His Beauty and Her Beast

CHAPTER 3

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It was the form of a female, yet it had much had much hair everywhere. The boy was flustered as he sought to cover his eyes with his hands; never before has he seen a girl’s body, nor did he have the desire to. It was a rather odd experience as the creature—now a human—stared at him with great interest.

The beast who had now transformed seem delighted at the prospect of meeting another human that she had forgotten one thing—her attire.

Scampering away from him, she blushed a deep red from embarrassment. This was not like her; she was a calm and collected person. However, it had been much too long that she had seen another person, and she didn’t want to miss the chance of possibly making a new friend.

By this time, the young man, still confused from earlier, got up and made his way towards the basket. He seemed distraught and befuddled, shaken by this strange encounter.  He needed to get out of here—and quickly. 

Night was soon upon them, and the moonlight didn’t do much to light the way back.  Having forgotten the twigs, he blindly sought his way back out of the forest.  The strange thing was the creature he saw earlier was following him rather closely.

From what he saw prior—it, or rather her—was a human. He had never seen one with much hair as her though, but it was a big world.  There will always be someone or something that is different in their own unique way. She was just one of them.

The young man paused. ‘What happened to the beast I saw earlier?’ He pondered. It was above him when he fell, only to see a hairy, human female when he opened his eyes.

Putting two and two together, he froze. Sweat began to trickle down his neck as he shivered. He was in denial and yet as he heard her steps come closer, he bolted. 

Stumbling in the dark, he ran and ran, grasping at anything he could hold on to support himself. He was weary from today’s events, and it wasn’t long before he fell from fatigue. 

All he could see was pitch-black darkness, and as he drifted from consciousness, he felt soft fur against his skin. 

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She panicked as she saw him lost consciousness. Holding him in her arms, she carried him to her abode where she nursed him back to health.

She knew he was terrified of her the moment he saw her, but she sensed curiosity within his warm, green eyes. After living with a judgmental family, while being insulted, chased and demeaned by everyone she came across, she became a good judge of character.

He wasn’t trying to hurt her at all.

Her stomach grumbled in protest for food, and she went out to hunt. It wasn’t long before she caught a wild deer and brought it home.

While she was busy cooking, the young man arose from his slumber to the delectable smell of soup. He was extremely famished after the spectacle that he thought was a dream. However, the more he looked, the more he realized he wasn’t home.

This wasn’t his father’s house.

After mulling it over, he decided to thank the person who picked him instead of running away. He mused that since they nursed him back to health, they weren’t a bad person.

He was a simpleton at heart.

Following the scent, he made his towards the dining area where he saw plates of soup resting on the table. He glanced around, looking for the individual when he heard a soft voice. “I’m glad you’re finally awake.”

He flinched. It sounded like a young woman, and he didn’t do well with girls. Having grown up with young boys and men alike, he had no experience talking to a girl, or even how to behave in their sight.

“Thank you for saving me,” he began. “I probably would’ve been eaten alive if you hadn’t found me in time.” His back was still turned towards her as he hyperventilated on what to say.

“Is that so?” She mused. “Take a seat and eat.”

“Will you be joining me?” He turned around, only to find her silhouette bouncing off the wall. “Why are you hiding, if I may ask?”

She responded. “That is of no concern to you.”

He rubbed his ear, mortified. “I’m sorry.  I don’t know how to behave around girls,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if I come across as rude or uncouth.”

“It’s alright. You haven’t said or done anything wrong. Go on, eat. I will have supper later.”

She vanished without a trace, leaving him puzzled. Shaking away foreboding thoughts, he sat and ate. It was surprisingly delicious, and he found himself ravenously devouring his meal.

After clearing away everything, he decided to explore the behemoth of a mansion. It didn’t have much inside, and so each step he took echoed off the walls. For a mansion so big, it didn't have much to call it a home. That led him to wonder about the person residing within it; what kind of person was she?

He made his way to the second floor where his bedroom was situated. Other doors lined the narrow hallways, and his curiosity got the better of him.

Opening each door, he found most of them empty. He was perplexed, but continued to enter each one, looking at random items that would’ve been left behind by the previous owner, he concluded in his mind.

He stood at the last door. He kept expectations low, however his eye caught a name on the door which he’d never seen on the others.

Belle.

“Like the flower belle,” he mused aloud to himself.

“What are you doing in front of my room?” A voice growled.

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