The Black Rose Castle

The Servants-3

When the Beast had left her, Belle allowed herself to break down. She entered the room that would now be hers, and without taking in any details about the room, promptly threw herself on to the bed that took up a large portion of space in the middle of the room. She sobbed and sobbed, only stopping when her exhaustion prevented her from shedding another tear, and soon found herself falling asleep.

She did not stir after that.
*
"Was she hurt? The Master said she had taken quite a spill when she got here. Her horse was quite exhausted, not to mention cut up from the forest."

Belle heard voices speaking, pulling her from her sleep. She did not move a muscle.

A female voice responded, "She had a few scratches and she was pretty tired. The Master ordered Sal to look her over, in case she had any bad injuries or concussions of some sort. She's been sleeping for about twelve hours if that tells you anything. The Master came to call her for dinner and she was out like a light. Now, leave her, before she wakes."

There was a pause.

"She is quite beautiful," said the other voice- a male.

"Yes, she is."

There was a pause.

"What if-" the voice broke off.

"Yes?"

"I know I shouldn't be saying it, but what if she's the one?" The male voice intoned.

An intense shushing sound was heard. "Hush! If the Master heard you speak of it, especially in her presence, he would have your head and mine just for being a witness to it, no doubt!" The female hissed.

"She's not even awake. And the Master is attending to his business at the moment. We are safe, Col."

"We better be."

There was another pause and the sound of objects being moved around.

"My, my. Would you look at her face. I can't help but stare. It's as if one of God's angels stumbled right into our lives and is sleeping in that bed right there," said the male voice.

"I'll admit, she's one of the most beautiful young maidens I've ever seen as well," replied the female voice.

Belle felt a presence in front of her face. She found that she could no longer keep her eyes closed and her eyes began to flutter.

When they opened all the way, she came face to face with a medium sized black panther.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Belle's lips and she shot backwards, straight out of the bed and into the floor on the opposite side of the bed, away from the panther.

"Oh, Jermaine! You've scared her! And you woke her up too!"

Belle looked toward the voice. A painting of a petite, middle aged woman with dark brown hair looked back at her- and it was moving. Her face paled.

The panther jumped onto the bed and hovered over Belle, who was still on the floor. Belle cringed into the wall and a strangled sound came out of her mouth. The panther's tail swished, excitedly.