Beast

These Four Walls

The room that had at first seemed huge had come to seem small after a week. No company, no words, no songs, no interaction. Nothing but Belle and the furniture. The furniture, as she had realized the second she entered the room, was not like the wooden shelves and tables in Piana. It moved and it talked. It did what you asked, well, at least the table did. The table, of all things, had become Belle's only company. Her only interaction for the past week of solitude.

After Callahan threw her in here, no one came back. Night after night, Belle tried at the door but no answer came. She had explored the room but there wasn't much to explore after the first day. The glass door in the back of the room was some sort of gadget they used in the outside world. Belle had long since given up on trying to figure out how to use it. The restroom was simple, apart from well, everything. It seemed simple at first with the toilet and the shower and the sinks. But on top of all that there was a tub, a closet full of linens, seemingly thousands of pink and red bottles of soaps, loofas and washcloths, a lifetime supply of toothbrushes and paste, and a thirteen button shower. The shower was new for her. They had them at home, of course, but not like this. There were three heads and multiple buttons along the bottom. The floor had jets, and the sides were lined with pull out compartments and jets as well. It was too confusing for Belle to use so she settled for washing herself in the tub.

There were no clothes in the bedroom or bathroom so Belle had stayed in her street clothes from Piana. A small reminder of the life she was taken from, she wore them with what little pride she could muster. They no longer smelt like home though. Belle's anger grew for the men who had dragged her from her only home. They had no right to pull her from a place that she loved more than anything into a world that she did not know. Who were they to decide that she needed to leave? But what was worse...Pierre Bonfils, a man who felt like a father to her, betrayed her. He let them take her, chained and gagged. He didn't even call Gaston for help. He told them to take her and watched as she was dragged away. What kind of man does that? Everything she knew about him was forgotten that day, the day she left. And all he would be remembered as would be a traitor.

--

"Six PM. Dinner time. Steamed broccoli and lamb chops drenched in a parmesan cheese sauce imported from....Naples, Italy." The robotic voice that had kept Belle sane sounded through the bedroom. The shiny table split in half and a steaming plate was placed in front of the chair. Belle quickly sat down and stared hungrily at the meal in front of her. She got one meal a day in this prison, but it was always more delectable than the last. She couldn't remember a better meal she had ever eaten, except maybe the night before's. That's didn't make up for, however, the fact that these people only fed her once a day. Belle felt the hunger pain early in the morning, hard to ignore and persistent. It got worse throughout the day as she had nothing to busy herself with. Nothing here entertained her. The books she was accustomed to did not exist there. The only voice she ever heard was the small robotic sounds coming from the table when her food was placed down. Her body had adjusted itself to wait each day for that heavenly sound. And the hours before and after that thirty seconds of noise were fuzzy and passed by slowly. Each second stretched to be an hour in that locked room. And Belle spent her time trying to remember every detail about Gaston's face, determined she would see him again.

XXX

"Sir, the north wing-"

"What about it, Louis?" Callahan was hunched over his desk, staring down at the electronic screen it held. War plans, Louis recognized. He had placed down Callahan's plate just a few moments earlier but hesitated before leaving. All the other servants needed answers and Callahan like him the most.

"Um, why has it been locked recently? The maids have been told to not enter to clean it or else they'll be punished, and I can't remember the last time you had me clean the chandeliers in that wing." Louis finished his inquiry less confident as he started. It was never easy having a conversation with the master of Roland Hall but Louis was the only one who wouldn't be punished for having a conversation with Callahan. But the look on his master's face made Louis nervous. He had just set off a bomb, stepped on the wrong tile, crossed the line.

"Louis!" Callahan stood and knocked a marble statue off the corner of his desk. The shattered pieces flew across the floor and spun when they hit the baseboards. "I do not have to explain myself to my servants. They are to serve me and my guests and if that is too much to ask, they can all go back to starving on the streets for all I fucking care. The north wing is closed because I say it is so. No questions asked." Callahan glared at his once companion Louis who shook his fear. It'd been a few days since his last outburst, Louis had almost become accustomed to an easier working life. But obviously nothing had changed.

"Sir, I meant no disrespect. Things around here have shifted in the last week. One of the maids said they saw Maxwell in the dungeon on Sunday. He hasn't been in the dungeon in God knows how long. But what's worse- she said she saw a girl with him! Is there a new maid coming?" Louis sat down in the desk chair in front of Callahan, whose glare had started to soften. Louis was the one person in the entire mansion who would talk to him like a friend instead of a master. But he always did it with respect. Callahan liked that about him. He could trust him over Maxwell any day. Taking a deep breath, he wiped a hand through his messy hair and watched Louis through them while they pressed the bridge of his nose.

"Alright Louis. I understand the curiosity. I'm sorry for being so...well, you know," Callahan smiled in embarrassment. Louis had been at the mansion for forever. He understood his temper and would usually leave him be when he was acting horribly. Callahan had to keep Louis on his side before he realized what a monster he truly was and wanted nothing to do with him.

"The girl the maid saw is in the north wing. She is from Piana-"

"But, Sir, no one has left Piana. How did she...Oh, I see what you did." Louis suddenly looked uncomfortable. Piana was peaceful and now Callahan had gone and screwed that up by taking a prisoner. "Why, Sir?"

"I made a bet with Ronan in the States that I could destroy the city. I had fully intended to walk in there, collect all the people in the square and burn them to bits. To shoot their mayor in front of them. To destroy the city from the inside. But I saw this girl who is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. She...is so incredibly beautiful that I forgot about my plans with Piana. I dumped them and went straight to the mayor and traded the girl for the city's freedom from my men. And she has been in the north wing since we came back." Callahan looked up and watched Louis' reaction with eyes that no longer seemed black. They were golden brown and softer. He was speaking the truth about liking the girl, but he went about everything all wrong.

"Sir, you need to let this girl out of that room! She has been taken from the only place she has ever known and probably living in worse conditions than she has seen in her life if I know anything about entrapment in this mansion, and I do. She-" But Louis couldn't continue because Callahan had gotten up and socked him square in the jaw to shut him up.

"You are speaking wrongly Louis. I am above you and you will not tell me what I am to do with my prisoners. I did wrong in telling you about her and if I hear one word of this around the mansion, I will personally burn the shirt from your back."