The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 12 =-

"If I am to call you- Annelie, then you must call me by my own name. I am Navini," the maid instructed. 

Annelie's wide smile grew and she nodded her head. "Alright, Navini," she murmured in confirmation. The girl, with dark chocolate skin and bright blue eyes, seemed to glow with happiness. She suddenly quickened in her work, finishing up cleaning in a few hurried movements. 

"I must be getting back to cleaning," she began. 

Annelie grabbed her hand, fingers light and deeply contrasting against the back of Navini's hand. "Hmm. Would anyone really yell at you for assisting me back to some part of the castle that I understand and know?" she asked slowly. The maid stared at her for a long moment before her face split into a smile. 

"No, I don't believe that they would be angry if I was assisting you, Annelie," the girl replied with a soft laugh. It was a sweet laugh, and rusty, as if it wasn't often brought forth out of her. Just the thought brought Annelie sadness, but she quickly brushed away the thought. She needed to be happy, if it was only for Navini's benefit. 

With a nod of her head, Annelie wrung her cloth for the last time and set the bucket to her side. She took her cloth and hung it over one of the doors. Soon after, Navini did the same with her cloth, so that they would dry. "I will need to come back and get these, though," she commented aloud. Annelie nodded her head and looked to the hallway. "Well, I guess we get started this way then," she murmured to Annelie with a quick hand motion down the long hallway. 

---

It had been impossible for the Beast to forget about his Beauty, even as he trudged down the hall. He had left her there, feeling conflicted. 

He knew if he had stayed, he would have eventually dragged her into one of the bedrooms and betrayed her trust. Leaving left him feeling more frustrated than he ever had before. Sure, there had been girls who had caught his eye over the years, but he had felt no need to do anything with any of them. 

However, with Annelie, things were strange. He couldn't ignore her, or the smile that could curl her lips when she was happy. Then, there was the way she had reacted to his kiss. Her body had pressed against his. It had not just been him who had wanted to get closer to her. 

The Beast was left feeling like shouting at something, especially the maid that had ruined what they had been doing. If only he had just a little bit longer...

More emotions fought at each other. It was an all-out war that left his mouth turned down in a harsh scowl. No one seemed to be in the halls, or if they had been had quickly run for the hills at the menacing sight he made. His hands were curled into fists and his eyes were sparkling like a fire had started burning inside him. 

Oh, it felt as if he was on fire, but in the best of ways. If only I had been able to find out if my Beauty feels the same, he thought with a slow smirk moving across his lips. Oh, and what I would have done with such a fire! 

He shook his head quickly, knowing such a thought process would only make him more frustrated. Instead, he focused on the sounds of his footsteps hitting the stone ground again and again. 

Before long, he made it back to the East Wing, to his room. Once inside, he slammed shut the door, uncaring that is sounded loud in such strange silence. 

The Beast turned and he walked across the room, his mind set on writing once more in his book. It was the best way for him to expel his emotions without anyone else getting hurt in the process. 

However, as he got to his desk, he stared at the empty space where his book had been. He began to sift through his things, searching with widening eyes. Where is it? Where did it go? I set it right here, damn it, he thought with a sudden anger that he couldn't control. He threw aside the ink, hurting the shattering of it against the wall. Paint sprayed across the surface, an ugly stain against the wall. 

His chest rose and fell quickly as he stared down at the ground, gritting his teeth. Someone had taken his book, he was sure of it. Whoever took it will pay, he thought. Oh, they will most definitely pay! 

---

Annelie arrived back to her room, having fun just talking to Navini as they had walked. She had been told a lot about the castle in that short span of time. Of course, Navini didn't really talk too much about herself, rather avoiding personal conversation. She even refused to ask about Annelie's life. 

Yet, she knew about how the castle had been there for over three hundred years, and had been first erected by a distant relation to the Beast. It seemed that the Beast was in fact, a prince, if anything. It was strange how he wasn't recognized as such, but when Annelie had tried to ask Navini about it, the girl had turned pale and shook her head back and forth rapidly. "No, I must not talk about such things, the Master would not like it," she explained hurriedly. 

It had gone silent for a minute before Navini started to talk about some of the easier topics concerning the castle. Annelie didn't bring the Beast back up again, worried she would scare Navini off if she tried. 

Her room was different than she had left it. The clothes were neatly put back in the wardrobe, and her bed was put back to order. She walked over to it, finding a strange indent in the fabric. 

On closer inspection, Annelie picked up a leather-bound book. It seemed ancient almost. Yet, it seemed to have not the wear of being an ancient book. She stared at it for a few long moments, debating on what to do with it. 

A sigh left her as she sat down on her bed and decided to open the book. Maybe it is something my mother wanted to give me or was one of the servants, she thought with a soft smile stretching across her face. The only way to find out is to read it, I suppose. 

There once was a Prince. He lived in a castle, newly constructed with a beautiful forest encasing it. 

He was handsome, strong, and unbelievably intelligent. Yet, he was selfish. The man refused to let anyone from the outside explore inside the castle halls, deeming them unworthy to enter his domain. 

He would leave his castle once in awhile to observe the town nearby, searching for a wife. See, he was to be made into the King of the castle as soon as he could find someone suitable for the title of queen. 

For years, he had been searching, ever since his parents died when he was sixteen years old. Both were killed in a strange accident that was never fully explained. All he knew was that they had died, and left him alone with only the servants to keep him company in his castle. This made the Prince angry, resenting what they had condemned him to. 

He had yet to turn twenty when he saw a stunning woman in a poorly crafted dress. She stood in front of a cabin, humming softly. Her hands were busy hanging up more clothes that resembled hers, ripped, and patched together with many different colored cloths. 

Disgusted to find such a woman among such squalor he approached her with long, hurried strides. Once she turned to look at him, her wide golden brown eyes stared at him in stunned silence, he cleared his throat. "You shall be my wife. We will marry before my twentieth birthday," he proclaimed with wide gestures and a cocky grin. 

"No! Please! I must care for my brother! He is ill- I cannot," she begged him with tears pooling in her eyes. He clucked his tongue, looking at her horrible surroundings. 

"You have just one day to gather your belongings and head to my castle. If you do not come by then, I will return to this wretched building and see it myself that you are to be my wife," he snapped out. With a flick of his head, he turned and walked away, a brooding look coming into his eyes. 

So, the Prince waited a night which he could not sleep. He was eager to take the poor girl as his wife and wouldn't have no for an answer.