The Beast and His Blind Beauty(boyxboy)

Chapter 8

Octavian's POV

I left the room and promptly returned to my quarters after making sure the guest room was prepared. I wasn't so mean that I would give him a place to sleep that wasn't properly equipped to handle anything he might need.
    A sigh left my body as I thought of the young male I had just met. Leon...truly was a stunning looking specimen. I had known plenty of beautiful men and women when I had been a prince before this curse, but none of them could hold a candle to his simple beauty.

I wandered deeper into my quarters looking at all of the things that I had kept from that time including a single portrait, before turning to the one object left by the blasted fairy witch who had cast her magic over me. The rose which she had offered at first as a token of her gratitude if I had accepted her request for a place to rest...if only I hadn't been so cruel.
      I turned my attention from that and to my mirror that was the only gift I was grateful for from her. The mirror allowed me a way to view anything I desired, to view the world around me.
"Show me Leon." I say as I glance at it and watch as the glasses reflection of me swirls and reveals the young man dozing comfortably in his room. It seems that Claudette has already properly taken care of his ankle but I hope not well enough that he'll try to leave soon because I wanted to see if he could possibly be the one who might fall in love with me, or I with him.
        Then again who could love me. I've already given up on that hope but perhaps I could keep him here for a little while for company. It would be good for my servants as well... 
My thoughts turned back to earlier in the day when I had been using my mirror to take a look at the village that was closest to my manor. I did that from time to time to try and feel some kind of connection with the world outside of the manor. I had noticed the younger baker leaving his room with a bag and wandering toward the forest which had piqued my intrigue and led to me watching him as he wandered through the woods. I had seen him twist his ankle before I realized how late the day had become so I had to leave to sort out some things that I was working on to keep myself occupied. I had never imagined that he would end up in my manor so late in the afternoon.
After mulling over the latest occurrences of the household I let my servants know that I would like to dine with the guest if that was agreeable to him. I wouldn't force my presence on him as someone as wonderful as him probably wouldn't enjoy the company of a monster.

