Blind and the Beast

Wolves and Revelations

-Belle-

She was walking, arms linked, with the king of Beasts.

She had recognized his voice to begin with, but she thought she was crazy when she started theorizing about who it belonged to. It was the way he spoke, with care, and the musicality of his voice. It was deep, not nearly as deep as the beast, but it was the unmistakable timbre. She hadn't spoken to the beast very much, but it was enough to memorize his voice. She would have described as monstrous, but now seemed normal in comparison.

"The weather is perfect for a midnight stroll" he said. He had been desperately grasping for conversational straws for a few minutes now and Belle was content to let him flounder as she panicked silently.

"Yes" was all she managed to respond with. The Beast was walking her, who knows where, to do who knows what, she was completely helpless, and here he was talking about the weather.

"It'll get windy here in a few weeks though."

How could she have been so stupid as to trust him and let him get this close?

"Interesting." She said, but she didn't find it interesting. She didn't even know why she said it except for something to say.

There was silence and every second she could feel her arm through his and feel the warmth that radiated off his body.

They heard howling off in the distance that had the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She tried to picture what beast was out in the forest, hunting, but it just made her laugh. She couldn't be scared of some faceless evil out in the woods when the King of Beasts was at her side talking about the weather.

"Maybe coming out here alone wasn't the smartest idea." She said, downplaying her thoughts and feelings.

He let out his breath as if he had been holding it and he chuckled in a high pitch letting her know that he had been thinking a similar thought.

"I wish the forest was safer." He said suddenly, "There is never any end to the carnage that happens around here."

"You need to find a new place to live." She said in a light tone and to her surprise he laughed.

"You might actually be on to something. Maybe I'll join you in your new town and get a fresh start. That would be nice." She would have thought that he was just playing along to keep from talking about the weather again, but there was an old bitterness in his voice.

"I'd be happy to just have people leave me alone." She didn't need a fresh start. It is nice to no longer be a target.

"Being left alone sounds nice enough, but I want a job. Something that at the end of every day I kick up my feet knowing that I had done a good days of work and be able to rest."

She smiled at the thought of the beast patching a roof or making shoes. "The Beast King doesn't give you enough to do?" She asked, poking fun at the lies he's told.

"yes- he uh-" He stopped looking for right words and Belle laughed silently. The King of Beasts, the Monster of every child's dream could not tell a lie to save his life. "I DO have a job to do but it's one of those things that is never really done. It actually just seems to get worse the longer I'm at it."

Belle was looking for the truth in his words. She supposed he meant ruling over the monsters. She wondered aimlessly what would happen if the monsters were left to run rampant. Death and destruction came to mind, and she shivered.

"Why did you come out here Belle?" He asked, taking advantage of the silence.

"I had to get out of the castle."