My Candle in the Darkness ~ A Beauty and the Beast fanfiction

Chapter VI

"'Love can transpose to form and dignity,'" Belle read. She and I were sitting on the side of the Beast's bed. Belle was reading while I was working on my story again. I didn't even need to look at the book Belle was reading to know it was Shakespeare's A Middsummer Night's Dream.

"'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,'" I recited. I was a writer, so I knew a few Shakespeare lines.

"'And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind,'" the Beast recited. I hadn't even noticed he had woken up.

"You know Shakespeare?" Belle asked.

"I had an expensive education," the Beast replied.

"Actually, Romeo and Juliet is my favourite play," Belle said.

"I prefer Pyramus and Thisbe," I told her and the Beast groaned.

"Ugh, why is that not a surprise?" he asked.

"I'm sorry?" Belle asked at the same time as I said, "Excuse me?"

"Well, like the heartache and pining and bleh..." the Beast replied and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "So many better things to read."

"Like what?" Belle asked.

"I'll show you," the Beast said and climbed out of bed. He put on a shirt and a coat and gestured at us to follow him. Belle and I looked at each other oddly. I shrugged and followed the Beast downstairs, Belle walking behind me.

The Beast walked all the way to a part of the castle I hadn't seen yet. He stopped in front of a pair of double doors and waited for Belle and me to catch up with him. He then opened the doors and stepped into the room.

It was the largest library I had ever seen. There were bookshelves all around me, filled with thousands of books.

"Well, there are a couple of things in here you could start with," the Beast said nonchalantly, like it was no big deal at all. "You alright?" He stopped when he saw Belle and me looking around with big eyes. Someone who didn't like reading would never understand that, but Belle and I were crazy for books and this was probably the best thing we had ever seen.

"It's truly amazing!" I said. "May I?" I gestured at one of the bookshelves.

"Oh, go ahead," the Beast said and I walked towards the bookshelf, grabbing the first book I could find. It was covered with dust and I blew it away. I opened it and was surprised that it didn't fall apart. It looked like it was at least a hundred years old.

"It's wonderful," Belle said, looking around.

"Yes, I suppose it is," the Beast said, looking around the library as if it was the first time he saw it. "Well, if you like it so much, then it is yours."

"Really? Thank you!" I said and the Beast looked at me with a puzzled expression. I realised he had probably forgotten I was there and quickly buried my nose back in the book, blushing.

"Have you really read every one of these books?" Belle asked.

"What?" the Beast asked. "Pfft - well, not all of them... Some of them are in Greek..."

I covered my grin with the book in my hands.

"Was that a joke?" Belle laughed. "Are you making jokes now?"

The Beast looked around, as if hoping the answer was written on one of the walls. "Maybe," he said eventually and walked away.

Belle started to laugh and I sniggered from behind my book.

"Have you ever seen a library this large?" Belle asked, covering her mouth with her hands and making an excited sound.

It was a snowy morning when Belle, the Beast and I decided to go out and walk around in the snow. Belle had brought Philippe from the stables and was now trying to get the Beast to pet him. Every time the Beast approached Philippe, he started to whinny nervously and walked away from the Beast. Belle had to calm him down and they would start over again. I was watching from a distance, standing on the landing tread of the stairs to the entrance of the castle. I was leaning on the handrail, watching Belle and the Beast with a smile on my face.