Belle is a maid living in service of a handsome prince who she falls madly in love with. Jealous of all the other women and angry at his refusal to notice her she curses him and turns him into a hideous beast. For years they remain together in the c...
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I haven't had this feeling in ninety years. When it surfaced in my chest it felt all but foreign to me. It was something I thought this curse I placed on the prince had rid me of. Something that I fully believed I would never feel again as long as I knew he was mine and mine alone: jealousy.
Ever since that strange woman left the castle the Beast hasn't been able to stop talking about her, well more like yelling about her. And even though each word he says about her comes out in a tone of anger and disgust I still couldn't help that burning feeling of jealousy from igniting in me.
I hate this feeling. Honestly, it is the only emotion that burns brighter and hotter within me when compared with my jealousy. Hatred is the only emotion that plays the main role in my soul. Hatred and jealousy.
I try to keep my eyes trained on the open book in my lap but it's hard to do that with the Beast and Maurie arguing just a few steps away from me.
"Why are you behaving like this? I feel like I'm watching a five-year-old throw a tantrum!" Maurie yells at him and I have to bite down on my lip to stop a smile from arising.
He does have a point.
"Don't speak to me like that I'm still the owner of this castle and you will treat me with respect!" the Beast roars.
"I am sorry that I have to yell at you but with the way you are acting it's hard to treat you with the respect I so desperately want to treat you with."
"What are you two fighting about this time?" I snap at them slamming my book shut.
They stop glaring at each other and turn their attention to me.
Maurie sideway glances at the Beast and gives him this look that says, you should tell her.
I don't like that look. It only adds to my rage and jealousy because I have a feeling I know what they are arguing about. It's that same thing they've been fighting about for the last day or so.
The Beast sighs and with his eyes mostly trained on the floor, he clears his throat and with a shaky voice says the words I was hoping that he wouldn't say.
"He is trying to convince me to feel sorry for how I treated that voleuse-"
Maurie fake coughs and gives him another look.
The Beast sighs. "For how I treated that woman. However, because she broke in and tried to kill me I'm not so eager to feel sorry for what I did."
As much as I want to twist my face into a look of utter disgust I have to keep my guise up. Pressing my lips together into a thin line usually does the trick. I would find something different to do but I'm not going to throw away something that's worked for ninety years.
Slowly I stand up and press the book against my stomach. "He's right Maurie he doesn't have to be sorry for what he did. I think what he did was right. The girl deserved to get her nerves shaken up now why don't we all just move on and never speak of this again." I suggest and hope to whatever God will listen to me that they will take my suggestion to heart.
"Fine," Maurie reluctantly says.
The Beast says nothing, just nods for a long time.
Smiling I turn on my heels and start walking toward the door.
"Where are you going?" the Beast asks me.
"The library, where I can read in peace."
Growing up as a servant in the castle I never got many opportunities to relax and take breaks. My days were filled with the duty to complete a seemingly endless list of chores. Sweep the kitchen. Help prep the kitchen for lunch. Wash the windows in the Prince's bedroom. Dust this, sweep here, wash that, fold that, do this, do that all day every day for years. The only moments that I enjoyed where I wasn't talking to the Prince as I cleaned his room were helping the librarian stock the shelves and tidy up the library.
I still remember the first time I walked into this room. I can still recall that vivid memory of how my eyes widened to the size of the saucers we serve the cups of tea on and my mouth dropped to form an O. The room is equally as large as the ballroom, possibly even bigger. The shelves stretch from the tiled floors all the way to just a few meters away from the glass roof. Every one of them is filled with books wrapped in multiple colour bindings branching over a multitude of genres. The library isn't as sunny as it used to be but I still love it.
With my hands firmly gripping my book I hastily walk to my spot which is positioned on the second floor in a secluded corner of the room. A quiet place I claimed for myself years ago when I was a child. A private area where I can relax, read a book and take my troubles off my mind.
Usually, my troubles were the head servant screaming all sorts of nasty things at me and as I got older they transformed into watching the man I loved being surrounded by women wearing those ridiculous feathers in their snow-white wigs that were twisted into the most ridiculous styles, flaunting their breasts as him.
But now my troubles have changed once again. Now my problem is a bow-wielding woman who although might not come back- hopefully won't come back- seems to have made an impression not only on the Beast but on Maurie and Miss Potts as well.
The likely chances of her returning are slim but I can't stop the idea that she might return from flooding in.
If by some chance she does come back I'll have to be ready to deal with her.
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Okay let's be realistic, most of us loved looking at that library in the movie.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next one, we will see what the Beast is up to.
