Belle didn’t even hear him, ‘just one more week than school is over, perhaps I can offer myself to the beast? No one will know I am gone; they will just think I went studying abroad. Surely, he has needs. Wonder if there is a female beast? Perhaps this is a silly plan.’ Belle’s head raised with one idea after the other.
After school Belle went back to the castle, thinking approaching the beast during daylight will be less scary.
Belle steps through the gate and is amazed at how the castle and it huge garden turns into a picture-perfect fairy-tale castle.
Belle slowly and carefully walked towards the entrance of the castle looking behind her every now and then.
Belle made her way up the twenty steps and hesitate for a moment. Belle did not know that she was being watched. She took the giant door knocker on the door that is the shape of a wolf and lifted it. She was about to knock when the door opened.
The pack members just look on as the strange girl walked into the castle, looking around, unaware that they are looking at her.
“Hello?” Belle calls out.
Adam stomped over to her from the main hall, “what are you doing here and who let you in?”
“The door just opened.”
Adam looked around at his pack members but all of them pretended not to know who opened the door. All of them are fond of him and since he has mated with this human girl, she might be his only chance to survive his twenty-first birthday.
“Please sir, I came to see my father. Prisoners have the right to visitors, don’t they? Don’t be so inhumane,” Belle pleads with him.
Those words ‘inhumane’ pulled at his heartstrings, ‘so she sees me as a human that should not be inhumane,’ Prince Adam stopped in front of her.
Adam looked her up and down, “what are you wearing?”
Belle folds her arms over her open belly, regretting the tank top and her shortest pair of shorts she is wearing but she wanted to look more attractive, knowing that her body is the only thing she has got going for herself; well that and her brains.
“It is hot outside,” she quickly says.
Adam smiles, knowing what is going on in her mind, ‘she thinks she can win me over with her body.”
“Let me offer myself in exchange for my father's freedom,” Belle tries.
“I told you already,..”
Belle interrupts him, “I don’t mean take his place your dungeons, I mean, um, well,…”
“Sexually?” puts the words in her mouth.
Everyone was now whispering aloud, shocked at what is happening.
Prince Adam was a bit shocked that his ‘mate’ would just offer herself like this to a beast.
With one hairy, claw-like finger he sweeps the bangs out of her face aware of how scared she is, “you think all a beast like me wants is sex?”
“I know I am not much to look at and, and,..” Belle stutters, ‘I am so ugly that this ugly beast doesn’t even want me,’ she thinks to herself.
Adam abruptly took his hand away from her face, feeling like he was just stabbed in the heart by her thoughts, ‘no one will ever love me, I am an ugly beast,’ he thinks as he turns around and stomps away.
“Sir, please,” Belle runs after him. The pack members wanted to stop her, “let us see where this go, let her follow him,” King Alaric orders them to stand down.
Adam turns around and wanted to yell at her but him, abruptly turning around gave her a big fright that made her fall. Adam quickly got to her side and lift her to her feet inspecting if she got hurt not noticing that she is trying to get away from him. Adam hears her thoughts, ‘he is going to kill me.’
“I am not going to hurt you, are you ok?”
“I will be if you will allow me to see my father,”
‘I wish she could care about me as much as she cares about her father, but I am a beast,’ he sadly thinks before walking off.
Belle turned around to leave, “this is hopeless.” Belle could feel the tears burning her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.
Adam could feel the sadness from her, “come, I will take you to your father.”
With those words Adam felt like he was hit with a warm wave of happiness, it was the first time he ever felt happiness, ‘her happiness, I want to feel it again.’ It was at that moment that he decided that he needs to find ways to make her happy, just so that he can feel it as well.
Adam soon felt the happiness from Belle replaced by fear as they made their way down to the dungeons.
“Father!” Belle cries out in relief. The dungeons looked better than their one-bedroom apartment.
“Bell! What are you doing here? There is a beast here! Leave before he sees you!” Maurice cried out worried, hugging Belle through the bars.
Bell takes her backpack off her back, “I brought you some bread.”
Maurice notices that the bread has already started to grow mold, “Belle, go to the butcher tell them that I have left, they will take you in and give you food. I am so sorry for all this.”
“Father, I will just take the mold off, please eat it, mold will do no harm. I heard it is actually good for you,” Bell offers the bread again to her father.
Maurice looks over to the heaping plate of food and a full jug of milk that he has refused to eat. He quickly took some potatoes and a piece of meat off the plate, “here, quickly take this and get out of here! Quickly! Before the beast sees you.”
Belle looked at the plate of food and wondered who cooked it as she saw no one but the beast around.
“Father the beast allowed me to see you, I should really not take this food, he might lock me up as well. Perhaps I should get locked up, a pretty good life you have here,” Belle smiles.
Belle put away the bread, ‘guess this will be my dinner.’
“That is enough, you can see he is taken care of. Now leave and don’t come back again,” Adam tells her to leave.
Belle gave her father a hug through the bars, “I am going to miss you, please eat, for my sake.”
“Never,” Maurice protest.
“Father, please, promise me you will eat.”
Maurice looked at his daughter's pleading face, “fine, I promise.”
Belle looked at the plate of food, “go on, start eating now.”
Maurice felt guilty for being able to eat such a lavish meal when he knew his own daughter has to eat old bread. Hesitantly he picked at the food. Belle hoped her father will keep his promise and turned to leave.