-Belle-
Belle could hear someone descending the stairs. Her knees were tucked to her chest, and she was still sitting in the exact place that the Beast had left her.
He must have decided to eat her and save him the trouble, or he decided he wanted to have more fun with her. The women who had been chosen in previous years had returned from the forest traumatized. Belle would not last a minute.
When the footsteps stopped outside the door, dread filled a small pit in her stomach. There was the sound of metal on metal and after some struggle, and lots of attempts to open the door, it finally swung open.
It was not him. That was the first thing she noticed. The footsteps were shorter, and the breathing was shallower. She was dealing with a different beast altogether. For a moment there was no sound and Belle felt naked under the eye of the unknown intruder.
"Hello there." His voice left a slight ringing in the air. She knew for sure that this creature was not the King of Beasts. There was an awkward pause and Belle did not know how to react, so she sat still and unmoving.
The man moved closer and when Belle physically flinched back against the wall, he stopped his movements. "you are bleeding." he mentioned aloud, and Belle did not respond to him, she just tucked her injured arm closer towards herself.
"I should start out by saying that I am sorry about all of this. My name is Vanderwall, but I am called Vandy. You do not have to speak to me, in fact, if I were in your shoes, I would be feeling the same way, but I am the closest thing that we have to a doctor here, and it looks like you are in need of some assistance." He said.
Belle was silent. It was her turn to respond, she knew that, but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place either to accept help from her kidnappers and their offers of service or to possibly bleed out and die of infection. Dying only seemed to be a pleasing option due to the horrors she imagined waiting for her in the Beast's castle.
He must have been able to read the expression on her face because he went to placate her further. "I do not intend you any ill will. There is not a single soul in the walls of this castle that would lay a hand on you. I do not expect you to believe me, but it is the truth. The master- well of course, you have not seen him in the best light I am sure, but he is not cruel. He has asked that I see to your needs, but if you wish, I will leave and not come back at your word."
Belle began to realize that this was her olive branch. If she burned this, there might not be more extended in the future. She did not know if she believed Vandy, but her available choices were limited.
"I would like some help." She managed to mumble out quietly.
She could hear the man move towards the door, "Of course." He said and moved towards her. "May I see your wrists please?" He asked, and Belle held out her wrists towards him. She jumped a little when a rough hand took her arm. He had claws that bit into her arms gently. It definitely was not human. She shuddered.
He took her wrists delicately as if he expected her to bolt at any moment. "This is not too severe. I must fetch some supplies to dress these. Are you hungry dear?" He asked.
"Yes." Belle said softly and the man stood up. "I will be back soon with some supplies sit tight." That was the last thing he said before turning and leaving again with his footsteps disappearing with the stairs.
-Vanderwall-
Vandy cleared the stairs two at a time, getting away from the girl as fast as he could. He could not avoid the feeling of guilt. He was, at least partly, responsible for her predicament. He was the one who had given the Beast a stirring speech about controlling your own destiny. The poor boy had been in a dismal place for months now. Vandy had only meant to give him some hope, but he did not mean for hope to turn into this.
The kitchen was full. Polly and Anette were at the table covered in flour and handling dough whispering between each other in hushed tones. Anette's two girls were scrubbing dishes and the dog was sitting beside the girls begging for scraps to be thrown his way. When Vanderwall entered the kitchen all the chaos seemed to come to a halt, and everyone turned to him for news.
He avoided their eyes and went to the counter collecting a dish from the cupboard and filling it with bread and cheese.
"She is hungry?" Polly asked.
"She has been through a lot in the last few hours. You would be hungry as well." He said, busying himself with filling a pitcher of water.
He grabbed the small case of medical supplies that they had kept in the kitchen in case of emergencies and Polly pounced on him.
"She is injured?!" Vandy sighed deeply. He did not need Polly bringing the castle down on top of itself before either of them understood why the beast took her in the first place. This was going to require tact and Polly was not famous for her tact.
"She is pretty." Vandy said, distracting Polly. "and she did not even flinch when she saw me."
"There must be something wrong with her because you are as gruesome as ever." she said, moving from her work and walking over to him, dusting off her apron.
"You are going to need help carrying all of that down to the dungeons." Polly said.
