La Bête Ch. 02

So, haha, funny story - part 2 ended up being almost 12k words by itself.  Soooooo.... I broke it up again.  Now there's 3 chapters total.  Here's chapter 2 and chapter 3 (which is already finished and edited) will be published on Monday - in 3 days.  Whooo!  That's a lot of numbers, hey?  Enjoy!

Breakfast was a light mixture of fruit and pastries that she picked through with an appetite that was troubled by her dreams.  The more she considered what she could remember, the more she realized she wasn't being entirely truthful to herself.  It wasn't the prince that upset her, not entirely.  It was her behavior before falling asleep.  Unlike her dream, she couldn't pass it off as a fantasy.

She'd felt restless.  Excited in a way she hadn't experienced before.  Needy but unable to satisfy whatever her body wanted and unable to understand what exactly she needed.  It was frustrating and confusing and made more so when she remembered that the Beast was the one who had triggered it.  The Beast and his ferocious passion.  So much more different than the gentle suitors who called after her.  Or even the brash anger her brothers showed.  His was a fiery intensity that sent thrills down her back.  She'd expected vulgarity and mindless rage but found, instead, rough politeness and a fierce defense of her nature.

Beauty touched fingers to her delicate throat, tracing nails lightly over her perfectly smooth skin while closing her eyes.  She chastised herself for the unfamiliar emotions the Beast conjured from within.

"It's not something you should yearn for," she whispered to the empty room.  Her brow creased.  He was there again.  In her imagination.  Angry.  For her, not at her.  Her breath was forced from her in a short, sharp gasp.  "No."

The feeling was returning.  Beauty's eyes snapped open.  She slid back from her chair while standing and folding the napkin she'd laid over her knees.

A visit to the garden would help clear her mind, she decided.  His presence followed her within the estate and that only served to heighten the strange sensations arising within.  Fresh air and the open sky to counter the smothering feeling of the close walls.

The room swayed, briefly, causing Beauty to grip the edge of the table. She groaned, closing her eyes while angling her head down.  The memory of his anger was vivid.  Slamming the table.  Upsetting the silverware.  Growling with displeasure at her self-deprecating words.  The illusion she'd allowed herself to fall into - the illusion of believing him to be a gentleman despite his horrific appearance - had fallen away.  She'd felt trapped.  As if standing within a feral animal's enclosure at a menagerie.  Locked within as the creature stared at her with hunger in its eyes.

Beauty's breath caught.  The walls bowed inward at the edges of her vision.  She groaned, reaching delicate fingers to her neck.

The memory shifted, fluidly pulling her closer to the Beast until he stood before her just outside her bedroom door.  Merely inches away.  Brilliant golden eyes trimmed by black staring down at her.  His hot breath tickling her neck while his low, constant, rumbling growl strummed the nerves throughout her body.

Outside of the fantasy, leaning against the drawing-room table, Beauty gasped.  Her knees trembled.  Low in her stomach, she felt a stirring.  It reminded her of the night before only more intensely.  A sharpness.  Almost similar to the hateful cramps that visited her monthly.  Somehow sharper but without the pain that came with it.  Like claws digging deep into her flesh.

She moaned, unable to hold back from expressing the unseemly sound.  It was pulled from her by the roots without her awareness.  A raw, primal sound.  Her hips tilted.  Bending slightly against her will.  Curving back.

The sight of his teeth filled her mind.  Surrounded by fur and longer whiskers.  The flesh along the arch of her neck prickled as if she could feel him there.  Behind her.  Grasping her tightly.  Teeth clenching against-

"Sh- shameful," Beauty moaned.

Her legs gave out, forcing her down.  She fell back against her chair, gripping the arms to keep herself upright.

Wetness touched her thighs where her shift clung to her skin beneath her dress.  Her eyes widened at the slick heat.  With her attention diverted, she realized she could feel a pounding below that matched her quickened, racing heart.  She shifted in her chair and inadvertently squeezed the muscles within her sex, eliciting yet another moan at the incredibly sensitive response.

"I've gone mad," the girl moaned.  She slowed her breathing but found that it was difficult to ease the queer warmth filling her flesh.  The fine hairs covering her body stood on end and she bit into her lip to hold back a soft cry when they brushed against her dress.

