THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER -Chapter Nineteen (Patreon)

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

The next morning Beauty awoke again as she had done the day she had been set to come here to the sound of birds outside the windowpanes. She tried to let it encourage her onward for her day ahead.

She dressed herself into a thick, warm frock suitable for travelling in the autumn air and arranged her hair in a thick plait down her neck with two smaller braids running into it. She did not wish to look entirely plain and yet she could not bring herself to do anything fancier knowing she would soon be placing the hood of her cloak over her head and would need something practical as such.

She sighed gently as she looked at the small bag she had packed for the return journey home. Beast had granted her to take any that she liked to from the castle to fill with her things but she hadn’t found the heart or motivation to select anything much bigger than the one she’d brought here with her.

Unable to delay herself any longer, she rose and went to her father’s chamber door and knocked. He called out and when he realized it was her, he bid her to open the door and come in.

The two went down to breakfast a short time later where they found Beast already laying out a meal for them. “Seeing as it is your last morning here –the both of you– I thought I ought to... well, be a good host and I suppose surprise you with having things prepared for you. You will need to have a good meal before...before your journey.”

The two did not know what to say to that kindness except for their gracious thank yous and show of appreciation for such a gesture.

Beauty tried to keep a smile and a light heart as they all talked and ate their wonderfully prepared breakfast together. She could not afford to be sad or glum. She did not want either of them to grow concerned for her and she did not think it would be best to keep this memory of the castle as one of melancholy and regretful feelings.

Try as they might, the three could not prolong the breakfast to last much longer than an hour. There was an unspoken feeling that none of them wished to conclude and thus then set in motion that Beauty and her father would depart from the castle. But it was inevitable.

With an expression of lightheartedness, Beauty set off to her chamber to gather her bag and then meet her father and Beast back in the castle’s entryway. She paused a moment to silently bid her room goodbye and as she walked through the corridors and down the staircase again she silently said farewell to the castle she had grown so accustomed to and fond of.

She hesitated just a moment to watch her father and Beast make a little bit of small talk by the doors before she came forward with a smile.

“Let us head outside then,” Dunstan declared as lightly as he could.

“I am afraid I do not wish your horse to shy away from me and thus deprive you of your transportation from this place,” Beast spoke, “Therefore I regret to declare I shall say my farewells from here.”

“Thank you then, good sir, for taking care of Beauty and for...for honoring our arrangement most kindly and honorably.”

“I am afraid, dear merchant, that Beauty has much taken care of herself and of me these past weeks as well. She is just as much to thank as myself.” He bowed his head to her and Beauty felt shy by the thanks and formality.

“All the same...I bid you a fond farewell, Beast.” Dunstan and Beast shook hands and Dunstan almost forgot that he was touching a paw instead of a hand until he again saw the claws.

“I will, um, I will give the two of you a few short moments together as I go to fetch the horse. He’s just around the corner you said?”

Beauty nodded and with a gentle smile, her father slipped out of the doors leaving them to some privacy.

“Beauty...”

“Beast.”

The two stood in a short silence.

“I, ehm...” He fidgeted nervously; looking down at the polished floor they stood upon. “I trust you will have a pleasant and safe journey home back to your family.”

“Yes I am quite assured I shall if all goes well,” she answered with a small smile.

“I... I wished to provide you with some parting gifts...” he began slowly. “Most of which are incredibly practical but all the same I wish you to have them as...as an endowment for your departure.” He moved, then, and reached underneath the small table against the wall nearby to pull out a thick, deeply red cloak and a smaller something wrapped in cloth. The second gift was that of warm gloves for her journey.

“Thank you so kindly. I shall use these well,” she told him; already putting the cloak on and fastening it. She tucked the gloves into the pocket for now and looked back up at him.

The two stared at one another with some silence again passing between them. “Thank you for all you have done, Beast,” Beauty finally declared softly and seriously several moments later.

He bowed his head humbly. “Likewise I wish to thank you. Beauty you upheld the arrangement with such...” He paused and shook his head gently,

“It has been a pleasure to have you here all the same and I am glad we became friends.”

She smiled warmly. “As am I.”

“I wish you a safe journey home.”

“Thank you. I shall—” She meant to tell him she would write to him but knowing that there was truly no way for the letter to be received by him, she hesitated and stopped the sentence. “I bid you all the best for the rest of this year and through the wintertime,” she told him. “Perhaps in the spring I can return and visit.”

“I would like that very much,” he told her honestly with a nod of his head.

“Well then this is farewell until then I suppose,” Beauty whispered as she stepped forward and embraced him.

He wrapped his arms around her and gently hugged her back; having never actually participated in such a gesture before until now. He found it to be most pleasant and at the same time it broke his heart a little at knowing he would not have her so close to him again for many, many months.

The two lingered a little longer than necessary perhaps in their embrace but both were not considering the passage of time –only the feelings of regret at the conclusion of their time together that they now felt in full force.

Not wanting to cry, Beauty bid him a quick farewell and headed out the doors to join her father.

The two looked back just at the gate and held up a hand in final farewell to Beast who stood at the doors to the castle watching them go.

As they rode through the forest, Beauty shed a few silent tears against the back of her father’s cloak. She hoped with all her might that it might not be too long before she could return here to visit once more.