She stared at the imposing castle before her, her breath taken away.

"You go on alone from her," the man beside her said shortly. She looked over, her breath making a small cloud in front of her due to the cold air. He was a short, squat man, not used to the exertions of riding. His cheeks were even redder than they usually were, and his eyes belayed his desire to return to a warm fire and a comfortable chair.

She did not blame him; for all that lay ahead was the dark castle and its master, a supposedly horrible, ugly, and cruel beast. Despite the earlier warnings of the castle steward and the man beside her, the head of the staff, she did not believe that the master of the castle could be that horrible. She trusted that her father would never send her to a creature, man or beast, which was that wicked. She was his youngest daughter, after all. Perhaps the castle's master was simply a man horribly disfigured, and thus he preferred solitude to the ridicule of his peers.

When the head of the castle staff continued to look at her, silent, she sighed and dismounted. The docile mare snorted as she gave the reins to him as he sat on his tall charger, and she turned her back on the two horses and the stern faced man. The gates opened with a rusty groan; she left them open after she had walked through. They shut suddenly on their own, and she turned in shock, noting in the back of her mind that she was now alone.

A tug on her sleeve brought her out of her shock, but when she turned, there was no one there. Invisible hands, small enough to be those of children (were there such things as invisible pages?) tugged on her cloak, pulling her towards the foreboding castle. Sighing, she followed the tugs. Once they reached the doors of the castle, the tugs stopped and the doors opened wide before her. Hesitating only slightly, she walked in, prepared for the worst.

The castle's interior surprised her. The hallways were lit by warm sconces, illuminating walls painted in warm tones that were paneled halfway in a dark wood. The portraits that hung on the wall were of men and women robed in the clothes that were not typical of the garments worn by the upper classes. Pausing at one of a woman smirking behind thick glasses and wavy auburn hair, she read the bronze nameplate: Maga Magna Natalia Pittmana. Her eyes widening in shock, she turned to the woman's opposing picture, another woman, but this one smiled upon the hall, her blonde hair cut short. Here the name tag read Maga Anggela Meraklia. Frowning, the girl walked three portraits down, where a frame held an elderly man, who was also frowning. His nameplate read Magus Magnus Larius Masius.

"You'll find that they all bear the title Magus, in some form or fashion," a voice said behind her. Gasping, she whirled around; she had not heard the other person come in.

It turned out that person was not the best descriptor for the hall's other occupant. Hidden partially by shadows, a great beast stood looking at her. Dark auburn fur covered his body, and a thick, darker brown mane spilled over his shoulders and down the back of his neck. His legs, bent like a wolf's, ended in two huge, clawed paws, as did his arms. Standing on two feet, as he did now, the beast was over seven feet. Yet despite his animal nature, the beast wore clothes. Fawn coloured breeches covered his legs, and he wore a simple white shirt and black vest as well. Only his feet were bare.

She stared at him, unblinking, until her starved lungs reminded her that she had to breathe. Gasping, she took in a breath, apologizing on the next. The beast waved it off, shaking his head.

"I was the one who surprised you," he said, a little sadly, for explanation. "Come into the next room; there is a fire going and it is warmer." He turned and went down the hallway to the now open door at the end of it. She watched him for a moment and then warily followed him, her soft footsteps echoing where his had been silent.

When she arrived in the room, she saw that it was indeed warmed by a pleasant fire. The beast sat down in a large, overstuffed chair and when she did not move from the doorway, sighed and waved his paw at the other chair in the room.

"I won't eat you, so sit." Gulping, she walked over and gingerly sat facing him. His grey eyes watched her steadily, and she was surprised to see a very human light in them.

"Now," he asked after a few moments. "You may call me Beast. After all," he added cynically, "It is what I am. Now, may I know your name and why you are here?"

"Oh! Ah, it's Kallia. And, well… I guess you could say the king sent me." She turned her eyes down to her hands, suddenly extremely embarrassed about her reason for coming.

"The king?" the beast asked delicately. "Did he have a reason?" She shrugged, looking up again.

"He told my father."

"So you were bait," the beast snarled softly, standing. Kallia gasped, looking up at him, horrified.

"No! My father would never do that!" she protested, trying not to think of how her agreeing to come to this foreboding castle had allowed her sister to marry the prince. It was hard though, and the thoughts of possible betrayal caused tears to come to her eyes, and those she also tried to keep from spilling. But she held firm to her belief that she had not been sent as bait for this beast.

The beast had turned, the anger fading from his eyes. Sighing, he extended a paw to her.

"Come, you can stay here for as long as you like," he promised softly. "You are tired and shocked from realising it is a beast who is master of this castle. I will show you to your room." Nodding, she took his paw after hesitating only a moment and stood. He turned to a door opening to another hallway, and she followed him silently.

