Blind and the Beast

The Last Night

-Belle-

Adam was quiet, which left Belle all alone with her thoughts. The breeze was cool and the smell of food and people still lingered, but it would be gone by tomorrow. A lot of things would be gone by tomorrow.

Her thoughts turned to unpleasant things. She wondered if the hunting party would come for them first or the wolfmen. She wondered if she would ever see her father again. She wondered if she could have prevented all of this by dying in the forest at the start of everything.

Adam approached her and for a moment they stood side by side in silence. The sound of their breathing intertwined and everything was so peaceful. She was lost in thought listening to the sounds around them. Sounds made up her world while everyone else was looking out at something that she would never be able to see.

"What are you thinking about?" Adam asked. His voice was gentle and almost reverent like he was scared to interrupt their last night of peace and quiet. Belle smiled. She would not tell him her thoughts. He did not need anything else to worry about.

"I was imagining how everything must look tonight." It was a nice lie to keep both of their minds from dwelling on tomorrow.

"It is dark. I do not think you are missing very much." He said.

"You are not very good at this."

Adam snorted in response. "I am not very good at what? Seeing? I would say that compared to you, I am world class."

Belle turned her eyes upward imagining the moon. It had been a long time since she had seen it, but it was still there in her memory. "You are not very good at being poetic. You are supposed to talk about how the light from the moon bathes everything in a soft innocent sort of light. You are supposed to talk about how the lanterns from the castle cast shadows on the trees that make them seem as tall as giants. You are supposed to tell me about the empty garden that seems sort of haunted now once you have seen how many people it takes to fill the space."

Those were all images of things that she had heard from the mouths of other people and never been able to experience them before. They were someone else's view on the world, but she wanted to see the world through his eyes.

"I wish I could tell you those things, but they are not true. It is cloudy and there is not a single ounce of light coming from the heavens. The lanterns from the castle make the trees resemble the bars of a cage, and I have not noticed a single thing this entire night except for you."

Her hands sought out his arms almost out of habit, and he angled himself towards her. It was like a nervous habit she had that made her feel safe.

"Was my dancing that bad?" Belle teased. She was trying to keep it light-hearted, but her heart betrayed her by pounding dangerously in her chest.

"No it is far worse than that." He said with something dark in his tone. She was not doing a very good job at keeping their conversation light.

"Are we okay?" She asked, but she continued when he remained silent. She was tired of their back and forth. "We have been skirting around each other for too long now. There is too much that remains unsaid between us."

"Not here." He said, and then the ground was not under her feet anymore. He picked up her legs and was now carrying her in her arms as though she weighed nothing.

"Where are we going?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Somewhere to talk." He said gruffly.

"We can talk perfectly well back there!" She said, but he did not respond.

"I can walk myself!" She tried again, but there was no use in it. He carried her leaving her completely blind to where they were going.