She felt raw.  Exposed.  Her skin crawled as if eyes were upon her.  His eyes.  Seeing her vulnerable.  Naked.  Her corset crushed her torso, preventing her from drawing a full breath as she continued to pant.  The walls closed in on her.  Despite her surroundings, Beauty clawed at her dress, desperate for air.  For relief from the heat spreading through her body.

There was a hunger inside of her.  A yawning emptiness for which she couldn't explain.  Or understand.

The genteel young woman groaned with a low, wavering, carnal voice while forcing herself up.  Stumbling.  Gasping.  Viewing the world through a dark tunnel as she left the drawing-room.  Sweating profusely while pressing herself against the wall next to her for support.

After an eternity of wandering, she fell  into the glass paneled doors leading to the garden.

"Please," she whimpered while rolling her face against the translucent, cold surface.  "Please."

The door unlatched, spilling her into the garden on her hands and knees.

Pressure eased from her skull.  Sweat streaked down the bridge of her nose to the very tip, welling before falling to the ground beneath her.  More drops followed as she filled her lungs with fresh air.  The needles lancing through her scalp and into her brain eased slowly in return and the black fog filling her vision melted away.

Minute by minute, Beauty felt herself returning to a sense of normalcy.  The roaring in her ears faded to leave the sweet melody of birds calling to one another amidst the sound of wind rustling through the surrounding orange trees.

When Beauty trusted herself to move, she raised herself up, dusting her hands off before sitting back on her heels.  The brilliance of the expansive garden greeted her fully once more.  Her eyes sparkled in delight and she raised her face to the shafts of sunlight streaming through the boughs far overhead, as she had when first visiting.

She felt invigorated.  Her body settled itself in the peace surrounding her.  The gentle shushing spray of the fountains mixed with the countless calls of creatures creeping throughout the topiary and the soothing psithurism from the trees not just in the garden itself but surrounding the estate.

Bands of light lovingly caressed her delicate face when the titanic wood limbs shrouding the Beast's domain deigned to bow beneath the power of the mistral blowing throughout the land.  Beauty shivered from its cold, relentless touch while a flock of red breasted birds took flight, spiraling on the wind.

Sounds floated on the invisible river coursing through the air.  Beauty wrinkled her nose in concentration as she focused.  Fragments of the Beast's rumbling voice could be heard in the distance, the words broken into animalistic sounds that made the wispy hairs lift on her nape.

Beauty dusted off the petticoat and skirt of her dress.  Fingertips to the ground, she levered herself up to stand before patting herself down and touching her hair.  She frowned, snatching her hand away while affixing a stern expression to her face.

Let him see me as I am, she told herself as she moved through the garden to follow the faint conversation.  Perhaps a bit of dirt or mud spoiling my features may make him think twice before taking me as his wife.

She paused, fingers laced into the thin twigs of the sculpted bush before her.  Uncertainty clouded her face.  Her fingers pulled away to touch her throat and a shuddering breath passed her lips.

Or, perhaps he would prefer that, she wondered as a faint redness touched her cheeks.  Beasts, after all...

She emptied her mind to prevent finishing the thought.

The garden was enormous - large enough to encompass an entire village within the high walls hidden beyond her sight.  She wandered carefully, tilting her head to catch the Beast's voice and retracing her steps when meeting a dead end.

Slowly, gradually, she caught more of what he was saying until, suddenly, she peeked past a hedge to see him standing alone in a clearing.

A singular beam of light lanced down from the sky in front of the Beast, highlighting an enormous briar patch devoid of roses.  Gusts of wind buffeted her, drawing her scent away from the creature's snout.

Fur rippled on the Beast's tail, causing it sway gently behind him.  His broad shoulders were slumped and the tail mirrored his dismay, hanging low and limp.  The braid resting against his waistcoat stirred before falling still.

"... month," the Beast finished.

He moved, bringing his arms behind his back while lacing his thick fingers together.  His ears twitched just a moment before he turned his head.  Beauty retreated behind the hedge to look through the branches.  He turned to stare at where she'd stood.  His chin lifted while his eyes closed.  Beauty's heart raced, but she kept herself still.  Eventually, the Beast turned back to the briars.

