Disenchanted

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Disenchanted

By

Renegade Raine

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Chapter Two

The Deal

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Even if Xaldin was confident in his ability to manipulate other people’s emotions, he couldn’t do anything unless he knew exactly what would drive Beast into insanity. Even if he despised his Nobody form, one advantage was that because he was a creature of darkness, he was able to transport himself to any place he wish, as well as the ability to mask his location. He took advantage of that ability as he kept watch around the castle, trailing Beast in every room he went through, in order to try to figure out what his persona was like.

It was interesting at first to observe Beast alternating through emotions. First, he would witness him sigh several times, which most likely signified regret or dismay over something, and then later see him growl for no particular reason, which to Xaldin indicated that he was either upset or disgusted over another thing. Whatever it was on his mind, Xaldin had a feeling that it wouldn’t be hard to push him over the edge. However, he started to grow bored of watching Beast, as he found that he did not talk very much. Even if Xaldin had some pretty extraordinary powers, mind reading was not one of them.

As Beast entered his room though, Xaldin was immediately intrigued. Beast went directly to a rose that stood upon a pedestal, and gazed at it with a look of sorrow. He then hung his head down for a few seconds before turning around and letting a fierce growl echo throughout the room. Xaldin was smart enough to be able to tell that it was not any ordinary rose to be able to provoke a reaction like that out of Beast; he just needed to know what the story was behind it.

So day after day, Xaldin continued to stake out the castle. Luckily, since he was a Nobody, he did not need trivial things such as food and water to survive, so he was able to stay there at all times. His persistence was finally rewarded one day as he watched Beast seemingly angst over the rose again. But after he growled, a clock, which he had learned was named Cogsworth entered the room.

“Don’t lose hope, master!” he said encouragingly. “I’m sure that if you continue to be kind to Belle, she will grow to love you before the last petal falls and you’ll be human again!”

“But she won’t grow to love me if I have her locked away in her room at all times!” Beast yelled with a scowl on his face.

“I think she understands though that it’s only for her own protection.” Cogsworth replied while nervously twitching a little.

“No, I’m doomed to die in this monstrous form…no one could ever love me like this.” Beast said with a sigh.

“But sir-” Cogsworth tried to say, but was cut off by Beast.

“Just leave me…I need to be alone right now.” Beast said with his head down. Cogsworth sighed, but then slowly tottered out of the room.

Even if he were invisible, Xaldin had to hold himself back from laughing. This would be easier than he had originally thought! So the rose was what caused him to look the way he did. And apparently he had to make a woman, Belle to be specific, fall in love with him. But if Xaldin’s suspicions were correct, Beast seemingly cared more about becoming human than he did for Belle. So the solution in causing Beast to break was really quite simple. He had to make sure that Belle never fell in love with him. Which would be quite simple, because if she were to fall in love with him, it would be as if she were into bestiality. However, it would be even more simple if Xaldin could make sure that Beast did not love Belle in return. With a grin, Xaldin left the room.

Since he was done observing Beast, it was now time to move onto Belle.

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Belle mournfully looked over the edge of the balcony that connected to her room. She had finished the last book that she had brought with her to her room and currently had nothing to do to entertain herself. She was grateful to Beast for saving her life, and for usually being kind to her, but she wished that he trusted her enough to allow her to roam the castle by herself.

After a while, she heard her door open. She turned around and was confused, because she didn’t see anyone. But as she took a closer look, Mrs. Potts bounced into the room, creating a tinking noise with each hop. Belle sighed in relief and sat down upon her bed.

“You look down, dear.” Mrs. Potts said with concern in her voice. “Is there something I can do?”

“No…I’m afraid not.” Belle said with a sigh. “It just gets boring staying here all the time.”

“I understand.” The teapot said and advanced a little closer to Belle. “I wish there was something I could do about that, but I’m afraid that I’m constantly doing chores and I don’t get to visit you as much as I would like to.”

“That’s okay.” Belle said with a forced smile. “It’s just that I miss my old life more when I’m in here all the time. I’m especially worried about my father, since I’m not there to watch after him.”

Mrs. Potts gave her a sympathetic look before speaking. “Well, if you would like, I’m here now, so I can escort you to the library.”

“Yes, I would very much appreciate that.” Belle said with a slight, genuine smile. Mrs. Potts smiled back as he headed toward the door.

“Come along then, dear.” She said, as Belle got off her bed.

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Unknown to both Belle and Mrs. Potts, the robed figure of Xaldin appeared as soon as they both left. Xaldin grinned over the conversation that he had just eavesdropped in. The plan was now all set into place in his head. He now just had to wait to approach Belle when she was all alone, since no one else could know of the conversation that would take place.

