The Beast (20 page)

Belle stood, shivering as the water ran off her body. She stepped out of the tub and grabbed the towel laid nearby. Quickly, she started to dry herself. Leaning down to dry her legs, Belle noticed that she’d gotten water on the book. She swore and snatched it up, dabbing at the pages. Ms. Tops was going to chastise her for sure.

Her eyes glanced over the pages she dried, realizing that she hadn’t read them before. Her hands stilled, noticing one emphasized section.

“Oh my God.” The words came out as a whisper. She clutched the pages with barely contained excitement. Something new! Something that could lead to lifting the curse.

Belle rushed to the door with book in hand. She stopped short of the handle, realizing that she had to dress. But there were more obstacles than just proper clothing standing in her way. Aside from the library, the guards would permit her to go nowhere else. She had to get the book to the Prince, but until Edvina returned there was nothing Belle could do. Not even a moon dream would work, since it was daytime and the act required them both to be asleep.

Instead, Belle dried and threw on one of the many silk nightgowns kept in her wardrobe. Sitting by the fire, she reread the page several times and the surrounding chapters. By the time Edvina reappeared, Belle had taken to pacing as she attempted to fully comprehend the Laws of Fatum.

“My goodness, Child,” Edvina said as she came through the door and took one look at Belle’s fretting. “You’ll worry yourself into your death bed. What is it?”

“Edvina!” Belle marked the page and rushed over to the woman. “This needs to be taken to the Crowned Prince. He must read the page that I’ve marked.”

Edvina took it from her, glancing over the book. “Oh, did you find something?”

“It could possibly be…the hope that Aleksander was looking for.”

“
Aleksander
, is it?” Edvina looked at her with a sly smirk.

Belle frowned. “Really, Edvina. Now is not the time.”

Edvina chuckled, her whole body shaking. “All right, Dear, I’ll make sure it gets to him right away.”

The woman disappeared outside the door, leaving Belle ringing her hands. After several minutes, Edvina came back. This time without the book.

“Don’t fuss, he’ll be reading it soon,” Edvina said. “Now, we have to talk about your hair.”

Belle looked at her strangely, her hand going to the nighttime braid. “My hair?”

“Oh yes. What you wear to the ball is out of our hands, but your hair will keep us plenty busy.” She started ushering Belle over to the vanity. “That stylist had better get here soon.”

And he did, along with a small team. They combed and oiled each lock, layer by layer, prepping it for the complicated design he had planned. Hours drew by with Belle seated patiently. Only once, at Edvina’s insistence, had she been allowed to stand and stretch her limbs.

Edvina was busier than the stylist, overseeing the entire affair. Servants came and went frequently, each with some new problem that needed to be solved. As the Majordome for the guests, it was Edvina’s job to make sure they all had everything they needed for the event. A few times she was even pulled away to see to a problem in person. The stylist was just finishing up when Edvina returned from her last excursion.

“It’s lovely, Dear,” she said as one of the assistants handed Belle a mirror.

Holding the small mirror up, Belle turned her head from side to side. Her curls were piled high onto the crown of her head. Each ringlet was tightly set in place. Only a handful of hair hung without restraint. It laid down her back’s center like a waterfall of curls. The expensive oils had done their jobs, giving Belle’s hair a brilliant, controlled sheen. Belle found that she could hardly stop staring. Her Governess machine back home had given her many lovely and complex hairdos, but this was something that only talented, human hands could do.

The bedroom door burst open and a whole troupe of people traipsed through. It startled Belle, causing her to almost drop the mirror. The assistant took it back with a smile.

“I have done it.” The head seamstress parted the crowd with her proclamation. She wore a simple but ornate black and white dress. Glasses hung on a chain at her chest, measuring tape on a loop at her hip, and a marking pen and several pins were stuffed in her bun. “I’d been designing it for days now, per his specifications. Then just like that he wants it done all in a day. Never mind that every lord and lady in this castle suddenly wants work done.”

“Is it the dress?” Edvina clutched her chest with overwhelming excitement.

“Of course.” She gave Edvina a very dry look. “His Royal Highness commissioned this dress nearly a week ago, for Mademoiselle LeClair. And despite the little time he gave me to do it, I have created a masterpiece.”

Belle looked over the crowd, trying to find any sign of a dress, but there were too many people. They had piled in, filling up half the room. Judging by their attire, many worked for the head seamstress and others were servants that had clearly come along just for the reveal.

“Enough.” The seamstress waved an arrogant hand at the twittering servants. “Let them see it then.”

The crowd started to shift, all vying for a glimpse and making room. Through the doorway and up the center of the crowd came two younger seamstresses. They gently carried a mannequin. Upon it hung the dress. They set it down and stepped back.

Belle was speechless. She pushed off from her chair to come closer to the gown. Her hand tentatively reached out to touch it but stopped short for fear of hurting it somehow. Edvina and the dozen other people in the room all gasped and commented on the dress’s beauty, but Belle heard none of it.

“Green. He chose it for your eyes,” The seamstress said quietly, leaning toward Belle. “The skirts are solid silk so that the green can shine from the light. As you see here in the bodice.” She softly grazed a hand over the piece. “The gold embroidered reliefs are the only other color I allowed.” Moving closer to the dress, the seamstress spoke louder, walking them all through the design. “The chest line is low, but not so low as to be scandalous. The sleeves are not connected to the dress.” She stepped behind the ensemble and untied it. “This part wraps your bicep.” It was green with the same gold embroidery to match the bodice. From the wrap hung similarly-colored sheer fabric, long enough to reach past her hands. “This part hangs loose and will look lovely twirling around you on the dance floor, much like your skirts.”