"Hrrm," he rumbled, clearing his throat.  "A month before I send her away.  I thought I could hold her here; I cannot.  Her father misrepresented her nature, or misunderstood.  Docile.  Pah!  Submissive.  Hah!  I wish you'd seen her speak to me."

The Beast reached his hand out before him but hesitated before letting it fall.

"I cannot hold her here," he said, his voice soft enough that she almost missed his words.  Pain twined between the syllables.  "In my loneliness- in my despair, I assumed it was simple.  I assumed the finery would blind her to my wretchedness.  My estate, though overgrown and hidden, would bend her to my will.  If not love then tolerance.  I have everything and I would give it to her just to be in her presence while we dine."

Throughout his speech, Beauty found herself unsettled by the scene beyond the Beast.  The imagery betrayed a discordant note that toyed with her subconscious.  She picked at it, searching for what bothered her until sudden realization made her grip the sharp edges of the twigs.

While the light shifted within the garden, filtered by the gigantic branches supporting the heavens themselves, the beam in front of the Beast was stationary.  Beauty blinked rapidly as the continued soliloquy fell upon deaf ears.  The young woman cocked her head, turning this way and that in order to dispel the illusion but the light remained.

Once confirmed, silence greeted her.

The Beast squared his shoulders slowly.  He raised a hand, elbow bent, turning it before him, waving his fingers together.  And then forward, bathing it in the light as if warming himself.  His fur glowed.

The creature's imposing presence swelled.  His full-dress shirt strained beneath his waistcoat.  She stared, astonished, as his ears bent, angled down to lay flat.  From the side, his left profile showed.  He closed his eyes and opened his muzzle.

Beauty clenched her fists while steadying herself on her feet, readying herself for the roar to come.

Instead, a shy, gentle voice, deep but pure, called out.

"Que j’étais insensé de croire," the Beast sang.  He began slowly.  Uncertain of himself but growing more confident with every word.  "Qu’un vain laurier donné par la victoire, de tous les biens fut le plus précieux!"

Beauty gasped, covering her mouth too late to hide the sound of her shock.  Her eyes grew wide while her palm cupped her lips.  The Beast's strong voice rippled throughout the garden and the creatures living within settled on their perches to listen.

The Beast raised his hand, palm outward with his fingers opened within the light.

"Is all the sparkle that shines on victory equal to one gaze from your eyes?" he continued.  Pain.  Loss.  Heartache.  She could feel all of the emotions within his powerful song.  Tears welled from the corners of her eyes before falling over her cheeks to trace over the hand covering her mouth.  "Is there a blessing so attractive and rare as that with which love fulfills my hopes?"

His hand clenched into a fist.  He pulled, beating it against his breast with a low, ragged growl.  Seconds passed with his head bowed until he began once more.  Softly.

"The more reason enlightens me, the more I love," he sang with a hoarse, shaky voice that slowed to a near whisper at the end.

Beauty held her breath while lowering herself to one knee.

"To love you, dear..." his voice broke.  Through the twisted tangle of twigs and leaves, she watched him shake his head.  His ears flopped while the fur waved.  Black lips withdrew.  His fangs grinded together.  "Dear..."

The Beast snarled and finally, the roar she'd expected was unleashed when he raised his head.  Beauty blanched and curled into herself, bowing to ancient prey instincts that told her to make herself as small as possible to avoid notice.  When she finally convinced her body to relax, he was gone.

A rose lay centered within the light enveloping the briar patch.  The surrounding brambles were trimmed perfectly to showcase the fragile flower.

The petals, Beauty noted, were perfectly black.  They absorbed the light, drinking of it until all that was left was a void in the shape of a rose.

Beauty found herself drawn to the display.  She pulled herself up and glanced around.  That the Beast had vanished so quickly and silently left her on edge.  Her body hummed while her heart beat within her narrow throat.  She felt as if he could appear at any moment and, worse, she feared he would be furious with her for violating this most sacred area.

With her hands pressed against her stomach to quell the aches within, Beauty fled, retracing her steps back through the doors before closing them behind her.  She continued with nary a pause, walking as quickly as she could before picking a random apartment to enter.

