Tale as Old as Time | ✓

Beast

The Beast sat at the gardens as he read a book. He wasn't aware as he was busy reading that Ella had walked over to him and looked up as she sat beside him and asked, "What are you reading?" He was startled by her voice as he quickly closed the book and looked everywhere else but her. He muttered quietly as he shook his head, "Nothing."

Ella looked at the book cover and sang out loud, "Guinevere and Lancelot." The Beast stuttered as he turned to look at her and shook his head as he told her, "King Arthur and the Round Table," Ella tried to look interested in his reasons as he continued, "Knights, men, swords and so on." He mumbled as she looked ahead. She smiled cheekily at him as she uttered, "But, still it's a romance." The Beast huffed out as he gave up and agreed, "Alright."

He chuckled as he looked at her but, stopped as she slowly mumbled, "I never thanked you for saving my life." He shook his head as he looked at her said, "Well, I never thanked you for not leaving out for the wolves to eat." She chuckled as she looked at him. The snow surrounding them was beauty and they both seemed odd seating in the garden.

They both looked at the castle as they heard laughter coming from the inside and Ella smiled at the sound as she spoke, "They know how to have a good time." The Beast chuckled as he looked down and shook his head as he spoke, "Well, the laughter dies as soon as I enter the room."

Ella smiled at his foolishness as she said, "Well, my stepmother says that I have ugly skin and am a funny girl." She shook her head as she remembered the memory of her stepmother. The Beast looked at her as her skin glowed in the bright sunlight and appeared golden. He was enchanted by her beauty and he said to her, "You have beautiful skin." Ella stopped smiling as she turned to look at him and found him staring at her with adoring eyes. "Your stepmother is weird and a funny woman as she can't see the beauty when it lies in front of her very own eyes."

The silence that followed suit after his statement left both of them astonished as they quickly looked down after realising what they had been doing. The Beast cleared his throat and he could feel the tension between them so, he tried suggesting an idea, "What do you say we run away?" Ella looked at him confused as he nodded his head towards the library.

They stood up from the bench and walked over to the library. As, the Beast opened the doors of the library, Ella gasped as she still wasn't used to seeing the library every day. She waited at the table for the Beast as he climbed up the ladder and pulled out a big book from the shelf and held it in his hand. He climbed down the ladder and walked over to where she stood and set it on the book stand. He opened the book to its centre page and stood back as he let Ella take a look at the book.

She gasped at the magical book and felt her pages in her hand. She turned towards him as she said, "It's gorgeous." He shrugged at her as he spoke, "Another gift by the Enchantress. It was the cruellest trick of all." Ella looked at him confused as she couldn't decipher what he was trying to say.

The Beast nodded at her as he took a step forward and stood next to her, "You see, this book can take you anytime, anywhere." Ella gasped at the book and he continued, "But, no one wanted me. Anywhere I went, they all despised me because of the way I looked and treated me worse than an animal." His voice became low at the end as he stared down at his fur coated hands. The claws reminding him of the monster he was. Ella looked at him but, sympathy wasn't what Beast saw in her eyes when he looked up at her as she touched his arm; it was love and affection. "The world has no place for a monster like me." He said as he took her hands in his, "But, it can for you."

Although, she never talked about it but, he could see it in her eyes. He cleared his throat as he spoke, "Think of the one place you've always wanted to see." He told her as he placed their joined hands on the page of the book and saw her deep in her thoughts.

He withdrew his hand as he said, "Now, find it in your mind's eye." He nodded at her as she looked up at him, "And then feel it in your heart." They both closed their eyes as Ella thought of the place she always wanted to see.

They both opened their eyes to find themselves in an apartment. The room was cold and dark as the lamps were blown out and the cold wind that flowed through the windows, made them shiver. The Beast walked towards the window and he held the curtains in his hands as he looked out. He saw the city of Paris in front of his and he smiled as he asked us, "You took us to Paris? Why, Paris though? Do you want to start by visiting the tourists place? There are a lot of beautiful places around here." The Beast stopped talking as he glanced back at Ella to find her looking around the room.

Ella bent down as she picked up something and she cried as she held it in her hands. She turned to look at him as she spoke, "This is where my Papa died." They heard voices coming from the room next to them and they both stared at each other before they quietly made their way over there. As they neared the door, Ella walked in the front and the Beast followed her footsteps.

Ella touched the wall as she bent down slightly to look into the dimly lit room. She gasped as she saw her father in the bed coughing up blood as he rested in the bed. Ella couldn't believe her eyes as she saw a doctor seating next to her father's bed. "It's Papa." She whispered lightly and the Beast's eyes widened as they stared at the sight in front of them. They saw as the doctor injected some medicine into her father's hand and her father tried denying it but to no avail. The medicine had already been injected and her father was slowly leaving his conscious state of mind. They saw as the tables were covered in medicine bottles and tablets were spread all around the room with tissue covering the floor.

Ella took a step back as she saw her father look at her but, she quickly looked back in as she heard another voice speak up, "Tell me where your daughter is?" Ella's eyes widened as she saw her stepmother walk around her Papa's bed and her Papa's eyes followed her movements. "It's my stepmother." Ella whispered to the Beast and the reality seemed strange for him.

Ella's father shook his head as he struggled speak, "I don't know where she is." Her stepmother stopped in her tracks as she turned towards her father and screamed, "Don't lie to me." Her father cried as the doctor inserted another injection into his arm and spoke, "I really don't know." The stepmother looked at him in disgust as she spat at him, "Then where has she ran off to?" Her father cried and Ella's breathing stopped as she saw him in such pain. The evil stepmother shook her head at him and looked at the doctor as she spoke, "Just do it already."

Ella's eyes widened as she saw the doctor take out another injection and put it in her father's hand. Her father screamed in pain as the needle injected him and he looked at Ella with fearful eyes as he closed his eyes suddenly and his limbs lost their strength.

Ella cried out loud as she saw her father die in front of her and the Beast quickly muffled her screams with his hands as he couldn't risk them being found by the evil stepmother and stepped back. He struggled to hold Ella in his arms as she broke down crying and she stepped towards her father's room. He cradled her as she broke down and the Beast's eyes widened as he heard footsteps approaching them. He quickly hugged her as he muttered, "I'm sorry." Before he closed his eyes and made their way back to the castle.

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