“It’s beautiful,” was all Belle could manage, but her pleasure was clear and the seamstress smirked.

Edvina clapped her hands. “Well, we’re running short on time. There comes a point when fashionably late is simply late.”

Very quickly, the room cleared of everyone, but the head seamstress, the stylist, Edvina, and two assistants. Belle was little more than an object at that point. She was to stand still as they dressed her behind the dressing screen. Eventually, with the corset tight and the detachable sleeves wrapping her arms, Belle stepped out into the open. The stylist rushed over, quickly correcting any loose strand of hair and affixing it over the dress and down her back.

There was a knock at the door. Edvina called for them to enter. In walked a young woman who’s simple clothing and hair told Belle that it was another servant, but her clothing was unique to indicate that she had a specific job in the castle that wasn’t of the norm. In her hands, she grasped a large, thin box.

“His Royal Highness sends a gift,” she said waiting for everyone to fall quiet and look her way. She opened the box and each person gasped. “A selection of the crown jewels to be worn for tonight’s event. They were last worn by Queen Catherine. God rest her soul.”

“Oh.” Edvina clutched her chest, tears starting to form in her eyes. “His mother’s.”

Belle stepped closer in wonderment of the jewels. One necklace, a bracelet, earrings, and a broach; a matching set. The jewels were green emeralds surrounded by diamonds and gold. The necklace’s focal point was three large emeralds grouped together by ribbons of diamonds and four hanging sets of jewels. It reminded her of an upside down crown. The broach was a similar design, except with one teardrop green emerald hanging from it. The earrings were the same tear-shaped emeralds hung by more diamonds.

The keeper of the crown jewels handed the box to Edvina and with gloved hands she removed the necklace. Belle found herself growing straighter as the fine jewelry was placed upon her skin. It was surprising how heavy it was. The same was done with the earrings and bracelet. Only the broach was handed to the stylist, who clipped it into Belle’s curls at the crown of her head.

After finishing touches and some last minute primping, they guided her over to the mirror. Belle stared at herself in awe. The bodice of her dress gripped low onto her torso, giving her a slim frame. The low cut corset hugged her chest, both emphasizing it and displaying it without being distasteful. The deep green skirt swept out around her, giving Belle a delicate look that she was not used to. The design of her styled hair was regal, but still very womanly. All of this combined with the sheer, sweeping sleeves, and the set of emerald crown jewels turned Belle into someone of elegance and grace.

She found it was difficult to breath and swallowed hard to keep from crying.

“Tonight.” Edvina touched Belle’s cheek with the back of her hand. “You—
are
—royalty.”

All the while they walked, Laramie instructed her on what to expect from the night and slipped in a few tips. Belle could hear the crowd of guests on the floor below as they neared the final staircase. Only then did Belle begin to grasp the large number of people in the castle who weren’t servants. Over the past weeks, she’d only seen a few in passing and met even fewer.

They came to the top of the stairs. Men, women, young, and old, all mulled on the floor below, waiting for the call to dinner. Like Belle, they were dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry. The atmosphere was charged, the very air vibrated with their excitement.

Keeping Belle’s hand rested upon his own, Laramie guided her down the stairs. Belle’s heart beat painfully within her chest. Most everyone was too preoccupied with their conversations to notice her, but some did and they gestured for others to look as well. Soon half the guests were gawking at her with interest.

Reaching the last few steps, Laramie subtly indicated for Belle to wait. He stepped over to a servant dressed in a fine royal uniform, holding a large golden staff. Laramie whisper to the man who then banged the staff on the ground. The racket it caused echoed off the marble and stone walls, silencing everyone.

Then he shouted, “Mademoiselle Belle LeClair of Glace!”

Time seemed to stop as all eyes turned to her. Belle clenched her teeth, unsure of what to do. Laramie stood off to the side, watching her. Belle took hold of her skirt and carefully walked down to the crowd. Whispers reached her ears and redness crept up into her cheeks.

“Excuse me, your Lordship,” said a familiar feminine voice. Belle searched for the owner of the voice and Liv appeared, as she ushered a man out of the way. Beaming from ear to ear she came over to Belle, as though it were perfectly normal, and grabbed both her hands. She then spoke so that only Belle could hear. “Let us look like we’re the best of friends. Then they’ll stop gawking like fools and I get to look like I’m in on something that they are not. Does this agree with you?”

Belle squeezed the woman’s hands back, beyond grateful for her aid. The guests indeed went back to their conversations and only those closest kept turning an eye her way. “I am much accepting of this arrangement.”

“Wonderful.” Liv stepped back, not letting go of Belle’s hands. “Now as proper friends, we must compliment each other’s attire. Yours I see comes with a rather
royal
set. Am I correct?”

Belle glanced away, feeling slightly sheepish. Was it bad for her to be wearing crown jewels? Certainly Aleksander wouldn’t have dressed her inappropriately, and then sent her to the wolves…so to speak. “Yes, they are.”

“Every girl here will be jealous.” Liv gave her a wink. “The dress, the jewelry, the hair…it’s all divine. Really brings out your eyes.”

“Thank you,” Belle said, finding her nerves starting to settle. She gave Liv a quick look over. The young woman was equally lovely, draped in a blue and white satin with long white gloves that reached past her elbows. All of her hair, save for a few blond ringlets was piled up upon her head. “You are a vision.”