[NaNoWriMo] Narrative Causality Delayed pt Four
For the curious, we finally did join the Nano site, we're 'Mischif', friend if you'd like.
-we're using that as a count for the month, this fic will prolly be finished in 25,000 words.
Word Count: 1,558
Con't from here.
+++
"Shh... shh... shh...." Beast watched as Belle paced back and forth, attempting to soothe the screaming baby. Jack didn't appear to care that his mother looked like she would gladly go out and kill any of the infant's enemies or rape, loot and pillage villages or rob passing merchants just to get the baby to shut up. He just stuck his fingers in his mouth and yowled.
Beast had found himself hanging around the Nursery a lot more lately, watching his guests. The servants did as well, happy to have someone to help, things to do and new company with news from the outside world. The room seemed to get just a little lighter every day, changing from something cold and foreign, to something approaching inviting.
"I don't understand." Belle not quite wailed as she did another lap around the room. "He was fine. He was over the colic. I've changed him, I've fed him, I've burped him, I'm holding him, I don't know what else to do! I don't know what's going on!!!"
Beast agreed with her. For the past several weeks, they'd all been treated to the sound and noise of a well loved happy little baby boy. Except when Beast lost his temper and caused Jack to scream, something he was learning not to do since an irate Belle handing him the caterwauling infant was not long to follow. And now this.
And when the baby wasn't happy...
"Well, dear..." Mrs. Potts said as she bounced in circles on the table after. "We perhaps we could check to see if there's a book in the Library to explain it."
The effect was instantaneous. "You have a Library?!" Belle exclaimed, her face suddenly animated. Beast straightened slightly. It was as if someone had lit a candle in the woman. Even Jack stopped his whimpering to look at his mother.
"Oh, yes." Cogsworth grinned proudly. "Indeed."
"With books!" Lumière added helpfully, hopping off the table.
"Gads of books!" Cogsworth followed the candlestick, dashing ahead of his friend towards the door.
Lumière followed, dashing ahead of Cogsworth. "Mountains of books!"
"Forests of books!"
"Cascades of books!"
"Swamps of books!"
"More books than you'll ever be able to read-" Cogsworth gibbered on, happy to have a subject in which to ramble on upon length.
"I'll show you to the Library." Beast rumbled, rising from beside the fire place.
Belle looked between them and the two bouncing servants, still rambling and trying to out-do the other. "But..."
"They'll be at this for a while." He assured her, opening the door. She quickly stepped out, a whimpering Jack over one shoulder. Mrs. Potts followed, as stealthy as a china teapot can be.
"-Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper-" The door closed behind them, cutting off the majordomo's prattling. Mrs. Potts laughed quietly, a fond sound as they began down the hallway.
"Can you read?" Beast inquired, rising up to walk on his hindlegs beside her.
"Oh, yes." Belle practically bounced at the thought. "It was my favourite thing to do... before Jack. Do you mind if I read them?" She added as a cautious after thought.
"Why would I mind?" He rumbled. The books were just wasting away where they were now. Better for someone to get some enjoyment out of them.
"Because..." A flash of pain crossed her face as her fingertips brushed where the dark bruise had been on her cheekbones. "Never mind. It's nothing."
"It's not nothing, dear." Mrs. Potts chided. "Does it have to do with why you left?"
"I... sort of." Belle said weakly, lapsing into her usual quiet self. Jack whimpered, clinging to his mother's shoulder.
Beast shifted awkwardly. "You never did tell us what happened." He said, his tone gruffer than he had attended.
"...I guess I haven't..." Belle said quietly, shifting Jack. The babe stuck his fist in his mouth, chewing on his fingers. "...It started a year ago. My father was an inventor in a small town not far from here. He went out to a Fair to show off an invention, a wood chopper... He didn't make it."
"Don't tell me the poor dear died." Mrs. Potts said sadly.
"Not then." Belle smiled sadly. "But he got lost and came back a day late, talking about a monster he met in the forest."
Mrs. Potts gave him a nervous look, one that he returned. A year ago, in the autumn, a man had approached the castle, looking for sanctuary from the wolves. Beast had chased them both off, and they'd never thought about it since then.