He lead her up a flight of stairs and through many hallways, some dusty with disuse. To keep her mind off the appearance of her host, she looked at the hallway to her right. Portraits graced some stretches of the hallways; most of them looked to be mages as well, though some wore the clothes of the upper nobility. In other parts of the hallways, huge tapestries hung. No where were there windows; the hallways were lit with gas lamps, though how Beast managed to keep them all lit and free of smoke she could not conceive of.

"Here is your room," he said softly. "If there is anything you need, just say it aloud, and it will come to you." She stared at him, shocked at his comment.

"Like… magic?" she asked, too surprised to notice his terrifying appearance for the moment.

"Yes. This castle was once the home of a powerful mage," he answered, using the same stilted voice he had when she had mentioned the king.

"I will let you get some rest," he said, excusing himself. "You may take your meals in your rooms, if you feel so inclined. All I ask is that you leave the third floor alone. Those are my rooms." She nodded, her eyes downcast again, and he bowed his head slightly before leaving her, disappearing into the dark halls. Sighing, she entered her room.

The room was beautiful, well furnished but not overdone. The bed was a massive four poster with a velvet canopy. Thick down quilts covered it and there were more pillows than anyone could ever need upon it. Turning from the bed, she could glimpse the bathing room; its bathtub was a big soaker claw footed tub, the kind the king was rumored to have. Across from the bed were a ceiling high bookcase and a low backed, overstuffed chair. Walking over to the bookcase, she found that it was filled with books of all sorts; romances, poetry, histories, and others. She smiled wanly at this, and then walked over to the room's large window. It had a window seat with thick cushions. She opened the curtains a bit, but could not see much in the winter night.

"Tomorrow," she whispered, wondering if she would see tomorrow. The beast had seemed nice enough, for a human even, but he was still a beast. He had even admitted it when he introduced himself. She wondered how he had come to live here, where a mage had once dwelled. Perhaps he was a servant the mage had summoned and outlived his master.

She walked into the bathing room, suddenly very desirous for a hot bath. Looking at the huge tub, she wondered if the magic in the castle would fill the bath for her. She did not want to have to haul the water all the way up here.

"I… I'd like a hot bath please," she asked timorously, and was surprised to hear a steaming noise as the bath was filled with steaming water and aromatic oils.

"Could I also have a cup of tea and a tea biscuit, please?" she asked after a moment and was happy to see a cup of steaming tea, milk, sugar, and a tea biscuit appear on a tray.

"Thank you," she said self consciously, not knowing how one thanked a house. Shunning her clothes, she stepped into the hot bath, happy to soak and sip her tea.

--

The Beast sat in his favourite chair in the room that once served as an office, staring at the fire. He had felt the girl's request for a hot bath and tea and it had pleased him to hear her "thank you". He was master of the castle, and thus knew of all the magic that occurred within it if he so desired.

Groaning, he rubbed his face with his paws. He had thought that he was done with his relations with the king, but now it seemed not so. Despite Kallia's protestations, he was certain that she had been sent as bait. Though for what, he was not sure. Did the king truly think that he would have eaten the girl?

An invisible presence made itself known at the door of the library. He motioned with one of his claws, beckoning the presence forward. It was one of the washer entities. He opened his mind to the entity's thoughts, and his earlier feelings were confirmed. The girl's clothes had been stuffed with enough arsenic in the hems to kill him.

"Get rid of it and make sure that there is none on her to harm her tonight," he commanded softly and the entity turned to leave with its orders.

"Wait," he called out. "Do not inform her of this. She does not need to know of the king's machinations." The washer entity sent out an affirmation and then disappeared. The Beast sighed, standing to leave the room. Perhaps, if the girl remained here, the king would think them both dead. With his safety assured, he would no longer look to this old castle and its inhabitants.

"I must keep her here," he muttered to himself. "She is too naïve to understand, but it will be for her own good." This settled, he left for his rooms, and the lights flickered off and the door swung behind him, his footsteps silent on the carpeted floor.

--

Kallia spent the next weeks finding her way around the castle. She had been surprised, though pleased, upon waking after her first night to find an armoire full of clothes her size. Most were plain, everyday wear, though some were evening dresses of the same quality as the upper nobilities'.

Her quiet excursions around the castle caused the Beast to think of her as a little mouse. The few times they ran into each other, however, he made sure not to call her that. He could see that she was beginning to trust him, and he did not want to goad her into leaving. He enjoyed her company after so many years of solitude, even if it was silent company.

The window in Kallia's room looked out towards the castle's main garden. It was tucked in the back, behind the main wing and between the two side wings of the castle. It was lined with hedges, but they, as the plants in the garden, were withering. She could tell, that despite the coming of spring, the plants would not grow. She longed to go out to the garden, to try and save the plants, but was afraid too. This was due to the numerous rose bushes in the garden. When she had finally found her way down to the garden's entrance, she had seen the roses, her favourite flower. She was about to go and look at them when she saw the top of the Beast's head above the hedges. Biting her lip, she had turned and fled back up to her room. There she looked out and was able to see the Beast standing among the roses. He would gently hold one in his paw, then his shoulders slumped (she assumed he was sighing), and he would let it go. Kallia could not help but notice how attached this creature was to the roses. And they were dying.

