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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Beast stumbles backwards while groaning in pain. Sitting in the closest chair he rests one hand over his heart and the other covering his eyes. Maurie and Miss Potts rush over to him while the rest of us remain seated by the table clutching to the makeshift cards Charles was kind enough to provide for us.
"Same pain as yesterday?" Miss Potts asks as she presses her hands to his head.
"Yes," he groans. Rocking back and forth he continues to groan and moan refusing to let either Miss Potts or Maurie touch him or help him in any way. It wouldn't matter anyway. If the last three weeks have been an indication of anything it's that nothing will take away this pain. It will continue to ravage his body for the next ten minutes or so and will then disappear as if it was ever there in the first place.
Maurie turns to look at me pity but also excitement shining in his eyes, "Valerie, do you mind going upstairs to check on the rose?"
"I'll be back."
I set my cards face down on the table and rush up the rickety stairs toward his room. I make my way through the messy room stepping over scattered clothes and bits of broken glass among other things. I finally end up in the part of the room where the rose is kept. Two months ago this flower was filled with tons of petals the colour of blood and now there are only two left. I smile at the pool of petals sitting under the flower most of them dying but the ones that fell right now and yesterday still holding firmly onto their pigment.
With my smile still holding on I ran back downstairs toward the table where everyone was anxiously waiting. I come to a dead stop holding onto the doorframes and panting as I tried to catch my breath.
"What did you see?" Fabienne asks clutching onto Maurie's shirt as if she would collapse if she didn't.
"Yeah, Val, what did you see?"
"Did another petal fall?"
"What—"
"Let her speak!" Beast yells and their voices come to an abrupt stop plunging the room into silence.
As much as I appreciate him giving me the space to talk at the same time I don't blame Fabienne or any of them for their anticipation. Since the night that Belle was tossed out petals have been falling like crazy. There was even a two-day period where two petals were falling a day.
"Another petal fell," I say once I managed to catch my breath.
The room erupts with the sound of celebration. While the group hugs each other and mumbles their joy and excitement Beast motions with his head for me to follow him into the next room. Slipping away from the group we shuffle into the adjacent room shutting the door behind us.
"Did the petal fall?" he asks.
"Why would I lie about something like that? Besides, you felt it, didn't you?"
