𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐃 | 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬

𝐗𝐕. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐭

𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 herself at the window beside the door. There was a small alcove and the windowsill served as a seat. She gently brushed her hand against the wood reminiscing to a time when Celine was much younger. She'd catch her daughter seated by the window, sketching pictures of the night sky by way of lantern light when it was far past the girl's bedtime.

Her heart ached as her concern grew. The storm had only grown worse since Celine had left. Had she known, Althea never would have let her daughter leave. She would've tried harder to make her stay, even though she knew the girl would attempt to sneak out to find Belle on her own.

Celine cared about that girl more than she liked. It wasn't that she personally held anything against her, but she didn't like that it brought unwanted attention to Celine... attention that she had tried to dismiss.

They had moved to the village not long after Celine had been born. She was alone at that point. An unfortunate set of circumstances had ensured that she'd never lay eyes on her husband again.

She tried to force the memories away, but the blinding snow outside refused to let her forget. The last time that Villeneuve had seen a storm so bad was practically ten years ago.

There was a reason there were whispers behind her back. She thought she'd made sure the term witch would never be heard again, but she was mistaken. As time passed, she grew more frail and rusty when it came to the skill she had once perfected. But she had set them all aside to raise her daughter away from the dangers of the world.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she missed the shadows approaching her home. That is until they knocked. Her heart jumped with delight and relief believing that she'd see Celine when she opened the door. However, her face fell at the sight of Gaston, Maurice, LeFou, and the girl cradled in Gaston's arms. Celine wasn't with them.

Her expression hardened. "What do you want?"

"Please," Gaston made his request. Belle's unconscious form shivered in his arms. "The storm only grows worse. We'll never make it back to town."

Althea took a step back and silently invited them into her home. Gaston eagerly stepped inside and made himself at home in front of the fire, wrapping a blanket around Belle to try and warm her. Maurice was hesitant though, as if he'd recently had a poor experience with a host's hospitality.

Once all were inside, Althea glanced just one last time outside to make sure she hadn't been mistaken, then closed the door behind her. The room began to warm back up as the snow that had blown inside melted.

LeFou's teeth chattered, but he was the most observant. "Did you lose something?"

"Did you happen to see Celine—"

"Celine?" Gaston interrupted in confusion. "I told her to go home, why would she be out in the woods..."

Althea diverted her eyes, picking up her kettle from the table and entered the kitchen to prepare a warm drink for her unwanted guests while avoiding the conversation.