The Beast of Rose Castle

-= 16 =-

A/N ~ Honestly, these chapters with Cassius are necessary so that you just don't snub him off as 'just another romantic rival' or 'Ew it is just Gaston! Creep!'. Why do I say this? Well, dear readers, it has come to my attention that people are just skipping over his dedicated eighth chapter!

Please, give Cassius a chance to grow! Give him some love and affection too, because whether you like him or not, he is a character as well as anyone else! Also, his part is essential to the rest of the story!

I would also like to point out the fact that Beauty and the Beast didn't just take place in the Beast's castle! It also explored the pub where Gaston frequented and gave away his evil plans and the town where Belle lived!

So, I plead, read this chapter and give the poor man a chance! I actually love him as a character, but that may also be because I know how the story is going to end... ;)

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While the Beast brooded and Annelie rested in the early morning turning afternoon for the first time in such a long time, Cassius was stringing his bow on the edge of his bed. He carefully lined the string and pulled it through a small hole he had carefully chiseled through the wooden frame. With precise movement he pulled the string through, tying it around the one end so that the string was taut. 

He breathed out a sigh of relief as he set down the crafted bow, wiping his forehead. It was very stressful when he was making his own weapons. It only got worse during the winter when finding new supplies for building became harder and supplies became scarcer. 

One hand ran through his dark brown hair, messing it up once more as he stared at the wooden floor his booted feet were pressed against. 

Dread at going outside filled him, but they were quickly running out of firewood. Somehow, they were losing supplies at a swifter pace than they had in previous years. It was probably due to the plague that wiped through several of the towns that surrounded Vell over the past summer and autumn. 

Cassius rose from his seated position on his bed, leaving the wrinkled fur pelts behind. His hands brushed down over his clothes absentmindedly as he walked towards his thick wooden door. It was ever so slightly ajar, making it easy to hear the loud exclamations coming from the children down the stairs and down the long hallway. 

The sounds brought an amused smile to his face to hear them running around and the keen noise of Missus Circe shouting at the top of her lungs for them to calm down. 

A chuckle even dared to escape him, his deep blue eyes softening slowly. He opened his door and started down the long hallway, his long strides carrying him far. Two boys sprinted past, nearly bumping into him in their giddy excitement. "Sorry, Cassius!" one of them called out. 

The other laughed loudly before pausing for a second. "Yeah!" he added in. Then, they were both gone. 

Cassius shook his head at them, but a smile was clear on his face. It caused two dimples to pop out of his cheeks, another one of his charming features.

His heavy boots hit the ground as he made his way down the stairs, giving a warning to anyone else that could possibly run up them. When he was finally down, he noticed the girls clustered together, most of them around the same young ages. Only a few were older and they were locked in their rooms, only coming out to assist Missus Circe before once more locking themselves away from the other orphans. 

The big man strode into the kitchen where Circe stood at a boiling metal pot that hung in the fireplace. Automatically, he leaned his shoulder against the open doorway, the hairs of his head brushing against the arch of the doorway. "Would you just look at that," he called out teasingly. "There is Missus Circe practically slaving away over there!" He nudged a boy that had hurried over at the sound of Cassius speaking aloud.