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Meanwhile, Belle was roaming the halls with Mrs. Potts and Chip. Even if she appreciated Mrs. Potts for taking the time to try to cheer her up, it bothered Belle that Beast hadn’t even tried to talk to her for quite a while. She looked at Mrs. Potts and Chip, who were having a slight argument. She knew that Beast would not be happy with her, but she had to make sure her friend was okay. With Mrs. Potts and Chip distracted, Belle fled to the West Wing.

As she approached the door to Beast’s Room, she considered knocking. But she knew Beast well enough that he would probably just yell at her to go away if she did so. With a sigh, she opened the door. She smiled slightly as she approached Beast from behind. As she got closer though, Beast turned around, startled, and scowled at Belle.

“I thought I told you to never leave your room alone!” Beast yelled.

“I’m sorry, but I wanted to see-” Belle pleaded, but was not allowed to finish her sentence.

“Go to your room now, and don’t ignore my rules ever again!” Beast fumed, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘now’. Crestfallen, Belle ran out of the room. Gritting her teeth, she did not allow anyone in the castle to see her tears. She entered her room and locked the door behind her. With the door shut, she bent over her bed and wept. Even if she believed that Beast was really kind at heart, it seemed as though the kind part was deeply burrowed within him.

“Belle, are you okay?” Belle heard Mrs. Potts voice say behind the door.

“Just leave me alone, please.” Belle’s muffled voice replied.

“Alright, child.” Mrs. Potts said with a sigh. Not long after that, Belle heard Mrs. Potts’ trademark clinking noise grow farther away down the hall. Now that she was assured that she was alone, Bell sobbed even harder, not caring that she was making her bed damp with her tears. She was unaware that another presence had made its way into her room. She was also ignorant of the fact that a soundproof barrier had been placed within the room.

“I pity you.” Belle heard a deep, masculine voice say behind her. Belle sniffed and wiped her tears as she turned around. But to her alarm, she didn’t see anyone. Belle put a hand to her mouth. Had her seclusion finally driven her to madness?

“Who’s there?” Belle asked, testing to see if she really had been driven into dementia. But somewhat to her relief, she saw a dark portal appear in front of her, which faded to show a figure in a black, hooded coat. Even if she could not see his face, she could tell that he had his head slightly bowed, with his hands folded behind his back in a slightly noble position.

“Who…who are you?” Belle asked with a wide eyed expression.

“Not that it matters, but most refer to me as Xaldin.” He replied. “Even if it is rather rude to ask a person’s name, without first introducing yourself, I’ll let it pass, as I already know quite a bit about the likes of you.”

At that moment, Xaldin had a brief scene flash across his mind. All he could see was the silhouette of several trees in front of an orange sky, which Xaldin presumed either indicated dawn or dusk. But then he heard a voice say “I’ll be looking forward to our next meeting”. Even if it was a slightly higher pitched voice than his current one today, he was sure that it was him who had spoken the line. He didn’t know the meaning of what he figured was a flashback, but at least he had actually had a flashback.

“What are you doing here?” Belle asked with a frightened tone in her voice. Luckily, Xaldin had snapped back to his senses, so he caught the question.

“I’ve come to make a deal.” He replied. “It appears as the Organization I represent has some use for your friend, Beast. I am the one they have sent to retrieve him, and I’m afraid that I will resort to anything to fulfill the wishes of the Superior.”

Terrified, Belle attempted to flee the room, to warn Beast and everyone else in the castle of this man. But she found that some sort of barrier prevented her from leaving the room. Xaldin took a few steps toward her after her attempted escape and sighed.

“I figured you’d try to do something like that.” He noted. “But you alone have the power to make sure that I do not hurt Beast. And in addition, I will give you the privilege of visiting your father and any other friends that you may have.”

“My father…” Belle muttered in wonder. She then sighed before turning around to Xaldin. “And what is it that you want me to do?”

“What I need from you is something…most precious.” Xaldin said with a smirk.

“You don’t mean Beast’s rose, do you?” Belle exclaimed. “I couldn’t steal that away from him!”

“Oh no…” Xaldin said with a menacing laugh. “What I want is a flower much more precious that only you could give.”

“What do you mean?” Belle inquired. But Xaldin just chuckled again as he disappeared.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it, but I will need an answer soon.” Belle heard his voice say, before she was left in complete silence again.

“A flower more precious than Beast’s rose? What could he have meant?” Belle asked herself, genuinely confused. But then it finally came to her. “He doesn’t mean…?”

But Belle was sure that was exactly what he meant. Even if her beauty was surpassed by very few in the universe, she still had her virginity intact. With the situation falling down heavily on her shoulders, the only thing that she could do was lie on her bed and weep.

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Chapter End/Author’s Comments

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as I finally got the plot kicked into motion! And trust me, it will only get better from here. -Laughs menacingly, not unlike Xaldin in this chapter-

Anyways, as always, any reviews are much appreciated, especially constructive criticism!