THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER -Chapter Eleven (Patreon)

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

It was on the sixth morning of Beauty’s captivity that her captor brought up the most interesting question over breakfast: “Can you go through walls?”

“I beg your pardon? Go through walls?” She felt instant confusion and concern as to his state of mental wellbeing having asked such a question.

“Yes. On that day that you… When we made our first terms. Can you also go through walls?” She could see he was attempting to keep his outward composure to that of casualness.

She paused before answering; thinking on how she should answer such a question –with truth or more deception? “No. What I did that day… It was not illusion or magic really. I… I just pulled my hands out quickly so that you thought I’d gone through the cuffs but… I simply have very flexible wrists and hands. From all my days at home trying to sew, embroider, stick my hands into small spaces to retrieve things, trying to tie down the restless livestock… Things just added up together until I gained the ability to move my hands in ways others cannot. My sisters would make fun of me for it… until they’d lose a precious necklace or pearl in an impossibly tight space where only I could get it…” Beauty smiled in a way that seemed almost bittersweet.

“Do you miss them?” he asked.

She was taken by surprise. He had never shown care before for her life previous to being there. “Despite all the taunts, the cruelty, the differences in our characters… Yes, sometimes I do. They were my family.”

“I have never known that,” he murmured in a tone that was soft enough to make her question whether or not the statement was meant to be heard by her ears.

“Perhaps someday you will,” she encouraged at length.

He looked at her doubtfully and after several moments of long silence, he excused himself muttering something about attending to his own dish later on. “I trust you know your way back to your chamber...”

And with that, he was gone.

That night, Beauty lay in bed contemplating her situation and that of her captor. She was curious as to how he came to be the overseer of the castle. And the imagery of his reluctance over her mention of a family and sense of belonging further tugged at her heart and mind. She fell asleep before she could give it considerable contemplation.

The following morning, The Beast came to escort Beauty to breakfast in silence.

They sat down and began to enjoy their meal. Beauty kept her attentions to her food –not sure what to converse about.

Lost in her own thoughts, she did not notice that her companion was speaking to her until he finally raised his tone of voice a little and cleared his throat,

“Beauty?”

“Yes?” She looked up slowly and met his gaze.

“You wouldn’t, perchance, happen to know why it was your father was in my rose garden would you?”

“Oh.”

“Not to mention how he even found the castle,” he added on a little more to himself.

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure whether to reveal the truth or not. But eventually, she decided to trust him with it. “Well you see... the evening before, my father was lost in a storm and he lost his horse. He came across your castle. He tried knocking,” she put forward in her father’s defense, “only, no one came to the door and well, he took shelter for the night and... Well, please don’t be cross, eh but then... the next morning, he sought to leave only he thought perhaps he would be caught. And he felt embarrassed having gone against your hospitality –invading your hospitality... and well, he-he actually...” She wasn’t sure whether to reveal this but it was almost too late really to think of a way around it so she continued, “He exited out of a window and found himself, well, trapped I suppose –the only way out being through the garden. And, well that is when you found him –I suppose.”

“Oh, I see...”

“Are you angry? More-so than you were before with him? I-I apologize...I didn’t mean to—”

“No. I am not cross. I am actually rather surprised. I mean...entering my castle; staying the night... I thought there was something awry when I returned to my kitchen... He wouldn’t perchance happen to have eaten anything while he was here, did he?”

“I-I’m not sure,” Beauty told him; eyes downcast. Although she knew the truth she figured revealing it would be a detriment to both her and her father not to mention the reputation between her family and The Beast.

“Mm. Well...” He sighed. “Not much to be done of it now. Had I answered the door I most likely would have provided him food and shelter for the night anyhow. So I suppose in a sense I should not be cross. However, the clipping of the rose— I could not excuse so easily. You understand?”

“Yes. Of course I do. It’s understandable and is entirely within your prerogative. I mean, you have every right to be angry. That is, my father— he should not have plucked the rose as he did. That far exceeds hospitality; that is admittedly thievery. And again I am sorry on his behalf that he would do such a thing; that he would betray your... well... betray you in that manner.”

“It is done with now. No use in dwelling upon it.” He looked down humbly.