A year ago, they still had hope that someone might come. A hope that he might have inadvertently chased off. He swallowed.
"The best hunter in the village had his eye on me. I was a lot prettier then." She patted her hips with faint humour. "Skinner too. He gathered the villagers up and propositioned me... If I married him, he wouldn't put my father in the Asylum D'Loons."
"And you did." Beast rumbled, putting the pieces together.
"And he did anyway." She said sadly, cradling Jack to her. "And then I became pregnant with Jack, and things got worse... I was trapped in the house... He... didn't like me to read, said it gave women ideas. Then when Jack was born, there were complications. Jack was early, I was too skinny, it was a hard birth... and then I couldn't leave the bed for a while."
Jack hiccupped, whimpering. Belle patted him as he gnawed on his hand again.
"The day before I left, I got a letter from the D'arque, the man who runs Asylum D'Loons. Papa had died. G... He found me reading the letter and slapped me for it. I don't think he even thought about it, he was rarely cruel on purpose, it was usual casual, thoughtless. One of the tavern wenches had given birth the month before to a child she said was his. He'd come over to show me what a 'real heir' looked like, one that wasn't small and ate instead of crying all the time."
If the slap had left a bruise that lasted for weeks on her face. If such a casual action had left that sort of mark on a grown person's face, what would it have done to the baby?
"The babe doesn't cry all the time." Mrs. Potts defended the infant who was still whimpering.
"Now." Belle corrected. "Jack used to be a lot worse, he's better here." She smiled at him, a hesitant half-shadow.
"And we're glad to have him." Mrs. Potts said proudly. Beast nodded automatically, his thoughts still stuck on the possibilities.
If he hadn't frightened her father away... would Belle have come here? Could she have broken the spell? Would they all have been human again?
Would Jack have been his child instead?
"Here we are." Mrs. Potts' voice broke him out of his thoughts. He realised they were standing in front of the library's large doors.
"I've got it." He rumbled, opening the door. He paused, thinking about it. "But first, close your eyes."
Belle raised an eyebrow. "What?"
He felt a spark of mischievousness bubble up. "It's a surprise."
She gave him a wary look, but did as instructed. He waved a hand in front of her face to make sure it was closed, Jack giving him a wide-eyed look as the baby tried to figure out what he was doing. He made a shushing motion towards Jack.
"Master?" Mrs. Potts inquired as he opened the doors. "What are you doing?"
He chuckled in return, dashing across the floor to the curtains and pulling them open, weak winter sunlight pouring into the room. It was better than no light however. "Okay." He called, scuttling across the floor, then sliding the last few strides to stand next to her.
"Now?" Belle inquired.
"Now." He grinned. This was going to be fun.
She slowly opened her eyes, taking a cautious step inside. Then her eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger as her jaw dropped, spinning in circles as she took in the stories full of books. "I... I can't believe it." She breathed, her face shining like a beacon. "I've never seen so many books in all my life!"
"You like it?" He grinned, not caring that his tail was hesitantly thumping on the ground.
"It's WONDERFUL!" She exclaimed, turning to face him. "Can I read them all?"
Beast chuckled. "If you think you can."
"Oh." She held one hand to her heart. "I can certainly try!" She laughed, giddily.
"Belle!" Mrs. Potts called from one of the lower shelves. "The children's books are over here. Perhaps there's something on children?"
"Okay!" She called, turning to move towards Mrs. Potts. Beast held his hands out.
"I'll hold him while you browse." He offered.
She paused, staring at him for a minute, then smiled at him. "Thank you." She whispered gratefully, setting her son in his hands. He nodded, watching her almost skip off.
Jack squealed happily at him, grabbing one of Beast's fingers and sticking the claw in his mouth. "Um." Beast frowned. "I don't think that's a such a good idea."
The claw was taken out of Jack's mouth, he got a stream of babbling from the enthusiastic infant, then the claw was re-inserted into the mouth, fortunately sharp point out.
"I think we figured it out!" Belle called triumphantly, holding a book up. "He's teething!"
