29-Jul-2001
Hey, I finished two chapters in one week! I think that's a record for a story I'm still working on. ::bounces about::
Author: Tigresspern
Title: Beauty and the Beast
Archive: GW Addiciton
Type: drama/fairytale retelling
Warnings: Une+Trieze, slight OOC
Dislciamer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Une awoke. She hadn't been sleeping well for the past few nights, ever since the Beast had said she couldn't go home. Hilde would be sixteen in eight days and she wouldn't be there to celebrate. Lying in the large bed, Une tried to fight back the wave of grief that surfaced. She loved her family and wanted to see them again. But the belief that this was but a brief stay at the enchanted castle had been dashed. She was now a prisoner. Although she continued to put up a stern front for Aries and the Beast, her heart felt sick.
"Poor thing." Une rolled over and curled around one oversized pillow. "She hasn't slept well." She was so tired she was hearing voices. Or maybe this was part of a dream.
"Of course not, she keeps everything bottled up."
"Sounds like someone else we know." The first voice muttered. Maybe Une wasn't asleep and this wasn't a dream. They were actual voices, voices of the invisible servants.
"Don't remind me. He's been in a mood since then." The second voice replied.
"It broke his heart to have to tell her that."
"I know and we've all done what we could to cheer him up, but you know him." the first voice was beginning to sound exasperated. They were both female voices Une decided as she continued to listen. That meant that they were most likely her maidservants.
"That I do. Stubborn."
"Which one?"
"Both of them."
"Hey, how is it going in here?" a third masculine voice asked cheerfully.
"OUT!" both females exclaimed.
"This is a lady's bedchamber! Men are NOT allowed in here!" the second voice snapped.
"Ouch! I'm going, I'm going. Sheesh…" the third voice snarled as Une felt breezes scuttling about. "I was just wanting to make sure that Lady Une was okay."
"She's sleeping or trying too. At least she can't hear us or we'd all be in trouble." The first voice stated. Trouble, thought Une, why would they be in trouble? But that was the end of the conversation, Une heard no more that night. The Beast had been heartbroken to tell her she couldn't go home. Maybe he too was a prisoner here. Suddenly Une felt very sorry for the Beast. It wasn't his fault that he was cursed with such a frightening form. Perhaps she should become better aquatinted with him; she had been more or less avoiding him. Especially now, for they suffered from the same fate. Forever trapped in a magical chateau. Resolved in her course, Une finally slept.
After breakfast Une began to search for the Beast. The chateau refused to aid her though, sending her to the farthest towers and back. Each turn and open door led her to a new room, but never to the Beast. This frustrated Une and consequently served to further her desire to accomplish her task. She would find the Beast. Finally several friendly breezes whipped up and tugging on her skirts led her to a large window. Peering out it she saw the Beast walking calmly towards a walled, what she assumed to be, garden.
"Thank you." She said the lingering breezes. "Now how am I going to get back?" Instantly the breezes where once more became her guides. They bustled about urging her through doorways and down halls until she came to the great entrance. The doors swung open before she could touch them and she bolted out. Around the chateau she ran until she was sure she was in the spot that she'd seen from the window. A quick look around her told her she wasn't though. Pushing her glasses up on her nose, Une glared about willing the enchanted grounds to produce the Beast or else. That appeared to have gotten their attention, for a path appeared to her left. Not caring about her skirt hem, Une trudged off in search of the walled in garden. She had started out the morning in a relatively good mood, but after four hours of traipsing all over it had soured.
Up ahead she spotted the gray of stone and smiled. She had him at last. As she entered through a space in the wall her anger dissipated. All around her were roses. Most were red except the few bushes near her, which were pink. As she walked further into the garden, the roses about her changed from red to pink. Surprised, Une whirled around to see if the roses had returned to red, they hadn't. This is peculiar, she thought as she paused to study one large bloom. A soft pink crept up from the base out towards the edges of the petals. Fascinated, she reached out and touched it.
"I see you've found my rose garden." A deep voice stated. Jerking, Une turned to find the Beast standing a little ways up the path from her.
"Yes. These are beautiful if unusual flowers." She said noting that the roses around the Beast were a dark red. Suddenly it looked like a war between red and pink in the garden. Une's pink versus the Beast's deep red.
"That they are. Roses have different meanings depending on the color." He waved a paw over one bush. "These change with the person's dominant mood while they are in the garden."
"I see. I apologize; I am ignorant in the lore of flowers. My mother knew a great deal about flowers. About the only thing her daughter learned was that a red rose meant love." The Beast nodded.
"This is true. A red rose, not a dark red or burgundy rose means love."
"So what does pink mean?"
"Joy, gratitude, grace, sympathy, or admiration." Une glanced at the pink roses again. Maybe she felt a bit of joy about finding such a beautiful garden and gratitude to the breezes for helping her find it.
"What do the dark red mean?" she inquired fixing her brown eyes upon him. The Beast looked away and stared at the blooms instead. "Beast?"
"Shame, bashful shame." He replied softly.
"Shame? What are you ashamed of?"
"Lady Une, I am a beast. A lowly creature who is ashamed that you are forced to tolerate his presence." The Beast choked on his words, but he knew that she felt nothing for him and why should a human? A giant slobbering razor clawed creature that was more likely to terrorize a village than be kind. Suddenly he felt her beside him. She was staring at him, which eventually made him turn to look at her.
