The Dying Rose (Completed)

Chapter 14: Woodland Walk

My next few days were spent solely with Beast. We had made vast improvements in his reading ability, and I was trying to help him expand his vocabulary. Beast wanted to learn more about history, Agaia's in particular, and so we had poured through numerous books on the country, and his ancestors.

In one, we came across an old lithograph of his parents, when they were still Prince and Princess. Galien studied their faces for nearly two hours, as though he had forgotten what they had looked like. However, even I could tell that he was the spitting image of his father. His mother, on the other hand, had been slender, dark, and petite. Her husband towered over her by a great deal in the lithograph.

I had been reluctant to mention moving on to Beast, but finally, he pushed the book aside, and asked me could we move forward. We even took our breakfasts and lunches on Thea's tea cart in the library. Dinner every night in the dining room was my one reprieve from the pastel green of the library, or the solitude of my room, and it was always seemed to fly by much too fast. In fact, all of my day did.

On the tenth morning of our new regiment of learning, I left my room, headed for breakfast, once more in the library. I reached the library, and stuck my head deftly around the corner, peeking to see where Beast was. Unlike the day before, when he had busted out into his full, cacophonous laugh at the sight of me, today he had his back to the door. Breaking into a full sprint, I ran across the room and jumped playfully on his back, only to slide off a brief second later. Laughing hysterically, I caught myself on a nearby table. Beast turned with a broad smile plastered across his features. His eyes, warm and happy today, met mine.

"So are you ready? What are we conquering today, Your Highness?" I asked with a grin, adding a deep, flourishing curtsy.

Beast coughed. "Actually, today, I'm going to look into how the cleaning of the castle goes. And, I have a surprise for you." He pulled a heavy brown cloak from his chair, which had been turned to face the fireplace as well. He held it out to me.

I stared at him, puzzled.

"Now you can go out on walks, outside of the castle grounds, if you wish, without being cold. I had Simone make it; she's been at it for over a week. I figured you may want to get out of this place for a little while. Maybe one day, I'll go with you, show you around, but today I need to take care of some things here, in the castle," he explained.

I couldn't begin to express my gratitude. The walls of the castle had begun to seem a little suffocating after all of this time, but I had made sure not to slip and complain. What right had I to complain to a dying man?

"Oh Beast, this means the world to me! Thank you, ever so much. I- you don't have to look so sad you know."

Beast's eyes had turned stormy again.

"What's the matter?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

He shrugged his massive, tawny shoulders.

I tilted my head and gave him a look that clearly said Tell me the Truth.

"I'm fine. I just, wish you wouldn't be so happy about it."

"About what?" I asked, confused beyond belief.

"You're so happy to get out of the castle. Sometimes I forget, Belle. You are a pretty, young woman, and I know you would rather be a hundred places besides this ruddy old castle," he said, turning away from me. His voice was hard, and icy.

"Beast, that's not true," I said, walking to him, and placing my hand on his back. His tan fur poked through the thin white shirt he always wore, and tickled my palm. "You told me I could leave. If I wanted to, I would. I would just like to get outside, and breath some fresh air for a little while."