The Beast

15 - The Castle

Belmont

Lumiere and Clocksworth were away on business and had left me alone in the huge castle with the admonition not to investigate too much on my own. What the hell did they think of me, I wasn't an idiot walking around investigating closed wings or haunted basements on my own. Especially when I was an uninvited guest who hadn't even met the owner of the house yet. Instead, I sat in the library as usual. Books had always been my escape from reality. When I was thirteen years old, I started reading every Stephen King book I could get my hands on, and knew enough about horror stories to know that you shouldn't interfere with things that are none of your business.

I sighed in annoyance at the mess Clock had made, and started cleaning up all the books and magazines scattered throughout the library.

"How unpredictable." I froze when I heard the cool, new voice behind me and turned slowly and was met with the hard gaze of a man I had never seen before, but there was no doubt who this was, he was the boss, the master of the house or whatever the hell I was going to call him. His intense gaze made me tremble and I squirmed uncomfortably. His revelation made the blood run cold in my veins and in the midst of all that, I didn't know what was expected of me. Should I bow? Introduce myself? I was hardly wanted, someone who had entered his house without permission. "Lumiere has told me about you," he continued.

"Oh, o-okay... that's good," I stammered nervously, shifting my gaze from him to the blackboard hanging behind him, then down to the floor and quickly up to him again. Until I finally decided to focus on my Converse, while pressing my sweaty hands into the pockets of my jeans.

Everything about him was terrifying. The man in front of me was at least six feet tall, his chiseled features looking almost unnaturally sharp. His eyes were bright blue like ice and his smile was as cold as the color of his eyes. His short dark hair was well-trimmed, his chin clean-shaven, he wore a stylish suit and behind his unbuttoned white shirt I could see a muscular body covered in tattoos.

Amused by my inability to handle the situation, he stepped forward and took the book from my hand, "interesting choice."

"Homer... the first well-written adventure in my opinion." Annoyed, I noticed how I was babbling on about Greek philosophers while he was studying me with the same amused look. It was as if my mouth had a life of its own and I was so nervous that I knocked over a stack of books behind me that I had been sorting. His one eyebrow rose a few millimeters but his expression didn't change more than that, though it was clear that he didn't want to waste his time on me anymore and was tired of my babbling.

"Have you made your choice yet?" he asked in a harsher tone and it immediately made me straighten my back.

"Yes," I replied hastily, pulling my hands out of my pockets and fiddling with the bracelet I was wearing.

"And do you know what will be expected of you?" he asked, one eyebrow rising another centimeter on his forehead.

"I will work for you, Monsieur."

He laughed coldly and I felt my heart stop. "You will not only work for me Belmont, you will belong to me and my family."

I swallowed what little saliva was left in my mouth, "which means?"

He took a step closer to me and reached out a hand to remove a strand of hair from my face and tuck it behind my ear, "that any decision you make must go through me, you won't leave the castle without my permission. You socialize with the people I deem worthy and you obey every order I give." Sweat beaded on my back, his gaze still so intense that I found it hard to think. "It also means that I will never let anyone hurt you," he continued in a softer tone, but even that sounded terrifying as he moved even closer. "If you belong to me, no one will dare to touch you again."