Hidden Heart (Beauty and the Beast AU)

Through the Pale Door

The mist stood before them. Grasping jaws of mire lurked beyond that opaque shroud, Susato knew. But there was hope too, and the rest of the world, and that was enough to make her heart lift as she stood there beside the Beast, upon the threshold of everything.

The manor stood behind them, the front doors open. Everyone was gathering up their things, preparing to leave. Susato wondered what time of day it would be when they crossed. She hoped the sun was shining.

She turned her head and looked up at the Beast. His gargoyle-like aspect was hard to read, but his eyes looked tight and focussed as they roved slowly back and forth, like he could read something in the wake of the fog.

Carefully, she reached for his hand, placed her palm against his. He looked down, saying nothing, face giving nothing away. But this outward image did nothing to shake the image of him in her heart, and her great joy that at last all those imprisoned would be freed.

"Thank you," she said.

"I have done nothing. You should not thank me until everyone is liberated."

"Well, I'm thanking you now. Because I know you will see us all safely across. And...will you go with us too?"

He looked away, a notch appearing beside his brow. "A monster among the masses? I think not."

"You aren't a monster. I've seen your true face. Together...we can leave this place and free you from this curse. There has to be a way!"

"There are some things not even your determination can change. Admirable as it is."

"We won't know that until we try!"

"Miss Susato, I cannot leave. That is the truth."

Susato's face fell. "What do you mean? If it's because you're afraid that you will hurt someone, or that someone else will hurt themselves trying to fight you, I will reassure you as many times as it takes to convince you!"

"No. It is not merely that. This mist appeared when I was cursed and this ground became a mire. I do not know they will not follow me."

"Oh dear...But...But what if they don't?"

"I would not risk such a state for any place. Anyway, I must continue to watch over this mire, since I alone can cross it. There is little hope of others not falling upon it by mistake."

"I...I suppose that's true...It just seems so wrong..."

"A killer requires a prison."

"You didn't hurt anyone. I cannot believe that. Not even for a moment."

"Yet, that is what the evidence suggests. This is justice."

Tears flooded Susato's eyes. "You suffer so much. I cannot bear for you to be all alone again."

"I will have the memory of our time together. To warm my heart, should it grow cold," he said gently.

Susato looked away, the tears threatening to shiver free. "...What if someone out there is waiting for you?"

"I do not think that to be the case, considering what happened when I was transformed," the Beast said with a sigh. "The man you sought, Genshin Asogi, he was a close friend to my family. When this curse came upon me, I struck him down, along with my sister-in-law. My brother found me. He set the family hound loose upon me. That is how I received this scar."

Susato's breath caught.

"My sister had just given birth recently. I can only imagine what I must have done to the child, although there was nothing to bury."