Steel Roses

Beauty

Beldon sat out on one of his balconies that night, cold moonlight shimmering down on him, a soft winter wind tugging at his hair and shirt. 

He heard Vanessa walk past, rearranging her roses again. She had been delighted by them, she just couldn't decide how to display them and this was her fourth trip around with the bouquet.

"Vanessa," he said softly as she marched past again, making her stop mid-step.

"Yes dear?"

"The Beast..."

"Did he say something again?" she asked, coming out to the full length mirror that was set out on that particular balcony, taking a seat on the reflection of the spare chair.

"He said... you could tell me something about Beauty."

Vanessa looked at him in complete and utter shock. "The Master? The Master himself told you to ask me? He gave you instructions?"

"Strange, isn't it?" Beldon said, smiling at her, resting his cheek on his knuckles. "Considering how secretive he can be. But then, maybe it's just that he's not good at conversation, so it's easier to have someone else do it for him."

Vanessa nodded as she considered that. "That's probably the reason, I suspect," she said.

"So, can you tell me anything about this Beauty? Who is she?

Vanessa smiled. "Ah, now if we knew that, everything would have been fixed a long time ago."

Beldon tilted his head to the side and Vanessa looked out over the pasture, towards the orchards.

"Beauty will break the curse and make everything better," Vanessa said simply. She smiled, "It will certainly be nice to walk beyond the mirror world again." She looked at him. "Beauty is someone who will see beyond The Master's face, beyond those obvious personality flaws and cause his change into something better. Of course, the problem is we don't even know if she's born yet, that freedom could be a long time in coming."

Beldon blinked, staring at her. "Wait... not even born yet? How long have you been waiting for her?"

"Oh goodness," Vanessa said, "how long indeed, I can't even remember, you'll have to ask Iago, he keeps time." She shook her head. "Too long is all I know, far too long."

"Then roughly how old is The Beast?" Beldon said.

"Well... the last time I saw him in his true form, he was twenty-one, add that to however long we've been stuck like this and you'll have your answer. I can't be sure though, though he looks the way he does now, his appearance hasn't changed in the slightest since that horrible day when everything changed."

"What... did happen?" Beldon asked slowly and Vanessa looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Now The Master hasn't given permission for you to learn about that," she said with a smile. "Just about Beauty. And I've told you, Beauty will free his curse."

"Does he leave the castle each day? Is that why I almost never see him?"

"Oh no," Vanessa said, "the first time he went beyond the edges of that pasture since the curse fell was when he left out to find you."

"How can he possibly find Beauty then?"

"There is a mirror," Vanessa said, "in The Master's quarters. Should you look into it, it shows you what you desire at that moment. Every day he stands before that mirror and looks... looks out across the world he is no longer part of, looks to see how the world has moved on, how he is remembered... looks for Beauty."