Evermore

I.

A/N: I wasn't supposed to post this story until it was finished, but I just couldn't help myself. This has been brewing inside my head for so long that I decided to give it a go lest it rob me of my sanity. For all those who already know me, this isn't going to be as long as "The Time-Turner". This was actually supposed to be a one-shot, but I'm not very good at those, so this is still going to be a multi-chaptered piece. 

By the way, anyone following TTT should rest assured that I'm already working on the next chapter. It's going to have an ending, no matter how long it takes :)

I hope you all like this one!

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He watched as the snowflakes drifted down to cover his garden. How he wished he could see her there, strolling down the pathway or going for her morning ride or even just picking a flower or two for his dinner table and study. But he knew that such a view would probably never be granted him again. He had set her free and who in their right mind would come back to their captor...especially when he looked like a monster?

Truth be told, it wasn't he who had held her captive. The Manor did that, due to a long-forgotten curse. And a month ago, he had finally figured out how to break it. It was a good thing, too, that he was able to perform the required rituals without a hitch. Good for her, at least, because nothing could have been worse for him. He'd been miserable since the day she left. In fact, he had spent more time perched on the balcony of the West wing tower room than anywhere else inside the manor. The tower gave him a clear, unobstructed view of the entrance to the estate, the one place that could bring him back to life. If only one slight figure would slip through its gates again...

And so, that's what he'd been doing all this time, watching, waiting, and hoping against hope that she would return to him. That in spite of everything that had happened between them, in spite of their not so pain-free history, she would come back and never, ever leave him again...

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Video Credits: "Evermore" from "Beauty and the Beast" (Music video by Dan Stevens performing Evermore. (C) 2017 Walt Disney Records)