Scents, pulled by the door she'd just opened, assaulted her nose before her eyes registered the scene before her.

Monkeys filled the chamber.  They paused in their play to turn to her.  Screeches and whooping calls sounded in small clusters until they all fell quiet.

She'd seen their like in the menagerie but never so many or of so many types.  Pygmy marmosets hugged each other high in the corner while capuchins bounced and spun with tails clenched around protruding perches.  Old wise monkeys with gnarled, wrinkled sable fingers stroking beards colored in outlandish hues watched her from the perimeter.  Entire troops lived together peacefully - indeed, she even saw tiny babies clinging to the fur of females from different species.

A black-furred fellow streaked with white approached.  No taller than her knees, he pushed himself along by his knuckles in a loping maneuver until he stood before her.  Dark eyes regarded her while his fingers stroked his curling white mustache.

When the little creature bowed, they all followed.  The rustling whisper of fur rippled throughout the chamber.  Before the last of them paid their respects, joyous dancing broke out among the first to prostrate themselves.  The rest joined in a frenzy, swinging, twirling, and flipping.  Beauty gasped when larger monkeys hurled smaller ones, only for the hurtling creatures to flip and grip onto waiting ledges with unnatural precision.

The makeshift menagerie transformed into a lively act solely for the purpose of amusing Beauty.  She laughed and clapped her hands until fingers tugged at her clothing and hair.  The girl looked around to see a crowd of monkeys gathering around her - a retinue who clambered on top of each other to fix and arrange her dress.  Smaller monkeys with bright pink faces and deft, tiny fingers, reworked her braid into an even more complicated pattern.

Two brutes dragged an ornate bench over to her before taking her arms with a tender touch to guide her to her seat.  Beauty sat straight-backed, eyes twinkling with a rare smile on her face as she watched the show while being fussed over.

To her side, a tiny baby dragged itself over to her leg.  It reached up, gripping her dress to pull itself into her lap where it curled and nuzzled her hand. She cooed at it and stroked its forehead as carefully as she could.

How much time passed, she did not know but the troop had boundless stamina and an endless array of tricks prepared.  Despite her delight, she yawned, hiding her cracking jaw with the back of her hand.

Two brilliantly colored creatures were thrown towards each other at the same time while the other monkeys stilled themselves.  Beauty gasped as the two twined their tails together, spinning briefly before unwrapping and flying to opposite ends of the rooms in perfect synchronization in an explosive final act.

"Bravo!  Bravo!"  Beauty cried.  She clapped her hands together but stayed seated until her tiny friend scurried up to her shoulder, allowing her to stand to properly show her respect and appreciation.

They bowed to her as they had at their first meeting and, now, she curtsied in return with a wide smile splitting her face.

"I'm afraid I must leave you," she told them.  "Dinner shall be waiting for me and I mustn't be late."

Among the beasts who attended to her, the two largest took her hand in theirs.  They guided  her to the door and then released her at the threshold.  Her miniature companion rubbed its cheek against her neck before leaping away into the outstretched hand of its waiting mother.

They watched as she took her leave, none daring to follow and the door was closed behind her.

Beauty turned in the hallway, noting where she was so that she might return the next day and every day after.  An invisible bruise formed on her tender heart when she stared at the door, thinking of the creatures living within.  Trapped, apparently, as the birds were in their own apartment.  She would visit both daily, she decided.

In the meantime, she hurried, lifting her petticoat to allow her to run through the hallway until she found her bearing.  She composed herself outside of the drawing-room, catching her breath before allowing herself entrance.

"Oh!" Beauty gasped at seeing the Beast within.

He stood immediately when she stepped into the room.  One arm bent beneath his chest, he bowed slightly and waited for her to join him at the table.

"Apologies, my lord," Beauty said breathlessly.  "I'm afraid I lost track of the time."

"Nonsense," the Beast rumbled.  "My own schedule was light, allowing me to arrive early.  Did you enjoy their show?"

"My lord?" Beauty asked, pausing as she bent to sit.

"The primates," the Beast clarified.

"I-  How did-" she stiffened.  Growing pale, she stood once again.  "I shall bathe at once and forego dinner this evening."

