~Beauty~

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero año y felicidad

,my alarm clock sings. Carina must have set it up from me as a surprise. I feel a smile creep onto my face and practically jump out of bed.

"It's Christmas!" I squeal. Christmas has always been my most favorite day of the year. The mere thought of it makes my heart feel lighter.

I fall into the familiar Cha Cha dance my father taught me when I was a little girl. I sway my hips to the music, shuffling my weight to different feet to the rhythm. My hair gracefully floats around me as I spin around the room. A few seconds later I hear someone loudly clear their throat.

Gale leans against the doorframe, his arms are crossed and he wears a humored expression. I had chosen to leave the door open last night so that the fire's warmth would seep into my bedroom. I guess it also led to peeping eyes seeping in too.

I tuck my hair behind my ear to hide a blush. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Oh, only long enough to see you've got some smooth moves," he teases with a chuckle. Today, he isn't wearing his usual sweatshirt and sweatpants. Today, he wears a blue checkered flannel and jeans. He actually looks - dare I say - a little cute?

I laugh and shrug. "What can I say? My father was a good dancer. What about you? Got any smooth moves?"

His eyes widen and he shakes his head with a chuckle. "More like two left feet." We linger there for a moment, just staring. It's a comfortable silence. "Anyways...Get washed up, we have Christmas to celebrate."

He flashes a smile before walking off and I hurry to get ready. I sort through my dresser for something to wear. My hands find the ripped black jeans I was wearing the night I was taken prisoner by Gale. I feel sadness crawl into me as I'm reminded I won't be spending Christmas at home. Although during these last few days -as scary as it is to admit- this place has felt like a home.

I take it out and decide to wear it so I can feel closer to home. I also grab a long, green shirt with just below knee length, brown boots. I leave my hair down and pull a beanie over it.

When I arrive downstairs, I find Carina humming Christmas jingles to herself while setting the table.

"Morning, Carina! Merry Christmas!" I greet.

She smiles in return, her eyes sparkling with joy. "Merry Christmas, dear!"

"Where's Gale?" I ask while helping her set some forks down.

"Oh, don't worry about it. He'll be here in a second," she says with a mischievous grin.

Gale walks in a minute or two later as we are serving the pancakes. "Can I help?" he offers.

"Pour us some hot chocolate, will you?" He gives a nod and soon we are all eating breakfast and chatting about Christmas movies we've watched.

I zone out from the conversation and just watch their faces. The way their eyes are lit up, the way the skin around Carina's mouth wrinkles when she smiles, the way Gale's laugh makes his Adam's apple bounce. They're happy. Carina the maid of a murderer, Gale the once depressed and grief ridden young man, they are both happy.

And the holiday's aren't the sole reason.

Gale takes the whipped cream and sprays it directly into his mouth. Carina scowls but it only last for a second before she taps the nob, making the whip cream spray all over his face.

He would have thrown a fit if she did that just a few weeks ago. But now, he laughs and wipes it off his face. He sprays it at Carina and she squeals. Something has definitely shifted in Gale. Something's changed dramatically.

He smiles more often. He laughs alot too. He always checks up on me to see if I'm okay. He even helps Carina out with the chores despite her insisting that it is her job and she should be doing it alone.

It's wonderful.

We finish up when Gale pulls me to the side. "I've got something to show you." He gestures for me to follow him as he starts up the stairs. There's a pep in his step. He's excited. About what?

I follow him up and to the door that leads to the second half of the mansion. He unlocks it but pauses, blocking the entry way.

"Cover your eyes."

"What?"

"It's a surprise." He rolls his eyes at me and grabs my hands himself and places them over my eyes. "Trust me."

He leads me around the second half of the house by lightly nudging my back.
"Watch your step."

We walk down a hallway and turn right. Our steps echo in the large space and we come to a stop. I fight the urge to peek through my fingers as I hear Gale shuffle around me and the loud creaking of doors. He gently grasps my shoulders and brings me forward.

Our steps seem to echo even louder than before and a new smell tickles my nose. A familiar smell. It smells old but not bad. And it smells like paper. Kind of like freshly chopped wood.

The source of the scent is at the tip of my tongue...

"Okay. Uncover your eyes."

My eyes flutter open as they try to adjust to the natural light flooding the area. I remember the smell.

Books. It smells like books.

My breath catches in my throat as my eyes wonder a room that makes the public library look like a shabby bookshelf. Rows and rows of books tower over us. They reach so high that there are three sliding ladders scattered in the room to provide access to them.

I spin around, trying to take it all in. My mouth drops in awe.

I am in book heaven.

There are old books, new books, text books, Bible's, so many books! There are arrays of colors, genre's, and conditions.

I want to read them all.

Gale watches me with a boyish grin. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool? This is amazing!" After a moment of wandering I ask,"Why do you have so many books?"

"My mother loved to read." I give him a sad smile and squeeze his hand hoping he doesn't let the guilt consume him again. He stares at the library somberly and then quickly recovers. "It's your's."

