“I love you,” she whispered.
She meant it with every fiber of her being. Closing her eyes, she pressed her ear to his chest, and quieted, wanting to hear if maybe, just maybe, his heart would beat for her, the way hers did for him.
But the Beast’s heart was still.
Then—
is his heart beating?
It couldn’t be. But it was! Faintly at first, then stronger.
Belle opened her eyes, but couldn’t see. The wind whirled around them both, but it was if the wind had transformed into fire. Glittering magic swirled, obscuring her vision.
What is happening?
She held on tightly to her Beast, her true love. He seemed to be slipping from her grasp.
“Don’t take him from me!” she cried.
No longer could she feel his fur beneath her cheek, and when she reached her hand out to touch his face—
“…Frederick?”
Frederick, half-naked, lay sprawled on the stone.
Have I fallen asleep? “Frederick, what have I done?”
He sat up, looking around them as the fire dust settled, leaving behind only a shimmer of the magic that had taken her Beast.
“Belle,” he whispered, and embraced her.
Oh God, his embrace felt so real, so strong. “Am I dreaming?” she asked.
“We’re awake, Beauty,” he said. “You’ve saved me.”
“I killed the Beast,” she whispered, and looked away, unable to face him, knowing that Frederick, above all, wanted her to be with the Beast. To love the Beast.
“Look at me,” he said tenderly.
She gazed into his eyes, his beautiful, green
(human)
eyes.
“I don’t understand…” she said. The conclusions that were forming in her mind made no sense, none at all.
“Yes, you do.” Frederick smiled, and stood, pulling her up against his chest.
“I thought you were imprisoned in the castle. We’ve only met in my dreams,” she said, shaking her head, but laughing, laughing over her tears.
“You broke the spell that changed me into a Beast all those years ago,” he said. “It’s still me. You know me, both prince and beast. You know me, Belle.”
And he kissed her, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her close.
He picked her up and carried her over the threshold of the castle door.
“Fairies, we need a fire,” she said as he kicked the door shut behind him with his foot.
No fire appeared.
Belle felt heat warming her face. “Oh. I told the fairies I’d never call on them again if they’d bring you back.”
“The castle’s enchantment is over,” Frederick said, grinning. He knelt by the fireplace to get the fire going. “Although I always thought it was quite adorable how you thought we had a fairy infestation.”
Belle raised her eyebrows and laughed. She had Frederick, and…he was her Beast, too, on the inside, at least. Or was it that the Beast was Frederick on the inside, this whole time? They would have many long hours in the evenings ahead to mull it over.
“Who needs fairies, anyway?” she said. She had everything she needed. Except… “My Papa will be distraught that I’ve left him.”
“He can visit,” Frederick said, finally getting the fire going. “And he can see that I am not the Beast he once feared.”
“What will happen, when I fall asleep, if I don’t have my dream-lover to ravish me?” Belle left the chair Frederick had set her in, to kneel by his side at the hearth.
“At night, my Beauty…you will have the Beast.”
With the flames burning brightly, and the morning sun streaming through the windows of the castle, Belle felt completely surrounded by love and light.
“I love you, Frederick,” she said. “All of you.”
He kissed her. “I love you, Belle. You are my everything.”
Though they no longer had fairies at play in their castle, Beauty and her Beast held the magic of their love close to their hearts…and they both lived happily ever after, together, forever.
The End