Beauty and Her Beasty

Dinner Is Served

Willow's Point of View

Clarkson and myself were ushered away into the nearby dining area while the chefs were at work. The dining hall was exquisitely decorated with various tapestries and pattens covering the walls. In the center of the room was a massive dining table draped with a velvet red colored cloth that was soft to the touch. At the far end of the room a lone piano surrounded by an array of potted plants sat waiting to be used.

Again I found myself marveling at this elegant room being housed in this palace. The brightness of it as well as the kitchen did not fit my view of the castle when I arrived.

Clarkson then led me to a near by chair and pushed me in as I sat down. He then looked hesitant for a second before rushing out of the room yelling back a short, "One minute Lady Willow!"

Curious I thought if I should follow him, however before I could, a swarm of elves marched into the room carrying stacks upon stacks of hooded plates.

Odessa commanded the group around ordering them to put this here and that there, all the while I gawked at the sight. Never before in my life had this amount of food been present to me at once. I don't even think I have had this much in my cottage on any given time!

Odessa broke me from my thoughts, "Your dinner is served." She curtsied and each of the elves lifted the hoods off of the trays in unison.

Scented steam erupted from the plates making its way to my nose. Before me were various fresh breads and butter, along with chunks of cheese and seasoned meats. In the center of the plates was a basket of fresh fruits and, oh my! Oranges! I hadn't seen let alone tasted an orange in forever! They were so hard to find in the village despite and Andre's best efforts he was always unable to get one for me. Now I had five of the sweet orange orbs laid out before me. I couldn't help but squeal with delight!

However my giddiness was interrupted by Clarkson pulling a male elf who was built much like Portia into the dinning room. Odessa glared at his interruption of her presentation of the food.

Clarkson ignored her and said slightly out of breath, "Lady Willow say hello to Hue the pianist."

Hue was a plump elf with a button up shirt that was much too small for him, causing his belly to pop out slightly. He had a neat brown mustache that took up the entire width of his face, and drooped down as he looked at Clarkson annoyed.

"Nice to meet you Hue." I said sweetly.

"Yes," Clarkson answered for him, "Now Lady Willow, Hue would like to play a song for you on the piano. Wouldn't you Hue?"

Hue opened his mouth to begin to say what sounded like no before Clarkson shot him a death glare, "Yes! Yes I would!" Hue agreed hastily now.

"Good then go play. We would like to make Lady Willow feel welcome!" Clarkson clapped his hands as Hue scurried to the piano.

"Are you finished?" Odessa sneered.

"Of course." Clarkson rolled his eyes.

"Good." Odessa the turned her gaze to me and it softened drastically. "You may enjoy your meal." She curtsied and the ushered the other elves off of the table.

The meal was fabulous! I gorged myself on bites of everything in sight, fully understanding the depth of my hunger now. Meanwhile I was treated to the pleasant tunes that Hue was fingering away on the piano. Odessa chirped in every now and then to point out something fascinating about the dishes. Clarkson escorted most of the elves back towards the kitchen.

After who knows how long, I was finally full and dropped my silverware neatly onto my plate.

Odessa looked proud at her accomplishment of ending my hunger. "Did you like?" She asked hopefully.

I smiled, sitting up in the chair, "Yes it was divine."

Odessa did a happy spin. "Oh it has been so long since I have heard those words!"

Before I could question why, she snapped her fingers and then directed the remainder of the elves to gather the trays of food. She then back flipped from the table and marched the others from the dinning room.

In seconds the music stopped and I watched as Hue stumbled from the piano bench and followed them from the room.

"Your music was splendid!" I called after him, but he was already too far away. I'd have to tell him later.

Before too long Clarkson arrived and went back to being my guide. On our walk back to my room he asked if I had enjoyed dinner, and Hue's music. I explained that I did in fact love it but it was so much different than what I was used to. A typical dinner at my cottage would be Andre and I chatting while sharing a loaf of bread and a milk jug. I mentioned how delicious the orange was and that I hadn't seen one in forever. He grinned proudly, enjoying my compliments on the service.

That's when I noticed a splatter of something on his chest. He explained it was from Odessa "accidentally" spilling melted cheese onto him, so the rest of our chat was him rambling on about how it absolutely wasn't an accident and he would get her back. I chuckled nervously at the thought of what his future pay back would be.

Eventually we made it back to the room. But before he opened the door Clarkson gave me a comforting look. "Are you okay to go back in now?" He asked looking me kindly in the eyes.

I could tell that Clarkson did not want to see me collapse in sorrow again. So I took a deep breath and gave him a half smile "Yes I am. Thank you very much for making me feel better."

He smiled back and after a brief moment he pushed open the door. I followed him inside shutting it behind me and to my shock, the Beast was awake and sitting upright in the bed, his arms thick with bandages. He snapped his head towards our direction, and locked his ice blue eyes with my own. Portia's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously at us.

I gulped.

"Where have you been?" The Beast growled.