"What?" I cock my eyebrow at him and he laughs.

"You heard me. Merry Christmas!"

He's giving me the whole library? For Christmas? Is he insane? Nevertheless, it's one of the best gift anyone has ever gave me! I didn't even expect a gift or anything at all. I had no idea how Christmas would go here and I certainly wasn't expecting this.

"Thank you," I say sincerely. And then I'm hugging him. My arms are gently wrapped around his neck and after a second he returns the hug.

"No problem," he replies into my hair. We release each other. "I want you to be happy."

And I know he means it by the glimmer in his eyes. I want the same for him. Though I know he won't ever be completely happy until he let's go of the guilt he has for hurting his mother and all those people. That's why I'm helping him break the curse.

But that's for another day. Today is Christmas. Today is a day of peace.

The rest of day floats by like a good dream. I spend the day in the library with Gale going through the books. We make fun of the cheesy, cliche romance novels and the fancy wording in some of the text books.

I even come back from the bathroom to find him deeply invested in The Hunger Games. His explanation is he wanted to know what Ryan Daniels meant that night when he talked about the girl on fire. I gave him a smile in response, explaining it was a great book but Ryan Daniels might have ruined it for me.

Now it's late and we are just about to leave the library when a retro home phone starts to ring in a high pitched tone.

Gale gives it a weird look. "That phone hasn't been working since I was a kid." He walks over to it's place on a desk and hesitantly picks it up. I watch curiously.

"Hello?" he asks into the phone. His eyes darken and a worried scowl overtakes his face.

I mouth, "What's wrong?" and he shakes his head in response. After another minute of talk, he puts the phone down and sinks into the chair next to it. He runs his fingers through his hair and bites his lip.

"Okay, can you tell me what's wrong now?" I ask feeling a wave of anxiety run through me.

He meets my gaze. "We're in trouble. Serious trouble."

~The Hunter~

My parents found me unconscious in front of my house. They came back from work and thought I hurt myself. I was lying on the porch with my head resting on my back pack, a note was clutched in my hand. I lied and told them I needed some air so I sat outside and must have fallen asleep. Luckily, they bought it and moved on.

The shriveled up note was written on ancient looking paper and possibly a quill dipped in ink. The writing read: You're welcome.

The witches fierce eyes flashed into my mine as I had read it. Had she brought me home? She must have hated me for all the things I said to her so why?

You're welcome.

Of course, she'd rub it in my face. That's what made her such a witch.

The new questioned that aroused had a seemingly obvious answer: Should I go to the police with this new information on the roses? No.

The police, my parents, my friends, everyone already thinks I'm crazy. If the roses don't reveal their visions to them I could be locked away in a mental institution. I can't risk it. I have to take this into my own hands.

But for now, I'll put it aside because it's Christmas.

I don't want to put it aside. While I'm sitting around the tree opening presents with my family, Belle is still in the hands of a monster. Christmas could wait. But my parents need this.

They need me to smile and pretend to be surprised by what the neatly wrapped boxes contain. They need me to watch Christmas movies with them and drink hot cocoa. They haven't slept well in ages and I catch my mother crying sometimes. Worry and fear that they might be losing their son has crssed their minds and this Christmas isn't just a Christmas. It's the final weight that has the power to tip the scale and send them into a deep depression.

So I do it. I put all the stress about magic, roses, the witch, The Beast and even Belle into a pocket for later. I put on a mask and pretend to be the boy I use to be.

Although it seems to brighten my parent's eyes and fill them with joy, it leaves me feeling hollow inside. And so when the day ends, I let myself sink onto the couch and frown. I let myself realize how empty I am. How broken. How much I'm mourning Belle even when I think I'm not.

Before the haunting thoughts and memories crawl back into my head, I decide to go to sleep. I tip toe over to the stairs and find that a bunch of mail lies on the counter beside it. Feeling nosy, I go through the envelopes. They flip by me in a blur of bills and other meaningless things when a glittery one catches my eyes. It is silver and outlined in a sparkly purple.

To: Grayson Bolton

From: Secundocasu Museum Art Department

Congratulations! You and a guest have been randomly selected to attend a masquerade ball to celebrate the new gallery opening at Secundocasu Museum. We hope to see you there.

My eyebrows furrow as I read the letter. A masquerade ball? Sounds lame. It'll only take away time from finding Belle. I'm just about to throw it in the trash with a yellow note flutters out of the pocket.

I catch it and turn it around. It is in the same handwriting and style of the note I got from the witch.

Go. You may find what you are looking for.

You're welcome.

"Belle," I gasp and nearly drop the note. That must be what she means right? Belle is what I am looking for. My heart begins to beat faster in my chest and hope courses through my veins.

This is by far the best Christmas gift ever.

Author's Note- It was kind of weird to write a Christmas chapter in July but here it is!

What do you think about this chapter? Let me know by commenting and don't forget vote! :)

Thanks for reading!