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The Beast stood in his rose garden, the overwhelarden always see thorny vines could wrap the heart and put an end to his anxiety There were times when he wished they would, but now hiswo to take her father’s place as a prisoner in the castle dungeon What sort of wo her freedom for her father’s? The Beast wondered if he was capable of such a sacrifice He wondered if he was capable of love

He stood there looking at the view of his castle froarden He tried to recall how the castle had looked before the curse It was different now—, and alive Even the spires of his castle seemed to consciously pierce the sky with a violent fervor He could only iine how the place looked fro and perched on the top of the highest h it were cut froreen forest filled with dangerous wild creatures

Only since he had been forced to spend his life hidden within its wretched walls and on its grounds had he done such things as take in his surroundings this way—actually see and, indeed, feel the sinister shadows on the statues that flanked the path leading frohtening than anything from the ancient stories the tutors of his youth hadthere before the castle and its lands were enchanted There had been ht their enchantments The topiaries, for example, sees like this, atte to take his mind off his troubles

He had long since gotten used to the statues’ watchful eyes glancing at hiht ht only out of the corner of his eye He couldn’t escape the feeling of being watched, and had alrand entrance of his castle see mouth prepared to devour him He spent as much time outdoors as possible The castle felt like a prison, and as large as it was, it confined hi the life out of him

Once, when he was still—dare he think it!—hu wild beasts in his forests for sport But when he hi to be hunted, he shut hi, let alone the castle

Perhaps that hy he now detested being withindoors: he had once spent so much time locked away by his own fear

When the castle was first enchanted, he thought that histricks on him—that simply the idea of the curse had driven hi that surrounded him was alive, and he was fearful any further misdeeds on his part would send it into a frenzy, and his enemies would make him suffer even more for the pain he had caused so many before he became a beast The physical transformation was only part of the curse There wasto think of

Right noanted to think of the only thing that could calhtly He wanted to think of her

Belle

He looked upon the lake to the right of the garden, thewater Apart frohts of Belle, this was the only tranquility he had been afforded since the curse He spent ht of his own reflection, though sometimes he was te

He had been alan to take hold, and he quite liked the little changes in his appearance at first, the deep lines heface more fearsome to his enemies But no that the curse had overtaken hiht of himself Every mirror in the castle had been broken or shut away in the West Wing His terrible deeds were engraved on his face, and that sent a holloretched feeling deep into his gut, sickening him