The next morning, Beldon woke up with a jolt, sitting up, wide eyed, his mind confused and terrified for a mere moment before the night flooded back into sharp focus.
He collapsed back against the pillows, tugging the heavy cover over his head, then frowned, opening his eyes. He didn't remember getting into bed.
He remembered getting on the bed and lying down... but he didn't remember un-tucking the covers and sliding under them.
He looked down at himself and sat bolt upright again, throwing the covers off. He didn't remember changing into a nightshirt either! Someone had undressed and redressed him in the middle of the night!
Who? What?
"Vanessa!" he shouted, stumbling out of bed, almost falling into the dressing room. He stopped, staring.
All the dresses were gone, everything that would belong to a woman, nothing, just empty racks reflected in mirrors.
Vanessa appeared in the reflection of her golden mirror, eyes wide in worry – and it barely crossed Beldon's mind that he had called to a mirror for help before he tugged at his shirt.
"Who changed me?" he demanded, flushing at the idea. Honestly, it was one thing to change in front of other men but it was quite another to be changed without your knowledge with who-knew-who-else in the room. "Was it you?"
Vanessa also flushed. "Certainly not, Beldon, it would have been Iago – one of the valets. You fell asleep in your clothes and he would not have been able to stand that, he's very particular in his ways. He would have changed you and put you to bed. You were so tired last night, my dear, you fell asleep almost as soon as you lay down. You didn't even stir as we put away the clothes."
She suddenly walked out of her mirror and appeared in one beside him, making him stagger backwards but she just walked past.
"Your breakfast has been set out for you, I hope you have an appetite, though you did eat rather late last night. And we have clothes for when you are ready to change."
Beldon looked around the room.
"Where's The B... your master?" he asked, checking himself – the staff perhaps would not take kindly to Beldon's name for The Master, but seeing as he had not given Beldon a name and he certainly wasn't going to call him The Master, The Beast would suffice.
"The Master?" Vanessa copied, looking at him, "Oh, I could not tell you. As you might imagine, with my place in this room and his free to roam wherever he so chooses, I have little knowledge as to his whereabouts, you'd do best asking after his personal staff."
Beldon let out a breath, turning to the table, a new covered platter on the table. Lifting it, he revealed a luscious breakfast of pastries, sweet and savoury, breads, meats and cheeses. There was also an assortment of juices and hot drinks laid out on another table. It was all too much for him alone.
"What should I do today?" he asked as he took a seat. "May I look around the castle and grounds?"
"Of course," Vanessa said, appearing in a small mirror on the table beside him, "Would you care for a tour?"
"No, I like to wander at my own pace. Will I meet anyone else?"
"Perhaps, it depends on who wishes to be met."
"Do others know I'm here?"
"Oh yes," Vanessa said, "Every one will know you are here by now. The young man who surprised The Master and gave himself up for the sake of his sisters' freedom, yes everyone knows you are here."
Beldon looked down as he picked out a pastry.
"Why did you choose to take your sisters' place?" Vanessa asked as he took a bite.
Beldon looked at her. "Why? Do I need a reason?"
"Do you not have one?"
Beldon looked at her for a moment, then looked down, his appetite suddenly not quite so distinct. He lowered his hand, looking down at his plate.
There was a long silence then, just as he opened his mouth, Vanessa cut in.
"The clothing you can wear today as we organise a new wardrobe can be found in the room next door to the dressing room." Beldon looked at her and she smiled at him. "Take your time to eat. You have gone through a lot. Would you care for juice? Or maybe tea?"
"Tea, if there is some," Beldon said, turning in his seat to look at the drinks table. He almost dropped the pastry.
There was a teapot and it was moving around on its own. Sliding forwards, a teacup skidding into place in front of it and Beldon watched as the tea was made without anyone there... yet everything moved as if someone was standing just behind the table.
"Is there someone there who I cannot see?" Beldon hissed to Vanessa, not daring to take his eyes off the teacup as it lifted from the table and sat down in front of him.
She laughed slightly. "No, there is no one there, merely one of the tricks of the castle."
"I'm not seeing things?"
"Either that or this is a very well thought out delusion."
"That doesn't help," Beldon said, considering insanity had already come to mind.
Vanessa just smiled again. "Change when you have finished eating," she simply said.
