Beauty and the Beast(7)
“Tell me about this castle,” she said, picking up a pen and her clipboard. She scrawled a quick note and looked up.
“It’s quite large, very old,” her Papa described. “And it has fairies that can give you whatever you wish for.” Henry paused. “That part was really lovely, actually. But then the Beast came and locked me in his dungeon.”
The old lady turned to the Constable. “As you said, Constable. Delusions, hallucinations. I’ll take him in to assess whether he’s a danger to himself or others.”
“You can’t!” Henry cried. “If I don’t return, he’ll eat Belle!”
Belle looked at her father with concern. Was it as Mrs. Sharone said, that he was suffering from delusions?
Her father grabbed her hand and ran out the door with her. “Go back home. I must go to the Beast so he doesn’t harm you.”
“It must be a misunderstanding,” she said. “You only meant to take a rose for me. You’re no thief. Surely this…Beast will understand, when I explain.”
Her father stared at her in horror. “Absolutely not. You’re not going anywhere near that animal.”
Belle raised her eyebrows. “I will be accompanying you back to that castle with or without your blessing, Papa. Perhaps hearing your side of the story from a woman will soften the Beast’s heart enough to let you go.”
They headed back into the woods, hand in hand. Belle wasn’t sure what she feared more…finding out her father was indeed suffering from delusions and hallucinations…or finding the Beast.
***
“This is it,” Belle’s father whispered, staring at the tall wrought iron gate. “Please, dearest, go home so I can die knowing you are safe.”
Belle shook her head. Her father held many strange beliefs, and she’d never seen proof of any of them. Misplaced items around the cottage were not proof of pixies, as much as her father insisted that was so. If the lady who ran the Institution was right about his delusions, Belle needed to know.
“I insist on meeting this Beast myself, Papa,” she said quietly. “You can’t dissuade me.”
“Belle, I—I demand you leave here at once.”
Belle shook her head. She was nearly twenty years old now, not a little girl.
Her father sighed at her disobedience and pushed the gate open, shuddering when it creaked. “He’s expecting me. I suppose we should get this over with.”
They walked up the path to the front door. Belle lifted her hand to knock, but it opened by itself.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” Belle called. Her voice echoed in the cavernous front hall.
A roar shook the stone floor, and Belle jumped in fright, grabbing her father’s shoulders.
“He’s downstairs,” Henry said ominously. “In the dungeon.”
“Lord in Heaven,” Belle whispered.
Her father inhaled a shaky breath. “I’ll go down. You stay here.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” Belle said.
A narrow staircase led down in to the bowels of the castle, and Belle stuck close to her Papa as he descended the stairs.
“I’ve returned as promised, Beast,” Henry called.
They pushed open a heavy door and entered the dungeon. Belle blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness. Something…some thing was in the corner, hidden in the shadows.
“Who’s there?” she called, her voice sounding high and frightened to her ears.
A beast crept out of the corner on all fours. When he stood, he towered over them both by four or five feet. Belle gasped at the terrifying sight.
“This must be Belle,” the Beast said. “The girl who loves roses.”
Belle nodded, trembling. “Sir, please don’t punish my father for my mistake. I never should have asked for a rose. He didn’t mean to steal one, he only meant to please me—”
The Beast roared, silencing her.
Tears stung her eyes. Her father wasn’t crazy—this was real. The Beast, he was real! And even more horrible than even her father’s story could have prepared her for.
“I won’t punish your father then,” Beast said. “I will punish you.”
Her father threw himself protectively in front of her. “You wanted me, Beast, and I am here as promised. Take me.”
Belle couldn’t let her father die for her. She couldn’t. Henry Castelle was the only truly good soul she knew, and she would protect her Papa to the death.
“Beast,” she whispered. “Sir. Take me in his place.”
The Beast looked at her appraisingly, staring at her so intently she felt the heat from his gaze.
“You will stay as my prisoner, forever, in place of your father?” Beast asked softly.