The next day, Belle and I were working in the garden when Philippe ran up to us. Alone.

"Philippe!" Belle called out, going to him. I took in the broken reins and knew whatever had happened, he'd been forced to leave Papa behind. I went to my horse, Ninette, and got ready to go to wherever Papa was. "What happened? Where's Papa? Take me to him!" Belle saddled up Philippe while I jumped on Ninette bareback and we rode off to where Philippe had left Papa.


To say I was confused by the snow would have been an understatement, but we didn't let that stop us as he rode the horses hard. We stopped at an unturned wagon and I jumped off to see the music box Papa would have never left willingly. I looked up at Belle worriedly before jumping back on Ninette, music box in hand, and we rode to a strange castle. The gardens would have been beautiful, I'm sure, if we'd given ourselves the time to properly look them over, but there was no time. We got to a set of stairs and jumped off the horses, Belle picking up a large stick before we climbed them to the door. Belle gently pushed the door open and we stood in the doorway staring at the castle within.

"Hello?" I called out as we walked inside quietly before hearing whispers.

"Who said that?" Belle called out, circling to where we heard the voices. "Who's there?" We walked to a clock and a candelabra, both of which had been beautifully designed. I was about to pick up the candelabra when we heard coughing bouncing off the walls. I picked it up without looking at it and lead the way to where we thought the coughing had come from. We came to a split in the stairs and looked both ways before following a second cough to the left. We climbed the stairs and quickly as we could.

"Papa?" Belle and I called out but heard nothing. We ran faster up the stairs before noticing what looked like a dungeon cell.

"Papa, is that you?" Belle asked him the person inside. She knelt down as I placed the candelabra on a ledge next to the bars. I smiled in relief at seeing Papa alive.

"Belle! Adalina!" He said in surprise at seeing us. "How did you find me?"

"Philippe came to us," I told him.

"Your hands are ice," Belle said taking one of his hand in hers as I did the same. Had he been here all night? "We need to get you home."

"Belle, you must take your sister and leave here at once!" he ordered her as we stood up again. "This castle is alive! Now go, before he finds you!"

"We aren't leaving without you!" I told him.

"Before who finds us?" Belle asked confused before we heard something growling close by. Belle grabbed my arm and pulled me behind her as she held the stick in front of her. "Who's there?" She asked moving away from me and Papa, who held onto my hands tightly. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" a gruff male voice asked. Was this the 'he' Papa was worried about?"

"We've come for our father," Belle told him.

"Your father is a thief."

"Liar!" I shouted at him which only made Papa's hands tighten on mine.

"He stole a rose."

"I asked for the rose," Belle told him not mentioning my own request for a rose. "Punish me, not him."

"No!" Papa shouted which made her look back at him. "He means forever."

"A life sentence for a rose?" I asked confused. "That's not a fair punishment."

"Apparently, that's what happens around here when you pick a flower." The man growled and we saw his shadow jump from one set of stairs to another closer to us. The movement caused Belle to back away and I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to us.

"I received eternal damnation for one," he told us and I stared at the shadow confused. "I'm merely locking him away. Now, do you still wish to take your father's place?"

"Come into the light," Belle ordered him. We watched his head look at us before looking away again. I grabbed the candelabra and shoved it in his face as gasped in shock and horror. The man wasn't a man at all. He was a beast with fur covering what we could see of him and horns protruding from his head. The one thing I could make out that seemed more like a man was crystal blue eyes showing nothing but anger at us.

"Choose."

"Belle, I won't let you do this," Papa told her before coughing again. He was obviously sick from being in this place with nothing to protect him from the elements. He wouldn't live long if he stayed here. "I lost your mother. I won't lose the two of you. Now, go. Go!" he coughed again and I thought about it for a moment.

"All right, Papa. I'll leave." I looked into Belle's face and knew she was lying. She was going to choose to stay in his place. "We need a minute along with him," she told the beast. He grunted his refusal and started walking away from us. "Are you so cold-hearted you won't allow daughters to kiss their father goodbye?" That made him pause.

"If this our last chance to see him, surely your forever can spare a mere moment," I said. He seemed to think about it before turning to us again. He walked towards us and Belle moved us back as he continued to do so. I hadn't noticed the small fangs resting on his lower lip until that moment. He stared down at us before reaching up and grabbing a lever and pulled it down opening the cell.

"When this door closes, it will not open again," he warned. Belle immediately moved into the cell and hugged Papa close to her.

"Thank you." I placed the candelabra on a second ledge before joining them. I'd noticed it was now Papa's back that now faced the cell doors. I hugged them both tightly and knew what I had to do. As they talked quietly, I went back out of the cell and turned to the beast. "I'll take his place."

"What did you say?" he seemed genuinely surprised by my words and I heard my sister and father stop talking.

"I'll take his place," I repeated. "I'll remain here while he and my sister return home. Safe and unharmed."

"Why would you do that?"

"They're my family." He moved closer to me as though trying to see if I'd take my words back if he frightened me enough. I was terrified of the beast in front of me, but I refused to back down. "You told my sister to choose, but I was never the option. I'm making my choice. And since my father only picked one rose you only need one prisoner." He stared into my brown eyes with his blue.

"You're a fool." He grabbed my arm and threw me in the cell before forcing them out and closing the door.

"Ada!" Belle shouted as he grabbed both her and Papa and dragged them away.

"No!" Papa shouted before they disappeared from my sight. I went to a large opening that dropped all the way to the bottom of the stairs in time to see him forcing Belle behind him and Papa thrown over his shoulder. "I'll come back! I promise!" I placed my forehead on the cold brick in front of me and did all I could to quiet my tears. I would never see my family again.