Jennie woke up to the sounds of music.
The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her suite.
She couldn't fall asleep, so after a lot of tossing and turning, she had decided to go to the library. She had gone to the middle floor of the library where there were computers.
Turning one of them on, she had begun to look up information on the beast to help her with the upcoming days.
She had spent a lot of time searching, but unfortunately, there wasn't much information.
Not wanting to give up, she had continued to search until she was exhausted and decided to take a brief break by taking a small nap.
She must have fallen into a deep sleep. And now she was stuck in the library with someone playing the piano downstairs.
Was it the beast? Should she remain where she was until the music stopped and whoever it was left the library?
The music was hauntingly beautiful, but she couldn't see who was playing as the piano was in a corner, shrouded in shadows.
Not wanting to interrupt, she went down the stairs with softly padded steps. But despite her carefulness, the wooden steps creaked slightly.
She froze when the music came to an abrupt stop. And she jumped when she heard a deep voice snapping.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
She couldn't see him because he was seated in the dark within the shadows, but she knew it was him. The beast.
"I-I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read. I fell asleep while reading here."
Jennie shifted uncomfortably when the ominous silence stretched. A soft click had the library lit up with soft lighting.
He watched her in silence. She flinched when he reached his scarred hand towards her. The hand didn't touch her, but she held her breath wondering if he would strike her in anger or worse.
"You can't even stop flinching and jumping in fear when you see my face or when you think I'm touching you. And you think you can be my bride?"
She frowned. She didn't flinch because of his face. She flinched because he was being a scary, rude asshole to her, and she thought he might strike her.
"You don't scare me," she said, in a voice that sounded slightly louder than a whisper.
He didn't say anything. He gave her a sweeping look before dismissing her and walking up the stairs.
Jennie sat stood frozen in the library until much later.
Oh God. What did I sign up for?