+++
*Some quotes are taken straight from the movie.
-we're using that as a count for the month, this fic will prolly be finished in 25,000 words.
Word Count: 1,558
Con't from here.
+++
"Shh... shh... shh...." Beast watched as Belle paced back and forth, attempting to soothe the screaming baby. Jack didn't appear to care that his mother looked like she would gladly go out and kill any of the infant's enemies or rape, loot and pillage villages or rob passing merchants just to get the baby to shut up. He just stuck his fingers in his mouth and yowled.
Beast had found himself hanging around the Nursery a lot more lately, watching his guests. The servants did as well, happy to have someone to help, things to do and new company with news from the outside world. The room seemed to get just a little lighter every day, changing from something cold and foreign, to something approaching inviting.
"I don't understand." Belle not quite wailed as she did another lap around the room. "He was fine. He was over the colic. I've changed him, I've fed him, I've burped him, I'm holding him, I don't know what else to do! I don't know what's going on!!!"
Beast agreed with her. For the past several weeks, they'd all been treated to the sound and noise of a well loved happy little baby boy. Except when Beast lost his temper and caused Jack to scream, something he was learning not to do since an irate Belle handing him the caterwauling infant was not long to follow. And now this.
And when the baby wasn't happy...
"Well, dear..." Mrs. Potts said as she bounced in circles on the table after. "We perhaps we could check to see if there's a book in the Library to explain it."
The effect was instantaneous. "You have a Library?!" Belle exclaimed, her face suddenly animated. Beast straightened slightly. It was as if someone had lit a candle in the woman. Even Jack stopped his whimpering to look at his mother.
"Oh, yes." Cogsworth grinned proudly. "Indeed."
"With books!" Lumière added helpfully, hopping off the table.
"Gads of books!" Cogsworth followed the candlestick, dashing ahead of his friend towards the door.
Lumière followed, dashing ahead of Cogsworth. "Mountains of books!"
"Forests of books!"
"Cascades of books!"
"Swamps of books!"
"More books than you'll ever be able to read-" Cogsworth gibbered on, happy to have a subject in which to ramble on upon length.
"I'll show you to the Library." Beast rumbled, rising from beside the fire place.
Belle looked between them and the two bouncing servants, still rambling and trying to out-do the other. "But..."
"They'll be at this for a while." He assured her, opening the door. She quickly stepped out, a whimpering Jack over one shoulder. Mrs. Potts followed, as stealthy as a china teapot can be.
"-Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper-" The door closed behind them, cutting off the majordomo's prattling. Mrs. Potts laughed quietly, a fond sound as they began down the hallway.
"Can you read?" Beast inquired, rising up to walk on his hindlegs beside her.
"Oh, yes." Belle practically bounced at the thought. "It was my favourite thing to do... before Jack. Do you mind if I read them?" She added as a cautious after thought.
"Why would I mind?" He rumbled. The books were just wasting away where they were now. Better for someone to get some enjoyment out of them.
"Because..." A flash of pain crossed her face as her fingertips brushed where the dark bruise had been on her cheekbones. "Never mind. It's nothing."
"It's not nothing, dear." Mrs. Potts chided. "Does it have to do with why you left?"
"I... sort of." Belle said weakly, lapsing into her usual quiet self. Jack whimpered, clinging to his mother's shoulder.
Beast shifted awkwardly. "You never did tell us what happened." He said, his tone gruffer than he had attended.
"...I guess I haven't..." Belle said quietly, shifting Jack. The babe stuck his fist in his mouth, chewing on his fingers. "...It started a year ago. My father was an inventor in a small town not far from here. He went out to a Fair to show off an invention, a wood chopper... He didn't make it."
"Don't tell me the poor dear died." Mrs. Potts said sadly.
"Not then." Belle smiled sadly. "But he got lost and came back a day late, talking about a monster he met in the forest."
Mrs. Potts gave him a nervous look, one that he returned. A year ago, in the autumn, a man had approached the castle, looking for sanctuary from the wolves. Beast had chased them both off, and they'd never thought about it since then.
