled back."

"If that's the only purpose, I'm sure there are other things you could lend me."

"I believe I told you that ring has certain magic in it."

"I believe you are bluffing me on that."

Allen sighed. "Why don't we stop beating around the bush and you tell me what's the real problem here?" he said, finally losing his patience. "As much as I love conversing with you, and as much as I admire your sharp mind, you are agitating me, mademoiselle."

Again, Gwen's cheeks reddened. She was bothered by how Zack wanted to marry Reine without having any idea what kind of person Reine actually was. Furthermore, just now she had heard the way Reine addressed Neil: so humanly and… casually—she knew his name; and she would be lying if she said it didn't irk her that the coat hanger before her had given her a beautiful ring but she didn't know his name, or anything about him at all.

"I don't know you." Gwen finally admitted, "I can't accept a ring from someone I don't know… and who doesn't know me."

Allen sighed in relief—it was better than he had imagined earlier. He smiled at the young girl before him, "Why don't we start from names, then?"

Gwen looked up timorously to find Allen bowed his head politely at her. "I am Allen Christian Rosenkrantz. Pleased to meet you."

Gwen took a deep breath, "Guinevere." She replied, "Guinevere Louise Rousseau… but you can call me… Gwen."

Allen smiled, "That's a good start. Where do you want to go next?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You are going to stay here for a while, right?" Allen said, "I believe, besides tending to your sister, you have some time to spare with a simple coat hanger such as I am? I will tell you every nook and cranny of my being—and I will listen to yours as well, as time permits."

Gwen smiled as her cheeks blushed again, and Allen's expertise made that simple, shy smile to be enough for him as an answer.

Reine decided to give her life another shot,

while Gwen takes the plunge to get to know the 'coat hanger' better!

Let's see how this plays out...

thanks for reading!

Please rate and review! ^^

A/N: notice that Reine's first spoken word, after being enlightened about the values of having dreams and to love, is actually "Neil"? (technically that's because she wants to tell Gwen that the Beast has name, but oh well :P)