"I refuse," he said evenly.  "Please, sit."

"My- my lord, I cannot-" Beauty tried to say but his hand cut sharply through the air, waving towards her chair.  She sat, eyes lowered to the table.  "I- I allowed myself to become acclimated to their smell, forgetting that-"

"You look even more beautiful this evening," the Beast said, interrupting her flow of words.  He had his hands resting on his lap while staring into her face.  "I was crude in mentioning them.  I fear going without company has made my manners rusty and I beg your forgiveness."

"No," she told him.  Her heart skipped a beat at his compliment.  The prince told her thus nightly, but it was different coming from him.  Only, as a blush filled her cheeks, she couldn't decide why it was different.  Her fingertips touched the tight braid covering the back of her neck.  "There's no need."

"Please.  Join me," the Beast said while gesturing at the feast laid out before her.

She chose a sampling and they ate quietly.  Her attention focused inward as she tried to pick at the strange emotions building within.  Periodically she glanced up and immediately averted her eyes.  It was there that he'd shown his anger.  The fierceness that vexed her since.  However, on top of that, she remembered him in the garden.  His melancholy and his halting, beautiful song.  And the promise he'd made to himself.

One month.  All she needed to do was to survive one month and she'd be returned to her family untouched.

With dinner finished, the Beast rose, folding his napkin with practiced motions that were surprisingly graceful given the size of his fingers and the claws curling away from them.  Beauty followed, though her stomach twisted into knots.

He waited for her until she joined him by the door and then, as before, he guided her towards her room.  She could feel not just the steady increase of her heart beat but an eerie warmth that set her body on edge, leaving her keenly aware of everything around her - including the Beast just to her side.  She swallowed several times and clenched her fingers against her dress in anticipation.

Beauty's cheeks burned when they stopped by her door.  Rather than quickly trying to squeeze past into her chambers, she was surprised to find herself standing.  Waiting.  Waiting for the Beast to repeat his ritual.

Waiting.

Swallowing and licking her lips with her brain on fire and an unfamiliar longing low in her stomach.

Waiting.

His paw turned the handle to her door, swirling the air in the hallway when it opened.

Without a word, he turned.

"W- wait!" Beauty called out.  Her eyes grew wide and her hand touched the front of her smooth neck.

Why?  Why did I call to him?! she asked herself

The Beast froze with the exception of his twitching left ear.  Beauty fidgeted as he turned to face her.

She saw it then - his nobility.  In the way he held himself.  In the authority he exuded and the way he looked down upon her with his attention hinging upon her command.

No words were spoken. She stared at his chest - at the fur spilling from the open full-dress shirt and waistcoat.  Glossy and meticulously maintained.

The needles returned, prickling her scalp as the fires burned higher in her cheeks to burn the tips of her ears.  Her clenched fists trembled against her dress.

"W- W- Would you kneel?  For me?" she asked, not daring to raise her eyes.

After only a moment's hesitation, he lowered himself, pulling his right foot back to kneel at her command.  His solemn eyes caught hers and she exhaled, releasing the breath she'd held the entire time.

A month, she reminded herself.  One month and he will free me.  A single month spent exploring the estate with his presence at dinner and breakfast.

Would he? she asked herself after a pause.  Would the prince have knelt for me?  Without laughing at my absurd, sudden request?  Without challenging me?

There was no humanity in the Beast's pure golden eyes.  No white within the black rimmed flesh to break the illusion of the bestial countenance.  This close, she could see the slits at the corner of his nostrils, watching as they flexed while he breathed with his muzzle closed.  Hiding his fangs from her.  The very tips of his ears trembled, but her eyes were captured by his own.

A great roaring filled her mind.  Despite his closed mouth, curved fangs pressed against the outside of his fleshy sable lips.

Beauty bent forward.  Entranced.  Pulled by the gravity of the attraction she felt for him.  By the emotions she'd heard in his song mixing with his outrage on her behalf.

Her eyes closed.  Warm breath caressed her mouth.  Her lips touched his and she pressed forward until she could feel his teeth.  The Beast nearly broke the kiss when she raised her hand to caress the thick brown fur on the side of his cheek.  His own hand raised in response.  Hairs tickled her cheeks before she felt the touch of his leathery padding.  The paw flexed and she shivered when she felt the tips of four claws press into her nape.  Whiskers tickled the sensitive skin beneath her nose.

