Another Beauty and the BEAST story

Chapter VIII

<Elsa>

I can feel the winter approaching from the way my body tingles, and the frost creeping slowly up my fingers to infect my heart and body with this unforgivable curse. It frightens me. But the one thing that frightens me more is the boy, Jack. After I shared my tragic story with him, he has seen me with some kind of new light gleaming in his eyes. 

And the fact that I laid out my whole story, my soul, in front of him leaves me feeling... bare, unprotected... yet oddly determined. Being the first person to not run away in terror at the very sight of me makes me respect him, and also makes me want to show my gratitude in some way. 

"Lumiere, can I have a word with you, please?" I ask the servant one morning, a few days later. He bows at me, offering me his services. I glance down the hallway, making sure that I see Jack disappear around a corner before I continue. Today he is wearing a white shirt, a blue vest and a pair of white trousers. It is no doubt the wardrobe who chose that outfit for him. 

"I would... like to express my gratitude towards him," I say, a bit discouraged, and Lumiere almost drops the candle he is decorating himself with. 

"Certainly, Mistress... Ah, well, there is alway the usual -- flowers or chocolates perhaps?" Lumiere suggests, and I frown. Jack doesn't seem to be the guy who fancies useless flirtatious attendance. 

"No. It has to be something special," I comment.

"Actually, there might be something that might spark his interest..." Lumiere says before shooting me a grand smile, and I lean in closer to listen to his idea. 

<Jack>

A few days later, winter arrives. It's smooth and unnoticed as it sneaks into the leaf-covered landscape surrounding Elsa's castle. When I awake one morning, heavy snowflakes fall outside my window, and cold seeps in through the cracks in the walls. Because I was raised with the ideology that winter is bad, my first shameful thought is one of curses and hate. But I redeem myself, thinking of the way Elsa's eyes reflected the fire the night when she told me about her curse. The way she sounded so infinitely lonely and abandoned when she revealed how she was forced to live here without anyone to keep her company, for the rest of her life. My heart aches when I relive those memories, and that small itching ache frightens me.

I've never felt this way about anyone before. 

Later that day, when I'm walking Philippe on the grounds, my ankles deep in new-fallen snow, the cold dominating every limb on my body, Elsa approaches me. She looks tired, like she hasn't sleep at all during the night. She wears a simple, white dress that brings out her pale skin as clearly as the snow edging around her. And, as always, her feet are bare. But she doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold. Quite the contrary, I would say. The winter surrounding her rather brings out the life in her body, and she looks as if she's dancing when she walks towards me and Philippe. My heart races through it's beats, and I have to force myself not to put a hand over my chest to hide the sound from her. 

"Jack, there's something I want to show you. Do you mind following me?" She asks, patting Philippe politely on his nose before addressing me. With her glowing body this close to me, all I can do is nod. I walk Philippe back to the stable before following Elsa as she silently navigates her way through the hallways of the castle. This is a part of the castle that I've never been before, and I curiously observe all the details around us. 

Elsa stops in front of a large pair of white doors, decorated with exotic painted patterns carefully located at the edges. She begins to open the doors, then stops and turn towards me.