Steel Roses

The Treasury

Playing for The Beast became something of a routine after that. The Beast would sit and listen while reading in the evening while Beldon practiced and they would go straight to dinner from the music room. Spending that time together didn't really mean they spoke any more than normal, but Beldon knew The Beast had relaxed another level around him.

He knew for sure the day The Beast brought a sketch pad with him. Beldon didn't mention it; he knew The Beast wouldn't show him anything as rough as a sketch but the fact that he even drew a scribble around Beldon meant Beldon must have gained some sort of trust.

He did itch to know what The Beast sketched though. He usually sat at one of the window seats so he must have been drawing the different scenes, Beldon still wanted to see though.

A few weeks later found Beldon wondering the hidden passage ways again, making his way to The Beast's quarters. It had been a while, but he had decided to see his family again and see what was happening.

Though he knew the way, he stopped, looking around. He hadn't been concentrating on where he had been going - his thoughts wrapped up in his family - and he suddenly realised he didn't know where he was. When had he taken a wrong turn?

He looked around.

Where was he anyway? He didn't recognise these corridors. Thinking back to where he had been - that he had last known - he couldn't place these corridors in the layout of the castle.

He moved over to one of the walls, quickly finding the slot to look into one of the rooms and pushed it aside. He frowned. It was pitch dark inside. He moved along the wall, finding others, looking in a seeing the exact same thing. Just darkness.

He frowned, then pushed at the wall.

It slid open silently and Beldon reached into his back pocket, pulling out a candle. Holding it to one of the torches, he then tipped the candle slightly so the wax didn't fall on him and stepped into the room, holding the candle high.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

Gold. Mountains and mountains of gold and silver and precious jewels that stretched off into the distance. He had found the treasury. Well no wonder he couldn't understand where these rooms fitted into the layout of the castle, they were secret rooms.

He took a step forwards, coins skittering away and knelt down, lifting up a handful of the coins, looking at them.

The sheer wealth of The Beast left him stunned... but eventually he let the coins fall away. He knew how money could derail someone. He had seen how his family struggled to survive without all their wealth and pretty gowns and fine wines and expensive jewellery and every other pointless thing they had.

He knelt there for a long time, looking into the darkness, wondering just how far back the room went. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. What Jean wouldn't give to get his hands on such a find.

A hand slammed down on his shoulder making him whirl in surprise, wax catching his hand making him drop the candle, throwing him into a darkness just out of reach of the torches in the hallway. His eyes spun, confused then flicked up and he fell backwards in fright, staring up at the pair of furious white eyes that glared down on him.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Sebastian snarled, his hand catching the collar of Beldon's shirt, wrenching him forwards.

"Let go of me!" Beldon snarled back, his hands catching Sebastian's, trying to push him back.

"You have no place here, are you hoping to steal this!?" Sebastian shouted, forcing Beldon down, his other hand catching Beldon's hair.

"What would I do with gold when I'm a prisoner here!?" Beldon choked, trying to pull free, "what is wrong with you?! Let GO!"