Leon's POV

My eyes slowly opened as I became more awake, I must have been more tired than I had realized to sleep that much. "Mm..." I murmured softly before sitting up and stretching, one hand rubbing my eyes as I blinked before using the heel of my palm to rub my eyes.
"Oh, you woke up!" Claudette's cheery voice comes through the room and I turn my head a little, getting a fuzzy view of something large. "Feeling better?"
I nod my head and smile a little bit as I roll my foot slowly to test it. "Mhm, much. Thank you for taking care of my ankle, it feels much better!" I say softly as I twist my head a bit, trying to take in more of the room but only getting a few lines before I hear a knock at the door.
"Um..yes?" I call, twisting my head to look towards the door before slowly sitting up, shivering as I felt the cool air in the room glide across my skin. The door clicked open and I heard something roll into the room and towards me.
"Hello dearie! You seem much better, did you have a nice nap?" The cheerful voice of Ms. P carries through the air as I turn toward where she is with a smile and nod my head. "Thats wonderful, I've got a lovely cup of tea for you, it'll definitely help wake you up a little bit more." She adds before I hear the pouring of water and the sweet scent of tea fills the immediate area. "Chris, go slow and don't spill, please dear." Is all I hear before I hear a light tapping making its way closer.
I reach out my hand and carefully feel for the cart that I guess she's on with this Chris, and wait until I can feel the warmth of the cup on my fingertips before searching out the handle of the teacup.
I inhale the sweet scent coming from the cup before taking a sip, taking care not to take too much in case it was too hot. "Mmm...this is perfect, thank you very much Ms. P..." I murmur softly as I smile towards the tea pot, before taking a slightly larger sip. "And thank you as well Chris." I add as an afterthought before focusing on the sweet tea. It was warm and milky, and had an almost fragrant taste to it. Most of the tea in the village was very simple, of course you could add flowers to the pot and it would taste a little better, but nothing as elegant as this. I heard Chris chirp a happy 'your welcome!' As I continued to drink from the cup until it was empty.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed that!" Ms. P seemed to be beaming from the sound of her voice as I set Chris down and hop back toward her. "Now, since I'm already here I've also got a request for you from the master. He wished to know if you would like to dine with him this evening, if it's not too much trouble." Ms. P seemed almost nervous but was hiding it quite well. I suppose they have had guests in the past who...weren't as relaxed with everything that is different from the outside world here. Perhaps there were people who were quite frightened by the master, as even he seemed to despise his own appearance.
"I would enjoy that actually, very much. It would give me a chance to properly thank him for letting me rest." I say after a moment, smiling as I push my hair away from my face. Sometimes it does get a little annoying, and it seems that with the door open there is a bit of a breeze moving it slightly.
"Oh absolutely lovely dearie! Claudette, help him with his clothing please!" Ms. P says cheerfully as she starts to roll out of the room. "Lumiene should be up to fetch you shortly, and lead you to the dining room." Is all I hear her say before the door clicks closed and I chuckle softly at the exuberant energy that had appeared from her.
"Oh, how exciting! An outfit for dinner~" Claudette trills happily before humming as I hear drawers pop open, and then slam shut as she seems to look for something, clothing it would seem. I do have my own clothing that would be fine, but it seems that it would make them happy if they could do it instead. Perhaps it's because they haven't had visitors in awhile, in which case it would be quite rude to deny them of this...even though it's a bit much for me.
"Ah! It is perfect!" Claudette exclaims after a few moments. "What do you think sweetheart?" She questions pleasantly, and from the sound of it she's presenting an outfit of some sort in front of me.
"Um...miss Claudette, if you could describe it, I would greatly appreciate it.." I say as I look towards her with a gentle smile and reach forward and find the...impressive amount of clothing.
"Oh, my how rude of me! Of course, it is a lovely black ensemble, with a double lapel.." Claudette begins to describe the entirety of her choice, from color to the minute details as I take in the feeling of it. It's stiff and thick and an awful lot to wear to a dinner. Is this how lords and ladies always dressed? Because it seemed like a waste of fabric to me...
I zoned back in as Claudette started to wind down her description of the clothing. "It's all very lovely miss, but do you think you have something a little more...simple, perhaps?" I implore as I tilt my head slightly. "It's easier for me to be able to move, especially since I rely on touch a lot."
After a moment I feel the clothing get whisked away and her soft humming before a smaller amount of clothing is presented. "So sorry about that, I really should have taken your personal preferences into consideration! This outfit is much simpler and lighter for your convenience. The shirt is white, with a blue waist coat and matching pants." She responds after a moment and I smile at the description. It sounds perfect to me, and a lot less to put on and take off.
"Alright then, I guess I should get ready for dinner." Claudette assists me with which thing I'm putting on as these are not my normal clothes and the buttons would have driven me mad if she hadn't taken over. As we finish getting everything straightened, there is a gentle tap on the door before it clicks open.
"Sir Leon, are you ready to attend dinner?" I heard Lumiene's voice drift through the room from the door and nodded as I started to make my way to the sound after thanking Claudette for her assistance. "Ah, you look wonderful!" He said happily as I reached him and carefully picked him up. It was easier than trying to follow the sound of his voice.
"Thank you very much Lumiene" I reply grateful that he wasn't making as much a fuss over clothing as the females seemed they would do. I listened to him as he described the highly decorated and lead me through the winding passages with directions. I didn't realize how far it was earlier, I must have been much more tired than I expected.
"..and here is the dining room!" Lumiene's cheerful voice broke through my thoughts and I lift my chin again as I try to see any shapes of the room, while listening to him give a simple description. "The table is straight ahead, and quite long too, mind the chair there." He rambled off quickly as I started to walk before almost knocking over a chair and catching it.
"Are you alright?" I hear the rough voice of the master of the house and turn my head back to where I think the door way is with a smile.
"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry about almost knocking over the chair.." I reply as I find the edge of the table and set Lumiene down carefully to avoid any more incidents.
"As long as no ones hurt then it's no trouble." His low voice is a lot closer now, and I can hear his steps just off to my side. "Here I'll guide you to your seat..." He seems almost hesitant to help and I can feel careful movement against my back before I take a step forward, letting the pressure guide me.
It's...definitely not a hand, or he might be a giant for it's quite large. What I can feel I against the small of my back and it's bigger than that area. And since he's being so gentle I almost missed the slight sharpness that I had felt against me for a moment, so perhaps claws? At least he has good defenses...
After a moment of walking he stops us and I hear a chair being drawn out next to me. "Thank you very much..um..beast.." I say, pausing at how awkward it is to address my host as beast instead of something more fitting for one who seems quite kind. I reach my hand out and find the chair before guiding myself to sit and hold onto it as it is pushed in by non other than the beast.
"Your welcome." His responses all seem so far to be quite concise and to the point, which isn't too awful, though he seems to be out of the practice of small talk. I hear him sit not too far away, perhaps only a few chairs, before another door opens.
"Dinner, is served!"

[] Ok, so it's been quite awhile since I have written anything at all, and I hope at this point that I'm not rambling. I was quite overwhelmed for awhile with just life in general and stopped doing a lot of things that I enjoyed because I didn't have a lot of time. I didn't really leave Wattpad, as I was always reading other works, but I did feel guilty for not working on this and I really do apologize to anyone who has wanted me to continue this. I'll be working on trying to set aside time for this and not getting so overwhelmed with everything. If you have any suggestions to improve my writing, they are greatly welcomed. So sorry for the major delay once again!!!![]