Flying was overwhelming. The wind was deafening, and she was swaying in the sky as if he would suddenly drop her at any moment.
When he finally did release her, she screamed, expecting a long fall. Her screams stopped short when she hit the ground only a few inches from where he released her. The ground was stone which meant they were not on the forest floor anymore. Before she was even able to find which way was up and which way was down, she was yanked up by her wrist and was dragged forward.
Her feet kept moving. Every step made awkward contact with the ground which would have resulted in a broken ankle if he had not been supporting most of her weight. Her failed strides continued until she hit her shins on something hard. She pulled against his grasp, and he readjusted by pulling her completely off her feet and carrying her.
He did not even slow. He carried her like she weighed nothing. He had a long coat of fur that was much thicker than any animal she had come across before. His claws were thorns in her side. They did not draw blood, but they stood as a stark reminder of how lethal he was.
The Beast was breathing quickly, and he let out a small growl with every exhale. His heartbeat was loud in her ears. Doors were opened dramatically and slammed behind them stairs were descended until he let go of her. She fell sideways onto a soft surface. With one deep breath her lungs were filled with dust.
"Now you will have plenty of stories about making the Beast King's acquaintance" he said darkly.
He slammed a door with his exit. She could not move until she heard him ascend the stairs out of earshot. She was still frozen for a few minutes longer.
"Hello?" She said softly. Her voice cracked, but she heard enough of the sound travel to know that she was in a small, closed room. She sat up and immediately the room shook underneath her. She was sitting on a rickety bed that moved with every shift. Her hand reached out blindly until she found the wall that supported one of the side of the bed.
Content with the area she carved out for herself, she tucked her knees to her chest, and she listened. Something was dripping from somewhere, and there was a general damp smell about the place. There were no open windows. The air would not be so stagnant and heavy if there were. She was freezing cold, and her arm did not feel right, but she could not help but smile a small pitiful smile.
She had made it to a castle, just not the one her father had promised.
-The Beast-
The king of beasts stalked up the stairs. He tried to hold onto his anger, but it seeped out with every step and a pit began to form in his stomach. He had made a mistake and now he could not take it back. Once he had ascended the stairs from the dungeon, he headed towards the Dining room. The smell of dinner grew stronger the closer he got to the kitchen, but the smell of food made his chest constrict. The sooner he told Vandy and Polly about her, the sooner he could move on from what he had done.
He opened the dining room, and the table was already set for a dozen. His place at the head of the table was prepared even though most nights it remained vacant. Vanderwall was placing glasses around the table when The Beast King walked in, he did not even pick up his head from his work.
"Back so soon?" He asked.
The Beast glanced warily at the large oak doors that connected the kitchen to the dining room. Those doors were always opening and closing, and this was not a conversation that he wanted an audience for.
Vandy looked up, finally setting down the last glass. The Beast paused. How could he even explain his actions? Shame ate at him as he stared ruefully into the distance, his mind running down the different options they had but all paths led nowhere.
"What?" Vandy asked and the Beast briefly considered whether he could keep a human in the dungeon without Vandy knowing.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked again, more desperately.
"Vandy, I-"
"He's done it again Vandy!" Polly yelled bursting through the oak doors.
Polly had a distinct way of taking up an entire room whenever she entered, and now was no exception. Her long grey hair was wrapped on top of her head and was falling out in wild tendrils all over the place. The apron she wore made it look like she had just come from war rather than the kitchen.
The Beast tensed at her declaration. If Polly had watched, who else now knew he housed a human? He let out a deep breath. Already, things were getting out of hand. She marched over waving a wooden spoon in her hand, wielding it like a weapon.
"You have got a lot of explaining to do! How could you- Why on earth- What were you thinking?!" She asked finally but before he could respond she continued, now pacing back and forth.
"Have you no self-control? Have you lost your mind? Just the wolfmen is bad enough, but now? NOW?" She asked, her voice growing louder as she spoke.
"What is happening?!" Vandy asked loudly. He put out his arm to stop Polly from pacing anymore.
They both turned to him, and he looked away, not able to meet their eyes. "We have a guest. In the dungeon."
Vandy's mouth dropped open in shock and Polly smacked the Beast on the arm violently with her wooden spoon.
"A woman guest, who arrived being dragged about and shoved by our King!" She said her hands on her hips.
Vandy shook his head trying to wrap his mind around the moment, "There is a woman? Here? You brought a human woman here?" he asked incredulously.
"Aren't you listening Vandy? He kidnapped her, practically dragged her kicking and screaming into the castle and he was not too gentle about it either." She whacked him again with her spoon, "Treating a woman like that! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
He felt his muscles tense against her accusations and his jaw clenched. Her words were like barbs and each one only hardened his resolve. "She wanted this." he reminded himself.
"She was probably innocently plucking flowers from the edge of the forest when he grabbed her!"
"She was deep enough in the forest to know where she was."
"Oh, so you think just because you are king of the forest you can just kidnap unsuspecting women and take them for your own? You have got another thing coming because-"
"She was sent out there by the humans This is exactly what she wanted."
Polly stepped back. Her anger had subsided enough for her to lower her wooden spoon. She had no more words for him.
"There is a woman in our dungeon?!" Vandy asked suddenly, his mind having finally caught up to the conversation.
"Yes dear, we have already been over that!" Polly said, rolling her eyes at him.
"No, why did you take her to the dungeon? We have a dozen vacant guest rooms!"
"It didn't occur to me."
"I should hope you did not have abducting a woman all planned out!" Polly said.
Vandy put his hand on Polly's arm, calming her down, "I understand why she was in the forest, but why did you bring her here?"
"I don't need to explain my motivations to either of you." The beast said losing patience with this conversation.
Polly and Vandy exchanged a look, "No," Polly said, "but something had to have changed! There has been a young woman in that forest every blood moon for the past 6 years and the most you have ever done is chase them out of the forest. Now, after dozens of women, there is now one sitting in our dungeons. Who is she?"
Polly had a knack for getting to the heart of things, but he did not have an answer for her, he was not even sure he could answer that question himself. She was beautiful. The thought came to his mind, and he frowned. Was it because she spoke to him? She did not turn her head away in disgust or fear.
The truth was that he had been poisoned by hope. Hope drove him to act in an unescapable cycle and he was out of control. He had hoped for a second that things could be different, he acted on that hope, and now he had welcomed that poison into his home.
"Vandy, check on our guest. When you are done, find me and report to me."
"You want me to go to the dungeon to check on the girl? The dungeon?" Vandy asked. "You have lost your mind."
The beast sighed deeply, "Do what I ask." he said, wheeling around and exiting, leaving Vandy and Polly alone to scheme together on how to save the girl from his clutches. He was exhausted, but he turned away from his rooms and moved towards the west wing.
He stopped at the base of the stairs, frozen. The west wing had been left alone for years. It was a scar, just a record of an old wound that was too painful for him to destroy. There was no reason he should have taken Belle out of the forest to his castle, in fact, there was every reason to do the exact opposite thing.
If there was a reason behind his actions it was somewhere up in the west wing, and that knowledge made him ascend the stairs for the first time in years.