Beauty and the Beast • Sherlolly fanfiction

VII

Molly sat against the cold, damp cell wall, staring blankly at the opposite wall. She had come to accept what was done and made herself promise that she was done crying. She accepted that she would have to be sneaky and use her wits, but she was going to escape. There was no way she would allow herself to be locked up for the rest of her life. That was the same reason she decided not to marry Jim— she cherished her freedom and looked forward to the day when she could explore the world.

Then it dawned on her.

Jim... I just left him hanging around, waiting for an answer...

The cell door flew open suddenly, causing Molly to let out a sharp gasp in shock.

There the beast stood. He observed her a moment. He watched how she trembled a little, but was trying to put on a brave face. It almost amused him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he smirked, or thought he did. It was hard to show much facial expression with his hard scaled face and snout.

Molly furrowed her eyebrows and muttered, "What do you want, beast?"

"I've come to show you to your room." He deadpanned, unlocking her door.

"My room?" Molly looked up at him, confused. "I thought I was a prison-"

"You want to stay in the cell?" Sherlock snapped in a deep, loud, voice. It made Molly flinch but she stood up and followed him when he began to walk away. She had to walk faster to keep up with him, but she made sure that she stayed outside of arms reach. He must've noticed that because he came to an abrupt halt before letting out an annoyed sigh. "I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt.."

He had trailed off when he turned and saw her face. Untrusting, afraid, resentful, sad. She did a good job hiding those emotions, but not good enough to fool him.

"I'm not afraid of you, beast." She lied, looking away from him.

Sherlock continued to gaze at her a minute longer before he turned back around continued to lead her through the castle. He told her she had access to the castle and everything in it. He mentioned that she would find the household... interesting. He then strictly addressed that she was not to enter the west wing.

"What's in the west wing?" She asked innocently. He saw through it though, he knew she would try to figure out a way to escape. She was sneaky and he saw right through it.

"It's forbidden." He said sharply, a little louder than he wanted to be. He saw Molly clench up in fear, but they continued to walk in silence. He stopped again when they reached her door. Something was bothering him and he wouldn't be able to do anything until it was resolved. He looked down at her, narrowing his eyes. "My name is not beast." He had said the word with such distaste and shame that Molly looked up at him, curious. He continued, "A beast is what I am, not who I am. I wasn't always like this."

Molly just stared at him. His last sentence was barely audible but it got to her. The sincerity, the sadness in his voice caught her off guard and she couldn't wrack her brain for any words to say. She gave him him a simple expressionless nod, then went open the door. She turned around before shutting it, finding her voice.

"What is your name?"

"Sherlock," he answered simply. Molly thought he even sounded grateful, but in her mind a monster like him could have no such emotions. Only anger and hate.

She nodded once again, though not showing any sign of friendliness or forgiveness. She shut the door behind her, locked it, and fell to the bed where she broke her promise and cried.