Everyday he would go out to the garden, and she would be waiting in her window seat, a book on her lap. He went out every morning, after the tenth hour rang out on the clocks. Each day as she watched him, she lost some of her fear of him. A beast who loved roses as much as he did could not be a monstrous beast. After a while, she was able to speak to him when they met in the hallway. The first time she spoke to him, apologizing for being a horrible guest, he had been surprised to see her looking at him. She could not miss the gratitude and relief that also flickered through his man-like eyes though. So when he asked if she would join him for dinner, she had to accept.

The meal was simple, yet filling; it consisted of a thick stew and coarse, flavourful bread. Kallia tried not to stare, but she was insanely curious all of a sudden as to how the Beast would eat. He asked her a few questions, and she latched on to them so not to be rude by staring. Though as she nattered on, she did get a good view of how he ate, for she tried to keep eye contact, as was polite, as much as possible.

He would take a spoonful of stew, or a piece of bread soaked with stew, and gingerly place it in his mouth. He never chewed, only swallowed. She supposed it was because he did not have teeth that were well suited to chewing, as a human's are.

She talked about her family, how her mother had passed away when she was young and how hard that had been for her father. He was a great merchant prince, a man who brought himself up from almost nothing to being able to lend money to the king.

"He messed a trade up, though," she said, pausing to eat some stew. "And the king came to him to discuss something. It ended up with me coming here and my sister being betrothed to the prince. Our mother was distantly related to the king, so I guess that's how he managed it." The Beast nodded, silent as he had been through most of dinner. She suddenly felt childish for talking so much.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, looking down at her almost empty stew bowl.

"For what may I ask?" he inquired, amusement dancing in his voice.

"I've done nothing but talk… and…" He chuckled at her reason, and she looked up, surprised. He looked a bit surprised as well, to hear a happy sound come out of his throat.

"I've lived here far too long in solitude," he said. "I stopped talking to myself long ago because the echoes only made it worse. I enjoy hearing someone else's voice, so by all means, talk."

She smiled weakly and dinner continued, ending with a large portion of sticky toffee pudding. She managed to insert a few questions of her own into the conversation, and the Beast answered some of them very shortly and some not as shortly, but those about the castle he answered as fully as possible.

"There is a great library in the back wing of the castle where your rooms are located, on the first floor." He said in response to her comment on how she had almost finished the books in her room. "It may be dusty, for I rarely use it, but just ask for it to be dusted if that's the case. There's a great variety of books, from languages to travel to fictions. However, leave the books in the glass case alone. They are books on magic, and can be dangerous to even hold." She nodded, promising to stay away from the glass case and thanking him for the information.

He stood, as they were both finished, and extended his arm.

"Come, I'll show you where it is." She placed her hand on his arm, and he led her to where the huge library was located.

When he opened the doors, the last of the shelves were being dusted and the covers had all been taken off the numerous overstuffed armchairs. Kallia gasped in delight and walked into the great room, revolving to get a better look at all the books. It was a circular room, filled with shelves that went all the way to the ceiling. The doors were set in a niche, and windows framed the section of the wall opposite the doors. There was a second niche set behind a cluster of chairs where the glass case was situated.

"I'll leave you to your explorations," the Beast said, his voice soft and strained. "Good night Kallia and thank you for dining with me."

She turned to reply, "No, thank you!" He smiled weakly and left, his footsteps silent as he disappeared. She bit her bottom lip, wondering why he was suddenly so sad. She felt a tingling in her mind, but when she looked around her, no one was there. Wondering if the invisible servants were trying to tell her something, she perused the shelves. Upon finding a section devoted to Latin poetry, the thought fled from her mind as she picked books out and flipped through them.

--

The Beast stood on his balcony, looking out over the garden. As chance would have it, his rooms were almost exactly above Kallia's, and thus he had the same view. His paws gripped the stone barrister, and the strong claws made small gouge marks in the cold stone.

It had been hard to return to the library, the place that had always been his sanctuary, no matter where he was. He had once reveled in its book filled heights, much as Kallia had, but now there was only sorrow. He could no longer read a book without damaging it with his claws, and after he tore the first few, he stopped reading. It was too painful to look upon the tattered pages, and the books that had once comforted him now pained him.

How he longed to read again though. He missed it so much, even more than human company sometimes. Books were constant, man was not.

Growling softly to himself, he clenched his paws and the stone cracked in his grip. The broken off fragments cut into his flesh, reminding him to let go. He did so wearily, sighing. What was the use in remembering what was? It would never be so again. He was stuck like this, a monster alone, forever. In despair, he walked back into his rooms, but stopped at the portrait on the floor that leaned against the wall.

It was of a handsome young man wearing the robes of a mage with deep brown hair and grey eyes. A confident smile played on his lips and his eyes were lit in triumph.

"Get rid of it," the Beast snarled, and the portrait disappeared.