The Dying Rose (Completed)

Chapter 20: Taken Care Of

Beast didn't take long to come back, with Thea in tow. I could hear the rolling of the wheels of her cart down the hallways, as well as the occasional "Squuek" that the one bad wheel occasionally gave. I turned my head to watch as they came in the room. On the cart sat a steaming bucket of water, as well as a mountain of clean cloths and cotton gauze.

Beast pulled the armchair from the corner of my room to my bedside, and sat down in it.

"Now, I need you to hold very still, because this is going to hurt."

He dipped one cloth in the hot water, and he began to wipe the blood from my face. I cringed, because the dried blood was all that was keeping the pain away.

"I'm so sorry, Belle. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have hit you with that snowball," he whispered.

I turned to look at him in shock, and gasped. The sudden movement hurt. "This isn't your fault. I should have faced the statue, not the slope away from it. I should have watched what I was doing, and not been so clumsy. Don't blame yourself."

He wiped at my face some more, eyes full of sorrow. "Whatever you say."

I clicked my tongue, which seemed to be the only part of me that wasn't hurt in some way. "Don't be so obstinate. You can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong in the world."

He looked at me, eyes wide. Then he wiped my face one last time.

"Well, the cuts on your face aren't that bad. They just bled a lot. There's a long one here," he touched my forehead, over my right eye, "and another here." There his furry paw stroked my left jaw line. "They probably won't even leave noticeable scars. You have quite a few pricks as well, but they are small and won't leave scars."

"Well that's a blessing, dearie. Surely, Master, you can be of no more help here?" asked Thea's sticky slow drawl.

Beast's head whipped around to the direction of her voice, almost as though he could see her. "Why would I not be of help?"

"Master, Miss Belle will have to be undressed to clean some of her wounds. It wouldn't be right for you to do it. I can take care of it."

"Well, when that time comes, I'll leave. But, until then, I want to do it. It's my fault-

"It's not your fault Galien! Give it a rest. And don't try and insist that it is; you're only being headstrong," I chided. His face registered shock for the briefest fragment of a second, and then I realized I had called him Galien instead of Beast. He insisted on separating his identities, but regardless of his form, at that moment, he didn't need to be called a beast.

"I still feel responsible. And you need to lie still, before you make the bleeding worse," he said, without acknowledging my slip, before wiping at my neck with the now cold cloth. "Anyway, Thea, you can't get her up and undress her by yourself."

He leaned forward, and untied my cloak, before sliding his paws underneath my shoulders. "I'll pull her up, and you untie her dress."

Thea's voice was obviously not pleased. "Very well, Master, but it still isn't right."

I felt her deft fingers brush against the tender skin of my back that lay beneath the ribbons that laced my dress. Cold air followed closely behind. As the lacing grew lower, and lower, I leaned forward, against Beast's furry chest. The pressure of his paws on my back lessened.

"All done. Now, will you leave, Master?" Thea's voice rang out. Her usually honeyed voice was like ice, and it was obvious she wasn't happy with the situation.

"You'll still need me. I want you to open up the back of her dress, but just enough to put your hands on her back and hold her upright."

Thea did as he said.