What if?

Beauty and the Beast, Act 2, Part 1

In front of the fireplace, the Beast sat in her chair and growled in pain. Beau kneeled on the floor with a warm, wet rag and dabbed the scratches on her arm. As soon as the rag touched the open wound, she let out a large roar of pain. Beau sat there with a 'dudette, seriously?' look and sighed, "If you don't stay still, I can't clean it and it will fester!"
"Maybe it's better if it festers!"
"Then, you want to die?!" The Beast sat up straight, surprised by his response. She responded in a small voice, "Y-you don't want me to die?" Beau was also surprised and blushed a bit, "Call me crazy, but no. That would be terrible." He went back to cleaning the wounds and the Beast didn't roar anymore, only hissing a bit. Beau wrapped the wound and sighed, "There." The Beast gulped and stammered, "W-would you like to know my name? So you won't have to, you know, keep calling me the Beast..." Beau looked back up at her and nodded. "My name, before all this was..." She paused, deciding whether to tell her real name. She smiled slightly, "Addy. Short for Adeline." Beau smiled and chuckled; Addy frowned, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just remembered that... In the 'forbidden area'," he used quotation marks, "I saw a picture of a young girl, about 16. Did you know her?" Addy fumbled with her claws a bit and Beau noticed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"No no... It's perfectly okay. She was the previous owner, a princess." Beau tilted his head, "What happened to her?" Addy looked down to the ground and frowned, "She was said to have died... I don't know if it's true or not but..." She shrugged and peeked back at Beau, who had scooted closer to her, "I think I may be asking too much but, do you have a library?" Addy looked up in delight, "Well, it's in disrepair... But, I can fix it. For you." Beau smiled wide, "You don't need to if you don't want to."
"It's fine. Besides, if I am to remain like this forever, I might as well have something to do."
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Over the course of the next few months, Beau and Addy became close friends. Addy fixed up the library and every night, before bed, Beau would reteach Addy to read. Addy would lay her head on the table while Beau read and sigh occasionally, fascinated by the stories. Soon, winter came, and along with it snow. Beau and Addy would go out to play all the time, secretly realizing they might have feeling s deeper than friendship.

Beau:
There's something sweet
And almost kind
But she was mean and she was coarse and unrefined
But now she's dear, and so unsure
I wonder why I didn't see it there before

M. De Le Grande Bouche:
Come along dearie.
Let's get you off those wet things.

Addy:
He glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched he didn't shudder at my paw
No it can't be, I'll just ignore
But then he's never looked at me that way before

Beau:
New and a bit alarming
Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
True that she's no Princess Charming
But there's something in her that I simply didn't see
Beau:
Oh, this is one of my favorites!
It's "King Arthur."
Have you ever read it?
Addy:
No.
Beau:
You don't know what you're missing.
I'd love to read this again.
Wait...you can read this first.
Addy:
No, that's alright
Beau:
No, really, you read it
Addy:
Oh, No, you...
Beau:
No, you
Addy:
No! I can't...
Beau:
You never learn to read?
Addy:
Only a little, and long ago
Beau:
Well, it just so happens that this is the perfect book to
read aloud. Come here, sit by me
Soleil:
Well, who'd have thought?
Mr Potts:
Well, bless my soul
Clocksworth:
Well, who'd have known?
Mr Potts:
Well, who indeed?
Soleil:
And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?
Mr Potts:
It's so peculiar. Wait and see
Soleil and Clocksworth:
We'll wait and see
All three:
A few days more
There may be something there that wasn't there before
Clocksworth:
Perhaps there's something there
That wasn't there before
Chip:
What?
Mr Potts:
There may be something there that wasn't there before
Chip: What's there, Papa?
Mr Potts: Ssh. I'll tell you when you're older.
Come along now. Let's give them some privacy...
Chip:
Papa?
Mr Potts:
Yes, Chip
Chip:
Will I ever get to be a girl again?
Mr Potts:
I hope so
Chip:
When will I know?
Mr Potts:
Soon. If it's to be. It will be very soon now.
Come along, daughter.
Beau:
Knowing now, that this was indeed the legendary sword called
"Excalibur," Arthur tried to pull it from the stone.
He tried once to no avail. He tried a second time, but still,
he could not pull it out. Then, for the third time, Arthur
drew forth the sword...
Addy:
So that must mean he's the king!
Beau:
Wait and see
Addy:
I never knew books could do that
Beau:
Do what?
Addy:
Take me away from this place, make
me forget for a little while
Beau:
Forget?
Addy:
Who I...What I am...
Beau:
We have something in common, you know
Addy:
What is that?
Beau:
In the town where I come from, the people think I'm odd
Addy:
You?
Beau:
So, I know how it feels to be...different.
And I know how lonely that can be
Beau:
For the third time, Arthur drew forth the sword, and there
arose from the people a great shout. Arthur is king.
Addy:
I told you so...
Months turned to a new year, and now Beau knew his heart couldn't lie to him. He was in love. (Obviously with Soleil.)