Aftermath

The morning after the incident, the lost stranger left the cabin, guided by the Woodsman. The two lovers were therefore more alone than they had ever been since the day they met. They really didn't mind. Or at least Beatrice didn't ; Clover was just sitting on her bed and staring into space.

"Are you alright?" her girlfriend asked as she sat next to her.

"'Just thinking… about yesterday."

"We had no choice", the redhead pointed out once more.

"I know. Even as I felt the Beast's soul in hers I wanted to hope we could still help her, but now that I've had time to think… if even her soul was corrupted, what else could we have done? She was more Beast than Aileen."

"Wait, what? What do you mean you felt – nevermind. Let's… not dwell on this too much, ok Clover?"

Beatrice would rather try to forget this whole affair.

"I guess I need – we need to clear our heads", the brunette said.

"Clear our heads or 'clear our heads'?"

"…Both sound good. Also we don't have to worry about being heard for once!"

The redhead couldn't help but smile at that last part. In her house, they always had to be careful not to make too much noise ; however, in Clover's home and with the Woodsman gone…

The opportunity was too good to pass up.

When the lovers went to the next room for a snack, they found Clover's father sitting on a chair in front of the unlit fireplace.

"F-Father?" the brunette asked, quickly letting go of her girlfriend's hand. "When did you come back?"

"I just arrived."

Both teenagers tried their best to muffle their sigh of relief. He didn't hear anything. Good.

The Woodsman rose from his chair and turned to Beatrice. It was the first time he ever saw her with her hair down and slightly dishevelled but he didn't comment on it.

"I promised your parents I would return you to them in the morning", he reminded her. "And I will whenever you're ready."

"Father?" Clover said hesitantly. "About… about Beatrice and I -"

"I know, dear. I've known for a while. You remind me so much of your mother and I…"

He couldn't bring himself to say anything else. Clover knew, without even needing to ask, that her father never truly recovered from her mother's death years ago.

Once everyone was ready to leave, they set out for Beatrice's home. This time, the two young lovers didn't need to make sure they were alone before holding hands.