She then gained a little esteem for this beast from that statement.

The two finished their breakfast with considerably less tension following and Beauty did not let the thoughts of regret and guilt over her father’s actions plague her any longer.

The lunch and dinner that same day that the two shared also seemed less heavy between them. Conversation was not much but the air felt a little lighter. Both felt grateful for this.

The next day and the day after, the two of them managed a bit of conversation at each meal and Beast brought Beauty more fabric to embroider upon which he’d found down in what he’d labelled “The Servants’ Wing” of the castle. He’d also found a few rolls of thread which she could use. This had sparked a bit more light conversation over their meals as Beauty described her pieces to him and he in turn expressed his interest.

The following day, Beast asked if she might consider doing her stitching as the two of them sat in one of the large sitting rooms. She acquiesced.

Beauty showed off the rather large piece of work to him at his request before she continued on stitching; adding details of small flowers in the meadow in front of the castle she had sewn.

“The details of your work are quite...exquisite,” he complimented as she took up her needle again.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve captured quite the scene. It feels almost magical.”

She blushed a little; smiling with a bowed head.

“Have you seen many castles before?”

“Why do you ask?” she inquired curiously.

“Simply curious...and also wondering whether you stitched the appearance of this castle from memory to reference or perhaps from the recollection of a portrait.”

“Oh!” She nodded. “No, I simply imagined in my mind what it may look like based upon accounts my father and others have provided me throughout my life,” she explained.

“That is quite the talent.”

“Thank you Beast. And you: have you seen castles other than that of your own?”

“No,” he told her, “Only illustrations within books in my library,” he expounded.

“I see...” she replied softly then after a moment went back to stitching.

The two then sat in contented silence for quite awhile.

“I never told you how I came to inherit this castle,” he mumbled suddenly.

Beauty looked up at him with interest then lowered her eyes –not wanting to appear extremely eager. She looked up at him again with a softer expression so that he might continue, which he did moments later.

“Perhaps inherit is not the best word,” he corrected himself, “You see, I do not remember my life before this castle.”

“You grew up here?” Her voice was soft, yet curious.

“Not exactly,” he replied, “All I can recall is waking up in this castle with no recollection of who I was or how I got here. I was not much different, I imagine, to how you see me now. It was not that many years ago...”

This piqued Beauty’s interest and curiosity. She hoped he’d go on with further details.

It seemed now that The Beast was lost in thought as he was looking off rather vacantly as he continued speaking a moment later, “I found books all around the castle that taught me what I needed to know to take care of myself. In the kitchen were books and recipes on how to cook, in the garden I found a volume on how to maintain the plants that were there and I found pages that almost looked as if they once belonged inside a book within the wardrobes describing how things were cleaned and washed in streams. Of course, there are also volumes upon volumes of books within the library upon many, many other subjects which I read as well to pass the time.”

“You said you had no recollection of who you were or how you got here,” she began softly; interrupting his reverie, “but you knew how to read?”

“Yes. It’s curious, isn’t it?” he posed.

“Quite.”

“There have been few things I was not able to learn easily from these variously placed books and pages,” he remarked.

“What haven’t you learned that you are aware of?” she asked; now forgetting the embroidery in her hands.

He thought for a moment. “The only thing I have been self-taught was how to care for the rose bushes...”

She suddenly felt the weight of his statement. She didn’t reply at first and he too remained silent. Finally, she spoke up, “And that is why your roses are so treasured to you,” she stated softly.

His gaze met hers. “Yes,” he finally admitted after some silence in a tone that matched hers.

“I am sorry,” Beauty began slowly after further silence passed between the two, “I am sorry that my father cut one of your roses.”

“Would you care to see them?” he asked her somewhat lightly after only lowering his eyes in response to her apology.

“Y-yes of course,” she murmured in some surprise, “I would love to.” He had never allowed her to venture into the rose bushes within his garden before. She had only seen them from afar. Therefore this gesture was both surprising and heavily significant and she was well aware of this.

“Come along...” He led the way and Beauty followed him. He soon turned to look behind him curiously and slowed his pace so that she might catch up to walk beside him. She said nothing of this; only internally noting it and appreciating the significance of this gesture as well!

