Another Beauty and the BEAST story

Chapter XI

The night I fell in love was a starry one. 

The objects spent the entire day sweeping and cleaning the castle from dust, curtain-covered windows and spider webs. I could hear them through the walls of my room, singing a happy tune while working. The snow outside glittered as beautifully as ever, even though the temperatures started to slowly heat up. Spring was coming. Had I still been a simple boy back in my hometown, I would've celebrated this by preparing for the Spring Festival that is held every year to initiate the season, but now... Now I'm almost sad to see the bright and luminous landscape slowly melt into oblivion. 

Around midday some objects marched into my room, grabbed me from my chair and dropped me in an enormous bath tub in the bathroom, still singing and paying no attention to my loud complaining. Pierre, the armor, and Monsieur Lumiere as well as my Scottish wardrobe all amusingly watch the other objects cover me in perfumed soaps and then pour buckets of clean water until my wet hair is completely covering my face. They then brush it and dry my entire body with white towels, and then gets me dressed in the most beautiful evening wear I've ever seen. 

It consists of a pair of white trousers, a white shirt, a navy blue jacket with a golden collar, and a matching vest. The clothes fits perfectly, and when they're on me my feet are put in a pair of black knee-high boots. 

"You look stunning, lad," the wardrobe compliments me and looks me up and down. I shrug, almost feeling uncomfortable in the fancy clothes. 

"Let me escort you, my dear guest," Pierre says and leads the way down the hallway I've walked a hundred times before. I follow the armor, that's been polished during the day. My heart beats fast as we walk towards the main dining hall, with the chandeliers candles all lit, and my stomach knots. Pierre leaves me waiting there, by the set table and a light blush on my cheeks. 

She enters the room the way a shy little girl would, hesitating by the door frame before slowly daring to sneak out into the light. And she takes my breath away. 

Just like me, she's been polished by the objects. Her skin is luminescent, glowing like winter itself under the protective rays of the moon, and her hair has been arranged in some complicated braided arrangement. She wears a golden yellow dress, that reflects the light of the candles. The skirt is vibrant and wide, dancing with a life of it's own with ever insecure step she takes. 

I bow before her when she reaches me, more to hide my blushing red cheeks then out of courtesy. She hits me across the shoulder with her bare fingers.

"Stop!" She whimpers, embarrassed. "I hate these stupid shoes..." She mutters while I straighten and inhale her beauty once again. Her ice-blue eyes are glowing. I laugh at the shoe-comment. So far I've ever only seen Elsa barefoot, so it must be a difficulty for her to move around in high-heels all of a sudden. 

Dinner is served by well-polished knights, and we sit and eat like we always do, only in fancier clothes. Her skirt drapes over my legs under the table, but I don't mind. It reminds me of her presence, and it fills me with a delightful warmth. But the real magic starts when dinner is over, and Monsieur Lumiere instructs some of the coat hangers to start playing violins. The sound fills the dining room, giving it even more beauty. I exhale deeply, my heart throbbing with the soaring music. The only reason I'm brave enough to grab her hand is because of that music, shutting out the reasonable part of my brain. 

But I take her hand, and drags her out into the ballroom. The giant windows lets in the view of the starlit night sky, and the chandeliers covers the marbled pillars and glass floor with a golden light. I take her hand and swing out into that dream, placing my hand on her waist and her hand on my shoulder. She looks extremely uncomfortable, but I start to move slowly nonetheless.

"Jack... I... I can't dance-" She whispers, flustered, but all I do is smile and start to slowly lead her across the room. The music and the stars outside surround us like a warm, bright and glistening embrace, enclosing us in only each other's company and the memories that we share. With her confidence a little better, I swirl her around the room, making her laugh and her eyes sparkle. As the music slows down, she hesitantly steps closer, and then leans her head against my shoulder. My heart beats even faster than before, with the weight of her head against my chest, and the fragrance of her existence filling my nose, my throat, my lungs. It smells like the spring's innocent morning dew, the summer rain, the autumn sunlight and the winter wind. 

The music stops, and she steps back from me, even though I want her to stay. More than anything, I want her to stay in my arms, so that I can loose myself in these ravaging feelings. 

Suddenly her eyes light up, and she kicks off her shoes. I raise one curious eyebrow, while she steps out into the middle of the room. With a shaky sigh, she sets her small hand against the floor. A burst of aqua ice spreads out around her, covering the floor with a thin layer of glittering ice, looking like a flower blooming out of her hand. Elsa stands, and starts to skate around the room on her bare feet, smiling while twirling like a flame of gold. I kick of my own shoes, and rush out to meet her. She catches me when I slide towards her, twirling the both os us around and around while laughing like a little girl. I hold onto her, and laugh as well.

And that's when I realize that I'm in love with this girl. The second that realization enters my mind, the entire room, the entire world, slows down almost completely. All I can hear is the beating of my own heart and her vibrant laugh. All I can smell is the smell of her. All I can see is the sight of her, twirling around like a blaze of brightness in front of me. 

The moment passes by, and time starts to pass by at an usual pace. I loose control of my own feet, and crash into her so that we both fall down on the floor. She smiles, and I smile too, and I want to tell her. 

"Let's go out onto the balcony," I suggest when I push myself off of the ice-covered ballroom floor. She only nods, and we descend out into the silent and starry night. The moon and all of the stars look down upon us as I sit myself down on the railing, with the winter-cursed girl next to me. Silence spreads between us, as I don't know what to say. 

"Jack..." Is the first word she utters, and I turn towards her. Her insecure expression makes me nervous. "Are you... are you happy here? With me?" She whispers the last words, as if she's afraid that it'll break something. 

"Yes," I answer, but as soon as the word leaves my mouth I am suddenly overcome by memories of mother, and the town I used to call home. I can't help the homesickness show, and she picks up on it immediately. 

"What is it?" 

"I am happy. I really am... but I still wish that I could see my mother one more time. Just for a moment. I miss her terribly," I say, almost desperate all of a sudden. The chill of the night exchanges ice-covered ballroom floors for the old wood paneling of the cottage back home, with a small fire crackling in the fireplace and me and my mother talking by it. 

Elsa looks sad when I say this at first, but then looks excited. "There is a way!"