The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 10 =-

"Oui, it is okay, mademoiselle. There is no need to feel embarrassed. I know you have a good eye, and you are a smart one as well. As for that worried glint I see that has arisen at my comment... you have no need to worry about me speaking to the master about anything. He is too dense to notice the subtle flirtations of the heart," Liyor explained with a chuckle. 

Without pause, he swept into the room. Like a tornado he began to pick apart the wardrobe, clucking his tongue as he began to sort through the dresses into two piles. Annelie couldn't make sense of the man. One moment he was telling her not to worry about her own emotions and the next he was storming through her closet to find her something suitable to wear. With a shake of her head, she slipped out of the bed. Her pale feet touched the warm stone brick floor, heated by the neverending fire in the fireplace. 

Liyor didn't even pause in his work as she walked up behind him. "You see, there are some dresses in here that should have been burned years ago! Ugh, to think that anyone would wear such tasteless atrocities," Liyor muttered with a shake of his head. 

Before Annelie could really ask the servant anything a soft, timid knock sounded at the door. "Yes?" she murmured with a feeling of helplessness. A smiling young boy hurried into the room and looked at Annelie with great big blue eyes and a wide toothy smile. 

"You are the girl! You are the girl!" he exclaimed. The black haired boy rushed for her legs, hugging them with all his might. 

Annelie looked down, finding that she didn't have words. The girl? What is that supposed to imply? "Yes, I am a girl," Annelie commented with a shake of her head. 

"No, you are the girl! You are the one everyone has been talking about ever since-" he continued with an excited jumping. However, just as the boy was starting in on the explanation for his cryptic comments Liyor spun around with huge eyes. He hurried forward, grabbing onto the boy's arm. 

"Cyd! What did the master say about you running about the castle?" he quickly stated with a nudge to the boy. The boy, presumably Cyd, blinked and pouted. 

"Shouldn't she know? She is the girl," Cyd insisted with a hmph. 

Liyor chuckled, almost nervously. "Why don't you go find Mrs. Rozalin and assist her in the kitchens?" he suggested suddenly. Cyd stared at him for a long moment before humming in acceptance. 

As if nothing had happened at all, he hurried out the door. As quickly as the madness had begun, it ended. 

Liyor handed Annelie a beautiful dress. It was made of green satin, with small golden designs expertly weaved into a stunning floral design. It scooped low, but it was too wonderful to say no to. 

He smiled slowly, before nodding as he looked from the dress to Annelie's eyes. "Surely, this matches your wondrous eyes expertly! Oui! The master will surely be stunned into silence," Liyor exclaimed. He swept his arms wide, excitement easily coming over him once more. With one final wink, he disappeared out the door, swinging it quietly closed behind his dramatic exit. 

Annelie blinked and swallowed anxiously. "I should just put on something simple," she muttered aloud. Yet, she found herself stepping out of her own dress to slip on the comfortable, exotic fabric. 

It formed neatly to her body, showcasing her beauty vividly. Her blonde hair spilled down to the middle of the back of the dress, and she bit her bottom lip. 

For some strange reason, she found herself carefully brushing her hair, and pinching her cheeks to add a slight pinkish blush to them. 

With an uncertain look at the dress on her body, she wondered why she was putting in so much effort. He won't notice. Why would he notice a change like this? He has no reason to... none at all, she thought with a confused shake of her head. 

"Mademoiselle, it is time to go down," a soft, feminine voice called from in the hall. Annelie knew there was no time to change, so she exited her room with a weak smile on her face. The servant girl, one she was so sure she had seen before, gasped. "You look... it is parfait," she whispered aloud, her voice rich and her smile wide. 

Annelie nodded, finding that a natural flush overcame the one she had worked for by pinching her cheeks anyway. 

The Beast was seated at the head of the table when she found herself entering the dining hall. Her mother and father were already smiling, laughing, and looking so much happier than they had in years. There was something about her father's sudden increase in joviality that made her want to scream. 

He is only content when in the company of the man he has been obsessed with all these years. It does not matter to him that he had a mother and I this whole time This. Whole. Time, she thought. Before her lips could turn downward, she heard the scratching of a chair being pushed back from the table. 

The Beast had risen up, his dark eyes scanning over her again and again. His expression was stormy, and his hand had curled into a fist. Without a word, he strode over to Annelie, his long legs moving him elegantly and expertly to stand before her. Once he was still, he opened his mouth. "Welcome to Rose Castle," the Beast whispered. 

His large hand wrapped around hers and he brought it to his lips. They touched and sparks flew down Annelie's arm, making her speechless once more. Her green eyes were stuck on his dangerously dark gaze that held something she had never quite seen in there before, wonder. They stood there, the Beast slowly moving his mouth away from her hand, until he just held it in his. 

His thumb brushed over the back of her hand, again and again, causing chills to sweep through her. Annelie's head was light as she struggled to breathe correctly. "May your stay here be enchanting, Mademoiselle," the Beast finished with a short nod. 

Though he seemed a bit upset by it, he broke his contact with her. "Please, let me assist you to your chair," he insisted as his manners suddenly came back to life. 

Annelie nodded and set her hand in the crook of his arm when he offered it. She found herself being supported by him more than she would ever admit aloud. He is... charming, she thought with a shaky sigh leaving her. 

Quickly, the Beast pulled out a chair that was seated on the left of his, needing to have her close to him. She sat down softly in the seat, careful to brush the skirts of her dresses as she had seen so many ladies do. 

With a gentle push, she was seated at the table. The Beast moved to his seat, taking it without another word. He was lost in his own mind, finding that the dress she wore so well complimented her eyes. Already, he could smell the scent of vanilla clinging to the fabric, as it clung to everything of hers. 

Her hand, when it had been pressed to his mouth, had smelled so perfectly of vanilla. It calmed him and made him wonder if perhaps he should have been charming from her first arrival at the castle's gates. 

Of course, he couldn't have done that either. No, he had tried to keep her away for a good reason. 

The Beast continued to view her as he took a long drink from his golden goblet full of wine. When he set it back down on the table he motioned for the servants to begin serving them their breakfast. Already, he was planning on keeping his Beauty inside the castle, and how to sway her to stay at his side for as long as possible. 

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A/N~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter of The Beast of Rose Castle! It would be wonderful if you would comment below on how things are progressing and what you think of this new side of the Beast and the new characters being introduced! 

Here are so pronunciations! 

Cyd (S-ai- duh)

Rozalin (Ruh-oz-ah-luh-een)