The Beast (12 page)

“No, my gender does not change my title. I am still a Hunter. The church did not want the distinction to be made. They feared that it would encourage other women to follow.” The unfolding honesty left Belle feeling light and bold. “May I ask a question, your Royal Highness?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you carry me here and…how did I get back into my own clothes?” Belle reached up to move a strand of hair and realized that her hair was fully done up. Now that was impossible.

“Carry you? No, mademoiselle, I didn’t carry you.” The Prince shifted uncomfortably.

“Then how did I get here?”

“You’re not really here.” He paused, a strange look on his face. “This isn’t real. It’s a dream.”

Belle’s hand dropped. “Excusez-moi?”

“It’s complicated. So please bear with me.” His chest extended with a deep breath. “We call it moon dreaming. You are in a dream setting of my creation.” At the sight of her disbelief, Aleksander pushed on. “Touch the fire, feel the flames. You cannot be burned here.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had this Prince Regent lost his mind? The openness had returned to Aleksander’s face. In fact, his eyes appeared to be daring her. Glancing between him and the fire, she decided to give it a try. He’d be easy enough to prove wrong.

Belle stepped over to the fire and knelt before it. Heat seeped through her skirts, warm and tingly. She removed her glove, then hovered her bare hand inches from the flame. The heat pressed against her skin but didn’t burn. She reached further and the flames licked around her fingers…but there was no pain. Warmth, but nothing more.

“It’s not real,” she said with astonishment and stood. “It is a dream. Forgive my repetition, but how?”

“I cannot meet you in person. When my kingdom was cursed, I was…” Aleksander searched for the right word. “Imprisoned. But since then, I discovered the ability to moon dream and pull others into them. It is the only way I’m able to have contact with others and it’s how I rule my kingdom.”

“You’re imprisoned?” This alarmed Belle. She immediately felt the instinct to help him. “Who imprisoned you? Someone in this castle? Tell me, I can help.”

He put up a hand, silencing her. “No, I cannot be helped. What has taken me is a terrible, truly evil thing.”

Evil thing
. “My father said there was something evil here.”

Aleksander nodded. “He’s right. There is nothing that can be done for me now, but I at least have freedom here.”

Though he gestured to his room, Belle recognized the falsehood in his words. This wasn’t freedom, and he knew it. He may be refusing her help, but that didn’t stop her from investigating.

So she played her question to be mere curiosity. “Where are you now?”

“In the waking world, you and I are sleeping,” he answered, misconstruing her question.

“Your Royal Highness, I must ask.” Belle stepped closer to him. If he wouldn’t tell her where he was imprisoned, he could give her other answers. “How was your castle not affected by the…curse? What happened to your kingdom and why has nothing been done about it?”

“I am sorry, mademoiselle.” Aleksander touched his chest. “I brought you here to find out who
you
were. We had every reason to distrust you, but in this evening I’ve realized that you are not what we had thought.”

“What did you think I was?” Belle tilted her head, thoroughly surprised by the odd response.

“I would like to tell you, but you’re waking up,” The Prince said with chagrin. “I’m trying to keep you here, but your body is pulling you back.”

“But…” Belle looked down at herself. She looked the same. She felt the same. “What about my questions?”

“Do not worry, mademoiselle, I vow to bring you back here tomorrow night and I will answer all of your questions.” With this, he bowed.

“Time to rise, mademoiselle,” lilted Edvina’s voice. “It is late into the morning and I cannot allow you to sleep any longer. Young ladies should not spend the day in bed. People will talk.”

Belle forced open one eye to see the curvaceous woman tying back the canopy drapes. She quickly shut her eye again and pressed her face into her pillow. Her dream came back to her then in vivid detail. It felt so real. She could even recall the sound of Prince Aleksander’s voice and the light blues in his eyes. Had her mind invented the whole thing? Perhaps that’s what happened when one spent the night in a cursed castle.

There was a soft knock at the door and Edvina called for the person to enter. Belle heard the careful, but fast footsteps that followed. She once more popped open an eye as the smell of cooked meats and coffee reached her. A young lady in plain clothes quickly set a small table near the fireplace. When she finished the task, she spared a glance at Belle. Red colored her cheeks when she realized she’d been caught. Averting her eyes, she bowed and left the room.

“Come now, Dear.” Edvina patted Belle’s leg through the covers. “That food had to be walked all the way up from the kitchens. Wait too long and it’ll be cold.”

With an accepting sigh, Belle pushed herself up from the bed. Edvina was there right away with a thick robe to wrap around her. Belle pulled it tight, rubbing her cheeks against the fabric, and sat at the table. As Edvina poured her a cup of the steaming coffee, Belle grabbed a croissant from a mounded pastry dish. She dipped it into her coffee and took a bite, enjoying the robust flavors.

“Have you had breakfast yet today, madame?” Belle asked while Edvina, set to making the bed.

“Please, Dear, call me Edvina. I can’t stand to be called madame.” She smacked a pillow several times with surprising force. “I’ll have my breakfast when my duties are done.”

Belle sipped her coffee, burning her mouth a bit. “Please, sit and eat with me then. There’s more food here than I can eat and
I
can’t stand to eat while someone else works.”

Edvina stood, placing a hand on her round hip and cocked an eyebrow. “You insist?”