"There is nothing that you should be ashamed of." She stated holding a single bloom in her hand. Standing on her tiptoes she slipped the rose into the third buttonhole of his coat. "I understand that there is an enchantment on this chateau and you are a prisoner as much as I am." With that said, she turned to walk away. "Are you here every day Beast?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll meet you here again tomorrow." As she left the Beast pulled the rose from his coat. It was peach with pink tips.
"Sweetness and sympathy." He murmured before replacing it. Perhaps there is hope." The Beast smiled.
Une sat in the library. She still had at least two hours before dinner and she wanted to catch up on some of her history. She loved reading about the great wars of ages past and the military strategies that had won them. As she turned the page, her mind drifted to on going war with the neighboring kingdom. It was because of their war ships that her father's cargo vessels had been destroyed. The king of the kingdom had died twenty years ago leaving the queen alone against the enemy. Rumors of poison and assassins as the cause of the old king's death still ran rampant.
The queen was a strong woman though and had donned armor to lead her army into battle. It was all she could do, as her son was too young to take the throne at the time. But her efforts had only caused tragedy as the kingdom continued to suffer from the fighting and her son had been taken prisoner. No one knew if he were alive or dead. He'd disappeared seven years ago when a small band of soldiers from the other kingdom ambushed his retinue on the road to the summer palace. Since then the war had intensified. The queen had put all her strength in defeating the other kingdom. Yet they were still no closer to winning.
Une had only been twelve when it happened and she remembered her mother crying over the loss. In another year the prince would have been old enough to assume the throne. Two years later her mother had died. Shaking the sad memory from her mind, Une concentrated on her book. She didn't need to be thinking of her mother, it only reminded her of her family. Hilde would probably celebrate her birthday with Father and the Noventas. Sylvia was her best friend after all.
Abruptly Une felt as if she were being watched. Glancing up from her book she noticed the Beast in the doorway.
"Excuse me. I did not realize that you were here, I will go."
"No, wait." Une said hastily. "Do you like books?"
"Yes." He replied warily.
"Then why don't you join me. This is a huge library, enough room for two." She was trying her best to be friendly. After all, he was the only one she could really hold a conversation with. Aries didn't speak except in neighs and the servants only seemed to speak when she was supposed to be asleep. And she needed someone intelligent to talk with, not an idiot.
The Beast entered and headed for the bookshelf with all the historic works on it. He paused when he realized his favorite book was missing.
"Are you looking for this one?" Une asked holding up the thick volume.
"Indeed I am."
"I noticed the ragged edges and assumed that you read this one frequently. Would you like me to read from it?" The Beast hesitated for a moment then ordered a chair brought over next to hers. "I'm on chapter thirteen." She told him as he seated himself.
"That is fine, I've almost completely memorized that work so it doesn't matter where you start."
"Then I shall begin." Une read for a time until her voice grew hoarse at which point the Beast took over as invisible hands brought her some tea to soothe her throat. They traded off until dinner when they were both forced to adjourn downstairs to the dining room.
At dinner they had a pleasant conversation where Une learned much about the castle gardens. She wished to see the orchards the next day and the Beast offered to escort her. The trees were always in season, so she could pick the ripe fruit off the branches if she wished. She told him that her family's old cook had a marvelous recipe for crepes filled with pears and strawberries that she would love to try. At that point she felt several of the servants halt and thought she heard whispers. Yet she continued on the tangent saying that she wouldn't mind cooking them herself as she was the only one that knew the recipe. This brought more whispers from the suddenly not so silent invisible servants. The entire episode made Une wonder if she was finally growing accustomed to the strange place and as she did could see and hear more of the enchantments. It was in all likely hood possible. The Beast nodded and finally said that once she was done he wouldn't mind tasting the crepes. Also, if she had any problems with the chefs in the kitchen to come talk to him. He said this last part growling slightly, which caused all the servants to become silent once more. Any argument against Une cooking was forever halted by the tone in his voice.
"I do believe you have frightened your own servants." Une chuckled and she distinctively heard someone mutter something about 'onna' and sanity.
"Several of them have very narrow views of what a proper lady of the house should be doing." The Beast informed her before taking a sip of white wine. He was once more wearing blue, it appeared to be his favorite color. Une noticed that the rose she had placed in his buttonhole was still there. This particular shade of dark blue accented the pink and peach rose beautifully.
"As I have told you before, I like to feel useful. Cooking has become something necessary in my family. I've come to enjoy it and would gladly share my crepes with you when I'm through."
"Then I look forward to them, my Lady." There was an uneasy pause in the conversation as Une rapidly searched for a topic. If she continued talking then he perhaps might forget to ask her to marry him. It wasn't that she found him horrible or ugly. She just could not marry anyone she did not know well. The Beast was still a mystery to her despite the fact she had discovered he liked books and roses. It wasn't enough. There had to be more to the relationship before she would even consider marriage.
"Lady Une?"
"Yes?"
"Will you marry me?" She'd waited too long, he'd asked. Shaking her head she knew he could guess her answer without her responding verbally.
"I'm sorry, but no."
"Good night Lady Une."
"Good night Beast."
End Chapter Four
Tigress Pern