A year ago, they still had hope that someone might come. A hope that he might have inadvertently chased off. He swallowed.
"The best hunter in the village had his eye on me. I was a lot prettier then." She patted her hips with faint humour. "Skinner too. He gathered the villagers up and propositioned me... If I married him, he wouldn't put my father in the Asylum D'Loons."
"And you did." Beast rumbled, putting the pieces together.
"And he did anyway." She said sadly, cradling Jack to her. "And then I became pregnant with Jack, and things got worse... I was trapped in the house... He... didn't like me to read, said it gave women ideas. Then when Jack was born, there were complications. Jack was early, I was too skinny, it was a hard birth... and then I couldn't leave the bed for a while."
Jack hiccupped, whimpering. Belle patted him as he gnawed on his hand again.
"The day before I left, I got a letter from the D'arque, the man who runs Asylum D'Loons. Papa had died. G... He found me reading the letter and slapped me for it. I don't think he even thought about it, he was rarely cruel on purpose, it was usual casual, thoughtless. One of the tavern wenches had given birth the month before to a child she said was his. He'd come over to show me what a 'real heir' looked like, one that wasn't small and ate instead of crying all the time."
If the slap had left a bruise that lasted for weeks on her face. If such a casual action had left that sort of mark on a grown person's face, what would it have done to the baby?
"The babe doesn't cry all the time." Mrs. Potts defended the infant who was still whimpering.
"Now." Belle corrected. "Jack used to be a lot worse, he's better here." She smiled at him, a hesitant half-shadow.
"And we're glad to have him." Mrs. Potts said proudly. Beast nodded automatically, his thoughts still stuck on the possibilities.
If he hadn't frightened her father away... would Belle have come here? Could she have broken the spell? Would they all have been human again?
Would Jack have been his child instead?
"Here we are." Mrs. Potts' voice broke him out of his thoughts. He realised they were standing in front of the library's large doors.
"I've got it." He rumbled, opening the door. He paused, thinking about it. "But first, close your eyes."
Belle raised an eyebrow. "What?"
He felt a spark of mischievousness bubble up. "It's a surprise."
She gave him a wary look, but did as instructed. He waved a hand in front of her face to make sure it was closed, Jack giving him a wide-eyed look as the baby tried to figure out what he was doing. He made a shushing motion towards Jack.
"Master?" Mrs. Potts inquired as he opened the doors. "What are you doing?"
He chuckled in return, dashing across the floor to the curtains and pulling them open, weak winter sunlight pouring into the room. It was better than no light however. "Okay." He called, scuttling across the floor, then sliding the last few strides to stand next to her.
"Now?" Belle inquired.
"Now." He grinned. This was going to be fun.
She slowly opened her eyes, taking a cautious step inside. Then her eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger as her jaw dropped, spinning in circles as she took in the stories full of books. "I... I can't believe it." She breathed, her face shining like a beacon. "I've never seen so many books in all my life!"
"You like it?" He grinned, not caring that his tail was hesitantly thumping on the ground.
"It's WONDERFUL!" She exclaimed, turning to face him. "Can I read them all?"
Beast chuckled. "If you think you can."
"Oh." She held one hand to her heart. "I can certainly try!" She laughed, giddily.
"Belle!" Mrs. Potts called from one of the lower shelves. "The children's books are over here. Perhaps there's something on children?"
"Okay!" She called, turning to move towards Mrs. Potts. Beast held his hands out.
"I'll hold him while you browse." He offered.
She paused, staring at him for a minute, then smiled at him. "Thank you." She whispered gratefully, setting her son in his hands. He nodded, watching her almost skip off.
Jack squealed happily at him, grabbing one of Beast's fingers and sticking the claw in his mouth. "Um." Beast frowned. "I don't think that's a such a good idea."
The claw was taken out of Jack's mouth, he got a stream of babbling from the enthusiastic infant, then the claw was re-inserted into the mouth, fortunately sharp point out.
"I think we figured it out!" Belle called triumphantly, holding a book up. "He's teething!"
+++
*Some quotes are taken straight from the movie.