The Beast's lips parted.  The very tip of his tongue slid forth, flexing to push against Beauty's top lip.  Her tongue touched hers for a brief moment until it continued, dragging up to lick her nose.

He withdrew and Beauty leaned back.  Her chest rose and fell quickly as she raised a hand to her lips.

She stared down at him.  Breathless.  Drunk from the sensations swirling through her body.  And down.  Down to see a thick, fleshy red point peeking past his breeches through a gap in his shirt.  Veins surrounded the shaft and the head itself was swollen with a curve that reached to a strange tip.

Beauty staggered backwards, gripping the frame of her door.  She pulled, exerting herself mightily to force herself into her room before closing the door.  Once inside, she fell to hands and knees with her braid dangling beside her neck where it spooled into a coil on the floor.

Her body ached as if feverish.  She bit her lip with her eyes closed and then gasped at the memory of claws on her neck.

Not trusting herself to move, she lay there, panting like an animal until her body listened to her commands once more.  She dragged herself over to her bed to collapse into it.

The young woman writhed and whimpered, pressing her lips together with her eyes squeezed shut.  She tore at her clothes in a frenzy, twisting and rolling on the enormous bed until she lay on her forearms with her head against her pillow.  Cool air caressed her naked body and she moaned when it slid between her burning thighs.

Beauty turned, falling to her back with her legs apart.

"Madness," she whispered, tossing her head.

The thrill of his tongue dragging against hers electrified her mind, but it was heightened by the tantalizing sensation of claws against her skin.  He could've killed her in an instant by clenching his fist and yet, the knowledge of it made her shiver and tremble.

"Madness," she moaned.

Her hands touched her body, feeling the fire burning just beneath her skin.  She groaned when she gripped her breasts and hissed when she rubbed her nipples.  Every nerve responded as her hands explored and she deliberately dragged her long, lacquered nails against her flesh to remind herself of his touch.  To remind herself of the way his claws felt on her skin.

Further. Creeping as she writhed and moaned until her middle finger brushed her exposed, engorged clit and she cried out, arching her back.  It was unlike anything she'd felt before.  The wetness greeted her once more.  This time, lost to pleasure, she coated her fingers in it and returned to touch the sensitive nub at the tip of her vulva.

"Haaahn," Beauty whined, twisting her feet together as she rubbed herself with awkward, inexpert fingers.  Her pussy clenched and beads of clear liquid traced a path down her thin inner lips.

Pressure built within.  A part of her tried to stop her - to halt the alien sensation but she couldn't.  Her hand shook as she rubbed harder until it slipped down to slide between her slick lips.  She gasped, pressing her heels into the bed to raise her hips when the very tip of her finger slipped inside her virgin pussy.  The girl panted now, falling back to the bed.  Her breasts quivered and quaked until she pressed her arms against them, squeezing them together to rub both hands between her thighs.

Her lips moved, giving voice to the words filling her blank mind.

"Touch- touch me," she muttered through chattering teeth.  "With it.  Against me.  Your- your- Against my body.  Let me touch it.  Show it to me.  Your lips.  Your fur.  Your body.  Touch me.  Touch me."

That red shaft burned in her mind.  Swollen and thick.  She could almost taste it and the young woman swirled her tongue against the roof of her mouth while moaning.  The words tumbled forth endlessly.

Claws on her neck.  The feel of his fangs against her lips.  His growls and roars.  They all reverberated within, strumming her nerves.  Her voice rose, higher and higher and higher.  She could feel it coming but couldn't stop it.  It scared her, but she refused to pull her fingers away.  Her palm slapped against her pussy, squelching and scattering her cum until-

"HAAAAAHHHHN!" Beauty cried out, pressing her hands against her pussy and clit as her body thrashed and her legs shuddered.  They jumped and she tried to hold them steady, only to find herself rubbing them together over and over as she slid her hands over her body, smearing her cum until she touched her open lips and licked, tasting herself.

Exhaustion pulled her down into an endless abyss devoid of light.