At the castle
3rd person POV

Upon hearing the girl's words stating that she would take her father's place, the beast was taken aback by the sudden request. After finally agreeing to the request, he had left her alone in the gruesome dungeon. He set off to look for the servants who had brought her there in the first place, but not before lingering outside the door,for a few moments, watching her peaceful figure fall asleep.

He goes up to the nearest servant in his path and barks an order to him, demanding to see the four people who had brought her there.

When Philippe, Cortez, Annette and Leon arrive, he angrily glares at them, causing all but Philippe to shrink back in fear.

"HOW COULD YOU HAVE BROUGHT HER HERE? AN INNOCENT GIRL!" He roars.

"P-Please have mercy on us." Leon stutters. "We can explain."

Philippe seems to not be concerned with the blame placed on him. "It was her fault. She should not have been meddling in things that were superior to her."

"What did she do, because it appears to me that she is incapable of causing any sort of disturbance." The Beast retorts.

"I saw her outside the castle. She had found the rose. I had to knock her out. These three were responsible for her presence in the castle." says Philippe.

The Beast turns to Leon, Cortez, and Annette, who quickly start stammering their reasons for their actions.

"We had to"

"We sensed something about her! Something different."

"This may be what we have been searching for!"

"Sir," Cortez exclaims. "What if she is the one?"

The Beast stiffens. His gaze relaxes.

"Very well then. The girl shall stay here, but not in that repulsive dungeon. Philippe, prepare a room for her."

The android almost appears to be reluctant to fulfill his duties, but still leaves the room to do so nonetheless.

The Beast turns to the remaining three.

"I want you all to bring Elliana to me. My first impression was not the best, so I will escort the lady to her new bedroom."

"Okay, Maître." They all respond obediently and go to retrieve the girl.

***

Elliana's POV

I am awoken by the three people who first spoke to me at my arrival here, besides Papa and Philippe.

"Come along, dear." Annette says to me, opening the cell door.

"My apologies for waking you up from your nap m'lady." Leon says with respect.

"Where are you taking me?" I stay in the same place, demanding an answer.

"To your new room, of course."

"New room?" I ask, unable to process the two simple words.

"Master thought it'd be generous to allow you another living space. Surely you wouldn't want to live here." Annette explains.

Surprisingly, I do not feel grateful for this offer. Instead, it makes me slightly vexed.

"'Generous offer' you say? Well how come that 'generosity' was not given to my father while he lived in this hovel slaving away." My tone grows louder as I continue to speak. "Decent living space and conditions are necessities, so don't you dare tell me that this was arranged out of generosity and the kindness of his heart because if that was truly the case, then I would not be here in the first place!"

"We apologize mademoiselle, if we could change the way we've treated your father we would, but he's happy at home right now. Please just follow us to your new quarters and--"

"NO! I will live the same way my father did. I will suffer just the same!" I conclude. Regardless of my rude behavior and loud voice, the three of them kept their calm.

"Please, Madame. You have been given the opportunity to leave this horrendous dungeon." Leon states once again.

"You do not actually want to stay here, correct?" Cortez asks, seeing through the tough act I have put on. The truth is that anywhere is better than this dungeon. I'm probably going to be here my whole life-- at least until I find an escape route-- and I'd rather not spend it in a prison cell.

I sigh. "No, I do not."

The three of them relax, smiling in relief. Annette speaks first. "Well, then what are we waiting for?" She offers me a gloved hand to help pull me up off the ground. With one pull, and a very strong grip, I am able to balance my standing position immediately.

Strange. I thought.

Yet before I could question it, I find myself following the three of them to my new room, now curious as to what it may look like.

As soon as we step out the dungeon, thumping footsteps echo throughout the hallways. My heart races, for now I will see the beast for the first time in full light. I inhale and exhale with shaky breaths in an attempt to calm myself.

The footsteps grow louder as they near.

"Do not be alarmed when you officially see le maître for the first time. We'd rather you not run away at the sight of him." Leon informs me.

This just frightens me even more, to the point that I am almost visibly trembling.

"Do not worry, you will grow accustomed to his appearance." Annette assures me, as if that should make me feel better.

Le maître steps out from around the corner. The creature has been seen by me. The beast is finally associated with features that are almost too appalling to describe. With hair on every inch of his body and a towering height of around eight feet, he seems to be some sort of bear. Yet he is much too bizarre looking to be related to a bear. Perhaps there is no animal to compare it to, for no creature could be as ghastly. The beast attempts to smile, hoping for a friendly aura to accompany it, yet all it manages to do is place his rows of razor sharp teeth on display. Similar to the crocodile's teeth (minus the long snout) that they correlate to, they are able to make anything around them-- whether it be person or animal-- quiver in fear. Which is exactly what I choose to do. I immediately jump back behind the three servants, hiding from the beast that I had not known to appear that way before. If I was aware, then I would have never spoken to him the way I did when I first arrived.

His smiles quickly turns into a frown upon seeing my reaction.

"Do not fear, mademoiselle. He will not harm you." Cortez tells me, calming my nerves slightly. I take a step forward out of my hiding spot.

The beast straightens his posture to make himself look more sophisticated, yet that small movement makes me lose some of the calm I had when stepping out from behind the three servants.

"Shall we?" The beast says in a soothing voice, unlike the commanding one from before.

He offers his paw-like hand, but I am not comfortable enough to be so near to him yet, so I stay a reasonable distance behind him, ignoring his gestures. He slaps his arm down to his side and begins down the hall, opposite from the direction he was originally facing.

"Follow me." He orders, staring straight ahead.

Beast's POV

The entire way that I lead her down the corridor, I only speak to establish boundaries. I'm not some kind of tour guide, that's the servants' job.

"You are only allowed to stay in your room or go anywhere else that I order you to go."

I see her looking back at the grand staircase.

"What's over there?" Elliana says quietly. It seems like she is talking to herself, but I can not risk her wandering around there, especially not up the grand staircase.

"That is the West Wing. You are forbidden from ever going there under any circumstances. Do you understand?! " I say strictly, yelling slightly at the end.

"Yes." She replies meekly.

We finally arrive at the bedroom that Philippe has prepared for her.

I open the doors for Elliana and at first sight of the bedroom she seems astonished.

When people used to visit, that would be their initial reaction.

When people used to visit, I was human.

"This is all for me?" She questions in awe.

"Yes." I state.

Elliana sprints into the room and plops down on the bed, taking in it's comfort.

I turn around, ready to leave, but suddenly she stops me.

"Wait!"

I stop moving.

"What?"

"I don't know your name."

"I do not have a name." I snarl, for my name brings back bad memories.

"Then what shall I call you?" She asks.

"Beast. Because that is what I am." I state and storm away without another word.