"I can manage it." Vandy said, gathering up the water pitcher and the supplies. Polly grabbed the dish before he could take it himself.
"Nonsense dear. It will be no trouble for me." Polly said. Vandy just shook his head, there was never any point in arguing with Polly. She could boss around an oak tree.
-Belle-
Belle had started to drift asleep. She was determined to remain alert until Vandy returned, but her eyes were heavy, and her body ached. She had only closed her eyes for a moment when she was woken suddenly by the sound of the door opening.
"Hello!" A woman's voice, decidedly not Vandy and definitely not the beast. She was shocked awake and still in the thralls of sleep enough to reply without even thinking about it.
"Hello." Belle said, now realizing that there were two of them. They both crossed the room towards her, and Belle sat up more.
"This is Polly, she insisted on coming along because-" Vandy trailed off letting Polly finish his sentence.
"Well obviously I am here because you boys cannot ever think anything through. You thought of bringing food, but you did not even bother to bring a simple set of linen for that horrible mattress or even a chamber pot?"
"I figured injuries trumped linens." Vandy said, irritated.
"Well yes of course, but you do have the whole staff at your disposal. You could have easily sent- oh, I am not even going to bother with you. It is rude to argue in front of guests." She informed him pointedly.
Belle did not know how to react to their back and forth.
"Argue in front of guests?! I am not the one who-" He got cut off by Polly who moved closer to Belle and laid something at her feet.
"here is some food dear. I am sorry about him. Like Vanderwall was so helpful to point out, I am Polly. I run the castle, or at least I ensure the place is not burned down. What is your name."
Belle blinked suddenly taken back by the familiarity of the woman. There was not a simple response to the familiar kindness she was being offered.
"My name is Belle. It is nice to meet you."
The woman laughed. "Oh, look at you! So polite! I am sure it is not very nice to meet the acquaintance of your captors, but I do appreciate your kindness."
The woman crossed the room towards the bed and laid something down in front of her.
"Here is your food. It was a pleasure to meet you dear, and I will be back soon. I will leave you with Vanderwall for the moment while he makes sure you are in tip top shape."
She stood and retreated with the swooshing sound of her skirts, leaving just Belle and Vandy in the room.
"May I sit down?" he asked. The politeness was not fake, she could tell that much, it was intentional and respectful. Belle nodded her head and Vandy sat next to her.
"Now let me see those wrists and we will get down to business." He said.
She held out her wrists to the sound of his voice. They sat a moment together, not saying anything. Belle was wrapped too much in listening to his shallow breathing, to the constant drip in the back of the room. Listening for anything familiar that could place her at home.
"It is good news. Your wounds are not bad. I will clean them and bandage them, but they should heal right up within days."
He scrubbed the wound and covered it with a thick paste that instantly took the pain away.
It did not take him very long, but Belle was still miserable in the silence. Silence meant she was in the dark. She had zoned out and almost did not even catch it when he spoke.
"This is an awkward question my dear, but do you know what caused beast to be provoked?" he asked, and Belle could hardly believe the question. She was a little offended. He asked as if it was her who must have been at fault.
"He seemed to not like me asking about his name at all." She answered fully aware that it sounded insane.
"His name? He kidnapped you nearly mangling you on the way because you asked his name?"
Her hands wrapped together, and traitorous tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, "What reason does a beast need to behave beastly?" She demanded.
"I see." He said. Vandy was silent for a long moment while his hands stilled as they finished their work.
"I apologize." He said, "My sincerest apologies dear. You do not deserve this."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. You did not lock me up."
"No but I am sorry for you, nonetheless. You have been unfairly forced into a situation that is none of your concern and that you should not have to endure."
The question that burned in her mind swelled until it came out in one breath, "Will you let me go?"
Vandy tightened the bandage around her wrist and stood.
"I would if I could dear. I am afraid that you will not find anyone in the castle willing to go against the Master's wishes, but I can promise you that you will be unharmed, and I can promise you every amenity."
He said her chest deflated, and she finally felt the gravity of this situation. She was stuck.
"Is there anything else that you want dear?" Vandy asked, standing at the door.
Belle smiled thinly. "No, there is nothing."