Beldon looked back at his plate, taking another bite of the pastry. It was like being ordered around by a mother. He looked towards the window, chewing slowly. It had been a while since he had been ordered around by a mother figure. The governesses he hadn't seen much, their attention had been on his sisters and he had spent most of his educational life in boarding school...
He rested his chin in his palm, looking at the sky. That was where he should have returned too. He should have started university but then finance got in the way. How he would have loved to of attended university to study law. The first son not to attend university... how would he ever face Raoul again?
"You may walk the grounds, but you never again walk beyond the edge of the forest and leave my land."
The Beast's words echoed in his head and he pushed his food away from him, standing up.
Of course, if The Beast truly meant those words, he would never see Raoul again anyway. The thought made his chest ache and his face creased in pain before walking to the room beside the dressing room as Vanessa had indicated.
He stopped at the doorway.
A tailored pair of black trousers were hung up to one side. A gleaming pair of boots were set on the floor below the trousers. A crisp white shirt with billowing sleeves was hung up on the other side of the room, along side a fitted black waistcoat. Fine leather gloves were laid out on a table, next to fresh socks and a neck-chief.
But they were just everyday clothes for him. It was the final item that caught his attention.
A mannequin stood in the centre of the room, and a coat of the most glorious quality was hung upon it. Made of a heavy dark green velvet, it had a high collar and thick cuffs. It was outlined with gold; roses stitched with painstaking care into the front of the coat, designs weaving around the cuffs, golden bands hemming the collar.
Beldon stared at it, slowly walking forwards, his fingers reaching forwards to brush the front of the coat.
Would he not be the centre of attention at any party in such a coat? He gripped the sleeves, staring for a long moment, before closing his eyes and stepping away, throwing his nightshirt aside and getting dressed.
A few minutes later he walked out again. Everything fit perfectly. The slim fitting trousers were so comfortable; he couldn't believe they had been made for anyone but him. The same went for the boots that laced up his calves. They were flexible but solid, with a small heel, good for riding in, which he was grateful for. He left the shirt untucked – a habit he had started when he had moved to the country (it had driven Antoinette half mad) – and used a belt around his hips to stop it from getting in the way. The billowing sleeves he rolled up to just under his elbow to get them out of the way and he buttoned the waistcoat, which also had to be tailored it cut close to his slim waist.
He glanced at himself as he walked out of the room, looking towards one of the rectangle mirrors. He looked like he always had back when his family had wealth. The sight gave him a flash of comfort and he reached up, tying his hair back.
"You have not put on the coat," Vanessa observed from her oval mirror. "It is not to your taste?"
"Not at all, it is incredible, the type that would impress any one who stumbled by," Beldon said as he walked to the doors.
"Then why have you not tried it on?" she asked, watching him go.
Beldon looked at her then smiled as he opened one of the doors. "Exactly whom do I have to impress here, Vanessa?" he asked with a slight laugh, before nodding and walking out, gently closing the door behind him.
~~~~
Beldon spent the entire morning walking the East Wing alone, it was huge and apparently all his, he couldn't imagine he'd spend much time in half of it. He didn't meet anyone on his travels but the rooms didn't fail to amaze him.
Dining rooms, ballrooms, morning rooms and day rooms. Evening rooms, music rooms, games rooms and reading rooms. There was a ladies parlour all ready for use and a men's room that was dark and dusty. There were gardens and pools and even streams within the rooms, weaving between rooms and corridors, feeding the ever-present roses. There was a study room, an astronomy tower and a library that left him speechless – filled with thousands of books on every topic and every genre.
By the time it was lunch, he was exhausted, the stairs seemed unending and he hadn't even started looking around the rest of the castle.
"You can't live here alone, Beast," Beldon muttered to himself, dropping down at the top of the flight of steps that led down into the grand entrance hall. He looked to the high arching ceiling and the floors along the way up.
The castle was so quiet. Throughout the morning, all he had heard was the sound of himself and the occasional breeze through an open window.
"Isn't there anyone else here?" he called, his voice echoing around him, "Beast? Or the staff?"
He stood up, looking towards the stairs that led to the West Wing – he could only assume that was where The Beast lived if the East Wing was his.
"Aren't you lonely, Beast?" he called.
Silence answered him.
"Fine," he muttered, frowning, "I shall wait until dinner."