Before long, they had arrived at the rose bushes and he walked between them until they came to the same bush which he’d found her father at. Beauty saw it had the most roses of all the bushes.

The merchant’s daughter had never seen such large roses before in the entirety of her life. They were larger than her own fist at full bloom and most were the deepest colours of red. That, in contrast with the dark green leaves and stems surrounding them, made for a beautiful visual.

They were absolutely beautiful. And she knew she couldn’t argue that fact even if she had not known anything about them –that they were the reason for her father’s trouble with The Beast or that Beast had toiled hard to bring them to life. No, they were the most beautiful flowers she thought she had ever seen in her entire life even in spite of all of that. “They are beautiful, Beast,” she whispered in reverence.

The corners of his mouth twitched up into something of a smile. “I thank you.”

“I truly mean it. Your labours are far from being in vain. I truly am deeply sorry that my father’s actions disturbed the...sanctity of this place.”

“He could have done worse,” Beast admitted quietly. “He honored his agreement to make amends,” he spoke up a little louder, “Therefore the severity of what he did is lessened. And, you have honored the same.”

She bowed her head humbly. “I believe a man should keep his word and as I am his daughter I too shall uphold those agreements.”

His head bowed slowly once more to her. She could almost feel a deeper respect growing between the two of them for one another and it warmed her heart.

She had been growing a little wary of simply treating one another with civility and no more. The past little while seemed to be slowly mending that and this moment gave her hope that things could continue to grow between them into what she hoped might become a bit of a friendship. She had realized she had been wrong to be so harsh on him and antagonize him as she had done when she’d first arrived here. Her challenges had been to try and uphold her own dignity and presence to him but she could now admit that some of what she had said and done was unfair and unkind.

“I am sorry too,” she began once more; deciding to speak fully, “I have not been entirely fair and respectful to you myself. Can you forgive me for those times?”

His stare fixed her intently and she was afraid of what he may now be thinking. His eyes eventually appeared to soften and his voice came out calmly and collectively: “You are forgiven, dearest Beauty. I have not exactly made things easy for you either,” he added on afterward. “I have kept you here to exact a sense of justice upon your father for his actions; something that did not concern you in the least. But, as it were, you have accepted it graciously and as I too am of my word, I will be forced to keep to the arrangement we have.”

“I understand,” she responded softly, “I would not ask that you break the arrangement or your word.”

He nodded in acknowledgement of that. “Would you care to see the new roses?”

“There are new roses?”

“Well, they are not fully grown yet. There are just... Well, you can see where they are starting to grow,” he rephrased as he leaned over and pointed with one claw at a spot on the bush. “Here is one. There is another upon a different bush.”

She came closer and looked. “I see. This is fascinating!”

“I’m glad you find it so. I considered writing a volume upon the subject once but did not think there would be anyone but myself to read it.”

“You should!” Beauty encouraged eagerly then reined herself in a little. “If there is no book upon the subject in your library, I believe you should fill that void. After all, all that you have learned yourself came from someone else’s explanations as you said. A volume, even if it was short, describing the rose bushes of your garden and how to care for them and so forth I do believe would be a worthwhile venture.”

He frowned gently in consideration of her words. “I...I suppose so...”

“Besides, it would be something to pass time.”

Finally, he nodded his mane of a head.

“Would you care to... take lunch out here?” he asked, “There is something about the sunlight here today that makes me unwilling to pass my afternoon indoors.”

“I’d be glad to.”

“Very well. I’ll...” He seemed to be considering her now. “Stay here then and I shall fetch what we need.”

“I can help you,” she offered.

“I...” He paused in thought. “Well, alright. Come then.”

The two spent the afternoon partaking in their picnic within the rose garden and then in a leisurely stroll through some of the wooded area nearby the castle.

When Beauty returned to her room that night, she felt as though somehow the two had connected a bond that day that would be the start of a familiarity and ease between them. With this to warm her heart, she fell asleep with a smile on her face thinking to herself that however long her captivity was remaining, it perhaps now would not be so dreary or intolerable as much as it had been. It was a wonderful feeling to fall asleep to.