June 15th 1793

When Belle had awoken from her sleep, she pulled the large duvet aside just enough to slip out of bed and into some slippers. Looking around the room, still amazed at the architecture and attention to detail within the furniture, she admired the curvature of the pillars and arches as she slowly walked over to the window. She gazed outside at the large courtyard, covered in a blanket of milk white snow that sparkled, as if knowing something she did not. Remembering her father, she felt a frown tug at her lips and she sighed. Only days before, she had been with him in her small and simple village longing for an adventurous and special life. She remembered how as soon as she came to the castle, she longed to escape and devised a very dangerous plan to slip out the window. She made an effort to smile at the idea that, even as clever as she was, climbing down from that far up would be impossible. She pursed her lips and turned away from the window, trying to shake off her nagging sadness. She nearly squeaked when the wardrobe, Madame De Garderobe, burst open her doors singing an operatic tune. "Whoa! What time is it? Have I missed something?" Belle smiled in relief and shook her head. "No, you haven't. I have just woken up is all" The wardrobe sank backwards, her handles rising up to conceal an apparent yawn, "My goodness mademoiselle, it feels like I haven't slept in years. Oh! I must dress you, now um… did you not speak of going down to the courtyard? Here, I have just the thing!" She excitedly pulled out a scarlet colored coat with accents of fur, handing it to belle with ease. Belle grasped the coat in her fingers, making a mental note that it was so much softer than anything she owned. "Thank you" Belle said politely; "I will return soon" she continued. "Don't hurry back cher!" Madame called after her, her French accent thick with each word. Belle gave a small smile and opened the large door with the coat in her arm.

Belle stood outside the beast's bedroom, unsure of whether or not to knock. He had saved her from a very hungry pack of wolves a few days earlier, sustaining rather deep wounds. She decided on a whim to carefully and quietly open the heavy door, a low creak startling her as she took a step further. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for any signs of life, and breathed a quiet sigh in relief as she saw she hadn't woken him up. She took small steps towards his bed, the large figure under the sheet becoming more visible. She was facing his back, the scars of his wounds beginning to form. She was glad he had healed so well. She recalled their little argument from that night, and how he bravely threw himself in front of the wolves to protect her. She leaned forward a bit, her eyes feeling tired as she watched his shoulder rise and fall with each breath. She was pulled out of her trance when she felt the spine of a book poking at her leg; she reached into her pocket and pulled out her copy of Romeo and Juliet, smiling at her favorite piece of literature. "What are you reading?" a deep, gruff voice said; belle jumped at the sound of his voice, almost rolling her eyes and to look at the ceiling "why am I not surprised?" he asked rhetorically. "Excuse me?" belle spoke, ready to defend Shakespeare's writing. She waited impatiently for an answer, but he cut her off before she could speak. "It's just, all the heartbreak and tragedy. Ugh…" He made a disgusted face, sticking out his tongue. "There are far better things to read" he stated confidently. "Like what?" belle said, raising an eyebrow.

Beast burst open the doors to the library, casually strolling inside "Well, there are a couple of things in here you could start with" he muttered. Belle followed him, curious about his statement. The light from the windows nearly blinded Belle, and in an effort to shield herself she squinted her eyes; before she could her eyes widened. Before her was a huge, extravagant room filled with rows and columns of books stacked over a hundred feet high. Gold accents filled the room, the warm tone of the marble bounced off of the colorful books; there had to be thousands belle thought to herself. The beast turned around, noticing she was no longer following him. "It's amazing" she breathed, spinning around to get a view of the entire room. The light made everything look so crisp, and the books made the atmosphere smell so antique and ancient. She could hardly breathe. Everything she had ever wanted in a library and more was alive in front of her, and it was evident on her face that she was astonished into silence. "I suppose it is" the beast said, tearing Belle form her trance. Looking around and allowing a half smile to creep onto his face, he realized he may have taken the vast space he had for granted. Belle's eyes sparkled, and he noticed her allow herself to grin at the sight before her. "Have you really read all of these books?" belle asked in shock; he looked at her, glancing around the room and began to smirk "Well, not all of them. Some of them are in Greek."

She stared at him in disbelief. As he turned his back to her, she scoffed, the playful tone in his voice not going unnoticed to her. "Are you joking...? Are you telling jokes now?" she smiled, waiting for an answer. He turned around and saw she was grinning. He suddenly felt uneasy, but not particularly in a bad way. It had been so long since he had such a lighthearted conversation. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and tried looking at everything but her and smirked. "Maybe" he said quietly, desperately trying to suppress any sign of a smile. He then turned away and walked into another room for belle to enjoy the books to herself. Belle watched him walk away, barely containing her excitement until he shut the door behind him. She squealed in joy as she spun around, not knowing where to begin. The beast intentionally walked slowly as he shut the door, immediately hearing her exclaim in excitement. He very quietly chuckled to himself.