“Absolutely. I’ll just die if I don’t get my way,” Belle lied with a half-grin.

“Well, we can’t have that.” She came over, taking the chair from the vanity to sit across from her. “Mm, everything smells wonderful. A terrible taunt for one’s stomach.”

“Too true.” Belle plopped the last of her pastry into her mouth. She rolled it around on her tongue, savoring the fluffy bread.

Conversation flowed easily between Belle and Edvina like they were old friends. Edvina did most of the talking but asked many questions about Belle’s life back home. The topics stayed light, never once drifting to grimmer things.

About halfway through their meal a troupe of maids came with hot water to fill Belle’s bathtub. It actually confused Belle at first, given that she was so used to a tub that filled itself. When she mentioned this to Edvina, the woman was fascinated and wanted to know all about Belle’s modern conveniences.

“Bonjour, mademoiselle.” Laramie followed one of the maids, carrying a tray of bathing items, and stopped in the doorway. This time he appeared fully rested and his clothes were in impeccable order. “Pardonnez-moi. Edvina, a moment?”

Setting her coffee down, Edvina joined Laramie in the doorway. The two proceeded to talk in hushed whispers. Belle wiped her mouth on a napkin and watched the maid unload her tray onto a side table. It was an assortment of soaps for Belle to choose from.

“Excusez-moi, what is that?” Belle asked the maid, pointing to one tiny unmarked bottle.

“Rose oil, mademoiselle,” she said timidly, then finished emptying her tray and left as a different maid came in with yet another bucket of water.

“Rose oil?” Belle interrupted Laramie and Edvina. They both looked at her in confusion. “Why is there rose oil for my bathwater?”

Edvina smiled gleefully. “His Royal Highness said you smelled like roses and—” Laramie grabbed her arm, cutting off her words. She gave him the nastiest of glares as he spoke for her. “She means that
I
said you smelled like roses and the prince made the suggestion to send rose oil for your bath.”

Edvina’s eyes quickly widened, then she admitted sheepishly, “Yes, of course, that’s what I meant.”

“I see.” Ignoring the look passing between the two, Belle thought again of her dream. “I had a dream about his Royal Highness last night.”

“Hmph, no surprise there. A pretty thing like you, the Prince
would
visit you straightaway,” Edvina grumbled, walking over to the bed to finish the job she’d started earlier. “Just once I’d like to moon dream with him.”

Moon dream
. Belle gasped. That’s what the Prince had called his visit in her dream. “You mean the dream actually was real?”

“Yes, mademoiselle, it was real.” There was no jest in Laramie’s eyes. As this new reality sunk in, he bowed. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going.”

“Oh wait!” Belle stopped him. “I’d like to check on my horse if I could, and maybe take him for a walk.”

He frowned. “I’m afraid you’re restricted to your room for now, but I’ll see if I can get permission. I see no real harm in that.”

Belle was dismayed. She’d really thought that after her meeting with the Prince, she was no longer a prisoner. Then again, he’d have to be careful, wouldn’t he? First impressions can always be deceiving.

She smiled halfheartedly at Laramie. “Thank you, I’d much appreciate that.”

Even though Belle never left her room, the morning went by in a flurry. After her bath, Edvina brought a stylist for her hair and a seamstress to get her measurements. All the while, Edvina was her hostess and activity coordinator. She spoke freely about nearly anything that popped in her head, except when Belle pried about the curse or the Prince’s imprisonment. Then she was suddenly too busy commanding servants to answer.

The staff all had interesting reactions to Belle’s presence. Some were nervous, others were afraid, but many were eager to just be near her. No one spoke out of turn though and when any of them got to gawking, Edvina was quick to snap them back to work.

“Apologies, mademoiselle. It has been a long time since we’ve had anyone new in the castle. People are simply excited,” the Majordome whispered to Belle as the seamstress laid blue fabric over her shoulder and examined the effect in the mirror, then changed it for something gold.

Belle smiled softly in reply. It was all a bit overwhelming. Her normal morning routine was quiet; just Belle and Pixie as she readied. Her mechanical Governess did all that the castle needed a dozen royal servants to do. But then, Belle enjoyed the company and having someone to talk hair and clothes with. Her life had become so dominated by male presences that Belle had forgotten how wonderful female companionship could be.

A figure followed in the distance. Belle ignored him. It was only a guard; one of two that accompanied her. The courtyard was entirely empty otherwise, which Belle figured might have been by design. Still, she was grateful they’d given her permission to walk Charming.

She was so relieved to find him well. Belle had examined him thoroughly, searching for some sign of mistreatment. Instead, she found that her stallion was in good temper and his coat shined, as though they’d brushed him all through the night. He’d nuzzled her affectionately when they reunited, nickering like a worried mare. Now he was more interested in the rose vines that clung to the outer wall.

Belle rapped his nose lightly with her knuckles, discouraging him from eating one of the blossoming flowers. They were everywhere, completely surrounding the castle grounds. The outer wall was too high for a person to climb, but not too high for these roses. The red and green was lovely against the gray stone and snowy terrain.

The roses didn’t just stake claim to the outer wall though. They worked their way up the castle walls too. Her eyes followed the vines up and up, till they wrapped around the archway and railings of a balcony many floors up.